Korea

Off to relive “Winter Sonata”

I am taking my family this weekend to Yongpyong Resort, Korea’s largest ski resort and likely home of the 2014 Winter Olympics.  Barring heavy traffic, the trip should take us about two hours by car.  The snow is long gone, and the monsoon rains may be in full force, so we won’t be skiing.  Nevertheless, we’ll do our best to enjoy the short two-day trip as hikers and tourists.  My wife has been anxious to see Yongpyong Resort ever since she watched "Winter Sonata," one of her favorite Korean dramas.  The resort is featured prominently in the drama.  She wants to relive all the precious moments of the show, such as when Bae Yong Jun and Choi Ji Woo are at the resort "working" on a construction project (actually, most of the time they are focused on their love triangle–but I digress).  I gave my wife free rein to take us where she will tomorrow so that she can cherish those "Winter Sonata" moments.  I’m tempted to bring our CD player so I can play the theme from "Winter Sonata" at key places where the characters shared special moments, such as the time when Choi Ji Woo pushed Bae Yong Jun out of the way after a construction beam nearly fell on him.  The drama would have been much shorter if she had not.  If weather permits, we will try to do some hiking in areas normally dominated by skiers.  If not, we’ll explore the lodge and as much of the resort as we can during our brief stay there.
 
The next day, I get to dictate our itinerary.  We’ll drive a circuitous route through Odaesan National Park on our way back to Seoul.  Odaesan is just south of Seoraksan National Park, South Korea’s most beautiful and famous park.  Odaesan is not considered as spectacular as its neighbor, but it includes some noteworthy places I want to visit, including an historic Buddhist temple and great hiking in the park’s interior.  If we also have time, we will also visit the East Sea coast not far from Odaesan.  We’ll see whether Yongpyong or Odaesan turns out to be the highlight of the our.  No matter what, I hope we aren’t hampered by rain and forced to stay inside buildings and in our automobile.
 
Dear Reader, have a great weekend.  I’ll be back online Sunday night.

The night is clear and crisp

The rain today cleansed the Korean sky, leaving the air clear and crisp, cleansed by a shower from heaven.  Rarely has the outline of Bukhansan’s mountains been clearer than they were today.  Today was perhaps the fourth day since we lived in Seoul that the air was so clear and the skyline and horizon so bright that shapes appeared etched.  The day was absolutely surreal with North Korea test launching at least seven missiles from southeastern North Korea.  Not only did the sky appear more animated than usual–so did the City of Seoul.  Tonight was just a bit more abuzz than usual.  Perhaps it is due to the eerily clear nighttime.

Aegukga

"Aegukga," or "The Patriotic Song," is the national anthem of the Republic of Korea (South Korea).  I practiced the song tonight to prepare for the Fourth of July extravaganda scheduled tomorrow evening in honor of U.S.’ Independence Day.  I thought it was time to change the song on my blog, and I think it’s a pleasant tune, so I posted the song here.  The song you hear (if your computer has speakers and the sound is turned on) is "Aegukga."  It may seem oxymoronic to practice the Korean national anthem in anticipation of the U.S. Fourth of July, but as is customary during official events, the anthem of the host country is sung along with the "Star Spangled Banner," the national anthem of the United States.  For those of you who suspect I have gone native by posting the Korean national anthem on this blog, don’t worry–I’ll change it to another song when I get around to it.
 
Wikipedia has an exhaustive description of "Aegukga," its origin, history, and lyrics.  It also has an extensive description of the "Star Spangled Banner" and how the music originated from the anthem of the Sons of Anacreon.  Interestingly, "Aegukga" is also the name of the national anthem of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea).  The music and lyrics sound slightly different but vaguely familiar (surprisingly, the North Korean version makes no adulating reference to the Kim family).  I think national anthems and their checkered histories are fascinating.  For example, the lyrics to "Aegukga" were allegedly written during the pro-independence movement of the 1900’s, just prior to the Japanese colonial period.  The lyrics were originally sung to the tune of "Auld Lang Syne," that is, until Ahn Eak-tae, a Korean musician who lived in Spain during the Franco regime composed the current tune.  "Aegukga" was formally adopted as the Korean national anthem by the Korean Provisional Government in Shanghai, China.  "Arirang" is a better known Korean folk song, and it is a fierce rival to "Aegukga" in capturing the spirit of the Korean people.  Likewise, Americans continue to debate whether "America the Beautiful" should have been adopted as the U.S. national anthem.
 
Blog Notes:  The 2006 Tour de France opened yesterday without legendary, seven-time winner Lance Armstrong, who retired last year.  Also noteworthy is that two of his biggest rivals who were expected to compete for this year’s yellow jersey, Ivan Basso of Italy and Jan Ullrich of Germany, are sitting out this year’s Tour now that they have been implicated in a doping scandal.  In an ironic twist of fate, Armstrong–who was often accused of doping by the French media–retired scandal-free, and two Americans, George Hincapie and David Zabriskie, emerged as potential Tour winners after Basso and Ullrich were barred from this year’s Tour.  In even wackier news, my sentimental favorite to win football’s World Cup changes with each passing day.  Paraguay, United States, Korea, all gone.  Ghana, gone.  England, gone.  Now I have to root for Portugal, the only Portuguese-speaking country left in the tournament (bye bye Brazil!).  Will Portugal win the Cup?  Not likely.  It looks like the Cup is Germany’s to lose.  The home team has won one third of all World Cup championships.