Novel Not Novel

Last week an old friend asked me, “What’s going on over there? You’ve stopped writing.” Well, that’s both true and untrue. I’ll lay it out for you straight. I have no talent for fiction. Still, let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start. This Winter saw a lot of boredom in [...]

Jongdal Chodo Hakyeo

Jongdal is the town. Chodo means “Elementary.” Hakyeo means “school.” Every weekday between 11:45 and 12:10 I step off the outskirts bus, the one that circles the entire island. I say “Komapsimnida” to the driver, walk past this blue arrow, and eat lunch with the teachers and children of Jongdal. The sounds of the lunchroom [...]