New Year’s Resolutions
By Lee Hyo-won, Kwon Mee-yoo
Staff Reporters
The New Year has dawned, and it's now time to actually carry out those New Year's resolutions. Almost every list includes working toward a healthier, more active and productive lifestyle.
To start off 2008 with a healthy mind, body and soul, why not draw up a workout plan, take up a new hobby or learn a new language?
Meditate
For a peace of mind, visit
Seon Meditation Center
. Located in a beautiful hanok (traditional Korean house) in Insa-dong, central Seoul. Seon exclusively caters to foreigners.
Director Roar Sheppard, a San Francisco native, has been living in Korea for over 10 years. He is trained in ``doinbeop'' ― or the principles of harmony and nature, breathing and meditation that have been practiced in Korea for thousands of years.
Roar says the heart of meditation lies in emptying out your thoughts and emotions to relieve stress and achieve inner peace.
Classes begin 5 a.m., 9 a.m., 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. on weekdays and 5 a.m. and 11 a.m. on Saturdays. Free trial sessions are available on Saturdays.
The center is located in Korea's first tea and meditation cafe, and there are also classes in Korean. The cafe has a selection of herbal teas to complete the special treat for the mind and body. Call (02) 722-6653 for more information.
Exercise
Go break a sweat at the
gym
(called ``health'' or ``health club'' by Koreans). International fitness center chain California Wow has four gyms in Korea. It has a well-equipped gym for basic cardiovascular workouts and weight training. English-speaking personal trainers are available to fit your needs
.
The center also offers
Bikram yoga
classes in English. The 90-minute session takes place in a steaming studio set to 40 degrees Celcius. Invented by Indian yoga master Bikram Choudhury, the hot exercise is designed to heighten flexibility and release bodily ``toxins'' through sweat.
There are also Pilates and spinning programs only available in Korean. Call for more information: Myeong-dong (02-318-9999), Apgujeong-dong (02-2106-0999) and Gangnam (02-2018-7777) in Seoul and in Beomeo-dong, Daegu (053-740-5000). Visit www.californiawowx.co.kr/eng_club.asp (English). The prices, undisclosed, are on the high side.
Other convenient venues are hotel gyms: the Hamilton Hotel in Itaewon (www.hamilton.co.kr), Ramada Songdo in Incheon (www.ramada-songdo.co.kr) and JW Mariott Seoul in southern Seoul (www.jw-marriott.co.kr), among others.
Bike-riding
If you want to get some fresh air, why not go for a
bicycle ride
around the Han River? Among the numerous stores that rent out bikes, there are two that are open during this time of the year. They are both located in central Seoul: Yeouido, near exits 2 and 3 of Yeouinaru Station on subway line 5; and Ttukseom (near Seoul Forest), by exits 7 and 8 of Ttukseom Station on subway line 2.
Open 11 a.m.-5 p.m. It costs 3,000 won per hour for a one-person bicycle and 6,000 won for a two-person one. Various group discounts are available if you make reservations in advance online at www.bikeriver.co.kr (in Korean). You can also find a detailed map of the bike course around the Han River. For more information, call 011-9161-7675.
Other bike stores at Gangseo, Yanghwa, Banpo, Jamwon, Jamsil, Gwangnaru, Nanji, Mangwon and Ttukseom Resort will open beginning Feb. 28.
Dance Sports
Are ``Dancing with the Stars'' and ``So You Think You Can Dance'' your favorite TV shows? Then why don't you get up, stop watching the shows and start dancing this year?
Dance sports regards dance as a sport activity. There are five International style dances: Standard, Waltz, Tango, Viennese Waltz, Slow Foxtrot and Quickstep. Waltz is the basic of dance sports but you can start learning whatever dances you want. For more passionate people, there are Latin dances including Cha Cha, Samba, Rumba, Paso Doble and Jive.
Dance Pleasure
at Dunchon-dong, eastern Seoul, is one of the dance studios you can learn this energetic dance sports. Award-winning instructors Kim Sung-kil and Bak Jung-un will give private lessons and English and Japanese interpreters are available. Registration fee is 70,000 won per one hour. You can arrange the type of dance and class time in the way you want. For detailed information check out www.dancepleasure.co.kr or call (02) 476-3585.
If you prefer getting along with people, you can go to English speaking social dance studio
You Can Dance
Korea located near Itaewon Station on subway line 6. All instructors here are English speakers including Joseph Bizdel and Helen Kim. Beginners' salsa and tango classes are currently available. Swing classes start at 3:30 p.m. on Jan. 19 and cha cha classes start on Feb. 15. It costs 10,000 won for one session (45 minutes) and the membership can be bought in units of 10. Private lessons for couples are available as well (50,000 won for one session, two person). Free Latin practice party for members is at every Saturday night. Visit youcandancekorea.com or call (02) 749-3262 for schedules.
Learning Korean
If you've been living here for a while and are determined to get past ``survival Korean'' to master the language this year, there are several options available.
You can start off by visiting
KOSNET
(Korean Language Study on the Internet: www.kosnet.go.kr/eng/index.htm), which was developed under the National Institute for Education Development. Offered in English, Chinese and Japanese, KOSNET is designed to teach Korean to anyone around the world. You can download coursework and take part in interactive lessons.
But keep in mind that if you're in the country, the nippy weather is no excuse to keep you home.
The Korea Foundation Cultural Center
offers free language courses on a monthly basis. Any foreigner residing in Korea for more than three months can sign up a week before the beginning of each month. For February classes, you should sign up before Jan. 30.
Visit www.kfcenter.or.kr (English and Korean) for detailed information. There is also a library at the Cultural Center. Anyone residing in Korea for at least a month can become a member and borrow books on Korea.
There are also
private institutions
. Korean Language Education Culture Center (www.edukorean.com) and Ganada Korean Language Institution (www.ganadakorean.co.kr), both located in Seoul, offer courses on weekdays and weekends. The Korean classes are for not only English speakers, but Japanese and Chinese as well.
YBM Education, a major language school with numerous chains, also has classes for foreigners. Classes are usually small, in groups of 10 or less. Call to arrange a language proficiency test. February classes start Jan. 30. Call (02) 2278-0509 for the Jongno branch, northern Seoul, or (02) 354-0509 for the one in Yeoksam, southern Seoul.
But a good conversation or even a simple ``annyeonghaseyo'' (hello) on a day-to-day basis does the trick. Another fun way to learn Korean is by mixing in a bit of pleasure, like watching a DVD of a movie or drama starring your favorite Korean star. When you become familiar with the storyline, watch it without the English subtitles.
Taekwondo
Taekwondo is the national sport of South Korea. In Korean, ``tae'' means to destroy with the feet, ``kwon'' means to strike with the hand and ``do'' means way.
English Taekwondo
is a perfect place to learn this Korean traditional martial arts and culture together in New Year. Heo Sun-min, the instructor of ``English Taekwondo'' majored in Taekwondo in Kyung Hee University and fluent in English.
The taekwondo class is an hour per each session. Starting with warm-up stretching, the students will learn basic movements of taekwondo and kicking. After the class, there is a time for learning Korean language as well.
There are four children's classes a day, 2:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m., 3:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m., 5:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. For adults, there is a class at 9:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m. Visit www.etkd.co.kr or call (02) 956-0514 for more information and registration.