Saunas

This is actually quite depressing. I like Korean saunas. I like the relaxing atmosphere and the dry saunas. I especially like the hot and cold tubs - inspite of the fact that my female colleagues tell me that the water is the tubs is not safe and they wouldn't be caught dead in them. However...after reading this report in the Joonang Ilbo, I'm going to have second thoughts about even the dry sauna. (emphasis in the article is mine)

Sauna clothing ‘unsanitary'

July 22, 2006 ㅡ The clothing lent to customers at saunas and steam rooms is often unsanitary, the Korea Consumer Protection Board said yesterday.
The board said it looked into how saunas launder and store their clothing ― usually cotton tops and shorts for customers to wear in sweat rooms. It said that it found bacteria in the clothing at 17 of the 20 businesses it tested in Seoul; in some cases, the amount bacteria was "extremely high."
The board said it would send a recommendation to the Welfare Ministry to make sanitary guidelines for steam rooms more strict. "Current laws only state that clothing lent to customers must have been laundered," a board member said. It also issued a statement to an association of steam room operators, asking them to create their own sanitary guidelines and better educate their employees about sanitation management.
The board also warned customers that the clothing most likely has more bacteria than regular clothing, due to the sweat and heat, and carries high risks of transmitting skin diseases.

Lost in space

I haven't had much positive to say about Korea lately, so I haven't been saying anything. I really need to get away for awhile. My vacation starts Saturday and I'll be leaving for 4 weeks in Canada on Monday. The drive from Vancouver to Pincher Creek, Alberta is always awe inpiring and I expect that it will be quite refreshing. I will try out my new camera and will probably add a Flickr sidebar to my blog. A week with my parents in Pincher Creek and a couple of week in Kamloops with my older brother should make me feel a lot better. Then a week on the westcoast with perhaps a little hiking and kayaking should top things off nicely. Finally back to the heat and humidity of Korea in August - why does reality always have to intrude?

Typhoon

I recently bought the DVD, Typhoon, and watched it twice to see why Dreamworks is planning to release this film in North America. It was the most expensive movie ever made in Korea, so I thought it might be something special.

I hadn't realized at first that the director, Kwak Kyung-taek, had also directed Friend, a huge hit in Korea but which I thought was a piece of crap.

I'm usually impressed by the cinematography and acting in Korean movies. I'm often disappointed by little things in the movie which seem to be the fault of the directors. Oasis, which I thought had an interesting theme and was really well acted, had an ending that was so incomprehensible that it spoiled what was, to that point, a really good movie. Chihwasan, which has the most stunning cinematography that I've ever seen, was spoiled by the make-up used to age Ahn Sung-ki near the end of the film. And, Friend was laughable when a group of grown men dressed in school uniforms and pretended to be in high school. These are all things that a good director should control.

At any rate, Typhoon was interesting and worth watching - once. It would make a good made for TV movie, perhaps battling it out with Jean Claude Van Damme and Steven Segal. I can't imagine why it would have a large enough audience in North America to make it worth putting any money into it. It slams the Americans, the North Koreans, and the South Koreans (the governments), but it does nothing to help North Americans understand Korea or the Korean situation. It won't shed any light on the North Korean/American nuclear issue. It's not really an action movie. It doesn't really delve into the characters and issues enough to make it an art house movie.

I don't know where the $15 million dollars went to make this movie. Perhaps it was used in setting up the cast and crew in luxurious surrounding in Thailand and Russia.

Sick? Depraved?

For most of my life, the one activity that has given me the greatest pleasure (No, get your minds out of the gutter!) has been reading. Last week, I sat in a coffee shop and read for a couple of hours, and, when I stopped, I felt really relaxed and calm (an unusual state of mind for me recently). I love - perhaps loved - reading. In the last few years, unfortunately, I seem to have lost the reading habit. I'm not really sure why.

Last night, I realized how far I had fallen when I stopped my channel surfing to watch professional wrestling, realized that I had seen that "match," and still continued watching anyway. When you start to care whether ECW is better than WWE or whether Triple H will get another shot at the title, you really need help of the psychiatric kind. When you wish that the Spirit Squad would get pounded to a pulp and squished flat, you really need to get your life's priorities back in sync. I can't believe that I even know who these wrestling "actors" are or that I'm looking at Rey Mysterio's back tat and thinking, "That's cool.".

I wonder if my tv has the ability to block inane television shows. If people can sue McDonalds for selling food that is bad for them, can we sue the producers of programs that rot our brains or turn us into couch potatoes?

Even the better shows may be problematic. There're like sugar. Too much of it is not good for me. I know more about forensic science than I ever I could have imagined ten years ago. I love CSI (New York, Miami, Las Vegas), NCIS, Bones, SVU New York... If I don't get out of the house and to the gym in the evening before one of those shows comes on, I generally don't move at all. And all for what purpose?

I need someone - like my mother - to say, "You can only watch two hours of tv each night. You decide what you want to watch and then go do you work," or perhaps, "Go outside and play."

Korean Pottery

I used to have a fairly good collection of Korean tea bowls; unfortunately, some were broken in my last move. After my visit to the Leeum Museum last week, my interest in tea bowls (and tea) was reignited, so I went to Insadong today to see if I might be able to find a few pieces to replace what was broken. Prices were a tad high although one shop that I have bought things from before would probably be amenable to lowering the prices.

I remembered that there was a tea shop near the Chogye Temple that had a fairly extensive collection of bowls and paraphenalia, so I went looking for it. It, unfortunately, had closed, but I found another one on the main street about 100 meters south of the temple, Kkik Da Geo (끽다거), which had quite a good selection of bowls and all of the other little knick knacks that you don't really need but always add to the tea experience. When I was there, there were half a dozen Buddhist nuns shopping and a steady stream of wealthy looking middle-aged women popping in to buy bowls and tea.

The nice thing about this kind of tea shop is that they always offer you tea, so, after poking around the shop and fondling all of their bowls for an hour or so, I sat, relaxed, and quietly sipped a lovely Korean green tea.

I will definitely go back again, and probably end up buying a couple of tea bowls and a few other implements.

I have two Korean tea sets like the one at the top (a 3-cup set and a 5-cup set). I enjoy drinking leaf green tea more than powdered green tea, but I like the bowls that are used with powdered tea much more.














This is a Bunchong style bowl. The design is stamped into the clay rather than carved. The color is softer and more natural than the distinctive green of celadon.














The celadon is nice, but a little too refined for me, and the color of the tea does not contrast well with the celadon green.



















I really like the look and feel of this bowl.











This style of pottery is my all time favorite. It's a style that Japanese and western potters call it 'raku'.

Leeum Museum

Last week, I visited the Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art as part of my Year 2006 resolution to visit a museum or gallery or watch a performance of some kind every month.

The Leeum Museum requires a reservation every day except Thursday when any Tom, Dick, and Harry can drop in (which is, of course, why I went on Thursday).

The Leeum is quite impressive from the outside although it is an odd collection of three very different style buildings - each designed by a different famous architect. Museum 1 houses traditional Korean art; Museum 2 houses a contemporary collection of Korean and non-Korean art, and a third building has a children's education center. There are also two temporary exhibits: Mark Rothko and Nam June Paik.

I only managed to see one of the museums (traditional art). That took two hours. I'll go back next week to see a little more.

The collection of traditional art is very well presented. It's definitely worth shelling out W2000 for a Digital Guide that explains each piece as you approach it. The descriptions are quite informative if you can ignore the somewhat over-the-top descriptions (i.e. "The Chinese acknowledge this as the greatest form of pottery in the world" or "This fantastic piece shows the superior skills of Korean potters."). I've always loved Korean pottery, so I really enjoyed Museum 1. The pottery collection isn't as extensive or varied as the National Museum, but they have some really exquisite celedon, including a number of pieces that are designated as national treasures.

I've always liked the rougher Korean pottery most and the Bunchong is usually more interesting to me. Unfortunately, this is the weakest part of the Leeum collection. They had some good pieces, but the National Museum is much better.

The only real complaint that I had with the museum is that it took at least 2 hours to wander through Museum 1 and listen to all of the descriptions on the Digital Guide; however, the Digital Guide batteries only last an hour and a half. It was mildly irritating to have to walk down to the 1st floor and get a new Digital Guide and then go back to the 2nd floor to continue the tour. One would think that the batteries would last as long as it would take most people to go through the museum. Not surprisingly, the Digital Guides are made by Samsung.

Korea's most beautiful face

Kim Hye-soo Voted Korea’s Most Beautiful Face

I find it interesting that

A group of the nation's top photographers have settled on Kim Hye-soo as the most beautiful face in Korea, according to a poll conducted by the film magazine Movie Week. The "Beautiful Faces 25" event brought together 86 of the nation's photographers responsible for most of the movie posters and stills, and fashion magazines.

I think that she's beautiful, but she doesn't have that anorexic look that is so popular with Korean celebrities these days. I'll leave you to check out some of her other pictures. She even looks "Kirstie Alley-ish" in some pictures. Could it be that women with a bit of flesh are going to make a comeback? Could the term "Ruebenesque" some day be applied to Korean women? Will the Twiggy look be relegated to the past?

Brave New World

Intelligent Shoes Add Value for Footwear Industry

Anyone who knows me knows that I love gadgets - men's toys. But, what happens when your shoes are smarter than you?

I know I shouldn't, but I think I'm going to have to look into buying a pair of Adidas. They sound way cool - little motors adjusting the cushioning quality of my shoes.

I've always liked Nike the most for sports kit, but the thought of a little iPod coach "harrying" me to go faster is a major turn off. I know if I'm doggin' it. I don't need my shoes telling me to run faster.

Just imagine the intelligent shoes AND the beer hat combo - What more could a guy want?........Well, perhaps a fully loaded Lazy-Boy, but, hey, Heaven can wait. We don't need it all now.

Money to burn?

Knife-less Alternatives for a Tighter Face

In the quest for beauty, Koreans (and perhaps ex-pats living in Korea, too) will do just about anything. I think my favorite is the nose clip which, if worn for 30 minutes a day, is guaranteed to give you a "perkier" nose. Sure! I've often thought that the only reason I can't get a date is my un-perky nose. A real bargain at just $6.




















The butt fixer is sure to be popular with any young mother. It "closes the pelvis" after pregnancy. Why haven't they heard of this in other countries? It also lifts those drooping behinds. Now, to be honest, I haven't seen that many droopy behinds in Korea (maybe it really works). Perhaps this one would sell better in Canada. I can just see it now - the little woman sitting in her butt-lifter watching TV while her husband sits in his butt-spreader.




















The Darth Vader mask is going to get rid of water in the face and make it 1 mm thinner. 1 mm??? The old myth of spot reducing lives on. Who would actually believe that water lost from the face wouldn't quickly be replaced from water in other parts of the body?


















About the only thing worth trying might be the lip-ersizer - although your partner would have to keep up or your lips might get too strong. I think that's what happened to Mick.

Does Roh have wrong role model?

(Pictures from Joongang Ilbo)













I was quite shocked to read this in the Joongang Ilbo. I didn't think there was anyone who had praise for Brian Mulroney, Canada's former Prime Minister.

Does Roh have wrong role model?

President Roh's praise of Mr. Mulroney dates back to 2004 and has continued until this year.

Wikipedia had this to say:

Mulroney's intense unpopularity at the time of his resignation led many Conservative politicians to distance themselves from him for some years. His government had flirted with 10% approval ratings in the early 90's. Mulroney's honesty and intentions were frequently questioned in the media, by Canadians in general and by his political colleagues. His reputation for arrogance and "sleaze" would further alienate him. (Wikipedia - Brian Mulroney)

Roh's dismissal of election riles Uri legislators

Party legislators are seething in public about Mr. Roh's dismissal of the party's crushing defeat as not something he cares very much about.

OK, he's upset his own party.

The Wrong Lesson From the Election Defeat

The unprecedented severity of the defeat the ruling party sustained was the people's verdict precisely on the way the country is being run already, namely in a manner incompatible with common sense.

Most Koreans Blame Roh for Uri Party Rout

A majority of people feel President Roh Moo-hyun is at least partly to blame for the ruling Uri Party's crushing defeat in last week's local elections, a survey shows.

Ok, he's upset the electorate.

Noh's popularity is still not as low as Mulroney's but he has a little time left to mess up.

Images of Children

I'm not a really serious art critic. I can't tell the difference between impressionistic and abstract paintings. I know that Reubens painted full-figured women (leading to the term "reubenesque"), and I know that Van Gogh cut off part of his ear; however, my appreciation of art is not based on a real knowledge of artists and art. My reaction to art is from the gut.

Lately, I've been trying to see more of Korea than the top of a bar pool table and the bottom of a beer glass, so I've been making an effort to see some "higher" culture. I've been to a number of museums and galleries around Seoul. Much of the art is interesting, but I sometimes feel that some of it is forced, perhaps even pretensious.

Last Saturday, I took a little time out from marking essays and went to an art exhibit called "The Dream of Modern Korea: Images of Children" at the National Museum of Art, Deoksugung. I highly recommend it.

The exhibit at Deoksu Palace was interesting. The styles of the paintings were quite varied. Most felt natural and comfortable. The subjects were, of course, mainly children, but also children with mothers, fathers, and families. All of the paintings were done within the last 100 years or so.

Busy, busy, busy

I have 90 paragraphs and 20 essays to mark. I have 3 exams to make (and then mark). I have one more week of classes and one week of exams. Then there will be marks to collate and adjust. The 5-week summer session starts on June 19th. So...for the next while I will be a bit busy.

I won't have much time to mock the local news outlets. Please feel free to do so yourself.
Hints of capitalism at fair in Pyongyang
Roh Distances Himself From Elections


This is what I'd rather be doing.

The History of Hands

At the Migrant Workers' Festival today, there was an area set up for traditional Korean handicrafts, and I was mesmerized by one old man who was making straw sandals. I have a fairly vivid imagination, and I always enjoy looking at the hands and faces of old people, especially country people, and trying to imagine the experiences they must have had - the houses they have built; the fields they have tilled; the lives they have touched.

This old man would take several strands of wet straw and quickly twirl them into strands that he then used to weave the sandals. He must have done this same movement over and over a million times. He has probably sat patiently making sandals like this every winter for more than 60 years.

His hands are worn and cracked. His nails broken. This is a man who does things and makes things with his hands.











































Who's little soft hand is that? Is that a scar from a paper cut? Are those fingertips calloused from typing?

Migrant Workers' Festival

The Migrant Workers' Festival was held at the Olympic Park today. It was mostly interesting for me because I was surrounded by so many people from different countries. It almost felt like I was back in Vancouver.















This is in front of the Bangladesh and Phillipines booths.




















They had quite a cool kite flying. That's one long, long string.















Lunch: Curried chicken, rice, and tandoori chicken. It was tasty and always seems to taste better when sitting on the grass in a park.

The only thing that I didn't like about the festival was the 45 minutes at the main stage taken by a team of Koreans teaching everyone the Summit Dance (Kkokjijeon) to the beat of "Oh, Pilseung(victory) Korea" (Which I hear almost daily on TV and on the subway platform first thing in the morning). I'm REALLY curious to see how the world reacts to the Summit Dance when it is performed during the World Cup. While I'd like to support my host country in the World Cup, I'm secretly hoping that they'll get spanked and sent home in the first round so that I won't have to see the Summit Dance again.

I'm always kind of embarrassed by mass behavior. I would find it excruciatingly painful to do the dance in a huge crowd (Well, except for the Macarena and a very brief attempt to mimic John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever). I don't really understand the need to do things together like this. I'm sure that Koreans find my behavior very antisocial at times. I remember going river rafting a couple of years ago and we had to do the "Fighting" thing all the way down the river. Now, I paddled as well as everyone else (perhaps even better), but I'm sure that they felt my shouting was desultory and unispiring. I can't help it.

These are some notable quotes from the article by the Office of Investment Ombudsman about the dance (emphasis mine):

• The public reaction to the group dance was truly explosive...
• According to Kim, when he and his friends started dancing on the street for fun one day, quite a few strangers joined in the dance, proving the popularity of the dance.
• In less than two months, the dance featuring a series of simple, repetitive yet fun movements has become a “must event” for virtually all types of people.
• “Cool, it’s gonna be fun to perform the dance to cheer during the World Cup!” was the most dominant response to the dance...

Like the atomic bomb, this is one of those things that I wish we could uninvent.

Konglish

Damn it, Jim. I'm an English teacher, not a fashion consultant; however...

I know that this topic has been discussed ad nauseum, including my comments on bad signs; however, I think that I need to do something.

Next semester, I might tell my students that, if they wear anything that has English written on it, the English has to be correct or they have to tell me what is wrong with it (I could accept that). Perhaps I should threaten them with a big red felt pen.

Over the last two days, this is some of what I saw on clothes that the students thought looked cool. These are my English students for crying out loud. It makes me feel like a failure.
-----------------------------
It is the time
Where that guy?
OK! Let's go to HUM street!

-----------------------------
just a When I look at what
is a partan that meets only half way
-----------------------------
let there be twang
A GREAT CHOICE OF TSHIRT
GTR authentic American streetgear puts style into your life (Up to this point, I was thinking, "That's okay.")
We gire you the ultimate adratage of unique style and great quality
We gire you the superior offer of going to a party
movie or grocery store wearing something that no one else is wearing and looking great
Guarenteed
-----------------------------
PAPAYA SLING
FRESHABLE OF LITMUS JNS
-----------------------------
POLHAM
THEJUSTIFIABLE
-----------------------------
And the singing voice to you wonderful her
The life is fighting by new yorker

Trainspotting

Rail tests off, North informs Seoul abruptly

May 25, 2006 ㅡ Jilted again.
On the eve of the scheduled trial train runs to test the recently restored cross-border railways, North Korea pulled out yesterday, blaming the move on "internal instability" in the South. The South Korean government reacted with embarrassment, criticizing the North for giving an unsatisfactory reason for its actions. The cancellation was the third broken promise by North Korea to test the restored railroads across the Demilitarized Zone, and the plans had progressed much further this time than in the previous two.

The real reason for the cancellation - North Korean spies discovered that the South Korean train looked like this:












while the North Korean train looked like this:














The train test was cancelled because North Korean technology lags behind the technology of the South.

To avoid embarassing the North, South Korea has decided on an ass-kissing face-saving measure. The South Koreans will use the train in the picture below for any future runs while loudly praising the advanced level of the North.












Oh, wait! Who's that already on board? Could it? Train Boy?

Southern thoughts on the reunification

Sometimes, when I have groups of students discussing controversial and important issues, I hear things that make me sad. In this case, I’m just tired of people’s focus on money (getting and keeping money) at the expense of others.

On the one hand, whatever happens in Korea to Korea and Koreans is none of my business. This is a country run by a democratically elected government and whatever direction they choose to take is up to them. This is their country and the future should be theirs to decide. On the other hand, the actions they take here affect other people.

One group in my Advanced Speaking class recently did a presentation on the controversy over the planned move of the U.S. Yongsan base to Pyeongtaek. All but one of my 24 students said that the base should be constructed at Pyeongtaek without further ado. I hadn’t expected this. Their presentation was quite interesting for me, but the discussions that followed were even more interesting. Any time that the U.S. military is discussed, the reasons for their presence here come up. The students didn’t seem to think that there was a real danger of war, but they didn’t want the U.S. to pull out. Then the discussion moved to a final resolution and reunification, and only one student in the class thought that reunification would be a good idea. To be honest, I couldn’t believe it. They didn’t seem to want reunification.

In general, I try not to get involved in a lot of political discussion with my students. I don’t want to offend them with my skepticism. I also don’t really care that much about what politicians anywhere are saying and doing. However, I was disappointed in their attitude. This attitude wasn’t based on a changing political reality. They simple felt it would be too expensive to reunify. It makes me sad to think that Koreans, after years of hoping that they could reunify their country, have changed because it would be financially difficult to do so. The thought that divided families should to be reunited wasn’t even brought up.

To be fair, I don’t know if this is just a generational thing. Most of my discussions with have been with college-age people. It’s possible that older people still passionately want reunification, and that it is only the younger generation that doesn’t, but I don’t think so. After the Asian financial crisis, threats to peoples’ livelihoods here are taken very seriously and no one wants to jeopardize their chances.

Let me provide a little background that may explain my feelings of disappointment. It’s a little difficult for ex-pats who came to Korea in recent years to understand the difference in attitude. Twenty years ago (1983-86), EVERY Korean of any age whom I spoke with held a deep and passionate belief that North Korea and South Korea should be re-united. I don’t recall ANYONE ever suggesting anything different. Their fervent dream was for North and South Korea to be united – really quickly. Practically everyone could manage to produce a tear or two when talking about North Korea. It was, after all, only 30 years after major combat operations ceased. Many Koreans knew someone on the other side of the border or had family members who had a brother, sister, mother, father, grandfather, or grandmother who were there.

People here really believed that they were ONE people - Koreans. It was a very emotional time. The division of the peninsula was still like an open wound.

After the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989, Koreans were ecstatic. They thought, “Why not us next?” Then the next few years showed them how much it cost West Germany to try to assimilate the East Germans. Now, the first thing out of everyone’s mouth is, “Oh, it will cost too much.” And for those who do want reunification, it’s almost always followed by, “We’ll use their resources and they’ll provide us with a cheap pool of laborers.” Not exactly love for their brothers and sisters.

50 years after the fighting ended, many of the people for whom the war was a defining moment have passed away. The ties that bind young Koreans to uncles, aunts, grandfathers, or grandmothers in another country just don’t seem that strong.

As well, South Koreans' feelings about North Koreans have really changed. Many South Koreans have traveled to North Korea on tours. Many have seen North Korean athletes here. Some have worked at Kaesong. There are quite a few North Korean defectors living in Korea. Everyone has access to more news about North Korea. Now, I often hear South Koreans saying that they just can’t understand each other very easily because they speak a different language, or they can’t understand each other because their cultures are different. The Northerners who live in South Korea were once welcomed with open arms, given money, and used in propaganda campaigns against the North. Now, the Northerners are an embarrassment. The South wants them to be quiet so that North Korea isn’t offended. The Northerners are often seen as country bumpkins who are costing the taxpayers a lot of money to train and assimilate, and the Southerners are looking for excuses not to reunite.

I don’t think anyone has a right to tell Koreans what they should do. If they don’t want to reunify, that’s their choice. If they want to reunify under Northern rule or Southern rule, that’s their choice, too. If they can come up with a different idea, that’s their right, too. But, to abandon their northern brethren because the financial sacrifice would be too great is disappointing. To have to give up a trip to Europe in the summer, another house in the countryside, or even just a new feature-laden cell phone doesn’t seem like such a sacrifice if the result is helping family.

Hello...is anyone home?

I'm sure that, if I were back home in Canada, I could find things that puzzle and irritate me just as much as these; however, since I'm here, let me say some people in Korea need a slap upside the head.

Now, I know that it's possible that this motorcycle rider really was handicapped, but I don't think so. One of my nicer colleagues (clearly much more forgiving than I) thought that it was nice for the motorcyclist to park at the EDGE of the handicapped spot. Yes, I'm sure that makes it okay......... Not! There's legal parking 30 metres away. How lazy do you have to be? I think the bike should be put into a metal compactor and turned into a park bench.















Then there's this sign. I'm sure someone said, "There's a rule that all stairwells need exit signs." This one is in the stairwell between the 4th and 5th floor of a 5-story building. What is it telling us? We're in a stairwell. Go sideways? Go up to the 5th floor? Go down to the 4th floor? Didn't someone think, "We don't just need an exit sign. We need an exit sign that directs us OUT." I've been away from home for a long time and I don't remember what signage our stairwells have, but surely it can't be this.





















This one is a little old, but I've been looking for a place to post it. A few months ago, it was decided that all of the subway stations needed emergency phones. Let me make it clear, all of the subway stations in SEOUL, KOREA.















It didn't take long for the authorities to realize that they had an problem. I'm sure that, when people started to use the emergency phone to try to call their mothers and friends, they realized that no one knew what 'EMERGENCY' meant. To their credit, the problem was corrected quickly (see picture below). HOWEVER, why didn't someone think that it would be a problem to have 'EMERGENCY" written in a language that most people wouldn't understand?

National Museum of Korea

The last time I visited the National Museum of Korea, it was in the former Japanese Administration building on the north side of Kwanghwamun, so my visit to the new museum today was special. I've always liked museums. I have a vivid imagination and enjoy trying to imagine the people who made and used the items on display. The new museum is huge and the exhibits are generally well-laid out and well-lit. It has some good educational components. It's always interesting to see rusty old tools, but it is nice to have information that shows how the tools were used.

With the museum laid out as it is, you can walk through the exhibits and see the progression from stone age to iron age. I found it fascinating. It was easy to see how each development in metal would allow for better war, better agricultural, and better life (Well, okay, that last one may be debatable.)

Many of the exhibits have English labels and information, although the English does not always match the Korean. For instance, in the sign at the pagoda pictured on the left, the English text doesn't say anything about the Japanese stealing this pagoda, but the Korean version does. Still, I learned a lot and had a good time. The museum is large enough and interesting enough that I will go back regularly to wander around. The grounds are also nicely set out.

I also learned that the style of celadon bowl below is Korean and not necessarily Japanese (although I'd hate to get into an argument about it). Quite a few years ago, some Korean students took me out for dinner in Insadong and, while we were walking around after dinner, they decided that they wanted to buy me some pottery because they knew that I had a ceramic fetish. When I chose a shallow, celadon tea bowl similar to the one pictured, they were not really happy because they said it was a Japanese style bowl. Well, here's the proof - National Treasure 115. They needn't have felt bad.


































The most disturbing exhibit was this one in the China exhibit. The implements that are lit in the picture on the left are jade plugs that are used on corpses. If you look at the drawing, you can see that the lower plug needed some delicacy in insertion. The diagram shows you exactly where.







































Because I had seen the National Museum in it's old setting in the former Japanese Administration building, I decided I needed to research the move since I wasn't here when they tore it down. Minsoo Kang at the Global Korean Network of Los Angeles has an excellent article on debate and the final resolution.

Barefoot in the Park

I just had to go to the Namsan Barefoot Park. It was a lovely day, and I needed to get out of the house. Namsan has developed into quite a nice place to hike. There are many trails and parks scattered all around the mountain. All of the paths have been paved, bricked, or treated in some way so that the walking is easy and safe. The Barefoot Park (or at least one of them) is near the Hyatt Hotel. Just northeast of the entrance to the hotel, there is a pedestrian flyover that takes you to the Barefoot Park and to a lovely wildflower garden.

As for the idea of barefoot parks - hmm. I don't think so, at least not for the non-Korean crowd. I got halfway down the path and almost stopped, but I didn't want to seem like a sissy so I toughed it out. My feet are still sore hours later. The lady in the picture below couldn't seem to decide whether she liked it or not.

I've always found Koreans to be a hearty lot, but they often do things that are painful and, in my opinion, not really helpful - all in the name of good health. In the gym, they slap and hit their muscles in ways that always leave me wondering - What are you doing? I have had many massages in Korea, and have always found them quite painful - bone on bone. I once saw a customer in a barbershop turn on his stomach in the barber chair (so that his back was bent quite hard backward) and then the barber knee-walked up and down his back while the customer grunted and groaned. Needless to say, when they asked me if I wanted a massage, I said no. Korean shower sandels often have knobs on the part that contacts your sole. They are uncomfortable after about 30 seconds.

I think that most Koreans have the idea that, if it doesn't hurt, it isn't good for you.

I'm glad that they are making parks of any sort, but the barefoot park just doesn't seem like an idea that will take off.

In general, I'm really pleased with the things that the Seoul City government has done to make the city greener and nicer. It still has a long way to go, but, compared to what it was like twenty years ago, they have done some good things. They've added paths along the Han River, rebuilt the Cheongyecheon Stream, and put many parks around the city. Today, I saw these lovely Rufous Turtle Doves - the first time I've seen them in the city.