Poor Sejin

I just received a call from Sejin, who is in a Seoul hospital since yesterday. After work he was getting off the bus near our home in Uijeongbu and the bus driver took off too soon, sending him flying, and then running over his ankle. His ankle and foot were crushed. He was transferred to a bigger hospital in Seoul where he had surgery last night. He expects to be in the hospital for at least another two weeks, and won't be able to walk on it for three to four weeks. Realistically, it looks like full recovery will take months.

Poor Sejin. He is feeling very down right now, as he was just getting going at his new job. After the accident, his boss called him and was only concerned about whether she should hire a new teacher or not. No words of sympathy for him.

Road safety is a big problem in Korea, which is why I don't drive. But as you can see, taking public transportation is no guarantee of safety, either. I think the subway is the safest way to go, but it is sometimes not the most direct route, which is why buses are handy. But anyone who has taken the bus before knows that it is not a smooth ride, the drivers are impatient, and there is lots of pushing and shoving. I was on a bus once when the driver slammed on the breaks to avoid hitting someone, but everyone on the bus fell down. I was lucky to have had a seat. A teenage boy standing a the front of the bus banged his head on the metal bar near the driver and was down for a while. Crazy city.

Anyway, if you know Sejin and want to drop him a "cheer up" email, do so at josejin at hotmail dot com