No Thanks!

Before I left for Shanghai last week, I did my weekly newspaper review and found this article advertising a boot camp hosted by the Korean Marine Corps. This triggered a number of slightly traumatic memories...

In 1999, the summer after I finished college, my dad had seen a small ad in the Korean newspaper for a workshop/conference directed towards young overseas Koreans. The workshop was sponsored by the ROK and was on the theme of "Peaceful Reunification of North and South Korea." My dad sent in the application on my behalf, and a few weeks later, I was notified that I was selected as a participant. At the time I knew little about the reunification issue, so I thought this would be a perfect way to learn through lectures and roundtable talks. Plus, a free ticket to Korea is always cool.

I remember struggling to stay awake during the first two days of the workshop, partly because of the jetlag and also since the lectures were extremely dry. But on the third day (and this was NOT on the schedule advertised in the paper), I was jolted awake after all of the participants were put on a bus to Pohang and dropped off at the ROK 1st Marine Corps Division for three days of intense physical training. To put it bluntly, this experience really sucked. I think I've repressed most of what happened, but I do remember being yelled at an awful lot in unintelligible Korean, running around in heavy boots and fatigues, and carrying and rowing a large inflatable boat out on the East Sea. The participants who suffered along with me were just as perplexed as to: 1) precisely what the boot camp experience had to do with the workshop theme of "Peaceful Reunification of North and South Korea" and 2) why the ad deceptively pitched a trip to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in lieu of mentioning the 3-day boot camp "excursion" to Pohang.

After the workshop, I think it took me several days before I spoke to my dad again. To his credit, he had no idea that this was part of the workshop, and repeatedly apologized to me in the weeks after.

I was surprised to find out that almost ten years later, the program operated by the Korean Marine Corps is still going strong. Nowadays, special target boot camps are geared towards internet-addicted youth. 

I must say, that I empathize with any Korean kid being sent unknowingly to one of these boot camps, especially during the cold winter season. (And Dad, just for the record - I forgive you for sending me to boot camp, those many years ago. It made a stronger person. Really.^^)

Circulations

Hye Ja Hwang, receiving a "Samulnorian Angel" diploma from the Swissamul Team

I've been asked by my friend Adarsh to upload some music clips to my blog. Of course, it seems only fitting that I'd have tons of music to share here, considering the number of performances that I attend and film on a regular basis. But part of the reason I haven't gone crazy uploading field video here is for ethical reasons, and the other is due to the fact that I'm still in the process of transferring over my video footage to my hard drive. (Um, yes, I need to get going on that before the year is up...)

Here, though, is a short video clip that I shot with my digital camera at the Buyeo SamulNori Festival and Competition in October. I recently shared this with Swissamul and the members of the Buyeo SamulNori Festival Facebook group. The setting for this video was the last morning in Buyeo (10/13/08), just before the 1st prize winning-Swissamul team was to head back to Switzerland, via Seoul. The group dedicated a little tune to their Korean assistant, Hye Ja Hwang, as a token of their appreciation for her hard work during the several days spent in Buyeo. The moment was spontaneous, heartfelt, and speaking for myself, completely memorable.

And, after poking around some Korean websites, I found an already uploaded mp3 file of the Uddari P'ungmul recording, from where this "tune" derives. This composition, which features the singing at the beginning of the track, was performed by the original SamulNori members (Kim Duk Soo, Kim Yong Bae, Lee Kwang Soo, and Choi Jong Sil) in November 1983, during their Asia Society-sponsored US tour.

Hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

Hanok and Heritage

Here is an excerpt of the essay that I submitted to the UNESCO-affiliated Establishment Initiative for the Intangible Heritage Center for the Asia-Pacific (EICHAP) re: the Korean Cultural Heritage program that I attended in early December. Please keep in mind that most of my writing is done under the barrel of a gun and during the wee hours of the morning...

Personally, what I found most interesting was the trip to the Jeonju hanok village, supplemented by the one-night stay in the hanok accommodations. The sequence in which we encountered hanok was well-conceived and effective. We started out viewing the historic hanok village as part of a tour led by a competent tour guide. Our initial vantage point was situated on a hill that overlooked the hanok village. This, of course, made for a prime photo opportunity of a village’s architecture straight out of the pages of Korean history. The snapshot was picturesque and exotic, yet distant at the same time. Later, as the tour progressed, we moved into the hanok village itself, and found ourselves walking the tiny alleyways and seeing the characteristic roof tiles at near eye-level. Being so close, it then became clear how diminutive these structures actually are, especially in comparison to the vertical landscape of Seoul. By the time evening came around, our journey of “peering in” led us further into literally entering the hanok itself. We were divided up into small groups and shared tiny and cramped rooms. Some of the participants chose to stay in the traditional ondol rooms, which featured an underground “fireplace” but lacked bathroom facilities in the room itself. I stayed with two other women in the more modern ondol room, and between the three of us and our baggage, there was no extra available space. The next morning we awoke to find that the bathroom was ice cold and that there was no hot water for showers.

True, the lack of space and hot water did not make for an ideal stay. But what I gleaned from this experience was an accurate slice of real life, with all of its inconveniences. In this sense, this encounter with hanok – which metaphorically represented a journey from the “outer to the inner” – was an invaluable learning experience. It was in this combination of “sightings” of hanok to the visceral feeling of warmth coming from the fire stoked directly underneath the floor, for instance, that one could gain more local insights into the tangible and intangible aspects of Korean cultural heritage.

Lastly, I would suggest here that the “intangible” resided within an activity that was not even listed on the program schedule. Late on Saturday evening, several doors of the hanok rooms were opened to create a long, rectangular space; all of the participants and staff crowded into the oddly shaped room to hang out and munch on fruit and Choco pies. It was a nice way to wind down after the day’s events and talk with fellow participants. This improvised gathering felt very much like a duipuri (party after some sort of event), or part of the “nori” munhwa (culture of "play") that is an unequivocal part of Korean culture. I would argue that what is officially designated as “Intangible Korean cultural heritage” often belies more intrinsic aspects of Korean culture and ways of being. “Nori” munhwa is harder to formally evaluate or give status to, yet it is within this cultural sensibility that relationships are forged and cultivated – an intangible concept that has great applicability and efficacy in Korea, but also, as I observed this past weekend, beyond Korea as well.

Travels

Sunrise, Geoje Island

I'm back in Seoul. And back with a vengeance. Or more accurately, vengeance is upon my back, which is still throbbing in pain after my 5-day trip to Geoje Island, Buyeo and Jeonju. Last week I tagged along with the Samul GwangDae team to see their performance at the Geoje Art Center (which was absolutely great!). Since I had planned to go directly from Geoje Island (located on the southern tip of the peninsula) to Buyeo, where I would be attending a 3-day Korean Cultural Heritage Program hosted by the Establishment Initiative for Intangible Heritage Centre for Asia-Pacific, I decided to travel as light as possible. I opted out of taking a tripod and am now paying dearly for filming a two-hour performance without one. And sleeping on ondol floors, though nice and toasty, only seemed to exacerbate the sprain.

Fortunately, this was the only sore point of the trip. I loved seeing the sights on Geoje Island, and I am especially grateful to the Samul GwangDae guys for driving me to and from Geoje, putting me up and taking care of all the meals, and basically making me feel like family again. It was good to also see them perform in a new capacity, since they have left the SamulNori Hanullim organization and are striking it on their own.

The Cultural Heritage Program was also fun and jam-packed with activities. I have to get going on writing a 700 word essay on my experiences during the tour, so more pictures to follow!

3 of the 4 members of the Samul GwangDae team, relaxing backstage before the concert.

My former co-worker, Lyeum Joonsuk, directing the stage lighting session prior to the performance.

With members of the Samul Gwangdae team, staff, and 9 year old p'ansori prodigy Koh Handol.

Art in the Hongdae Hood

I'm posting photographs taken from around my neighborhood of Hongdae - a place that many artists, indie musicians, and students call home. Aside from the occasional encounters with obnoxious foreigners who come to get plastered and go clubbing on the weekends or on Club Day, I am feeling quite comfy in my little urban neck of the woods. 

Several years back I used to live in Sinchon, which is situated just next to Hongdae. Sinchon is also a youthful area, with a range of places to play like noraebang (karaoke), DVD rooms, clubs, and bars. Despite the proximity, however, the two college districts have distinct identities and cater to different crowds. The one thing that I've come to appreciate in Hongdae is the celebration of art and its integration, in manifest forms, into the local living space.

 

Snapshots - Passing of the Season

My friend Eunhee and I posing in front of a famous Insadong teahouse that we didn't end up going to. Nice photo op, though!

The entrance to the Insadong street a little over a week ago...

Gingko leaves

Near the Gyeongbokgung Subway Station

And...even more pictures of my trip to Kanghwa Island (강화도) last month here.

World SamulNori Festival 2008 - Part II

MEXKOSA samulnori team from Mexico City - posing for pictures

It took me a while to decompress from and begin to process the SamulNori Festival in Buyeo last month. My former experiences with working as the Overseas Coordinator for SamulNori Hanullim coupled with a festival management team that was entirely short-staffed was cause for me to end up working full-time as volunteer and interpreter for the foreign teams in attendance. One of the things I've come to realize here is how certain "insider" privileges come with deeply embedded sets of obligations and duties.

In one of my "process" days, I decided to set up a Facebook group for the foreign participants of the festival. I figured that it would be an easy way to share some of the photographs that I had taken during the workshop and festival with those who were already on Facebook. In the weeks following, the group has more or less taken on a life of its own. Festival participants have Facebook befriended each other and have gone ahead and uploaded their own photographs to share with the group. And my News Feed regularly notifies me of the recent wall postings exchanged by newly made friends, reflecting on their time spent in Buyeo and inquiring how life is in their respective countries. I'm delighted that so many of the participants have been able to keep a line of communication open, post-Festival and post-Korea.

In many ways this virtual KIT* activity has reminded me of a much earlier, dare I say, ancient time when I would actively correspond with friends made at summer piano camps during my junior and high school years. Back then, we actually sent letters and pictures in the mail! But funnily enough, several months ago, I was reunited with a former YKAA Oberlin piano camper and was also invited to join the Interlochen All-State Piano Alumni group, all on Facebook.^^

*circa my junior high school years, for, like, "keep in touch."

International Conference of Korean Musicologists - Pusan, Korea

An all-star line-up of Korean music specialists

OBAMA party!

An immensely entertaining noraebang session that lasted until the wee hours of the morning. Everything from Korean trot (트로트/뽕짝) to ABBA's Dancing Queen could be heard. LOL!

Although I was unable to attend this year's Society for Ethnomusicology conference, I was fortunately able to see many friends and professors at the International Conference of Korean Musicologists in Pusan last week. I was extremely humbled to be in the presence of so many important scholars of Korean music and culture, and grateful moreover to be asked to participate in the conference. All in all, everything went well, and I came away with a new-found appreciation and understanding of the many voices of Korean musicology/ethnomusicology. 

On November 5, I became the makeshift correspondent for election news coverage since I was the only one with a "line out" of our rather cloistered situation during that entire day. A friend diligently sent me text message updates on my cell phone, letting me know which states had gone blue. In the evening, we had a ba-(rock)in OBAMA party, where we squished into a hotel room, celebrated, and watched the Grant Park speech on my laptop. Even though we were thousands of miles away from the US, I felt somehow connected back to the States, in a tangible way, through the community of supporters that gathered together that evening.

As with any academic conference, it is often the time spent after the papers are delivered that is the most enjoyable. And, with the Korean music specialists, one has to factor noraebang (karaoke) into the equation as well. I'll let the following picture speak for itself. :)

Untitled

Over the weekend I went with a friend to the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Gwacheon to see the Bill Viola video installation, "Ocean Without a Shore." I found it to be a mesmerizing and ultimately, humbling experience. The piece addressed with conceptual and visual simplicity the tenuous thresholds between life and death. In this clip prepared by the Tate (which gives a sense of what the installation looks like), Viola eloquently describes his vision for the work as well as some of the more technical details of putting together the installation. 

Yesterday, I was confronted with the harsher realities of Viola's astute meditation on the "fragility of life." Early in the morning I heard the devastating news of the sudden death of a beloved member of our Korean drumming group in Boston. I spent most of the day making international phone calls and in a state of shock, followed by grief. Words seem inadequate and inappropriate now, especially in the form of a blog. But, if there's anything I can convey at this point, it is of the renewed cognizance of the temporality of life.

A Day in the Life of Moo Moo

Moo Moo, sensing the impending approach of his nemesis, the LG vacuum cleaner

I live in the totally hip area of Hongdae with my good friend Linda and Moo Moo the cat. I couldn't ask for better roommates, and I'm very pleased that the living arrangement has worked out so nicely thus far. This is my first time living with a furry friend (no, that's not Linda!...OK don't kill me, LK!) so it has been fascinating for me to observe many different aspects of feline behavior. I do think Moo Moo, however, has some idiosyncrasies that distinguish him from the other kitties in our hood.

What follows is a synopsis of a typical day for Moo Moo the cat...

8:00 AM - 

Moo Moo can be found snuggling in the safe haven of his pillow bed. As he has a penchant for things aesthetic, he chooses only to slumber on the elegant and colorful Korean-style cushions that were originally reserved for house guests.

9:00 AM -   

Moo Moo is still in a deep slumber. Do not disturb, please.

10:30 AM - 

Moo Moo awakes and stretches at length. He then saunters over to the cardboard box left by the previous roommate and proceeds to claw at it with total abandon. The detritus left on the kitchen floor has Moo Moo's name all over it.

11:00 AM - 

With curiosity piqued, Moo Moo trots over to see what his new roommate is doing. The door is closed, however. What to do in this situation?? He first summons plaintively, and then finally, with more determination. At last, the door is opened, and he enters to find his roommate awake and sitting on the big blue couch. She is staring at a piece of white paper and occasionally filling it in with swirly black lines. Hmmm, not so interesting.

11:02 AM - 

Moo Moo is hungry, and promptly exits the room for his breakfast. He's been on a strict diet for the past few years. Admittedly, the grub isn't as tasty as before, but he does appreciate the lighter spring in his step. After his meal, he paws frantically at the area around his bowl and then makes a run for the bathroom. There, he washes down his meal with a few sips from the pipe of the bathroom sink.

11:10 AM - 

Moo Moo proceeds to groom with great care and detail.

12:30 PM -

Moo Moo is exhausted. He makes a pit stop in the blue box before he retires to the new roommate's room. One quick leap up and he is bed-bound, lounging on the fluffy new comforter. The roommate appears to have left for the day, and so he is content with having the whole bed to himself. Purr-fect.

interim hours - 

???

7:00 PM - 

Moo Moo hears Linda coming back and greets her at the door. He is happy to see his familiar friend, who gives him fantastic head and belly massages. He promptly flops down on the floor, waiting for the attention he deserves.

8:00 PM -  

See 11:02 AM to 12:30 PM.

10:00 PM - 

The new roommate returns, and Moo Moo is also pleased to see her. She passes the sniff test and gives him a satisfying belly rub.

11:00 PM -

Moo Moo is getting ready for his evening appointment. He must groom accordingly, since all that petting fussed with his sleek fur. Once he is finished, he goes to the front door and beckons with his best "I beseech you...Let me out at once, I'm running late" call. He is attending the nocturnal kitty meeting with the other cool cats in the Hongdae hood. They often have discussions about the latest indie bands in the neighborhood or the best places to find tuna.  

11:30 PM -

The meeting is adjourned, and Moo Moo rushes toward the house. Since he is a Korean cat, Moo Moo has the bbali bbali mentality - and is often in a hurry when faced with commutes of any kind. Once inside the house, Moo Moo is still a bit revved up from the kitty meeting...he believes that this is the best time to get his daily exercise in for the day. Mainly consisting of sprints and some minor hurdles (if the laundry rack is up), the work-out routine is best if paired with Linda.

12:30 AM -

Groggily, Moo Moo notices that his roommates are still up and talking. He is struggling to keep his eyes open, however, and decides that it is best to call it a night. Curling up on his favorite Korean-style pillow, Moo Moo enters the land of sweet dreams.

             

My father, who visited Korea a few weeks ago, took this funny picture of Moo Moo. I think this was Moo Moo's way of encouraging me to practice my Kanji instead of spending time writing silly blog posts...;P

World SamulNori Festival 2008 - Part I

I just returned from the grand SamulNori Gyorugi and Festival in Buyeo, South Korea. There were approximately 1000 participants, and over 100 people from countries such as Mexico, Russia, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Japan, China, and the United States. 

I have a great deal of post-festival processing to do...so in the meantime, here are just a few pics from the event.

Party at the Buyeo SamulNori Hanullim School

Gilnori (parade) that commenced the Opening Ceremonies of the SamulNori Festival. At the front are members of the Samulnori team from the Geonguk School of Osaka, Japan.

With fellow midwesterners Lia Bengtson and Nik Nadeau, members of the Shinparam P'ungmul group from Minnesota

Post-Concert Duipuri (party) with all foreign participants. The hazy cloud of smoke is not from a sullied lens, but from the massive amounts of samgyeopsal being grilled at each table!

Snapshot

This is a photo of the Gwanghwamun intersection at night. The tall building in the middle is the HQ for the Dong-a Ilbo - one of Seoul's daily newspapers, and to its left are the Ilmin Museum of Art and the Gwanghwamun Post Office.

Sadly, this was from the last batch of photos that I managed to upload to my computer before I lost my new digital camera in Pusan this weekend. After being very upset with myself for having been so absentminded, I've decided to try and channel my thoughts towards the positive and chalk this up to karma (like someone out there must have really needed a new camera). In the meantime, I have to restock immediately since there will be tons of photo ops at the SamulNori Gyorugi Festival and Competition I'll be attending in Buyeo this week. I wonder if they sell tether accessories for cameras...

My First Tanka

              in the original Japanese:

毎日に勉強しながら赤色がいつも見える日本語宿題*

                                                        リキャサリン　２００８年8月 

           and my subsequent translations into Korean:

매일 열심히 공부하고 있지만 붉은빛깔이 일본어 숙제에서 

언제나 보인다

           and (less gracefully) into English:

Despite my efforts of studying everyday, only visible are the red hues strewn on the sheets of Japanese homework

I've been running into some interesting episodes of linguistic dissonance here in Seoul. For instance, there was the time when I emphatically answered "Hai!" after a convenience store clerk asked me if I wanted a receipt. And then there's the unconscious "Ah so desu-ka?!" that comes out when I'm reacting to someone saying something of a surprising nature. Or the frequent use of Konglish (Korean mixed with English) without hesitation. But perhaps what was most embarrassing was the case earlier this morning when I was meeting with a Korean friend and completely blanked on how to articulate my train of thought...in any intelligible language. It seems that what was momentarily lost in translation - was my own brain. 

I suppose that this is par for the course - having been immersed in Japanese language study for most of the summer, and being less than diligent about keeping up with my Korean language skills. Still, I'm eager for the day when words rendered gain in both fluidity and consistency. 

*This tanka was composed for my Intensive Japanese language course that I took this past summer. As some of you know from my whimpers, this class gave a new meaning to "intensive." I think the poem effectively captured my sentiments of the summer. My first foray into using this traditional Japanese poetic form produced a flawed tanka, but still somehow managed to merit a nod of approval from my Japanese language teacher.

Dancercize in Seoul

진도 다시래기 - Jindo Dasiraegi

On any given weekend there is a festival going on in Korea. I can say this with some certainty because in 2004, I became familiar with weekly and monthly happenings through my editing job at SEOUL Magazine. Festivals here are well, festive - and I love the sights and sounds at these outdoor events.

This weekend I attended the Korean Traditional Performing Arts Festival (대한민국전통연희축제), which took place just outside of the Seoul World Cup Stadium. As expected, it didn't disappoint - and I came away feeling energized and inspired by performances like the Jindo Dasiraegi (folk drama from Jindo Island) shown above. [Follow this link to read a description and see a tiny snippet of the Dasiraegi]

One peculiar and delightful scene that I managed to capture on my digital camera is linked here. This wasn't an officially scheduled performance, but rather was a volunteer based activity near the folk arts and craft-making stalls lined up in the middle of the road. The instructor, Lee Jong Man, has developed "Deongdeokkung Chejo" (덩더꿍체조) - which literally translates into "Deongdeokkung Exercise."( I like the ring of "Deongdeokkung Dancercize" much better, though.^^) After reading the informational poster, I learned that Lee has choreographed various fitness/dance routines to basic Korean rhythmic patterns, traditional Korean songs, and some Western dance genres. I kept returning to see this, each time with a new round of be-visored participants drawn from the passerby. The scene below, I think, would have done the Oak Ridge Boys proud... 

Chuseok

This weekend marks the Chuseok holiday when Koreans travel to their hometowns to gather with their extended families and perform ancestral memorial rituals called chesa. Businesses, stores, and restaurants effectively shut down during this 3-day period, and hordes of families make the trek out of Seoul armed with Chuseok gift sets to different parts of the country. Needless to say, traffic on the roads is miserable. Television and radio stations feature hourly traffic updates, reporting on the average driving time from Seoul to Busan (8-10 hours), and other parts of the country. Fortunately for me, I just needed to get to Incheon, which is now easily accessible via a Rapid Train from Yongsan Station (app. 45 minutes). 

Early on Saturday morning, I went with my relatives to the mountain gravesite where both sets of my grandparents are buried. I've now had the opportunity to observe chesa performed by relatives on both sides of the family. I've always found it fascinating to witness this highly stylized and gendered ritual; the sons and grandsons serve offerings of specially prepared food and wine to the ancestral spirits and complete a series of prostrations in front of the burial mound and tombstone. But what's more interesting to me is how the traditional Confucian-based chesa has been altered to accommodate new ritual practices, from allowing the female descendants to participate in the offering and bowing sequence on one side of the family, to creating a more streamlined rite that incorporates Catholic prayers and songs (that sound uncannily like Korean Buddhist chant to me) on the other. In any case, it's all rather easy for me to observe, pay my respects to my grandparents, and partake in the feast afterwards. Since I have more of a visitor status, I've never actually been responsible for preparing any of the food for chesa.  That formidable task, I'm afraid, still lies squarely in the women's domain...and I'm sure that all of my aunts are breathing a collective sigh of relief now that Chuseok is finally over.

Mead Should Take Note

I've already made a few trips to some of my favorite stationery stores to stock up on notebooks and journals for the year. I usually find myself loitering at the section with the Morning Glory notebooks that feature entertaining and, as is often the case, completely wacky captions in English. Here is a sampling of some of my favorites thus far...(click on image to enlarge)

Form over Function?

One of the first orders of business this week was acquiring a cell phone, which pretty much serves as a life line here. (I might as well have still been living in the States before I made my digits public here.) When I perused the selection at the cell phone shop at the Yongsan Electronics Market earlier this week, I was less concerned with buying the latest gadget with the most bells and whistles, but rather finding a phone that was intuitive and within my budget. Okay, and maybe a little pretty. The one I settled on is called the Sky IM-S300 Stylish Slim Slide in white.

After having a no-frills prepaid phone for the past few years in the States, the IM-S300 is rather high-end and luxurious for me. Released by the Korean company Pantech in December 2007, it includes many standard features that the newer cell phones have here: mp3 player, 1.3 megapixel camera, 2.2 inch screen display (that doubles as a mirror in sleep mode), and a Korean-English/English-Korean electronic dictionary. And after skimming through my user manual, I've also discovered that there is a scheduling feature, document viewer, "movie"/music video player, and video and audio recording capacity. According to the manual, I can record up to 60 minutes of audio on my cell phone! I can't attest to the quality of the sound recording, but it's nice to know that if I'm ever in a pinch and forget my audio recorder at home, I'll have a backup recording device on my cell phone (along with that mirror to check my eyeliner).

The IM-S300 was apparently marketed as the "Romantic Wave" phone, with its wavy menu buttons and pink and violet LED lighting on the keypad. I did a search for this model on a Korean search engine, and found a short animated ad for the phone. I'm not sure how long the link will be active, but I think the narrative the advertisers have created for this phone is definitely worth a chuckle. 

Top 10 Things I Missed about Living in Korea

10. Being able to eat kimchi and not having to worry about brushing my teeth immediately afterwards

9. Taking advantage of Seoul's efficient and cheap subway/train system

8. Using the ATM's 통장정리 tongjangjeongri ("bankbook organization") feature which automatically records all banking transactions

7. Observing the respect accorded to the elderly, whether through gesture or speech

6. Eating 떡볶이 tteokbokki  (spicy rice cake snacks) at 포장마차 pojangmacha (outdoor food stalls) at any time of day or night...Actually, being able to eat good Korean food at any time of day or night for generally less than 6,000 won (~$6.00)

5. Going to Korean saunas for a soak in the green tea hot tub followed by a dip in an ice cold pool

4. Visiting Buddhist temples (not necessarily preceded by number 5, fyi)

3. Being able to go to any number of concerts in Seoul at short notice and traveling to different regions of the country to attend music festivals

2. Living in a culture that values singing and the fine art of 노래방 noraebang (karaoke)

1. My friends

*One important person that deserves mention on this list is my 할머니 halmoni (grandmother), who I was very close to, and who passed away just a few months ago. 하늘에 계신 저의 할머님:매일 생각하고 있고 언제 또 보고 싶다.

Departure and Re-entry

Although I've made the transcontinental flight from the US to Seoul over ten times in the past several years, it certainly doesn't get any shorter or easier. Including transport to and from airports, layovers, and actual flying time, the total transit time comes close to 24 hours (if leaving from Boston or Detroit). It's no wonder that after I take the hour-long "limousine bus" ride from Incheon Int'l Airport to Seoul, I'm practically in a comatose state. Fortunately, upon arrival in Seoul, a dear friend greeted me and helped haul my luggage into a cab and welcome me back to this place that I call a second home. 

After a frantic last couple of days in Boston, and the long trip over, my body has demanded its due rest. I've learned not to fight it, the older I get. I expect that it will take a few days to fully recover from the jet lag, and not find myself groggy yet still awake at 4:00 AM, as is the case now. I have an urge to unpack and organize my things, but I'll try and resist...

정들자 이별이라

(Jeong deulja ebyeol ira)

"Once affection develops, it's time to part"

This Korean proverb seems to effectively capture my feelings as of late. I realized at my farewell party yesterday that I'm blessed with knowing a community of wonderful and supportive friends here in Boston.  It's difficult to leave for such a long stretch of time, especially when some friendships have just started to bloom or become reinvigorated. I know from experience, however, that one year abroad seems awfully long at the outset, but in retrospect will feel like only a brief period of absence.

Fortunately, it will be very easy to keep in touch with friends back home when I'm in Korea. I plan to be more proactive about doing so this time around - and with the wonders of the digital age, I will only be a Skype phone call or Gmail chat away. Part of the reason that I'm starting this blog is also an effort to stay more connected with friends and family. I don't intend this to be a field journal, but rather a space to share some photos and some musings on encounters in Korea during the next year. I'm hoping to post on a regular basis - so please try and visit from time to time!

Haein Temple (해인사),

Gyeongsamnam-do, South Korea (경삼남도)

test

안녕하세요?! 테스트 입니다...日本語も出来るね！wow.