DMZ Bound...

Picture three blonde girls sprinting through a crowded bus station. It looks like they are part of the Amazing Race, backpacks in tow and running like another team or the cops are on their heels. They round the corner to find a line stretching all the way out the door. Oh no, this cant be the ticket line. They think their bus leaves in 8 minutes but they can’t read the boards. One girl asks the other: "so what is the place called again?"… "Um, I think its Dongsong and we get the bus to a bigger town Chelon or Cherwon or Chirron or something like that" she replies. Uh oh, there are a couple of towns that closely resemble that name on the boards and they are not sure which one is correct. "We'll just say near the DMZ and they will know" she assures her friends. With limited Korean, wild hand gestures and facial expressions they manage to buy tickets and run to the bus, which they hope is heading in the right direction but in the misty night they could be going anywhere really.

This was the beginning of our adventure up north to visit a friend living in the town of Dongsong, in the Cheorwon district of Gangwon-do, South Korea. It is one of the closest towns to the North Korean border and the infamous Demilitarized Zone (or DMZ). The town is crawling with Korean soldiers who walk around kitted out in full military dress, but who are rather friendly to foreign girls like us despite their intimidating uniforms. The mountain on the edge of town has a military lookout on top and I was told that you can climb the mountain, which takes between 3 and 4 hours, and from the top you can literally see into the DMZ. What you can see I am not entirely sure. The 248km long, 4km wide stretch of land between the two Korean Powers is still under United Nations command, mostly through American soldiers, as well as North and South Korean soldiers (separately of course), and is still considered the most heavily militarized border in the world. Now I don’t claim to be a history buff, quite the opposite, but the history of this area has inspired me to do a little research into the topic.

South Korea has seen its share of hardships, from 35 years of Japanese imperialism (ending in 1945) to the devastating Korean War in the 1950’s. Although an armistice was signed in 1953 between the two countries the Korean War never officially ended and the military presence along the border is a clear indication of the general mistrust and dislike both sides feel towards what used to be their own countrymen and women. Korea as a whole was a casualty in the war by proxy between the USSR and USA, during the cold war and as colonial powers tend to do, as they did all over Africa, a line was drawn and a nation divided into two - simply as a power play between two superpowers playing chess with people’s lives. The history is fairly well known and there is an abundance of sites on the net if you want to learn about the war but what has affected me most are the stories of Korean people living with memories of these terrible times. When you look at Korean’s my age you find that most of their grandparents were born during Japanese rule which meant that they were born without country, not being Korean or Japanese; and that many of their parents were born in and around the devastation of the Korean War. Two consecutive generations were born into a Korea that meant war, control by other nations and for most - continuous hardship and loss of loved ones. And yet in a little over 50 years Korea has built itself up to be one of the most competitive economies in the world. That kind of resilience inspires me.

There is a lot more history in this nation I am currently living and I am sure many blogs to come will talk in more detail of the history and politics between the Koreas and so I will end this post now but take a moment to remember all of the atrocities that have happened in our world and most importantly remember the people who lived through them, and survived! So make sure that tomorrow when you wake up you appreciate the fact that your life is great, whether you miss that bus or not.

Until next time
From rainy Korea tto mannayo (see you again)

Once apon a time in Korea

Today I am living in a winter wonderland. Tiny snow flakes fall outside my window drifting towards the already blinding white ground. Korea in March is a mysterious and magical place. Well today it is at least. The usually grimy, dirty streets and muddy rice paddy's are covered in a clean white blanket of snow which makes it feel clean and crisp. Everyone is complaining about the weather but I’m in a kind of trance admiring what is more snow then I have seen in years.

I have been in Korea for nearly three weeks now and it has not all been magical snowiness and pretty scenery I assure you. The culture shock has been substantial but my plan this year is to see a part of the world that is so different to the world I am used to back on the farm in South Africa, and to embrace the differences and really experience the culture. I won’t make this post a long one because it is my first and there will be many verbose posts to come, but a few observations come to mind. Korean culture is very different to what I am used to back home, everyone is terribly respectful and many people are incredibly shy and often awkward. Most of my friends would call me outgoing, sometimes even loud but in Korean culture I find myself slipping more and more into the shy quite child I used to be. Here everyone bows to one another when they meet, the deeper the bow the more respect you are showing. And this is a culture based entirely on hierarchy, where your age demands respect as does your position in terms of your profession. Everyone here is Painfully polite. Now I’m not saying my mamma raised me as a feral child because respect for elders and politeness are attributes that are also very important in South African culture; but somehow here it seems like any small thing might offend someone. If I show the bottom of my glass to an elder while I drink I am being disrespectful, if I refuse a drink I may offend someone and if I say gamsamnida (Thank you) to a child I am giving too much respect and should rather use the casual version kumawaoyo. I seem to be negotiating a mine field of possible offensive actions I had no intention of detonating. But that is what a new cultural experience brings, you may be the ‘offensive foreigner’ for a while but soon your attempts to do things the correct way are noticed and taken as compliments. Sometimes just bowing to someone correctly makes them smile or your use of chopsticks impresses a fellow teacher, and if you have a social drink with a Korean or show that you enjoy their food you will be their friend for life.

For now I stay inside my tiny snow-globe of painful politeness until the local people are more willing to show me the respect I need to earn.

From snowy Korea tto mannayo (see you again)