Christmas in Korea

A few friends in America asked me how I was planning to spend the holidays and whether I might be lonely being away from friends and family. Fortunately, I didn't have to go back to the States for the holidays because the States came to visit me! This was one of my most memorable Christmases, largely because of all the friend who were visiting Korea for the holidays.

On Christmas Day, I spent the morning at our church's Christmas Service. After lunch, I visited a joint EM Christmas Service hosted by Young Nak Presbyterian Church. After the joint service, Basile and I joined up with Caroline and Janice to see the light show at CheongGye Cheon, the urban stream that runs 6 kilometers through the heart of Seoul. Here are some pics that Basile snapped along the way. Unfortunately, pictures can't capture the bite of the subzero (Celsius) weather.





Sparkling tree in front of the Lotte Department Store





Looking up the Lotte building





Janice flirting with frostbite to give the Korean rabbit ears





Skyline above, urban stream below





I love this shot, with the light coming from below. The cotton candy looks like clouds.









Trying to stay warm before the light show begins. Janice on the left, Caroline on the right.









"Neon" snowflakes





Light banner in the distance, flashing "Merry Christmas", "Happy Holidays", and even "Feliz Navidad"! Next year I expect to see "Happy Hanukkah"!





Candid shot. Basile should moonlight with the paparazzi!









Street-level overhead, walking toward the source of the stream





"Hurry up, Basile!"









I love this shot! Kinda looks like a club.





Glowing globes levitating over water









At the end of the stream. Light banner and small waterfall in the background.





Who is that masked man? Basile makes an appearance.





Monster Christmas tree in front of City Hall





Merry Christmas!

Korean Kids

Korean kids are the cutest kids on the planet, in my unbiased opinion. I should know. I'm surrounded by them everyday. The church where I work runs a kindergarten on weekdays. My office is on the 3rd floor, and across the hall are two rooms full of 4, 5, and 6 year old boys and girls. I hear them belting out folk songs and practicing their ABC's. I hear their shuffling feet through my door as they scamper off to ballet or taekwondo class. I see them lining up outside the bathroom to brush their teeth after lunch (most Koreans brush their teeth after every meal). On some days, before going to my office, I'll peek into their classroom through the glass window of the door to see what they're doing. I'm worried what their teacher thinks of me.

So Korean kids are the cutest kids on the planet, but they're also little devils. They can be loud and undisciplined. Some of the boys have tried to pick fights with me. While in the bathroom, one of the boys splashed water on me and then ran into his classroom, knowing that I wouldn't follow him there.

They all seem to get a kick outta me. One of the 5 year old girls asked me in the cutest little voice, "Why don't you speak Korean?" (in Korean, of course). I answered, "Nah-neun babo-ya", which means "I'm a dummy". She and her friends started giggling. I think the fascination with me is that I'm the first ethnic Korean they've ever met who can't speak Korean.

For them it's quite bizarre, even unthinkable. They just can't seem to place me. I can see it on their faces: "Is he Korean? Well, he can't speak Korean. So he must be American. But he's not white."

I wish I could actually talk with them, but if I could speak Korean, their fascination with me would disappear. I would just be a creepy Korean man who needs to have kids or buy a puppy.





Yes, those are reindeer antlers that they're wearing. They're practicing for their annual Christmas Show.

I love that girl in the middle. She's like, "What choo lookin at, foo??"





Rehearsal





Showtime!

The Second Snow of Winter

The first snow was two weeks ago, but it was a but a trace and melted when it touched the ground. So you could say this was the first real snow of the winter. It was quite a delight to wake up on Sunday morning to watch snowflakes drifting past my 8th floor apartment window.

This is what it looked like as I walked to church.













Say "cheese"!





My usual effect on women!

Signs of Winter

Since I arrived at the end of September, the weather has been delightful, even balmy on some days, with temperatures reaching into the high 70's.

One reason why I've extended my stay is the weather. But perhaps this decision was a bit premature. This weekend there was an unmistakable chill in the air, an unwelcome reminder that winter is on the way.

The trees felt it too.

Changdeok-gung

My sister, Juliette, was visiting for the whole week of Thanksgiving. While she was here, we didn't take many pictures, but here are some that we took at one of the royal palaces.













Foreground - Old Seoul
Background - New Seoul

The Slums of Seoul

You wouldn't think it. But despite the meteoric rise of the Korean economy in the last 50 years, there are those who have been left behind. Today, Jaepil took me to visit one of the poorest neighborhoods in Seoul, which is ironically only a 5 minute drive from one of the richest neighborhoods in Seoul.





Foreground - a slum on the outskirts of Gangnam-gu, one of the most affluent districts in Seoul

Background - the towers in the distance represent some of the most expensive real estate in Seoul

Shop Til You Drop!

This is the anthem of many during the holiday shopping season, though less likely this year with the weakened economy. But Koreans take this to a whole new level.

I went shopping for a light coat this week. It took me a few days to explore the multiple mall towers of Dongdaenum and a variety of department stores, including Shinsegae, Lotte, Hyundai and Galleria, where I finally made the purchase. I swear, these malls are designed like Las Vegas casinos. There are no clocks, no maps, no store directory, and their labyrinthine design make them nearly impossible to escape without a compass and an uncanny sense of direction.

I took some pictures inside the mall, but the pit boss took my camera and erased the pictures. Oh, sorry, that was Vegas.





I took this picture of the store hours at one of the mall towers in Dongdaemun. That's no joke. Those aren't the Christmas shopping hours. Migliore is open later than the 7-Eleven in my Berkeley neighborhood (Telegraph & Parker).

DMZ

Today, Alex, a friend from SF, and I took a tour of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), a 2 kilometer-wide zone that runs east-west across the Korean peninsula separating North from South. Technically, it's not an actual border because the two Koreas never signed a peace treaty officially marking the end of the Korean War and creating two separate countries.

The tour included a stop at the Third Infiltration Tunnel, a mile-long tunnel that extends southward from North Korea under the DMZ into South Korea. It is assumed that this tunnel, along with three others that have been found (there are probably more), was built to facilitate a North Korean sneak attack.

But the highlight of the tour was the visit to the Joint Security Area (JSA). In this area, there are a series of blue buildings which have hosted face-to-face meetings between delegates from North and South Korea. During this part of the tour, we were allowed to enter North Korean territory under US and Republic of Korea (ROK) Army escort.





Before Alex and I went on the tour, we stopped by the War Memorial of Korea near Camp Kim. This was one of the statues outside the museum.





The main building





This is NOT the Third Infiltration Tunnel (we're not allowed to take pictures inside it). Rather, this is the tunnel that leads to the Third Infiltration Tunnel.





We were briefed at Camp Bonifas on the history and status of the JSA by the US Army serving on behalf of the United Nations Command.





































Inside one of the blue buildings. On the left of the table is South Korea. On the right is North Korea.





In North Korea. Do I look a little nervous?






Looking at a faux North Korean city (like a Hollywood set)





War is hell