The monsoon season is upon us and the five minute cycle to work this morning resulted in Lee and I looking like we had jumped in a swimming pool with all our clothes on. Two hours later and the rain is falling even harder, the streets have become rivers, the parks are paddling pools and the thunder so loud that it creates vibrations. It is quite something, that's for sure. One of our Korean colleagues has said that South Korea's climate is becoming more and more like South East Asia's with very hot days and torrential downpours in the summer. Still, it is very refreshing as the constant humidity of Asian summers can be quite draining for somebody who is used to about two weeks of sunshine a year!
We have now moved into our new apartment which we should be staying in until the end of our contract. It's a fairly large (by Korean standards) three bed apartment on the fourteenth floor so we're pretty high up. We have a balcony and a decent sized kitchen and we have spent quite a lot of time cleaning and decorating the place to make it feel more homely. It's lovely to finally have some furniture and be able to relax on the sofa in the evenings and eat at a table rather than on the bed.
Last weekend was fairly low key. All the Americans were celebrating Independence Day and we were invited to a celebratory barbeque. It was nice to meet some new people but social events here always seemed to be ruined by loud mouthed Americans who mistakenly think that people care about what they have to say. I don't have a problem with Americans, some of them are interesting, culturally aware and very pleasant to be around- though I have to say, in my experience, this particular type of American is a rare sighting.
Next weekend we are hoping to go to Geoje Island which is on the Southern coast of the Gyeongsangnamdo province and is joined to the mainland by two bridges. It is supposed to be very pretty and mountainous with some nice beaches and spectacular rock formations so it should make for a relaxing weekend away. There is also a prisoner of war museum on the island which is supposed to be really interesting though explicitly racist towards the Japanese. There is a blatant hatred towards the Japanese here. I'm not sure if it's the same all over Korea or whether it is more prominent because we are in a fairly rural city and people are quite stuck in their ways. Even my students talk with real animosity towards the Japanese and most of them are no older than twelve or thirteen. It seems pretty clear that the Japanese did a lot of damage to Korea though. Even though Korea has one of the oldest civilisations in the world, there isn't much around to suggest that. When the Japanese ruled here as part of the 'Imperialist expansion of Japan' between 1910-1945 they seemed to have totally obliterated any Korean culture and replaced it with their own.
"Means of cultural suppression by the Japanese included the method of “altering” public monuments, including several well-known temples, palaces, scripts, memorials, and statues. Songs and poems originally dedicated to Korean Emperors were re-written to adore the Japanese Emperor. Carved monuments underwent alterations to the Chinese characters to delete or change part of their meaning. Two of the more notorious events are noted. The Sungnyemun, a virtual symbol of Korea, was altered by the addition of large, Shinto-style golden horns near the roofs (later removed by the South Korean government after independence). Gyeongbokgung, a former Korean palace, was demolished and the Japanese General Government Building built in the exact location. The Korean History Compilation Committee confiscated and burned Korean history booksMany ancient Korean texts that were discovered mentioning Korean military and cultural exploits or Japan's historic inferiority and uncivilized behavior such as Wokou were deleted methodically; in general, the awareness of Korean history among Koreans declined during this period. Japan altered the history to rationalize the occupation of Korea to the international community and the Korean History Compilation Committee appeared to be an extension of that action."
I guess this is why Korea can feel like such a modern country at times- it's history has almost been erased.
We have booked a holiday to Jeju-do which is Korea's holiday island. We are going for 6 days on the 25th July and this is the only vacation that we will have until Christmas. It is a volcanic island and it is supposed to be very tropical and beautiful and is home to the world's longest lava tubes. My students say that it is almost like going to a different country as the beaches are coated with palm trees and pineapples grow everywhere. It is supposed to be one of the only places in Korea where the ajummas (old women) still go diving to collect seafood to sell and eat. They don't use any breathing apparatus as they can hold their breath for up to 2 minutes whilst they search along the seabed for anything vaguely edible. These women go diving in all seasons and most of them are over 60. They are the last generation of their kind though as their daughters have found other more 'normal' jobs in shops and restaurants.
Anyway, that's all for now. Sorry there are no photos but we don't have the Internet at home yet so we can't upload any. We'll sort this out soon though!
Love to all at home x
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