All You Need to Know About Us, Our Dog, Bucheon, and Kimchi

About Us

About Bucheon

About Simon

About Martina

About Spudgy

This website is made by Martina and Simon Stawski, a newly married Canadian couple living and teaching in Bucheon, Korea. We've been here since June 2008 and we've been documenting through videos and pictures just about all that we've seen along the way. After all, when we first came here we couldn't find much help; now we're doing our best to be Bucheon's Welcome Wagon.

We both teach for the Public School Board, but at different levels. Martina teaches at an all-girls' high school while Simon teaches at a co-ed middle school. Both of us love our jobs and plan on staying here for at least another year.

Anyhow, for those of you who are interested, we met in a very cliche way in a "Romantic Poetry and Prose" class at the University of Toronto. By the end of the summer, we were dating, and two years later, we were married. Another year after that and we landed in Korea.

We've got more to say about ourselves, our city Bucheon, and our dog, so check out the tabs above to read more. Or, if you'd like to cut straight to the chase, you can simply contact us here.

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We are currently living in Bucheon, a city in South Korea with a population of 839,928 people. It is located in the Province of Gyeonggi and is sandwiched between Incheon and Seoul.
Bucheon is divided into districts; we live in the district of Wonmi-gu. We're in a big, bustling city, and live right beside Bucheon City Hall and Jungdon Park, also known as Central Park. Bucheon is full of random artsy statues everywhere, and it's also known for its international Film Festival, which plays every summer. As well, Bucheon has its own philharmonic orchestra, music concerts in Jungdon Park, and a bunch of other cultural stuff that we haven't experienced yet but are sure to experience (and update you about). Regardless, Bucheon is a very clean, modern, and artsy city.

We were shocked when we arrived because we expected a small town and we were very mistaken. Bucheon is a newly renovated city, equipped with all the department stores, coffee shops, and shopping malls you could desire. There's an E-Mart, which was formally a Wal-Mart, and a mall with a movie theatre, and plenty of restaurants and bars all within crawling distance. As Canadian ex-pats, we're a five-minutes walk away from our favorite foreigner bar, Rhythm and Booze, which we happen to quite like and also wrote a blog entry about. The chicken quesadillas there are just what we've been missing, and the cheeseburgers are worth every penny/won. As well, Bucheon isn't too far from Seoul, so we can get there quickly anytime we want, 20 minutes by bus, or 30-40 by subway.

Altogether we're pretty comfortable, and we don't have any complaints so far. Our schools are within five minutes by bike, and there are basketball courts right outside of City Hall, which means that within two minutes of walking Simon can play basketball. Our apartment (known as an Office-tel) is really snazzy and has more than enough for the both of us and our dog, and when guests come over the place isn't crowded. Everything is just dandy here, and we really enjoy it quite a lot. If you want to see what Bucheon looks like, check out our pictures of Bucheon, Korea here

Simon likes Marcel Proust's "In Search of Lost Time," playing or watching basketball, reading other books, writing, website development, hdr photography, naming animals in unison (Muffins, Cookie, Cheesecake, and Pudding), Macs, unpopular music, dancing without shame, gourmet cooking, Strongbow Cider, the English of foreigners, being married.

Simon does not like: smoking, sweating (either his own or other people's), gyms, most commercials, Christmas wreaths, socks, burning his tongue, the sound of wood pencils on paper, shopping (especially Walmart and the Dollarstore), rubbery seafood, hippies (sorry), being hungry for more than 10 minutes, and starless nights.

Martina likes: taking pictures, reading books, comic books, anime, coffee, stickers, odd stuffed toys (like giant blowfish), noodles, milk, colouring, movies that are so bad they become good (Alex understands me), making strange faces, umbrellas, listening to music, popping bubbling wrap, cooking, and long walks on the beach.

Martina does not like: smoking, sugar in her coffee, Tiramisu, wearing heels, most cookies (yes, I know, I'm weird), the sound of unwrapping popsicles, the feeling of wooden popsicle sticks in her mouth, getting her pant legs wet, people who bud in lines, knapsack back sweat, and the following unsexy words: sack, puce, leotards, unitards, casserole, moist, crusty, and when people say they are "fleshing" out an idea.

Spudgy is our dog. We adopted him from the Samsong Shelter in South Korea. He is blind in his left eye and has had hip surgery. Apart from that, he is a really affectionate and really, really sweet dog.
Click here to read our blog posts about Spudgy.

Spudgy likes: sitting on your lap, licking your hands or face, dental treats, attention, short walks through the park, being carried when he is tired, taking long and luxurious naps.

Spudgy does not like: being alone, being cold, being around large crowds of people, people he has known for less than five minutes, eating often, long walks through the park, being carried when he is hyper, fetching, obeying, complying.