My journey to the land of the Red Devils (aka the ROK)

I’m a fan of biography, of small tales from ordinary lives. One day, when I’m retired, I’d like to try my hand at writing biography. In the meantime, I thought I’d practice by telling tales from my life, starting with my time in the land of the Red Devils, the so-called Hermit Kingdom, the ROK  — more commonly known as South Korea.

About a decade ago, I went to Korea to teach English. I re-upped for a second contract, a total of two and a half years. When I came home for a visit, I completely...