There are a lot of things about living in Korea that are undeniably a huge factor in why I stay here, starting with the food (after 2.5 years, I still love and crave it on a regular basis!). I have met some incredible people and made some life-long friends. Teaching has been surprisingly enjoyable--I love it more than I ever knew I would. This tiny little peninsula that is South Korea is made up of mountain after rocky mountain and comes alive with color in the spring, summer and fall, and offers thousands of islands to explore. The big cities are busy and full of life, and the small towns are quaint and authentic (and full of old people!). The list goes on, but by far, my favorite thing about living here has been the people I meet during my weekend (and often everyday) adventures throughout this country.
I can't even begin to explain what exactly it is I mean and my writing will never do these experiences justice--it'll never capture the true energy that comes out of people, the laughs, the (sometimes awkward) exchanges that occur across language barriers, the happiness, the curiosity, the warmth and hospitality, the new (although temporary) bonds that are formed...
But, I'll do my best by sharing a few stories from the past week...
My friend Dana's brother (a recent college grad) has been visiting for the past week so we've been trying our hardest to show him what life is all about in Korea. Last Tuesday night we took him to a makgeolli (Korean rice wine) house near the university. The makgeolli is good, but it's the food and atmosphere that really brings us there--namely, the fatty tuna, kimchi and tofu, and kimchi pancakes. Anyway, so the five of us were enjoying food, drink and good company, occasionally laughing at how loud and crazy the four guys next to us were getting. Then, out of the blue, one of the guys pulls out a package and from that package a little ring box. One of us made a comment about it so the guy showed us the ring inside and told us how it was for his girlfriend for their one-year anniversary. However, his friends proceeded to inform us that she'd broken up with him the day before. Poor guy (though, he didn't seem too sad about it).
And this is where the budding friendship becomes solidified and our two groups are attached for the rest of the night...
Moving forward, through many a shared drink and laugh, these guys invited us to join them in a noraebang (karaoke room). We couldn't have been happier to join in the fun.
This was actually my first time in a noraebang with university age Korean guys, and what a treat it was. To really appreciate what this experience was for us, you must understand the nature of k-pop, and of masculinity, in this country. I'll let you do your own research if you're so inclined, but I'll tell you this much: K-pop is very 'poppy', cheesy, and often associated with very specific dances that most young Koreans can dance on the spot for you; and, young Korean men are quite feminine, stylish and have no shame in knowing and dancing to these songs.
This is exactly what we got last Tuesday night--three young university students dancing and singing to incredibly cheesy songs and performing the corresponding dance moves that go along. Needless to say, we learned a few moves ourselves that night!
Fast-forward to the weekend and we find ourselves at one of our favorite rock climbing spots--Yongseo Pokpo (this is the same place I went when I met the men who took a friend and I out to a $400 lobster dinner). We had a typical weekend of good climbing, making a few Korean friends at the falls, a campfire, cooking outdoors and countless shared laughs. When it was time for the weekend to come to and end and we boarded the train to head back to Jinju, we were all on a big of a high from such a great weekend.
Little did we know, the weekend wasn't quite finished with us yet...
Dana, her brother Kerry, our friend Kirsten and myself had found ourselves a seat in a smaller than usual car that had a row of seats along the sides of the train car, just like a subway (rather than the forward facing, two rows of two seats in the regular cars). An obviously slightly drunk middle-aged Korean man walked through a few times, and each time would stop at Dana's brother, smile and feel his muscles saying the Korean word for "pretty." Finally, on about his fourth time through our car, the man pulled Kerry and myself by our wrists and took us to the adjoining car to introduce us to all his travel companions (most likely they'd all been hiking somewhere, as they were decked out in all the brightly colored gear Koreans like to wear in the mountains). He made one guy get out of his seat and had Kerry sit, placing me on the arm of the chair. Conversation was typical of these situations, fragmented English phrases mixed in with Korean that I can understand, asking questions like "Where are you from?", "How old are you?" and the like. In the meantime, between Kerry and I, we had two beers, a can of sport drink, a yogurt, several slices of pear, handfuls of sugar-coated peanuts AND a bunch of grapes handed over to us by the folks in this guy's party. Kerry and I were all smiles the entire time and after probably about 20 minutes of this madness we were sent on our way, back to our little car, and forgotten about. It was the type of thing that leaves us, as foreigners, loving Korea and its people.
And you think this is where the fun ended?
Not much after this, the train stopped and a rush of people got on. My friend and I gave up our seats to a group of elderly women who were getting on, and sat on the ground at the feet of our friends. No longer than about 30 seconds later some Koreans stood us up, spread out some mats on the floor and sat us back down. Joining us wasn't even a question--it just happened. I suddenly had Korean men sitting on either side of me in our circle. There were people sitting in every foot of space in this mini-train car, talking and laughing, it was chaos! And it only took about two minutes before the beer and makgeolli were being poured and passed around along with all sorts of snacks. Even the little old ladies (two separate groups of them) were being given snacks and drinks by these people.
Turns out, this group of folks all graduated from the same elementary school and were 50 years old in Korean age (which means 48-49 years old otherwise). Koreans tend to keep in regular touch with classmates from all ages. It was loud and crazy, and tons of fun interacting with all of these people. I can't even begin to describe the atmosphere, but I caught a glimpse of it on video that I'll try to post here. Somehow they had us sing them a song ("Build Me Up Buttercup") and it didn't take too long before the little old ladies were singing their own songs for us. Everyone was clapping, and laughing and smiling, it was incredible! The first woman decided sitting and singing wasn't enough, so she stood up and started dancing while she sang. Not long after a second and then a third little old lady sang and danced for us as well. We were all having the time of our lives. And, the last lady to sing and dance for us was 83 years old!
Despite my terrible description of this event, you still might be able to imagine just how happy this left us feeling and when we got off the train and went to a local barbecue restaurant we were still all smiles, going off about how amazing our weekend had been.
Yes, this pretty much sums up about 75% of my weekends in this country for the past 2.5 years... And you wonder why I stay... :-D
