2019 marks the fifth year that Kris and I have been in Korea. In that time, we’ve made innumerable memories (some of which I’ve been studious enough to record here) and a host of lifelong friends. I can wax lyrical about how we’ve made our own home, about how our teaching jobs have improved with every changed contract, or about how easy it is to be comfortable in Korea. However, were it not for ROK-U, we’d have almost certainly left Korea after our first contract.
For new readers to this blog, ROK-U is a social Ultimate Frisbee league that happens in the autumn (no, Americans, it is not fall) and spring of each year. Basically, people who love throwing pieces of plastic at each other gather for four or five weekends, throw plastic at each other, socialize, and generally have a great time.
2015 was, without a doubt, the most difficult year in Korea for Kris and I. Our first contract had the longest hours and we had almost no friends in our town. Kris was even accused of child abuse our first month of teaching. Our daily routine involved getting up, going to work, coming home, and playing video games until we fell asleep. On weekends, when we weren’t travelling, we were by ourselves in our apartment. Our calendar was far less full. We were enjoying the new experiences around us, but something was missing.
Then, six months into our stay, we played our first season of ROK-U. Our team only won one game the entire season, but that didn’t matter at all. We had found the ROK-U community. I had played sports growing up, from school to club hockey, and I had always socialized within my team. With ROK-U, you get to know as much of the league as you want to. ROK-U is far more than just a group of sports teams gathering to sports against each other to see who is better at sportsing. If you want it to be, it truly is a family that will welcome you and make however long you spend in Korea a much better time. Most of Kris’ and my strongest friendships come from the ROK-U community, and the wider Ultimate community we found by branching out from it.
We may have played Seoul League first, but ROK-U proved to be exactly what we wanted from an Ultimate league in Korea. The balance between enthusiastic games and making friends in the community is almost perfect. Everything can be improved, but we have never regretted signing up for a season of ROK-U.
If you’re in Korea and interested in signing up for the Autumn 2019 season, all the information you need is here. I cannot recommend it more highly. It might be a fun activity for a few weekends. It might just be what holds you together when you truly need it.