"Rocky Mountain High"

May 5th marked the Korean national holiday of Children's Day.  Parents give presents to their children, as well as spend the day with them by taking them to museums, amusement parks, the zoo, or shopping. There is no school on Children's Day which makes it an awesome day for me in the form of a broken-up work week!

My girlfriend also had the day off, so we got together with our friend Chang-soo, and decided to hike Surisan again (see my November post here) but this time, we left from a different location, and hiked all the way to the summit.  It was an exhausting 4-5 hour hike, but great exercise!

Here is a map of our trip: (yellow is our starting location, red is final stop). We took the train and buses to these locations, as walking would easily have taken another 3-4 hours.

At the base of the mountain was a small countryside village with some beautifully painted walls and homes.

 

After the first leg of our journey we stopped at a small Buddhist temple. Korea is getting ready for Buddha's Birthday, a very large holiday here.

Lanterns adorn much of the landscape

Candy and money are placed near the temples as well

 

The temple surrounded by spring blooming around it

 

A view of green mountains and Ansan and Suwon in the far distance

A quick rest and we're back on the trail... (note: more lanterns...)

After another hour or so, we make it near the summit...

The amazing views at the summit...

Hiking back down, towards Anyang

 

We stopped at the base of the mountain and drank some makkoli and haemul pajeon.(along with the traditional side dish of kimchi of course!)  Makkoli is a milky rice alcohol and haemul pajeon is a seafood and green onion pancake.

I wish I could have every Wednesday off...

"Watch This"

This past weekend we visited the Jeonju International Film Festival.

This being my first film festival, I was not sure what to expect. We didn't make much plans except for purchasing the bus tickets, as the train tickets were already sold out. Also, we had read that the hotels in the area near the festival were fully booked, but that there were plenty of motels (aka sketchy "love motels") around.

We also didn't book tickets for any of the films as we were not quite sure what we wanted to see and at what times.

Saturday we bought tickets to see 2 films (as they were the only ones we could get tickets to). Both are Japanese films, and were pretty good! We saw "Gravity's Clown" and "The Villon's Wife"

Gravity's Clown was by far our favorite of the trip. It is directed by Mori Junichi who was at the festival and gave a brief introduction to the film.

"Based on popular writer Isaka Kotaro's bestselling novel, reworked into an emotionally charged mystery by promising director Mori Junichi (Laundry). A puzzling series of arsons grip the city of Sendai, causing the tragic history of one family to resurface. The clever storytelling is imbued with the struggles of life and familial love. Izumi (Kase Ryo) and Haru (Okada Masaki) are close brothers separated in age only by two years. Izumi is a university genetics student while Haru believes himself to be Picasso reborn. The brothers grew up in a home that placed importance on strong family ties, receiving all the love of their parents—mild-mannered father Masashi (Kohinata Fumiyo) and beautiful mother Rieko (Suzuki Kyoka), who passed away seven years ago. Meanwhile, the local city of Sendai has been hit by a string of arson incidents. While working part-time as a graffiti cleaner in town, Haru discovers mysterious graffiti near the scene of each of the fires. Suspecting a link to the arsons, Haru invites Izumi to stake out the city streets at night" - J-pitch.jp

Gravity's Clown Trailer: (in Japanese)

The film was really interesting although a little predictable. It definitely kept me interested in the mystery surrounding the arsons as well as the ongoing dilemma's between the family members. 

The second film we saw was called Villon's Wife (Viyon no tsuma in Japanese) and is directed by Kichitaro Negishi.

"Based on a semi-autobiographical novel by Dazai Osamu. Novelist Otani’s wife Sachi suffers from her indifferent husband and starts working at a bar to pay off her husband’s debts. Eventually, Otani and his mistress decide to commit suicide. With reminiscent of Ozu Yasujiro’s earlier films with its low chromatic tone of Tokyo in the 40’s and its camerawork, Matsu Takako, Asano Tadanobu, Tsumabuki Satoshi, and Hirosue Ryoko form a star-studded cast." - JIFF

This film started off very interesting even though the plot sounds dull. You can't help but fall in love with the character of Sachi as she is wonderful, kind, sweet, and beautiful to all around her. Her husband is an alcoholic novelist who doesn't appreciate his wife and who also succombs to societies vices. The film is very well done except the ending is abrubt, confusing, and feels disconnected from the rest of the film. Still, it has it's high points and I still recommend watching it.  

Villon's Wife Trailer: (in Japanese)

 

Before films, we had breakfast at a famous kong na mul kuk (bean sprout soup) restaurant. It was an interesting choice for breakfast, but remarkably good.

 

Before the films started we walked around the nearby Hanok Folk Village. However, we didn't have much time to explore because of the film schedules. There was so much going on too! 

 

We passed by a paper festival inside the village where vendors were making and selling all sorts of interesting objects made of paper. My favorite was a stand that made boxes, tables, pottery, and even shoes out of paper.

these are made of paper...

We also passed through a Roman Catholic church festival. I even got some pictures of inside the church which was very beautiful.

 

 

 

 

That night we also got to watch the Cyon B-Boy Championships behind held at the film festival. It was interesting to watch these guys spinning on their heads, doing all sorts of breakdancing moves, and really put on a show.

On Sunday, we had tickets to see "Anifest Shorts" - a compilation of 8 short animation films. We were looking forward to seeing this the most as we both like to see animation. However, it turned out to be the most disappointing as the shorts were well done, but we thought they were a little boring and the plots were not very interesting. Our favorite of the 8 films were these 3 shorts:

Karu Tuleb!

Cinemafest | Anifest DICRECTOR : Jānis Cimermanis LATVIA | 2008 | 15MIN | 35MM | COLOR

"A hungry bear starts fishing and floats down to the Estonian island of Ruhnu. The starved bear steals food from the village, and people are shocked with horror. The villagers protest and a policeman moves out to catch the bear alive, but for the children, the bear is merely a fascinating animal. The story is a cheerful riot of an outrageous bear and its surrounding characters." - JIFF

	Magic Water Cinemafest | Anifest DICRECTOR : Māris Brinkmanis LATVIA | 2009 | 12MIN | 35MM | COLOR

"Munk and Lemmy who are in dismay of finding a dried up apple tree in the middle of the desert, coincidently find an oasis that gushes out a magic spring. They revive the apple tree with the magic water and are very happy about it. However, the spring that gives life to everything creates a conundrum. An animation utilizing stop motion techniques, and dolls made by hand; it is delightful to see Munk and Lemmy’s charming movements." -JIFF

	Master of Ice Cinemafest | Anifest DICRECTOR : Ēvalds Lācis LATVIA | 2009 | 24MIN | 35MM | COLOR

"A king’s palace is amidst a grand party when a magician with freezing powers arrives. However, the magician is not welcomed and becomes the laugh of the crowd. The angered magician abducts the princess, and a young boy Page is the only one to save the princess! The appearance of colorful handmade dolls and special effects of snow and fire are presented in a favorable light." - JIFF




Before we left on Sunday afternoon, we had to get some of Jeonju's famous bibimbap! We stopped at a place nearby that was recommended by a taxi driver. It was delicious! 

 

 

One thing that is great about traveling in Korea is the relative cheapness of it all. The bus tickets were only $10 each for a 3-4 hour trip. Taxi's are only $3-4 to go across the city. Love motels are between $30-40 a night, and food is always cheap!

If you ever plan on attending the festival, take the time to enjoy yourself. There is a lot to see and do!

"Hymn to the Sea"

 

After a five day mourning period, the 46 lost sailors of the Naval frigate Cheonan were laid to rest today at the Daejeon National Cemetery.

South Korea's ROKS Cheonan (PCC-772) was sunk on March 26th, 2010 due to presently unknown reasons. However, at this point in time, it is believed to be an external explosion due to a torpedo or even a mine. The ship was on patrol on the hotly disputed Northern limit lines in the Yellow Sea. Since the area has been under dispute, and there is speculation of the North Korea's (the DPRK) involvement, as there have been multiple incidents over the last 10 years. In May of 2009 the "North stated that it 'will not guarantee the legal status' of five South Korean islands near the disputed inter-Korean border in the Yellow Sea." Specifically, claims have been made that this may be retaliation for the incident back in November of 2009 which caused a North Korean vessel to sustain damage. The DPRK's vessel allegedly was on routine patrol, crossed the Northern Limit Line, and was chased back over the line by the South. (Apparently a flexing of muscles preceding President Obama's visit at the time).

Also, rumors have been abound that the DPRK is not denying the incident, and even bragging about it, as it strengthens it's military image as a force to be reckoned with and instills some fear in the much more prosperous South. Even claims that "human torpedoes" were used to sink the Cheonan. Again, this is all rumors and isn't backed up by any facts except for reports from what I personally consider unreliable newspapers.

The reasoning for the torpedo theory is because the ship was recovered from the sea floor in 2 parts. The metal from the ship was folded inwards, making an internal explosion an impossibility.

Before

After

The BBC also reported the following:

After an initial examination the following observations and explanations have been announced to the public.

• The skin of the ship was bent inwards, pointing to an external rather than an internal explosion, a conclusion given further weight by the fact that the ship's weapons storage area is intact
• There are no signs of scraping, or of a collision, ruling out the possibility that the ship ran aground
• There is no evidence of soot or melting on the skin of the ship, suggesting that the external explosion took place some distance away from the hull

The sinking of the Cheonan is indeed tragic and heartbreaking for South Koreans. 46 young sailors have died, not including a naval rescue diver who died during the week-long salvage/rescue attempt. Of the 46 dead, "thirty-eight were found in the stern, one in the funnel of the stern, and the remaining one in the gyrocompass room in the bow that was salvaged on Saturday. The other six may have been thrown off the ship in the explosion or swept away by tides."

This incident also has international complications. If the DPRK is proven to be at fault, how should the South react? Further military escalation would only worsen relations. The ROK and USA are two countries who do not want to see escalation. Seoul lies only a short way from the DMZ and is easily in striking distance and an all out war would cost millions of lives - quite possibly my own! Although, the case for that is relatively slim. If the North full-out attacked, it would mean the end of their regime as they would be driven back at a high cost of lives on both sides. If for some reason the DPRK took over the South, reunification would have no hope, and resistance would be fierce. The DPRK seems itching for the South to attack first. Maybe as to not be seen as the aggressor in international light, or maybe because it has realized that it is a dying country with food shortages and economic difficulties among other issues..

Personally, I suspect that the incident to basically blow over but never be forgotten. Yet another strain on an already tense situation.

"Bang!"

I have no classes today, so I'm wasting time blogging about some cool videos on the web.

1. Tiny Apartment Transforms into 24 Rooms

2. Build a Tower, Build a Team

3. Why Couldn't The Girls In My Marching Band Look Like This?

After School - "BANG!"

4.Child Endangerment Has Never Been So Fun!

"Spring, Spring, Spring"

Me: Hey Spring, how's it going?
Spring: Not too bad. How about you?
Me: I'm good. Dude, where have you been?
Spring: Well, I was caught up in the States for a little while wreaking havoc with summer-like days, preceded by historic flooding.
Me: You jerk! Well it's good to have you here, it's been awfully cold here. We haven't been able to get out much and enjoy the weather.
Spring: Sorry bro, I made it as fast as I could.
Me: Ok, Ok...I'm just glad you're finally here. Let's have some fun!


Now that spring is here, I can finally get out of my apartment and start enjoying the outdoors! Last week's cherry blossom festival was nice, but still a bit cold. I've been wearing a winter jacket everywhere!

This weekend was pretty fun though, and we've made a lot of plans for most of the next few months.

On Friday I attended my friend Ashley's 23rd birthday at T.G.I.Friday's in Bucheon. She likes to make me feel old, as some of us in the older crowd were making fun that the Challenger explosion happened before she was born. To which she replied. "What's the Challenger?" (insert face-palm here)

Saturday, Hwayoung and I explored more of Boramae Park - the huge park near here apartment which we often go to. (see my October post here) We've picniced there, played badminton, and walked the track. This weekend we climbed nearby hills that were covered in cherry blossom petals which also closely resemble a light pink snowfall. I was also surprised at how large the park really was. There are multiple community centers; one for young children, one for teenagers, and one for seniors. They also have a small reading room building that was packed with people studying, and are building a new library next to it. A handful of gutted planes and helicopters are also propped up as a small aeronautical museum, as the property used to be an air force base from 1958 to 1985.

Sunday we caught an afternoon movie in Sindorim. We chose "Kick Ass" which I must say was disturbingly violent and only mediocre in it's comedy. It's definitely a 16-24 year old's kind of movie. But I couldn't help but laugh at how absurd it was at times.

After the movie we walked by a small outdoor theater which was rehearsing for a ComiCon style talent show. It was bizzare and corny, so we left.

 

Our plan for the day was to meet up with our friends Min-young and Song-un, as Song-un and I wanted to get together to see a baseball game. Song-un's favorite team is the Hanwha Eagles based out of Daejeon, and seeing as I have no affiliation or support towards any team besides by beloved Red Sox, I had to root for them as well! The Eagles were the away team, as they were playing in Jamsil (home to the LG Twins and Doosan Bears).

It was a fast game, as there was only about 10 hits in the entire game. The Twins scored 3 runs in the 7th or 8th inning, and the game was pretty much over. I must be bad luck.

 

 

Next weekend we're planning on going to The Jeonju International Film Festival. Hwayoung used to work as a film director and producer after college, and still has connections with some people in the business. We also plan on visiting a folk village. Stay tuned for more next week!