Being a proud South African but not the biggest soccer fan I was extremely excited when we were given the Soccer World Cup bid for 2010 but I was not really prepared to put my travel plans on hold in order to wait around for the anticipated event, so I headed off to Korea in February of 2010 as planned not thinking that I would really mind missing out on the soccer. But as the event drew closer and closer I began to have pangs of regret. All of my friends at home were telling me how great the vibe was, South Africa was coming together as a nation and the whole world was preparing to flock to my beautiful country and I was stuck in the Korean countryside.
What I did not anticipate was the amazing response, excitement and anticipation to the soccer world cup that would be felt in Korea. When I arrived and people inquired where I was from I was met with rather blank looks when I said South Africa or ‘Nama gong’, but the closer it got to the world cup the responses began to change. As soon as I told people I was from South Africa they would inevitably respond: “ah world cup… I love you”. They were getting geared up for the world cup just like the other 31 competing nations were. Korea is a pretty soccer crazy nation itself. They have a competitive football league in Korea and 2010 is their eighth world cup appearance (more then any other Asian country). After they co-hosted the World Cup in 2002 with Japan and managed to gain themselves the fourth place title, their best result in the world cup to date, they have been hungry to prove that they are capable of such greatness again. After a disappointing world cup in 2006 where they didn’t make it past the group stages they are really hoping to make it through to the top 16 and beyond, as the slogans all over Korea proclaim: “Korea Dream Again!”
So in great anticipation of the world cup opening my fellow South African friends and I made our way to Seoul to watch the opening ceremony and opening match between South Africa and Mexico with some friends. We watched the game with delight as Bafana Bafana played their hearts out. I was very pleasantly surprised by our boys’ performance as well as the support for South Africa from the Korean spectators around us.
The following day was Korea’s turn when they took on the much higher ranked Greece in what proved to be a very exciting and riveting game. We were planning to watch the game at the COEX in the Samseong area of Seoul, they had closed off a big street and had big screen TV’s set up for fans. Unfortunately it had been pouring with rain all day and not being as brave as all of the Korean fans in their red ponchos we opted to watch the match in a nearby pub, and what a game it was, with defender Lee Jung Soo scoring his first world cup goal in the seventh minute. At half time we went up to the street party because the rain had eased and were lucky to see the second goal of the game off the boot of captain Park Ji Sung up with the crowds, as you can imagine the crowd went wild!! Park Ji Sung is Korea's most famous and best soccer player, and the highest paid football player in Asia, he usually plays for Manchester United so everyone knows him and he is literally Korean hero no.1 at the moment, even more then the incredibly popular figure skating gold medalist Kim Yu Na.
After the game, which was a 2 – 0 victory for Korea the streets were lined with ecstatic Korean fans, commonly known as the ‘red devils’ all dressed in red with variously supporters shirts, all with pretty terrible English slogans on them. The most common war cry that is repeated over and over and that all Korean’s know is the cry of 대한민국! This in Romanized letters is: Daehanmin-guk, which is the formal name for Korea in the Korean native language Hangeul (Korean). This along with the term “Fighting” Which is used for: ‘Go Korea’, as a way to pump up Korean fans or to show your support for Korea, i.e. “Fighting Korea.” In Korean it is written as: ‘회이팅’, which actually should be pronounced to ‘Hwaiting’ (because there is no Korean character for F) and should really be written as 파이팅 which would be pronounced “Paiting”. So ‘Fighting’ along with slogans like “Shout the Reds”, “Shouting Korea” and the slogan on my own supporters jersey: “Korea Legend: begin to 2010” which does not make sense in English at all but which I continue to wear, are all evidence of the strong influence of Konglish on Korea. (Konglish is the use of English words in Korean with slight variation i.e. the Korean word for Coffee is ‘Kopi’).
We walked along the crowded streets to delighted chants of ‘Daehanmin-guk’ and fireworks being set off on all sides and because we were all wearing red all of the Koreans we encountered were very excited that even us foreigners were supporting them and people kept asking for photos with us. We literally took about 20 photos with random groups of Koreans and felt like celebrities. Then we actually became celebrities. A television camera crew approached and asked to interview us. A microphone was promptly placed in my friend Jax’s face and we were suddenly surrounded by about a hundred chanting, cheering Koreans. Somehow they were quiet enough to allow Jax to have her short interview which we later found out was for MBC News, one of the biggest Korean national news channels and so on the 9’oclock news the following night in a package about the festivities in Seoul there is a clip of Jax saying "we are very proud of Korea" and she really is famous in Korea. Check out the clip at http://imnews.imbc.com/replay/nwdesk/article/2640540_5780.html
Then after the interview we were pulled into a Korean marsh pit of screaming jumping happy fans and I was terrified, I thought I was going to get squished and I couldn’t get out. It was all rather a strange but hilarious and exciting evening. I stopped for a moment and looked around at the mayhem and pure joy around me. People were setting off fireworks in the middle of the street, people who didn’t know each other were arm in arm jumping and cheering, on my left a guy was holding up a cut out life sized cardboard Park Ji Sung and cheering his name and on my right another guy had a fake world cup trophy and the crowd was lifting him up like he had just won the whole thing, it was truly a night of happiness in Korea and I was very lucky to be a part of it.
Until next time
From football crazy Korea 또 만나요 (tto mannayo: see you again)
p.s. Go Bafana Bafana!!!
Rinjani, Lombok, Indonesia
Monday, June 21, 2010
Bloggers Block
It has been a long time since my last blog so I just wanted to appologise for my silence, somehow the past few months have just gotten away from me very quickly but I will be making a concerted effort to blog more frequently, so my appologies for the Bloggers Block.
A new blog will follow shortly...
A new blog will follow shortly...
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Jimjil bang...
I am sitting in a warm pool relaxing. My four friends are lounging in the water nearby. Out the corner of my eye I can see naked women walking all around, getting in and out of warm pools and swimming around.
No I am not in some strange cinema-novo homo-erotic dream, rather I am having my first experience of a Korean Bath House or Jimjil bang.
A few weekends ago we headed off on an adventure a little south of Gangwon-do. We were heading for a hike in the Daedansun National Park which has a beautiful mountain trail and is located about an hour from the central Korean City, Daejoen. We headed off to Daejoen on Saturday afternoon but didn’t have anywhere to stay for the night. Instead of staying in a ‘love motel’ (given this dodgy name for the reasons you are thinking) as usual, we decided to try the Jimjil bang experience instead. Jimjil bangs or Korean Bath Houses and Saunas are a common thing to find in all Korean Cities. Many people come to the sauna once or twice a week for relaxation and travelers can also stay at Jimjil bangs overnight for a very reasonable price, and since as they are open 24 hours a day you can arrive at any time of the night and find a place to sleep with no pre-booking needed, that is if you are prepared to sleep in a communal area on a floor mat.
The way it works is that when you arrive you pay the fee, in our case 8000 won (about $8 or R70), you are given a pair of pajamas, mandatory pink for women and blue for men, two small towels and a locker to put your shoes in. You then walk into the change room areas, which are separate for men and woman, where you have your own locker to put your stuff in and to change, or in most cases to strip down. From this point on everyone is pretty much naked. Now at first I was a bit concerned, I’m not really the kind of person who just gets naked in front of other people, getting naked alone in my own home is one thing but in front of 30 or 40 strangers is not usually my cup of tea. At first I felt quite uncomfortable about the whole thing. I also thought that there might be some staring seen as we were five foreign women in a predominantly Asian bath house and the towels were so small you couldn’t even put them around your waist. At first I kept thinking: ‘they are looking at me, this is so awkward!’ But after a little while you get used to it. You realize that no one is really looking at you, they are just relaxing, taking a shower or lying in a warm pools and really couldn’t care less that you are naked. There are people of all ages there from 5 year old girls to 80 year old women and no one can really judge you when everyone in the place is naked.
First you have to take a shower because we are informed by our friend who has been here before that if you don’t wash before you get into the warm pools they will clear pretty quickly because people will regard you as dirty. There is communal soap and then some kind woman walks up to us and offers us some shampoo sachets that she brought along with her. Once we have proved we are sufficiently socially appropriately clean we can get into the pools, there are all different temperatures and sizes. Some are pleasantly warm, some scorching hot and even a freezing cold pool. We get into one of the warm ones. Now I’m starting to feel relaxed and submerged in water I feel less self conscious. It really is quite an experience to be in one of these places. Now I’m not saying that it is that pleasant to watch an 80 year old woman scrubbing someone else’s back for them completely starkers but when you think about the fact that this is just a communal bathing area you realize that this is exactly the kind of place that most ancient societies had for bathing and that many societies around the world still have as communal places for men and women to come together, in their separated genders of course, and bath and relax together. There are also sauna’s of three different temperatures that we try out and we spend about an hour moving from pool to pool and just relaxing.
When we have had enough, have sweated all of our impurities out in the sauna and cleaned ourselves properly and when our hands and toes are looking wrinkly we decide its time for bed, after all we are hiking up a mountain tomorrow. So we dry ourselves off, put on our pink pajamas and head to the sleeping area. The sleeping area is unisex and so the male friends we came on the hike with are already there. There are a number of different rooms of varying temperatures that you can choose to sleep in. Some feel like sauna’s themselves and I can’t imagine how people can possibly sleep in them, there is one huge central room that is normal temperature but is quite light and noisy because people are still walking around. We find ourselves a nice quiet, darker room off to the side that has space in it. You get a sleeping mat, and a pillow that resembles a brick, and feels like one too, and that’s you for the night. Not a bad place to sleep considering the cost if you compare it to even the cheapest love motels which are about 40 000 won. So for the average backpacker the Jimjil bang is a pretty good deal, you can lock your stuff up so it is safe, take a shower, have a swim or sauna and have somewhere to sleep all for between 8 000 and 10 000 won.
I can’t say it’s the best night’s sleep I have ever had. Even with my ipod in my ears I could still hear the loud snoring of some middle aged Korean man and at some point a Korean guy put his mat down next to mine and when I woke in the morning not only had someone stolen my brick pillow from under my head (why I will never know) but the guy next to me had his foot dangerously close to my face. But I woke up fairly well rested and ready for a day’s hike; having had a truly unique and interesting experience and one that I might just try again.
Until next time
From slightly warmer Korea tto mannayo (see you again)
No I am not in some strange cinema-novo homo-erotic dream, rather I am having my first experience of a Korean Bath House or Jimjil bang.
A few weekends ago we headed off on an adventure a little south of Gangwon-do. We were heading for a hike in the Daedansun National Park which has a beautiful mountain trail and is located about an hour from the central Korean City, Daejoen. We headed off to Daejoen on Saturday afternoon but didn’t have anywhere to stay for the night. Instead of staying in a ‘love motel’ (given this dodgy name for the reasons you are thinking) as usual, we decided to try the Jimjil bang experience instead. Jimjil bangs or Korean Bath Houses and Saunas are a common thing to find in all Korean Cities. Many people come to the sauna once or twice a week for relaxation and travelers can also stay at Jimjil bangs overnight for a very reasonable price, and since as they are open 24 hours a day you can arrive at any time of the night and find a place to sleep with no pre-booking needed, that is if you are prepared to sleep in a communal area on a floor mat.
The way it works is that when you arrive you pay the fee, in our case 8000 won (about $8 or R70), you are given a pair of pajamas, mandatory pink for women and blue for men, two small towels and a locker to put your shoes in. You then walk into the change room areas, which are separate for men and woman, where you have your own locker to put your stuff in and to change, or in most cases to strip down. From this point on everyone is pretty much naked. Now at first I was a bit concerned, I’m not really the kind of person who just gets naked in front of other people, getting naked alone in my own home is one thing but in front of 30 or 40 strangers is not usually my cup of tea. At first I felt quite uncomfortable about the whole thing. I also thought that there might be some staring seen as we were five foreign women in a predominantly Asian bath house and the towels were so small you couldn’t even put them around your waist. At first I kept thinking: ‘they are looking at me, this is so awkward!’ But after a little while you get used to it. You realize that no one is really looking at you, they are just relaxing, taking a shower or lying in a warm pools and really couldn’t care less that you are naked. There are people of all ages there from 5 year old girls to 80 year old women and no one can really judge you when everyone in the place is naked.
First you have to take a shower because we are informed by our friend who has been here before that if you don’t wash before you get into the warm pools they will clear pretty quickly because people will regard you as dirty. There is communal soap and then some kind woman walks up to us and offers us some shampoo sachets that she brought along with her. Once we have proved we are sufficiently socially appropriately clean we can get into the pools, there are all different temperatures and sizes. Some are pleasantly warm, some scorching hot and even a freezing cold pool. We get into one of the warm ones. Now I’m starting to feel relaxed and submerged in water I feel less self conscious. It really is quite an experience to be in one of these places. Now I’m not saying that it is that pleasant to watch an 80 year old woman scrubbing someone else’s back for them completely starkers but when you think about the fact that this is just a communal bathing area you realize that this is exactly the kind of place that most ancient societies had for bathing and that many societies around the world still have as communal places for men and women to come together, in their separated genders of course, and bath and relax together. There are also sauna’s of three different temperatures that we try out and we spend about an hour moving from pool to pool and just relaxing.
When we have had enough, have sweated all of our impurities out in the sauna and cleaned ourselves properly and when our hands and toes are looking wrinkly we decide its time for bed, after all we are hiking up a mountain tomorrow. So we dry ourselves off, put on our pink pajamas and head to the sleeping area. The sleeping area is unisex and so the male friends we came on the hike with are already there. There are a number of different rooms of varying temperatures that you can choose to sleep in. Some feel like sauna’s themselves and I can’t imagine how people can possibly sleep in them, there is one huge central room that is normal temperature but is quite light and noisy because people are still walking around. We find ourselves a nice quiet, darker room off to the side that has space in it. You get a sleeping mat, and a pillow that resembles a brick, and feels like one too, and that’s you for the night. Not a bad place to sleep considering the cost if you compare it to even the cheapest love motels which are about 40 000 won. So for the average backpacker the Jimjil bang is a pretty good deal, you can lock your stuff up so it is safe, take a shower, have a swim or sauna and have somewhere to sleep all for between 8 000 and 10 000 won.
I can’t say it’s the best night’s sleep I have ever had. Even with my ipod in my ears I could still hear the loud snoring of some middle aged Korean man and at some point a Korean guy put his mat down next to mine and when I woke in the morning not only had someone stolen my brick pillow from under my head (why I will never know) but the guy next to me had his foot dangerously close to my face. But I woke up fairly well rested and ready for a day’s hike; having had a truly unique and interesting experience and one that I might just try again.
Until next time
From slightly warmer Korea tto mannayo (see you again)
Thursday, March 11, 2010
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)
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)
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
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)
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)
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