Joel: It's Sunday evening and I've developed that vague sense of dread that comes when you're a school kid about to start a new term. I haven't worked a full day now since December so the week ahead seems a little daunting. Not that it's going to be too difficult to get through. I think I've just got a bit (more) lazy over the past five weeks.

Tomorrow morning I'm going to tell Bo-Hyun that we're planning to leave at the end of our contracts. Best to get it out of the way I'm thinking and tell the school before they ask. Our plan for the year has now become a little firmer. We're still waiting to hear about the four month contracts in Thailand but we've applied for another similar scheme and have decided that if neither come off we're going to head there anyway and find jobs when we get there. But that's a last resort. The plan became pretty final yesterday when we handed over the cash in "Bandi and Luni's" bookshop and walked out with the Thailand "Lonely Planet".

One plan that won't be followed through though is the marathon. The dream is over - we've pulled out. I think I hit the treadmill a bit hard after Luke left and developed a dodgy knee. I've now not been able to run for two weeks and with only six to go till marathon day I think it's a bit much to ask of myself. We're both a bit relieved actually that the pressure is now off. We commiserated ourselves this weekend by getting through a few bottles of white wine. So it's not all bad. Also, on the plus side, we'll be having some more guests. Neal and Lyndsey will be heading over at the end of March and I've just had confirmation that Simon and Rachel have booked flights to come here mid-March. So the Johnson-Cartwrights followed by the Foulds-Parrys hey? Simon has already suggested that I get a fumigater in between the visits. We can't wait to see all four of them. It's going to be an action packed month.

Yesterday, we went to Seodaemun Prison in the north of the city. It was built by the Japanese around the turn of the century to house and torture the leaders of the Korean resistance to the Japanese occupation. It's now a kind of museum and tribute to the "patriotic ancestors" of Korea. It was pretty harrowing to read about and walk around a place where so many barbaric things have taken place. To add to the uneasiness, it was a cold, miserable, grey day and by the end we were both pretty glad to leave. Rakhi swears she could smell the death up by the execution building. One thing that stood out for me was that among the few people who were visiting there were quite a few fathers with very young children (I'm guessing aged 6 or 7), making them watch grusome re-enactments of Japanese guards torturing young women and such-like. It was as though they intended for their children to begin to detest the Japanese as early as possible in order to keep their own hatred alive. There were scrawings on some of the cell walls demanding "never forgive" and asking "when will they be made to pay?" Clearly, feelings are still very strong, but it raises the lots of questions. What purpose does maintaining this long-held hatred serve? When is it time to consign such feelings to history and move on? I think it's now. But I'm sure it's not going to happen anytime soon.

Today, we walked out into the countyside behind Rakhi's school and climbed a hill. On the way up discovered a number of outdoor badminton courts that we'll definitely return to and at the top we found a couple of little pavillions with tables and chairs and great view over Yeokgok. A perfect place for a spring picnic I think. And a great place to take our springtime guests.