Kimchi 사랑 Central!

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Dad comes home, everyone riots…oh, and, Go Bears!

My dad made it to Korea on Wednesday. He wasn’t originally suppose to come, but he was needed for some of the business we had to take care of here in Korea, so he hopped on a plane and now the Han clan is complete!

We said hello to our father and then I went with my mom to visit my grandfather’s (on mom’s side) grave located in Yoong-ing (용인, 용인 천주교회 공원 묘지). I was particularly close with this grandfather, who passed away when I was 11. He LOVED classical music and the arts. I remember he came and visited our family in the US right when we got there and he bought more than $1000 worth of classical cassette tapes and listened to them ALL non-stop in the span of couple of days. I think he would’ve really liked what I am doing in life my now. Unfortunately, because I started my music studies after I came to the US, he never got to see any of it, but I still think about him when I’m practicing or performing. It was another afternoon of tears and memories, but definitely another important highlight.

My grandfathers cemetery

Planting some flowers for my grandfather with my uncle (technically, my mother's cousin)

Starting from the bottom, my Great-great grandfather, my great grandfather, my grandfather/grandmother, and my great uncles

As you can see, the traditional Korean grave is a lot different than the European/American grave.

This is our grandfather's tomb, I was surprised to see that me and my brother are on this tomb - listed as his grandchildren. My name 수호, is listed as the last set of characters on the very bottom-right (my brother right next to me)

It is also costume that when we visit our elders we do some weeding and clean up the tomb. Sometimes people also pour Korean wine on the tomb as a symbol of serving the elder a drink. Instead of alcohol, mother wished she had some coffee to serve our grandfather because he loved coffee - I think this is where I get my coffee addiction

When we returned home, we were greeted with an angry mob of street demonstrators (Koreans call it Dae-Mo, 대모). Street demonstrations are regular occurrences in Korea…what can I say, we Koreans are passionate people :) I would like to participate in one so that I go home having experienced the FULL Korean experience :) I don’t particularly care about the cause, just the experience!

PROTEST!! My Korean has gotten very weak, but I THINK what they're protesting is handicap people (blind people) looking for more rights and social services...I may be TOTALLY off...

Thursday morning began with our family visiting BeeWon (비원), another one of the Korean king’s palace. Our Korean apartment is literally RIGHT in front of this palace. We then went back to a restaurant that we visited last week to have more Jampong (짬뽕) and Jajangmuen (짜짱면) and then just chilled out at a bookstore in Lotte Mall (one of the biggest and famous malls in Seoul).

Tour guide inside BeeWon

King's bedroom

King's greeting place

Dad and brother inside BeeWon

Family at BeeWon entrance gate

In front of my new favorite place for JamPong and JajangMeun!

About to do what we do best...eat

My brother and I went our separate way and went to a ball game, DooSan Bears (두산 베어스) VS the Twins (didn’t pay attention to see their home city). Doosan Bears were the home team so we sat with on the home side and had a great time. The baseball spectator scene here in Korea is NOTHING like the US. First, you are allowed to bring in WHATEVER you want to bring into the ballpark. Koreans, loving their food, brought in with them coolers full of rice, noodles, snacks, lettuce wraps, meats, and of course, lots to drink :) Koreans also love their chants either be it at a riot or at a ball game. There was constant chanting, flag waving, and drunken screaming. A GREAT time!

Bear's mascot

Ji with the Bear

Korean ballpark food...my brother and I were very modest with our food consumption compared to everyone else

Enjoying $3 beer at the ball park! Tickets were also only $12! Going to sporting events are not crazy expensive like in the US

Crazy fans chanting

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Be careful of North Koreans and your toilet seats...

Something a bit whacky to start out today’s blog: using the Korean bathroom. Using the bathroom here is always an adventure. First, the toilet: EVERY home that I’ve visited, the toilet seats are all these bidet-like toilet seats that can do everything from warm your seats, clean the toilet, clean YOU, and all sorts of other things that from the pictures on the buttons looks interesting but I never tried (for the record, I never tried the bidet function either…at least on purpose). While these seats seem cool, I do miss my plain, straight up plastic seats that doesn’t try to spray you or spook you. Showering is always an adventure too. Again, in every home that I’ve visited, there IS a showerhead and tub, but there is always an assortment of buckets that always accompany it. I think you’re suppose to use a combination of showerhead/splash water from the buckets, but, I haven’t figured it out exactly, so I’ll just keep using it like an American. Oh, and no shower curtains either, so you just splash around in the entire bathroom (there is always a floor water drain in every bathroom). Now you know! :)

Korean toilet and shower...with buckets...??

Catching up the past several days…as mentioned in my previous blog, Saturday evening we had some good bonding time with one of my uncles who took us VERY close to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). DMZ is the line where North and South Korea and their respective allies called truce and agreed to split the country (at the 38^th parallel) that drew the Korean War to a close. Ever since then, both countries have technically still been at war, and at the DMZ, there are armed forces that have guns and weapons aimed at one another at all times. This is why ALL males in Korea, no matter what, must serve in the army for 2 years when they reach a certain age. We didn’t QUITE make it to DMZ, but we got really close and visited the Korean War memorial that had an observatory that allowed us to look into North Korea.

Look across the river, that's North Korea!

North Korea across the river

My brother Ji, having a romantic moment with the North Koreans

North Korean liquor

North Korean cigarettes

North Korean music

North Korean toilet paper and feminine product?

North Korean clothing

North Korean classroom

Lecturing in North Korean classroom

Korean War museum

The road leading up to DMZ, there are fences for miles and miles so the North Koreans don't swim the Han river and try to enter the country. I wasn't suppose to take pictures apparently, but snuck one in!

On Sunday, my mother and I went to DaeJun (대전) to visit her last remaining uncle who is a Catholic Priest. He was my favorite great uncle so it was neat to see him. His health is poor and we knew that this might be the last time we see him so it was great to see him. We then visited mom’s last remaining aunt (my great aunt) in YaeSun (예선) as well. She hasn’t seen this aunt for many, many years so it was a good little Park Family reunion.

Great Uncle, mom, and Great Aunt

Monday was another food crawl day, food pictures below :)

Tuesday morning began with a visit from one of my former Carmel students Yesung Na. Yesung is an extremely talented pianist who is entering his senior year at IU Jacobs School. We found it nutty to be in Korea at the same time so got together for coffee. We joked that it took motherland to get us to reconnect because I haven’t seen him since he graduated. We had a great visit and agreed to visit more in Indiana.

MyungDong KarGukSoo (명동 칼국수), noodles with chicken dumplings, ground meat, veggies, and DELICIOUS kimchi!

Don't judge me...I had to try Korean KFC. It was good, but I will admit, not as good as US. I remember mom taking me to this VERY KFC when I was little, it made me SO happy!

Yesung Na! My former Carmel student...very talented and a GREAT kid!

In the evening I went to visit with yet another cousin, who treated me to some yummy food and then I got to meet her son (who just called me his uncle). His name is ChongYun and was the cutest kid ever. It was great meeting him! The evening ended with me taking him to a toy store and buying him some Lego toys.

AMAZING Dukbogi (떡볶기) in ShinDangDong (신당동), a town known for their Dukbogi

My cousin YunJung! (윤정)

Dinner with YunJung, Shabo Shabo! They bring you all these TONS of veggies and meats...

Then you cook it in broth at the table, and EAT! YUM!

My little nephew ChangYun (창현)

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Korea revisited...

This is one of the more serious blog entries that I will make during this trip, but today was probably one of the most moving days that I had in a long time and feel that it would be appropriate. Today, after breakfast, we decided to go visit the last home that we lived in before we came to US (located in Hyojadong, 효자동). For those of you who know me well, know that my parents decided to move our family to the US in 1988 (when I was 10) for the American dream because our life in Korea was so extremely hard with no means for my parents (and in turn for me and my brother) to escape out of the unspoken class division that is extremely hard and difficult to escape from in Korea.

We were extremely poor and rented a room to live in. This was literally, a ONE room, where we ate, slept, watched TV, etc. My parents both worked all the time and did everything they could to provide for my brother and me. We rarely had expensive food to eat like meats and had no “luxuries” of any kind, including our own bathroom or kitchen (we had a outhouse like bathrooms and propane lit fuse to cook our meals). Simply put, we were poor and my brother and I were most likely headed down the same path until my parents decided to immigrate to US.

We decided to have the taxi drop us off down the road from our former home so we can walk and revisit the neighborhood. Like much of the entire nation, the town has changed DRAMATICALLY over the past two and a half decades. I didn’t recognize a lot of it because there were so many new building and roads. But before I knew it, BAM, there it was and I staring at my old house. The place was extremely smaller than I had remembered and a lot more downtrodden…I suppose you don’t really think about these things too much when you’re only 9. We walked around the house a bit taking pictures and remembering the past. After a bit, I could no longer hold back the tears because I thought about my parents’ struggle, their sacrifice, and how hard things must have been for them. But even more than the feelings of sorrow, I was overwhelmed with how PROUD I am of my parents and how thankful I am of them. They basically had to restart their lives from nothing but still achieve huge success with their company. This is why my parents are and forever will be my heroes and the most inspiring individuals in my life.

This was our home in Korea. If you follow the white wall to the right, you come to a small framed window...this was the window for our one room home

Entrance to our home. We didn't use the main entrance because that was for the owner of the home. For awhile, the owners were buddhist monks, who were very nice to us

As fate would have it, right at the entrance to the road that led to our home, this cafe bar was built after we left! Ha!

My brother and I visiting our old school...the whole school went through a renovation, it wasn't as new when we went there

As we walked back to catch a taxi, I thought to myself; If my parents did what they did with their lives with THIS, then I should be able to do ANYTHING with all that I have been blessed with in my life. I made a promise to myself (that I HOPE to keep!) that I need to work even harder and dream even bigger if not for myself, in honor of my parents. I also need to be more thankful for everything I have and not take it for granted. I walked around the rest of the day with the biggest lump in my throat and am getting that lump back even as I recall the day for this blog.

OK…now on to something more FUN, and of course, THE FOOD! THE FOOOOOOOD! :)

To catch up the past couple of days, on Friday, we hit couple of the outdoor markets. Outdoor markets are a HUGE part of Seoul, the two biggest being MyungDong (명동) and Namndaemoon (남대문). We hit these two places on Friday and the crowd was NUTS! I’ve never seen anything like it. I’ve described parts of Seoul as Manhattan on CRACK and these markets serve as examples. At these outdoor markets you can literally buy anything and everything you want for relatively good prices…and of course, TONS of places to eat!

Saturday was spent starting to do a little bit of gift shopping, visiting the Korean king’s palace, and then bonding time with another one of my uncles who took us out to an observatory close to the DMZ and to dinner. Will report about the DMZ in another post!

This is like General Tso's pork (탕수욕), excepts, it's the REAL thing. Breaded pork prepared in sweet and sour sauce prepared with peppers, onions, and other vegetables

My brother's lunch, JamBong (짬뽕), noodles prepared in spicy pepper broth prepared with mixed vegetables and mixed seafood

My lunch, JaJangMeon (짜장면), noodles prepared in black bean paste with pork meat and vegetables

Got new glasses at Nyumdaemoon (남대문)...2 pairs for $60! BAM!

Bro and I hanging in MyungDong (명동)

This picture gives you a good perspective of the crowds at Myungdong...really look down the crowd, you can see it doesn't end!

My father used to run a bar in Myungdong at this location

Again, as fate would have it, RIGHT next to where my dad had his store was this AMAZING sheet music store that literally had ANYTHING and EVERYTHING. It was amazing...didn't buy anything because the price for music at this store was ridiculous, but still, amazing!