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Korea

What is life in Korea like?  This is the question I get from people outside of Korea.  It can be hard to answer.  My Korean experience has been incredibly rich and detailed, especially after so many years in the country.  Korea is... hmm...

One of the biggest reasons I have stayed in Korea and been happy in my life here is martial arts.  I participate in two Korean arts, Hapkido and Taekkyun.  Without the fun, the physical release, the community I have found through martial arts, I may not have come back for a second year in Korea.  In the photo above a Hapkido high-schooler has a wire looped around his neck, it broke as they increased the pull, and no, he was not hurt.  

Korea is a country with rice and chili peppers incorporated in almost every meal.  In fact, many if not most of the foreigners who come to work in Korea end up listing Korean food as one of their favorite cuisines by the time they leave.  Though spicy, the limits of the Korean peppers prevent it from being overly so, though Koreans value animal protein, many traditional dishes are prepared with little or no meat, which pleases my tastes.  In addition to kimchi, Korea's most famous side-dish, and rice a standard meal also includes a soup and an assortment of side-dishes.  Koreans generally go light on the oil, and many people find themselves losing weight if they switch to a Korean diet.   For myself, when I go without Korean food I crave it just the same as I crave the occasional dark chocolate.  

Korea is a country rich in culture.  The Koreans claim that they have a 5,000 year old culture.  Museums and historical sites allow anyone a chance to see artifacts for themselves, at an extremely low cost.  Unlike Western countries, entry fees to museums and sites of historical cultural interest are very low.  Most temples charge less than two dollars American, and museums are less than a buck.   Though ancient artifacts are great to see, traditions and traditional ways are alive and well every where you turn.  I don't even have to plan to hit a special event, I can simply go anywhere that people congregate and run across new photo/learning opportunities.   Some of these may have been designed with public viewing in mind, such as a bell-ringing ceremony in a downtown park I stumbled across.  However, others include drummers drumming,and handing out Korean pressed rice-cakes to new neighbors.  Last time I moved I even bought the cakes to give to the other people in my building.  Before a wedding the groom and his friends will party down the street carrying bridal gifts in a tradition called haam.  When they arrive at the brides house they will raucously insist on compensation for their hard partying.  In modern Korea this is when something like a set of rings, watches and other high end items will change hands.  Traditionally the gift was principally food and clothing.  Korean culture extends into every aspect of life.  Though these days some Korean families sleep in beds and eat at high tables while sitting in chairs (traditionally they would sleep on a mat called a yo and sit cross-legged on the floor at a low table) the things they eat, the way they interact within the household, these are pure Korean.   Koreans generally eat nothing but Korean food, though they may go out for pizza or fried chicken.   Korean children run wild till they enter elementary school and then study as though there was no tomorrow until they enter college (where most Korean students work hard at making up for the time lost to studying by dating, drinking and in general acting like most American junior and high school students).   

Korea is a country where people get married in wedding halls that turn out new brides and grooms like bakeries turn out loaves of bread.  There is little individualism in the ceremonies, and the guests are generally bored and talk amongst each other (or on their cell phones).  See one and you've seen them all.  However, when close friends like Chayyung get married, I do attend.  The couples wear Western dress (ususally performing a traditional ceremony after the Western ceremony in a private room with the immediate family).   In the second photo Chayyung suffers through yet another adjustment to her veil by the wedding hall employee who seems to have no special job besides adjusting the veil and the train of the dress.

Korea is a country where appearances and fashion are of top importance.   Though people do wear sweats and flip-flops to the corner store, younger people and anyone with a white collar job puts a lot of thought, energy and quite a lot of money into dressing well.  In this photo a fashion model poses in a dress by a local designer.  

As someone with a lot of interest in Buddhism, Korea is a country with beautiful temples to visit on weekend hikes (most temples are located on the slopes of mountains).  I enjoy what Buddhism brings to the character of Koreans.  Though these days Buddhists comprise only about 50% of the population, Buddhist traditions are strong.  Buddha's Birthday is a national holiday (as is Christmas) and non-believers visit the temples just as freely as Buddhists.  When a relatives health is on the line, or a child is preparing to take the college entrance exam, many people who do not claim to be Buddhists will visit the temple to give offerings or pray.  This shows what Koreans consider practicality.  Why should they turn their back on something that may help?  The last photo shows the masses of people you can find praying inside or out at popular temples or Buddhist shrines.  Here at Katba'wi the Buddha image is believed to be particularly effective in helping with health problems and people will come from around the country to repeatedly stand, bow, kneel down touch their head and hands to the ground. On Buddha's birthday people will bow a minimum of 108 times, and deep believers or those with a lot to pray for may spend the entire day repeatedly prostrating themselves.  This is a form of meditation, just like there is walking meditation or sitting meditation.  However, from what I understand, sitting meditation is much easier.  

These two photos show some of the crowding and bustle of Korean commercial areas.  In the first photo an alley in Seoul is chock-a-block with restaurants.  Each advertising their menu on rectangular signs.  In the second photo the center of downtown Daegu is the confluence of five streets (generally too crowded for vehicular traffic).  

Andong Int'l Mask Dance Festival   Buddha's Birthday  Court Dancers    Farmer's Music  Korea Korean City: Daegu  Korean Funeral  Kumdo (Sword-form Martial Art) Miryang  Poong-gak  Taekkyun  Daegu's 400th Anniversary Celebration Home