Background:
1. EPIK was the government organisation that recruited English teachers for public schools in Korea. Nationality was of paramount importance; South Africans did not qualify. I knew that before applying, but I still took a chance.
2. The hot water system in Korea works with oil that needs to be refilled every few weeks. Mrs Kim – the homeowner – and I made turns paying for the oil.
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Tuesday, 24 February 1998
On Monday, 16 February, I called the EPIK office. The woman categorically declared that I was not acceptable to the program. I was slightly relieved.
On Thursday, 19 February, Mr John Lee from Top Language Institute paid a visit to my school to inform me that I will work for him two hours a day starting from March. I wondered about the compensation, seeing that by March I would strictly be owing my school two hours a day.
On Sunday, 22 February, I had a great day in Seoul with two other expats. We visited the one place in Korea I would have regretted not visiting – the DMZ [Demilitarised Zone] between North and South Korea.
Yesterday, Monday, 23 February, I was in an antagonistic mood. I didn’t have any hot water – again, and I wanted to know about the Top affair. I decided to talk directly with Mrs Kim. She said “if I wanted” I could work for Top for two hours a day; it’s “okay” with her. I asked how much I would get for the classes. She replied, ₩200,000 [$200] per month. That is ₩200,000 for forty hours, which works out at ₩5,000 [$5] per hour. I told her: “I happen to know Mr Lee pays ₩15,000 per hour. What’s happening to the other ₩10,000?” I calculated that the deal is worth ₩600,000 per month (according to how much Lee pays his other teachers), of which I will only be getting ₩200,000. The table is set. I’m pissed off.
To crown everything, I’m told it’s my turn to pay for the oil. The amount is a staggering ₩189,000 [$189]!
Last night I told [Mrs Kim’s son] I felt insulted about the ₩5,000 per hour I was offered and that I wasn’t cheap labour. He said I shouldn’t be angry with them about the oil, it’s not their fault. I replied – very politely – that I wasn’t angry with him, but he should also not be angry with me if I said at some point that the situation has made it impossible for me to stay in Korea.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been feeling worn out, like I felt last May when I said I was running on empty. My throat tightens when I think about staying here for another more than four months. The economic crisis has caused my salary to lose 60% of its dollar value … the hot water crisis … the impersonal [long-drop outside, next to the gate] … the knowledge that I’m still a cheap bargain for […] Foreign Language Institute.
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Yesterday afternoon, Monday, 23 February, on my way to my afternoon shift, I reckoned I had had enough. I’m going to stay until the end of March, I thought, but I won’t go back to South Africa … I’m going to Europe.
The idea blows like a whirlwind through the next few days. I wondered again if making it until the end of June wasn’t possible after all.
I realise, though, that my plan is about more than just that. It’s starting to make more and more sense. Maybe I can “make” it until June, but the idea is increasingly taking shape as more than just an emotional response. It is increasingly becoming the best plan considering all the relevant factors, regardless of whether I can make it until the end of June, and regardless of whether I hate Korea or if I’m just tired of her.
It goes back further than the hot water system, my leaky taps, the shitter at the front gate, the spit-dripping men, the ugly buildings, children pointing at you in public, and the breathtakingly beautiful women.
It goes back to a warm summer evening in December 1995 – alone in Stellenbosch, in an unfurnished apartment of which the rent was in arrears, and me standing on the balcony listening to Gary Moore on my Walkman singing “One day the sun will shine on you”.
Sunday, 8 March 1998
Okay, back to the plan, but everything is already in operation. I resigned on Tuesday, March 3rd at ten to eleven in the evening.
Why? I quote from notes written on 27 February: “It’s about Korea, but it’s more about the place where I work than about the country. It’s also more about Europe than it is about Korea and the place where I work. More than that, it’s about an opportunity – available to me right now. I’m afraid if I do survive here until the end of June against all expectations, I’ll find myself back in South Africa within a week or two with no definite plans or prospects.”
In the meantime, I was informed that I couldn’t fly to Europe directly,* but I went ahead with my resignation anyway. I will stay until the end of April; my relationship with Mrs Kim stays intact, with full salary and ₩200,000 bonus. Then I’ll fly back to South Africa; which gives me another two months to sort out my plans and prospects.
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* I had a return ticket to Johannesburg from the previous year. Singapore Airlines had initially said it was possible to change the final destination, but a problem with the issuing of the ticket the previous year resulted in them not being able to change it after all.
Tuesday, 10 March 1998
If I wait until I’ve argued and contemplated a plan flawlessly, I’ll wait a long time. The best advice I can give myself is to make a decision, to execute the decision to the best of my ability, and to accept the consequences whatever they may be.
This is where the greatest risk, and the greatest adventure lie – in the execution of a decision once you’re willing to bear the consequences. I am ready.
* * *
Never underestimate the magnificence of the first step of a thousand mile journey.
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