While technically not Casey in Korea any longer, it would be remiss of me not to have a final blog about Korea before finally signing off. It’s over a month now since we left Korea, and despite all the upheaval and stress associated with finding a place to rent in Dublin, moving in, and starting a new job, the memories of Korea still linger if feeling increasingly distant. Over time, I blogged less and less about Korea, partly because I had less to write about, partly because my life got busier, and partly because it had seemed to become a chore. This was especially evident in the last few frenetic months when I barely wrote at all. I wrote this on the BA flight from Shanghai to London, thinking that it could turn out to be my last time in East Asia, and accordingly a few emotions were running through my head.

The last six months in Korea were some of the best in my six years in Korea. It was a time when we moved to Itaewon and expanded our social circle; as is often the case you meet some great people when you are just about to leave somewhere. In hindsight we wished we had moved there earlier, but we reckoned that we didn’t need the hassle of moving in Korea when we would be moving so soon to Europe. That move didn’t materialise as soon as we had hoped.

I suppose the last six months were also enjoyable because we finally had a plan – after trying for a while, I had managed to find a job in Europe. We could then appreciate the positives of Korea and the lifestyle and culture it has to offer the expat, and dismiss the difficulties of living there because we knew they would soon be behind us. A lifestyle which we will miss of course but one that breeds complacency and mediocrity too. The negativity on our part about Korea has seeped away and that’s a good thing – I met too many expats in Korea who had become so embittered about the place that they could not find any redeeming aspect of living there. Thankfully I never got to that point. It’s better to have predominantly good memories of a place where I spent almost one sixth of my entire life.

Back in Ireland now still feels strange. Certainly Dublin has changed a lot for the better in the six years I’ve been away – infrastructurally I mean. I get lost driving around town; traffic flows have changed, new buildings have sprung up, and interchanges have been totally revamped. I notice the amount of cyclists commuting to work, the Luas is a welcome addition, and it’s much more multicultural (and a lot more multicultural than Seoul which is 10 times bigger). Dublin just looks much better and cleaner than Seoul - the people look better too. It’s less of a rat race.

Still, lots of things haven’t changed. Everything takes much longer here, the country panics over a few centimetres of snow, the ex-Taoiseach is given tax exemption for his autobiography, and the same old faces and voices are on TV and radio. Why are there so many talk shows in this country?

And of course the country is in the throes of a severe depression which funnily enough isn’t as apparent as when I was living outside Ireland and following the news more closely. I notice people are still in denial about the economy and living in a bubble - it’s difficult to convey to people who haven’t lived outside Ireland how high a standard of living they enjoy here and that it’s not really sustainable based on the wealth we generate at the moment. We’d be bankrupt by now only for the fact that we’re in the EU.

It is nice though to know that there are plenty of ex Korean expat friends living here who share that bond of knowing ‘what it was like’ and with whom we can reminisce about Korean quirkiness and late night revelry in Cheonan, Seoul and beyond. Time though to close that chapter and open a new one..

Back in Ireland now and everything is a bit hectic. Haven't posted here much recently, but I do intend to write up a final entry about Korea soon and wrap up this website..

On the home stretch now.. 4 days to go til we leave Korea. The last week/ 10 days was originally meant to be a wind-down week, but it hasn't turned out like that. There's just so much to do. Had our leaving do at the weekend... will post photos soon..

It may be the morning after the night before back home, but here in Korea it's still the same day. Kind of a surreal day at that. Getting up at 4.30 to traipse to a bar to watch France v Ireland in the sub-zero temperatures, becoming engrossed in the match, having Barrack Obama literally drive past the bar at dawn just before extra time started, the agony of the manner of the exit, composing myself to get into work and meet my boss for lunch, and getting through the rest of the day.

Henry is getting a lot of stick. There's a culture of cheating in soccer that is prevalent among most top players. Henry, Drogba, going back to the time of Klinsmann, Voeller et al. Contrast soccer to golf where the culture is the opposite. Players call fouls on themselves wherever applicable and are very concious of the importance of abiding by the rules. Duff or Keane would have done the same if they were in the same boat. Roy Keane even got booked for diving in the area a few times. England have many divers of course; Gerrard for example has not been unknown to dive at the sniff of a penalty. FIFA should make an example of Henry and hit him hard with a suspension or something to set a precedent and deter other players from trying the same.

I'm sure Henry's reputation will be tarnished forever in the eyes of some. It's a pity for him as one of the great players of the modern era. You would hope that Irish people won't be resurrecting his indiscretion 20 years from now at every opportunity.

Continuing the series of my top 10s, below are 10 things I like about living in Korea and that I will miss.

1. Korean food, drink and the cheap communal dining culture – for a long time I ate out nearly every night.

2. Public transport – even though a functioning public transport system in a country of 48 million is essential, it is still clean, cheap and user friendly.

3. Koreans have a very healthy attitude towards religion – they don’t take it nearly as seriously as other peoples and it’s not a divisive issue. It’s not uncommon for people to switch religions at a whim or for families to have multiple religions.

4. The energy in the big cities and street markets. Always somewhere to go, haggling for bargains and everything imaginable for sale.

5. The weather - apart from the monsoon and a few humid weeks in high summer, it's generally dry, sunny and settled.

6. Lack of pretentiousness and cynicism among Koreans – it’s a relatively classless society.

7. The work ethic of Koreans and their striving to always better themselves.

8. The unpredictability of life here – you're never sure what will happen when you leave your front door.

9. Korea is a safe country and the people are generally pacifist – I don’t feel intimidated or threatened anywhere I walk anytime of the day or night.

10. The Korean mountains and temples – oases amongst the concrete jungles.

Interesting article in The Korean Times today about a new list of Korean people deemed collaborators during the period of Japanese rule between 1910 and 1945. A former Korean president (actually military dictator) among others was included in this contentious and subjective list. Apparently the Korean government wants to "reveal the truth" about Korean history. Not sure that the publication of this list will do much good except reopen old scars. Korean-Japanese relations are still extremely raw.

Continuing on from the subject of yesterday's post, I read somewhere where Jack O'Connor of SIPTU was described as Whacko Jacko. I've become somewhat more of a current affairs junkie lately than normal, but then we are not living in normal times. I watched him on Pat Kenny's show last night and he certainly didn't do his cause any favours. Rambling, obfuscating, and blathering are the verbs that come to mind. While I'd still like to think of myself as leaning to the left on the political scale these days, and I'm not an economist, it seems to me that the arguments put forward by the unions and the likes of Fintan O'Toole and Vincent Browne don't hold much ground any more. The realization hasn't dawned that it's not nearly as much an ideological and/or moral choice between cuts and taxes as a choice between saving cash and national bankruptcy. Watch the show though for an illuminating spat between Pat and Jack about trophy homes.

The Front Line