We dropped by the Cheonggyecheon Stream last weekend to check the lantern displays. It was the the Lotus Lantern Festival and the famous Cheonggyecheon Stream had its annual lantern displays. I wanted to check the Lantern Parade but well… we opted to just check out the stream.

They were a lot of people but not as much as I expected:-).

cool welcome

Hubby, the boys and I walked the whole stretch of the stream. Considering how the stream was three or four decades ago, one would delight in thinking how this stream was transformed to become one of the busiest tourist attractions in Seoul… for free. Aside from the lantern displays, there was entertainment from a street singer with his own band the afternoon we were there. You could also see murals in one part of the Stream:

And there are several of these stone bridges:

My kids enjoyed taking on those bridges that we transferred sides several times.

As for me, I was fascinated with the waters.

Too fascinated.

I tried to get my camera on for the dreamy effect of cascading waters:

Darkness came on our way back. We were treated with the lighted lanterns and these are just two of them:

The end of our weekend walk was capped by this:

Fascinating!

One of the places for English-speaking family with kids around Seoul is the Eric Carle Art Studio in Apgujeong.

Here I’m giving you a glimpse of what’s inside:

It isn’t a cheap place to go to, though. Betchay of Buhay sa Korea got us a discounted ticket for 17,000-KRW per kid for an original price of 22,000-KRW. Two adults may accompany per kid. English programs still remain expensive in Seoul:-).

My 3-year old kid joined the 50-minute reading and art program but I had to go inside the reading room to help him out with the art work. The studio does not have enough staff delegated to be with the kids… that, or they expect the kids to work on their own. Other moms went inside the reading room, too. So, if your kid is exposed to regular book reading, at home or elsewhere and you do your own crafts from time to time, you might get a little bit disappointed. But if you don’t mind spending some amount for a 50-minute English art program…

The Eric Carle Art Studio is located at the basement of the Yoongdang Art Hall in Apgujeong. For more information about the place, the rates and the schedule, you may call 1577-2046. Or if you can read Hangeul, you may visit the Eric Carle Art Studio website.

My Filipina friends and I scheduled a visit to the National Assembly grounds this afternoon. I prepped up the kids about the trip last night explaining to them that it would be good for them to see how a government building looks like and that is the place where the government leaders make laws. Oh, it wasn’t easy explaining it to them in the simplest terms:-). I just had to so that the trip would be relevant to them. And I also thought that it would be a good exposure for them.

We all know that a Filipina was elected to the Assembly last year in the person of Miss Jasmine Lee. Our group was lucky to see her and we were even luckier to have been accommodated by the gracious Congresswoman into her office. She was very warm and accommodating, probably glad to see a group of Pinays in the Assemby. Of course, we didn’t let the opportunity pass to have a photo with her inside her office. It isn’t everyday that you get to be accommodated like this:

photo credit to Miss Razel Kim

At one point, Firstborn whispered to me, “Mommy, when can I meet the President?” I had to stop myself from showing amusement to his very innocent question. As if meeting the President is a normal thing to do:-).

The Congresswoman’s office has a live telecast of the happenings in the session halls of the Assembly. He asked me if that was how the leaders (this was the term I used to him to refer to the legislators) work. He then added, “How I wish I could meet the President”.

Secondborn wasn’t as aware of his older brother of the surroundings. He was just busy playing around especially when we got out and took some pictures in front of the Assembly. The ground was very huge and there was more than enough space to run around. I didn’t take my DSLR with me so this photo was just taken using my smartphone:

I have always wanted to visit this place and take pictures as this is near where we live… just across the Mapo Bridge:-). Just when I had the chance to do so, I left my camera behind and using my smartphone took the most common angle taken of the Assembly… harharhar. But, at least now, I have a picture!

My son is turning 7 on November. That means he will be in first grade… in June if we are in the Philippines, last March if he started attending a Korean school, and in August if he goes to an international school.

Since we are here in Seoul, he will be attending an international school. And I have narrowed down our choices to 3: Seoul Foreign School, Yongsan International School of Seoul, and Dwight International School.

For those who are planning to send their kids to an international school here in Seoul, these schools have a common eligibility requirement as set by Korean law:

• one or both of the student’s parents holds a foreign passport; or
• in case both of the student’s parents are Korean nationals, the student must have resided in a foreign country for at least three years

I spent months researching on which school to send our son to. Even when I was still in the Philippines, I was already keeping in touch with the Directors for Admissions of these 3 schools. And they were all prompt with their replies and patient with my questions. But, mind you, I haven’t made up my mind until this week.

So, to help out parents who will be coming over or who are planning to send their kids to an international school here in Seoul, here are the requirements and contact details of each school I listed above:

Seoul Foreign School (email: admissions@seoulforeign.org)

• Passport copies of parents and child
• Copy (front and back) of Alien Certificate of Registration
• Child is a fluent English speaker
• Request for confidential teacher recommendation (to be passed by teacher through email)
• SFS Admissions test
• Writing test

Dwight International School (email: admissions@dwight.or.kr)

• Copies of passport of parents and student
• Proof of eligibility
• Copy of birth certificate
• Assessment of student health form
• Bus application (if applicable)
• 3 color pictures
• 1 letter of recommendation from homeroom teacher
• Academic records for the current year plus previous 2 years
• Most recent standardized test

Yongsan International School of Seoul (email: admissions@yisseoul.org)

• Completed application for admission
• Copy of passport of student and parents
• Copy of birth certificate
• 2 passport size pictures
• Copy of school records
• Copy of recent standardized results
• Teacher recommendation form
• Health information or physician’s examination form

For an easier comparison of rates, here is a tabular presentation for the 3 school’s 2013-2014 rates:

Honestly, I would have really wanted my son to get into the Seoul Foreign School (SFS). My husband and I were concerned though because the Admissions Director was quite straightforward when she told me that because my son is currently not enrolled, this might work to his disadvantage. This, despite the difference in school year schedule of the Philippine school system. He has already graduated from Kindergarten. It would be impractical for us to enroll him again in a Kindergarten class so we opted to wait until the August opening. We just can’t pay 300USD for his application fee knowing that he might possibly not make it because of this particular issue or SFS might recommend that we enroll him in their Kindergarten class which finishes in June. Hmmm… impractical and the tuition fee rates are quite steep. Unlike the other 2 schools, SFS requires this 300USD payment prior to submission of the application form. The other 2 schools receive the application form and the supporting documents and the applicant will only be billed of the corresponding fee upon schedule of testing/interview.

With this monetary consideration, it would have been impractical for us to go testing for each school. Though hubby’s company is paying, we have to spend wisely as though we are the ones paying. That’s exactly the reason why hubby has his company’s confidence. We decided to focus on one school instead.

We opted for Dwight International School. It is the newest international school here in Seoul and its campus and facilities are new. It carries with it the history and qualifications of The Dwight Schools from New York, London, Canada and Beijing. And, of course, I didn’t fail to check the qualifications of its teachers and staff:-).

August will be a big event in our family. We are officially sending our Firstborn to Grade 1.

How time flies… not long ago, I was just cradling him in my arms:-)…

A friend from Iloilo and I agreed to meet up here in Seoul as soon as we have both settled back. She’s Korean and she’s spending her (Philippine) summer vacation here in Korea together with her daughter. She booked us a day at the Pororo Park at Lotte in Jamsil.

Kids totally enjoyed each other’s company (Firstborn and her daughter were classmates back in Iloilo Montessori and Second-born had been used to her company, too) and the indoor theme park.

Firstborn has this to write about that one Sunday:

I went to Pororo park. I was with my brother and Bomin. she is my friend. She is also my classmate. I was very, very happy there in Pororo park. the first activity that I did was exploring the Pororo park. after I explored I bounced in the jumpy part well. any way, I did fishing at the end. Also before I did that, I did bump car and I was so, so happy.

Firstborn's self-portrait? ^.^

And he has that illustration above to show for his happiness…lol! God job!

Pororo Park is a good alternative for a theme park for those with kids who can’t handle the much larger Lotte World or a more expensive Kidzania located at the CoEx Mall in Jamsil. You see, all these are housed in this big mall. There are so many things to do and many places to go to.

But, the small park inspired by the popular penguin is as much fun for kids that one day couldn’t be enough for them… Well, it wasn’t enough for my kids:-).

Trains, bump cars and the carousel had very small spaces. But with the many offerings inside, it won’t really matter anymore.

Kiddos would love to go back there again… they always clamor about going back to places they enjoy:-)… It’s good. It’s clean. It is very well-maintained. It has many things for kids to enjoy. But, I think once is enough. One visit is actually enough to get to do everything inside.

So when you get to visit the place, just take lots of pictures for your kids to look back on when they ask you for another visit:-). Save your money and energy for another equally, if not more, fascinating place to explore…

After I settled back down here in Seoul, one of the first things I did was to renew my Mapo English Literacy Center membership library card. It’s for 30,000-won for a one-year membership and the member can borrow 4 books at a time for a two-week period free-of-charge. The only requirement for foreigners is the Alien Registration Card (ARC).

I brought the kids to the library and they had a good time reading. It’s even more fun for Firstborn who can read by himself already. He is just one inquisitive boy that with each word he can’t comprehend he would immediately ask me with a loud voice… the other one wants me to read out loud for him, too. We didn’t stay for more than an hour… I didn’t wait for other Moms to have the guts to tell us to lower down our voices:-).

It would be good to set aside a day for this trip each week. We hope to continue the habit while the boys are not back in school yet.

We are soooo back!

And nobody is happier than my Firstborn… this coming from his own writing (unedited):

“When I came here to Korea I was sleeping. Then when I woke up my Daddy love was hear and I was so so happy the whole day. Then the next day I felt weak so I slept again. When I woke up I felt better and I was happy, not just happy, very happy.”

We arrived dawn of March 18. That’s 7 days short of being away for a year…lol. The kids and I left Seoul 25th of March last year. So many things have happened since then… and the little boys are bringing with them a good amount of happy experiences.

We have since settled with our domestic life… and me back to mommy-the-teacher role (although I have never really given up that role even back in the Philippines). It isn’t physically easy but I have so many things lined up for the kids that there isn’t any room for boredom. As I had been doing the past days, I might always end up asking where time has gone for the day:-)…

Cheers to foreigners in Korea who can speak the Korean language. Here’s your chance to express yourself in Hangeul and get a chance to win 3,000,000 KRW!

The Corea Image Communication Institute (CICI) is hosting a communication contest with the theme “Communicating for a Brighter Future of Korea”. Here are the details reposted frm CICI’s website:

The Corea Image Communication Institute (CICI) is holding a communication contest with the topic of “Communicating for a Brighter Future of Korea.” The winner will be entitled to participate at the 4^thCulture Communication Forum (CCF) on September 3-5, 2013 in Seoul as the Korean/foreign youth representative to discuss cultural themes together with world renowned cultural experts from Korea and abroad.

■ Contest Outline

▪ Application deadline: March 29,2013

▪ Announcement of finalists: 14:00, April 5,2013

The announcement will be posted on our website at  www.coreaimage.org

▪ Final round: 13:30, April 13, 2013

Location: Seoul Museum (201 Buam-dong, Jongro-gu, Seoul)

 

- Participants: Koreans and non-Koreans under the age of 35

-Contest language: Korean

 

▪ Application method:

1) Submit the attached application (http://cici2.g3.cc/en_notice/922)

2) Your original idea in one of the following formats

1. Essay: Less than 2 pages (font size 11)

2. Video clip: less than 4 minutes, WMV/MPEG file format

3. Singing a song: less than 4 minutes, WAV/MP3 file format

4. For any other formats, please contact us

E-mail address: bureau@coreaimage.org, cici@coreaimage.org

 

■ Contest Details

The theme of the contest is “Communicating for a Brighter Future of Korea.”

Choose only ONE of the following topics. Finalists must deliver their presentation in Korean.

 

1) What is the significance of the hallyu, the Korean Wave including K-pop and Korean drama? In your opinion, what other aspect of Korean culture can drive the next phase of the Korean wave? Why do you think that the aspect of Korean culture you chose will communicate well with the world? Use images, video or statistics to explain your position.

 

2) In your opinion, what will be the new keyword that will symbolize Korea for the rest of the world in 2013? Why do you think so? How can this keyword be promoted around the world?

 

3) In Korea, “multiculturalism” is often equated with Southeast Asian immigrants. If you were a scholar studying multiculturalism or a public official in charge of multicultural affairs, what could you do to change this perception? Give specific examples.

 

■ Prizes

▪ 1^stPlace: 3 million won

OR cash prize and a present of equivalent value

(for example, 2,000,000 won and a flight ticket)

▪ 2^ndPlace: 2 million won

OR cash prize and a present of equivalent value

▪ 3^rdPlace: 1 million won

OR cash prize and a present of equivalent value

▪ Participation Prize: 500,000 won or a present of equivalent value

▪ Popularity Prize: 300,000 won or a present of equivalent value

*All participants who reach the final round will receive a souvenir.

 

For further information,

call 02-424-0049 OR bureau@coreaimage.org, cici@coreaimage.org

 

Hosted by Corea Image Communication Institute (CICI)

Organized by: Corea Image Communication Institute (CICI),

Communication Strategy Institute (CSI)

I wanted to change webhost but I’d rather wait until I am back in Seoul where I can endlessly bother Betchay again:-).

In the meantime, I am so happy to have found a temporary solution to my blogging concern. I just signed up to photobucket for my free photo hosting! I sure wish it can accommodate my blog photos from hereon until I find the perfect time to get a more satisfactory webhost.

Thanks to Michi of Michi Photostory! I got the ideas from her to have my photos hosted by photobucket. My remaining dilemma is, I can’t upgrade my plugins and my wordpress into newer versions. Until then…

I got myself into a basic photography class here in Iloilo and I got every Saturday as my “ME” day. How’s that?

I’m practicing light writing and I hope to get better:

Light Writer, I am!

For now, this is only what I can do:-).