Oh fall, how I love thee

Our campsite at Gayasan National Park.

Fall is in full swing in Korea and it sure is breathtaking! Although we have no apple orchards with warm apple cider donuts and goats to pet, we're making do. It is still apple season here and I've already made a pie,  applesauce, and apple crisp. I also brought a can of pumpkin butter back from the US. When I get homesick, I just lather up a piece of toast with some of that sweet, buttery goodness and I'm back in the midwest.  


Among my other favorite things about fall are the colors. I remember taking Sunday family drives along Hwy. 2 to see the bright orange, red, and yellows of the Rock River Valley. So in order to get our fix, Aaron and I decided to head to one of the national parks about 2 hours from Busan. Gayasan National Park is known for its colors as well as its temple tucked up in the mountains. It was a BEAUTIFUL weekend and although it was cut short with a rainy Saturday night/Sunday, this park was worth the trek.   

Walking into Chi-in village from our campsite.

At beautiful Haeinsa, the temple within the national park.

Almost to the top!

We made it!

The waterfall right next to our campsite.  We'll be back when it's warm for swimming!

Paul and Mary do Korea!

On a cruise off the coast of Busan.

What a fantastic past few weeks we've had!  The highlight---a two week visit from my parents!  The two weeks were packed with visiting my school, a trip to Seoul, viewing North Korea and visiting the DMZ, eating all kinds of raw (and sometimes still squiggling) seafood, and hiking in the beautiful mountains. 

After 2 delayed planes, a missed flight, and a night in Tokyo, Japan, my parents made it to Korea!  My school was kind enough to let me skip out on a few classes so I could meet them at the airport. Upon arrival, I rushed them to the apartment to drop off their stuff and then, after only 2 hours in Korea, they ended up in the principal's office.  But rest assured it was on a positive note.  He greeted them with tea, and true Korean generosity, offering them anything and everything they said was "beautiful" or "interesting" including a wooden tea table and teapot.  My dad kindly declined at the time, but little did he know...

The next day we went to the ocean and Jalgalchi Market, an "aquarium" in which you can choose your dinner from a tank and have it ready on a table within 10 minutes!  My dad bravely ate the still squiggling octopus.

No fear!!

Aaron and I were lucky enough to have 4 days off of school for Chuseok, Korea's version of Thanksgiving.  Many things were closed for those few days so we headed to our favorite temple in the mountains.  We also ate at a very traditional Korean restaurant on Chuseok and both my parents tried and spat out silkworm larvae as well as dozens of fermented vegetables (which they enjoyed a bit more than the silkworms).  

The beautiful rice paddy fields behind Tondo Temple.

At Tongdo Temple.

Mom being interviewed by some English students at Insadong Market in Seoul.

Our next adventure was to Seoul and to the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone).  Going to the DMZ was something Aaron and I have wanted to do since we arrived in Korea.  We went on a tour through the USO (the United Services Organization). The border between North and South Korea is the heaviest guarded border between any two countries.  Perhaps the most startling thing about the tour was realizing how close the DMZ is to the second largest metropolitan area in the world. It took us a mere 45 minutes to get to the border from downtown Seoul.  

Standing beside a South Korean soldier in the Military Armistice Commission building.  This is where joint meetings have been held for the observation of the armistice signed between North and South Korea.  We are currently in "North Korea" at this moment hence why we weren't quite sure if smiling was an appropriate reaction.  

One particularly interesting thing you see when you look over the border is what the South Korean's call Propaganda village.  Until 2004, this "fake" village blared North Korean propaganda from huge loudspeakers.  Now all it boasts is the world's highest flag tower which stands 525 feet tall and flies a 600 lb North Korean flag.  Apparently when the nearby South Korean village of Daeseong raised a South Korean flag, the North Koreans had to one-up them. 

During their second week here they were finally over the jetlag and feeling good.  We hiked, ate some pretty unusual sushi dishes including raw whale (which Aaron and I had vowed not to eat after seeing The Cove documentary), drank tea, norebanged (Korean karaoke), and toured Busan with my co-teacher.  It really was fantastic having them here. 

Drinking tea in Sanseong mountain village.

Hiking up Geumjeong Mountain.

On a coastline cruise with my co-teacher Ms. Park.

And remember that tea table my principal offered them on the first day?  On the last day my principal gave them a table, tea, and a beautiful traditional tea set.  My mom got tears in her eyes after experiencing the incredibly generosity of my principal and the others she met here in Korea.  Of all the things I will take away from my time in Korea, it is the incredible generosity of the people here.  I'm thrilled my parents were able to experience it first hand as well. 

Cabbage Crisis!

I never thought I would be so affected by a cabbage shortage!!  But to my dismay, there is a cabbage crisis sweeping the nation of South Korea.  It has even become international news!  You can read the NPR article here.  As a result, we do not have cabbage kimchi at school lunch nor do we get free refills of kimchi at restaurants.  To me, this is as unKorean as it gets.  Now you may sense a bit of a sarcasm in my typing and yes, I do have some towards the subject.  But for many Koreans this is a serious thing.  It is part of their livelihood and what defines them as a culture.  Some even believe it cures many things.  I suppose you could compare it to a lettuce or potato shortage in America...but not even because in America we don't eat lettuce for literally breakfast, lunch, AND dinner or think that they can cure/prevent diseases. 


I know this may be a stretch, but all sarcasm aside, this kind of event makes me think about how more of this kind of stuff could happen in the future. Not only food shortages, but natural resource shortages due to our changing climate and overuse/abuse.  Maybe not in our near future, but certainly in our future.  I suppose it goes to show we should never take anything (not even a red chili paste and fish oil covered piece of fermented cabbage) for granted. 

Appreciating Art in Many Forms

Aaron outside of the Busan Modern Art Museum.

So even after a year in a city, you can still find plenty of new and exciting things tucked away in back alleys or just right off the subway line. We'd always meant to check out the Busan Modern Art Museum but never did...until now. We really were incredibly impressed by the quality and thought provoking exhibits it contained. The main exhibit was entitled "Living in Evolution" and explored human evolution over time as well as what the future may hold. Some of the exhibits certainly touched on the question Aaron and I always pose, "Is our human evolution going in the 'right' direction?"

This was amazing! All of these are cut from thin sheets of metal and set on top of a perfectly smooth layer of sand. It is part of the main exhibit entitled "Living in Evolution.

My new friend...well, at least half of her.

Aaron has been enjoying the architectural art outside of our apartment window. There was a HUGE crane there for about one week and his goal was to see it actually doing something (for some reason it never moved when we were awake). Then, just yesterday morning, he was doing his morning "crane check" and with no luck, was off to take a shower. But when he came back from the shower, the crane was down and being dismantled. He was sincerely disappointed. ha.

The sunset outside of our apartment window. We're continually in awe of the beauty as well as how quickly they are getting the bridge done!

In other news, we're ANXIOUSLY awaiting the arrival of Mama and Papa Runestad in 2 days! They will arrive on the 19th and we'll spend 2 weeks frolicking around Korea (including to the DMZ) together. We can't wait!

Quirky Korea--Konglish

Yum.  I LOVE rice creakers!

A new car

This morning I came to my desk to find a small bottle of apple yogurt on my desk. I looked around and realized every teacher had one of these on their desks.  I am usually the last to know why these random snacks appear, so I decided to take the initiative and ask my teacher where it came from.  It turns out one of my colleagues bought a new car this weekend so he brought in yogurt for everyone.  This type of thing used to surprise/perplex me, but now I simply smile and enjoy my yogurt.

You see in Korea joy is not something to be kept, it is something to ALWAYS be shared.  If someone gets a new car, has a son/daughter who performs well on a test, or even gets a new haircut, he or she will bring in something that will bring joy to everyone else around them (usually food of course!).  It's not considered selfish or bragging--it's simply what you do when you are part of a community.  You're never alone in anything. You share, you love, and you feel together.

I love it.

Sulsa vs. Salsa

So today in class I was showing a picture of my father and me eating salsa, and every time I said "salsa" my students would giggle and just be silly. After class I asked my teacher what was so funny and she said that in korean the word for diarrha is "sulsa" and is pronounced very similarly. Who knew that all day I was saying that my dad and I were eating diarrhea!! AWESOME