Travels with Kimchi

This book will give you a lighthearted view of an American who cannot speak or read any Korean but chooses to travel to volunteer and teach English for one month in the city of Gwangju in South Korea. The author returned the following year to volunteer in Seoul, at the Jogyesa Temple. This temple is the headquarters for the largest order of Korean Buddhism, the Jogye Order. Along with her struggles over the language, culture, and lifestyle, the author includes her findings on the achievements of today's South Korea.

As soon as I stepped off the airplane, I realized I was not home anymore. "English? English?" I spoke to anyone who passed by me. What have I gotten myself into on this trip? I stared desperately into the blank faces that watched me while I walked, chattering to myself. I decided that I would not have a Hangeul enlightenment and suddenly be able to read the unfamiliar cryptic lines, curves on all the walls, symbols, and doorways. (It is also spelled Hangul or Han'gl, in an alphabetic system used for writing the Korean language. Hangeul means great script in Korean. 'Han' means great, and 'geul' means script.)