Monday, December 11, 2006

Seouly Moley!

Yoboseyo!

WEIRD KOREAN SAYINGS

"A wife like a fox is better than a wife like a bear". Huh?

"The smell of 'jun-uh' (type of fish) makes even the daughter-in-law
come back home". What the?!

The love of son-in-law is mother-in-law." Sounds disturbing to me...


UPDATE ON MY LIFE

Well, winter has finally arrived in the Korean Peninsula (actually,
more like assaulted since it happened all of a sudden). It's bitterly
cold, and we're not even in the coldest months! If North Korea nukes
us at least we'd be warm (though we won't be around long enough to
appreciate it). I find it hard to comprehend how with the temperature
and weather extremes from hot and humid to dry and freezing, Korean
people still manage look so youthful and vibrant, and have such good
skin. There must be a secret they're are hiding from me and the
world...

Not much has been happening of late, except that i'm working pretty
much every day now (although by choice - and what a dumb choice that
was). I'm also doing a language exchange with a Korean girl I call
Caroline, who for helping her with her English, I get to practise and
learn Korean in return. With this and learning Korean through the
computer, I've learnt quite a lot so far (ku goshi che yonpilul
anissoyo - that is not my pencil!)

I have also done some sightseeing, and have plans to visit North
Korean territory next week when I head off to visit the DMZ
(Demilitarised Zone), which is the most heavily fortified front line
in the world between two countries at war (and yet also happens to be
a tourist attraction - go figure).

Anyway, one place I visited was Inwangsan mountain, which is just to
the north of the city center. Yep, it's surprising, but you can
actually go up to wilderness even in the middle of the city!
Inwangsan mountain is famous for this shamanistic shrines and buddhist
temples, where buddhisim and shamanism is still practised today. If
you're lucky you would see worshippers performing drumming and singing
ceremonies complete with traditional garments, food offerings and
dancing - rituals that have not changed from when it was first
created. Inwangsan also offers some lovely hiking trails where you can
see a Salvador Dali-esque landscape of naturally sculpted rocks - some
with uncanny resemblences to human forms - and views of the city and
ancient original city walls below amongst the mountain foliage. Oh,
and this is probably the only tourist sight in the world that involves
entering via walking through a massive construction site where you
have to dodge huge cranes and bulldozers operating around you and
workers playing with water hoses.

Seosomum prison is a disturbing place. It was a concentration camp
used by the Japanese to torture and murder Koreans fighting for their
independance during the Japanese occupation. The Koreans are very
bitter against the Japanese for this, and is evident in the depiction
of them in tacky dioramas complete with awkward mechanical puppets,
badly recorded sound effects and flashing lights which are great for
inducing seizures. There's even a torture room where you can witness
first hand what they went through. In all, I was quite deeply moved
(and 'tortured' - ha ha!) by what I learnt in the place.

Finally, the War museum, which is absolutely marvellous and definitely
a must see if you are into seeing big tanks, war planes, missiles,
missile launchers and submarines. The grounds of the war museum looks
like some giant kid had left out all their army toys scattered on the
grass and walked off!

But what puts the war museum on top of my list of things to see in
Korea is the military perfomances they put on every Friday afternoon.
Here you can witness the military rifle twirling (performed by hot
girls in short skirts), sword and spear fighting (performed by not so
hot guys in traditional war uniforms), traditional and modern day
drumming, and all other kinds of entertainment - and it's all free!


CANDY DAY!

Yay!~ ^^ The Koreans - ever creative - have come up with a way to
celebrate the fact that the 11th of November (i.e 11/11) looks like
peperon, a type of cylindrical wafer biscuit stick with one end dipped
in chocolates and nuts. So on this joyous day, friends and family go
around giving each other this delectable type of candy!


KOREANS HAVE THEIR OWN SCARY MONSTERS TOO!
Just when I thought Koreans couldn't be any more inventive, I learn
about their own "scary" creatures that go bump in the night.

My favorite has to be the hwanjangshil gwinsin, or toilet ghost. This
ghost is actually a red hand that comes out of the traditional
hole-in-the-ground toilets when one reaches for the toilet paper, and
asks you "do you want red toilet paper, or blue toilet paper." If you
answer, you die instantly! Apparently you could get away with saying
"I don't use toilet paper, I use a bidet"!

Also running rampant in the ghostly realm are the Chenyeo gwinsin, or
virgin ghost. This is usually the spirit of a girl who died before
getting married, and is not happy about it. Described with having long
white hair, a pale white face, and a drop of blood on one side of
mouth. Her counterpart is the Mongal gwinsin, or male bachelor ghost.
This ghost has no face. Blamed for bad circumstances and events
occuring after their deaths, the only way to
be rid of them is to perform a ghost wedding ceremony so that they can
finally get married and find peace (Find peace?! And I thought that
getting married was the cause of more discontent! )

Finally, the Gumiho, which is a fox with nine tails that can
transform into a beautiful girl. This "foxy lady" (pardon the pun)
then lures young men in the mountains to bed where she then eats their
livers. Everytime she eats a liver she becomes closer to her goal of
eventually becoming human!


NEED A CHEAP THRILL? CATCH A KOREAN BUS

There is not much else that compares to the thrills and hazards of
catching a Korean bus. Often seen careening down the street at
breakneck speed - yet somehow managing to fly through narrow gaps of
traffic that had opened for a split second, and avoid accidents,
scratches, dents or pulverised vehicles (or people) - buses develop
your sense of balance: They are also a good workout for your muscles
as you brace yourself lest your arm joints be wrenched off at the
sudden change of direction from forwards to sideways.
Yet it seems that no one seems to mind, even old people take it in
their stride (forced that is, since they are litterally flung to the
back of the bus after having just entered it).
However, despite these shortcomings, buses are very reliable,
frequent, and although fearing impending disaster whenever you enter
these metal boxes of doom, you somehow arrive safely at your
destination (albeit with bruises and dislocated limbs, that is).


AJUMMA!

Ajummas are a type of old Korean woman, often the victim of
stereotyping. They are usually stereotyped as old, ill manned, short
unattractive married women, over the age of 30, with badly permed hair
and bad dress sense, and that their function in life is only to serve
their husband and family. They are usually considered rude and
uncaring of the world around them. Ajummas are generally seen running
and serving at "ma/pa shops" (small grocery shops), or street food
stalls. These street food stalls can range from a small setup serving
basic street fare, to the "portable restaurant" street stall complete
with several plastic tables and chairs all contained in a clear
plastic tent to keep out the elements which takes up the whole
pavement.

No comments: