Congrats to Chris – now well into his thirties!

Mr. 31 ~ Happy Birthday and many more!

Here’s hoping this year’s version of July 22 is plenty enjoyable for the dongsaeng. As someone who associates “birthday” with “gray and rainy,” there’s certainly no small amount of jealousy that Chris can enjoy his birthday grilling by the pool and tossing back a coupla cold ones. Then again, the dog days of summer far better suit his sunny and warm personality than the gloom and doom of November. We’re looking forward to celebrating in person in only a few weeks. Congratulations!!

As for news in Korea, the past week of travel was most enjoyable, as nearly every chance to get out of Seoul has become. The stress of city, uh, supermegamonstercity life have truly started to take their toll on me. Irritable, exhausted, distracted – I can’t seem to calm down unless I have a beer these days. Just too much too fast too often. And the tiny apartment doesn’t offer much respite.

Fortunately, I have generous friends who offer solace at their sanctuaries. First, in Gwangju where we spent time with my dear friends Bob, Hwanchul and Vanya. At night, we chatted til the wee hours and watched silly youtube videos. During the day, we ventured to the Gwangju National Cemetery to learn about the 1980 Democracy Movement and subsequent massacre. Then, up to a valley deep in Mudeung-san to sit by a mountain stream and gorge ourselves on mountain vegetables and rice wine.

Oh, how can I forget? Before the day’s trip began, I had my own Korean version of Michael Moore’s Sicko. On the way down to Gwangju, as our bus stopped into a highway rest area, I indulged as I always do on some roasted new potatoes. Suddenly, my tongue notices a new topographical feature in the cracks and crevices of my dental plains – ack, a new canyon! Seems my tooth got brokened by the potatoes! Weird indeed. Granted, a smaller piece had broken off earlier that week, but still – potatoes? This second piece was significantly larger and demanded quick attention. Still, we wouldn’t be back to Seoul for a while and we wouldn’t be in Gwangju but for a few days – would I have time for a crown? Yikes.

Well, long story short – went to dentist without an appointment, didn’t need a crown, had a permanent porcelain filling to cover the hole, final price – $40 and 2 hours – 1.25 of which were waiting in the office. Not bad.

Okay, back to travel tales. The next day, we took leave of the boys and went to see my Gwangju gal pal, Elaine, and hunkered down in the air conditioned comfort of her swanky apartment. Of course, no week goes by without sweat and toil, so, I did have to include a running workout, this time on the nice new track at Cheonnam University. It was my first “speed” workout in a while. Using the discipline accorded by a track, I managed a decent 5 miler in rather ridiculous heat and humidity. Warm up mile, 3 fast miles each quicker than the previous, then a “cool” down. Made me very eager to get on a track more regularly. Though my mileage has improved this year, my speed has tanked, so, I need some more training of that sort. Plus, oddly, I love the monotony of laps, where all I have to worry about is pacing. Anyways, sorry to bore you with that.

The night proceeded with ssambap (rice and side dishes wrapped in greens – think, fajitas, but using lettuce instead of tortillias) and patbingsu (ice, sweet milk, red beans, strawberries, sweet rice cakes), not a bad combination. Then home for more chats and wishful thoughts that we’d see each other again in the not too distant future. Elaine was one of my best friends here this year. I can’t say enough about how comfortable she made me feel when I was stressed, or how generous she was as a host. We spent quite a few hours complaining, laughing, and teasing each other. It was sad to say goodbye.

But goodbye it had to be, and at a very early hour. The next day we had to catch early buses, well, I had to catch an early bus and the ladies decided to join the fun. I was off to Baengnyeon Hermitage and they were headed back up to Seoul. My mission was to meet up with one Ilman Seunim 일만(日卍)스님(Seunim is the appellation for Korean monks), a friend I’d made at a trip to a temple in May. His hermitage is part of the immense Haein-sa complex. Though the weather was less than ideal, with fog enshrouding the entire Gaya Mountain, it made for a very peaceful and contemplative mood.

My room was on the front face of the building on the far right. It looked straight out into a mountain valley, as you see in the second picture. Though the valley was mostly fog, it didn’t matter. Somehow in my mind, the beauty was all there intact. It made a great frame for my little cell, and I spent a good long while simply staring into that pleasant abyss.

What is a visit to a hermitage like? Quiet. Great vegetarian food. Lots of green tea with chatty monks who like to laugh a lot. Prostrations, hundreds of them. Booming chanting that echoes in the hills. 2.40 am wake-up! Visits to surrounding hermitages and “brother monks.” Baengnyeon-am is famous for being the final resting place of the most famous Korean monk of the modern age, Seongcheol Seunim. This meditation master was known by everybody, primarily for his incredibly strict regimen and his meditation prowess. His fame grew so wide, and seekers so many, that he instituted a rule stating that only after doing 3,000 prostrations can anyone get the chance to meet him. Even now that he’s passed on, people still come to the hermitage to do their 3,000. I didn’t manage that many, but a minor chunk at least. Seongcheol welcomed anyone, rich or poor, Buddhist or Christian, as long as they did their prostrations. When President/Dictator Park Chunghee came by, Seongcheol blew him off. “Did he do 3000? No. Sorry. Not interested.” To Christians, he did have one fairly major stipulation, however:

Just a few days ago, three Christians came and did their 3,000 prostrations. I always tell Christians that there is one condition that they must agree to concerning their prostrations. The condition is that when they prostrate, they must make a wish that all those who refute their God and who curse Jesus are the first to go to their heaven. And they think that is really nice. After all, isn’t such an attitude a truly religious one? The one thing I can’t fathom is how people who claim to be truly religious can go around saying that only followers of their religion will go to a wonderful place after death, and everyone else will go to some place terrible.

The Buddha always said that the greater a person curses and hurts you, the greater you should respect, help and serve that person.

In fact, despite the fame of this hermitage, I wasn’t really all that interested in the legacy of Seongcheol, I just wanted to visit my friend. He’s an incredible man, Ilman. He was previously a Korean Marine Recon soldier (basically, the Korean version of the Navy Seals), but had a conversion after seeing not a few deaths take place right at his side during training. He also took part in the brutality that is Korean military training, beating many a young recruit. He himself admitted to “shedding buckets of tears” during his own training, suffering from the pain of constant abuse. Interesting confession to hear from such a big, strong man. He shared his picture from his Marine days, and he was definitely a frightening sight. I said he looked terrifying. He said he was terrifying, and that’s why he became a monk. We were both glad for his change.

The visit was only one day, as Ilman Seunim had to get up to Seoul to prepare for his own trip to the States. He’ll be staying in New Jersey at a Korean temple there for three months. Looks like I may have an east coast trip to ponder.

Well, that’s it for now. I’ll leave you with an odd cartoon that kind of suits my state of mind about now….(click on it to see a bigger size if you can’t read it).

Godspeed Eomoni!

Haven’t had much time to write recently. We had a great visit from our friends Chris and Carrie. During their time here, we did a temple stay for a few days, saw the ancient Silla capital of Gyeongju (or Gaengju – as the local dialect puts it), took in the Buddha’s Birthday Lotus Lantern Parade and Concert extravaganza, and…. and…. got sick for a few days.

Other than that, we’ve visited with relatives, had fun with both our hyeongs, and gotten some good running miles in. Only one month left in the fulbright, then an extra month on my dime, then onwards to Appleton (or, in Korean it would be sagwachon).

But in the biggest news, it’s been a long hard slog of a late winter/spring for our Mom. Two surgeries, recovery, taking care of Grandpa, etc. etc. She is recovering again right now, and we wish her the very very very best.

MOM~ Get well soon!

xoxxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Quick Update

We were oh-so-sad to see our friends leave Seoul this AM, but could not have asked for a more wonderful visit with them.  At least we can re-live the memories on flickr.

 And now, it’s back to work for both of us….

Closing the Ann Arbor Chapter

This past April, filled with staggered goodbyes, has really made me feel the bittersweetness of vagabondage. [see flickr set] It was much more difficult to leave Ann Arbor than I had anticipated it would be. This, of course, is directly related to the sadness I feel about leaving beloved friends and valued colleagues, all of whom will be sorely missed.  As trite as it may sound, with each new move, life becomes more complicated. We now have cherished friends living on at least 4 continents and 12 different cities. In a perfect world, we could visit ALL of them once a year for at least a week each. Until that magic day when Matty and I both become wealthy independent scholars and make this possible, however, we will console ourselves with the thought of how fortunate we are to have met so many wonderful people on this journey so far. Here’s hoping that our next episode in Appleton will bring us similar joys and sorrows.

Oh no, I gotta big Ding on my lap!

Ding, otherwise known as Ling, or Ling-a-ding, is sitting on my lap and purring as loudly as possible. My coffee has cooled just enough to be perfect, and the clementines that followed my yummy “hu-ru-ts n’ nut” (that would be – fruits and nuts in the native tongue) cereal were not the least bit sour.

I just want to mark for perpetuity how thankful I am to have a friend like Ding. She’s been by my side for almost 14 years! I’m a little anxious as well because I’m leaving her alone this weekend and this will be the first time she has to go a few days with me gone. Luckily, my next-door-neighbor Hana will be taking her in. They both like each other, so it should be a fun time for both. Ah, the reassurance of finding a good ding-sitter.

Another Ling-ecdote: The lady from the gas company came in last week on a scheduled visit to check the pipes for leakage (“uh, no Ma’am, those are my pipes leaking, sincere apologies”). As most Korean women of a certain age are wont to do, she let out an “um-muh-muh!” to indicate shock and a bit of fear when she finally took notice of the little beast who was following close behind.

After she got over the initial shock, she said, “Hey, you know, she’s actually pretty cute. How long have you raised her?”

“Almost 14 years.”

“Ohmigosh. She’s not a pet, she’s your little sister! Wow, and you brought her here from the States?”

“Yep.”

“Look at you! You international cat!”

That’s Ding, my international little sister cat, sitting in my lap, staring at me and purring as I bring this morning’s breakfast to a close.

Oh, P.S. – to my freezing peeps back in the hinterlands… it was 56 degrees here yesterday! You’ll be happy to know it is 35 and rainy right now though.

Mom’s Steppin’ Out~

I wanted to wish the best of luck to Mom’s recovery. She begins her new life with a human-made ankle today. It is so unbelievable to conceptualize – getting a new joint and being able to stand on it the same day. Science fiction becomes science fact. Here’s hoping all goes well and you are doing wind sprints within winter’s thaw (assuming winter every properly freezes, that is)!

As for everything else… I have no time to blog! I work work work… or clean the house, or take care of the cat, or meet with friends and associates, etc. I’ll try my best to get some pictures up of a recent family wedding (my first at a Catholic church in Korea) and of some interesting culture issues I’ve had my eye on (regarding Korean textbook revision, the insane pressures for beauty conformity/plastic surgery, and some other gender politics stuff).

I do have one horrible news item to speak of. A few nights ago, about a mile from my house, an American solider allegedly raped a 67 year-old Korean woman repeatedly, beating her face in the process. He was caught in the act and thrown in jail. I can’t say this will do well for Korean/foreign relations, especially on quiet dark alleys, late at night.

Meet the new BAKSA

The Korean word for Doctor, as in one who has achieved a doctorate, is BAKSA, derived from the Chinese characters:

BAK and SA

BAK – means “to be complete and far-reaching” (the cross on the left means complete, or, to extend in all four directions; the stuff on the right… far reaching, trust me).

SA – composed of a cross (the character for ten) upon a stand (the character for one) means, “one who knows everything, from one to ten.”

So, a BAKSA, is one whose knowledge of everything, from one to ten, is complete and far-reaching.

I’m not sure if that’s the case with our superstar, Dominica, but she is without a doubt, the proud new Doctor of Philosphy in French Language and Literature. I’ve never personally seen a scholar work harder, go through more pain and suffering, deal with more obstacles, and overcome everything to persevere – and that was just in me helping her! KIDDING – good gravy.

Seriously, the tale is storybook. Her parents gave up so very much – her father – an executive position with a major, now world-famous, Korean conglomerate, her mother – a comfortable life as housewife of the executive salaryman – to make sure their children would have more opportunity specifically to study what and how they saw fit. In the past, she’s confessed that as a student in her very first years of French, she had dreams both minor, of one day proctoring her own French language exams, and grand, to craft and lead her own course on the literature of 19th c. France that intrigued her so much. She’s already accomplished both of these, and has now reached the summit of her student path. There is no further for the student to go.

So, what next?

You know…why don’t we get to that later, hey? If I’ve learned anything in either my youthful upbringin in the midwest or my adult upbringing in the far east, it’s that you should never, ever, ever make haste to rush beyond the glorious and fleeting moments of triumph that life so rarely offers.

So, for now, let’s just simply bask in the glow of someone we all respect and love so very, very much – to cherish and honor the incredible accomplishment of someone who has worked so hard, for so long, with so little to go on but her own drive to reach that goal she set for herself and that her parents dreamed of her achieving when they left Korea some 30 odd years ago.

Brava! and Man-se!

to~~

-my beloved –

Dr. Dominica Sung-hee Chang, Ph.D.

d-day? not yet. b-day? you bet.

So, all the worries about the North Koreans are like distant memories here. Nuclear what?

More important is celebrating number 35! yay. Foreigners tend to complain about Koreans for any infinite number of things. You don’t see too much of that here, but I’ll admit to succumbing to the habit myself sometimes.

But let it never be said that the Korean people are not exemplars of being “well-versed in the proprieties of social conduct.” Yes, the words sound odd in English, which says more about America and the state of our culture than it does about my skills at translation. Indeed, the notion of “upholding propriety” is at the very marrow of what it means to be Korean. This can certainly have its negative effects, but let me tell ya, when your birthday rolls around, such defects are long forgotten.

It’s only 2am on my birthday and already I’ve had 5 happy birthday phone calls and a splendid cozy li’l party with cake, sparklers, wine, and clementines.

Hana, Caleb, JJ – thank you so muchie!

~Huzzah~

As she scurries like the late-fall squirrels, getting her acorns all in a row, Dominica had enough spare time to venture to the 19th Century French Studies Colloquium down in JohnMellencampTown, er, Bloomington, Indiana, where she didn’t merely read her nice conference paper… but walked away with the prize for best graduate student submission – the Schor Memorial Award, named after Naomi Schor, a towering figure in Romance Languages who sought to bring together psychology, feminism, and literary studies in one exciting (yes, my non-academic friends, i said exciting 🙂 ) package.

Congrats, my dear! A well-deserved prize for a hard working scholar. Only a few weeks left and the long journey meets its jubilant end. As they say here… Dominica, FIGHTING!

Holiday week coming to an end

Woah… what a week. Only one day of work at the office… then, a trip to our cousin’s grave, a jaunt with the kids to Everland, a trip to uncle’s grave, Chuseok ritual for other aunt and uncle, and then a Chuseok visit to “little Grandpa’s” house (i.e. paternal grandpa’s little brother). Whew. (As with all pictures you see here, if you want to see/learn more, I urge you to click on the pix to go to flickr where you can roll your mouse over the pix to see notes, or to see my explanatory comments and such).

For foreigners, Chuseok is a great opportunity to learn about Korea, and what it means to be Korean. If you’ve married into a Korean family, you have an opportunity to literally take your place in the family, performing your ritual responsibilities, bowing to the dead, cleaning the gravesite, partaking of the feast, bringing gifts, playing with the kids… My family here is all Catholic and this offers an especially unique glimpse into Korean religion, as Catholics have fused traditional practices with Catholic rituals, to create a uniquely Korean form of religious practice.

According to a 2005 survey, Catholics represent only 10% of the population, with Protestants 18%, Buddhists 22%, and the “non-religious” 47%. However, such statistics are misleading, in that they are aimed at specific religious cultures, where religious identities are sharp and clear. Korean religious culture is precisely the opposite. For instance, from the above statistics, one would suppose that “Confucianists” comprise some tiny percentage of the remainder. Yet, the predominance of Confucian thinking outstrips any of the religions listed above. The problem is, of course, “what is religion?” If it means, “what is the identity you claim for yourself in regards to your participation in theological social organizations?” then… you get statistics like the one’s above. But if it means, “what are the girding principles that govern your thoughts about the nature of reality, morality, and the structuring of society?” then “Confucianism” would have a huge number, or maybe a “Shaminist/Confucianist/Buddhist/Chrisitian” fusion of some sort.

That huge percentage of “non-religious” in Korea is misleading precisely because it implies that such folks are all secular materialists, with no ritual life that provides any kind of “transcendent” practices linking themselves to the larger community, of this world or the next. This is simply false. In fact, this misnomer can be seen in the answer many of the “non-religious” give when asked what their religion is… “I don’t need religion. I am Korean, that’s enough.” What does this mean? It means that Korean culture in and of itself already has within it prescriptions for morality, for social organization, and for dealing with the great questions of life and death. In short, the relationship with nature of reality, of life and death,is governed not by clear cut identities based on separate religions, but rather a combination of many. Among the most important guiding institutions in this relationship is the practice of ancestor memorial ritual, often mislabeled “ancestor worship,” a term that is loaded with a Christian missionary bias, lumping the practice in with other forms of “idolatry.”

 

Ancestor memorials – “going to the mountain grave” – these are the anchors of the Korean religious year. Everyone gathers together, makes food, places it in front of the grave, offers bows and greetings to the departed, and then sits around eating the ancestors’ leftovers ;). The bowing isn’t worship, it’s simply respect, the traditional means for the younger to show love and honor to the older, the deepest sign of humility and gratitude. It’s done it to all relatives and loved ones, living or dead.

While most Koreans follow this way of thinking, not all do… or have. In fact, the question of memorial rites was one of the key factors causing resistance to the introduction of Christianity to Korea, specifically against Catholics in the early 19th century. Korea’s history of Christianity is in fact rather unique, in that it was Koreans, not missionaries, who brought the religion to Korea after travellers to Beijing came into contact with the works of Jesuits who had been in Beijing for sometime. The appeal of Catholicism was multi-faceted. For the Korean elities in Beijing, much of it had to do not with theology, but the with scientific skill the monks displayed in a variety of fields. Such skills were seen to be the key for national development, countering the stagnant Confucianism of the late Joseon dynasty. But on a poplular level, the idea of a “equal and universal brother/sisterhood as children of God” was indeed inviting to a society marked by a near caste-like system of extreme social stratification.

 

This challenge to social stratification was in and of itself threating to a monarcy. But more dangerous was the metaphysical threat posed by a church that forebade (at that time, at least) its members from taking part in ancestor memorials. The failure to follow such rituals was seen by Confucianists as the sure welcoming of catasrophe, as the divine order was not being upheld. Many decades and executions later (many executions indeed… the martyr’s cemetery at “Beheading Mountain” near my apartment marks the spot where some many thousands were taken out in one fell swoop), the Catholics realized that a little bit of sophisticated reinterpretation could take care of these problems and eventually, the rituals were sacralized into a Catholic format (the likes of which I myself took part in this week. No matter what my present religious (or, some may say, irreligious) predelictions, never let it be said that I won’t heartily join in most any tradition to offer some healthy respect for the ancestors. I’m most ecumenical on that account.). Protestants, however, are a different story. They came later, at a time when there was a dying dynasty, less resistance to their non-traditional non-ancestor ritual ways. To this day, while many Protestants have gone the Catholic route and re-interpreted the ritual in their own “prayer service for the dead” way, the majority of those who refrain from any ancestor rituals whatsoever are indeed Protestants.

Okay, enough religious history. More on the culture… So, my visits this week were primarily celebratory. Saying “hi” saying “thanks” checking in to let them know we still care, we miss them, and if they could… perhaps offer any assitance from where they are at… well, all the better. We looked to the full moon last night and gave some wishes there too. It is this full moon that marks the holiday in fact, the full moon of the 8th lunar month each year. I was lucky enough to plan my run such that i ended up on the top of little Seongmi-san just as the moon rose over Nam-san. What a sight… I had goosebumps and felt as happy as ever to be among the breathing.

But not all visits are simply happy visits to say “hi.” For those who left too early, or quite recently, there is indeed a lot of sadness and grief involved. These are sites of mourning, after all, and while that mourning is eventually transforms by time into a a calm and happy remembrance, this isn’t always possible, and certainly not when the grave is newly planted. So, for our cousin who died this June, the visit was really hard for me personally. First and foremost because the pain of the wife and daughters he left behind is still so acute. Secondly, because I simply couldn’t believe the relative to whom I had grown most warmly attached to was no longer joking and hugging me, pushing me forward to make sure I was bowing before others in the proper place of order at the ancestor memorial… now I was alone and bowing to him as he rested for eternity, overlooking the lovely mountains nestled around the Imjin River. His handsome face covered, his hearty and constant laughter silenced by the soil. I didn’t take any pictures there. Next time, maybe.

Luckily, the next day we went to an amusement park. I had the great pleasure of joining with the various nieces and nephews. Being an uncle suits me better than being a dad, i think. It was great especially to be with the daughters who lost their dad. I already loved their spunk before, and now it is just all that much easier to shower them with affection and attention. I love that warm feeling I get when they yell, “IMOBU!!! Ride with us on this one IMOBU!!!” (imobu is the title for the husband of your mother’s sister or cousin) or when they collapse into my lap when they want to take a rest. Of course, it makes me miss the younguns back home a lot too… but isn’t that always the case with me here? Everytime I have a lot of fun, it can’t help but remind me of who’s missing… Such is the fate of vagabondage I suppose.