Tues, May 26, 2009 at 7:30pm
There is much mourning in South Korea following the death of former President Roh Moo-Hyun. Outside my apartment building, and in the center of Sanbon, there is an alter with a large picture of the fallen president, and many people have placed flowers. Crowds have gathered here forming long lines to pay their respects. I have witnessed many people bowing, praying in front of the alter, and crying. It's crazy to see so many sad people. I cannot recall a reaction like this, in my lifetime, to the death of a U.S. president. One of my students probably said it best, when he compared this event to the tragic death of Princess Diana in England. President Roh, it seems, was truly a man of the people, and I was told, brought positive change to the Republic of Korea. His sudden death is a tragedy.
Obviously, not everyone feels as strongly about this. Some, I have learned, did not agree with the man's politics, nor his pending corruption charges. The students, however, do not seem to mind discussing the man in class or what he meant to the nation. In fact, almost all my classes Monday and Tuesday started with this discussion. Monday's announcement concerning the recent North Korean nuclear test does not appear to have any noticeable affect on the South Korean people. At least not yet. Their minds and thoughts are elsewhere.
After posting the Week IV update late Sunday afternoon, I hiked to the top of Suri Mountain. It's roughly 30-45 minutes to the peak, depending on the trail and rate of speed, and it's a damn good workout. My shirt is usually well soaked and I am short of breath by the time I reach the top. So when I arrived around 7:30pm Sunday night, it was dusk and was a beautiful spring evening. There was a middle-aged Korean man at the top drinking coffee, smoking a cigarette, and enjoying the view. He spoke broken English and later introduced himself as Kook, a 52 year old technician from Sanbon. He offered me a cup of coffee from his thermos and I shared a granola bar with him. He also spoke some German, so we were able to share a few words before I exceeded my limited vocabulary. We enjoyed relaxed conversation (in English) for perhaps thirty minutes before both heading back down the mountain. During our descent, he invited me to have dinner with he and his son at a nearby restaurant. A most gracious offer, which, I accepted. Together, we feasted on samgyeopsal (Korean BBQ - thinly sliced pork similar to thick-cut bacon) and Kook and I shared three bottles of makgeolli. This, you may remember from the KOREA Day 10 Update, is the milky Korean rice wine, which tastes sweet and sort of similar to Squirt. It's actually kind of good, especially when consumed in "one shot" (Gun-ba), and toasted with new friends.
After dinner, Kook and his son invited me back to their apartment for coffee and bagels. He actually offered me more makgeolli or soju, which I declined because of early morning work. It turns out, he and his son share the spacious 15th floor penthouse apartment overlooking the mountain, and he has two adopted small dogs that he said were once homeless. After a tour of their home, I was invited upstairs to the rooftop where he maintains a beautiful garden filled with several potted plants and herbs. After listening to him identify each plant by it's English name and talk about how long he has been growing them, it was obvious he spent much time caring for these plants and they are truly his passion. Kook sort of looks like Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) from The Karate Kid, especially when tending to his garden.
The 16th floor garden was pretty cool, and the coffee and bagels were a fine after dinner treat, but what was most amazing was the entire evening. I left my apartment at 6:30pm with every intention of taking a quick evening hike and returning to my apartment for a relaxing dinner and preparations for the coming week. Instead, I met a new friend who bought me dinner, practically poured makgeolli down my throat, and invited me back to his residence to share more stories and show me something that is most special to him. But this is not an isolated experience. My short time here has been filled with stories like this which make for good blog updates and enrich my relationships with many Korean people. I continue to be impressed.
Peace and love in Korea.
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1 comment:
I think kook wants some american lovin!
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