NIIED, Hwachon Elementary, Seoul Tower

Last week we were given a lecture by the National Institute for International Education about English education in Korea and afterwards we took a field trip to a rural elementary school to see what schools outside of the city of Seoul are like and also to observe an English class that was being taught by a U of M alumnus, Brian Lee. The presentation and the school were both very interesting. I was most surprised by the fact that the rural elementary school, which only had 36 total students and consisted of grades kindergarten through sixth, was far better equipped and much nicer than every elementary school that I have seen in the United States. It was also a lot of fun watching the English class being taught by Brian. The kids seemed to be very enthusiastic and were having a lot of fun.

Later that evening, we went to Seoul Tower to have dinner with one of Jennifer's former students, Jae-Hyun. The tower itself was very pretty and not only had a lock bridge like the one in France where couples write their names on a lock and then attached it to the fence, it also had entire steal trees that were covered from top to bottom with locks. It was really cool. The restaurant we ate at was inside the tower and provided a great view of the city, as well as an all-you-can-eat buffet that was full of delicious food. One of my favorite parts about the restaurant was the mens restroom. The urinals, which can be seen below, were positioned so that you could look out over the city while you were there. I thought it was really creative and funny :P

Men's Restroom in Seoul Tower Restaurant

Wednesday, May 23rd - Halmoni Protest/Nakji/Baseball

As the May 16^th post stated, that day we were suppose to attend the Wednesday Demonstration of the Halmonis but were unable to find the Japanese Embassy in time for the protest. After being able to tour the War and Women’s Human Rights Museum, our group understood more about the history of the comfort women. Today, we had planned accordingly and left earlier to make our way to the protest, in which was a very moving experience. Once we walked up to the protest, we noticed the Japanese Embassy; the same building that was pictured in the museum, and four of the Halmonis sitting in observance at the front of the crowd. One speaker at a time was talking to the crowd using speakers, either talking about their organization that they would like the crowd to get fight for, or speaking to introduce another person. After another organization was announced and talked about, a man was introduced whom would play music. It was at the moment when this flautist played that recollection and history of the War and Women’s Human Rights Museum flooded everyone’s minds. The protest was loud enough for the Japanese Embassy to hear; yet all but two windows were closed, and no one entered or exited the building during the hour-long protest. As soon as the protest was over, our group wanted to meet the Halmonis, so we found our way through the crowd and asked the ladies for a picture with them; they said yes!

Four of the Halmonis

Speakers at the Wednesday Demonstration

Japanese Embassy

Flautist

Pyeonghwa-bi (Peace Monument)

 (a picture of our group with two of the Halmonis - coming soon!)

After eating our lunch for the day, our group headed to the Norangjin Seafood Market. Upon exiting the Metro (subway) the lovely smells of the seafood were present, and as we walked closer, the smells of course were stronger. Some people, unlike others, could handle the smells, but what a sight there was to see! So much different seafood to buy, and many of the crabs, squids, and fish were larger than you’d think, taking over an entire tank’s width. There were rows upon rows of merchants selling their seafood. As many of the group members requested, we searched for a merchant to sell us a live octopus so that they could try the delicacy of nakji (live octopus). After finding a merchant, the lady tried to sell us three octopi for a cheaper price, but three was way too many for the brave souls that wanted to just try it; we were finally able to buy one. We then asked the lady where a restaurant was located so that it would be chopped up for serving; as she led us to the restaurant those who were not trying the nakji debated on who would go into the restaurant to video tape and take picture – the debate ended with our whole group sitting in on the excitement that was to happen! J Nothing really more can be said – this video will say it all.

Soon after all the excitement of watching our group members eat live octopus (nakji), a few of us made our way to Jamsil Stadium to watch a baseball game, the LG Giants against the Nexen Heroes. We at first took the wrong Metro subway stop and got of at Jamsil, thinking we would find Jamsil Stadium upon exiting the subway, yet after all of our snack buying, we talked to a lady at the information center and realized we needed to get off the Metro at the Sports-Complex subway stop, oops! On our way back into the subway we made sure that we would get off at the correct stop. Finally we arrived to Jamsil Stadium, and we were sure this time with all of the thunder sticks we saw people carrying around. Not sure which line to choose in order to purchase our tickets, we chose one hoping to be the right one, only figuring out that it wasn’t the “cash” line, but the “credit card” line; they let us buy our tickets anyway, but we won’t ask what the cashiers were thinking of us, ha! Finding food and our seats was not that much of a challenge, and neither the excitement. The LG Giants side of the stadium seemed to be more energetic, but our group, being on the Nexen Heroes side, showed just as much excitement for the game. We all sang along with the cheers and songs – although we did not know the words, but who cared when everyone was yelling anyway! J Our group very much enjoyed the new experience of the Korean baseball game along with the atmosphere and excitement that it brought!

Thank you for reading! :)

Tuesday, May 22nd. Women's Rights and War Museum

Women’s War Museum-Entire GSP Group

                To find the Woman’s Rights and War Museum we had to, “travel off the beaten path.”The obscure location of the site is reflective of the current state of public discourse surrounding the violation against woman’s rights during WWII—such discourse is the less traveled road towards redemption and reconciliation. Everything about the building of the site to the contents is representative and symbolic of the struggle and pain caused by Japanese Imperial Army and violations against women throughout the world.

                The imagery and intention of each room was very provocative and stirred many emotions inside me—mostly those of pain, fear, and despair.  The black silhouettes with a blossom tree contained within to me represented the innocence, life, and love inside each individual. They were still flowers even though their light and life had been blotted out during this horrible experience. The somber position of the figures, their blackness; the blossom tree; the concrete wall; the gravel and sound of footsteps all prepared the dark period we were to enter.

                The dark, moist, and dank stench in the basement is still an unbelievable experience. The woman interviewed revealed a lot to me. Drawn by the lines on her face and the piercing look in her eyes I saw a history and a story of anger, sadness, contempt, and deep emotional and physical pain. Others may have seen different things, given each of our experiences and perspectives each of us may have interpreted her differently.

                We left the darkness and entered the light, but the struggle wasn’t necessarily over—in fact it had just begun. The darkness had passed but the pain, learning, and reconciliation process is still going on. The museum is also a means of educating individuals about the “comfort woman issue” and providing historical evidence of sexual-slavery during the War. The issue is still refuted and denied by some Japanese individuals today, perhaps more than we would like. We can’t forget that this was an intentional and organized system of sexual slavery. We have also learned that violence against woman and children and the violation of Woman’s rights are directly correlated with war and conflict amongst countries. The museum represents the past, but also a better future for the generations who see this place. How can we avoid and prevent such things from continuing to happen?

                Members of our group had strong emotional reactions in different ways; some cried and others remained silent but remained attentive. I believe all of us thought and felt deeply that day. I wondered how people connected to the museum, and in what manner people experienced the content. Many stated they were angry about the situation. Angry and frustrated that the Imperial forces could have done this, and that today it is still denied. Others had much more personal experiences to the content.

Food for thought:

                I wonder what other perspectives could provide us with a change, or further development towards a solution? We discovered that many players are contributing to the conflict we see today, not only the Japanese government. For example, the Korean government has continued to resist the process as well. In some way it has actively tried to sweep the issue under the table. We also discussed the position of the U.S. and how it could do more to make a serious impact. Just a thought, but how do the North Koreans view this issue?

                The difficulty is putting thought and feelings of deep emotional significance into practice. It requires a way to connect personally to the experience and maintain the feeling day in and day out. How do you actively practice change in your life? What difference will you make in your behavior when you return home? Will people notice that you are not the same person you were when you left three weeks ago?

~May you all blossom and flower into beautiful human beings.

Monday, May 21st: Trip to Osan Air Base

Osan Air Base: Dante,Tracy, and Jameesa

                The Trip to the Osan Airbase started off with a bit of excitement, but towards the end the day it turned into an enjoyable and memorable trip.

                Traveling to the airbase was very sobering. For me, it was a refreshing experience to travel during the morning hours and pass by fields of rice patties and farm land. The experience of feeling the wide open space around you, sweating with the hard sunshine beating down, smelling the warm musty air, and the sound of trains in the distance is truly a remarkable feeling.

                To begin the day, to all of our dismay, our lovely Hau-mo-knee (spelling phonetically, so please excuse me) could not enter the Airbase due to lack of two forms of identification. Sadly she had to retreat to Naksongdae and join the rest of the group in Incheon (which actually isn’t a sad thing at all, J). The three of us joined Eric and Captain Lynn Khel on a trip around the base.

                 I found Lynn’s blunt and honest style to be a refreshing reminder of the Wild Wild West, a.k.a our home the United States. Throughout various periods of the day the group divided along gender lines, allowing for personal experiences and dialogue to develop. The girls were shown some of Lynn’s favorite shopping locations, while Eric and I bonded as males.

                After an initial tour of the base we had lunch with Lynn, Eric, and a friend of theirs Officer Van Dam. He shared his experience with us and offered his perspective on various questions we had for him and the group. Van dam wanted to meet us, because he was also a graduate from Michigan. I think he enjoyed being reminded of home; he was from Grand Rapids (Lena, Hau!). Go Blue!!

                The base is a self-sustaining community. Korean and U.S contractors are on base to provide all the essential needs of life back in the U.S. Business is done in U.S. dollar and so are some shops surrounding the base. The community is certainly geared towards satisfying the military population, you can find many Koreans who will speak to you in broken English. Soldiers are never far, you will undoubtedly run into one eventually.

                We had an opportunity to visit the highlight of the base, the Airfield. We visited shopping centers; community facilities; Eric’s living quarters; Lynn’s house; and a golf course with a huge and very old Ginko Tree. We were also able to engage with some of the military community by participating in a Taekwondo class. Afterwards we discussed the difference in performance and discipline between the American and American-Asian students. There was quite a noticeable difference—I think Lynn referred to the American (white) kids, as “wild heathens” (or something along those lines)…. I think you get the picture though.

                I felt this was the first time Tracy, Jameesa, and I were really able to connect and spend time together. I felt that we were able be together and enjoy ourselves. I think it was a good experience for Tracy to be near something familiar, since she has a friend serving at Osan Airbase currently. For me it was another opportunity to evaluate my options, and consider what I would like to do after I graduate with my Master’s. Joining the military as an officer is a path I have been seriously considering lately. Jameesa was a great participant and really asked good questions of our guides. I enjoyed her presence, and loved that great laugh of hers (you know the sort of pulsed eh eh, followed by a big smile).

                Towards the end of the day I gave the old ginko tree a big hug, we ate dinner, and we walked through the warm air to the train station together.  The girls stayed behind for shopping, I said goodbye. It was a great day.

                I would like to leave some food for thought. Throughout our trip we have heard from many different perspectives regarding the U.S. military presence in S. Korea. We have become aware of the positive and negative impacts, opinions, and facts. We have seen with our own eyes the situation here, and listened in first person the personal experiences of people on almost every side of the story.  The one perspective that remains elusive is that of the women who are trafficked and exploited.

                Though we don’t have every perspective, I think some of us may have been able to start formulating an image of the situation. And my question to the group is… what do you believe? How do you feel about the situation, given the perspectives of all those we have met?

                For example, do you think it’s inevitable to stop the trafficking and prostitution? To Eric and Captain Khel this is a reality of life.  What do you think?

                Do you think that U.S. presence is preventing N. Korea from going to war again? To the Allied Friends speakers, U.S presence is doing more good than harm, and preventing any large scale attacks from N. Korea. As we have seen there isn’t any visible presence of tensions in daily life, does that mean anything?

                Who do you think is right? Who do you think is wrong? There doesn’t necessarily have to be a right or wrong, or even a correct answer.  Rather where do you stand on the issue? What are the perspectives or new information that we are missing that could resolve the multiple conflicts that we see?

p.s  Oh and we held our hearts and stood quietly to the sound of the National Anthem, Yay U.S.A!!

Monday, May 21 - Incheon

I didn't take any pictures today, so here are some funny pencil cases from Coex.

Hi again! Today my post will be shorter because we didn't have as many events. However, there are still some interesting things that happened. We lost three people to visit the Osan Air Base today, but the rest of us enjoyed a relaxing day in the suburbs.

After Korean class and a delicious breakfast at Angel-in-us Cafe, we hit the road toward Jennifer's parents' apartment in Incheon. It took quite a long time to get there so most of us caught up on some of our sleep on the way. When we arrived, we were surprised that the area we were in is considered the suburbs. "Suburbs" to Michigan residents usually means lines of  houses with front lawns and the occasional strip mall, library, and police and fire station. But these suburbs were brand new, 30-story apartment buildings and the same wide streets we see downtown.

The apartments we went to were set up facing inward toward several recreational areas that looked really nice. We took the elevator up to the 29th floor. My ears popped, and the view from the window was striking. Jennifer's mom welcomed us warmly into the beautiful, luxurious apartment she and her husband call home. It looked like a hotel room, with high quality dark wood floors, advanced technological features, and tasteful decorations. After resting for a bit, we went to eat lunch.

Jennifer's mother took us to a lovely Chinese restaurant. We all sat at a circle table. I had a separate vegetarian meal, but I could still visually appreciate the others' meals. It was course after course of different flavors and textures. Personally, I felt that my own meal tasted very different from American-style Chinese food, but it was good. It had different spices than what I am used to with Chinese food, and was more mild. However, some students tried 짬뽕 (jjambbong, a noodle soup) and experienced extreme burning spiciness in their mouths. Overall, everyone enjoyed their food and left with full tummies.

Next, we toured around the apartment facilities. Living there looks so convenient! There are various playgrounds for kids and adults, parks, a fitness center, a 7-11, and an enclosed area for mothers to wait for their children returning from late-night hakwon sessions.

Overall, I think we were all impressed by the elegance of the community, and very thankful to Jennifer's mother for opening up her home to us and taking time to show us around!

Saturday & Sunday, May 19-20 - Temple Stay

This weekend provided a bit of a break from the rest of the trip - it was more relaxed and slow-going, which we all appreciated after running around Seoul so much. We had the opportunity to participate in an over-night Buddhist temple stay at the Lotus Lantern Temple (and coincidentally, this weekend was the Lotus Lantern festival, which celebrates Buddha's birthday!).

Saturday we woke up and traveled to the Buddhist temple, which was about a three-hour trip. Once we arrived, we were instructed to put on certain attire provided by the temple, which was to be worn until we left. This consisted of a grey vest, along with very roomy grey pants. Afterwords, we had orientation which gave us a basic overview of the temple along with rules, such as when to be quiet and what not.

After orientation, we had a short break until we heard the ringing of the block signaling dinner time. At dinner, we were not allowed to speak and sat on comfy pillows on the floor. Food was served buffet-style, and I must say it was all pretty good. There was one or two times where I took something I did not end up liking, however because you need to be courteous we were required to eat all that was on our plate anyways.

Next we headed to a stadium to celebrate the Lotus Lantern festival. The event started off with some very good musical performances, along with a b-boy (breakdancing) group. The crowd consisted mainly of families, monks, and military men. After the performances, a monk went on stage and began the ceremony recognizing Buddha. Overall the experience was very interesting, and although we could not understand what he was saying, the general idea was understood.

When the ceremony ended, we had one more surprise before the night was over - we were going to be in a parade! Each of us received a paper lantern along with a candle to be lit inside, and walked along with the rest of the crowd to celebrate the festival. It turns out we were the first foreigners to participate in the parade in the last 10 years, and so the locals were very excited about the whole thing. Some of us started to even do a (kind of cult-like looking) movement of our arms to the beat of the band playing, which the locals got a kick out of. At the end of the parade, we gathered around an area where sky lanterns were being distributed. I must say, I loved this experience where we all lit the fire to fill up our sky lantern and watch them fly away together (and we almost lit a tree on fire, but that didn't happen, so no worries...). After the sky lanterns, prizes started being raffled off, such as bikes and toilet paper. Two of our very own group members won frying pans - congratulations Ayesha and Lena :D! Afterwords, we headed back to the temple and slept.

We didn't get to sleep long though... we had to wake up at 4AM the next day! We went to the temple, and joined in the morning chants the monk chanted. Afterwords, we headed over to a room nearby to meditate for a little over half an hour. Meditating was a bit tough, mainly due to how tired we were at the time. However, it was still a cool experience, and I enjoyed the time to relax. Coming up next was more chanting, specifically the 108 prostrations. This was optional, but most of us participated. The ceremony involved us to execute a full-body bow 108 times while the monk chanted the entire time, and for many of us this was a workout. I was shocked to find out that monks sometimes perform up to 3000 prostrations during their training.

We received a much-needed break, and had breakfast (I couldn't believe how much we had already done before eating breakfast - it was a very productive feeling). Then we had a short tour of the area around the temple, where we got to see rice fields and the pets the temple takes care of (which is unique to this temple - most temples do not allow pets). We came back and had tea time, where we got to ask the monk any questions we had. The monk was very open, and it was a great opportunity to get to know him more. We then had the chance to practice our calligraphy skills and copied sutras in Chinese characters, Korean characters, and English.

Next I got to participate in a unique activity as it was my birthday. I had the privilege of offering rice to the Buddha, before the rest of the group came and we participated in more chanting. Afterwords, we had lunch and then cleaned our rooms before heading out. The monks were very nice and offered to take us to the most-popular temple, which we eagerly accepted. Typically you have to pay to visit this temple, however since we had monks with us, we basically had VIP status and could just keep driving in. While we were short on time, we had a nice informative tour of the temple. We also had the opportunity to see and perform bows to the Buddha within the oldest temple of Korea.

Overall, the experience was amazing and we all really appreciated it :). It was great to experience another part of Korean culture, and participate in it first-hand. It will definitely be one of my fondest memories of Korea.

Thursday, May 17 Panel on Academic Life

As part of our 18 day program, Shannon asked us to participate in 2 sessions of her US study abroad workshop series. The first of the two that we had the opportunity to be in was on Academic Life. Majority of the students that attended the workshop were graduate students who wanted to continue on with their masters or PhDs in the United States. However, since many of us have worked in a research lab or in a setting with graduate students we were able to answer basic questions. The major concerns that I noticed were regarding respect and hierarchy. In Korea, there seniority and ranking is highly addressed in almost every regard. The conclusion that we came to was that Americans tend to value experience over age. It was interesting and different to have to discuss our own culture in front of others. We tend to do things without thinking because it has become our natural way of life.

After the panel, a few of our students went to the university's English Cafe. This is were students come to practice speaking English. While there, us American students had to practice as well. We had to enunciate our words and speak slower than we would to each other. One of the things I personally learned was that although English education is highly cherished in Korea, most students only focus on the reading and writing. Therefore, many of the students mentioned that they could read and write better than they could speak. Overall, have the opportunity to help some Korean students practice heir English was a great experience. Who would have known that knowing English was such a privilege.  :)

Wednesday, May 16 - Architecture Lecture and SNU Festival

Hello everyone,


Today, we went to National Folk Museum to listen to a lecture on Korean architecture.  I believe the location fit perfectly with the topic because the Museum is located on the grounds of Gyeongbukgoong (Palace), one of the few palaces located inside Seoul.  It was interesting to see the contrast between the traditional Korean architecture and the surrounding skyscrapers and modern apartment complexes.  Within the palace walls, it almost feels like you travel back to the Joseon dynasty, but this tranquility is interrupted by the car horns on the other side. 


Before we arrived at the lecture, we had plans to attend the protest for the comfort women outside of the Japanese Embassy.  Unfortunately, we could not find the location in time, but this turned out to be a good thing because we could learn more about the history when we visited the museum on comfort women later on. (Another blog post will talk about that).  


We were excited to learn more about modern Korean architecture from a top Korean architect.  Because Korea developed so rapidly, sometimes it seemed that buildings were just put up without any thought on design.  However, many architects have carefully planned design, location, and structure for each Korean building.  To be honest, the lecture was very interesting; however, many of us had dozed off from walking a lot beforehand and staying up late doing work for the past few days.  Although this does not excuse our actions, we sincerely apologize for our disrespectful behavior to the guest speaker and to our fellow audience members.  From talking to my classmates, we all enjoyed the topic and presentation, but exhaustion overcame us at the wrong moment.  

The presentation covered 10 main aspects about Korea and its architecture, but I will focus on one particular design that I liked.  One building that stood out during the presentation was the one for traditional Korean medicine.  The family practice had been running this business for several generations, and they decided at one point to update their facilities.  The architect's company proposed to combine both modern and traditional aspects for the building.  Almost the entire building was made of windows.  Even the factory equipment for making the medicines was visible from the outside and the boardroom office.  The architect wished for transparency and for people to become more aware of the process.  In the end, the family agreed to the design, and now the building stands as modernity encompassing tradition.  


In the evening, we attended the first day of the SNU festival.  Every year, SNU has a special spring event with performances by students and famous artists.  Although Wednesday was exciting with student performances, the main act was Brown Eyed Girls on Thursday.   As all my classmates know, I am a huge K-Pop fan.  I really wanted to see at least one Korean celebrity before I headed back to America.  So, when I found out BEG was performing, I was very excited.  Although they aren't my favorite K-Pop group, I still liked many of their songs.   When we arrived to the festival, we sat down on the grass, eating some snacks.  Student performances were occurring in the background.  When it got closer to the main performance time, my friend and I came closer to the stage.  The MC hyped up the crowd and then BEG appeared on the stage.  It was fun to hear the fan chants and to watch people go crazy for the free posters and CDs.  I enjoyed the concert, and I was glad I accomplished one of my goals for my Korea trip.    

Tuesday May 15, 2012 National Museum and Dragon hill Spa

The National Folk Museum of Korea was beautiful and pristine on the outside with its combination of modern and traditional architecture and on the inside held some of the most interesting artifacts I had seen while in Korea. It took us through Korean history in both a short timeline and longer, detailed chronological order separated by season. We learned of Korean Culture in three separate sections; The History of Korean People, The Korean Way of Life, Life Cycle of Koreans. While here we saw some of the staples of Korean culture like kimchi and its origin, artifacts from the Joseon Period (1392-1910), we learned of the Confucianist Principles by which people lived with and the traditions which were influenced by the ideology like state examinations, having a boy to carry on the family name, and respect for elders like mourning for three years after a parent dies. We learned a lot, in a comprehensive manner about Korean Culture. Not long after we learned about Korean Culture in a very different form; at a jimjilbang. The Dragonhill Spa was quite the cultural experience. When we saw the building from afar it was much more commercial than anything I could have imagined. Even more indication of its commercialization, it was located next to a large mall. When we approached the building we were greeted by an English speaking employee who explained to us the many amenities available to us at the facilities like sports massages, shiatsu massages, hot stone treatments, various skin treatments and more. The basic rate includes access to the bath houses, where it is expected that one soaks (unclothed) for an extended period of time and scrubs dead skin away, access to various saunas which are thought to improve wellbeing and alleviate stress. While we we were there we took advantage of the basic amenities which are actually what traditional bath houses consisted of. Traditional bath houses had a presence in Korean Culture because it was difficult to take warm baths individually, the cold weather seen in the weather was another factor since it was a source of warmth, as well as the corporal element of participating in something so private in public. This is often something that families do with one another. Our group participated as a unit and experienced the somewhat embarrassment of nudity, the relaxation of the baths, bared the heat of the saunas and bonded. This is how, despite the many modern features like an arcade, restaurants, nail salon, movie theater, the traditional element was still held.

Monday May 14th: A Conversation with Christal Phillips and the USO Good Neighbors Presentation

Today our schedule was full of interesting conversations and new perspectives. We started out at Cafe Pascucci at Seoul National University with Christal Phillips, a former University of Michigan alumnus and current lecturer at Yonsei University in Seoul. She began by explaining her life story and how she ended up teaching in Korea. She finished both her undergrad and law school education at michigan and later began work at a law firm. She soon became uninterested in corporate life and left to pursue her interests in social justice and sociology. She went back to school to complete her masters degree at Columbia University and through a friend stumbled upon a job opening at Yonsei University to teach. She jumped on the opportunity and has been working in Korea for about a year.

Christal seemed to be a strong advocate for getting a "global education" and studying abroad. She explained that even with high degrees from prestigious universities, sometimes it still can be difficult to find a job. For that reason, she explained, it's important to not limit yourself to only one job field, interest, or even country when applying for positions. This seemed to resonate with our group, because I felt that most people were interested in studying abroad or possibly even working outside of the U.S. sometime in the future. While some of us felt that her tone appeared disillusioned and pessimistic at times, she provided some very useful and practical information about finding jobs that fit our interests and how to find ways to work abroad.

The USO and U.S. Army presentation later on in the day turned out to be surprisingly interesting. I think many students arrived at the informal lecture assuming the material would be mostly military propaganda. While the session did seem to have a positive perspective on the U.S. military presence in South Korea, it also helped answer many important questions we had about korean military history and current tensions with North Korea. The USO began the discussion explaining that it was created to provide resources and boost morale for U.S. troops and their families stationed abroad. They are a private company that is contracted by the U.S. military and they help provide entertainment and "a taste of home" to the U.S. soldiers. Some examples of their work include contracting with big entertainers such as country singer Toby Keith, or helping to develop an "america town" around one of the U.S. military bases in South Korea. At this base, there are gas stations, convenience stores, shopping centers, and restaurants that all cater to american customers. They speak english, cater to american tastes, and even accept american currency. Overall, it seems like the USO does not have a strong involvement in politics, but rather acts as a support system to help american soldiers abroad.

Later in the discussion, we had two U.S. military officers stationed in Korea speak with our class. They provided some interesting insights into the reasons behind the U.S. military presence in korea. On one hand, they explained, it is beneficial to Korea to have American soldiers stationed on the peninsula to provide security should North Korea or another asian country decide to attack the country. Korea has historically been a wealthy but small country, making it a frequent target of invasions. In addition, the U.S. military does more than simply wage war and provide security, it often functions as an emergency response unit and provides assistance to Korea in the event of landslides, earthquakes, typhoons, and other disasters. Finally, they explained, the current presence of the U.S. military in Korea is not necessary; Korea has a very strong military of its own and can fully respond to any military threat or natural disaster without assistance. However, the presence of the U.S. military in Korea is used also as a way to form a strong political bond between the two countries, existing as an offering of goodwill and support to Korea. While it would be interesting to hear how the Korean military perceives these attitudes, it appeared that the opinions of the military officers were genuine and honest. Overall, the talks by both the USO representative and the U.S. military officers offered an interesting and unique perspective on the cooperation of the U.S. and Korean militaries.

Sunday May 13th - Mall, Human Rights, and Volunteering

Hi everyone! Sorry for the delay in posting - I believe I can speak for all of us when I say we've been having a lot of fun the past few days :). Anyways, this post is going to cover what our group did this past Sunday.

Early in the morning, we headed out to Coex Mall, a very large mall within Seoul. There, we first visited the Kimchi Field Museum inside the mall. It was pretty surprising to find out there was a museum placed within a mall, and albeit small, there was still much to see and learn. In particular, the museum contained a great variety of kimchi, along with displays and items that depicted the history and tradition of kimchi in Korea. If you did not know, kimchi has deep cultural ties to Korea and is loved by the community (in 2010, when there was a cabbage shortage, newspapers deemed it a "national tragedy" because there would be less kimchi). A cool interactive part of the museum included a tasting area, where one could try different types of kimchi.

After checking out the museum, our group had time to explore the mall. The mall had a large variety, and it was interesting seeing everything, however I felt some of the prices were too high compared to what you could find at night market shops. Therefore I didn't buy much, but still enjoyed exploring the mall. One thing to note is that Korea tends to be a bit more stylish than Americans in their everyday clothing, so  many of the stores contain more expensive, fashionable items.

When we were done at the mall, we traveled via subway to our next destination, a human rights workshop hosted by an English-speaking group. A professor spoke for most of the workshop, inviting people to respond at various points and overall there was a good discussion. In particular, the discussion covered the discrimination women face in society and also the idea of "security or human rights?" Overall, the workshop was a bit overwhelming (essentially a 3-hour lecture with a 10 minute break in the middle), but it was still interesting to observe.

Our final event of the day included volunteering with a group in Seoul. The focus was aiding the homeless in Seoul, and so our group of 10 along with 10 other Seoulites all chipped in 10,000 won (~$10) and bought a large amount of food to create little dinner bags. Each bag included a banana, bread, another type of bread, and soy milk. After packing all the bags together, we headed out on to the streets and subway underpasses to hand out the food. It was a very interesting experience, and revealed to me a part of Seoul I had never experience before. While it was saddening to see the people in the state they were, I was also glad we were able to help and I really appreciated the work the volunteer group we were with does (they do this every week, along with other events). I believe everyone else liked the experience and felt accomplished also; by the end of the night, we were able to feed 160 of the homeless.

After that experience, we all headed back to our rooms to rest. Overall, the day was jam-packed but very interesting; we got to see many parts of Seoul we had never seen before.

Thanks for reading :).

Saturday May 12th - Fair Trade Festival and Teaching English

Hi everyone!  Today was a packed morning schedule.  We were invited to attend the Fair Trade Festival in Seoul by members of iCOOP, which is a food cooperative in Korea.  We had the chance to listen to iCOOP representatives about their services and their plans for sustainability.  The festival organizers mentioned that we would be participating in a parade, but they did not share any more details about it. 


We arrived at City Hall Station, curious to learn what our role would be in this parade.  We met our iCOOP representative, who showed us around the festival.  We learned that we would helping iCOOP pass out ice cream to the attendees.  Thankfully, they did not mention anything about the parade. (Some of us were speculating that we would have to dress up as different fruits, which would be very interesting...).

After taking a look around the festival, we returned to the iCOOP booth to get ready for our job.  They kindly gave us all  free "Fair Trade Festival" t-shirts.  They also let us borrow iCOOP aprons.  Once we got the ice cream stand setup, we started attracting a lot of attention.  We had two groups passing out ice cream, and lots of people were coming to both.  We shouted, "Free ice-cream, iCOOP ice-cream, annyounghaseyo, kamsahamnida."  Basically anything to get people's attention.  We didn't have to try to hard because people were just fascinated by a huge group of foreigners.  Several of the press people took pictures of us, even some of the attendees took pictures with us.  


We had great time passing out ice cream, but unfortunately our time was limited.  Some of us had to go volunteer at a school to teach English. A few of us went to meet a US and British army veteran living in Itaewon.  


After a quick lunch, we headed towards the subway in order to go to the school.  Once we arrived at the school, we were greeted by shouts and kids running around.  We shared some balloons that we got from the festival with them.  We divided into groups in order to teach English to the kids.  My group, Leni, Chris, and I, were teaching a group of nine to ten year olds.  We used hand games to teach them numbers and colors.  Then, we played "Simon Says" to teach body parts in English.  It was difficult coming up with games on the spot.  I wish we had prepared more earlier.  


I noticed that some of us took more of a direct role to interact with the kids, while others observed more in the background or played assistant roles.  A few of us were naturally gifted in working with the children.  Even with all this talent around us, we all had a very challenging time managing the kids.  Some kids did not want to play or were just disruptive.  There was also a language barrier that would prevent us from explaining the rules.  However, after we got over the craziness, we were able to teach some English to the students.  A few were exceptionally talented in English.  One kid was a spelling genius.  We passed out several cookies for when they answered questions correctly.  When we passed out teddy grahams, some of the kids complained if a leg or arm was missing, which I thought was very funny.


By the end of the two hours, we were all exhausted.  The teacher thanked us several times, and we took several group photos together.  We enjoyed our time at the school (even though it was very challenging) and appreciated the opportunity provided by PLUR. 


Thanks for reading! 


    

Saturday May 12th. Visting Ben: A True War Veteran

Our visit with Ben was both a very humbling and entertaining experience. Ben was an 87 year old veteran of World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Through his service in the military he obtained his bachelor's degree from Boston University and later taught other students in the military around the world. On one hand his stories were very interesting and he was a very entertaining person to listen to. He would often break out into song when he thought about his childhood and teenage years in Great Britain. He also seemed to be a dictionary of Shakespeare and Kipling quotes and would often insert them in between conversations. His wife, a Korean woman who spoke english and cared for him through his dementia and other ailments, was also very hilarious as she managed to force us to eat several plates of bratwurst and plied us with beer. On the other hand I felt that many of Ben's stories of his experiences during the wars were quite chilling. He told us about how he served as a glider pilot during the invasion of Normandy during World War II and how he would descend towards the beach as we imagined him dodging enemy gunfire along the way. He also told us about his experience throughout the Korean War, which he described as the most difficult war he served in because of the harsh weather and lack of shelter on the Korean peninsula at the time. He offered a humbling perspective on life and had very strong opinions about his fellow comrades in the wars. In his opinion, he was often frustrated with his fellow soldiers who wound up in poverty or homeless after they came back after the war. His argument was that the military offered people the opportunity to "pick themselves up by their bootstraps," either by funding their college educations with G.I. bills, or by offering opportunities to either work in the army or become a high ranking officer later in their careers. His stories were enlightening; they put to shame the common complaints of young individuals such as the high jobless rate in the U.S. or the mandatory military service in Korea. While these current complaints are often valid and are surely problems that many young people face, they pale in comparison to the conditions and obstacles such as war and famine that our ancestors had to face only a few decades ago. Overall, our conversation with Ben and his wife turned out to be a rewarding and thought-provoking experience and we felt honored to meet with such an accomplished man before his stories were lost to history.

Friday, May 11 - DMZ and Namdaemun

Friday May 11, 2012

Today we were able to attend a tour of the Demilitarized Zone of Korea also known as the DMZ. Although we had to leave by 7:00am, I think our group ended up enjoying our time!

It took about an hour an a half to get from Hoam Faculty House to the DMZ, this is with a few delays and bus transfers of course. Once we reached the DMZ, there were plenty of restrictions and regulations that we were warned about by our awesome tour guide CK (Crazy Korean) lol. It was crazy to hear the history of how things came to be between North and South Korea. I also can't lie. I was pretty nervous that something could abruptly happen, like a missile being shot over or something. Of course that's unrealistic, but we never know. I noticed that everyone in our group was very engaged in the exhibits and our tour guide's story.

Also we were able to enter one of the tunnel's of the DMZ. I think that was quite the bonding experience since it was a small and enclosed setting. It took a while and was definitely a workout, but I think it was a great experience that we're all glad to have said we did. I also think that everyone enjoyed shopping at the DMZ market where we were able to buy North Korean wine and products that were exclusively made in the DMZ. 

Secondly, we had the opportunity to explore the markets of Namdaemun. Everyone split up due to different food choices. However, some of us did meet up. The "copy" culture was everywhere! There were Louis Vuittons, Chanel, Pumas, and plenty more for less than half the actually price. As we noticed that there were tons of stores selling the same products. It's obvious that many markets are competitive of one another, especially in a such a busy city like Seoul. Many different forms of advertisements were used to attract different customers. For example, there was a crew of people trying to sell these "OMG cookies." They knew like 5 different languages for there presentation in order to better market their product to foreign customers. I thought that was CRAZY! 

As for our group dynamics, I can see that people in our group are becoming more comfortable with each other. Everyone is more open and flexible with sitting with others. I think part of it may be from the random buddy and the other part from just being with each other everyday. A few people are starting to get sick now, but nothing too severe. I hope that we continue to get along with no problems, so that we can have a great time with each other and enjoy the rest of our stay at Seoul! =]]

Thursday, May 10 - Old & New Markets

안녕하세요!* The theme for today was food shopping. We visited a co-op shopping center, an old-style food market, and a modern grocery store.

When we first arrived at iCOOP, the co-op program we've been getting to know, at first we weren't sure whether we had to be members in order to shop there. We walked into the store timidly, half afraid that some sharp-eyed housewife would glance our way and sound the intruder alarm. Fortunately, we soon learned that anyone can shop there, and ended up spending a long time looking around.

In addition to selling fair trade and organic food, iCOOP really knows how to present its offerings. The store was well-lit and warm-colored, with no sky-high shelves like the ones I usually struggle with in American grocery stores. There was also a small seating area near the bakery and pizza station. The items available included many foods I had never seen before; among our purchases were Drew's 12-dollar tomato-smelling sweet Schizandra juice, Dante's goat's milk that smelled like rich yogurt, and Ayesha's super-soft, Italian-seasoned bread.

Not two minutes into shopping, a few of us became enthralled by the woman in the bakery section decorating cakes. Chris was amused by yet another example of Koreans using scissors for preparing food, and Tracy and I gaped at the speed, ease, and grace with which the cake decorator produced such beautiful desserts. The woman continued to work as if we weren't there, but when she finished decorating all the cakes, we applauded and she smiled and blushed.

 

 

After this clean, organized, and modern experience, what we saw next seemed particularly flavorful. We journeyed to 남대문 (Namdaemun), a bustling market with vendors selling fruit and veggies, seafood, snacks, and more. While some people in our group had visited similar style markets, it was a first for most of us. The order seemed to be random, and a lot of the same foods were being sold by different vendors. I found it interesting that the vendors didn't really try to differentiate themselves to compete, or at least it wasn't obvious. I don't have any pictures, but when whoever the photographer was posts theirs, I'll hopefully remember to put some here.

Most of the vendors were quite friendly. Lena had an amusing interaction with a cheerful 아저씨 (ajeossi) vendor, during which she jokingly called him 할아버지 (harabeoji) and he retorted with "할머니! (halmeoni!)," pointing at her. A younger vendor, a chubby guy with a little ponytail on his permed hair, immediately greeted us with a barrage of "Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi..."

There were also some 아줌마s (ajummas) selling 떡 (ddeok), the chewy glutinous rice flour bites filled with red beans, sesame seeds, sweet syrups, etc. A few students purchased the packages of six. Ddeok is awesome.

I only made one purchase today. Since coming here, I've decided that 배 (Asian pears) are one of my favorite foods. Their crisp watermelon texture combined with apple-pear flavor never disappoints me. I bought a pair of them from a vendor and I'm eating them as we speak. 

The street market experience left me with some questions. Where do the vendors get the foods they sell? Do different vendors sell foods they purchased from the same farmers? I wasn't able to determine this answer.

While we were in the 남대문 area, we also checked out a more modern grocery store nestled within the old-fashioned area. This market was markedly more crowded with both foods and people than supermarkets in the US. In addition, I'm starting to think that the concept of ten-foot shelves in stores is American but not Korean. I literally have to climb the shelves in the US at times, but here in Korea everything is well within reach. 

Ryan, Chris, Ayesha, and I were fascinated briefly by the wide selection of packaged dried seaweed available, and by their gargantuan size--some were probably one foot by two feet. Overall, the store was much less organized than US supermarkets, but this had a kind of charm because you might stumble upon something cool just chilling by itself. (Later note: it seems market style influences a lot of organization in Korea; Coex is also laid out more similarly to an outdoor market than to American-style malls. Even the jjimjilbang we went to could be considered market-style.)

Anyway, this is yet another example of old Korean traditions coexisting with a constantly modernizing society. Korea continues to be a thought-provoking endeavor and I'm excited to see what's next.

*Annyeonghaseyo! GCC variations include 응응응세요, 거머어세요, and 어서어서소 but that's a subject for another time.

Wednesday May 9, 2012 ICOOP Presentation

We learned about the cooperative ICoop which is an association of people who seek to have responsible economic activity by practicing ethical consumption and production. This is done through the respect for laborers who produce the goods which they consume they seek to demonstrate. We learned that the generation of ICoop in 1998, as an enterprise came about because of the initiative taken by some individuals, mostly women, who wanted healthier local foods for their families. They decided what they wanted; fresh, organic foods, produced in a manner they would feel was responsible. The point of a cooperative is that the people who benefit from it are also those who have invested in it as well. This leaves them more invested in the ins and outs of the business than perhaps typical consumers because they hold a sense of responsibility. ICoop has also been instrumental in social movements like free school lunch that would deliver healthy foods to all kids. The International Year of Cooperatives is something that was mentioned in the presentation. This was formulated by the United Nations in order to shed light on cooperatives as a source of employment and poverty reduction. The UN considers it an alternative business model that can help further socioeconomic development. This model could certainly have its benefits and with the world's many issues like poverty, environmental degradation and hunger.

Day 2 - Campus Tour and Snacks With Vice President Kim

Yesterday was our second official day of our GCC Field-Site experience. It was also our first day of classes, so we spent our morning chatting with students from NCHU in Taiwan. It was nice to get to talk to them again because we haven't had the chance to in about a month. After that we finally got to meet our partners at Seoul National University for the first time which was really exciting! Everyone seems to get along well with each other and our partners seem eager to talk to us and to get to know us. We spent about an hour with them in class and then a lot of students went out to lunch with their partners to get to know them better.

After lunch, we went on a campus tour of the beautiful SNU campus. The tour was really good, especially because it was led by student ambassadors from SNU who seemed very knowledgeable about the campus and were willing to answer all of our questions that we had about the college, life as a student, about Seoul, and even personal questions.

Following the tour, we had snacks and a brief presentation by Vice President Kim about SNU's opportunities for study abroad and how they are collaborating with top universities around the world. There were also more student ambassadors at the talk, so we were able to talk with them a little bit and were invited to join a "Halloween In Summer" party this coming Friday. It sounds like it is going to be a lot of fun and will be a great chance for us to meet some other SNU students.

We ended the day with no-rae-bon later that night around 9:30 pm. It was a lot of fun and we all had a great time. Unfortunately, some of the students on the trip were sick and still experiencing jet-lag, so not everyone was able to make it. However, I am optimistic that we will do it again soon with everyone in the program and hopefully with some SNU students as well :)