Jinju Namgang Lantern Festival

A few week ago, Monica asked me if I wanted to go on a "culture trip" to the Lantern Festival with E.P.I.K. (the company I work for!)  Once in a while, they plan culture trips for the foreign teachers to go to different historical sights in the country as a thank you for our hard work.  I applied, and was chosen to go!  Fun news was, I got to bring Okk with me because it was a co-teacher culture trip!

So, on Friday, Okk and I left work early at 1:45pm and headed to the designated spot, where we boarded a fancy greyhound style bus with 35 other foreign teachers and their co-teachers and headed the 2 hours to Jinju!

First stop was Jinju Castle, the sight of the Japanese seige of 1592 and 1593.

These dragons were painted on the ceiling of the castle's main gate.  The tour guide told us that there's a Korean myth which says if you look right into the dragon's eyes for 3 seconds, you will have good luck for 3 years!  Okk and I did it for 9 seconds, hoping maybe we'd get lucky for 9 years instead of just 3! :) 

This fortress wall was built in 1379, surrounding the castle, and YES, this is the original wall where Korean soldiers fought!  This was our darling tour guide who stayed with us for the first 30 minutes or so.  Then we were allowed to roam around as we pleased!

These were the actual cannons used during the Japanese invasion.  Although, these didn't shoot bombs, they shot off arrows! 

Koreans follow the Chinese zodiac calendar, according to their birthdays.  The castle had statues of each zodiac animal.  Okk was born in the year of the monkey!  LOL

I was born in the year of the rooster!  I'm not sure exactly what it's suppossed to mean, but after looking at wikipedia, it says the roosters motto is, "I know!" which seems about accurate to my own motto!  LOL

The castle actually sits on the Namgang River, so this was our first glimpse at the floating lanterns!

Aaron and I always talk about how Korea "koreanizes everything", meaning they kind of try too hard to make things interesting by creating things like this light up tree on the castle grounds.

and this light up law decor... which granted, is very beautiful!  This one depicts a traditional Korean funeral procession. 

This one depicts a traditional Korean childrens game!  I don't know if you remember my blog about this at my last school.  My students would play this during break time.  It's the weirdest, most uncomfortable looking game, but they love it!

This Korean woman was taking a picture "dong cheeming" the boys butt!  If you've followed my blog for a while, you should know about dong cheems!  If not, Korean kids close their hand, leaving their pointer fingers up, and basically run up behind their friends and shove they fingers up their butt and yell "Dong cheem!"  NO JOKE!  I thought it was so funny that she was doing it, so I ran up with her and had Okk snap a picture!  We all had a good laugh about it! 

The foreign teachers and their co-teachers all gather together for dinner at a fancy restaurant (all paid for by my employer - awesome!) and then headed back out to the river to see the floating lanterns! These lanterns are to commemorate the patriotic spirit of 70,000 militia corps and government troops who died for Korea while defending the city from Japanese forces during the Imjin War (1592–1598).

The lanters were so beeautiful, all shining on the river's water.  I'm not sure how many there were, but I would guess there were between 100-200 total!

Okk and I took a walk along the rivers path where vendors had set up tents selling Korean food, arts and crafts and jewelry.  Within the path, there were 3 long and expanisve tunnels with handmade hanging lanterns!  Okk said she thought these were made by Jinju High School students!  It was definitely one of my favorite sights of the whole trip!  These were hanging for as far as the eye could see!

They also had these moving oversized lanterns along the pathway! 

This dragon actually shot fire out of it's mouth!

A two story high lantern pagoda.

This peacock was awesome, and HUGE!  It was about 30 feet tall and would open and close it's tail feathers every 5 minutes or so!  Absolutely stunning!

This lantern tunnel was filled with "purchased lanterns" with hand written notes hanging from each.

I had Okk stand next to this one because the girl had written that she wished to find a boyfriend! LOL

I had seen a picture, once, years ago of this festival and how people could light candles, attached paper lanterns, make a wish, and float it down the river!  So, when I saw the area where we could do it, I was super excited!  Whenever we saw a "man lantern," we joked that it was Okk's boyfriend and would say how tall and handsome he was! haha... Here we are with our lanterns!

Okk's wish was to find a boyfriend!  (Not a husband, just a boyfriend!)  haha!  I love her!

...About to float my lantern down the river...

I wrote two wishes on my lantern.  One the left one, I wrote, "I wish to be very happy and in love forever!  I wish!"  On the right one, I wrote "I wish for good health for my mom, dad, and sister!"  Here's hoping! :)

Our candles are lit and we're ready to go! 

I know it's kind of lame to say that this moment was a dream come true, but it kind of was!

I really wanted to do this before I left Korea!

There they go... floating down the river!

After releasing our lanterns, we walked the path back to the restaurant where we meet to board the bus back to Busan.  Okk and I had such a great time and kept saying how much fun we were having together!  It's one thing to enjoy a fantastic festival... It's another thing to do it with one of your best friends! 

So glad we went!   

*** As a side note for anyone living in Korea and wanting to visit the Festival. Here are some directions: Take an express bus to Jinju Intercity Bus Terminal.  Exit the Terminal towards the river. Turn right, and walk for 5min to arrive at the festival site.  It's totally worth it!

Protest

Aaron and I had just come back from Seomyeon and were walking up the subway steps in Nampodong to walk across the bridge to Yeongdo Island when we were faced with hundreds of riot police, dressed head to toe in riot gear!  Talk about exciting!   If I had to guess, I'd say there were between 500 and 1,000.

We knew why they were there.  Hanjin Shipping Company's employees were protesting... AGAIN. The company is located on the island where I live and the employees gather at least once every two months to march across the main bridge, and all the way to the front of the shipyard, to protest the company's unfair labor practices and the recent layoff of over 600 Korean employees after the CEO decided to move part of the company to a new shipyard in the Phillippines in order to save on labor costs, regarless of the almost 1 billion in earnings made that year.  In addition, a lot of Koreans have joined the protest for the sole purpose of  encouraging a 52 year old female who climbed atop one of Hanjin's cranes (105 feet high) and has been living up there, in a 6x10 foot control room, for over 260 days now in protest.  She has stated that she will not come down until the laid off employees have been given their jobs back. As a side note, a lot of my students parents work or worked for Hanjin, and Okk (my co-teacher) was actually one of the 600 Hanjin employees to be laid off.  So, this is actually very near and dear to me.

Aaron and I were smack dab in the middle of all the action when the police trucks started spraying the protestors with water and tear gas, sending them running in all directions.  Aaron grabbed his camera and shot this video.  I know it looks crazy in this video, but don't worry mom and dad, we were up on a ledge, where only photographers and media were, and we were completely safe! 

May I be excused?

Lunchtime in Korea is very different from lunchtime in America!  For starters, everyone eats the exact same thing!  Secondly, there's NO teachers lounge!  Instead, teachers sit at a table right smack dab in the middle of the kids in the cafeteria!  For all you visual people out there, this is my school's cafeteria!

Thirdly, where people sit at the table is a big deal.  In America, the host at a dinner party, or special employee usually sits "at the head of the table!"  Right?  Well, not in Korea!  The highest ranked employees (ie: Principal, Vice Principal, and/or Head Teacher) all sit in the middle of the table.  I, for whatever reason, have been asked to sit beside the Principal everyday.  I think this is their way of showing (non verbally) how much they appreciate/respect me.  I'm honored. :)

Fourthly, when you're finished with your meal, you can't just get up and leave the table.  I'm not talking about students here!  I'm talking about teachers!  We have to wait for either the oldest person, or the highest ranked employee, at the table, to stand up.  Then, and only then, can we get up from the table!  So, today, for instance, I finished my lunch by 12:15pm, but had to wait until close to 12:30pm for the Principal to stop talking, finish eating, and stand up!  This gets really annoying sometimes!

Now you think that's bad?  The kids have it a little worse, but in a different way!  They are not allowed to leave their table until they have eaten everything on their tray... EVERYTHING!  When they're done, they walk up to their teacher, or their classroom leader, hold their tray in front of him or her and wait for the approval.  If there is some soup left, or a vegetable uneaten they are told to sit back down until they finish!

Just another little cultural tidbit to help you live a day in my life! :) 

Happy eating! 

"Honey?! Will you....

...carry my purse?!"

Aaron and I were talking to my parents on skype this afternoon, and the 4 of us got onto the subject of Korean style relationships and how in a dating relationship, the men are typically on their best behavior (They take the girls to nice restaurants; they're polite and romantic; and my favorite... The men carry their girlfriend's purses! ... in PUBLIC!)  My parents were laughing and saying how they were surprised I had never done a blog about this!  So, with that, a new blog entry was born!

After we hung up with them, Aaron and I scooted over to Nampodong for some Vietnamese food for lunch and then some leisurely shopping while looking out for purse carrying boyfriends! 

As you can see, this guy was trying to cover her purse with his black leather jacket.  I guess it's his way of making her happy, while saving face at the same time!

This one is my favorite! 

Right after I took the above picture, I ran into my friend Crystal!  She was asking what I was doing and when I told her, she said her friend's boyfriend NEVER let's her carry her own purse or shopping bags!

 Sometimes even the husbands do it! 

These are the husbands whose wives clearly wear the pants in the family!

Korea has taken this aspect of chivalry to a whole new level!  And just so you know, Aaron actually carried my purse ONCE, but then realized how heavy and uncomfortable it is, and how weird he felt, and never did it again!  haha...  Don't think I haven't tried asking!!

Simple living

I was sitting in my bed tonight, looking around my tiny apartment, thinking to myself, why would I ever need to live in anything bigger than this?  Now, for those of you who knew me before I moved to Korea, you know that I lived here!  Yes, this was my house, all 2267 square feet of it!  Just me and a roomate!  And all I could think of was how the next house I bought should be even bigger!

Where I once had a front yard and a quiet street, I now have a busy alley with a restaurant below me, shady motels across from me, massage parlors down the street, and a karaeokee bar next door! Where I once had a 2 car garage with 2 cars, I now share a scooter with Aaron.  Where I once had 18 windows, I now have 2.  And believe it or not, I actually prefer it!  I love hearing people walking up and down my street all day and night, and the convenience of walking 30 seconds to the little corner mart when I've just noticed I'm out of milk in the mornings!  Having the smell of delicious Korean BBQ below me isn't all that bad either!

This was once my laundry room where I had more cabinets to store hoard stuff I didn't need!  I had a washer, dryer and even a stinkin' folding counter, as if the floor or bed weren't sufficient enough to do one's folding.  Don't get me wrong, it was convenient!

My old house had 3 bathrooms all with their own bathtubs and showers, and a total of 12 cabinets and 4 drawers. Yes, that equated to 1 more bathroom and shower than residents in the home and MORE cabinets filled with things I bought and thought I would use one day! 

Now, this is my 1 bathroom AND laundry room combination!  As you can see, I shower in the middle of my bathroom, the little white wall shelf is my only bathroom storage, and my washing machine and drying RACK are hidden, nicely behind that shower curtain.  And this was taken with a special lens to get everything in.  It's about a 4ft x 8ft bathroom (32 square feet).  It's not this big in real life... but it's sufficient and I like it!

I once had a kitchen with 21 cabinets and 7 drawers FILLED with cooking utensils that I used once a year, if that (but they were cute, so I bought them!), more flower vases then I ever needed (just incase I hosted a baby or wedding shower), more plates, bowls and silverware than I could ever use at one dinner party, and over 20 fancy glasses of different sorts (I apparently thought I would have that many people over for drinks one day... which did happen, but only twice)! I had enough pots and pans to run a small restaurant, and more baking pans and tins than I could ever need! I had a full size oven, a big microwave, a 4 burner stove, a huge fridge with an ice maker and filtered water coming out the door, a toaster, garbarge disposal, dishwasher, china cabinet for more unneeded fancy plates and dinnerware, and a huge table for 8!

Now I have 10 cabinets, 1 drawer, 1 toaster oven, a portable 1 burner stove, a table for 2, and a mini fridge!   And yes, that's an armoire filled with my clothes, in the kitchen... because you have to be creative when you're living in a box! 

This was once my bedroom / haven! 

... my family room!

...1 of 2 guest bedrooms (which was actually only used maybe 3 times) but was fully furnished...

you know, just in case!

... my office, filled to the brim with books to one day be read, and overflowing with craft supplies in all of the cabinets below!

... and a game room!  You know, for when I would host ALL those potential baby or wedding showers and we wanted to play a game of pool! haha (Which, instead ended up being 1 huge Christmas party, 1 surprise birthday party for a good friend, a Thanksgiving, and a weekend with 15 friends!) ...  Still, though, it was a room in my house, and I felt it should be furnished, so I spent my money on a pool table, armoire with ANOTHER TV, a game table, and a wine fridge... to be used 3 times!

NOW, this is my bedroom, family room, guest bedroom, office, and gameroom, all rolled into one 15ft x 12ft foot space! Yep, that's 180 square feet folks!  When my sister came to stay with me, we shared my bed.  When Jess and Carlos come, they sleep on my rug and use my decorative pillows and small blanket!   Since I don't have a couch, friends usually lounge on my bed, or on the floor, my office is now that little table on the bottom right of the picture where I have a tiny two drawer box for "junk" and a holder for files!  All those craft supplies I once had have been condensed into one shoe sized box that sits on my washing machine.  When I absolutely need a supply, I buy it!  No more of that "Oh that's cute, and it's on sale.  Maybe I'll use it one day."  You just can't do that when you live in a small space... and games are played on the rug.  It may not be pool, but what's wrong with dominoes, card games and dice games?! 

They're just as fun in my opinion!

My heater is built into my flooring (so awesome!) and it only takes 1 tiny air conditioning wall unit to cool of my entire place!  My electric bills in peak season are about $35 a month!

It's not just the low utility prices though that have made me fall in love with this simple style of living!  It's the fact that I can spend my money on travel, dinners out, and fun things that I want to... and then am able to save all the rest!  No huge mortgage... No high water bill for watering the front and backyard... No need to purchase hoards of framed art, fancy furnitue, flat screen TV's, or storage boxes for all the holiday decor that I once loved to have, but now am fine living without!  Living this way has cut down on my anxiety, my obsession with decorating and creating a perfect home, and has allowed me so much extra time!  Afterall, do you know how long it takes to clean a 250 sq foot apartment?!  I'll tell you.  About an hour, tops! 

I'd like to think that this has been a forever change in my views of house and home, but I'm afraid when I come back to the US I'll fall back into the American dream, and never feel content enough in the home I live.  I hope that when, and, if that day comes, I'll look back on this blog entry and remember how happy I was and content with having so little.  Here's hoping.