Mamma Mia

An evening with Mrs. Shim and our family - another great reunion. Our family photo in front of the "musical fountains" at the Seoul Arts Center. Taking a trip down the west coast and watching Dad swimming in the West Sea. Standing on a granite peak and seeing the sun set over the islands off Mokp'o, listening to the loud chorus of locusts. Walking along the boardwalk at night with everyone as the locals fished and cooked their dinner on the rocks. Trying to maintain a steadily dwindling morale as we searched endlessly for the perfect seafood restaurant - only to settle for a solidly mediocre, but still enjoyable, dinner. Doing our best to escape the long reaches of civilization on a boat tour through some harbor islands off Mokp'o, and getting a taste for what might lie just beyond our reach. Ditching the bus for 1st class travel on the butter-smooth 300 k.p.h. KTX train for the rest of the trip. Savoring bibimbap like never before in the city of its birth, Jeonju. "Roughing it" on the floor of a hanok (traditional Korean house) and eating a hearty breakfast including, among other things, dragonfly-wing soup. Enjoying the morning calm in Jeonju - totally oblivious to the fact that a city the size of Seattle was waking up around me. Relaxing in the teahouses of Jeonju with Dad, Mom and Margo. Family dinners back in Seoul, and the nightly quest for the perfect restaurant - restaurants, restaurants everywhere, but not a crumb to eat. Really enjoying the food and the time together once the menus were decoded and food successfully made it to stomach. Getting a tour of the assiduously guarded Poguk skyway in the unrelenting heat - with the latent, nagging feeling that I was in some presidential guard's sniper scope (but forgetting that most of the time just enjoying the amazing views...) Another great dinner with the Hos, with plenty of good food and laughs, our bonds of friendship seeming to patch all the holes in our linguistic connection just fine.

And just for good measure, capping off this great experience most appropriately by snagging some of the last seats in the house for a Broadway show at the Seoul Opera House, almost entirely in Korean, and learning for the first time that my Dad was an ABBA fan. Mamma Mia.

Those are just the highlights that come to mind right now - I'm sure I'll come up with more later. I still can't believe this trip actually happened, and I couldn't be more satisfied. What a memory. Now it's on to my last two weeks and writing the final chapters of my own experience here - though it might be merely the epilogue as it will be hard to top the last two. ~Sean-toki

A Reunion to End All Reunions

Today was a big day. My whole family is here in Korea now - Mom, Dad, and Margo all arrived last week. It's a pretty big deal, on a number of fronts. One, for Mom and Dad, it's their first time seeing Korea in 23 years. Two, for Margo, it's her first time seeing Korea, period, after leaving as a 1 1/2 year old in 1983. Three, it's the four of us together - very much a rarity these days. And four, all of us together in Korea - maybe, from here on out, a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I'm sure I could come up with many other reasons for the gravity of this occasion, but you get the idea...

We all went back to see the old neighborhood in Seocho-dong, which I had seen when I first got here with the Hos. Looking back on it, it was pretty entertaining seeing Mom, Dad, and I all trying to figure out where it was once we got out of the subway (I'd only been back once, by car, so it wasn't easy for me to figure out either). We were all pointing in different directions, trying to get our bearings, and it wasn't long before several people were trying to help us out. Of course, it's hard to explain where you're going when you don't really know, especially when it's to a place that hardly exists anymore. Anyway, we cobbled together our various recollections, instincts, and my recent memories and within only 10 or 15 minutes, had it figured out. Once I got the scent I followed it like a police dog, and soon enough we were there. Everyone was just amazed of course at how much everything had changed, though Dad swore the building across the street was an original. We were lucky enough to meet the art gallery owner whose fancy building was occupying the space where our house was - she must have been wondering why a bunch of foreigners were suddenly so interested in her gallery. It turned out that she spoke fluent French so she and Mom had no problem communicating.

Later it was on to Lotte World (Lotte must own half of Seoul) where there was a really great folk-village type area that felt almost more authentic than the one I visited near Suwon, except it lay in the shadow of skyscrapers and a massive (11-story) shopping mall. After enjoying some Korean pancakes and mahkoli, we watched a few performances, which were completely free of charge. The performances were great, highlighted by Korean wrestling where the contestants topped out at around 12 years old and maybe 100 pounds for the real big heavyweights. The two wrestlers would start by each taking hold of the other's belt, with both hands, one at the other's back and one at the side. Each "round" would last all of about 5 seconds, when one was able to take the other down. At one point they asked for volunteers from the crowd, and they got this older guy who might have been around 55 or 60 to get in the ring and take on one of the kids. It was probably the match of the day - after much wrangling, the two finally both went down in the dirt, and I think it would be fair to say that it was a draw.

The big event of the day was yet to come - the aforementioned "reunion to end all reunions" with the Hos at the Hyatt Hotel overlooking the city. For various reasons, including an ill-fated attempted shopping trip, we were frantically racing to get there on time, which of course didn't happen, but considering the circumstances, we were certainly fortunate to be only 1/2 hour late. It was nice for Mom and Dad to finally see some familiar sights along the way - luckily bridges don't usually change much, and military bases generally keep the same concrete wall/barbed wire look over the years. And apparently the Hyatt was even there at the time, so it was good to be able to add that to the list of familiar places as well.

Seeing the Hos with my Mom and Dad again, and having them be able to finally see Margo was, to say the least, a special experience that got me a little misty-eyed. We laughed over some old memories, met some "new" family members (I'd never met many of the Ho's grand-children, who are now in middle and high school), just generally enjoyed being together after all these years. I remember how two months ago I was sitting in the same place with the Hos, thinking it was the most amazing thing ever to be there with them again. Only to have it topped by the almost unthinkable - our family back in Korea, together, sitting with their entire family, which almost certainly will never happen again. It's still hard to comprehend how fortunate it was for us all to be together like that. "Boy in the Bubble" by Paul Simon comes to mind..."These are the days of miracle and wonder." ~Sean-Toki

Pine needle tea

Had a great evening tonight with a couple of friends - after expecting another typical 3-stage night out, I was happily proved wrong. This time things started out unconventionally at the Yongsan electronics market, a massive expanse of all kinds of gadgetry, ranging from shops hawking DVDs of movies that hadn't even been released yet to perfectly legitimate enterprises selling high-end computer equipment for bargain-basement prices. I didn't ask how they kept their prices so low, but took the opportunity to buy a couple of things I had been needing for a while. Nothing glamorous - just a memory stick and a hard drive, but it was just satisfying being able to take part in the giant, free-for-all electronics market that back home would have just been a trip to some sterile big-box store.

Later we met up with a friend of my friend Keun-Tae "the Kindness" and had samgaetung - ginseng chicken soup...the best I've had in Korea so far. It's basically a whole (small) chicken stuffed with rice and dates, cooked in a ginseng broth, accompanied of course by some ginseng liquor on the side. Later it was on to another spot for some dong-dong ju (a fermented rice drink served in a big bowl that looks a lot like Kava, but tastes almost fruity) and vegetables with acorn jelly, kimche, and soybeans - very eclectic, yes. The final stop of the evening was at a great little Insadong teahouse hidden up a flight of stairs that I would have never found on my own. It's one of the oldest places in the neighborhood, and Keun-Tae's friend Jung-yeob had been going there for more than 10 years just to hang out, read, and do traditional ink-drawings. On the walls were messages and drawings scrawled over the years...traditional Korean window frames hung from the ceiling and doubled as separators for the various nooks of the restaurant. Our menu came written on a large piece of bamboo (that I never could have de-ciphered) and thankfully Jung had a recommendation for me. I didn't know what it was until it came out - but soon found out that it was nothing I had ever had before...ice-cold pine needle tea. It was excellent, but a little strange to be drinking and tasting something that I had only smelled for my whole life. And if that weren't satisfying enough, the owner came by our table and told us he had a special gift for us to try - persimmon leaf tea. I had actually ordered this tea last time I was in Insadong, as persimmons are one of the things that always remind me of Korea (I don't think I've actually had one in over 20 years...) Jung was so surprised to get this gift, compliments of the house, as in all his years in going there as a loyal customer, had never gotten anything for free...just another example of how generously Koreans treat foreigners. Of course neither Keun-tae or Jung would let me pay for anything during the entire night.

An unexpectedly great evening, with some truly memorable conversations. We had a really interesting talk about how Koreans, after reaching the age of 60 or so, are given a "second name" by their good friends. It's typically no more than two words, and to be a truly great name, it must reflect the very essence of that person's life thus far. A person may have many second names, but might choose one that they like in particular and stick with it. So there's a lot of pressure, if you're really close with someone, to figure out a name that suits them, and that in two words gets at the very core of their being. These "second names" are typically those found written in Chinese characters on traditional Korean paintings.

On a totally different topic, my mom and sister arrive tomorrow and I can't wait to see what their impressions are of Korea - especially my sister who will be seeing her birthplace for the first time. Hopefully she'll feel right at home...

~Sean-toki