I am a Canadian (Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia) who has been living in Korea since 2002. I’ve been married since 2009 and have a “daughter,” cat Eva, adopted in the same year. I currently teach English Conversation at Hanshin University in Osan (since 2014), after having previously taught at Namseoul University for seven years. My wife and I also run private English classes in our home, an operation begun in 2012. Both jobs offer different challenges, and they are both very rewarding and enjoyable for various reasons.

After graduating with a B.A. in Psychology from St. Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, I took an opportunity to teach English in South Korea at a children’s “hagwon,” a private English academy such as what abound in every urban or suburban area in Korea, big or small. Of course, a Psych degree doesn’t really set one off flying in a job market, and I didn’t have any leads or ideas. So at 23, I saw this as an opportunity to see something different for a year while on my own to experience and evaluate my life absent the same and only culture, environment, attitudes, and expectations I’d ever known. I would be making money instead of bleeding it at home while gaining real-life, real-world work experience. I could return with new perspective, new experience, and hopefully an idea of my next move. My story goes then like many others who have come to Korea for a “one-year” contract: They never leave. While I did bounce back and forth throughout a couple stints over the early years, I have lived here permanently since 2006.

I sweepingly understate that there is much to say about the greater part of my twenties and thirties, and from many perspectives, but I’m delimiting the purpose here to a very brief intro about my general path and current work, as to give some small biographical context for who you’re reading. But as to the “who,” that can really be found in what is presented on the site. Over time, much information regarding life in Korea, my own intellectual and career development, and other corollary information will arise. In the meantime, if you have any direct interest in a particular aspect of anything indicated here or in any other post, I invite you to email me at matthew.asknow@gmail.com.