Prior to my departure, some people asked me, Anthony, will you be blogging? I wondered why anyone would be interested in reading a blog about my daily life in Seoul, South Korea. But since several people asked, and since I think it’s a good idea to keep a diary of some sorts for posterity, I think the answer is now, yes, I will be blogging. So here it goes…
I must begin with the plane ride itself. After leaving Atlanta this morning—on time—about to begin a 15 hour plane ride, I found myself sitting next to an old Korean couple. Actually, I thought this was good because I figured they wouldn’t talk to me and I wouldn’t be bothered during my flight. I was wrong on both counts, and I am happy about that. As it turns out, they were American citizens who emigrated from Korea in 1945. The gentlemen with whom I spoke for about 10 of the 15 hours on the plane, is named Raymond Kim. He was a student in Korea during the Japanese imperial occupation before 1945. During that time he was schooled to be a Japanese colonist, essentially, so he learned both Korean and Japanese. He fled the Seattle at the end of the war and became a nuclear engineer. He lived all over America, helping design and build America’s nuclear power plants. His son is a rich restaurateur in Los Angeles; he manages a famous beef place called Lowry’s. Mr. Kim travels frequently—to LA to see his son, and to Seoul a couple of times a year to visit friends and relatives.
But there was much more about him than that. In fact, he has a sincere interest in linguistics. He’s licensed by the State of Georgia (hi lives near Atlanta) as a court interpreter for both Japanese and Korean. This is something he only became after retiring from engineering a few years ago. Mr. Kim spent a good deal of time teaching me the Korean alphabet. Prior to this morning I had read that, according to most linguists, the Korean alphabet is the most logical of all the languages of the world—and now I see why. There are roughly 15 consonants, all easy to understand, and 10-15 vowel sounds. Each letter in the Korean alphabet corresponds directly to a sound in the spoken language. Therefore, once one learns the alphabet, it is quite easy to pronounce the letters on most any Korean sign. Of course, knowing what each word actually means is a different story! But needless to say, between my background in teaching ESL and Mr. Kim’s interest in linguistics, we had lots of interesting conversations about language and, specifically, learning foreign languages. His English was perfect. His Japanese is so good that not only is he a translator, but he was reading a Japanese book on the plane. Amazing. I have much to learn if I ever want to achieve the skills of Mr. Kim. Before I move on, I want to add something else. Actually, this is something that Mr. Kim said to me at the beginning of the plane ride, before we even exchanged names. I mentioned that I was going to Korea for a sabbatical, because the past few months have been stressful for a variety of reasons. I told him I had many questions about my future, and I was using my sabbatical to get away from those questions, and just relaㅌ. Mr. Kim seemed perplexed. “I don’t see why you worry,” he said. “If you think about things that are not under your control, you just waste time and energy. 99% of problems in life take care of themselves. So just don’t worry. There’s no need for it at all.” Yes, Mr. Kim, you are correct. That was wonderful advice, indeed…
…Another Kim, this time Olivia Kim, the sister of my former student at INTERLINK, and her mom, Young Hee, met me (and Mr. Kim and his wife, who insisted on accompanying me from the plane to my hostesses) at the airport with smiles and open arms. Olivia gave me a big hug and her mom immediately tried to take my big suitcase from me. I was surprised by their genuine interest in welcoming me…there was a lot more to come.
During the hour-long ride to Seoul I was surprised at how similar the city is to New York. Had all the signs been in English rather than Korean, I would’ve sworn that I was driving on the Van Wyck Expressway from JFK to Manhattan, it was that similar. We finally arrived at the apartment complex. Olivia lives in a neighborhood not unlike my old neighborhood of Maspeth in Queens, NY. It is in the city, for sure, but not downtown. It’s a hilly area with many trees and small and large apartments, as well as shops and restaurants. Within a short walk from the apartment there is a Papa John’s, a Domino’s, a Pizza Hut, and another Korean-owned pizza place, as well as all sorts of other places, again, just like in Queens—pubs, banks, shops, convenience stores, etc. There’s a lot of stuff all over, and many narrow, often curvy streets everywhere, and lots of cars and people, but it’s by no means “crowded.” There’s a pleasant logic to everything that is difficult to describe…I’m obviously in a densely-populated neighborhood just a few kilometers south of the downtown area; and yet, there’s not much noise or traffic; I smell no pollution; and there is a general feeling of harmony in the atmosphere. Again, it is hard to describe.
The apartment complex itself, by the way, is immaculate and beautiful, and it reminds me of where my grandmother used to live in Queens. In between the buildings there is a courtyard with gardens and a playground and a badminton court. Surrounding the buildings are more flowers—everything is in bloom here, I’ve come at the right time—and little stone pathways where residents and walk through nature amidst the concrete jungle above and around them. Inside, well, I don’t know what to say except this is one of the nicest apartments I have ever been in. Again, it reminds me of my grandmother’s on Queens—three bedrooms, large living room, two bathrooms. Only this apartment is even larger than I expected. Olivia and her mom share Olivia’s room. The spare bedroom, which is now my room, is almost twice the size of my living room back in Greensboro. In addition I have a large foyer area, and an even larger bathroom, probably three times the size the one in my home. When I was given the tour of the apartment, I was amazed by several things. First, almost everything is electronic. The bed that I am sitting on right now, in fact, is electronically heated (and it feels pretty good!). All the thermostats are digital and electronic, and they heat the entire floor, Korean-style, rather than a radiator. There are no keys used for the apartment door—just a space-age type numeric keypad. In addition, every room as a huge balcony with a giant sliding glass door separating the room itself from the balcony. Olivia said her and her mom rarely use the balconies, except for storing some boxes (!); I can’t imagine why; I’ve been living here less than 6 hours and already I’ve been on the balcony 10 times, admiring the flower gardens below, the hilly streets outside the complex, or the large buildings of downtown Seoul in the distance.
I haven’t written much about Olivia and her mom, at least not in respect to how they have treated me, only because they have treated me so well that I am truly embarrassed. They have been chatty and engaging since the moment they picked me up, more so than my Korean students in the US. They had a box lunch waiting for me at the airport. As mentioned, they have given me the largest room in their home. Tonight, they brought me to a great Italian restaurant downtown called Il Mare, and paid for some of the most delicious pasta I’ve ever eaten (and that’s not an exaggeration—the place was authentically Italian and the food was delicious). Then they drove me to a large Korean store called E-Mart (akin to WalMart in the States), where I stocked up on fruits and vegetables and soy milk and, of course, Mekjoo (beer). Olivia and he mom complained about the prices but I found them surprisingly low compared to what I had expected, certainly no more expensive than Greensboro.
Before I go to sleep, I must add something…After every favor Olivia and her mom did for me, just after I said, “please, let me pay,” or “let me take care of it,” they responded, “no, this is the Korean way. It’s part of our culture; you are our guest.” I had read about Korean hospitality prior to my arrival, but I never expected I would get treated this well, just for being a friend of their daughter’s and a visitor in their home. Indeed, they are so nice that I am embarrassed because I don’t deserve such treatment.
Future posts will not be this long but this has been such an incredible day that I had to write everything that happened…
I must begin with the plane ride itself. After leaving Atlanta this morning—on time—about to begin a 15 hour plane ride, I found myself sitting next to an old Korean couple. Actually, I thought this was good because I figured they wouldn’t talk to me and I wouldn’t be bothered during my flight. I was wrong on both counts, and I am happy about that. As it turns out, they were American citizens who emigrated from Korea in 1945. The gentlemen with whom I spoke for about 10 of the 15 hours on the plane, is named Raymond Kim. He was a student in Korea during the Japanese imperial occupation before 1945. During that time he was schooled to be a Japanese colonist, essentially, so he learned both Korean and Japanese. He fled the Seattle at the end of the war and became a nuclear engineer. He lived all over America, helping design and build America’s nuclear power plants. His son is a rich restaurateur in Los Angeles; he manages a famous beef place called Lowry’s. Mr. Kim travels frequently—to LA to see his son, and to Seoul a couple of times a year to visit friends and relatives.
But there was much more about him than that. In fact, he has a sincere interest in linguistics. He’s licensed by the State of Georgia (hi lives near Atlanta) as a court interpreter for both Japanese and Korean. This is something he only became after retiring from engineering a few years ago. Mr. Kim spent a good deal of time teaching me the Korean alphabet. Prior to this morning I had read that, according to most linguists, the Korean alphabet is the most logical of all the languages of the world—and now I see why. There are roughly 15 consonants, all easy to understand, and 10-15 vowel sounds. Each letter in the Korean alphabet corresponds directly to a sound in the spoken language. Therefore, once one learns the alphabet, it is quite easy to pronounce the letters on most any Korean sign. Of course, knowing what each word actually means is a different story! But needless to say, between my background in teaching ESL and Mr. Kim’s interest in linguistics, we had lots of interesting conversations about language and, specifically, learning foreign languages. His English was perfect. His Japanese is so good that not only is he a translator, but he was reading a Japanese book on the plane. Amazing. I have much to learn if I ever want to achieve the skills of Mr. Kim. Before I move on, I want to add something else. Actually, this is something that Mr. Kim said to me at the beginning of the plane ride, before we even exchanged names. I mentioned that I was going to Korea for a sabbatical, because the past few months have been stressful for a variety of reasons. I told him I had many questions about my future, and I was using my sabbatical to get away from those questions, and just relaㅌ. Mr. Kim seemed perplexed. “I don’t see why you worry,” he said. “If you think about things that are not under your control, you just waste time and energy. 99% of problems in life take care of themselves. So just don’t worry. There’s no need for it at all.” Yes, Mr. Kim, you are correct. That was wonderful advice, indeed…
…Another Kim, this time Olivia Kim, the sister of my former student at INTERLINK, and her mom, Young Hee, met me (and Mr. Kim and his wife, who insisted on accompanying me from the plane to my hostesses) at the airport with smiles and open arms. Olivia gave me a big hug and her mom immediately tried to take my big suitcase from me. I was surprised by their genuine interest in welcoming me…there was a lot more to come.
During the hour-long ride to Seoul I was surprised at how similar the city is to New York. Had all the signs been in English rather than Korean, I would’ve sworn that I was driving on the Van Wyck Expressway from JFK to Manhattan, it was that similar. We finally arrived at the apartment complex. Olivia lives in a neighborhood not unlike my old neighborhood of Maspeth in Queens, NY. It is in the city, for sure, but not downtown. It’s a hilly area with many trees and small and large apartments, as well as shops and restaurants. Within a short walk from the apartment there is a Papa John’s, a Domino’s, a Pizza Hut, and another Korean-owned pizza place, as well as all sorts of other places, again, just like in Queens—pubs, banks, shops, convenience stores, etc. There’s a lot of stuff all over, and many narrow, often curvy streets everywhere, and lots of cars and people, but it’s by no means “crowded.” There’s a pleasant logic to everything that is difficult to describe…I’m obviously in a densely-populated neighborhood just a few kilometers south of the downtown area; and yet, there’s not much noise or traffic; I smell no pollution; and there is a general feeling of harmony in the atmosphere. Again, it is hard to describe.
The apartment complex itself, by the way, is immaculate and beautiful, and it reminds me of where my grandmother used to live in Queens. In between the buildings there is a courtyard with gardens and a playground and a badminton court. Surrounding the buildings are more flowers—everything is in bloom here, I’ve come at the right time—and little stone pathways where residents and walk through nature amidst the concrete jungle above and around them. Inside, well, I don’t know what to say except this is one of the nicest apartments I have ever been in. Again, it reminds me of my grandmother’s on Queens—three bedrooms, large living room, two bathrooms. Only this apartment is even larger than I expected. Olivia and her mom share Olivia’s room. The spare bedroom, which is now my room, is almost twice the size of my living room back in Greensboro. In addition I have a large foyer area, and an even larger bathroom, probably three times the size the one in my home. When I was given the tour of the apartment, I was amazed by several things. First, almost everything is electronic. The bed that I am sitting on right now, in fact, is electronically heated (and it feels pretty good!). All the thermostats are digital and electronic, and they heat the entire floor, Korean-style, rather than a radiator. There are no keys used for the apartment door—just a space-age type numeric keypad. In addition, every room as a huge balcony with a giant sliding glass door separating the room itself from the balcony. Olivia said her and her mom rarely use the balconies, except for storing some boxes (!); I can’t imagine why; I’ve been living here less than 6 hours and already I’ve been on the balcony 10 times, admiring the flower gardens below, the hilly streets outside the complex, or the large buildings of downtown Seoul in the distance.
I haven’t written much about Olivia and her mom, at least not in respect to how they have treated me, only because they have treated me so well that I am truly embarrassed. They have been chatty and engaging since the moment they picked me up, more so than my Korean students in the US. They had a box lunch waiting for me at the airport. As mentioned, they have given me the largest room in their home. Tonight, they brought me to a great Italian restaurant downtown called Il Mare, and paid for some of the most delicious pasta I’ve ever eaten (and that’s not an exaggeration—the place was authentically Italian and the food was delicious). Then they drove me to a large Korean store called E-Mart (akin to WalMart in the States), where I stocked up on fruits and vegetables and soy milk and, of course, Mekjoo (beer). Olivia and he mom complained about the prices but I found them surprisingly low compared to what I had expected, certainly no more expensive than Greensboro.
Before I go to sleep, I must add something…After every favor Olivia and her mom did for me, just after I said, “please, let me pay,” or “let me take care of it,” they responded, “no, this is the Korean way. It’s part of our culture; you are our guest.” I had read about Korean hospitality prior to my arrival, but I never expected I would get treated this well, just for being a friend of their daughter’s and a visitor in their home. Indeed, they are so nice that I am embarrassed because I don’t deserve such treatment.
Future posts will not be this long but this has been such an incredible day that I had to write everything that happened…
Il Mare is a really good restaurant as far as I think.... ^^
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you are doing well. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to hearing about your days.I am glad you are having such a wonderful visit.
ReplyDelete