EPIK 365 Day 279: Latest Dongdaemun Haul

I really do love going to Dongdaemun…probably more than I should. I could spend all day and all my paycheck there easily.  It tests my self-control to the limit.  Anyway, my latest haul for my latest project(s).

EPIK 365 Day 278: Real Hydrogen Peroxide

It's my disinfectant of choice, but I can't find it here in town.  I've had to make do with ethanol…and it burns like heck.  Anyway, this weekend in Seoul I popped into a pharmacy and lo and behold there it was!  Read hydrogen peroxide.

EPIK 365 Day 277: How Do I Know, We're Becoming "Something"?

Because our bus terminal is being refitted with a Paris Baguette Bakery/Cafe and a CU 25 convenience store.  Fancy!

EPIK 365 Day 276: Crunky Time

Yes, so that is Cruky (like a Nestle's Crunch bar) and Crunky White (like a Cookies and Cream Bar).

EPIK 365 Day 275: New Shoes

So, I walk, just about everywhere…and the shoes I brought with me were far from new.  Anyway, I finally broke down and bought a new pair.  They are so…neon…really, though, these are tame compared to some I've seen here.

EPIK 365 Day 274: Getting My "Southern" On...

I bought "Three-Layer Pork" (samgyeopsal) at the store, but when the time came to cook it I didn't really want all that fat.  So I pulled it off and saved it to render off later for lard.

EPIK 365 Day 273: It's That Time…

The students are working so hard for finals next week…the poor things.  But I know they will do well.

EPIK 365 Day 272: After School Snack

This weekend was "Operation Banana Bread."  I wanted to do something nice for the people who have been so kind to me since I've been here…other teachers, the coffee shop lady, the cell phone man…so I went on a banana bread baking frenzy.  The coffee shop lady was so touched she gave me a free bagel to go with my blueberry tea.  Delicious!

EPIK 365 Day 271: Some More Artwork

Collecting game materials I found that one of my students drew a little "nesting doll" girl on the game board…don't worry, it's dry erase…otherwise I would be furious.

EPIK 365 Day 270: So This One Kid...

...Always leaves his "art project" lessons with me to put on the the wall/board.  LoL…he's a funny kid, and secretly has some talent for English, but he's too "cool" to really and truly try.  But he's funny.

EPIK 365 Day 269: Always Nice to Have a Fan

Against my better judgement, I gave my lowest level students a survey about the class, English in general, and what they would like to work on ("Nothing" was not an option!).

"I hate English"

"I love Betsy"…most impressive is that the kid managed to spell my name correctly!

Do you like English?  Why or Why not?

"I like talk another country people."

Do you like the Foreign Teacher's class?  Why or why not?

"Foreign Teacher's class better than other class" (I think they mean the grammar class)  "Very funny"

EPIK 365 Day 268: Fighting!

A little encouragement goes a long way.

EPIK 365 Day 267: Props

My club class is getting ready to film their video projects on Korean culture.  This project is focusing on funeral customs and have been working to hard to make their props.

EPIK 365 Day 266: Student Schedule

One of my students left this behind today.  This is his daily schedule.  Poor thing…but one day, when Korea is ruling the world, he will appreciate it.

EPIK 365 Day 265: Candy

One of my sweet girls gave me a candy.  It's a little weird…like milk-flavored, not vanilla, but MILK flavored.  All in all, not bad.

EPIK 365 Day 264: Care Package Day!

I got…a rather full and heavy…care package.  Lots of yummy foods and few things I needed.

EPIK 365 Day 263: Who Needs the World Cup?

Because I have a school full of soccer stars.

EPIK 365 Day 262: Sports Day

There's all my kids…past and present…lined up for sports day.

EPIK 365 Day 261: Rice

It's kind of cool to see how fast the rice grows.

EPIK 365 Day 260: Hello

I got to school to find this guy on my board. :)

EPIK 365 Day 259: Two Brothers

The War Memorial of Korea has a lot of stuff…exhibits of ancient instruments of war to more modern things.  Understandably, there is quite a bit of things from the Korean War.  I found this sculpture to be particularly moving…it shows two brothers on opposite sides of the Korean War.  You can't see it in this picture, but the "ground" is splitting between them…just like the war.

EPIK 365 Day 258: War Memorial of Korea

It seemed fitting to wrap up a trip to the DMZ and (Korean) Memorial Day weekend with a trip to the War Memorial of Korea.  And I have to say: Koreans do museums right!  Korean museums are amazing!

EPKI 365 Day 257: Blooming Cacti

Walking home, I noticed that even the cacti are blooming now.  So cute!

The Korean Demilitarized Zone

The DMZ for short.  It’s funny how the words (or letters) carry so much weight even before you see the place for yourself.  It runs the width of Korea, not quite at the infamous 38th Parallel, and is now not only a geo-political boundary, but a cultural one as well.  Unless you have been living under a rock, you know that North and South Korea are very different places.

For me, personally, the DMZ carries quite a bit of weight.  As an Anthropologist, the sharp cultural divides that the DMZ has created between the two Koreas is fascinating and terrifying.  The global political impact that has developed out of arbitrarily cutting a country in half nearly 75 years ago keeps the world’s eyes on Korea.  (And no, my math is not off...I am counting from the initial divide of Korea after World War II, not from the establishment of the Korean DMZ in the 1950s as it is recognized today.)

As a Korean-American, raised on M*A*S*H reruns, it seems like the DMZ defined my life well before I even came into existence.  I was lucky enough to be born in South Korea, but unlucky enough that it was at a time when the South had not fully adjusted to a democratic government.  If was going to have any type of quality life, it would not be in Korea.  Had I been in born in North Korea, I may not even be alive today.  Its a heavy thought...that just by virtue of being born south of that line, not only I have I become the person I that am today, but that the fact that I am even alive is an accomplishment.

I took a “cheapskate” tour of the DMZ.  I wanted to do the full tour, but I could not pass up the “deal” that this particular tour offered.  I didn’t have the chance to go to the border (that will have to be on another tour) or see some of the more famous sights, but I did at least get to go...and for not a lot of money.  The downside was, seeing that this was a cheap tour, I was on a tour with some of the most disrespectful and ungrateful foreigners I have ever met in all my travels.  I’m not talking about rude “stand in your way while you are taking a picture” tourists, but actually “I will completely disregard everything my tour guide and the staff at the destination say” tourists.  And can I point out that the “staff” at the DMZ is mainly Korean military?  Probably not your smartest move, folks.  Anyway, I chose to ignore them and do the best I could with the time I had.

It’s interesting.  The first thing you do at the DMZ is arrive at “Freedom Park” which is a giant kitschy touristy area.  Like there’s a little amusement park area right there where you sign in to go into the DMZ.  Then it’s onto the bus, which stops and South Korean military soldiers board the bus check the passenger manifest and passports.  You are warned not to take their picture and there is a definite feeling of “$h*t just got real.”

There are several destinations inside the DMZ and as you bus from one spot to another, it is like a scene right out of M*A*S*H with overgrown military netting, camouflage army jeeps, armed soldiers, and barbed wires that mark of mined areas.  Then it’s contrasted with the natural beauty of the area...since no one lives there it had become a nature preserve...and the droves of tourists at each location.  To say it’s surreal is an understatement.

Our first stop inside the DMZ was the Third Infiltration Tunnel.  It’s located inside another park-like area.  You watch a remarkably movie trailer-like account of the divide of Korea, the Korean War, and the DMZ as it is today.  There’s beautiful movie images from all of those moments that is lost with the extremely upbeat and excited voice-over.  Then you exit the theatre to a small exhibition that outlines the history of the area in a more somber/less Hollywood style presentation.  The Tunnel is self is amazing.  After traveling down into the earth nearly 200 meters (a bit over 200 yards) you travel inside the earth another little bit.  The tunnel is roughly 2 meters high...and just to give a little perspective, I am 5’2” and the hard hat gave an extra couple of inches and there were places I felt I needed to stoop to avoid hitting my head.  The walls of the tunnel are marked with holes that were dug out for the explosives used in digging the tunnel.  The most eerie moment is at the bottom of the tunnel.  You look though a hole cut out of a door, through an “airlock” (for lack of a better word), and into another hole in another door.  You almost expect to see another (North Korean) face look back at you.

We moved on to Dora Observatory.  You can actually look out into North Korea, although the MP at the observation deck will yell at you if he catches you taking pictures past the “photo line”.  You can go pray at a small Buddhist shrine or listen to a lecture (in Korean) about the DMZ lines.  (Just FYI, there are three lines: the actual DMZ line, the Northern limit line, and the Southern Limit Line.)

Last stop on this particular tour was Dorasan Train Station.  The station is the northernmost train station in South Korea and briefly operated as a cargo station between North and South Korea, until North Korea decided to be all “North Korean” about it and shut down transport.  Even though there are no operating trains, just bus loads of tourists visiting, the staff still shows up for work everyday.  Partly because there are plans to reopen this train station as part of trans-Asian railway by connecting with Chinese rail lines...via North Korea.  That’s interesting in and of itself.  Interestingly, its the hope of unification that the station stands for.

I guess that is the thing about the DMZ...it’s a sharp, black and white, physical line that separates geography, politics, and culture.  But it is also a place of hope.  The hope that one day the line will be erased and that Korea will be healed.  It’s a beautiful thought.

EPIK 365 Day 256: DMZ Buddha

There is a small shrine inside the DMZ at Dora Observatory.  It's nice that there is a place to ask and wish for peace there.  Especially since Buddhism is all about peace.

EPIK 365 Day 255: Particularly Moving Statue

You can't see it in the picture, but inside the sphere is a relief map of North and South Korea.  One half the North is raised and on the other half the South is raised.  So, theoretically, the two halves will fit together if the sphere was pushed together…if the sphere is unified.

EPIK 365 Day 254: Comma Cafe

So, this wonderful place exists!!  It's called the Comma Cafe and is in Hongdae.  It's a combination coffee shop and book store…and it is wonderful.  It's also set up with individual study carrels so students can come and study.  It also has free wifi.

Take Line 2 (Green Line) to Hongik University Station, exit 8.  Walk straight until you get to the round-a-bout in the large intersection.  Cross the street to your right and it is on the corner.

EPIK 365 Day 253: This Always Strikes Me as the Ultimate in Hope

Quite often in writing assignments, especially ones about the future, my students will mention hope for a unified Korea.  I think it's a wonderful thought, but Anthropologically-speaking, I don't see how it will happen.  It was striking for me to notice that, even at the DMZ, the message of unification is still so strong.

EPIK 365 Day 252: New Friends

Hanging with my new friends at the DMZ.  Also, Memphis Tigers Represent!

EPIk 365 Day 251: Avengers Assemble...

Or whatever their call to action is.  I have no idea.  Anyway, Captain America and Ironman have made it.

EPIk 365 Day 250: DMZ

This weekend took me on an adventure to the Demilitarized Zone (or DMZ)…it wasn't the full, to the border trip, but it was only $30.  Can't really complain.  Anyway, when I have a bit more money I plan on taking the full tour.  You can also look forward to a full-length post on this trip soon!

EPIK 365 Day 249: Political Rally

With modern communication technology, we've lost a lot of political savvy…there's something to be said for a good old-fashioned political campaign speech held in the middle of town.