Why I Decided to Move to Korea

I figured that if I was going to start posting about Korea, I should probably explain why I moved here myself.

I decided back in 2019 (great time for it, I know). I was working in the UK at the NHS for Cancer Services which meant I was dealing with the worst part of peoples lives every day and it honestly took an emotional toll on me. I had also dealt with breakups, family deaths and then a dash of unwarranted sexual harassment just meant that I wanted to get out of that line of work. If anyone that I worked with sees this, that was the final push to get me out of that job because as much as I loved it, the office finding it funny and displaying a ‘boys will be boys’ attitude about it really upset me and I didn’t want to be there anymore.

At that time, I was also dating again after the breakup of my first significant relationship (1 year and I don’t know what I was thinking with him – if he sees this too then that’s awkward but I didn’t like you, sorry). One of the dates I went on was with someone who told me about his time teaching in Korea and then he went back to England and trained as a teacher. I thought maybe I could do that. Not the Korea part, but teaching? So I applied for experience days at local schools and booked time off work and had started my application for university!

Then the UK went into lockdown. The schools closed. University went online and the hospital sent us all to work from home. I had been doing my TEFL certification courses online and didn’t want to do a full degree online so I didn’t apply. Then it looked like we would never be going back to work. So I started thinking more seriously about applying for Korea.

By December, I had a job offer and had almost completed the visa process so I would be going to Korea on the 14th December, spending all of Christmas at home in quarantine and then starting a new job in Incheon in the new year. That didn’t happen because of a new strain of coronavirus so Korea shut down visas to the UK and I had to wait and wait and wait for SIX MONTHS. At that point I had already quit my job and they had hired a replacement, I ended up working as a temp supporting my old team but just waiting around to hear from the embassy.

Eventually, I had to redo all my documents and restart the visa process but the school still wanted me. I moved to Korea and landed there in July and started at the school 8 months after I was meant to but did meet one of my best friends there.

The school…that’s a story for another time and what I’ll say definitely isn’t defamatory. I’m not getting sued. Honestly not that bad. I say that with hindsight.

If you’re considering teaching in South Korea, send me a message or leave a comment if you have any questions! I want to post more about this so if there’s anything you want to know, definitely reach out and I’ll try help!

Book Review: The Curfew by TM Logan

My first finished book of 2024 was The Curfew by TM Logan! It’s my first TM Logan book and honestly, I really understand why their books are such a staple of the thriller/suspense genre because this was such a gripping book that kept me guessing.

The Curfew is about a man who finds that his son didn’t come home on time one day and actually, he didn’t come home at all that night. A teenage girl in his group of friends has also gone missing which puts Connor under police suspicion for his involvement in her murder.

I was confused by the timeline for this story because sometimes it seemed like it had been weeks but then it seemed like only days passed. The police in here went from missing to DEAD very quickly. There were some instances where I questioned the characters actions and I don’t know if it’s because they were questionable or just because I don’t read male thrillers often so when he got punched, I was very surprised.

So Andrew (main character) decides to solve the crime himself (as you do when you’re a local GP and not a police officer) and find the missing girl to clear his son of any suspicion.

It’s a story full of small village gossip and parent-child relationships. It also made me question if I would lie to the police for my child. I haven’t had a child yet but I feel like if they commit a crime then that’s not good? I’m not going to prison for anyone else because I’m very scared of prison. Maybe don’t do crimes, future child???

Overall, I think this was a good book but it’s definitely either a UK book club book or one that mums read by the pool on holiday because that’s how I read it. I think that there’s a difference between UK and US small town thrillers and this felt nicer and very homey for me. Aside from the crimes.

To keep up with what I’m reading AS I read, you can follow me on Instagram, my bookish acocunt is @booksforbecca

starting my 2024 READING journal

This year I decided that I wanted to get back into reading more frequently. It is something that I considered a big part of myself and the fact that life had changed so much that I no longer had the attention span or motivation to read very much made me quite sad.

I studied English Literature at university and have a Masters in Contemporary Literature as well, so it is something that I really enjoy and dedicated a big chunk of my life (and finances) to. The last time I had a big reading year was before the pandemic and its safe to say that it had a big impact on everyone mentally.

So this year, for a fresh start, I decided to start a reading journal! I started it in November as I had read a little bit (mainly audiobooks) and wanted to start writing my thoughts down again. I used to post book reviews to this blog and want to start doing that again so look out for those soon!

I also used to post booktube videos and was a part of the youtube bookish community which I would like to get back to! I started this journey with a video of me starting my reading journal which you can see below. I have more videos planned and so far in 2024 I have finished 3 books and am halfway through a fourth one!

I’m really happy with my progress so far and if you want to follow along then you can subscribe to my youtube channel and also follow me on instagram @booksforbecca

BTS Countdown: D-154!

Since there are now 154 days until we have a BTS member out of enlistment and able to do things (not that he HAS to), I feel like I should be catching up on the vast amount of content that I have missed out on before I was a fan, and things that have come out since that I haven’t had time to watch fully.

One of the things I’ll be using for this content mega-marathon is the BTS Content Index (link here) which have a growing list of content put out by the boys over the years since pre-debut to now.

First, I want to return to what was one of my comfort shows during Covid lockdown in 2020: Run BTS.

I haven’t watched every episode of this show even though I love it. I started watching in 2020 and then went back to the beginning, somehow I got lost and then the show ended (hopefully not forever) and I was too sad to keep going.

I’m writing this post in the morning so I’ll update later after I have watched some episodes tonight after work!

oops!

I forgot about this website for over 2 years while I was busy adjusting to living in Korea and a new career in teaching!!

I really didn’t mean to, I promise…

Recently I’ve been able to get back into video editing and this year I’m trying to make a more concerted effort to be more creative and expressive. To me, that means making things, reading more and reflecting on what I’ve read so that means a return to book reviews and actively engaging with the book community like I used to.

I’ve even already read a book this year and it’s only the 4th of January!! Yes it might have been an audiobook but I will say that since I last blogged I have found it very difficult to pay attention for a long time.

I want to write and post more on this blog and also write about my life like a sort of online diary. Partly so I can look back at it and partly so that anyone interested in the books I read or the places I have been. I know that when I was considering moving to Korea to teach, I tried to read about as many peoples experiences I could and still found myself unprepared for what laid ahead of me.

If that’s you and you want to know what it’s like to move to Korea and teach in Seoul then follow along and you can also visit my Youtube channel where I have posted vlogs about my daily life and different experiences I’ve had here so far!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/booksforbecca

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/rhubarbecca

Kdrama Wrap Up!

I’ve watched a few shows and movies since my last kdrama wrap up and will include a couple of Chinese dramas in this list too as they have a similar vibe/theme to them but they’re both very different to what I’m used to in Korean dramas.

To start off with, I finished Sisyphus: The Myth and to be honest the ending felt quite rushed but the development of the romantic relationship was quite nice and not insta-love which happens in some shows. There were a few BTS fan moments which were quite cute (listening to Spring Day while walking through the aftermath of a nuclear war or taking a banner from the last stadium show back to the underground bunker they lived in for 10 years…) but this isn’t a show I think I would rewatch. The time-skips and future-travel is easier to understand than it was in The King: Eternal Monarch as they jumped between universes but it’s more sci-fi than fantasy and I’m just not that kind of nerd so can’t take explanations JUST magic.

Strangers From Hell

Strangers From Hell ok so while sci-fi may be a massive genre that I’m not that into, it turns out that cannibalism thrillers is a niche genre that I keep stumbling into. I LOVED THIS. It has Im Siwan who I loved in Run On as well as Lee Dong Wook so it was bound to be good but I really enjoyed the story and thought that Siwan did amazingly in this. Strangers From Hell is also called Hell Is Other People and is about a young man who moved to Seoul from a small town and is only able to afford a small room in a run down apartment block. The neighbours soon turn out to be completely hellish and the disappearance of the previous occupant of his room as well as disappearances linked to the building raise suspicions with him and the local police department. Lee Dong Wook is a fantastic villain in this and without spoilers, Im Siwan really is amazing throughout.

Use For My Talent was my next watch and it is a Chinese remake of Cleaning With Passion For Now (Korean). This is quite possibly one of the cutest shows I have ever seen in my life and I loved every second. The show follows a young woman as she gets a job at a cleaning company and works with the germaphobe CEO who, in true romantic drama fashion, becomes completely besotted with her. The love triangle in this was infuriating for me though, if you’re not a fan of unethical psychiatric practices (which no one should be) then I would just expect that going in because Male Lead A is a therapy client of Male Lead B so…yeah. If you liked Strong Girl Bong Soon then I would definitely recommend you try this, Jasper Liu is the lead on this one and I’ve watched him in Twogether (his travel show with Lee Seung-gi).

Next on the list was Vincenzo a story about a mafia consigliere moving back to Korea after being raised in Italy and then defending the residents of a building that is soon to be demolished by Babel Group (though he’s really trying to get to the gold that is buried underneath the building). The villain in this is once again, fantastic, I don’t know if that says something about me though. Ok Taecyeon says he is a lot like his character in this which is…worrying? Everyone in this is funny, adorable, loveable and also completely unhinged which is always good in a crime drama.

Ultimate bromance in Vincenzo

Soon after finishing this, I moved onto the Chinese drama Well Intended Love which I had been recommended but as it is focused on a girl with leukaemia and that has been my life for the past five years but I mentioned that on Twitter and someone said that I should stick with it and THE TWISTS AND TURNS IN THIS SHOW??? OMG. There is not a single drama trope that was not jammed into this show including amnesia, car accidents, jealousy, poisoning, family dramas and love triangles. Then they did a second season where the first one never happened! I didn’t know they could even do that…I haven’t watched that season yet only the first episode but I do want to want to get to it at some point because the first season was unpredictable.

The rest of this wrap up will be posted next week! Please comment below if you have any suggestions for me based on these few shows, I’m always looking for new shows to get into so please let me know!!

February Kdrama Wrap Up

This post has been rewritten due to the WordPress app despising me so if you saw it last week, it’s different!

Just like last month, I wanted to do a wrap up of the shows I watched in February and if you’re a kdrama nerd like me please recommend your favourites to me to watch!

Run On

I finished Run On at the start of February and — my heart — it’s such a nice ending, I was worried it would be bittersweet for the second couple because dramas lately LOVE having a weird ending for some reason. The finale had another Kim Won Hae cameo so you know I loved this show. I do think this is a rewatchable show as well as the characters were so nicely developed and the relationship isn’t angsty, it’s quite natural in how they relate and tease each other (unnatural in how there’s an antagonist threatening to break them up but it’s a drama, at least they get over him quite quickly). Overall, I loved it and I miss Mi Joo already, love her and wish her all the best!

Stranger

Speaking of Stranger, I finished season one of this series in February and really enjoyed it! I dipped in and out of this show because it had quite a slow pace and sometimes the set up to a conclusion or twist in the case would be set up and the characters would take a while to realise it which irritated me a bit.

There is a second series available and a third is on the way but no production or release date yet so I’ve got time to catch up before then.

I do like that there is no romance in this and that the characters are quite pragmatic in trying to get the case closed. It would be easy for a show with this premise to get entangled in love affairs of personal drama (see Line of Duty) but it’s a straightforward anti corruption drama and everyone just becomes friends which is nice.

Busted

I finished season one of Busted this month and I still love it so much! I have two seasons left because the show ended this year with season three which is unfortunate for me but if the show has run it’s course that makes sense as it’s a very intense variety-type show. The series ended on a cliffhanger though so I want to get started with the next series to find out where Jaesuk is after that explosion!

Currently watching: The Good Detective

I started and finished this in February and I loved it straight away! Not a slow and dragging series like I sometimes found Stranger to be, this was nicely paced. I watch British/US police procedural shows so it’s a familiar format, I just haven’t seen many Korean shows in this genre yet.

This show follows an experienced detective partnered up with a less experienced but tech savvy and cool young detective, solving crimes and getting on each other’s nerves.

Currently watching: Sisyphus: The Myth

Cho Seung-Woo of Stranger stars in this new drama that took over Run On’s time slot but rather than a contemporary romance we have a time travelling dystopian murder mystery!

In this, he plays a tech CEO dealing with the death of his brother when a woman travels back in time and helps him find out what really happened.

Currently watching: Mr Queen

This is a show that my mother has ended up watching with me and so we watch at least one episode an evening after work. I know that this is the worst case of second lead syndrome I’ve ever experienced and I’ll be upset at the end but it’s such a funny show so I love it.

I like a good historical drama so a modern day chef landing in the body of a Joseon era queen is exactly what I needed. Even if the ending annoys me (I think the Queen’s cousin is adorable but he’s the second lead so I’m setting myself up for disappointment) I love the concept and may have to watch Rooftop Prince since people recommend that one a lot.

Book Review: Kissing the Coronavirus

I will start this review by saying that I’m not trying to bash the author at all, I understand that this book was written at the start of the pandemic and is not meant to be taken that seriously.

That being said…this book doesn’t need to exist.

It’s a romance romp under 20 pages and features the weird grotesque humanisation of the COVID-19 virus as some hot green guy but tbh I just pictured Shrek because he’s the first green person that came to mind and I couldn’t get him out of my head.

The idea of the book as a mockery of the pandemic when people had just started working from home and practicing social distancing, I felt, was demeaning to the fears and experiences of people in the countries first hit by the virus. At the time of publishing, there had been at least 4600 reported deaths related to COVID-19 in Wuhan.

I read this book in 2020 after seeing it everywhere and then seeing that it was available to read for free as part of KindleUnlimited so I wouldn’t be spending money on it (I’ve got no clue how KindleUnlimited works tbh). There is now a sequel and an alarming amount of books cashing in on this trend and exploring kinks I didn’t want to see on my Amazon search history. Chuck Tingle, a well known absurdist-kinda erotic writer, has said he would not write about Coronavirus because of the real life harm caused by the illness BUT he has written 3 books about mask wearing, coughing and social distancing.

Ok so now onto the book!

Do you ever read something and want to bleach your brain after because you feel so unclean? That’s what I felt here. And I’ve read fanfiction. So much fanfiction.

Dr Alexa Ashington is on a team of two people (?) working on investigating the coronavirus and how it can be stopped. Unfortunately, she appears to have no work ethic and cannot focus on work as she’s so aroused all the time! The total devastation caused by the virus all around the world has caused her to start…admiring (?) the virus for its power (???)…so much so that she improperly uses a test tube (girl doesn’t measure anything so good luck writing up that lab report) and tries to insert it into herself.

I’m not going to explain the whole thing because the book is 16 pages but bish bash bish the coronavirus sample magically becomes human and as all people do when locked in a room with a humanoid-virus, she decides the best plan of action is to bone down with the killer of thousands worldwide.

I’m honestly upset that I retained any information about this book to be honest.

On one hand, the author had lost their job at the start of the pandemic. On the other hand, it’s not a joking matter.

Overall, just because people talk about a book a lot, you don’t have to read it. In some cases, it’s best for your sanity if you leave it alone.

Top 5 Tuesday!

I’m doing Top 5 Tuesday this month! This was a tag that I loved doing when I started my blog so I’m glad to be back and racking my brain for books that fit the theme of Middle Grade March for this month 🙂

Top 5 Tuesday was created by Shanah over at Bionic Book Worm, and is now hosted by Meeghan at MeeghanReads – you can find all the prompts for this month on her blog if you want to join in!

This week: Top 5 books from your childhood

1. The Mr Twiddle Stories by Enid Blyton

Enid Blyton omnibus collections made up the bulk of my reading as a child, I carried this everywhere with me for some time and took it whenever I was away from home for the night. Blyton’s books are classics for us, at least in the UK and my generation that still grew up watching Noddy.

2. Harry Potter by Unknown

I read these later than my friends as I initially didn’t get the hype, I’m counting this as a childhood read as I was about 13 when I did read them. It’s a shame that a series so beloved by many has the author that it does but in a way I think we’re quite lucky that in this era we can see people more clearly than we could before and see more of the people that we support and make decisions based on that rather than just the works or interviews. (Looking at Bridget Collins now…I’m not aware if any statements have been made but looking on Twitter it isn’t good…)

3. Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan

This is a series that again, I read it too old, BUT it’s one that seems to still hold up now and Riordan is an author that appears to actively try and be inclusive which is something that authors writing for children should be.

4. Madame Doubtfire by Anne Fine

I found out that Mrs Doubtfire was originally a book and had to get it from the library and in hindsight I was way too young to read a book about the pain of divorce (especially as a child of divorce!) but I read and reread this many times as well.

5. Mog the Forgetful Cat by Judith Kerr

Going waaaay back for this one, Mog the Forgetful Cat was my favourite picture storybook that I made my family read with me over and over again!

Down The TBR Hole (Again) #7

This was created by Lost In A Story.

The Rules: • Go to your Goodreads to-read shelf. • Order on ascending date added. • Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books • Read the synopses of the books • Decide: keep it or should it go? • Keep track of where you left off so you can pick up there next week!

Book 31: Lincoln In The Bardo by George Saunders

Date added: 27th May 2018

Decision: Delete – I’m trying not to read depressing things as much and a book about President Abraham Lincoln’s son dying and finding himself in purgatory is in that category.

Book 32: Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World and Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling

Date added: 27th May 2018

Decision: Delete – I’m not in a position to accept positivity yet in this pandemic-era.

Book 33: Florida by Lauren Groff

Date added: 27th May 2018

Decision: Delete – this just doesn’t sound like fun and it sounds too emotional for me at the moment. Groff is an author I hear about quite a bit though so if I hear good reviews about this then I’m sure I’ll pick it up.

Book 34: The Incendiaries by R O Kwon

Date added: 27th May 2018

Decision: Keep! This reminded me of this book and I want to find it immediately so I want to get to this soon! It’s about extremist terrorism and American university students and sounds interesting but has mixed reviews.

Book 35: Spying on Whates: The Past, Present and Future of Earth’s Most Awesome Creatures by Nick Pyenson

Date added: 27th May 2018

Decision: Delete – I’ve survived long enough without reading this and I’m scared of whales tbh.

I’m listening to TWICE at a loud volume and I think it’s making me ruthless in my decisions today so thank you to TWICE for this. My TBR list currently sits at 162 and I want it to be down to 50! Anything is possible! We can do it!