Two Great Weekends.

Ahh, the weather has finally warmed up. While not as awesome as it was last year, this spring it seems has finally taken complete hold. With the weather finally warming up we teachers tend to start doing stupid things outdoors. While most of these things are relatively safe, they are still quite fun. It all began two weeks ago with great beach party. It was organized by yours truly and consisted of about 15 teachers eating and drinking at Mallipo beach.

The day began with everyone loading up into vehicles and driving to Mallipo which is located about 40 kilometers from Seosan. It takes about 45 minutes to drive though because of the speed limit. For the first time I drove my motorcycle out. It was a beautiful day for a ride. The fact that about half the ride was also on a two lane windy road made for a good time. About the only bad thing was the vehicle disinfectant I had to drive through. Korea has been dealing with an outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease in cattle recently. One of the preventative measures they are taking is to spray down vehicles when the leave an infected area. Well, I didn't know that I was going to have to drive through one of these "car washes." I guess it also helps that I was behind a delivery truck and couldn't see around it. Needless to say I was not pleased when I realized that I was going to get sprayed.

When we arrived at the beach we checked into our pension (beach house). Our place overlooked two beaches and was quite nice. I quickly set to creating several things that needed some time to cook. The first of those things being 4 pounds of BBQ beef that needed at least 7 hours to cook. The other two things were a selection of drunken watermelon, and drunken pineapple. These needed to soak in alcohol for a few hours to acquire the desired effects. After my cooking prep time we headed down to the beach to bum around for a few hours. We drank, played Frisbee, Wifle Ball, and Football. After that we returned to pension to clean up and eat ourselves merry.

The highlights of the day were honestly the company and the food. The water was too cold to go swimming in. You could only spend about 5 minutes in the water before you were nice and frozen. The food we ate was pretty epic. I attempted, and did a decent job at Salsa Fresca. There was probably about 6 pounds of steak, plenty of corn, grill potatoes, chicken, burgers, cream cheese stuffed peppers, etc. There were also plenty of snacks, and the aforementioned 4 pounds of BBQ beef (I love my crockpot by the way). The company was also wonderful. In general the teachers that I find myself spending time with love this country. We enjoy our time here and while we have frustrations, we wouldn't change much, if anything about our time here. Our conversations were wonderful and the night progressed with people drinking way to much.

The following weekend was another wonderful expedition. However, this time it was not to a beach, but down to Waegwan. David's brother is still stationed with the US Army in Korea. We decided it was about time that 6 of us went down there to visit him. As much as we like Mark (David's brother) and his friends, we really had ulterior motives. We wanted to shot at some army guys. We went down there to paintball. It was also a chance for a roadtrip. We had several people drop out, and those that came from Seosan could all fit into one small vehicle. Given the fact that the two big guys, John and I received the front seats. I drove, only three hours and completely across the country, while the rest talked, napped and had a good time. Upon arrival we sat down for dinner and started drinking. Well let me rephrase that. I started drinking. Everyone else had been drinking the entire time I was driving *quick sidenote, it is completely legal to drink in a vehicle, provided the driver is not drinking*. After dinner we headed out to a few bars to play some pool, darts, and shoot the breeze with people.

The next day, we geared up and headed out to play paintball versus the American soldiers. Well, that was the original. For those that have ever spent time in the military you know what's coming. The paintball was a little bit of a fiasco. While we had reserved the course, the JROTC was using it for most the morning. In typical military fashion, the base, while having a paintball course, all the guns, gear, and paintballs you need, did not have a way to refill the Co2 canisters needed to fire the guns. For that they had to drive 30 minutes to a place in Daegu to fill the canisters. They only had 6 Co2 tanks. The original plan had been to play 6 on 6 teachers versus army. We played several 3 on 3 matches and surprisingly held our own. It helped that guns kept having problems and most the times the problems happened to the army guys. We also did a few one on one matches and a few three on two and two on one matches. In total we made the six canisters last for a few hours of paintballing. Everyone had fun. Everyone got shot, and I even managed to nail Mark between the eyes. It was pretty great.

After paintball we went back to our motels to shower and the headed to Mark's apartment for a BBQ and festivities. The food here was awesome. I had a legitimate home made chilli for the first time in two years. This is something that I've been craving for a while. I would make my own but I don't know if I can get all the beans I need to make it. After eating we drank and had fun for several hours. There was even a cash poker game where I won 70 dollars. I could have had about 200 if I played one hand that I folded out of. Oh well. On Sunday, after a quick shopping spree on base to pick up some essentials, we headed back for Seosan. The drive was just as nice up as it was down and the weekend ended with a contented smile and a few welts from where Frasier lit me up during paintball.

A Guide to Korean Movies.

One thing that many people do not know about is the thriving Korean movie industry.  Korea is know around Asia for producing and exporting mass media.  Whether it is through music (no matter how much I complain about the stuff it is catchy), television, or movies, Korean mass media is in demand.  I have talked several times about the music, ok I'll be honest.  I have complained several times about the music here.  However, in my defense I complained about Brittney Spears and company back in high school also.  Today I'm going to take some time to talk about Korean movies.

Korea has a thriving movie industry.  Not only is it thriving, but the production values are not far below those of Hollywood.  No, they don't have the money or financing to produce something as technologically stunning as Hollywood did in Avatar.  The big budget special effect flick is not something that happens often in Korea.  It comes down to simple cash.  Hollywood studios have far more of it then Korean studios.  Even with this lack of cash, Korean studios are producing movies that rival those being made in the United States.  Now granted for every Shawshank Redemption there are numerous Battlefield Earth's, but the following movies are excellent examples of Korean cinema.


The Good, The Bad, The Weird:  Sure, the title is a complete rip-off.  Yet, this movie sets a high bar for the emerging genre of Asian Westerns.  Copyright issues aside, this movie is just fun.  It has humor that translates across cultures.  There is enough action, shooting, and backstabbing to make Clint Eastwood blush.  You don't have to be Korean, speak Korean, or have ever lived in Korea to enjoy this movie.



Thirst:  A Korean vampire movie.  I was intrigued by this movie after it showed up on a list of good movies that you probably missed.  This movie puts a new spin on the traditional vampire story.  Gone are the sharp teeth and the sucking of blood from the neck.  However, the desire for blood is nowhere near extinguished.  In fact, the desire for blood is not because of hunger.  I won't say anymore less I give away parts of the movie.  The movie is kind of like Twilight without all the emo teen angst.  That and if you include some awkward sex and serial killing.  All in all the movie was a fun and unique look at the traditional vampire story.



Haeundae:  This is one of the movies that violates what I talked about earlier.  This movie was a big budget special effects spectacular.  These movies don't come out every summer because the Korean film industry cannot afford to produce them.  However, I felt it important to note that even though they don't happen often, they do happen.



Tae Guk GI:  This movie is honestly one of the best war movies I've ever seen.  Had this movie been produced by an American studio, and in English it would be challenging the likes of Saving Private Ryan, Band Of Brothers, The Pacific, Black Hawk Down, etc.  It is an entirely engrossing film.  It successfully shows how brutal and horrific the Korean war was.  Most Americans do not understand the Korean war.  All we know about it is what we saw on M.A.S.H.  Here are the simple facts about how brutal this war was.  South Korea suffered: 137,899 soldiers killed, 450,742 soldier wounded, 373,599 civilians killed, 229,625 civilians wounded, and 387,744 civilians abducted or missing.  I want you to stop and think about those numbers, because that was only on the South Korean side.  The North Korean and Chinese casualty figures are well over 1,000,000 dead.  I highly, highly recommend this movie.  You don't have to live in Korea, you don't even have to like history.

The Second of May.

It may be a week late, but having finally had my camera returned to me I can now post some pictures and talk about my birthday.  My birthday this year, was a great occasion.  While I did not receive an awesome present like I did last year, and honestly I wasn't expecting one either, having everyone out and about because of me was more then enough.  I guess it is at these times that I realize that for some reason people actually do enjoy my company.  I'd think that after a while they would get sick of random awkwardness that comes along with being my friend.  Oh well, enough with the boring diatribe and onto the gory details, or at least what I can remember of them (isn't that normally the case).

This year the party started at 5:00 on Saturday.  We headed off to a Korean BBQ restaurant that could hold a party of 20 people.  We went at 5 because I wanted my friends who were bar staff to be able to come and join us.  No we were not asked for our AARP discount cards.  The dinner went off without much of a hitch.  We sat, talked, drank, and ate for two hours.  We enjoyed Korean BBQ in all it's glory.  It's weird but you'd think that after almost two years of Korean BBQ that I wouldn't want to eat it anymore.  However, when you find something good you find something good.  While at the restaurant Paul, Panda, PJ, and Hong (RnB bar staff) bought me small cake and gave me a small present.  It's rare that people embarrass me by giving me a present, but this was entirely unexpected from them.  I received a gift box with about ten condoms and a couple of latex gloves. 

I think that this present deserves some explanation.  Last year on Jenny's birthday I told Paul that as a gag a lot of times we give something completely unexpected to someone for their birthday.  He didn't quite understand what I meant and I told him that we would give them something like a box of condoms.  At this point he proceeded to hand me a box of condoms and told me to give them to Jenny (January 2009 is where this story takes place).  I told him at the time that it's entirely unacceptable for me to give a girl a box of condoms because A) I was friends with here but not that good of friends with her, B) she's a girl and that's just presumptuous, and C) when a guy gives a girl he sorta knows a box of condoms it means that he wants to use them with her.  That is the reason why I got this present from them, and I was honestly embarrassed and surprised that they remembered the entire exchange between us.  However, in one light I guess it goes to show the way that we have bonded over the past 20 months.  

After the dinner we headed out to a local Norae Bang for some horrible Karaoke.  Honestly, half the fun of this is singing songs that you know you can't sing, and just trying to get through them.  When you have a room full of people who can't really sing, nobody really cares how bad you sound.  It's only when someone arrives who can actually sing that we realize just how bad we really are.  We walked into the Norae Bang at 7:30 and we quickly escorted into the VIP room.  No, it's not that special of a room, it's just the room big enough to fit all of us that I had a friend make a reservation for.  As we walked in I found out that my friend Seung Hee, who was conspicuously absent for most the night, had decorated the room with balloons and a banner.  There was also several cans of spray foam, that really shouldn't have been there.  It's like silly string but foam instead of string.  Needless to say this stuff ended up getting sprayed on unsuspecting people several times, including me.  Pictures have been included.  We sang out hearts out for two hours and continued to imbibe alcohol at an unwise pace.

When we stumbled, out of the Norae Bang we headed down to RnB.  It was there that we rejoined the staff at RnB.  Yes, they were working, but they were also part of the party because many of us are good friends with them.  The drinking and partying continued, as did my friends mission to get me stupidly drunk.  Sometimes when we play darts we make a bet that the loosing team has to buy the winning team a round.  It's a normal bar bet.  However, this night the bet was changed (without my consent I must state) to the loosing team has to buy and do a shot with me.  This was just a bad idea, but at the point I was not paying enough attention to really notice or care.  Right around midnight the staff at RnB started their fire show.  Once again the normal show is relatively simple.  You get a cocktail and some flames.  However, my show, was a flaming spectacle.  The dual fireballs of 151, plus a flaming cocktail show are awesome.  Hong even started throwing a white Malibu Rum bottle around that was filled with sparklers.  This was the first time I ever saw her taking part in the show with something that would break if dropped.  At the completion of the show it is required that whoever the show was for must chug a rather large cocktail.  Well, once again, not thinking better of it I downed the cocktail and continued to have fun.

When the show had finished I received a call from Seung Hee telling me that she was going to come say hi for a minute or two.  I met her outside of RnB because I needed some air, and if I was outside nobody would be buying me drinks.  After talking for a few minutes she had to go rejoin some old friends who had come back into town.  Less then five minutes after walking back into RnB I received another call from her telling me to come outside because one of her friends wanted to see me.  Yu Sill who I had met several times wanted to wish me a happy birthday.  It was then that my Korean friends decided to drag me off to a restaurant/hof (restaurant/bar).  I walked into the place and was quickly inundated with questions from the couple of people who I hadn't met.  I was also quickly handed beer and soju to drink because it was my birthday.  Well, it's rude to turn down a drink when it is offered to you buy a Korean so I sat and talked with them for a little while.  Upon leaving I checked in to 501 where a few friends were located who wanted to wish me a happy birthday.  Upon arrival there I finally realized that I probably shouldn't be drinking any more and should head home relatively soon.  I sat down and talked with my friends, and a majority of this conversation is lost in an alcohol induced haze.  After what I think was about 10 minutes I headed out the door to find my apartment.  I woke up the next morning in my bed, and I had to wait for until 7:00 that night for the world to seem like a place I wanted to inhabit. 

On Sunday night I went over to Seung Hee's home and her mom had made me the traditional Korean soup that you eat on your birthday.  The soup consists of seaweed and beef.  It's actually an awesome soup.  I spent about an hour eating and talking with Seung Hee and then headed home.  I wasn't in the mood for anything more then that, and the thought of more alcohol surprisingly didn't sit well with my stomach, my mood, or my general disposition at the time.



It was a wonderful birthday, and while I didn't see the sun rise like I had originally planned to, I cannot complain.  I was surrounded by good friends and good people.  In all honesty I cannot ask for much more on my birthday.  Being surrounded by people who care for you is the greatest present you can ever be given.  Knowing that people are there because they are your friends and want to celebrate something with you is a special feeling.  They weren't there for money, food, or alcohol even though we did have two of the three in massive quantities.

A Temple Close to Home.

With the arrival of semi-spring weather, it has been possible for me to resume my exploring ways.  I say semi-spring because the weather recently has decided to warm up, somewhat.  Unlike the wonderful spring that has been experienced across most parts of the United States, Korea has still been in the grips of a cold spring.  This past week was the first time that daytime temperatures were in the 60's the entire week.  When I say the 60's I mean the low 60's.  However, while it has not been anywhere near as nice of a spring as last year, it has still been decent.  The flowers are starting to bloom, and the trees are blossoming everywhere.

It was with this in mind that I set off with two of my friends and their mom to a temple near our town.  While I'm sure I could have found this place by myself, it's also more fun to explore with people.  That and not having to get completely lost while trying to find this place was a bonus also.  My friends and I assembled and off we went (granted at 4 in the afternoon because they had been out partying until 6:30).  The drive out there was awesome because Seung Hee's mom took us off the main roads and was driving us along the rice paddies in the middle of the countryside.  It was nice to see fields somewhat green and the dirt neon orange.  I guess I've never talked about that before, but the soil here can be quite orange at times.  In fact during the summer time it is not unusual to see my students with orange stains on their hands from the soil.


On the drive out, we enjoyed ourselves, we listened to music, and talked.  Ok, you got me, I listened to music and they talked in Korean to each other.  Even with this situation, the drive out there was quite peaceful and fun.  Even passing by the cow farm was pleasant until we hit the mad cow prevention sprayer.  This thing was funny, except for the fact that they were spraying something designed to prevent mad cow and you had to drive right through it.  There is nothing wrong with driving through a cloud of something designed to kill microbes is there?  Hmm, ohh well it's not like it was Agent Orange or DDT.

When we finally arrived at our destination I remembered why I try to limit my excursions to temples.  The Buddhists have this thing for putting temples in the middle of nowhere, and then on top of being in the middle of nowhere, you normally have to partially hike up a mountain to get there.  In terms of temple hikes, this one was no problem at all, but still reaching the top sweating and begging god to fill your lungs with oxygen is not the best way to enter a holy place.  Maybe in Buddhism it is.  As Seung Hee said when I asked her why they always put them on the top of mountains, "It is so you develop the patience needed to arrive at your destination."  I don't need patience, I have plenty of that already, I'm a teacher.

The temple, small as it was, did not disappoint.  There were several buildings that had been built back in the 7th century, and rebuilt in the 15th century.  The temple was a vibrant yellow color nestled in a sea green.  With tree's blossoming all around it was a very serene day.  The crowds of people at the temple all agreed with me that this excursion was a good idea.  While in no way grandiose this temple was just right.  Given the area we live in, I didn't want huge, I wanted a small temple that felt very peaceful.  There were no giant gold Buddha's here, only modest ones.  There was no great bell or drum, only a modest offering.  However, I think the modesty of this temple speaks volumes to it's devotion to Buddhism.

We left the temple and descended our way back down the mountain to find ourselves some dinner.  Seung Hee's mom was craving barley rice and took us to some small no name place that I'll probably never find again.  The highlight of the meal for me, was not the barley rice Bi-Bim-Bap (mixed rice with veggies).  It was the fresh homemade tofu.  So fresh that it was made just then for us.  While I'm not the biggest fan of tofu, when you have almost anything made fresh, and homemade, it is wonderful.  This was no different. It was light, it was airy, almost like fine ricotta cheese without the stringy texture.  In fact, I'm going to try and learn to make tofu, just like I'm going to try and learn to make ricotta.  After dinner we all headed back to our respected abodes.  I went home to do some laundry and prepare for the next day of work.

A Medical Dilemma. (No, I'm not sick)

I must make a disclaimer at the start of this post.  I am going to be delving into politically dicey waters on medical care, medical insurance, and abortion.  Please understand that this post is not intended to skewer, lampoon, or pass moral judgment in anyway.




With our recently enacted (I should say shoved down our throats) health care overhaul (that's the only partisan thing I'm going to say) I think it is important to take a moment to study a case that is currently happening to one of my friends here in Korea.  Korea has socialized medicine, it is cheap, it is available to all, and it is a single payer system.  The government taxes you and gives you health care.  It is required by every single person to carry and have health insurance.  Foreigners working in the country are required by law also to purchase this health care.  Now there are several wonderful things about the health care system that Korea has.  For starters, it's cheap.  By cheap, I mean ridiculously cheap.  An uninsured person (i.e. foreigner who just arrived in country) can receive a physical that includes a urine test, blood test, and chest x-ray for 20 dollars.  You try and get that type of service done in the United States without insurance for 20 bucks.  Access is universal, if for some reason you do not have insurance, the prices are so low that you can still receive treatment.

Now, I have just given a relatively glowing assessment of the Korean medical system.  However, there are several drawbacks to this system.  For starters, Koreans have become so dependent on hospitals that when you have a common cold, it is expected that you go see your doctor.  In fact they think it crazy that when I have a cold I don't go to the doctor.  Now when I state go see your doctor, it is not your primary care physician that I am talking about.  We're talking about going to the hospital and seeing the first available doctor.  This has lead to an overburdened system which while, not rationing care, the sheer volume of business has reduced the quality of care given.  It has also led to the practice of issuing drugs for the smallest of ailments.  Now when you go to the doctor with the common cold you are given three days worth of anti-viral or antibiotics.  3 days only.  You cannot go back and get more without being seen by your doctor again.  While this cuts down on the surplus of prescription pills most of us have in our medicine cabinet, where is the fun in that?  The simple fact is that three days worth of pills doesn't do anything.  Even when dealing with Pneumonia you are issued three days worth of pills.  All this does is make the virus/disease/bacteria angry.  It doesn't cure you, it just makes you feel a little better for a few days then get sick again.

Now, with every medical system there are benefits and drawbacks.  However, the case of my friend is quite unique, and I think worthy of discussion or at least some prolonged thought.  Now I must say again that I am not passing moral judgment on these people, and I request that you do the same.  Ok, here we go.

My friend, who shall remain nameless, is currently married and the couple is expecting their first child.  Now I must state right now that neither of them are Korean, but both carry Korean medical insurance.  The couple was told for the first several months that their baby was fine and that it was developing nicely.  Then, in the 5th month of the pregnancy the couple found out that the child has a severely cleft lip, to the point where the nose has been completely disfigured, and a severely cleft palate which has potentially caused deformities going all the way into the child's throat.  This is their problem, and their issue, but I believe that it can be informative to the rest of us also.

Here are their options in no order of significance:

First: terminate the pregnancy.
Second: have the child and the give it up for adoption.
Third: have the child and keep the child.

These are the same options that everyone of us have when we are faced with a pregnancy, wanted or unwanted.  I must state that this was an unplanned pregnancy, but a wanted pregnancy.  Now every one of these options has severe drawbacks and risks involved.

The first option, which is incendiary and honestly I don't agree with, is really not much of an option.  Given the fact that the child is now in its 3rd trimester, the procedure would probably be a partial birth abortion which is just a horrific procedure.  Under Korean law abortion is legal, but restricted on a case by case basis.  For my friends, abortion has been deemed illegal because the defect is considered minor.  A government bureaucrat made this decision.  If the couple decides they want to have an abortion they will have to go to another country to have the procedure done, or try to bribe a doctor here in Korea to get it done.  China is looking like the best option for an abortion.

The second option is also not much of an option.  Giving up a child to be a ward of the state is one of the hardest decisions any parent can make.  Moreover, the Korean orphanage system is very much the same as what you find in the United States.  Only a small percentage of the children are adopted, and those that stay in the system are at a severe disadvantage.  It's a tough option, but it is an option.

Third, and this would seem like the only true option for this couple, is to have the child.  However, even with this, there are severe drawbacks.  The first problem is this.  The child is going to need at minimum 5 surgeries to fix and repair the cleft lip/palate.  These surgeries will cost at minimum 800,000 dollars.  The Korean medical insurance will only cover two of the surgeries because they deem every other surgery as cosmetic only.  These cosmetic surgeries include a bone replacement for the upper part of the palate because there is no bone there.  All in all the surgeries will cover two surgeries that only fix roughly 35% of the problem.

Now, I mentioned the cost being 800,000 dollars.  If you minus the two surgeries the total cost will still be roughly 500,000 dollars.  This does not include the years of speech therapy that will be needed, and how many other things will be required when this child is brought into the world.  Every choice is bad, and in reality there is no clear answer.

Here are some of the drawbacks to each option.

Abortion:  Regardless of your moral view of the option, the simple fact is that an abortion for this couple is illegal in Korea.  They are having to look at going to another country, with a far worse health care system if they want to pursue this option.  Also, this is not three weeks into the pregnancy, it's 6 months.  The child for all intents and purposes is alive at this point.  It may not be fully developed, but it is alive.

Adoption:  Giving children up for adoption happens here, just like it happens everywhere.  However, given this child's problems, there is little to no chance of  her ever being adopted.  Most people only want to adopt cute children.  They don't want to adopt a child with a cleft lip/palate, even with the two surgeries the child will still likely not be adopted because she is not a Korean product.  Moreover, the child will not receive the medical care it needs, nor the emotional/physical therapy that it will need as a ward of the state.  Life for the child in this option will be exceptionally challenging and the child will experience severe ridicule.

Having the child:  As I said this seems like the best option, however, it may not be.  Korea is a wonderful country and I have grown to love this place like a second home.  Yet, Korea prides itself on having a singular culture and being a singular people.  There is almost no space for the individual in this country if you are Korean.  This child, will experience severe harassment and will have a very tough time in school.  The child will experience this because it is a mix between American and Filipino.  The child will not be Korean, but will be attending Korean public schools.  The child will likely have a scar on its face will look different due to it's heritage also.  You remember how tough childhood was for the "different" students.  Also, the couple cannot qualify for loans here because both of them are foreigners.  If it was a marriage between a Korean and a foreigner then they could qualify for loans.  Simply put, on a salary of 24,000 dollars a year, you cannot afford 500,000 dollars in surgeries.

The question becomes, do you have an abortion and all that entails, do you give your child up to the state knowing that it will have a very tough life because of your choice, or do you have the child knowing that it will be disadvantaged and that you cannot take care of it in the way you want.  This is my friends dilemma.  They have no good option open to them, and are facing severe criticisms from their families with any option that they take.

The reason I'm bringing this up is because I believe it brings up some important questions.  This is where a lot of people want American health care to end up.  They want a single payer system where the government provides your health care and it becomes just another tax like social security.  These are the types of problems that people can run into with health care, be it through a private company, or a federal government.  The question that I think is important, is who should be making the decisions.  Should a government policy be dictating medical care, and making decisions on what is best for you and your family.  Should an insurance company be the ones making decisions stating what care you're approved for?  Should it be solely up to yourself and your physician?

There are no easy answers here.

A Korean Wedding.

When you stop to think about different cultures, it really is interesting how transcendent some things are.  I think some of it has to do with the introduction of American media into foreign markets.  Korean weddings, are a wonderful/interesting/weird mash up of western wedding tradition, and Korean traditionalism.  What I am curious about however is when the transition from the more traditional Korean wedding, which I have still yet to witness, to the current western oriented ceremony has taken place.

For starters let's talk about the things which the two ceremonies have in common.  The initial ceremony is overseen by a minister, who says all the normal things you expect to hear at a wedding.  Granted he says it in Korean unless you are lucky enough to have one who speaks English and has an English speaker as a participant in the wedding.  The groom wears a tuxedo and the bride wears a wonderful white wedding dress.  They walk down an aisle, they cut a cake, they toss a bouquet of flowers, they kiss, they are presented to the assembled masses, and they even taken hundreds if not thousands of pictures.  Yet, given all of these things, there is still an entirely different feel to a Korean wedding then there is to a western wedding.

The first thing that is different is the wedding hall.  Here in Korea there are buildings where their only function is to serve as a wedding hall.  They're not multipurpose halls, they are only wedding halls.  Secondly the hall itself is just ridiculous.  It feels like you are walking into a wedding themed prom.  Take for instance when the Bride and Groom walk into the wedding.  There are disco lights, music, and strobe lights.  It feels like to truly enjoy the wedding you're supposed to be on a wild ecstasy trip.  This doesn't even take into account the bubbles from the ceiling or the felt covered chairs.

Another difference would be the required bows.  This is quite impressive.  In general bowing to someone is not exactly the most impressive of feats, but when your bow turns into a full on head on the floor bow it's impressive.  Especially considering the fact that you're wearing a tux, now gentlemen who have worn a tux.  Do you think you could pull that off.  Take into account you have only a few seconds to go from full standing to complete submission bow and that you are wearing a tuxedo.  Luckily for the women folk, they only have to pull a standing bow, but they still have to get themselves close to 60 degrees.

Then there are the subtle differences.  Take cutting the cake for example.  It is done directly after the ceremony.  The cake itself is even different, nobody gets to eat it but the bride and groom.  It is also a very small cake placed on top of a plastic cake so that it looks like you're getting a huge cake.  Another subtle difference is when they toss the bouquet.  Here it's done right after the ceremony during the picture session.  It is also only tossed to about three people who are friends.  Single is not  required, just being feminine is.  Another subtle difference is when the bride and groom walk out of the ceremony.  They proceed down the center aisle, but while they are doing this two "assistants" stand about ten feet behind them with trumpets.  These trumpets however do not play music, they shoot out streamers, or confetti, or whatever you choice of celebratory object might be.  It's like throwing rice, but coming out of a trumpet gun at a pretty good clip. 

The last difference that I'm going to talk about is the reception.  It's really not a reception, but just a quick meal.  There is no first dance, no garter belts, no speeches, no nothing really.  It's a buffet style meal where you eat and then go.  Alcohol is completely optional and it's only a meal.  It's just a little weird, sometimes the bride and groom only show up for about three minutes to see people and then they leave.  I guess I'm just used to the big party that is supposed to take place after the wedding. 

Alas, the wedding that I went to this weekend was quite fun.  Mark and Ira looked wonderful, and meeting David's family was a little bit of a mind-trip.  After the wedding we headed out to celebrate David's birthday.  We were partying up in Ansan which is a city that none of us lived in, but it is where David's family is.  We spent three hours at a norae bang, which included such norae bang favorites as: High and Dry by Radiohead, Say it Ain't So by Weezer, Bad Moon Rising by CCR, and tons of other songs.  The 80's definitely made an appearance as did some relatively on-key singing by yours truly.  However, once I leave this country, I think that my karaoke days will be left behind me.  Nobody benefits when I sing, that is, unless you're looking for humor.  The night ended as when we sauntered back to our motels/hotels to sleep off the fluids we imbibed.  All in all it was a good wedding, and a good weekend.

It's Election Time.

Seeing the democratic process in action is often viewed with contempt in America.  Honestly how many of us enjoy the endless parade of election ads?  How many of enjoy the constant slandering, mud slinging, and bold-faced lies that are told to us on a hourly basis during election years?  Maybe, just maybe, there is something that can be learned from the course of elections in a small Korean city.  Seosan, by American standards is a large city of nearly 200,000 people.  However, by Korean standards, this city is small.  It is the equivalent of living in a town of 30,000 people in rural Kentucky.  Yes, it's the big town in the area, but man there is not much to it.

Korean elections are interesting to experience from an outside perspective.  For starters, there are no paid for commercials.  Maybe when people run for President or major office there are, but I have yet to see any ads on television.  It's really nice.  You don't have to hear "My name is Barack Obama, and I approve this message," 10,000 times a day.  There are certain rules and requirements for people who wish to run for office.  One is that they are required to wear a sash, that not only has their name on it, but the number they have been assigned on the ballot.  In fact the number is as important as their name.


Here everything is very grassroots.  There are no mass political spectacles.  Here the politicians press the flesh like nothing I have ever seen.  I have personally met at least three of the five people running for office here in Seosan.  The politicians ride around in trucks with loud speakers, they hand out business cards to everyone they see.  They stand on the street corner and bow to cars passing by.  I was even serenaded by one as I was walking to the gym.  He was standing on the corner with a small group of his supporters.  They were playing music and signing, and as I walked by he switched to his very limited English.  It consisted of him singing "I love you" repeatedly.  Awkward, somewhat, humorous most definitely.  I don't even know if I'm allowed to vote.

Perhaps what I find most interesting is the involvement of their supporters.  You rarely see this type of involvement in local campaigns in the United States.  Some of these people are running for Office of Education positions and they still have a loyal group of people working for them.  Maybe, they are family members like what you see in the United States.  On the other hand they could be people who are engaged in the political process.  Whatever it is they are, they stand on the streets, they wear matching uniforms, they sing, they dance, they bow, they do things that we would never even associate with getting elected.  However, here in Korea, it is how you get yourself elected. 

It is the involvement of ordinary people that makes this political process impressive.  It is the relative insignificance of the post, combined with the utter determination and devotion to ensure that your candidate gets elected.  You can't help but be impressed by the people standing on the side of the street doing choreographed dance routines in the hopes that you will like their dancing better and elect their candidate.  It is nice to see politics in its purer form.  A form where government is not controlled by special interests and promises to do favors for those who elect them, but are directly responsible to the people who elect them. 

Perhaps it is the fact that I am outside the political process here that has given me the impression I have.  Maybe, the election cycle, and the political process are just as corrupt and soul destroying here as they are in America.  Whatever it may be though, it is interesting to see another country, and they way they choose to implement Democracy.