Korea

The Monsoon Swoon

We’re in the middle of what I call "The Monsoon Swoon."  It is a literal and proverbial time of the year when life can feel a bit blasé.  Work is hopping as I try to get a couple of Americans out of the country.  However, our home life during the past couple of weeks seems to reflect the persistent monsoon season—it feels methodical, cyclical, and steady.  I don’t mean that life is depressing or melancholy; rather, it feels a bit meandering.  We are like branches and twigs floating in a steadily flowing river known as life.  Activities pass us by like debris, and tasks descend upon us like rivulets of water.  Life feels common and uneventful, yet always somewhat hectic as it pulls us along.  Above the busy undercurrents of life floats a persistent sameness.  All the while, interesting, enticing scenery surrounds us.  Such is life, ever progressing, oft restless, sometimes turbulent, and sometimes calm.

The Monsoon Swoon is a time when one anticipates the future while trying to enjoy the present, sobered by nostalgia for the recent past when life felt a lot more eventful.  In the U.S., this is a time one might describe as the "dog days of summer." In Korea, this time of the year might be more aptly described as the "raining cats and dogs days of summer."  It is a time when one wistfully looks forward to the day when the rain stops and the sweltering heat begins.  It’s a time when you might dare to look forward to the gorgeous fall season—until you realize that if it were fall, then the unforgiving winter would be fast approaching.

Although it rained today, the monsoon season this year has been drier than expected. The weather has been muggy but bearably cool.  Yesterday, the lawn dried out enough for me to mow, and I harvested the lush, grassy field.  My son and I headed to the pool again on Sunday so he could continue to learn how to swim.  I’m so proud of him.  He grabbed hold of a buoy, and I let him go and watched him kick his feet, propelling his body slightly forward. The buoy and life preserver kept him afloat. I returned the audio accessory I bought to fix the sound problem I’m having with the VCR I bought, and I resigned myself to return it to the e-tailer and buy a new VCR.  My family went back to Costco to buy a beautiful set of china my wife eyed during our last visit. On Saturday, I put in some overtime, and in the evening we joined our neighbors in Itaewon for dinner. We also visited a second-hand store, where my wife loaded up on a handful toys for my son. It was an incredible deal, but I have decided that second-hand stores are not my cup of tea.  All of these activities kept us busy over the past couple of days, and I enjoyed them.  Still, like the monsoon season, they were all familiar and cyclical.  They are all common diversions from “The Monsoon Swoon.”

Namsan Hanok Village

Today we said goodbye to our good friend Trudy who came to visit us for a few days.  She’s on her way now back to the U.S. to stay for a month.  Before she left, we took her to Namsam Hanok Village, a place filled with traditional Korean architecture.  After having spent most of her time visiting Seoul’s many markets, she wanted a glimpse of something very different.  We wanted to take her to the Korean Folk Village south of Seoul, but we didn’t have time.   I didn’t even know about Namsan Hanok Village until I heard about it this morning.  It’s a gem of a place near downtown Seoul on the northern flank of Namsan, the mountain crowned by Seoul Tower.  It’s a welcome alternative to the palaces, markets, and shopping centers one can visit ad nauseum in Seoul.  The simplicity of the homes gathered in this village, surrounded by lush greenery, is calming and serene.  When we visited, the Seoullites were not yet out in full force.  A lack of people added to pleasantry of the place.  I posted several photos of the village for your viewing pleasure.
 
According to Lonely Planet, Namsan Hanok Village is a group of authentic, historic homes moved from their original locations around Seoul and deposited together in a single location.  Consolidating treasures may seem a bit contrived, almost artificial.  However, I appreciate that Seoul had the foresight to preserve these treasures in one accessible location.  Egypt consolidated two temples at Abu Simbel to avoid submerging them when it built Aswan Dam and created Lake Nasser.  Consolidating is much better than submerging, demolishing or giving away historic treasures.  Namsan Hanok Village is a hidden treasure.  It is not well advertised and is not prominently displayed in any Korea guide book I’ve seen.  If you visit Seoul and don’t have time to visit one of any of the traditional Korean villages located throughout the country, be sure to make a trip to Namsan Hanok Village.  It’s free too.  The Joseon Dynasty period boy and girl mascots roaming the village are a bit over the top, but my son found them fascinating and let us take a picture of him with them.
 
I had more trouble with technology today.  It seems as if every time I buy a new piece of technology I run into trouble.  I haven’t boughten any new electronics for awhile, so I almost forgot the frustrating feeling that comes with troubleshooting technology.  I do DVD conversion as a hobby (transferring VHS and digital video formats to DVDs), and I needed an easy way to upload VHS video footage to my computer.  I have all the pieces I need to create DVDs, and I’ve done it successfully in the past.  I grew tired of borrowing the living room VCR, so I thought I would buy a cheap VCR to use exclusively with my computer.  I bought a VCR from Wal-Mart.com for $39.99.  The VCR is fine, but there’s a compatibility problem between the VCR and my computer.  I use a converter called Dazzle DVC 80 that connects electronics such as VCRs to computers.  The video streams from the VCR to computer via Dazzle just fine, but the audio isn’t working.  As a result, when I upload video footage and play, it plays like a silent movie.  That just won’t do.  I think it’s because the Dazzle DVC 80 has dual left-right audio inputs, while the VCR I bought has a single audio input.  I have to do some research to figure out what I need to do to fix the problem.  The Dazzle DVC 80 also has an S-video input, so I may have to pay a little more for a VCR with an S-video output.  The most frustrating thing is that this always seems to happen.  I buy a new gadget, open the box, flip the switch, and it doesn’t work.  That’s technology for you.  It’s your best friend and worst enemy.

Monsoon season starts

Monsoon season started today.  It started pouring rain this evening, the first of many rainy days for the next couple of weeks.  The monsoon season is scheduled to last from June 25th until about July 15th.  During this period it will rain, rain, and then rain some more.  We enjoyed our last couple of dry days quietly relaxing close to home as I recuperated from my illness.   I’ve heard that two or three monsoons will come through Seoul this year.  Although Korea does not experience typhoons, monsoons here nonetheless appear quickly and can lead to extensive flooding.  Fortunately, our home sits on higher ground.  Many of my neighbors are not so fortunate and are bracing for pooling water in their homes.  In contrast, today should be close to the end of Seattle’s rainy season.  During July and August the weather in Seattle is typically gorgeous.  The weather is cool and dry, making for one of most pleasant summer experiences anyone could want.  Seoul is a different story.  When I lived in Seattle, I took pride in never using an umbrella, because locals hardly ever use umbrellas when it rains (Seattle rain is more of a light drizzle).  In Seoul, my umbrella is primed to get some good use.

I was tired and irritable on Saturday afternoon because of my lingering illness.  However, I placated my wife and went out shopping on Saturday afternoon despite the muggy day (monsoon season is close, and the weather in Seoul has been warm and humid).  We went shopping at Namdaemun Market.  My wife really wanted to buy a decorative cherry wood wedding box.  She had seen it earlier this week at a shop in Namdaemun Market and could have bought then for about $350.  I wanted her to wait until I had a chance to see it for myself.  I wanted to see this decorative item she wanted to buy for $350.  When we went to the same shop on Saturday, the shop owner, who recognized my wife, refused to sell it to her for less than $380.  The shop owner claimed that the box my wife wanted to buy was of superior quality than the one she previously saw.  I think she thought that my wife was intent upon buying the box and didn’t need to drop the price again.  Such is the nature of bargaining.  If you look too interested, you can’t get a good deal.  So we walked away from a deal.  My wife was disappointed she walked away from buying the wedding box this weekend, but I reassured her that she could find another one to buy.  Now that I’ve seen it I don’t mind so much spending so much for a 14” decorative item.  As she points out, it’s easy to spend $350 in Seoul.  One can spend that much in a week buying lunch everyday. 

Today we went to the Costco warehouse in Yangjae (there are three Costco warehouses in Seoul, five in Korea).  When we lived in Seattle, we loved visiting our neighborhood Costco frequently to stock up on necessities and to buy a few specialty items.  I hadn’t visited Costco since we left the states.  I haven’t really had any reason to go there now that I’m living in Seoul, but I was curious as to whether Korea’s Costco warehouses were anything like the Costco warehouses I know and love in the U.S.  The answer is yes, Korea’s Costco warehouses very much like Costco’s in the U.S.  You can find most of the popular items Costco sells in the states, notably rotisserie chicken, muffins, books and CDs.  However, some items I miss back home aren’t available in Seoul.  I especially miss the poppy seed muffins I used to buy in Seattle.  I couldn’t even find poppy seed muffins in Washington, D.C.  And I couldn’t find the Greek salad I like.  Still, I took home a 12-pack of chocolate/banana nut/corn muffins and some ready-to-bake chimichangas.  I haven’t eaten those in months.  Perhaps the most notable difference between warehouses in Korea and the states is the prices.  That, and the fact that you have to pay in Korean won or use your Samsung card (AmEx not accepted).  We noticed that most Costco prices here are about one-third higher than in the U.S., with the exception of books published in Korea.  It made me long for the day when I walk into Costco and walk out with a case of toilet paper feeling and feel like I’d gotten a good deal.  I don’t think I’ll visit Costco too often in Seoul.  If you have a Costco membership and are planning to relocate to Korea, you may want to keep it, although you may not use it as often.