Today was my first "real" day of in-classroom teaching, in my new job. I think it went really well. The kids, as always, are fun and provide me with a lot of positive energy, and I think I managed not to do too badly with the co-teaching arrangement (with a Korean teacher either leading – in regular classes – or assisting/observing – in afternoon classes) that I've never had to work with before. It makes one feel a little bit self-conscious about one's teaching ability.
After work, I walked over to the 농협 (nonghyeop) supermarket and bought some more extensive food items, including a 10 liter bag of rice and a liter of red-pepper powder. These are basics. Nonghyeop is a sort of company that seems to resemble a weird hybrid between an agricultural conglomerate, a rural credit union, and an American-style co-op grocery store. I believe (but I'm not certain) that it is either wholly government owned or at least regulated/controlled by the government to some degree – it's there to provide higher quality shopping and agricultural supply and services than could otherwise be found in backwater Korean towns.
Anyway, I took my purchases home and made a real dinner of kimchibokkeumbap (my current craving) for myself, with a stir fry of rice, kimchi, onions and garlic, red pepper, and some left over tofu that I had. It was delicious – although I'm not difficult to please in that department.