Trip to Yonmunsan

There are a lot of Buddhist temples in Korea.

Some are more picturesque than others, and making a pilgrimage to the really nice ones is a popular activity for believers and nonbelievers alike.

My sociology professor managed to turn the trip into a school-sponsored excursion, and so I got my first chance to leave the city in three months.


As you might be able to see, this trip happened to be during the height of the autumn foliage in Korea, which is pretty amazing, even for a jaded New Englander like myself. People here love their leaves, and I'm happy I was here to experience a season that doesn't freeze my hands shut or drown me in hot rain. :)

Our professor managed to secure us an interview with a monk at the working monastery, who was pretty welcoming to our questions about his life and Buddhism. I finally found out why they always wear those cool grey robes, (supposedly, they are the least bothersome garments, allowing them to focus solely on meditation), that they can use any modern convenience so long as it does not tie them further into the self-destructive bustle of this world, (you might be able to see the computer behind him), and why Buddhist like babies (they are a pure, neutral metaphor for the soul a Buddhist wants to attain).


Also at the temple was an 1100-year-old gingko tree, which was supposedy planted by the staff of a Boddhisatva. I'm a little skeptical, but the tree could be that old. It's hard to tell from the picture, but the thing must have been at least 80 feet tall. The monk said it is the oldest living fruit-bearing tree.




I also got a picture of the mountains around Seoul on our way back into the city. It felt really good to be away from the skyline for a while.


And this is a picture of my campus at about the same time, its ringed by mountains.

Comfort Women Protest

A long time ago at GW I started learning about "comfort women" a euphemism for the Korean women used as sex slaves in Japanese military brothels during WWII. While their continuing demand for a sincere apology from the Japanese came up often during discussions of lingering animosity between Korea and Japan, it was difficult to grasp the intensity of the continuing struggle until I saw the women in person.

Every Wednesday afternoon, former "comfort women" collect in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul. There aren't many women left at this point, a vast majority were either executed or died from disease during the last days of the war. Still, a large group of young Koreans gather to support the women and to listen to their strident appeals for reparation and admission of guilt.

(it's really interesting to look at the faces of the women in this photo)
As with many events in Korea, I felt uncomfortable lunging in front of protestors and snapping a photograph, they aren't there to be tourist curiosities.

While apologies have been offered by the Japanese government, there still remain right-wing officials who claim the women were not coerced or were even privileged to be serving the Imperial Army's ambitions.

At the protest, the most spirited of the remaining women shouts a fiery oratory at the front of the embassy, denouncing the Japanese and her own government for not forcing an apology out of their neighbors. I don't know if the event has ever turned violent, but there are always riot police between the two parties. ( the second picture shows just how young and bored-looking riot police are in Korea. Despite the fearsome reputation of Korean protests, most of the day for the policeman, who are serving as part of their military term, is just spent standing around).



During the protest, there was a speech by a representative from Amnesty International, which is working diplomatic channels to secure an apology. The audience also collectively sang and danced for the women, a measure that would "give them strength" to continue. I think more protests should involve dancing.


Throughout the protest, the Embassy remained silent, with all windows shut, a rather forbidding metaphor for the country's longtime feigned ignorance toward the phenomenon of Japanese sex slaves during the war.

If my language sounds strong, it's because many violent episodes in Korea's past seem far less settled than those I am familiar with in America. The women who suffered are still alive to press their case, those who suffered under the military dictatorship in the 60s and 70s are up and walking around, and other episodes seem barely under the surface.

B-Boys, TV

I wanted to wait until it was sure that I was getting this before I posted, but I filmed a part for a tv show on Channel SBS this afternoon. I got a call this past Wednesday from an SBS producer who got my number through my homestay broker. They were putting together a show in a series of educational/entertaining variety shows that are pretty common here. Essentially, I and two other foreigners ate a lot of Korean food until we were stuffed, then chugged a bottle of this medicinal syrup they use here for upset stomachs, all on camera.

The syrup didn't really do anything except leave a strange taste in my mouth, but the producer apparently liked what I did. There was a lot of exaggerated "I'm way too full" acting involved, nothing too complicated. As I was getting ready to leave the little studio where they did the filming, the producer asked me if I would be interested in doing other acting for them, as a part time job. Needless to say, the idea of getting paid to do really weird/interesting things on camera really appeals to me. I got pretty decently paid for the three hours of work today, and I should get about as much as I would tutoring English if they decide to call me back in the future.

I realize that the only reasons why I interested the producer was because I am very obviously a foreigner and can speak a bare minimum of Korean, acting ability doesn't really come into play. I felt a little guilty after she offered me the job because she didn't say anything similar to the other two people who worked on the show, a Malaysian guy and a Japanese woman. Both of them had perfect Korean, maybe a little too perfect for a show that is trying to demonstrate how foreigners interact with a new culture. I will mention it in the future if I ever get a call back from SBS.

In case anyone is able to watch the clip in Korea, (it should be about ten minutes), it will be on channel SBS in early October, I still need to hear about the exact date and time. I will also try to upload it here.

Later in the day, I went to the KB B-Boy World Masters 2008, an international B-Boy competition that goes on at the Seoul Olympic Stadium. Eight teams, including China, Japan, Netherlands, Korea, and France (defending champions) spent a few hours breakdancing in front of a wild crowd. Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera and no clips are up yet on Youtube, but there is some good video up from last year's competition.

(official poster)
Korea is pretty famous for its breakdancing, I certainly wasn't disappointed. I was surprised at how many other artists they had performing besides the b-boys. Big Bang, Mighty Mouth, and a few others, all really popular Korean pop artists. The lineup made for strange audience, young girls and middle-aged women who were there for the boy bands, and a crowd of 20 somethings who were there for the b-boys. Either way, I had a great time. They have a half dozen or so similar international competitions here each year, so hopefully I grab my own video and upload it in the future.

In case you are wondering, a Korean breakdancing team was the winner, with the Americans coming in second (we were robbed, as were the French). Breakdancing at this level is pretty incredible, headspins for a minute at a time, double back flips ten feet in the air, it's not really dancing at that point, but it sure is fun to watch.

National Buddhist Temple

I visited the national Buddhist temple last week, which is in the heart of Seoul.

The building itself isn't very big, and it seemed recently built. My homestay brother explained that all of the older temples in Seoul were destroyed during the Japanese occupation, so now the only place where you can find the ancient structures and granite Buddhas is way out in the countryside.

In the courtyard in front of the temple was a display of paper lanterns, which at first seemed like nothing more than a way to brighten up the area.

But if you look closer from underneath them, you can read the word "OUT." "OUT" being part of the most popular political chant now in Korea, "Lee Myung Bak Out," (Lee Myung Bak is the current unpopular president).

I have even seen the chant shortened to 2MBOUT when it is spraypainted on buildings, (the word Lee also means two in Korean).