Buckwheat, Bells, and Butts - Oh my!

Walking Club

My co-teacher Ms. Kim took me along with her on a trip with her Walking Club. Walking clubs are really popular in Korea. (Sidenote: that's actually how my homestay parents met.) It can be anything from light walking in the beautiful outdoors to intense hiking on the mountains. Our trip was to 오대산 (O-de-san) in 강원도 (Gang-won-do province). From my city, it's around a 3 hour drive to the northwest of Korea. 

 

Beginning our hike in 오대산

* I gave in and bought myself an ajuma outfit: the visor, the athletic wear, the refrigerator pants and all!






First thing's first. The stairway to heaven...


...or to this temple.

 









The placement of those bolts though...

First time I've ever recognized a Chinese character! I've been to enough temples now that I know that one on the left means door. Chinese characters are actually read from left to right. So from left to right, these 3 characters mean Big Strong Door. It translates to English as 'Main Gate.'

You'll see these stone towers in nooks and crannies all over Korea. I never stopped to wonder what they were but Ms. Kim told me you add a stone to the stack when you want to make a wish.




There's mine wish stone, that little one on top.


To me, this looks like a slice of Central Park. Can you find the heart made out of branches at the bottom of the picture? Not really relevant, but I just noticed it.


Another angle.
 

The hiking gear industry in Korea makes a KILLING. No matter if you're going for a stroll or hiking the Alps, you best be doin' it in style. Everyone's got these bright-colored, stretchy outfits with the compulsory polo-esque collar and V-neck zipper. The wide-rimmed visors, a sweat bandana, professional hiking shoes are a must and walking sticks, a hiking backpack, and slip-on sleeves are especially trendy. Koreans take REALLY good care of their skin and avoid getting any rays. So, no matter how hot it may be, they'll be covering up their skin. 




We all ate lunch together outside. It works like a potluck, so the Walking Club provides the rice and everyone brings the side dishes. The captain (the guy who organizes and leads the trips) plays the radio because the noise deters snakes from joining the picnic. We actually found a clump of what must've been 40 baby snakes in a nearby sewer. But I thought it was the funniest thing that grown people were sitting on seats the size of a chapter book. Most people just sit on mats that we put on the ground, but I found these chairs so cute!  






This is Vivian. Well, that's her English name anyway. I don't think she ever told me her Korean name. Anyway, she befriended me and was really sweet during the whole trip. Just very warm and inclusive. So, at lunch she mentioned several times that I was beautiful. I kept denying the compliment, as is Korean culture (and sometimes we even do that too in our culture). "No, no, I'm not." But after a few of these compliments, I wanted to tell her that I thought she was pretty too to kind of wrap up the compliment train. I wasn't sure how to refer to her. In Korean you can't just say "you." It's not that simple. There are so many levels of formality, several different gender-specific terms, and nuanced ways of saying it that I wasn't sure how to say "You too." But at some point later in the conversation she was talking about herself, saying something to the effect of, "Ahhh, Grandma's back is feeling the burn after that hike..." So finally! I knew how to refer to her. I'll call her grandma. 




So apparently that's worse than calling her ajumani. It's worse than calling her ma'am. Really, I guess it's just like someone who's not your grandma Grandma in English. May be a little worse. But you could've heard a pine needle fall after I said that. Then everyone exploded in laughter, telling me that's a HUGE mistake and not to ever do it again. Thank god they were forgiving to this foreigner. 

*Interesting side-note: This depends on your age. I noticed my younger sister called an older woman 'grandmother' the other day when we were out. I guess it's cute and okay if you're a kid. 






The last leg of the trip was to a town called 봉평 (Bong-pyeong). It's located in 평창군 강원도 (Pyeong-chang-gun county of Gang-won-do province)



We visited this town in particular because it was the week of the annual Buckwheat Festival. But they don't have a festival just because of the harvest. 이효석 Lee Hyo Seok (statue above) is the author of the celebrated Korean short story called When the Buckwheat Blooms. In fact, it is for this literary work that the Buckwheat Festival came to life. Bong-pyeong was Lee's hometown and it certainly inspired his story. 

Click here to watch a 10 minute re-enactment of the story with interspersed analysis and background information on the author



A live re-enactment of the short story.

Buckwheat (메밀꽃) fields
 



This is what I picture when I hear the word frolic.



No wait. THIS is what I picture when I hear the word frolic.



These wooden sculptures are guardians designed to protect traditional Korean communities from negatives forces.






These are cosmos flowers, a symbol of autumn in Korea.


 



The women in white are sporting the traditional garb of this particular community.






Me and Ms. Kim!



Stepping stone bridges are common in Korea.



Yep. A statue of buckwheat noodles and chopsticks.



It's teeming with visitors looking to eat some traditional buckwheat or swing by the outdoor market.



As you likely know, Pyeong-chang (평창) will be hosting the 2018 Olympics. Looks like they're decorating nice and early!



This is a traditional Korean drink called O-mi-ja (오미자). It's name means "5 flavors" and it claims to be spicy, sweet, salty, sour, and bitter. I tried my best to distinguish all five, but I only managed to register the sweet, the sour, and a hint of spice.





Making 메밀 부침 (buckwheat pancake), a staple of the Buckwheat Festival.



Drying red peppers to prepare the pepper paste that is added to kimchi and many many other Korean dishes.


It's not a festival without some music.

You know you're family when...



1)...you know to empty out your host brother's Pepsi-Pee-Pee bottle when he leaves it outside the bathroom door.

2)... you see his pants are on the floor and know that it's not because he changed his clothes. It's because he's running around pantless. That boy is forever with a shirt but no pants!

 Field trip with the 4th graders!
I got to go along with the 4th grade class to a famous folk village in Asan, a city adjacent to Cheonan (where I live). It's called 외암민숙마을. It's primary function is provide Koreans as well as foreigners understand what life was like during the Joesan dynasty era.  It's considered a "living museum" because although it has preserved housing and depictions of what life was like back them (with informational plaques all over the place), Korean families actually still live in the village. It's really neat. And families all over the country often go there for different festivals, some of which include making things out of hay or making traditional rice cakes. Interestingly, many Korean TV dramas are filmed here, as a lot of them are set in the Joesan dynasty era.




Description of the Folk Village



Her name is 사랑, which means 'Love.'



Tight-rope walking is a traditional Korean game and artform. In Korean it's called 줄타기 (pronounced jewl-tagy). If you check out the picture of the plaque below you'll see that it is usually done a lot higher up in the air. 

 This is a 감 나무, a persimmon tree. Do we have persimmon at Giant Eagle?






This is how the roads from each house or common area looks. It's lined with 돌담, stonewalls. They're used to protect the houses from strong, cold winds. At least that's what I gleaned from the tour guide's Korean explanation...

An unkempt, but very green patio behind one of the older houses.



We made 엿, which is taffy. We got the hot taffy in liquid form and covered it in sweet bean powder. Then we had to keep massaging it until it was relatively solid. It's a traditional activity, and you get candy at the end so the kids were happy. Che-eun is the one in the blue and orange shirt on the left.

Making our taffy!

I thought I hated taffy. But unfortunately for my waistline it turns out I like it....Things I wish I didn't know.

A traditional Angry Bird fan. A prototype of mixing the old with the new.

Lovin' on his taffy

Trying my hand at Chinese characters. The simper, blockier-looking words are Korean and the more byzantine ones are Chinese.

After they decorated their fans.

This is a traditional Korean game called 투호노리. You have to try and throw the sticks into the pots. Watching these small humans, who are still struggling with their basic motor skills, was fun.

 



Typical house...but I can't remember which social level's house it is. Seems to be upper-class because the poor houses have dirt floors and there are generally no more than one common room and a barn to store tools.



See that pit down below the house? I think that's the ondol heating system that warms the house from below. It's a floor-heater that's actually used to this day in Korea. Our house has one but we don't use it because it's expensive.

Is someone calling my name?

Nope. Turns out my name sounds a LOT like the Korean word for this Buddhist bell: 에밀레 (초) which is pronounced [Emileh].

And even better...

When I say my mom's name (Karen), Koreans often confuse it with 개란 (pronounced [kay-ran]) which means egg!  



Me and Cherry, one of the other English teachers at Yongso. Her Korean name is Chang-min, but I call her Cherry. She's around my age, we've got a similar sense of humor, we've got similar interests and her English is absolutely awesome. I'm really excited to spend this year with her!






She snuck me out of school for a coffee break in between classes. 





This coffeeshop she took me to is called 이레 (pronounced E-Rae, like some family used to call me when I was younger). And it has grass!!!!



Our mission is to get those cool dangling egg seats next time.

Don't be offended if...

...when you sneeze, no one says 'Bless you.' It's not a thing in Korea. I feel weird not saying anything. But really, a sneeze isn't some painful experience that we need to show empathy for.

 

The problem with having the light switch outside the bathroom...

Little brothers can turn the lights out on you when you're on the john.
 

Secrets don't make friends and friends don't make secrets

I had been noticing a lot of adults blatantly whispering to one another in the presence of others. At first I thought this was rather rude, but I think it has to do with the courtesy of covering one's mouth while telling a secret. Koreans often use their hand to cover their mouths when they're laughing, so I think this is actually a courtesy.

Smart phones in elementary school
It's almost expected that kids in elementary school have smart phones. During a field trip, the students got to do a scavenger hunt. And to prove they found certain things, they had to take pictures of themselves in different places. So, the teacher asked who DIDN'T have a cellphone so that she could pair people up accordingly. Yikes. It's technological and sensory overload at such a young age.
 

Norwegian Wood

This is a novel my co-teacher, Jin Sook Kim recommended to me. I haven't started it yet, but I'll let y'all know how it is once I do. Perhaps you've never heard of this book, but I'm guessing you've heard of the Beatles' Norwegian Wood (The Bird has Flown)? Well, this novel is set in Tokyo in the late 1960s, a time in Japan's history when Japanese students were protesting again established order. Norwegian Wood is the protagonist's favorite song and the writing uses a lot of forest imagery throughout. Wikipedia describes it as "a story about nostalgic loss and burgeoning sexuality." Anyway, it was and continues to be a best-selling novel in Japan as well as other countries like Korea. The author, a Japanese man, is Haruki Murakami. The Japanese title is ノルウェイ (pronounced Noruwei no Mori).

And that's how it twerked out

I forgot to include this on the previous post, but during the bowing ceremony at Chuseok I inadvertently bumped my homestay cousin in the head with my bum. And that's how it twerked out...
*By the way, the images that came up when I Googled "big butt" or "twerk" were less than decorous.
 

Shameless burping

It seems to be okay to slip one in here and there. I guess it is a natural bodily function. 
 

Things your students say

 

One of my students noticed just how many freckles I have on my arms and asked me if I had the Ebola Virus. When I assured him I didn't, another student asked if I had atopy.

 

Game Board Café

 

One of the teachers at my school really likes board games so I suggested we all play together. I thought we'd just be going to a coffee shop that's got some games on the shelves. But no, this was a space dedicated to playing games. When you walk in, you grab a table, and you either order a game off the menu or ask the owner what games she would suggest for a group your size.

A Game Board Café. I kept thinking "Why does such a place need to exist?" Back at home, if you want to play a game, you just invite your friends over for a game night. But in Korea, the house is primarily reserved for the family. Hardly ever do Koreans host parties or invite a group of friends to their houses. Socializing takes place outside the house. Thus, the Game Board Coffee Shops.



When you lose, you get the plastic hammer. This is Jiwon (on the left) and Minu (on the right). This game was a palm tree & monkey version of Jenga.



Minu loses again. This time Oo-yeong steps up to the plate. Here we were playing a Jack-in-the-box kind of game. Everyone takes turns putting a key in the pirate barrel, but the one who makes the pirate shoot out is the loser. When Minu lost his 3rd and final time, we all bought refreshments on his tab. He was a really good sport.



Just a snapshot of this part of town as we were leaving.

 

Teacher/Parents class

Once a week, I teach one English class for parents and one for any interested teachers. While I like children, having this back-to-back comparison between adult classes and kids' classes confirms my goal to teach post-secondary. They don't pick their noses and wipe them on the desk. They don't get up and jump around the classroom. But the main difference is that they are more advanced and I can talk to them about real-life topics, current events, cultural differences. Teaching these classes is therapeutic because it's my time to lead a class the way I want. There's no textbook to constrain us.

The class focuses on free-talking, on conversational learning. At the beginning of class, I'll have a topic to present a bit on, perhaps cover some prerequisite knowledge or words that are germane to the conversation. As questions or confusions arise, I'll address them and write any corrections on the board so they can both hear and see the explanations.

Anyhow, I bring this up with an ulterior motive. I'd like to offer up the floor for suggestions. If you have any topics that you find interesting and would like to know what my adult students think about them, please let me know. Maybe I can integrate your topic ideas as discussion questions and we can learn some about the Korean perspective.

 

When it's okay for a teacher to say "Shit!" in class

 

When your students are learning the phrase "Sit down." but what they're really saying is "Shit down." This is interestingly from a linguist's perspective because when Korean borrows words from English than contain the letter-sound combination "si" it transforms to [shi]. Korean has an [s] sound and an [i] sound but when combined they create [shi], never [si]. So if that sound doesn't exist in Korean, it totally understandable why they would pronounce it this way. But, I can't let them go on like that so I had them repeat after me saying it correctly [sit] and incorrectly [shit] so they knew the difference. Luckily, 4th graders don't know English curse words, so no one knew s*** about this particular word.

 

Oh you SHOULDN'T have!

So, another little anecdote I forgot to mention in the previous post. During Chuseok, my host aunt comes up to me with a beautiful gift bag and tells me to open it. Inside there is a gorgeous Korean tea cup set. I didn't expect a gift and gave her a big thank you. And that's when everyone cocked their heads in my direction, confused, as she told me she was just showing me the birthday present she got that day. Her birthday is on Chuseok. So, while I was thinking 'Oh you SHOULDN'T have, she was thinking, 'I didn't.'
 

"Does Emily eat well?"

I mentioned before that, in Korean, asking if someone has eaten is tantamount to asking how they are. But now I've noticed something else interesting to add in this vein: being able to eat well and to eat a lot is a prized attribute in Korean culture. So, it's common to ask about or comment on how someone eats. This is especially reserved for talking about children, guests, or foreigners. It also shows that the speaker is concerned about the child, guest or foreigner - making sure they like the food or have eaten enough. I've been complemented so many times on how well I eat. Represent!
 

Go-stop: Korean card game

The cards are not normal playing cards. They're called hwatu (화투) in Korean but the actually originate from Japan. In Japan they're called Hanafunda cards, which means Flower cards. The deck is comprised of 48 cards (and sometimes some extra jokers). There are 12 sets of 4 cards, each set representing a month. So, each group displays a type of flower that is associated with that month. Why don't they use the standard 4-suit, 52-card deck that we do? Back in 1633 when Japan closed off all contact with the Western world, foreign playing cards were banned. Thus, the advent of the Hanfunda cards. Interesting, huh? The game is traditionally played with only 2 or 3 people, but current modifications have allowed bigger groups to play as well. Essentially, you have cards in the middle of the table and the goal is to match your card with one of the cards of the table (like Go Fish or Crazy 8s). Once one player gets an certain amount of points (usually 3-7), they can decide to call 'Stop' and collect their winnings. It's all about figuring out when the best time to call 'Stop' is because if you call it too early, you might not get as much money as you would if you'd waited. On the other hand, if you wait too long, maybe you'll miss your chance. It's much more complicated than that, but that's the gist. If you're interested in actually learning how to play (Uncle Bob...?) click on the following link.

 Click here to learn how to play