삼일 운동

(Disclaimer: I apologize in advance if this entry sounds a little like a history text book. I tried not to make it too dry, but this is how it came out. What can you expect from a former history teacher?? Matt has already reported me to the International Bureau of Blogging.)

Today is March 1st, a Korean holiday called 삼일 운동 (Samil Undong). The name literally translates to Three One Movement. It is a day in recognition of a massive popular uprising against Japanese occupation that occurred on March 1st, 1919, hence the name. It's not a major holiday, but I do get a day off work.

March 1st also marks a turning point in the year for Korean schools, because March 2nd is the beginning of the new school year. So tomorrow is the day when Korean students move up a grade and get new classes and new teachers. My school also begins a new term, meaning I will start all new classes with lots of new kids. Fortunately, I get to keep some of my old favorites, but unfortunately the total number on my roster has doubled due to increased enrollment. I can't complain too much though, because I still have far fewer than I ever could have dreamed of having as a public school teacher in the States, plus I still have all classes of 6 or less. And I am excited about starting over, because I really do enjoy new beginnings.

I originally planned to use my mid-week day off to visit a cool place in the city that I haven't seen, but the reality of finishing Intensive Session and report cards sunk in last night and I wisely decided to dedicate the day to more domestic activities. Roughly translated, that means I am lazing around my apartment today, writing, reading, doing laundry and watching DVDs. And the only thing getting in the way of my enjoying my lazy day is the fact that I was hit with a nasty little cold bug late last night, and I feel pretty lousy right now. But I guess if I was destined to get sick one more time this winter, I should be glad it hit when I had a day to recover a bit before going back to work.

I also took some time to learn a bit more about the history of the March 1st Movement, and was once again reminded about one of the reasons history is so endlessly fascinating to me -- virtually everything is connected in some way. Nothing happens in isolation, and it is the process of understanding how individual events and people affect each other that is so cool to learn about. This is something I didn't fully appreciate until I began to teach history, perhaps because my teachers were not successful at making me aware, or perhaps because I just never knew enough to see the connections. But the connections are everywhere, as I confirmed again this morning. Allow me to geek out for awhile.

The March 1st Movement was not, as I originally thought, an isolated incident that sprang up solely within the confines of Korean/Japanese history. Rather, it was inspired by the larger picture of world politics that prevailed post-WWI.

In 1919, Korea had been under Japanese colonial rule for about 9 years. The peninsula had been annexed in 1910, since which the Japanese had been carrying out the goal of eliminating or integrating the Korean people and culture into Japan. Simply put, Korea was treated as a colony that existed purely for the benefit of Japan, and the Korean people were subjected to years of repression and atrocities. Or even more simply put, Korea became Japan's bitch, and saying that this was not a pleasant experience for the Korean people would be like saying that Hitler wasn't too fond of the Jews. Even though Korea has now been independent for about 50 years, the animosity towards the Japanese runs deep in the veins of the people, for good reason.

The March 1st Movement was one of the earliest displays of Korean nationalism, and was prompted by two things. One was the recent death of former Emperor Gojong, who was believed to have been poisoned by the Japanese leaders. His death marked an end to the Joson Dynasty and blotted out the last remaining hopes that Korea could be independent. The second was President Woodrow Wilson's 14 Points Proclamation at the Paris Peace Conference after WWI. And yes, this is where the cool connections come in.

Wilson's 14 Points contained, among many other ideas, a belief in the rights of independence for the many groups of people that were suffering under foreign rule. As a result of this, Wilson was seen by people the world over as the 'great idealist,' boldly pushing for the rights of the oppressed and the creation of a post-WWI political order aimed at preventing further conflict. Whether his lofty intentions were motivated by true regard for human rights and world peace, or by carefully calculated selfish political goals is up for debate in the pages of history. Either way though, he was fighting an uphill battle in negotiating with a bunch of nations that were out to get revenge or hang on to their own empires. In the end, Wilson's idealistic 14 Points were put through the ringer at the Paris Peace Conference and then left out to dry. His principle of sovereignty for colonized peoples was very selectively applied, no doubt due to the complicated wheelings and dealings of many power hungry nations trying to push their own agendas. And Wilson, being the crafty political player that he was, had to watch out for his own interests. For all his idealism, I am sure he was not stupid enough to anger multiple powerful allies by insisting that they give up their colonial claims. So I guess he took what he could get.

The resulting Treaty of Versailles did NOT give full independence to everyone who wanted and deserved it. It dashed the hopes of millions of people worldwide who had been riding on the hope that Wilson was the savior who would finally bring them their freedom. Among them were India, Tibet, Persia, Libya, Morocco, Vietnam, Iraq, Syria, Palestine, Jordan, and or course, Korea. This was only one of many faults in the treaty, and the feelings of anger and betrayal that resulted for so many nations did not go away. To a certain degree, people all over the world are still paying for the mistakes made after WWI. A shocking number of the global conflicts that have happened since are an outgrowth of this Treaty, including WWII and the current standoff between Arab and Western Nations.

But the history nerd in me is diverging from my original intent! (This is what happens when you make me teach ESL to little kids for too long.) I am supposed to be talking about Korea.

Somewhere in the time between the original announcement of Wilson's 14 points and the actual creation of the Treaty of Versailles came the March 1st Movement in Korea. Bolstered by the hopes of US-supported independence, a group of Korean students in Tokyo had published a statement demanding independence for Korea. On March 1st, 1919, the student leaders read the Declaration of Independence at the Taehwagwan restaurant. The were quickly arrested, but their actions had inspired millions of people. The Declaration was read all over the nation to fired-up crowds, as students, patriots and Christians joined in the fight. Per the request of original students, the demonstrations and marches were intended to be peaceful, but the reactions of the Japanese were far from it.

The Japanese authorities crushed the movement with brutal force, committing countless atrocities that make it easy to understand why there is still so much hatred in the hearts of the Korean people. Christian leaders were nailed to crosses and left to slowly die, people of all ages were beheaded (a 'favorite' sport of the Japanese during the occupation), and churches were filled with people, blockaded and then burned. According to reports by the Yon-Hap news agency, "…more than 7,500 demonstrators were killed and about 16,000 wounded. Some 47,000 others were arrested by the Japanese police." (The Japanese official numbers are significantly lower that the Korean estimates, not surprisingly. Japan does not have the greatest track record when it comes to owning up to past actions.)

After the movement, international response was practically non-existent. Japan was far too powerful a player for the other nations of the world to come to the aid of the Koreans. Within Korea, the lesson learned from this was that they could not count on outside help to free them. The battle for independence was theirs alone.

Ironically, it was outside help that eventually freed Korea from Japanese rule in 1945, when the US's bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki forced Japan to surrender to the Allies. And this time, Korea was given its independence. But these outside forces did not defeat Japan because they were concerned about Korea. They did it because Japan's expansion had started to threaten their own economic interests in Asia. And not long after the dust had settled from the celebrations, Korea again became a pawn the power struggles of other nations. This time it was the US and the Soviet Union, and although independence was not lost again, the country instead experienced a devastating civil war and a division that exists to this day.

Does Korea have a right to be bitter about what has happened to it throughout history? I think so. But while Koreans have a very strong nationalistic fighting spirit, I have not found them to have near the desire for revenge that might be expected. Instead, they seem to be more concerned with becoming a strong nation that is able to stand on equal footing with the rest of the world. I also saw this reflected in the text of the Korean Declaration of Independence:

"We have no wish to find special fault with Japan's lack of fairness or her contempt of our civilization and the principles on which her state rests; we, who have greater cause to reprimand ourselves, need not spend precious time in finding fault with others; neither need we, who require so urgently to build for the future, spend useless hours over what is past and gone. Our urgent need today is the settling up of this house or ours and not a discussion of who has broken it down, or what has caused its ruin. Our work is to clear the future of defeats in accord with the earnest dictates of conscience. Let us not be filled with bitterness or resentment over past agonies or past occasions for anger."

If only that attitude prevailed in all people, I think the world world would not be so full of hatred and fighting. Instead of focusing on getting back at the nations that have hurt them, South Korea has put its full effort into strengthening itself culturally and economically. And they have largely succeeded in this effort, going from being one of the world's poorest nations to the world's 13th largest economy in less than 50 years. It is actually referred to as The Korean Miracle by many economists, and it is predicted that Korea will emerge as one of the most important players both in Asia and the rest of the world.

So aren't you glad you know a little bit about it?

For a full text of the Korean Declaration of Independence, see http://www.kimsoft.com/2004/samil-declaration.htm

Camel Toads

I love naive and over paranoid people, they are so amusing.

The Soundtrack of My Apartment

I woke up this morning about 10 and noticed the most bizarre thing -- absolute silence. No noise inside, no noise outside. It was so out of the ordinary that I started to wonder if something was wrong. Was my hearing gone? Had the government told everyone to stay inside? Was there something horrible going on that I didn't know about?

You see, it is usually noisy here. Very noisy. I live in what would normally be considered a quiet neighborhood by Seoul standards, but since I am about a quarter block away from an elementary school sports field, I almost never experience quiet. Furthermore, I am on the first floor of my apartment, and the stairs are right outside my door. So it is a rare moment when I cannot hear ANYTHING.

I guess you can say that I was spoiled by growing up in a calm suburban neighborhood. There was the occasional lawn mower, car alarm, or barking dog, but for the most part it was pretty quiet. I remember my dad, who loves to take afternoon naps on the weekend, seemed to be cursed by always having neighbors who chose to bust out the leaf blower right as he started to doze off. It's always driven him crazy, because he absolutely can't sleep with noise. If he lived in Seoul, he would go nuts. It makes me nuts sometimes too, but I have pretty much learned to deal with the noise that comes along with living in the city.

I like to call it the "soundtrack of my apartment." The shouting of children is the most pleasant noise. Then there are the soccer games, which I also don't mind. Various teams use the field on the weekends and early weekday mornings before school starts, so I usually wake to the sounds of players yelling and whistles blowing. Someone nearby also has a rooster that crows at all hours of the day, a sound which I actually enjoy because it lets me escape into my fantasy world where I am living in the countryside instead of the city.

The rest of the noises, unfortunately, are not quite as charming. There are the cars and motor scooters of course. People talking as the walk by, neighbors chipping ice off the sidewalk. Then there are the cats. This neighborhood has tons of strays, so there are always loud bawling cat fights and "mating songs," which can be excruciating to listen to. I mean these cats really get going, sounding like someone is slowly gauging out their eye balls while yanking out their claws one by one. I'm a cat lover, but this sound makes me want to find a pellet gun and go kitty hunting, especially when it wakes me up at night.

Then there are the vendors. They walk or drive around with loudspeakers, repeating their rhythmic calls of "Buy my stuff! My stuff is good! Buy my stuff!" Over and over and over again. Except in Korean of course. They sell everything from fruits and veggies to computer parts. I even saw a truck selling nothing but socks once. I am listening to one as I write this, and I am very proud to say that I actually can identify two of the things he is selling because I made an effort to learn a lot of food words in Korean -- hobak, which is squash, and koguma, which is sweet potato. Somehow though, the noise of these vendors if far more irritating when I can understand what they are saying.

Let's see, what else? Oh yeah, the spitting. This is my least favorite noise, and as long as I am here I will never, ever get used to it. You see, Korean men smoke a lot. So they always have nasty gunk in their throats, which they expel very loudly ever few minutes. You know the sound, the one that is considered rude and disgusting in Western culture. Hocking up a huge wad of phlegm and spitting it out. Yeah, that sound. It is everywhere here, and I grosses me out every time I hear it. I have a neighbor who stands right outside and smokes and spits all the time. And its so loud that it's like he is standing in my apartment doing it. Its nasty, and apologize if I have grossed anyone out by writing about it.

My other neighbors aren't all that quiet either. There is the occasion yelling fight or noisy lovemaking, but mostly it's just loud talking. There is a woman and a man that always seem to be standing right outside my door having discussions at top volume, usually at 3 or 4 am. And since the stairs are literally RIGHT outside my door, I always hear people going up and down, up and down. They are tiles stairs, and the women in Korea all wear shoes with very loud clicky heels, and they stomp and run up and down these stairs all day. The morning rush is the worst, when everyone is going to work and I am still sleeping since I work in the afternoon. It sounds like elephants wearing high heels are escaping from a zoo upstairs.

Then there are the musical doorbells. The apartments here don't have the simple "ding-dong" bell. Instead, they have tapes that play very loud little tunes that last for 10 seconds or so. Really catchy things like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star or It's a Small World. What I don't understand is why such tiny apartments need to have such loud doorbells. Can't we just knock? It's not like you are going to be in back room where you can't hear it. So every time someone gets their bell rung, the entire apartment hears it.

The people in the apartment next to me also have one of those electronic locks that beeps a whole lot every time they go in and out. And the people above me are constantly dropping what sounds like a golf ball on their floor. Or something hard that bounces just a few times. For the life of me I cannot figure out what the heck it is, but I hear it everyday.

So that should explain why the idea of waking up to absolute silence was so eerie for me. I guess I can say that I have somewhat gotten used to the noise, although it still irks me now and again. And I know that I will never, ever, take a quiet neighborhood for granted again.

Michael Jackson is hitting on me!

I got a message on Skype (my chat/call program) tonight saying "Michael Jackson would like to add you to his contacts." Of course I accepted.

Did you know that Michael Jackson lives in Southern China?!? I'm chatting with him right now. He is studying business admin, but he doesn't like it. He wants to know how old I am and if I am married. Now he is asking me what I think of marriage. I am waiting for the photo request.

Sype is cool, by the way. Let me put in a blatant plug for it. It is a free program that allows you to call anywhere in the world for about 3 euro cents a minute. And if the other person has Skype, you can talk for free via the computer. All you need is a headset. And chatting is free also. The only weird thing is the occasional message from random people in various countries. I usually decline them, but I couldn't say no to Michael Jackson.

Live is just plugging along for me right now. (That was the second time I used the word "plug" in one blog, what does that mean?) Intensive session is over next week, so I no longer have to get up early and work long days. Very happy about that, obviously. Although I have been quite enjoying the intensive class I've had for the past 2 weeks -- its a one-on-one with a high level student. One-on-one can be hell with the wrong student, but the girl I have is great. We basically read and discuss. We talk about literature, culture, history, music, movies, you name it. I think I have learned just as much from her as she does from me, if not more! That is one of the greatest things about teaching -- you learn so much, everyday. I love that part of it.

Wow, check out what Michael Jackson just said to me:

"do u have some babies? by the way"
followed by
"u must be beatiful"
When I responded that I had no babies, he asked me:
"when did u start r family"
Then:
"let us talk about Michael Jackson"

So now I am talking about Michael Jackson with Michael Jackson.
He gets mad if I don't respond instantly. He is a little weird.





Crap, now he is calling me.


I did not answer. I hope I have not offended Michael Jackson.

This weekend could turn out to be a lot of fun, or nothing exciting, depending on how plans pan out. Friday night will likely be another clubbing night, and on Sunday Steven, myself, and our Peruvian friend Walter might go hiking. That should be a good chance to practice my Spanish. After dealing with constant frustration from not speaking Korean, it will be enjoyable to use a foreign language that I actually know!

I had to get rid of Michael Jackson, he was starting to get weird. "Starting?!?" you say...

And one more cute photo I must share. My young girls occassionally cannot resist the urge to braid my hair, and who can say no to children playing with your hair??? I sure can't. So we play beauty parlor. This is Sally and Jenny, two of my sweetest kids.

I love my job :-)

Phone Junkies

While searching for an article to read with my class, I came across this, and thought I'd share it.

Korea Becoming a Nation of Phone Junkies
Addicted teens suffer stress and hallucinations, mobile phone research finds
Simon Burns, vnunet.com 06 Dec 2005

South Korean teenagers are so attached to their mobile phones that some researchers are classifying them as 'addicts', according to recent reports.

Almost a third are obsessed with their phones to the point that they sometimes imagine hearing them ringing when they are not.

Forty per cent send over 1,000 text messages every month, and a similar percentage of students say they habitually send or receive text messages or play games during classes.

These and other findings are contained in a survey of 1,100 mobile phone users, aged 14 to 19, which was carried out last month by Korea's Far East University on behalf of the country's Ministry of Communication.

According to the survey, a fifth refused to be parted from their phones even while bathing.

Mobile games, played by 40 per cent of Koreans, are also causing concern. One 22 year-old university student told a local newspaper that he played games on his phone three to four hours a day and that during classes he and many of his classmates sat at the back of the class surreptitiously playing.

Another said that he kept one phone for calls, and one for games. A 27-year-old office worker interviewed said that he sneaked into the office toilets to play mobile games four or five times a day. Photo by Matt Campagna www.projectseoul.com

A third of the survey respondents reported auditory hallucinations, for example 'hearing' their phone ringing when it is not. "Even though I set my cellphone to vibrate when calls come in, I sometimes hear my phone ringing," a female high-school student told the JoongAng Daily.

Young people in South Korea are among the most wired in the world. Almost 80 per cent of the country's 48 million people have mobile phones, according to Jong In Yang, an analyst with Korea Investment and Securities.

Among teenagers, owning a mobile phone is seen as essential to having a normal social life; mobile device ownership is heavily concentrated in the hands of the under-40s, earlier research has shown.

Korea's mobile phone service providers will generate approximately $18bn in earnings this year, according to Hyundai Securities.

Although about 150,000 new users are still being added every month, the youth market is close to saturation. As a result mobile phone service operators are trying to lure customers with low-cost games, messaging and other services, and trying to increase revenues from existing users by encouraging them to use their phones more.

A separate, larger survey earlier this year classified more than a third of South Korean high-school students as mobile phone addicts. A quarter of middle-school students also qualified. That survey, by Korean research organisation Marketing Insights, questioned 9,800 mobile phone users.

The so-called addicts' behaviour included feelings of insecurity or irritation when they were unable to use their phones, and a compulsion to leave their phones switched on in cinemas and similar environments. The behaviour tended to be about 20 per cent more common in women than in men, the survey found.

Educational authorities in Seoul now hand out leaflets to students of all ages explaining how to use mobile phones sensibly and politely.

High school student Kim So-hee leads a student group campaigning for one voluntary phone free day each month.

"Now that I am less obsessed with mobile phones, I can spend more time talking with my mother face-to-face and writing letters by hand to my friends instead of sending messages," So-hee said.

****
The first reaction of anyone who has spent any amount of time here is likely to be, "What do you mean, becoming?" They already ARE.

Cell phones, or 'handphones' as they are called, are absolutely pervasive here in Seoul. Virtually everyone has them. I mean, the 5 year old kid to the 80 year old grandma. And everyone is always using them, to call, send text messages, play games, surf the net, you name it. The handphone is ubiquitous in Korea. As the article said, almost 80% of the people here have them. That's huge, especially for a country that was dirt poor less than 50 years ago.

As for the freakish addict behavior like taking the phone into the shower or sneaking off to play games for hours on end, I haven't seen any of it. But I have had students whose parents call them in the middle of class, just to check up on them. And I have been recruited by a coworker to help her analyze a fight she had with a boyfriend that happened entirely by TEXT MESSAGE.

So why the obsession with the handphone? My theory is that it boils down to three things: ease of communication, entertainment, personal expression. The most obvious thing is that the handphone is a way for people to communicate more easily, which increases feelings of being connected with their friends and family. And being connected gives a feeling of being accepted. People are social creatures, and this is just one of the coolest and simplest ways available to socialize and conduct daily interactions. Text messaging, for example, is for teenagers today what note passing was to my generation. And for adults, its an awfully convenient way to tell your friend that you are running 15 minutes late.

And what do you do when you are running late, waiting on a boring subway train? Here emerges another appeal of the handphone -- it is a great way to entertain yourself. This was not so much the case in the US, where public transportation isn't used my most people. But the average Korean spends a great deal of time on the subway or the bus, and that means a lot of downtime where the phone really comes in handy. Games are one thing; you can also send text messages or call someone to chat to pass the time. Many phones now have a built in camera, internet access, and most recently, TV reception. My phone allows me to design "Avatars," little animated characters using mix and match outfits and hairdos. Whoever had the phone before me (its used) created some pretty lame little people, so I am slowly working on building up my own entourage of groovey dudes and dudettes. As if having hip animated characters in my phone somehow made me cooler....

But as silly as it sounds, creating your own little phone buddies is more than just entertainment -- it is a form of expression. This I think is one of the most important things to understand about the popularity of handphones in Korea, especially when it comes to teens. A person's handphone is simply another vehicle for them to distinguish themself from everyone else. Just like the car in America, it is an extension of the personality and a great way to convey an image. The model and color you chose (or can afford) is the first thing. Of course, the newer and more expensive, the better. Next is the way you accessorize your phone -- most people here have some small trinket that dangles from the antenna, much like a key chain. There are neckstraps and cases in endless designs and colors. There are even mini-purses that are made to carry ONLY the phone.

Photo by Matt Campagna www.projectseoul.com
Then, of course, there is the ringtone. The ringtone you select is very important. Most phones come with several dozen to chose from, but you can also download popular songs from the internet for very cheap. I remember this was very popular in the states as well. You can get the popular song of the moment, nostalgic classics, TV theme music, sound effects you name it. You can program the phone so that different songs play for different people -- my favorite was my friend whose phone played the Jaws theme whenever his mom called. You can also download animated graphics to play when a call comes in, and you can program different graphics for different people. My phone has various animals that show up when various people call. So in a sense, the phone not only offers a way to express yourself, but also a way to express how you feel about those who call you.

So in spite of what you think of them, handphones are not going anywhere for the time being. Especially not in Korea. I think if it was possible to have the phone surgically attached to the hand, people here would be all over it. You laugh, but I wouldn't be surprised, especially given that the phone technology and quality of service here is years ahead of the US. We always think we are the first in everything but we are WRONG. Koreans make Americans look like cavemen when it comes to cell phones. Can you get perfect reception when you are in a subway car hundreds of meters underground? I can.....and my Avatars are sexier than yours. So there.

Black Koreans

Another funny work story --

Yesterday I had a class of 4th graders, real smart ones. We are doing a pen pal thing, so I printed photos of each kid to send to their pen pal, using the school printer. It's a lousy printer, so the pics came out with all these icky lines. Before I had showed the kids the photos, I told them that I could only print the pics in black and white because I don't have a color printer. Then, I told them that the quality came out poor because the printer is old, and warned them that the photos looked a little bad. And one girl looks at me and asks:

"Do we look like black people?"

Innocent question, right? In the moment, the humor of it didn't strike me, I just thought it was a dumb question. So I said, very patiently, No, you look like Korean people in a black and white movie. A few minutes later, I thought about her question, and could barely stop myself from laughing out loud. I mean, think about it -- black and white photos, bad photo -- in her 4th grade mind, that must mean . . . . they look like BLACK PEOPLE!!!

And this girl is not stupid either. Ok, she's a little spacey. But not stupid.

To her credit, Korea is a very homogenous country - not a whole lot of black people here, except in the area near the military base. Many of these kids have never seen a black person in real life. Probably the most exposure they get to black people outside of the movies is the politically correct, equal race representing American curriculum books we use at our school. But most have never actually seen, let alone known, a black person.

Whether that explains the ridiculous logic that lead her to ask that question is another question....

Food Poisioning and Tombstones

Again, what do those two have to do with each other? You guessed it, my weekend! And as you can guess, this one was not nearly as fun as the last.

Friday night was a mellow night, eating shabu shabu (Japanese cook-at-the-table food)with co-workers then watching Walk the Line. I was looking forward to sleeping in a bit, but was woken up about 4 a.m., when some bacteria that I had apparently ingested at some point during the day decided that it was time to clear my stomach of its entire contents, and then some. I'll spare the details, and just say that it was not a fun night for me.

Food poisioning is kind of a part of life when you travel, and I have been lucky since I came to Korea. But as in any place, there are certain things that are inevitable...certain must-have-experiences that are virtually impossible to avoid...and the two I was dreading most here were food poisioning and Norebang (Karaoke). I have managed to avoid Norebang so far, but the food poisioning did finally get me.

The funny thing was, I always expected it would come from some really sketchy food, like from a dingy restaurant, or a street cart. I eat that stuff often enough...I love street meat! But given the timing of when it set in, and the fact that no one else I ate dinner with got sick, it had to be my lunch that did it. And I had lunch at a restaurant right next to my school, a place I eat at all the time, and will continue to eat at - although I will never order the same dish!

The suspected meal -- a standard Korean dish called Bibimpap -- rice, meat, veggies, raw egg, served in a hot stone dish. I've eaten it dozens of times, one of my faves actually. But this place served their's a little differently -- the meat is raw when it comes to your table, and the idea is to let it cook against the side of the hot bowl. Food poisioning just waiting to happen.

So I spent Saturday recovering. I was forced to cancel a semi-blind "date" with a Korean guy who I know through very funny circumstances (save that story for later). My coworker Steven was kind enough to bring me some Gatorade and drag me out of the apartment for a bit so I could enjoy the sunshine.

On Sunday I was back in commission, and headed out to the National Cemetary with Matt. Nice place, not spectacular, but worth a visit. It was quiet, which makes it a rare place in Seoul. It it dedicated mainly to those who have given their lives for the nation; mostly soldiers, generals, and former presidents.

A memorial statue on the road into the cemetary.

Reminded me a bit of the big military cemetary in SF, with rows and rows of uniform graves, each one marked by its own spray of fake red or yellow flowers. Occasionally there would be some other colors, but the vast majority were red and yellow. I wonder why they chose those colors? And I wonder how often they have to change them because they get faded?

This is my favorite photo of the day, because of the lighting. A hill dedicated to generals who lost their lives in the Vietnam War. Unknown to most Americans, South Korea played a huge role in Vietnam, sending more troops and suffering more casualties than any of our other allies.

This is a bus used to carry the casket of former President Park Chung Hee, who was assassinated in 1979. It was originally covered in yellow chrysanthumums, which have now been replaced by paper, for obvious reasons. Very 1970's!

The tombs of former presidents Park Chung Hee and Syngman Rhee. Rhee was the first president of South Korea, and his legacy remains controversial to this day. Park is controversial as well; while he layed the foundations that led Korea to economic prosperity, he also did away with much of the freedoms of the people. Incense burning in honor of the former presidents.

And despite the fact that we had just spent 2 hours at a cemetary, the most upsetting moment of the day happened on the way out, when we came across a cat that had been hit by a car. It was not in good shape, just sitting in the middle of the road wheezin, and surrounded by the brightest and most unnatural colored blood I have ever seen. Matt and I both stood there, staring, two animal lovers trapped in the midst of that awful realization that there was absolutely nothing we could do for this suffering animal. The best thing we could have done was to take it out of its misery, but we didn't even have the means to do that. It was an awful moment. I just hope that cat is in a better place right now and not feeling its pain anymore.

On a more uplifting note, I don't have to work until 2:30 tomorrow -- a one week reprive before going back to early morning intensive schedule for 2 more weeks. That is why I am writing this at 2 a.m.!!

It's 10 Degrees! Fahrenheit!

That's with the wind chill, mind you. It's 19 degrees (-7 Celcius) not accounting for the wind, according to weather.com. But I don't need the internet website to tell me that it is f'ing cold outside right now. Pardon my abbreviated french, but once the temperature drops below a certain level, its really the only way to do it justice.

Am I actually writing a blog about the weather? I am. I can't believe it, is my life really that boring that I am blogging about the weather? Oh my god, I am.

Actually, I really just want to remind all my California folks back home not to take your wonderful warm winters for granted. I know I never will again.

When I first came to Korea, every foreigner I met who found out I was from California got some sort of twisted pleasure from telling me how cold I was going to be in the winter. I mean, some of them really enjoyed it. I think they liked seeing the dread in my eyes when they said "ARCTIC COLD!" Especially the Canadians. They really rubbed it in. Somehow I was led to believe that because I was from the warm parts that I would suffer more than all of these cold-weather pros. And I had this picture in my mind of myself standing on a frozen sidewalk all bundled up in layer upon layer of clothing, shivering madly, while everyone else stood there in tee shirts and sandals asking me what was wrong. I was really dreading it. I thought the only person who would be worst than me was Nadine, who is from Hawaii.

But I was wrong -- everyone is pretty much equally miserable once the temperature goes below freezing. And I got a strange satisfaction when I realized that. Ha.

Anyway, yesterday morning I walked out of my apartment at 8:30 a.m. to find this:


And it was still snowing. It was quite beautiful actually. Or at least the back steets were beautiful, where the snow was pretty much freshly fallen. Once I got to the main street it was a different story though. The pretty snow drifts are quickly transformed to muddy puddles that are impossible to get around if you want to cross the street. I even got splashed when a car drove by, it was just great! And I got to to through my morning with wet shoes and socks, until a kind coworker who came in the afternoon brought me some dry ones.

City snow sucks!

Today the sidewalks are a frozen mess, and the street I live on actually is entirely covered by a 3 inch layer of ice. Walking is a bit tricky, but no falls yet. Based on past experience, I predict my neighbors will chose Saturday and Sunday morning at about 7 a.m. to begin the ice chipping. If you think its hard sleeping with a dripping sink, try sleeping while someone bangs ice with a hammer right outside your window.

At least I don't have to do this:

Oh, and if anyone reading this is getting the urge to send me care packages with scarves and mittens and other warm things out of pure sympathy, it's already been done! Someone beat you to it (thank you Ali and Nette!) I am actually the proud owner of 9 scarves, 4 pairs of mittens and 5 warm hats, and I still want to buy more every time I see them. But you really can never have too many accessories, right?

Ok, I am done blogging about the weather. I promise.

Museums and Hip Hop

What in the world do museums and hip hop have to do with each other? Well, my weekend, for starters...

My weekends in Seoul fall into two categories - their are either boring, uneventful and consist mostly of time spend resting in my apartment, or they are so busy and social that they leave me feeling like I need another day just to recover before going back to work. This weekend was one of the latter. I came home from work on Friday night feeling dejected, exhausted, self critical, and generally not happy with the world. Thankfully, I woke up on Saturday morning feeling like a new person, and the last two days have really made me feel human again. It's not that I dislike my job, I just enjoy the weekends so much more.

On Saturday I finally made it out to the Seoul National Museum, which only opened a few months ago. I have been told that it is the largest museum in Asia. Like the Lourve in Paris, the Seoul National Museum really merits several visits, at least if you want to do it justice. It has three gigantic floors plus a special exhibit, and as with most public places in Korea, it's very very crowded. Even with the crowds though, it is a very impressing museum, with sufficient information about most of the pieces to make it a good educational expierence. The artifacts are well chosen and nicely displayed, and the building itself is beautifully designed; very clean, modern and stark, yet grandios at the same time.

My museum buddy for the day was Jacqueline, a friend I met through Matt. She is a married lawyer from Seattle who is only here for three months. At this point, she only has two weeks left in Seoul, which is too bad, because she and I get along quite well. After munching on some meat on a stick from the vendors outside, we headed in with lofty ambitions to see as much as we could, but ended up pooping out after only doing one floor. Like I said, this place is HUGE. It took us over 2 hours to do only one floor. I love museums, but after a few hours in any museum, I usually hit a wall where I just can't take any more and have to go. So I predict I will make it back to the Seoul National Museum at least two more times.


The part we did see contained art from Indonesia, Japan, central Asia, and of course Korea. These are some of the things I saw.








The most impressive part would have to be the Buddha room, which held 7 or so very large Buddha statues of various styles.

A tour group in the Buddha Room.

My favorite Buddha head; I just love the expression.A traditional Buddhist Temple Bell

A cute little girl in front of a very cool gong.

After leaving the museum, we ate a nice dinner at the wonderful Toque Bistro, an Italian restaurant that Matt discovered awhile back. Dinner at the Bistro is never a disappointment, because every dish on the menu is outstanding. The highlight of this meal was the coffee bread pudding -- I'm not a fan of bread pudding, but this stuff was decadent. We left feeling happy full and revived, and parted ways for bit to change into our "evening clothes."

After spending the day soaking the culture and beauty of historical artifacts and fine art at the largest musuem in Asia, what does one do in the evening. Well, go dancing, of course! We joined up with Taejin (formerly refered to as Whitney) and Stephen and headed out to Hongdae to go dancing. Hongdae is one of the most popular night life spots in Seoul, chock full of trendy stores, bars and dance clubs. It used to be mostly Koreans only, but the foreigners are slowly "discovering" it. In fact, many clubs have signs saying "No GI's," because the military guys have a reputation for starting fights. And no offense to the any of them, but I like it much better like that.

Dancing was a great release after a long work week. I realized that for the past three years, I haven't really done much dancing, and I missed it alot. And dancing at Korean clubs is nice because Korean guys are not "predatory;" they will dance with you, but they are generally not aggressive or creepy, and for the most part are very respectful. As a female, this makes the club scene a whole lot more tolerable. The club we went to was called M2, one of the more popular dance places in Hongdae. It played mostly hip-hop, and I have to admit I am not a huge fan of of mainstream, MTV hiphop. There are a few songs that get me going, but for the most part it does not inspire me. Give me techno or salsa anyday! But I had a great time nonetheless.

And what does one do after a night out dancing at the clubs? Go to another museum of course! Today Jacqueline and I headed out to a place called the Leeum, which houses the personal collection of the Samsung family, one of the richest families in Korea. (No pics of this one, photos were not allowed anywhere inside.) You have to make reservations a week in advance, and it costs a little more to get in, but I thought it was totally worth it. The architecture of the building and the display of the objects was just as impressive as the collection itself. The display rooms were almost completely dark, with the only light coming from the glass display cases. So the basic effect was that the only clearly visible parts of the room was the inside of the display cases. And unlike the Seoul National Museum, the collection was fairly small, but virtually every object was exquistite. About half of them were National Treasures as well. Celadon vases, gold belts worn by kings, burial objects from the 400 b.c.....I guess these are the kinds of things you collect when you are the Samsung family.

The Samsung collection also contained a number of modern paintings and installations, including works by Rothko, Warhol, and De Kooning. Nothing that left much of an impression on me, except for one. I've already forgotten the name of the artist....Matthew Blaney I think? The main part of the installation was a video. It caught our attention because it had about 20 can-can girls wearing pasties and bikini bottoms, frolicing in a big tub full of sudsy bubbles. Then the girls got out of the tub and proceeded to do the can-can, something you could only expect of can-can girls. From that point on, it only got weirder, with more dancing girls, a man in a pink wig and kilt climbing through the floors of a building, another man in a gas mask splashing ladles full of lard against a wall, and a woman turning into a tigress and trying to kill the man in the pink kilt. It was like someone's bad acid trip, and here it was playing in the personal museum of the richest family in Korea. Very, very bizarre, and quite a nice contrast to the exquisite ancient artifacts we had started out with.

After leaving the museum, we plopped down in a coffee shop and took a bunch of photos of ourselves, probably leading the waiter to think we were a bunch of vain nutballs.

A cool photo I took of Jacqueline
And one she took of me

The Coffee Shop/BarA cool sculpture inside the coffee shop

The waiter - even if he thought we were weird, he still didn't mind having his photo taken.

Then we hit up a few antique stores with a ton of beautiful Asian furniture that I couldn't afford to buy OR ship home, but I did buy a beautiful celadon sake set with a red, white and black cherry blossom design. We also hit up a couple of gaudy costume shops. Jacqueline tried on a dress which looked great on her, but just wasn't willing to spend $300 on something she would probably never wear. When we have more energy, we are going to go back, try on a bunch of costumes and make Matt take photos.


Eventually I split up with Jacqueline and had a mellow dinner with Matt, then came home. I should be headed for bed, but have a feeling I will be up late tonight. I always stay up late on Sundays, because it prolongs my weekend, and I always regret it when I get up in the morning and realize I didn't enough sleep. Such is life....