A Brief November Review (Through the Fog of Jetlag) – with Helpful Gifs

If you have ever had the misfortune to spend over 15 hours in a plane, or over 24 hours travelling, then you probably understand the extreme exhaustion I am currently feeling.

Staying awake is a struggle whenever staying asleep is not a struggle . . .

Basically, I am alternately feeling like I am going to die if I don’t sleep, or like I need to do five-hundred jumping jacks and run around the house (generally at 3 :00 AM or so) – which is just the normal cycle of the human body readjusting after travelling across about half of the world’s timezones.

Jetlag aside, I am safely back in the US of A, and I fully realize I went AWOL around the end of November. Since I have a lot of material to catch up on, including my last (almost) two months of adventures in Korea, and I am (as mentioned), exhausted, I am just writing this short update to clarify that: 1. I am still here, and 2. Plan on blogging more regularly again now that school is over for a few weeks.

First, if anyone tried to visit my blog in the last two weeks, you might have gotten a blank page. Sorry about that – it had security update issues that I couldn’t fix while working from my Korean ip address, and I’ve just managed to sort everything out. But yeah, I didn’t disappear for good this time.

Another cuter but accurate representation of me right now

Second, I fully plan to not only writing a few more posts about my Korean adventures, but I have a fun music tag (evil laugh) courtesy of Sara Letourneau that I’ve been really looking forward to, but some planned book reviews (I read A LOT on the planes), and even some writing updates! SO – while I am not currently lucid or motivated, I do have a lot planned once my brain becomes less scrambled. So stay tuned.

Accurate

Thirdly, here are a few notes/highlights from November and December that I may or may not expand on in the above-mentioned post ideas:

  1. I survived finals and had two extra weeks to explore Korea
  2. Exploring included visiting a book alley, the reality-show famous Lotte World (more on that later), the restaurant BTS (방탄소년단) frequented in their trainee days (the food was delicious, and I took pictures in front of the autographed door, which was unbelievably cool, and a HARRY POTTER CAFE, among others, so you know I’ll have to write about that!
  3. I also went to two Korean musical productions and they blew me away with both the talent/quality and the production values (more on this later)
  4. The musicals were Elisabeth and Jekyll & Hyde, and starred two of my beloved, crazy-talented singing heroes Park Hyung-sik (박형식), and Hong Kwang-ho (홍광호), respectively, which knocked two things off my bucket list.
  5. I over-indulged in watching the fantastic end-of-the-year Korean awards shows that always air in December (their staging is crazy) – see the video below for an example.
  6. I saw three movies: Ocean’s 8 (better than the critics said – solid 7 of 10), Solo: A Star Wars Story (Star Wars overkill, but also better than expected – respectable 6 of 10 stars), and Swing Kids (Korean tap dancing/anti-war film with great characters and dance scenes but really sad- 9 out of 10 stars)
  7. I FINALLY finished reading The Lies of Locke Lamora, among several other books, and I had lots of feelings – review to come.
FYI, this MMA performance was a 2018 highlight

Fourth, I plan on posting at least one coherent post before the new year, as a pre-New Year’s Resolution, and then just relaxing and catching up on some other blogs. Which brings me to the terrible truth that 2019 is in a few days and I am not ready. Not that 2018 was a poster year (though it had many moments! Especially in Korea), but I am just not ready for the year to change over yet. I just adjusted to it being Christmas time, and Christmas is already over!!

Exactly

And speaking of Christmas – who received some amazing books, or found some time to relax and read? I am looking for a few recommendations to check out in the next week. Since I returned so late (Christmas Eve), I am not planning to go back to work for at least another week (because I am basically useless at the moment, lol), so I will have some time to read in the next few days. I also hope to have some time to write. So, if anyone has a great book (especially a quick read) for me, please tell me in the comments.

Regardless, I hope those of you who celebrate had a lovely, restful time with family and/or friends, and I hope you are both more lucid and prepared for 2019 than I am, and I thank you for always reading and sticking with me, despite my erratic postings and tendency to randomness and rambles. Have a good week, and if I don’t follow through on my attempt to post before January 1st, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Chuseok! (추석) FINALLY (Daegu, Part II)

So if you’re one month late, why not be two months late, right?

Okay, maybe not most of the time, but this puts my Chuseok post (that I’ve been talking about for two months) out around American Thanksgiving season, and since many people reading this happen to be American, that correlation is kind of fun.

So as I mentioned in this post, a lot of things happened in Daegu. But the whole reason I was in Daegu in the first place was to celebrate Chuseok (추석) with a Korean family. Chuseok is the major harvest festival and three day holiday celebrated in the 8th lunar month in Korea (there are similarly timed major festivals in China, Vietnam, Japan, and many South Asian countries as well). Since it goes by the lunar calendar, its date varies, but the actual Chuseok day is always the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, which was September 24th this year. Similarly to Thanksgiving, Chuseok is a time of celebration and gratitude for the harvest and for family. It frequently involves visiting relatives, bringing gifts (traditionally food and fruit), and several specific traditions including Charye (차례) a memorial ceremony to honor the ancestors  performed at the home of the eldest son. Depending on the current religious affiliation (or lack thereof) of a family, these rites can vary a bit in practice, but their purpose is to show respect, reverence, and gratitude to those who came before, and they are are a very important part of Korean culture. The other important one is seongmyo (성묘) which is the visiting and cleaning of graves along with a simpler memorial.

Like American Thanksgiving, there is also a lot of eating involved. So much eating that I wondered if I was ever going to be hungry again (spoiler: I was). But I’ve gotten ahead of myself.

If we backtrack to the Sunday I met my host family, I also met up with the other Handong guest, Joy, who was Taiwanese and much better at speaking Korean than I am. This was handy, as our host parents basically just communicated in Korean for the full three days. Their daughter, who was really fun and sweet, spoke great English, so she was able to help out if necessary.

My Korean level is a lot higher in the reading/writing and understanding department, tbh. I just think so hard about responding that people usually assume that I don’t understand, which frustrates me – even if it’s understandable. So far, the most difficult part about speaking Korean in Korea is finding people patient enough to let you process and get a sentence out, which has given me even more respect for people who can come up with on the spot responses in a language that is not native to them. For someone like me, who has to process, even in English, and has the attention span of a gnat, this is really challenging. I frequently get frustrated because by the time I come up with a response, I’m past that part in the conversation, or a (usually well-meaning) person has translated, responded, or some such – which I don’t like, but isn’t meant that way by the person. These same traits make me bad at giving speeches naturally, or presenting. I literally forget “how to word,” when I’m faced with a group of people – my tongue feels thick, I get really thirsty, and I sometimes have trouble breathing. And yet, I have to get over this all the time, and I try not to beat myself up over it too much.

But this really long aside is to explain that not everything has been “idyllic” here. I have really loved being in Korea, and I don’t want to leave, but that doesn’t mean things are easy or not challenging. And that is the reality with many language learners (unless you’re brilliant), so I think it’s important to acknowledge it.

Anyhow, our host family was really far too kind and generous (despite my lack of rapid-fire Korean ability), and they involved us in every detail, starting the first night. I was honored that they opened both their home and their personal heritage to us, which really meant a lot to me as an American and an outsider who sincerely loves people, culture, and traditions, but understands that she doesn’t “belong,” per se.

The first night, we helped make some traditional side dishes. I was tasked with frying Koguma (고구마) – Korean Sweet Potatoes (not like Yams) that are popular snacks and street food. It was a lot of fun, and of course, the best part was taste-testing. You fry the potatoes in a light batter, so they are burning hot, soft, and a little sweet on the inside, with the crunchy, salty batter on the outside. Addictive.

Chuseok itself, the next day, involved an early start. We headed to the oldest brother’s house (of our host dad), and then proceeded to stay out-of-the-way.  We watched as they set up everything to perform Charye (차례) – which involves very specific steps, including: setting up a screen in the north (which you can see in my picture) with the table in the south (in front of it), with the small ritual table (also pictured) in the very front. Proteins should be in the back, and larger dishes, with fruits and desserts in front. White foods should be in the west (left) while red foods should be placed on the east end (right).  While these basic rules are followed, the actual food arrangement and variety, and rows, varies by household and region.

This part felt much more private, and a summary is that they set up the table of beautiful food, and after the memorial was properly performed by the brothers, we helped clear everything away and sat down to eat it all together. There were many relatives, and I had an easier time following the conversation because I was better able to just sit quietly and listen, so that if I was asked a question, I could answer. That is – I could answer if my mouth wasn’t full of food. It was definitely up there with one of the best meals ever: octopus, pajun (egg and flour batter cakes with meat and/or veggies), so many varieties of banchan (side dishes), chicken, fruit, rice, and more – so loaded on the tables that it seemed they might break.

After we ate, we spent some time visiting with the cousins, and inevitably, eating again (even though we weren’t hungry!). We spent a long time there, and then went home for a little bit before it was time to head farther out to the country to visit some of our host mom’s family.

This involved a long, winding drive in the dark to a more rural bit of Daegu. I could see a few farms on the way there, but soon it was too dark to tell. As soon as we arrived, the feel was a lot different from the formal, more ceremonial air of the earlier celebration. Our host mom’s brother-in-law was hilarious and fun to talk to. He introduced us to large mushrooms that grow wild in the mountains of Daegu – which turned out to be one of about 6 varieties that showed up during that meal. Because, of course, the point of this was a meal. The best part of this gathering was that it was a little like the unexpected party in The Hobbit. We started eating, only to have another sister show up with more food. Then another sister and her husband – and more food. And then another sister with food – but all at different parts of the evening. The two brothers-in-law were full of stories and anecdotes, and inevitably ended up talking about sensitive politics (just like half the families I know in the US around American Thanksgiving). Joy and I felt included in all of it, and of course, we had to eat until we couldn’t eat any more.

After we left (very late, and very full), we learned that we would drive out to the country again the next morning. This time, we would visit the grave site of our host mother’s parents. It took about and hour and a half to drive out there, but the scenery was gorgeous. Rolling hills, apple orchards, and mountains – with a clear blue sky and some giant, cotton-ball mound clouds. At the graves, we helped clear off weeds that might weaken the domes, and then had a picnic of fruit and enjoyed the cool weather and sunshine. After this, we stopped by a state park and walked around a reservoir, taking advantage of the beautiful weather. There was an outdoor market there, where we bought apples and (more) mushrooms before climbing back in the car and heading home. The ladies all decided to see a film (Searching starring John Cho – which was excellent!), and that was a fun thing to do together. Also, Korean subs meant a practice session!

The next day was the last day, so we went early to look at Daegu’s huge field of Cosmos and other flowers with our host mom (who loves flowers). It was gorgeous, if a bit chilly, but our smart and thoughtful host mom brought a thermos of coffee to help with that.

Sadly, after this, it was time to say goodbye to everyone but our host mom. She took us to the church cafe she runs first, and we helped move some plants around and drank some delicious pour-over coffee before we headed back to the bus station. On the bus ride home, I reflected both on our host family’s kindness, openness, and how they had welcomed two foreigners like actual family. I also thought about the similarities and differences between holidays, but how food and family are at the center of most celebrations around the world.

The trip also honed in on what parts of Korean I’m still really weak on (speaking), and I definitely improved from the three days of solid immersion (even if it didn’t help my confidence levels). However, the most important part was definitely the rich and unique experience, and being included in that experience. It’s something I’ll never forget, and it re-inspired me to invite and include people who don’t have somewhere to go to my family celebrations. Even if your traditions are different, you’re still bound to have a lot in common, and I think that is something every family should think more about during family celebrations. Whether that family is one you chose – friends, in-laws, etc – or the one you were born into, holidays are always a good time to remember how much you love them and the kindness and generosity you receive throughout the year.

Well, I hoped you enjoyed reading about my Chuseok experience! Does your family argue during holidays? What traditions or customs do you celebrate? Have you ever been over to a friend’s house during a holiday? And most importantly – what food is necessary for it to be an actual celebration?

Writerly Ramblings on Autumn, Nostalgia, and Liminal Space

It’s October 30th, which means two things: October flew past, and Halloween is tomorrow.
Halloween, and by Halloween I mean the American mishmash holiday that involves loads of tacky decorations, borrowed and modified traditions, CANDY (!!), and people in costumes, is something the Korean students I’ve met find very interesting. Of all the things I’ve been asked about the States, Halloween wasn’t an obvious one to be asked about this much!

Anyhow, as I answered questions about costumes, parties, and trick-or-treating, it made me think about the fall: seasonally and thematically a time a death, fading, and transitions. Poets, writers, songwriters, and artists have used autumn and autumnal motifs to describe things like mortality, detachment from the world, the loss of youth or innocence, or interest in the world, etc. However, the other side of fall is one of ripened harvests, abundance, family and community gatherings, and the last hurrah of bonfires or cookouts before winter.

This duality is fascinating to me, and as Autumn has always been my favorite season, I spend a lot of time thinking about it. For me, fall is part nostalgia, part adventure. If nostalgia had a smell, I think it would be a mix of the scent of smoke, dry leaves, old wood, wool scarves, and apples that belongs to autumn. And for adventure – I have always associated fall with The Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit. Fittingly, Hobbit Day, or Frodo and Bilbo’s Birthday is on the first  day of fall (in the US). Fall is the best time for grabbing a pair of boots and hiking. The golden light through colored leaves, the crispness of the air, and the crunch of leaves make me want to keep walking until dark. If only, right? (And then you’d build a bonfire, sleep under the stars, and do the same thing in the morning). I think I missed my calling as a Ranger (Tolkien’s famous wanderers of Middle Earth). I’ve never been a homebody, and I think fall just makes my restless feet even more keen to walk out the door and keep going 😉

Gushing about autumn aside, there is something universal in the ideas that arise at this time of year – something even more apparent as I spend it on the opposite side of the world. The transition of seasons is marked by a renewed appreciation for home and family, along with the awareness of mortality. Major Holidays include Chuseok (Korean Harvest Festival that traditionally involves paying respects to ancestors, more on that to come), Thanksgiving (US and Canada), The Day of the Dead (Mexico), Mid-Autumn Festival (China, Vietnam, and more), Diwali (India, regional variations, but generally emphasizes the defeat of darkness and evil by light and good), and many more.

In ancient Celtic traditions, this time of year was when the human world and the fairy world drew closest, and the space between was more easily crossed. This sort of “liminal space,” the point before crossing a threshold, or that disorientation and half-finished, half-begun area in the middle of a rite or a significant process. In folklore, this area is often a dangerous place for humans, since it is incomplete and unfinished. I think people instinctively understand this moment, and in the time of Autumn transitions, even the weather seems caught between the heat and life of summer and the coldness and natural death of winter. That’s why, in my personal opinion, this time of year also seems to create and inspire so much nostalgia and longing.

After all, nostalgia is a dangerous place sometimes. More so than the space between worlds – and part of me wonders if that was the original connection right there. In fairy stories, if a human wandered across the border between the worlds, they might never make it out again. However, if they did make it out, their wits were normally addled, or they came out at a completely different time than they went in (think Rip Van Winkle different). If they had taken gold or gifts from the fae, those gifts normally turned to leaves, twigs, and acorns. Also, the person usually spend the rest of their life trying to get back to fairyland, to no avail. Their brush with the beauty and the wildness left a mark on them that they couldn’t erase, and therefore, they were never at peace in the human world again (similar to the Nazgul blade and Frodo – healed, but never fully part of his world again).

But fae and magic aside – I think many people (myself included) spend a fair amount of time thinking about the past. Whether it’s that conversation you wish had gone differently, or just wishing you were a child again (anyone who works seems to feel this at least once), there are times when you really just wish time went backward instead of forward. There is also the feeling of melancholy that comes with it. This doesn’t have to be from a particular longing or memory though. It is just as likely to hit you when you walk down a wooded path and catch the scent of a bonfire. If you hear distant laughter or conversation that you aren’t a part of, then the feeling might intensify. Other likely places are beautiful old buildings, empty landscapes, and drives home at 2am with the windows down.

That feeling is typically labeled nostalgia: from the Greek nostos – or “return home/homecoming” added to the Latin –algia; a word ending from the Greek algos “pain,” or algein “to feel pain,” and related to alegein “to care about,” but originally “to feel pain.” So we have a word that basically means to care about or feel pain about returning home, homecoming. More interesting still is the reason the word was coined. According to Etymology.comnostalgia” was coined in the 1700’s to refer to a disease heimweh, meaning severe homesickness. I feel like nostalgia is the pain you get when you feel a sharp and vivid longing for “home,” or something familiar and where you belong- but it might not be where you belong at all. Maybe it’s only a place you feel like you belong.

So to take it back to the fae. Those persons who survived and found their way back to the human world were scarred by their encounter. They couldn’t stop their longing for a home that wasn’t their home, to the point of sickness. They went mad, either in the obvious way, or in the sense of obsession, where the desire to get back to fairyland consumed their sense and the rest of their life. In the “real world,” that longing for the past will always be artificial, because we’re longing for a memory of the past. It’s over, so even though it happened, it no longer exists as an accessible point. So we might as well be longing for fairyland. Sink too deep into the longing for an imagined or distorted past, a past that might have been, or even a past that never was (a time you wished to be part of but were not), and it can steal your joy from the present. If nothing else, it can distract you from taking pleasure in the moment.

Now, I’m not an etymologist or folklore expert, or even a psychologist, so you’re quite welcome to dismiss everything I wrote as nonsense – but it does get you thinking, doesn’t it? And I’ll be really surprised if you’ve never been hit with just the sort of nostalgia I’m talking about.

Which brings me back to Autumn and liminal space. Before the year truly dies (with winter), there’s the last gasp of activity and production (harvest), and the energy that crisp fall air can give you. There is time to spend with family and friends (Thanksgiving or harvest festivals), and the celebrations to get out of your system before winter makes you want to just hide inside with a hot drink. In the space between seasons, the threshold between light and dark, day and night, and the death of an old year transitioning to the new, it is easy to see how you could feel that worlds were closer, doors were open, and that a wrong turn could land you somewhere else altogether.

And if you’re me, the possibility of wandering onto the wrong path isn’t enough to stop you from trying to find a new path to somewhere you’ve never been – which is how I explain my obsessive compulsive desire to follow anything that looks remotely like a path in the woods. Because you never know what you’ll miss if you don’t follow it. I admit – I’m pretty darn prone to nostalgia. It shows up in my writing, and is evident in the songs and the characters I like. I fully admit that it can be a problem. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.

So now that you’ve heard my jumbled thoughts on the power of Autumn, here are a few classic books and music recommendations to take that path into the woods or just into a different world for a bit. If, and when you surface, does it feel just a little bit bittersweet? If so, that’s the feeling I’m talking about.

Halloween/Fall Books:

  • Joyland by Stephen King – Yes, I know I could have recommended ANY book by Stephen King – but that isn’t the point. Joyland is more about nostalgia than horror (though it does involve some thrills, chills, and a grisly murder), and in many ways, it reads like a tribute to the fantastic Something Wicked this Way Comes. Set at an amusement park in the 70’s, this book is beautifully written and tinged with melancholy.
  • The Pale Blue Eye by Louis Bayard – a historical murder mystery that is both chilling and lyrically written. Set in the mid-1800’s, it does a great job of conveying the setting.
  • Malice by Keigo Higashino – an intricate murder mystery that is about how and why, and not the whom. Beautifully written and spare.
  • Collected Ghost Stories by M.R. James – classic British Ghost stories from the thirties. Creepier than you’d expect, with a restrained writing style hard to find these days.
  • The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. The creepy classic haunted house tale that is just as good as they say it is.
  • Last Winter We Parted by Fuminori Nakamura – an eerie psychological thriller that isn’t for everyone. This story resembles In Cold Blood, but is much more dreamy and introspective, and quite short.
  • The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield – a book for people who love books, general strangeness, and bizarre family drama. Truly chilling toward the end.
  • Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier – a classic gothic novel so good, I almost forgive Ms. du Maurier for writing the most iconic Rebecca as a truly dreadful woman. Tbh, there are no heroes in this one though, just bad people and worse people.
  • And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie – this book is basically the origin of Clue. Ten strangers summoned to a house in Devon, none of them realizing that they are marked for death. Well plotted suspense with just the right amount of twists.
  • The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope – Sorry not sorry but I will never stop recommending this historical YA novel. It is my favorite realistic twist on the Faye, and I’ll never get tired of this Elizabethan thriller with its brave heroine and dreamy, eerie re-imagining of fairy lore.
  • The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare – a 50’s  YA classic (before there was YA) that I wore out with rereads as a kid. Basically it’s a story about Puritans in the 1600’s, and Kit, a girl with a penchant for both kindness and disobedience that both end up getting her into trouble. The setting is so vivid, you feel like you are in the village, and I’ve always loved how Speare portrayed both good and bad aspects of all her characters.
  • Coraline by Neil Gaiman – while you could read a lot of Gaiman’s books to get a shiver down your spine, I truly think that Coraline might be his most unsettling novel (and naturally, it’s a children’s book). Trapped souls of children, the other mother, button eyes – it’s creepy stuff, and I love how the lonely but adventurous Coraline handles it with the sense that only a kid would have.

How do I know you’ll keep your word?” asked Coraline.
“I swear it,” said the other mother. “I swear it on my own mother’s grave.”
“Does she have a grave?” asked Coraline.
“Oh yes,” said the other mother. “I put her in there myself. And when I found her trying to crawl out, I put her back.”
― Neil Gaiman, Coraline

Mood Music:
First, here’s a link to my Halloween Spotify Playlist, because you know I have one.

Second, here’s a few select (but slightly less obvious) songs to get you in the seasonal mood:

Baby You’re a Haunted House by Gerard Way – I love, love, love this song. And the lyric video is hilarious (reminiscent of the Star Wars Cantina band, but with skeletons). It’s a dance-y, fun song with a rock edge

Skeleton Band from “Baby You’re a Haunted House”

Ghost by Ella Henderson – Another one of my favorite songs. Ella is talking about the ghost of a relationship, but she carries the metaphor through all the way – banishing demons, “haunting” memories of her ex, and all that, and counterbalances her powerful vocals with a jazzy piano and gospel undertones. I love how upbeat this song is, and

Chained to the Rhythm by Katy Perry – Surprise you? This catchy and subtly political song warns against blindly following the crowd and living in a safe bubble (and becoming what Perry terms a “wasted zombie”), and involves a video of zombie-like amusement park-goers.

“Chase Me” by Dreamcatcher

Chase Me by Dreamcatcher – if you like Leaves Eyes or Amaranth, you might want to check out Korean all-girl rock group Dreamcatcher. They go more in for electric bass and creepy concepts than cuteness, and they’re extremely talented singers and dancers. Chase Me is part of a two-part video story about some ghostly girls. With Supernatural-style effects and some creepy visuals, the video is a lot of fun to watch too.

Skulls by Bastille – The British band’s slightly morbid song about everlasting love is one of my go-to tracks. It’s catchy, easy listening, and full of good vocals and clever lyrics.

I Will Be With You (Where the Lost Ones Go) by Sarah Brightman and Paul Stanley – a surprising pairing from 2008 – the queen of Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals and operatic pop plus the singer from KISS. This song is beautifully sung and written, and since it takes a faded relationship to a slightly more epic level, it hits all the nostalgia buttons.

Jackpot by Block B – another song with a great video, this song by Block B is a slightly ominous song about hitting it rich and the risks of money and success, all with an extremely upbeat and catchy refrain. If nothing else, watch the crazy funhouse video.

“Jackpot” by Block B

Nearly Witches (Ever Since We Met . . .) by Panic! at the Disco – another upbeat but nostalgic song about relationships, but with Brendon Urie’s amazing voice, a lot of surprising key changes, and clever lyrics. This is one of my favorite P!atD songs, and I feel like it doesn’t get much love.

Jack and Sally’s Song by The Hound + The Fox –  a twist on the Nightmare Before Christmas classic by this talented husband and wife duo from Oregon (definitely check out their version of The Parting Glass with Peter Hollens too!). Anyhow, this one is the lowest key song on the list, with Sally’s Song being turned into a glum but beautiful duet that is both nostalgic and Halloween mood music.

Thriller/Heads will Roll (Glee Cast Version)  by the Glee Cast – of course, nothing beats the original Thriller (which is also on my playlist, obviously) but this high energy mash up of it and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs Heads will Roll. The vocals are good, the combinations works well, and its a great song for dancing or cleaning out your basement (which is a lot scarier than most Halloween activities) or even raking leaves.

“Thriller/Heads Will Roll” by the Glee Cast

So there we have it – ten tracks to suit the mood. Have you listened to these songs or artists before?

What about the books; have you read them? And hey – if you really could walk into another world, would you? Or would you just regret not doing it? I think my answer is pretty easy to guess.

How I “Accidentally” Climbed a Mountain in Daegu and Other Stories, Part I

I have been mentioning that I went to Daegu for several posts now, I know.
Also, because of life and midterms, I also realize that I am only getting to the Daegu post a month after I was there.

I can’t believe it’s almost November . . .

Anyhow, the reason I went to Daegu (other than the fact that I had wanted to), was because of a program at Handong. You apply for a local family to host you over Chuseok (or Korean Thanksgiving), and my host family happened to be in Daegu. I decided to seize the moment and go a couple of days early, so the first part of this post will be about my solo adventures in Daegu, and I’ll write a sequel post about Chuseok.

So you can get to Daegu from Pohang by several methods. I chose KTX, because Korea’s high-speed train system is fantastic, and it was only a 30 minute ride (costing the equivalent of about $9.50 USD). Since I left later in the evening, this was a good choice. KTX trains have cellphone chargers and WiFi, and you can store luggage above the seats, or in the middle racks of the cars, so they are really nice for travelling.

Typical Daegu Street View

As soon as I got to Daegu, I had to locate the subway station. It was really crowded at the bus terminal with all of the people travelling for Chuseok, but there were plenty of signs to point me in the right direction. Daegu’s subway stations all seemed to be filled with underground malls, so I could have walked and shopped for quite an extensive stretch, but I decided to find my hostel instead. I stayed at The Style Guesthouse, which has a pretty central location, and is about a five-minute walk from the subway exit. It was even closer to the bus station, which turned out to be quite useful.

Anyhow, after exploring the neighborhood (usually what I do the first time in a new place) I went to bed early the first night. The next

A better idea of what I’m talking about

morning, I got up early and headed straight to the bus station. My first destination was the Bullo-dong Ancient Tombs (대구 불로동 고분군). These tombs are grassy hillocks that date back to somewhere in the 3rd-5th century (according to a sign at the park), placing them during Korea’s 3 Kingdom Period (I wrote about one of them, Silla, in this post). Burial mounds (or tumuli) are still common in Korea, and I frequently see them while hiking. However, the mounds at Bullo-dong are ancient and well-preserved, having been rediscovered by archaeologists in the late 60’s.

There are around 200 of the mounds, and they are now the centerpiece of a beautiful park in the foothills of the mountains that surround Daegu. [Daegu (대구) literally just means “Great Hill,” which is a pretty apt name, as the city is basically constructed on the flatter foothills and basins of the mountains.] As I’m finding frequently in Korea, the “parks” are beautiful, landscaped areas that incorporate both natural features and man-made ones like bridges or pavilions, to make beautiful areas to walk and/or study. You can see some of that in the other Bullo-dong photos below:

Because we all know how much I love panoramas

All of this was very beautiful, but it was still before noon, so I decided to hop back on a bus and keep going north. A few stops later, I arrived at my next destination – Palgongsan (팔공산). Palgongsan is actually a mountain (not a hill), and it is home to several temples, some cool restaurants and cafes, and many hiking trails. I explored the trail-head area first, and then hiked up the path toward Donghwasa (동화사). Donghwasa is a Buddhist temple dating back to the 9th century, and it is possibly older. Many of the buildings have been destroyed and rebuilt over the centuries, but there has been a temple there ever since.

It costs 2,500 won for adult admittance (about $2), and it is 100% worth it to get into the temple complex. As Donghwasa (in typical Buddhist temple fashion) is built into and around the mountain landscape, there was more hiking and walking involved to see everything, but the weather was gorgeous.

One of the many scrolls that make up the Tripitaka

I have been to quite a few temples now, and they are always beautiful, but Donghwasa had one thing that made it truly superior: an exhibit on the Tripitaka Koreana. Now, I am a major nerd, so I warn you that you might not find this exciting at all. But the Tripitaka Koreana (if you aren’t familiar with it) is one of the first printed manuscripts ever (far predating Gutenberg). And though most of the original and the woodblocks used for printing it were destroyed in the Mongol Invasions of the 1200s, they were recreated a few years later. The current woodblocks and remaining fragments are both a national treasure and art, being over 700 years old and documenting everything from Buddhist scriptures to religious biographies. The Hanja (Chinese Characters adopted by Koreans) script is basically a flawless example of the art of calligraphy.

A printing block – wood with metal outside covering

Anyhow, the Tripitaka is normally housed at Haeinsa (a temple east of Daegu), and I had thought I wouldn’t be able to see it. However, there was a special exhibit going on at Donghwasa: it just so happened that the Tripitaka was being both restored and replicated, so some parts were lent to Donghwasa to set up an exhibit on it. The exhibit featured recreated wood blocks, copies of the text, and some pieces of the original (!), and an extensive outline of its history and how it was made. I basically had the whole exhibit to myself, so I geeked out in silence for about an hour inside the exhibit before heading back up (it was in an underground meditation center).

The air had cooled a bit by the time I came back out, so I wandered over to the camping area, and found a super cool cafe named Suda. It was filled with plants and music memorabilia, with the owner’s motorcycle parked out front. I got an Americano and looked around, but I didn’t want to spend too much time there since it was already afternoon.

Cafe Suda

Finally, I made it to the actual hiking trails. I didn’t plan to go far, I just wanted to maximize my time outside on such a beautiful afternoon. With no particular aim, I picked a random trail and followed it into the woods.

I saw a waterfall, a hermitage, and had to pause frequently to take pictures because the scenery was breathtaking. And speaking of breathtaking . . . at some point, the “path” turned into boulders about half my height. Still, scrambling up them was exhilarating, and despite my lack of proper gear, It was still a lot of fun. I think I realized how high I really was when I was stopped by an older couple. We had a brief conversation (woohoo! Korean practice), and they laughed when I told them I was climbing alone because I was an American. After all, who else would be out climbing mountains alone in sandals? Not the brightest thing I’ve ever done, but totally worth it!

The first staircase

Anyhow, the couple cheered me on, and told me that the top of the peak was just twenty minutes or so more. So we parted, and I was doubly determined to make it to the top of one of the three peaks in the area. Of course, what the couple failed to mention was that the last bit was about ten times harder to climb than the rest of the mountain! I really wasn’t sure if my legs were going to survive, but I have trouble stopping when I am outside. If I can walk there, I will go. However, when I finally reached the last part of the peak, the sight of stairs was kind of horrifying.

Stairs. On a mountain. So steep and merciless.

I would have missed this if I hadn’t waited on the stairs ^^

I couldn’t take the stairs yet, so I went up the side path to see if I could get a view. What I found was both a view and a gorgeous stone Buddha dating back to the Silla dynasty! Apparently, that path had been marked as a “gate” to Silla territory (the idea of an army trying to attack through those mountain ranges . . .). I admired the view for a few minutes, and then steeled myself for the stairs. The worst part? As soon as I climbed a huge staircase, I rounded the corner and saw . . .  more stairs. But by this time, I was so determined to get up there that I just kept going.

And then – the top.

The top was a pile of giant boulders above the crows’ nests. I felt like if I reached up, I could touch the clouds. It was cold at the top of the mountain, and the air was thin (I could feel it at this point, as I have asthma), but it was one of the most exhilarating feelings I have ever experienced. It was also one of the most beautiful sights I have ever laid eyes on. My pictures don’t do it justice. The light was so clear and cold – it changed every thirty seconds and gilded the edges of buildings. The sky was enormous – just an expanse of dozens of shades of blue, from the lightest periwinkle to a rich sapphire that made it look more like an overhead ocean. All I could think was that to see the stars from there would have been the experience of a lifetime.*

Because we needed another panorama, obviously.

But eventually, I had to leave. The sun was starting to sink already, and I didn’t want to be trying to scramble down a mountain in the dark! Needless to say, I made it back down okay ;P But it was very dark in the woods when I made it out! I made it back to my hostel with no trouble, and went to bed pretty early again after all that walking! (13.7 miles total – and my pedometer registered the equivalent of 250 floors of stairs).

“Satoori” (사투리) – is what this plaque is about. Satoori means the dialect of a certain region (like Daegu or Jeju Satoori), including regional vocab, accents, and in the case of Jeju, and extra vowel. A fun example of Satoori is BTS’s 2013 팔도강산 (Satoori Rap) [in the video link they split by dialect regions and “battle” East vs. West)
The next morning, I located an international church just like I did in Busan, and spent the morning with them. They gave me homemade bulgogi (which was amazing), and were a really kind and fantastic group of people. I finally left, and walked around more of Daegu, including a few more parks. I felt like I had a pretty good idea of the layout of Daegu by the time I had to go back to the Bus Terminal to meet my host family for Chuseok.

My overall impression (which remained consistent) was that Daegu was like a giant “small town.” There was a ton of produce and markets, and the people were friendly. It didn’t feel like one of the top five largest cities in Korea – but it is! It is historically a conservative (socially and politically) area, and there are a lot of people whose families have centuries of history there. It definitely feels old – there seem to be monuments and historical sites everywhere. I really loved the atmosphere, and I would like to come back and spend more time there. I liked the combo of farm towns and city, and of course, the mountains. Being near all of this for Chuseok turned out to be ideal. And as for Chuseok – that will have to wait a bit longer. I hope you weren’t too bored reading about where I wandered!

Have you ever heard about the Tripitaka Koreana? Have you ever learned about something in class and then seen it in real life and gotten excited (or is that just me)?  Have you ever been to a city that felt more like a small town?

The Fellowship of the Ring Book TAG

First off, all credits and second breakfasts go to Nandini Bharadwaj @ Unputdownable Books, who both invented this super creative tag and gave full permission for readers to use it <3 Thanks Nandini!

Second, I finished most of this post back at the end of September – but then I got caught in a vortex of project and internship doom – which further spiraled into midterms of despair since I had only a few hours to study for each one (based on the way the calendar shook down). TT

The good News that my last one was tonight. The bad news? I feel terrible about it (and the one this morning that had everything on the test that the teacher said was *not* on the Test.

But none of that has to do with LOTR (well, except the part where I feel like Frodo crawling up Mount Doom – where is Sam when you need him!!?)

The point is, Nandini made this tag. This tag is awesome. Nandini is also awesome for making it free to use. So please go check out her blog and the original post.

BUT I DIGRESS AS USUAL:

Seeing that LOTR might be my favorite series of all time (at least top 3), I knew I had to participate, even though I haven’t been strictly book blogging or doing tags for awhile. The Power of LOTR, people. ANYHOW – I don’t know if I have any of my former followers, or any – other than the 6 people I know are reading my posts (you know who you are!) – and none of them have complained about me basically writing about being in Korea every/every other post. So instead of writing about spending CHUSEOK in Daegu (which I will do soon – hopefully before the end of October), I decided to  do the tag.

There was a point in there somewhere . . .

Ah, yes – The Fellowship of the Ring Book Tag

So – without further ado (just let me grab my pocket handkerchief . . .):

  1. Gandalf: A Book that Taught You Something

“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.”So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” – The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien

Books have taught me so much – and they’re what I always come back to when I need wisdom or encouragement. This actually might be the hardest one for me on this tag! I’m going to go way back and pick one of the books that formed me as a reader and writer (that isn’t LOTR, lol):

The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine is a book I first read about 16 years ago (and I’ve briefly mentioned it on the blog before). I can vividly remember when I bought it: I was a preteen, on a trip to the lake to stay in a rental house up north with my family and Grandparents (who had come up from Arkansas especially for this). At the time, hormones and changes were plaguing me, and all I ever wanted to do was hide away and read. I found The Two Princesses of Bamarre in an independent bookstore (hardcover, expensive), and fell in love with the cover. My grandma bought it for me (we were all allowed one book each), and I raced up to the loft as soon as we got home to devour it. So what did it teach me?: I was a preteen girl who read a lot of hero fantasy – starring male characters who were usually older than me. Two Princesses was about a young princess (near my age!) named Addie, who was scared of everything. She depends on her brave older sister Meryl for everything, until Meryl catches an “incurable” disease, and Addie must find her own courage if she wants to save her sister. As a kid who frequently suffered from crippling awkwardness and self-doubt, this book really touched a nerve in me, and I reread it for years. And since I have a lot of sisters, Addie’s love and self-sacrifice for her sister also moved me. Girls are heroes, and they don’t have to be heroic in the same ways. Sometimes loving someone enough to do the right thing is the bravest thing to do. And sometimes being heroic doesn’t look bold or glamorous, or even get noticed <3

2. Frodo: A book that left a mark on you

Another hard one!

‘Alas! there are some wounds that cannot be wholly cured,’ said Gandalf.

‘I fear it may be so with mine,’ said Frodo. ‘There is no real going back. Though I may come to the Shire, it will not seem the same; for I shall not be the same. I am wounded with knife, sting, and tooth, and a long burden. Where shall I find rest?’

Gandalf did not answer.”
The Return of the King, J.R.R. Tolkien

I think I probably mentioned The Guest, by Korean novelist Hwang Sok-yong, somewhere on this blog. But it is the first book I think of when I think of a scar or mark left by a book. The Guest is narrated by a pastor who goes to visit his family home in North Korea after the Korean War. The book weaves past, present, reality, and thoughts into an interested narrative form that is sometimes difficult to read. Even more difficult are the brutal descriptions of death and chaos caused by all parties during and before the war, and the

wounds it left on the Korean people and their land. This was not an easy book to read, and I don’t think it was meant to be. It made me think, and it challenged my perceptions of military intervention, faith, and international

politics. Haunting and beautiful, but horrifying – The Guest is a book I find myself thinking about a lot, and I don’t think I could ever forget it.

“People hated and killed each other back then. Now even those who survived are dying, leaving this world one by one. Unless we find a way to forgive one another, none of us will ever be able to see each other again. (2007: 88)”
― Hwang Sok-yong, The Guest

3. Legolas: A book you finished in one sitting

“He was tall as a young tree, lithe, immensely strong, able swiftly to draw a great war-bow and shoot down a Nazgûl, endowed with the tremendous vitality of Elvish bodies, so hard and resistant to hurt that he went only in light shoes over rock or through snow, the most tireless of all the Fellowship.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Book of Lost Tales, Part Two

Most recently, I read the indie-published e-book Tsumiko and the Enslaved Fox (Amaranthine Saga Book 1) by an author known as FORTHRIGHT. This was an easy-reading fantasy romance based in Japanese folklore, with a different heroine in the Jane Eyre meets Hinata Hyūga (Naruto) combination that is Tsumiko. The story is set in an intricately woven world where powerful shape-shifting immortals (Amaranthine) have reemerged in the world after having been oppressed by humans (called reavers). Tsumiko, the heroine, is a young woman who lives is what is (presumably) a convent school, and she is very skeptical when a man shows up and tries to give her an inheritance from a mysterious relative she didn’t know about. Tsumiko is happy with her life, but something in the letter, and the way it calls her to care for this unknown relative’s estate, awakens her nurturing instinct, and she decides to go see the place for her estate. Of course, the greatest

And it’s pretty

treasure of the estate is a dramatic and beautiful Amaranthine, Argent, who has been enslaved to the family for decades, and a cast of interesting and lovable characters that become the family Tsumiko always wanted. I had mixed feelings about this book, tbh. I loved the world, and the Black Butler meets Naruto meets Inyuyasha meets Japanese folklore aspects. The world building and many of the concepts were really cool (if sometimes uncomfortable, lol). But in the end, it’s the fact that it was such a romance novel that lost me – I just wasn’t interested in Argent and Tsumiko’s relationship, which was so destined and obvious. Since that was a big part of the book, I felt detached, but obviously, I still read it in one sitting! I would definitely recommend this book to those who love romance with a dash of fantasy though ;P

4. Gimli: A book that features an unlikely friendship

I love, love, love, unlikely friendships.

“Speak, or I will put a dint in your hat that even a wizard will find hard to deal with!”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers

And while there are so many of these to choose from (and a lot of the choices I’ve already put down have them), I am going to use the classic and trope-defining unlikely friendship in Don QuixoteIf you haven’t ever

made it through this hefty book, I don’t blame you, but it is worth the time investment. The Don is out of touch with reality, determined to be a knight-errant and live in his world of fictions regardless of what goes on around him. His squire, Sancho Panza, is illiterate and knows little of the world, but he has surprising wisdom that grows throughout the duration of the story. Sancho sticks to the Don through many bizarre and humorous episodes, even when everyone else laughs at the aging “knight” and his delusions, and their discussions on their adventures provide many of the best parts of this novel.

Add this to the witty, even self-aware aspects of the story, and you have a brilliant novel with one of the most fantastic pair of unlikely friends to ever exist.

5. Merry: A book that pleasantly surprised you

“Thank you!” said Merry. “But it is a greater honour to dangle at your tail, Gandalf. For one thing, in that position one has a chance of putting a question a second time. Are we riding far tonight?”
Gandalf laughed. “A most unquenchable hobbit! All wizards should have a hobbit or two in their care—to teach them the meaning of the world, and to correct them.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers

Style over substance? Maybe – what style <3

This goes to a series, rather than a book: Bride of the Water God by Yun Mi-Kyung. And they’re manhwa, or Korean graphic novels 🙂 Like a lot of people, I picked this up because of the drama, and while I wasn’t too impressed with the first volume (manga/manhwa first volumes are always iffy), I kept reading. The art is lush and beautiful, and the story starts to develop unique nuances around the second volume. I can’t say I was particularly attached to the characters, but they were all interesting and I loved all the nods to mythology and folklore. Basically, since this is a romance (albeit kind of a dark one), I expected to not like it at all, and I really just ended up enjoying the ride. And. The. Art. Those backgrounds are amazing. I was completely immersed in the world. By the end, I didn’t even care what was going on – I just wanted to remain in the gorgeous, mythical world created by the art!

6. Pippin: A book that made you laugh

“Fool of a Took!” he growled. “This is a serious journey, not a hobbit walking-party. Throw yourself in next time, and then you will be no further nuisance.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

I love books that make me laugh. Most recently, Between Jobs, by W.R. Gingell, had me giggling at the cheeky narrator, witty lines or repartee (or just the welcome existence of a mopey Korean vampire). Normally, the idea of a book about a 17-year old girl living as the “pet” of two fae and a vampire would set off red flags, but since this was a novel by my Tasmanian Twitter friend W.R. Gingell (we tend to discuss learning Korean and Kpop, lol), I trusted that the tricky sounding subject would be well handled. “Pet,” a mysterious (and maybe unreliable) orphan who manages to be relatable yet full of secrets, is squatting her house until she is old enough (and has enough money from her very relatable and terrible part-time job at a cafe) to buy it, when a grisly murder upsets her life and brings three “psychos” into her house. The “psychos” (that’s what she calls them), two fae and a vampire, drag her into a mystery that she may or may not be already involved with. Pet is a delightful narrator, and I frequently found myself empathizing with her. Her wisecracks and jabs at the uber-powerful “psychos” were hilarious, and the only bad moment was reaching the final page! As a side note, having a Korean vampire was inspired – as there are plenty of fun ones in Korean shows/manhwa, etc, but I have yet to see one anywhere else. And JinYeong refuses to speak in English, which was also fun (not that Pet understands him, but I did, lol). At any rate, this book was completely good fun from beginning to end, and the sequel was also delightful (if too short!).

7. Boromir: A book/series that you think ended too soon

Boromir! I cried. Where is thy horn? Whither goest thou? O Boromir! But he was gone. The boat turned into the stream and passed glimmering on into the night. Dreamlike it was, and yet no dream, for there was no waking.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers

Doesn’t every good book end too soon? I think this one will have to go to Incarceron though. This book was rather faddish among a certain set for a time, but I never met anyone else who had read Sapphique, and many of my online acquaintances didn’t really like it. However, these lyrical, Alice in Wonderland books with quirky characters and stories and prisons-that-aren’t-prisons that will drag you into a very unique world. The sense of wonder they gave me was beautiful, and I only wish there had been a third one to wrap up all the questions and loose ends!! I think that’s why, ten years later (I feel old), they are still the first books I think of when I see this prompt (and hey, like Boromir, I think they’re underrated).

Be right back . . . TT . . . *sobbing*

8. Sam: A book with memorable side characters that stole the show

“How would this do: and they all settled down and lived together happily ever after?’
‘It will do well, if it ever comes to that,’ said Frodo.
‘Ah!’ said Sam. ‘And where will they live? That’s what I often wonder.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

I’m a side character girl, and for me, the ultimate case of this was with the Harry Potter Series. The triad of Harry, Ron, and Hermione were never as interesting or compelling to me as the multiple colorful side characters who were always stealing their thunder. This is actually one of the aspects of J.K. Rowling’s writing that reminds me of Dickens – I always like the side characters a lot more than the main characters. It’s not that I don’t like the main characters (I was a lot like Hermione as a kid, tbh), it’s that I just don’t connect. For example, in HP, my favorite characters were hands down Fred and George, followed by Lupin, Molly Weasley, the Marauders (hey, none of us care if they were just in the books through retrospect!!), Luna, Professor McGonagall, and Snape (not a surprise). While a book about Fred and George might not have carried the same gravity, it would have been a lot more fun. The scene in Order of the Phoenix where they turn being expelled into “quitting school” is still one of my favorite moments in kids’ literature. So satisfying.

9. Aragorn: A good book with a bad/average cover

“Thus came Aragorn son of Arathorn, Elessar, Isildur’s heir, out of the Paths of the Dead, borne upon a wind from the sea to the kingdom of Gondor.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King

Nothing beats the 80’s editions of LOTR for bad covers. And I’m not using LOTR for this tag (would sort of defeat the purpose!) –

The 60’s called – they want their style back

but I have to put one of the covers up just because.

Seriously. So bad. If we were just talking covers, I never would have picked it up.

The book I did pick – The Iron Ring by Lloyd Alexander, is also pretty bad.

I grew up reading Lloyd Alexander, and I enjoyed everything he wrote – but considering when they were written (60’s-90’s), most of the covers were awful. The Iron Ring is an adventure-packed story inspired by Indian mythology. It’s old-fashioned fantasy, where you’re immersed

in the world and all kinds of random characters pop up to aid or hinder the hero. In other words, a book I would love. The cover does nothing for it.

Anyhow, The Iron Ring begins with Prince Tamar losing a game of chance in a dream, and wakes up with a pesky iron ring on his finger. That’s when the adventure begins, and Alexander fused the Indian setting with a life and vibrancy that made me want to go to India straightaway. Sadly, the cover does not do the same 😛

10. Gollum: A book that had great potential but disappointed you in the end

“Yes, perhaps, yes’ said Gollum. ‘Sméagol always helps, if they asks – if they asks nicely.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers

Stalking Jack the Ripper, by Kerri Maniscalco was definitely one of these for me. It was pretty fun until the last third, and that’s when the disappointment came in.  I want to avoid spoilers here – but the way the ending unraveled was very predictable. In addition, the heroine, Audrey Rose, seemed like a girl from the 2000’s transplanted to a different time period. I was all for her being able to dissect cadavers in pursuit of science and knowledge, but her thoughts and attitudes were more 2018 than 1800’s, and it jarred me out of the period of the story.**

The romance was believable, and the premise was very interesting. I liked Audrey Rose, and I loved how well the first few chapters set the mood. It just didn’t deliver on the thrills and chills that every good Jack the Ripper yarn promises.

Okay – so some old books, some new books, and some indie authors. Not too shabby 🙂 Have you read any of these (I mean, other than Harry Potter, because I think its one of the most widely read books in the world). If so, what did you think? Also, I’m not tagging anyone since I wasn’t officially tagged, but please check out Nandini’s blog and join the tag if you like there 🙂 Cheers!

**I term this the Zootopia effect. A perfectly good piece of fun entertainment is nearly ruined by flag waving and hitting you over the head with its (super obvious) message. Even if it’s a message I believe in, I really don’t like having to be reminded every minute.  That’s called preachy.

 

Small, Good Things: September in Review

thankI had really planned on doing Nandini Bharadwaj from Unputdownable Books Lord of the Rings Tag for September (which is Hobbit Month, obviously* ;P) but life and school and my bad memory (for the books I’ve read recently TT) made me drag on with that, and now it is apparently October 1st.

Regardless of the criticism I have for the Hobbit movies – Martin Freeman is a FANTASTIC Bilbo.

I am slightly dismayed, as this means time went so quickly – and I’ve already been in Korea for a month and a half! I don’t even want to think about that.

I DO PLAN ON DOING THE TAG. JUST IN OCTOBER.

Also – the good part is – we are in the best part of the year! From September through December is my favorite time to be outside, inside, and generally alive and a human in this world. For one thing, it is officially autumn (가울/Ga-eul in Korean), which is my favorite season – and that means

leaves changing, sweater weather, hiking!, pumpkins and squash, Halloween, Thanksgiving, food, steaming mugs of tea or cider paired with your favorite book, knitting, and I could go on.

As autumn slides into winter, we have Christmas and winter peace, and more opportunities for sweaters, tea, books, and knitting. Summary: I just really like this time of year. Also, apparently Autumn is the most beautiful time to be in Pohang (this post), according to the friends I’ve made here. Considering it is already beautiful, I’m really excited to see the new dimensions that fall colors bring to the gorgeous Korean landscape.

So now that I’ve gushed a bit about fall – it’s time to look back at September. It was a very busy month for me, but I somehow managed to write 4 involved posts (and start drafts of about 5 more), read a few books, and keep up with school at a new university. I also plan on sharing some of the “small, good things” that helped keep my spirits up as I reentered the blogging world for a whole month, and tried to re-engage with people offline and online. All while studying abroad for the first time. In other words, I have a lot to be grateful for, but I think sometimes I forget that. Counting small (or not so small) blessings is often a way to remember to be grateful, and so that is how I am organizing this September Summary Post.

A Dozen Small, Good Things – with illustrative gifs:

  1. Korean Food

I love food and I love to cook too – so living in a dorm with an upstairs (read: minimal) kitchen space has been a challenge. However, I managed to make kimchi jjigae there with the limited resources. Korean food is sheer comfort food for me, and it is all so delicious. I am really grateful that I am able to eat, enjoy meals with friends, and try so many things while here in Korea. Some of the best so far? Hotteok, Tteokbokki and Sundae, and all the amazing food for Chuseok last week (Chuseok post coming soon!).

2. Umbrellas

I have never been so grateful to the inspired human who decided we need tents on sticks to keep ourselves out of the sun or rain! Just like in Hong Kong, it spontaneously rains all the time in Pohang. But unlike in Hong Kong, the rain here is cold. It chills you and somehow seeps in your clothes.

Can also double as a weapon

Enter the sturdy, thick handled umbrella. Resistant against rain and protective against hot sun, the only thing that will defeat it is a typhoon. (I have it on good authority that most Handong students go through 5 umbrellas a year)**

3. Hot Water Dispensers

Water purifiers are all over campus. In the states, this is also common, but the water is always cold. This is fantastic – unless you want a quick cup of tea or want to make the world’s laziest cup of ramen (and admit it, sometimes we all do). But in Handong, and honestly, most of Korea (restaurants, malls, hostels, etc) are outfitted with handy water dispenser that will give hot OR cold water. So simple but so brilliant. I will miss it terribly.

This gif is therapeutic

4. Wifi

Wifi, wifi, everywhere. I even found it in a gorge once. Koreans are known for their wifi and it lives up to the reputation of being fast and easy to find. This is invaluable if you don’t have a Korean phone number, as apps like WhatsApp, Line, and Kakao Talk let you chat with friends all over the world for no extra fees. WiFi also makes it easier to access maps, bus schedules, dictionaries, addresses, and all the other little details that make navigating a different country so much easier. Sometime connection can be a beautiful thing.

5. Buses

Old, new, grungy, or clean – they are always right on time and so reliable. the public transportation here is a thing of beauty, and I love the ability to hop on a bus and make it anywhere on a map, maybe with a few transfers, and all you have to do is swipe a transportation card. That same card can get you on a subway as well, so its doubly useful. Coming from the States and especially the Midwest, some people may not realize how blindingly brilliant I find public transportation – but it is one of the best things in the world and we need it STAT.

6. Public Parks

Grave mounds

Big, small, National – I don’t care – I am an equal opportunity lover of public parks. Korea, so far, doesn’t seem to have the same sorts of manicured, cultivated parks that randomly sprout out of a city block like in Hong Kong, but they have something even better: mountains that sprout out of city blocks. If you like to hike (and everyone who has visited this blog probably knows what a hiking enthusiast I am), then Korea is a fantastic place to be.

Though not every park has a mountain, there are a proliferation of parks that have everything from national monuments to exercise equipment (yes, just outside and free to use), pavilions, benches, ponds, gardens, and in the case of the wooded park behind my school, a lake AND some random grave mounds. A lot more interesting  than your average park.

Regardless, there is always something to see, and you can get fresh air, exercise, and a change of scenery by basically just walking outside. It is fantastic and I love it so much. If there’s a mountain, that just makes things even better.

7. Blog/Instagram Comments

I sometimes take a long time to answer, and I am lately rather bad at going around and leaving comments of my own, but I really love the dialogue online. It’s not so much that I care if people like to read what I wrote (though that is a nice bonus!), I just really like to chat and interact and hear about others’ experiences too. When I first started blogging, I really just wanted to find a community of people who cared about the same things

Sometimes this is as much as I can come up with ;P

and had the same passions, because I was lacking that in the offline world. So every time someone comments on my posts, or even social media, I know that they “listened,” and are now responding, so then we had a conversation. I love that.

8. Sunlit forests

Yes, I’m a nature girl (See #6), and if I’m stressed or keyed up, my instinct is to flee the crowds and find some trees. There is something so magical about the way sunlight makes patterns though leaves and trees – it never looks the same way twice, and I have actually stood for about an hour watching the change in light and shadow on a forest floor. Really. It’s even hard for me to photograph, since ever minute the light changes, there is a new pattern or design that wasn’t there before.

The Woods of Palgongsan, Daegu, ROK

I think the great love for trees, forests, and the particular way that afternoon sun turns all things to gold, was one of the many reasons I bonded so much with Tolkien’s writing as a kid. His love for forests, for the way they feel alive and almost seem to listen – for the way they can make you feel not so alone when you are by yourself – it always spoke to me. No matter how young I was when my dad started reading the books to us, that was something I understood on the most basic level.

9. Korean Reality TV

Running Man, King of Mask Singer, 2 Days 1 Night, Law of the Jungle, Return of Superman, and all of the many, many random programs found on both the actual TV and on VLive (app/website) are a gift to language learners, and anyone who just wants some innocent gut-shaking laughter. If you have never watching Korean Reality TV, you are missing out – because I’m not talking American made-for-tv-drama called reality, or toddlers in makeup, or wild beach parties – I’m talking about tv hosts with big personalities creating mischief, playing silly but fun games, learning skills or crafts, and the funniest use of subtitles ever. Not only do the frequent subtitles give you Korean language practice, they often add, comment on, or embellish whatever is going on in the program. If you don’t know any Korean, and have no plan to learn, there are a ton of websites that provide English subs as well as other languages, so you can enjoy the programs too (I mean, my 5-year old sister can’t read more than letters, and she’s an avid Running Man fan).

 

10. Remembering New Vocabulary

Every time I think I have mastered a new phrase, conjugation, or word in Korean, I seem to forget about five others. It’s really rough when I am working so hard to understand, but the things I want to say just won’t come out! 생각이 많이 있어서 말 하고 싶어요. 그러나 한국말 하는 것을 좀 어려워요. 단어가 기억할 수 없으면 특히 답답해요. (I have a lot of thoughts so I want to speak. But Korean is a little difficult to speak. It’s especially frustrating if I can’t remember a word) [ Any errors in the sentence are mine].

그래서 (keu-rae-soh), or therefore, when I remember a word, especially at the perfect time, I am always so, so grateful. 진짜요. (Really)

11. Spotify Premium

I’m so glad I signed up for Student Spotify Premium before I left the States. It’s worth the $5 a month to be able to play whatever  I want, whenever I

want it (even if I don’t have WiFi, I can play downloaded playlists). Since SP isn’t available in Korea, I can only use it because I signed up in the US – and it has been a wonderful service to have. I don’t think I have to write any more about why music is a necessary part of my life (see this post), but here are 5 diverse but upbeat tracks I am really into at the moment! ***

Se Vuelve Loca by CNCO – as far as my very rudimentary knowledge of Spanish goes, this is about a girl who loves to be seen when she’s dancing. It’s got a great groove, and those beautiful vocals I always love from CNCO. They’re super talented, and all of their songs make you want to get up and dance (also check out the Tainy Remix of Diganle featuring Leslie Grace!)

All Time Low by Straight No Chaser – the brilliant men of acapella pop-cover group Straight No Chaser take on Jon Bellion’s 2016 hit, adding some on point vocalizing and beatboxing. Catchy, a little eerie, and somehow still dance-worthy, it’s been a frequent go-to for me this month.

Way Back Home by SHAUN – It says a lot about this song that I still love it even though I heard it before it was popular, and now I can’t go anywhere in Korea without hearing it at least once! SHAUN’s voice is smooth, effortless, and the soft cry to his falsetto is magic with the gentle island beat and guitar that back them up in this smash hit from his first EP. He’s also a DJ and producer – so, yeah, talented guy.

Lonely (feat. Max) Steve Aoki Remix by Matoma- Norwegian DJ/Producer of house and tropical-vibed dance music, Matoma, teams up with my much-loved Max, and they get added gloss from Steve Aoki in this pulsing, broody anthem that still makes you feel good somehow. Max just wants to know where you were when he was lonely? Is that such a hard question?

Up All Night by David Archuleta – Not a name you’ve heard in a while? Me neither. I randomly stumbled across this 2017 track by the former American Idol while gearing up a play queue for a long study session. It’s also dance-y, but David Archuleta has the voice of an angel, and its brilliant paired with a dance-pop track reminiscent of early-2000’s Céline Dion in the best kind of way.

12. Instant Coffee

Last, but never least – COFFEE. Sure, there are cute cafes everywhere in Korea, and I could walk down a block, buy an Americano every 3 shops, and be broke by the time I made it back to campus. Instant coffee, while not the same quality level, is still a must when you live in a dorm without a coffee pot for 4 months. And when there are instant hot water dispensers (see #3), then you never have to be out of reach of coffee. I actually managed to find some pretty decent tasting stuff here, and it’s already helped propel me through a couple late group-project nights.

There are a lot more than a dozen things to be thankful for, especially now that it is the best time of year (my unbiased opinion). What are some small, daily reminders to you that show you how much you have, and how blessed you are? Have you taken time to be grateful today? Please tell me in the comments (#7, wink, wink, nod, nod). And as always, thanks for reading!

*September is Tolkien Month/Hobbit Month because I (and some other people) say so. But Hobbit Day (September 22nd, Bilbo and Frodo’s Birthday, is verified by the most trustworthy Wikipedia)

**True story. My friend said that the average Handong student goes through 5 umbrellas a year, and that is why you often see battered, ruined umbrellas in trashcans after really terrible storms.

***ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ But no, not today, 그 때가 오늘은 아니지

 

포항은 어디에 있습니까?(Where is Pohang?!)

Welcome back to the currently random path of my recent blog entries . . .

As you might guess, the title of this post is the most common question I’ve heard since I applied to study in Korea late last year.

As some of you may know, I attend college in Michigan (USA), and have wanted to study abroad . . . basically since I was about 10 and knew people could do that.

Anyhow, now I’m in Pohang, South Korea, and living the student life abroad, but the thing is – no one knows where Pohang is (unless their interests are industrial). To be honest, if my school didn’t have an exchange program with HGU (my school here), I probably wouldn’t have known where or what Pohang was either (same with how people I’ve met outside of the US rarely know where Michigan is, which makes sense – and I’ve rarely met anyone who heard of Grand Rapids who wasn’t from the Midwest!).

So have a map:

East Coast, South – find Pohang

You might have heard Pohang’s name last year when there was a report on the 5.4 magnitude earthquake that hit it. It tied for the biggest earthquake in modern Korean history (so scary!), and I met people who experienced it when I got to school . Thank God there have been no earthquakes – just lots of rain and wind from a couple of typhoons that hit the coast.

Pass it every time I head to town

Pohang is a seaside town known for, well, ocean/trade industries, and steel production. POSCO, an international business and one of the top five producers of steel in the world, is a huge economic benefit to the area and the country, and I’ve passed the factory a lot since I’ve been here (apparently there is a museum too).

Like the famous Busan (Korea’s second largest city by population – 3.4 million people), Pohang is on the ocean and has a bunch of beautiful beaches – they are just far less developed and crowded! (Though I hear there are a ton of tourists in the summer). The beaches and paths alongside them are gorgeous and I would definitely recommend a visit if you ever get the chance. Since the Dongdae Mountains (part of the larger Taebaek Mountains/태백산맥) run through Pohang, there is also a lot of near(ish) hiking, and plenty of scenic walks of various inclines. That’s where all of my forest photos have been taken so far. (See my last post for a lot of Pohang’s natural beauty)

SO, I guess Pohang is kind of small-town by Korean standards – but it’s far more developed and industrialized than Grand Rapids (where I go to school), even if the population is smaller. On the other hand, it’s far from the bigger cities and pop-culture hubs. The closest big city is Daegu (대구 – population 2.7 mil+), the 4th biggest city in Korea (and another on my list to visit!) Daegu is home to the Tripitaka Koreana (Ancient and important Buddhist scriptures that I learned about in 3 different classes) and to Palgongsan (팔공산), a mountain famous for a bunch of culture and heritage sites.

The other D-town

The whole surrounding province of Gyeongsangbuk-do (경상북도)/ North Gyeongsang Province (where Pohang is) is full of history and landmarks, being a major part of the ancient Silla Kingdom (신라: 57 BC – 935 AD). Gyeongju (경주), about 40 minutes south of Pohang, was actually the site of Silla’s capital, and is a treasure trove of sites that I can’t wait to visit! (Especially since I’m formally studying Korean history at last). And if you didn’t notice, the entire region is full of mountains.

When you combine mountains, hiking, ocean, historical sites, and beautiful views, you have the instant recipe for a place I love to be. And when all that turns out to be in an area I am extremely interested (the Three Kingdoms period in Korean history is fascinating) – it’s just a perfect spot to be stuck for 4 months 🙂

See – it’s like Witch King meets Galadriel Copyright: Encyclopaedia Britannica

The Three Kingdoms ( 삼국시대), fyi, are Silla (mentioned above), the northern Goguryeo (고구려), and southwestern Baekje (백제). The period referred to lasted from roughly 57 BC to 668 AD. Before my history class, I knew this, plus these three “important” facts about Silla:

  1. They made LOTR worthy golden crowns (see photo)
  2. Silla united all three kingdoms for a time in the 7th century, creating the earliest united Korea.
  3. Silla also had elite warrior guys called the Hwarang/화랑 or “flowering men/knights/warriors” (there is a sort of cringe-y and romanticized drama of the same name, which is worth watching for the hilarious side characters[MINHO], beautiful people**, adorable V being adorable, and my favorite person – Park Hyung-Sik*** *sigh* <3).

After this, how can you pretend to be a serious show?!?

Silly drama aside, you can bet that institutionalized warriors who were supposed to be beautiful AND deadly was something that I would be interested in (lol). Even more interesting, they had female predecessors known as Wonhwa/원화. The story goes that one of the female leaders murdered the other, and then the wonhwa were abolished and replaced by hwarang. The wonhwa would apparently go on to become/or already were a group of Buddhist nuns meant to spiritually guide the hwarang, who also fulfilled a religions and possibly ritual function. If this isn’t fascinating enough – the hwarang were supposed to be very attentive to their personal appearance and their brains, being highly educated, fashionable, and using cosmetics to look even more like, flowers, I guess. The show Hwarang takes this to the furthest degree, of course, which leads to frequent hilarity.

That is about all I know about these fascinating guys (and girls), and as far as I know, there is very little concrete info about them other than what I wrote above, and most of it isn’t translated into English. But you can be assured that there is story inspiration there for sure. (And it’s proof that the deadly flower boys of manga and manhwa weren’t the first ones to claim that role!)

But I digress. The point was – Pohang is actually a really interesting place with a lot going for it other than natural beauty *not to discount that at all!* I am definitely happy to spend the next few months here, with excursions to those other places included. I can’t wait to see fall colors with all the trees and mountains around – so be prepared for further photo dumps once 가을 (Autumn)  is in full swing.

*NOTE-Park Seo-joon (the standee from Gongcha) starred in one of my favorite dramas I watched last year – “Fight My Way/쌈, 마이웨이,” a slice of life drama that followed 4 friends who had big dreams but basically ended up living uninspiring lives (so relatable), and their attempts to do better. It was a little over-the-top (something any Kdrama fan can deal with), but the acting was excellent and the lead couple were so cute and charming and realistic. Worth watching!

**Park Seo-joon is also the lead in Hwarang. Also, while I admitted the show is stupid (because it is), there are some moments so funny that it is worth watching (the OST is bomb too). Also, the actors playing Hwarang have fantastic chemistry/bromance that was the highlight of the whole show. I just despised the love triangle and the last third where they suddenly tried to pretend that it was a serious sageuk instead of a fluffy pseudo-historical rom-com. *pouts*

***Park Hyung-Sik

Also stars in “Suits,” which I’m currently watching

Now you, gentle reader, also know a bit about Pohang and the surrounding environs. Something to tell your friends about or that random stranger at a party when you can’t think of what to say. At any rate, I hope you enjoyed hearing a little more about this lovely place! Thanks for reading!

 

#WritingLife – How I Get Myself Writing When I’m Uninspired

So my previous post was about music and how it encourages me when I’m feeling low, right? (And there was a significant segment about BTS, but that was related) Anyhow, that post got me thinking about all the ways I have combated creative slumps in the past, with more or less success.

First off – we must acknowledge that sometimes you just can’t write. Even if you want to. I have experienced this frequently over the past year. I have an idea, see the plot and the characters coming together in my brain, and then I sit down and I can’t write anything at all.

Too much of this isn’t just frustrating, it’s extremely depressing. It’s a terrible place for creative people to be. For me (and I suspect many others), the act of making art – of any kind – is a compulsion and a need. Even if no one ever sees it but you, you have to get it out. That’s the best way I can describe it. (Actually, the analogy of a backed up drain comes to mind, but that’s some gross imagery you probably don’t want to read).

The point is, a creative slump is a dark place, and that can be hard to explain to people who don’t feel the same way.

So last year was the deepest dip of a 2 year slump that was partially induced by going back to school and working every spare hour. Statistically speaking, I wasn’t getting enough sleep or nourishment to be doing my best work at any time. Which meant the 3% of brain power I had was devoted to doing as well as possible in my classes, and then into waiting tables with as much of a positive, decent human being face as I could manage. And sometimes that sort of work is necessary to get what you want.

Basically my brain

I couldn’t be here in Korea now studying if I had slacked off or let myself breathe more. But a side effect of all this was my creative side was getting progressively more sluggish, lazy, and out of shape.

However, as anyone following my blog return might notice, I have been slowly reintroducing regular writing and reading back into my schedule, and working on whipping the creative side back into some sort of usable fitness level. In the past, I’ve made the mistake of trying to go back all at once, and we know that works as well as crash dieting (to continue the metaphor). A week or so you do great, and then you fail in an epic way. Same with getting back into writing and art. It doesn’t work in the long-term.

So what does work? Well, same as using the fitness advice above – things don’t work the same for everyone – but here are the top 5 “exercises” I have done to successfully break out of creative slumps past and present.

  1. Go outside

I cannot stress this one enough. Being indoors all day long (especially studying or in classes) is mind-numbing and takes all your energy. You will feel much better if you get fresh air and change your scenery. If possible, leave the work for an hour and take a bike ride, walk a few blocks, and just look around you at the scenery. If you can’t focus, put in some headphones and observe the world from inside the bubble of your favorite songs. The reason this is my number one tip is because it is easy and almost always works. It’s not magic, but it’s the closest thing. Since I have been in Korea, I have been taking a walk or exercising almost every day. Not only does it get the blood flowing and release those positive endorphins, the scenery around Pohang is gorgeous and inspiring, and it has helped me get and stay in a writing/creative mood.

2. Start Small

If you can’t write a chapter, write a blog post. If you can’t write a post, take some pictures . If that’s too hard, make a Pinterest board for a new character or project. Draw a comic strip of how you feel and post it on Instagram. Write a poem if you don’t want to draw a picture. Actually, if there is any other creative hobby you enjoy: do a small amount of it! If it’s cooking, bake cookies. If it’s knitting, knit a row or two. Whatever it is, just do what you can manage for the day. The best thing about things like knitting or photography is that you get some instant gratification – even if a project isn’t perfect or finished, you still get to see achievement.

Current project – knit while watching Suits (Korean Version) 🙂

3. Talk through Your Project

This one isn’t as simple because it can’t be as easily done by yourself (but it can be!). Find a sympathetic ear and outline your project, talking through the problems, goals, and design. If no one wants to listen, type up the conversation, or write it on paper and use it as a way to brainstorm and plan. For example, if I have a novel idea, I always jot it down even if I don’t feel like writing. If I am stuck there, then I write out aspects of the plot or characters that occur to me, grouping them by character name or plotline (which I usually number). This is something I do at the beginning of a project, but also when I am stuck halfway. Usually I call my (very patient) sister and talk through the project in detail. Another person’s perspective can be really useful, and often you’ll find that just verbalizing what you are doing can help you figure out problems on your own.

Say it just like this and they’ll listen for at least a minute

4. Read/Research

Don’t groan. If you’re a writer, knowing your subject inside and out can help you write more freely when you are in the mood, instead of making you stop to check facts or details every thirty seconds. It is also extremely important to thoroughly know your subject and have hours of study/experience if you are writing about something unfamiliar (a different country, a special skill, etc). For example, field research like getting involved in soccer and reading up on the international names in the sport is a good foundation for writing a soccer-themed novel (obvious, but you can’t say it enough).

If you are an artist, researching and reading about other techniques can also help generate inspiration. From blogs to scholarly articles, there is always an expert somewhere to consult! Also, especially if you are a writer, reading other novels, especially outside your genre, is a great way to recharge and spark your imagination. In addition, it’s your chance to learn from others’ successes and mistakes, so you can apply that knowledge to your own project. Research isn’t just academic either – it can be museum visits, historical site trips, or even watching movies/shows that are on your topic. If it gets you inspired and ready to be creative, then it isn’t a waste of time and energy 🙂

5. Take a nap.

Naps are the saving grace of the student/part-time worker’s life. If you can’t keep your eyes open, or you feel sluggish and lethargic, shut your books or computer, set a timer, and allow yourself to rest. Don’t look at your phone, turn off the lights, and do breathing exercises or something else that will help you relax.

Same Suga/민윤기씨. Same.

If you’re busy and sleep-deprived, then you know why your brain isn’t working, and a power nap, or even just a rest, can help you recharge enough to make a difference. Sometimes, if I’m tired but not falling asleep, I try to mentally immerse myself in the world of a story I’m working on. I imagine the daily life of a character, their conversations, what they look like – and by that time, I usually fall asleep! If not, I have some details to write down for that story.

And like I said above – set a timer otherwise, if you are like me, you will sleep and sleep and then miss something you should have been doing!

So there you have it:  my top 5 tips for dealing with creative slumps ! What about you – do you have any tips or tricks for breaking out of the bad cycles? Are any of them the same? If so, I want to hear about them!

 

2018.08.25: 1:00 AM – Love Yourself?

Before I start – I’ll warn you – this post rambles, is really long, and it gets personal – and there is a lot about music. Also – I linked every song mentioned so you can find them if you like!

You know how you just start pondering life when you go to bed, and then you’re up until 3Am, just lost in thought (or maybe even having some sort of crisis)? I do this a lot, and it can be a problem, but it can also lead to good insight.

Whether you’re replaying a conversation a thousand times, or panicking because you have to pay tuition for another two semesters, this sort of thing always hits after midnight, am I right?

“You Are the Moon,” The Hush Sound

Anyhow – anyone reading this probably knows how “musically affected” I am. Words already push so many buttons in my mind, and when you set them to music – make them an anthem or a mantra of sorts, then it’s no surprise that music can be such a big part of my mental health.

Sometimes I have to put in my headphones to escape the noise, chaos, and distractions surrounding me (and everything distracts me). Better still is putting in my headphones and heading outside. It’s a strange paradox (and I think a lot of introverts would relate), but if I feel lonely, I tend to head for even more solitude (??) and put in the headphones. Whether it’s the voice, the familiarity, or the words – music I love has a way of making me feel like I’m not alone.

“Iron” – Within Temptation

Good lyrics (and songs) connect you through experience and feelings and remind you that other people have felt the same way, or dealt with similar things.

Do you ever have that eerie tingling familiarity when you hear a song for the first time? Like you could have written it, or that it put what you were feeling into words that you weren’t able to express? This happens with novels and poetry too – when a certain line grabs you and makes you pause to reread it. Those are some of my favorite moments when I read too, and it’s one of the reasons I love words so much.

“Alone Together,” Fall Out Boy

That’s also why a concert crowd full of strangers is often less lonely than a room full of casual friends or acquaintances. At a concert by yourself – you’re alone together – all there for the same reason,  united by music. But if you’re like me and you have a hard time really bonding and seem to slip through the cracks of social interaction . . . then the room full of acquaintances (especially if there are some established friend groups in there) can be the loneliest place in the world.

“The Light Behind Your Eyes,” My Chemical Romance

 

In a lot of ways, school has been that kind of lonely for me. I was always that person who didn’t fit in – I could  get along with anyone – but that was all. As I’ve mentioned in other posts – being older than everyone sometimes is an automatic barrier – whether it’s the constant working on my side, or them feeling uncomfortable because I’m 5-7 years older (that’s not even that much!)

And I’ll be honest and say that yes – I am frequently awkward and inept in social situations I am not paid to deal with (i.e, anywhere outside of work!). Sometimes I can’t think of anything to say, and other times, it seems like nothing I say matters regardless. I’m torn between wanting to connect to other people, and wanting to retreat into myself. And spending too much time in your own head is unhealthy.

“Let You Down,” NF

So that was a pretty long introduction, I know – but the point is – this is how I am and who I am and I’ve struggled to accept many things about myself for years. I won’t get into the details, but the last two years at school and work in Grand Rapids have been difficult. I stopped blogging, I almost stopped reading and writing completely. There were weeks when the only people I saw or talked to face-to-face were co-workers and customers, and it was draining.

“New Beautiful” – Epik High

I spent a lot of time praying, and probably more time being angry. In those times, when I was holding pain inside and I didn’t want to talk about it – that was when I would just listen to music and hold onto the words – because someone out there felt the same way, and we were linked by the song. No matter where I’ve been in my life or over the years – songs, poems, and books were friends that would never leave or lose interest. That is why I am so grateful for every singer or writer I’ve connected with – and I hope that every one of them knows that they make a difference with their words and their gifts.

What got me off on this tangent was that all ^this^ was what I was thinking about at 1:00 am on a Saturday morning in South Korea. Music and loneliness.

“Northern Downpour,” Panic! at the Disco

The day before, Friday, August 24th, was the end of our orientation into HGU, and after the long week in a new place, we celebrated until late that night (see my last post), and when I finally collapsed into bed, my mind was still very awake. Part of it was concerns about the coming semester (money, will I be able to work on Korean if I’m with International Students, money, can I travel?, how will I pay for tuition when I get back?, what if I can’t settle in? oh, and did I mention money?) and part of it was because that Friday was the day that BTS (방탄소년단) dropped their new(ish) repackaged album Love Yourself 結 ‘Answer, the final album in a three-part release, beginning with Love Yourself 承 ‘Her.’  Second was Love Yourself 轉 ‘Tear’ – which had an aesthetic that resonated so deeply it got me out of the aforementioned creative slump (for real). . .

Anyone who reads my Twitter feed saw me gushing about the “Singularity” aesthetic earlier this year. *still haven’t recovered*

So of course, I was pretty excited to see what Answer had to offer. Especially after we got yet another beautiful song trailer with meaningful lyrics (just stick with me – I promise this relates to the rest of the post!)

Self-acceptance is the theme this time around

ALSO this trilogy is actually continuing a series that the guys first began in 화양연화 pt.1  (The Most Beautiful Moments in Life or HYYH ), which feature a sort of alternate universe populated by characters with the members’ names and a complex storyline. The lyrics, videos, notes, and concepts of all their albums since have been tied to this storyline, but also featured many references to literature, art, pop culture, and even current events. (See Wings)

Art Credit @ Mar5122 via DeviantArt Lyrics – “Intro: Nevermind” – BTS

There are people who have a lot of smarter stuff to write about this than I do (links below!), and super talented translators who spend their own, unpaid time to translate lyrics and notes (and I like to do my own translations, but I am not that good and I am sloooow – links to the masters below**).

Anyhow, the point is, if you are a book nerd or a concept album nut (I am both, as should be obvious by now), you love it when bands do this. Some of my all-time favorite bands have done equally elaborate things (Within Temptation did a film series, while MCR had comics and videos, etc.), but few things have managed to hit all of my author buttons like BTS’s HYYH saga. This is as brief of a summary as I can give (and if you know a lot about BTS, it’s probably missing something important and telling you old news, but bear with me here) – but the point of this is that their most recent “Love Yourself” trilogy that is making history for Korean and Global charts (and YouTube) has dealt with a lot of aspects of and thoughts about love.

The final part (Answer), which was released Friday, was about loving yourself and accepting yourself for who you are – not changing to love or be loved by anyone else. Idol, the title track, is a high-powered anthem about how the guys have accepted who they are and who they have become due to their international fame and recognition. It’s upbeat, powerful, and combines traditional Korean visuals and themes with dance pop and pulsing beats. And the video is a can’t-miss.

A giant shark is just one of many spectacles . . . ^^

I knew the album had dropped that night, but I wasn’t able to listen to any of it until much later, and by that time, I was in bed and just popped on my headphones to listen to the new songs. They were all good – but the reason I decided to write this post was because of the song Answer: Love Myself. It has minimal instrumentals, a retro, feel-good groove with gorgeous vocals and gentle rap lines, and it takes its time building up into an anthem-style pop song. All this is great, but it was the lyrics that really got me – as a culmination of the previous projects and because they hit so close to home.

To paraphrase here, the song basically talks about how it’s sometimes harder to love yourself than those around you, and how you make rules and standards for yourself to conform to that you can’t achieve, and you have to face and accept who you are, and that it might take a lifetime to do this. However, it does it with lovely imagery that you can read in a better (!) and full translation here. But I wanted to take a stab at translating it myself: DISCLAIMER – I am just an intermediate Korean student and if you see something I translated incorrectly tell me. Read BangtanTranslations if you want expert translations!

정답은 없을지도 몰라                            Maybe there isn’t a right answer*
어쩜 이것도 답은 아닌 거야                  Maybe/Perhaps this also isn’t an answer

그저 날 사랑하는 일조차                       It’s just that even for loving myself
누구의 허락이 필요했던 거야               I needed someone else’s permission

난 지금도 나를 또 찾고 있어                Right now I’m looking for myself/me again
But 더는 죽고 싶지가 않은 걸             But I don’t want to die anymore
슬프던 me                                                Sad me (past tense – me that was sad, etc)
아프던 me                                                Sick/hurt me (past tense again)
더 아름다울 美                                         (which will be) more beautiful (mei –                                                                                 Chinese character for beauty, sounds like ‘me’                                                                       the way they pronounce it)**

*The first line literally means they don’t know if a “correct answer” exists. **With the character 美 said as ‘me,’ this could read as “the me which will be more beautiful” – (Lyrics from Answer: Love Myself, Copyright @BigHit)

At any rate, this gives you an idea of what’s going on in the song, and why the lyrics might strike a chord! As I was feeling lonely and wondering why I couldn’t just let go and have fun with a group – especially since I was so thrilled about being in Korea – inevitably my thoughts turned to how the problem was me. And there is always some truth to that – it’s good to realize your deficiencies so you can change them. But sometimes it’s impossible to just love yourself and embrace who you are. No one can make you lovable, and changing who you are/how you are to gain others’ love isn’t the answer either. You have to love yourself for who you are, especially if you are going to become better. This is the overall message of BTS’s Love Yourself series (obviously?).

Words aren’t the answer to everything – sometimes they’re just a band-aid trying to fix a broken limb – but they are powerful and can be used to harm or heal. In conclusion – I want to sincerely thank every band, writer, singer, novelist, and other wordsmiths out there for using their words to speak the truth, explain, comfort, heal, encourage, and promote understanding.

“Epilogue: Young Forever” BTS/방탄소년단

**LINKS TO THE MASTERS (AKA Resources):

Three of my favorite experts who talk about Asian pop culture, representation, controversy (and a lot of other really interesting things):

Jae-Ha Kim (Journalist)

Ask a Korean (Fantastic Blogger)

Angry Asian Man (another fantastic Blog)

Great videos to explain Korean songs and MVs: DKDKTV explain Idol 

Dedicated fellow ARMY who spend their time translating everything BTS: BTS-Translations/Subs And their translation of Answer: Love Myself

Translations of the HYYH notes, posts, and articles: Glitter_jk

And last, but not least – an very abbreviated playlist of my songs for 1 AM  crises or when you need to be alone with your music:

Quarter Past Midnight – Bastille  – still one of my all-time favorites. Dan Smith has the most beautiful cry in his voice. *chills* –Okay? Happier, Good GriefBasket Case (Green Day cover) . . . JUST LISTEN TO EVERYTHING THIS MAN HAS EVER SUNG

Congratulations – Day6   A crazy talented Korean rock band with clever lyrics and great instrumentals. They put on a heck of a live show if they are ever near you!  I love everything Day6 has put out, and I would also highly recommend their recent single Shoot Me.

Prodigal SonRationale – ahh, I love Rationale so much. This track is pretty straightforward – about sons questioning their fathers’ absence. Rationale first dropped it at the end of 2016 (on Soundcloud).. R & B synthpop with African elements and influences would be the style here, and I love how Rationale takes his time with the melody, holding back his gorgeous baritone power vocals until the choruses. You should listen to the whole album.

Hold Me (feat. Ja Mezz)– MRSHLL . MRSHLL has been at the top of my list of newer artists I listen to all the time. His voice is like velvet – and his style of throbbing r & b with minimal instrumentals and excellent vocals – I love it so much. “Hold Me” is a chill song that you can get lost in for a few minutes.

Whalien 52  – BTS  (Lyrics Translation)

From Whalien 52

A song about a lonely whale (seriously) – it uses the metaphor of a whale that no other whales can hear (52-Hertz whale), in a scenario a lot like the situations I was describing above! It’s catchy but melancholy, and one of my favorite BTS songs ever. And while we’re talking favorite BTS songs – you should definitely listen to Spring Day/봄날 , which is one of my favorite songs in any language, and so perfectly captures bittersweet feelings and nostalgia. I can never decide if it makes me happy or sad though.

Dancing is Not a Crime – Panic! at the Disco. This is a feel-good Broadway-tinged song with the usual touch of despair via Brendon Urie’s phenomenal voice. I love the clever lyrics and the way he uses his voice to embellish them. (And the line “I’m a moonwalker, I’m like MJ up in the clouds – I know it sounds awkward . . . ^^)

Still New York – Max, Joey Bada$$. If you’ve ever been nostalgic about a place you will get this song. I love Max’s voice so much, and the lyrics really capture the NYC feel. It’s upbeat and has a great refrain to sing along to.

Cold Water – Justin Bieber, Major Lazer.  You can throw rocks at me later. I am fully aware that this is a Bieber song and that it was pretty popular. BUT – if you listen to the lyrics, it’s relatable, and it’s also a dance-worthy, feel-good guilty pleasure track that will stop your playlist from getting too low.

Missing Person – Michael W. Smith. This song is old – but the message and sincerity still  get me the way they did when I first heard it (I think I was 8?) It still convicts me and makes me think. And it’s really catchy with a unique sound.

Bring Back the Summer (feat. Oly) – Boehm Remix – Rain Man. For whatever reason, I really like dance pop? I love to dance myself (even though I’m terrible, lol). There isn’t much to this song, but it’s fun to dance or workout to, and still has traces of sadness under the throbbing beat.

The Light Behind Your Eyes – My Chemical Romance. One of my favorite songs from one of my favorite bands of all time (killjoys never die) – it’s far more gentle than the normal MCR song, but just as honest and thought-provoking.

Flip it over and – MAGIC

Save MeBTS. This is a song you immediately want to dance to (and the video is amazing, like all their videos) – but it has a desperation underlined by the repeated “Save Me, Save Me, I need your love before I fall, fall . . .” that alternates with soaring vocals. The first time I heard it, I couldn’t stop listening to it. Bonus: the sequel song “I’m Fine” is also fantastic.

Love Still Goes On – The Click Five. I have a thing for disbanded groups, which adds a bittersweet touch to any song. The Click Five have been close to my heart for years. This song is all snare-drums, synth, and power vocals. It’s a song about moving on, change, aging, and how love can continue through those things.

SomewhereWithin Temptation . WT are another band that I will always love – no one has ever topped their soaring symphonic metal. Anyhow, they are always a heavy rotation for me, but I tend to like the power ballads and higher octane songs best. Somewhere is not either of those things. It’s a gentle, hopeful song about finding someone/something – and persevering until you achieve your goal. Sharon’s voice has never been more beautiful or touching, and the lush strings and subtle backing vocals are the perfect accompaniment. The acoustic version with fellow rock vocalist Anneke Van Giersbergen is also phenomenal!

I Need U– BTS  – I promise I’ll quit it with the BTS after this (but really, you need to listen to their entire discography). I Need U is the song that really got me into BTS and into their album’s storyline. I think it’s the same for a lot of fans though. Something about the chorus, the video, the earnestness of it all – and the relatability (is that a word?) factor which is one of their biggest global draws.

Unknown (To You)  Timbaland Remix – Jacob Banks. Jacob Banks has one of those voices that makes you stop what you’re doing just to listen. If he sang through a dictionary, it would probably be worth listening to. The song I picked is one of those brooding, broken-hearted pleading ballads, and you can just feel the emotion of the lyrics through his voice. The strings, drum, and piano cushion for his voice is perfection.

Never Enough – Loren Allred. You will recognize this song if you saw The Greatest Showman. Gentle piano intro, theatricality, and a lovely melody suit the lyrics. This one tugs at your emotions but isn’t quite as easily embraced as the fantastic This is Me. I think it’s the raw ambition and dissatisfaction (of Never Enough) as opposed to the self-acceptance message^^. My only complaint is that Brendon Urie hasn’t done a cover of it.

Before the Sunset/해가 지기 전에 – Eric Nam  This song has the dubious claim of being one of the few songs that has made me cry on repeated occasions. So why is it on this list? The song is completely in Korean, but I think that the regret, sadness, and longing of the lyrics translate through the song and Eric Nam’s beautiful delivery. It’s from the Korean crime drama Mad Dog– which was also one of the best shows I watched in the past 2 years.

High HopesPanic! at the Disco – I think everyone has heard this song? But listen to the lyrics. This is probably one of the most relatable songs that Urie has ever written. It’s catchy and fun, but the dry observations about success and working hard are the real winners when you pair them with Brendon Urie’s vocal talent (I also highly recommend listening to Dying in LA).

OKAY – that was a really long post and I’m impressed if you made it to the end

I just had to get it off my chest, you know? Anyhow, is music like this for you, or not really? Do you recharge by seeing people or having time to yourself? Has there been a time in your life when words really helped or hurt you? Did you look at my playlist? Do you have songs to add? (I mean, if I put my whole playlist it would have been over 200 songs, lol).

Answers?

 

Look Mom, I’m an Exchange Student!

Ahh, orientation. Does anyone like orientations? I mean, they’re useful and necessary and all that . . . I’m sure someone enjoys them somewhere. And it isn’t all bad. You meet everybody, figure out where things are, and get to know your temporary home.

Call me a Scrooge, but they just aren’t my favorite. For someone who recharges by being alone and not having to talk to people – orientations are exhausting affairs.

Me after orientation

In any case, as soon as I made it to HGU (한동대학교), I was immersed in orientation. The first few days were a whirlwind of activities, new people and places, and finishing everything one must do to be an exchange student. For me, the highlights were 1. The international students and 2. the food. Our schedule had us getting up at around 7:00 am and being free to go to bed around 11:30 pm (23:30). Mornings started with breakfast at the cafeteria, then morning chapel, activities or tasks (such as going to immigration to register ourselves, or setting up a bank account), lunch, more activities that ranged from outdoor to icebreaker, dinner, evening chapel and maybe a lecture, and then team meetings before we could go to sleep.

Basically us

They kept pretty close tabs on us, and we had very little time to ourselves, but in the end, it did make us comfortable with each other and better equipped to study in a new school. My team was comprised of 11 people, including one leader to help us navigate and keep us on time. The 11 of us were all from different countries and spoke different native languages, so English was the one language we all had in common. Represented were

Korea, the US, Russia, China, Mongolia, Malawi, Hungary, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Nepal, and Germany, which was pretty amazing. Everyone in my group (and all of the rest of the students) were lovely, and they will all be fun to get to know better and hang out with during the semester.

And as for the food . . . sigh – kimchi with every meal, hot stews served in earthenware ttukbaegis (뚝배기), plentiful rice, and the opportunity to try more Korean dishes two times a day? Sign me up. I haven’t had anything bad since I’ve been in Korea, and the cafeteria offerings at HGU suit me just fine.

Stew or jjigae (찌걔)

Despite the food and people, by the time we reached Friday, I had major cabin fever, and I couldn’t wait to head back down into Pohang City center to explore. Since our official activities ended by Friday afternoon. My team (and most of the teams) went downtown and celebrated with Samgyupsal BBQ (삼겹실).

삼겹살!

(I’m getting hungry just thinking about it!) After dinner, some of us decided to go to the 노래방 (noraebang) – or the Korean version of karaoke – which is an extremely popular weekend activity in Korea. You pay for a room to yourselves, and (frequently) some drinks, and then sometimes some 안주 (anju – or snacks to go with alcohol) alongside the drinks. Couches and tables, a tv or two, and microphones are the most standard features. The one we went to had a bunch of songs in both Korean and English. Since we had an international group with differing levels of Korean (ranging from none to reading and singing ability), we stuck to classic pop songs that most of us knew.

노래방!

Singing loudly with friends and laughing at yourself is a good way to let off steam and tension that has built up over the week. And though I was shy at first, as I tend to be, once we were all singing our hearts out, it was easier (well, as easy as singing along to Michael Jackson ever is). One of the funniest moments was when you had three of us singing along to an iconic K-pop ballad by Taeyang (태양 from BIGBANG) “Eyes, Nose, Lips” (눈, 코, 입) – China, US, and Hungary represent! To be honest, an hour at the noraebang did more for my comfort level than every icebreaker, and I can’t wait to go back soon.

We were quite responsible, and came back to the dorms after the noraebang. As a side note, this is the first time I’ve ever lived in a dorm! Saturday morning was spent mainly cleaning those dorms and then moving our stuff out so we could transfer to our permanent room (the rooms we’d been in were temporary arrangements for orientation). Once the dust settled, we were able to move our things back in to the rooms that will now be ours for the next four months. My roommates are from Argentina (but Korean by birth), Mongolia, and China, and they are all really nice girls. We are all on the same team (remember the teams from orientation? HGU does this every year, and has big teams that the small orientation teams meld into after the semester starts. Each team then has a professor as a mentor, and exists to give each other support and help us have friends during the semester.

As exchange students, it didn’t take us long to unpack. But once we did, we saw what we were missing, and decided  it was time for a trip to the Japanese bargain chain Daiso. Daiso is basically the nicer version of a dollar store, where you can buy most household necessities for low

DAISO

prices. On the other hand, everything is also cute, and you can find yourself finding small gadgets that you don’t really need! I managed to avoid buying a lot of things, but it was a narrow escape.

 

After Daiso, a group of us went out for Dak Galbi (닭갈비). Dak Galbi is a savory, spicy chicken dish with veggies cooked in a big pan in the middle of the table. You can add rice, kimchi, rice cakes, and various other ingredients as well. It was absolutely fantastic, and to feed 8 of us, it cost about 7.50/8 US per person (including the one bottle of soju that some of us split).  Though I’ve been in Korea for two weeks now, I still can’t get over the amazing deals you can get on

Dak Galbi

absolutely delicious food. It’s definitely a highlight. Still, since I’m on a very slim budget, I’ve also eaten a lot of triangle gimbap!

 

For me, triangle gimbap (삼각김밥) will forever be linked to the main character of the Korean tv show Good Doctor (and yes, the US show with the same name is a remake of the Korean one, and it is also excellent!). If you have never watched a Korean drama but you like medical series, then Good Doctor is an excellent recommendation. I watched it after work during the summer, and though it sometimes tended toward the melodramatic, over all, it was a great show with really good acting and sympathetic characters. The lead actor, Joo Won, plays a savant but autistic doctor named Park Shion, and it is a fantastic performance. Anyhow, in the show, Shion basically lives off of triangle gimbap since he can’t cook and doesn’t have a lot of money or friends to go eat with ;P Thinking about Shion and the gimbap made it more fun to be living off of it myself!! (at 900 won each [80 cents] – you can’t beat it).

Passive-aggressive gimbap eating

But back to the point – I survived orientation week and am now settled into my first dorm and getting used to the routine as a Handong Student. The campus is not as big as that of my home university, so it is an easy walk to any classroom. There are trails to explore behind it (if it would stop raining! We’ve been under typhoon warnings for a week and had lots of rain), mountains and a beach nearby, and the town of Pohang barely explored. Currently, I have only signed up for 13 credit hours (the least I’ve ever taken), and so I hope to be able to explore on weekends, and maybe be able to read another book or two! I’ve also been writing since I got here, and today I was able to sketch. I’m not naive enough to think that this absolute peace will last (because it’s school!!), but so far, just being able to do some of the things I love most has been so therapeutic. (And a certain BTS album coming out at the same time hasn’t hurt, but more on that next post).

Okay – so that was a random string of events – hopefully not too boring! Have you ever been an exchange student? How was the school different from your school? Do you like orientations? If so, why? Am I just a Scrooge? Have you had triangle gimbap or any of the other foods I’ve mentioned? Do you like medical dramas? Most importantly, have you been to a Noraebang? I’d love to know in the comments 😉