here we are

We live in a pretty well off area of Seoul called MokDong. In this five mile radius there are tons of apartment buildings and private academies for various skills such as English, math, or science. There's also a giant hyundai department store as well as other places to by everything you could possibly need in a department store/walmart type setting (as opposed to bargaining with street vendors, though there are plenty of those as well).
this is our apartment.




and our view



Notably in this area there is the German Korean Institute of technology, a hospital and medical research center, and a really nice park.
The school franchise that we work for is called Poly School. They have an amazing reputation throughout Seoul because their mission was to help kids that had gained English skills by living in an English speaking country retain those skills here in Korea. Once Korean mother's caught on that this was the place where native English speakers were teaching high-level fluency children, the fire was lit and nothing could stop them from sending their own children to Poly (be it fee or proximity).
Korean mothers are apparently quite the force as far as schools are concerned. If children from my school have less than about an hour and a half of homework they will call to complain. But if they have more than two hours they'll call to complain as well. If Korean mothers become aware of anything that will give their child an edge they will launch a phone campaign to make it happen. They are relentless and very demanding. Luckily, i don't have to deal with Korean mothers unless its specifically requested, and even then i wouldn't take them on alone, i'd have a mediator such as the school director.
They keep us in check, and their dedication to the success of their children is pretty amazing.
However
even in this area they are not immune from the Korean fancy for funny signs





and my personal favorite



enjoy!