Korea

Shincheon and dinner in Itaewon

This weekend was all about eating and merriment.  On Saturday I joined some friends for galbi barbeque in Shincheon, one of Seoul’s livelier club and noraebang (karaoke) districts.  One friend celebrated his birthday, and we toasted him with soju and beer over delicious grilled galbi, kimchi, rice, and side dishes.  Galbi (갈비), or Korean barbequed-style pork ribs, is one of Korea’s most popular dishes.  Galbi usually goes hand in hand with bulgogi, or barbequed beef.  We had a number of side dishes to choose from as well as a healthy helping of cabbage kimchi.  I discovered that grilled kimchi is absolutely delicious.  Someone told me that kimchi tastes really good if you put it on the grill for about half a minute.  I grilled both sides of the cabbage and tasted it.  You need to enjoy eating kimchi to appreciate the taste of grilled kimchi–if you do, you’ll love the taste of grilled kimchi.  The meal was one of the best I have eaten since I arrived in Korea.  I was hoping to lose weight while living abroad, but Korean food is much too delicious, and too many activities here seem to center around food.  After our meal we sang "Happy Birthday" to one of our friends and ate some tiramisu cake.  Fun was had by all.

After dinner we headed to Hongdae, another Seoul club district.  We went to M2, one of Seoul’s more popular nightclubs.  I met the manager, a Canadian chap from Victoria, British Columbia.  He’s been instrumental if giving the club a Western feel.  The staff was friendly and appeared to enjoy in the fun despite having to work.  We stayed for awhile, drinking and dancing.  We danced together in a big group.  We tried to invite some locals to join our circle, but no one took us up on our offer.  A couple Korean friends told me that this is because Koreans tend to spend time with friends they know well and are not as open to meeting strangers.  It could be that we were so obviously different as Westerners that we were almost misfits.  The Koreans there may have also been uncomfortable interacting in English.  They apparently assumed that we do not know Korean and that they will have to speak English.  I did have a chance to meet and speak in Korean with a couple of people, including a Korean guy whose English was very good.  Perhaps a nightclub is not the best place for striking up conversations, but it would have been fun to mingle with the locals.  As the club grew more and more crowded with Koreans, we decided to call it a night and went home. 

Tonight I joined a couple of colleagues and their spouses for a Korean dinner in Itaewon.  One colleague arrived from Beijing today and will be here for two weeks; the other I’ve met a couple of times since he arrived from Taipei.  Our dinner consisted primarily of banchan (반잔), or side dishes, and Korean tofu soup.  We drank makkoli (막고리), one of the few Korean alcohols I don’t really enjoy drinking.  (Makkoli is a milky, unprocessed rice alcohol with a bitter, acquired taste.  There are two types of people in this world–those who like drinking makkoli and those who do not)  I wasn’t very hungry and didn’t eat much tonight.  I’m happy to meet up with another colleague I knew while living in Washington, D.C.  He has been in Beijing with his wife since early last year.  We had a great time and enjoyed good conversation.  We sat on the floor on mats at a Korean-style table.  Unfortunately, the floor was heated, and it was much too hot for comfort.  I fidgeted the entire time, trying to cool my overheated legs and feet.  I added more mats, but it didn’t help.  I felt like I was sitting on a galbi grill!  Korean-style dining on a heated floor is usually a pleasant experience, but not tonight.

Checking in from China

I talked to my wife tonight on the phone. She has been in China with my son since early last week. They are doing very well. Life in Shanghai is not as comfortable or convenient as it is in Seoul, but she’s glad she went home to spend time with family. My wife and son are staying with my in-laws, who as you might recall returned to China last December before we left for Seoul. My sister-in-law’s family, who also live in Shanghai, met my son for the first time. My son has really taken a liking to his aunt (probably because she is a lot like his mom, her sister). They all live in pretty cramped quarters and have had a few minor family quarrels, but all in all, the visit has been a good one. My son really misses me. Whenever he sees a photo of me, he says excitedly, “Baba!” the Chinese word for “daddy.” I can’t wait to see them again. My temporary, pseudo-bachelor life has its good moments, but there’s nothing like being with the ones you love.

My son is apparently quite a celebrity in China. As a mixed-blooded child—half American, half-Chinese—he obviously looks different than Chinese children. My wife told me that strangers go out of the way to meet the little guy because he looks so different. She recently took him to a neighborhood photography studio for a photo session. The session so well that the studio acquired the rights to his photos and will display his album as a studio sample. He is a very photogenic kid. (I’m glad he inherited his mother’s good looks!) Although my son has been noticed here in Seoul, he has gotten far more attention in China than he has in Korea. This may be because Koreans have seen so many foreigners and mixed-blooded children that they are no longer a novelty. Chinese, on the other hand, have experienced much less exposure to foreigners and have met few mixed-blooded children. When I first visited China in 1994, I received many inquisitive looks from Chinese. I was a bit of a novelty, even when I was in Shanghai. However, in recent years the foreign mystique has diminished, and many Chinese now won’t give foreigners a second glance.

On the other hand, mixed-blooded children in China born to a foreign parent are still relatively rare. As a result, like my son, mixed-blooded children still elicit stares from Chinese. And Chinese typically hold them in high regard. Some Chinese believe that mixed-blooded children are physically more beautiful than either full-blooded Chinese or foreigner (e.g. Western) children. A recent poll indicated that 63% of Chinese would like to marry a foreigner. During my 1994 visit to China, my wife and I received critical stares from strangers who disapproved of our bi-racial relationship. Now, our mixed marriage is apparently hip. Attitudes in China have changed dramatically in the past decade. This may explain why Chinese are generally favorably disposed to mixed-blooded children. Rather than being a social burden, mixed-blooded children have become a status symbol of sorts.

Koreans, in contrast, typically do not hold mixed-blooded children in such high esteem. Koreans tend to prefer full-blooded Korean or non-Korean children. This is partly due to the fact that some mixed-blooded children in Korea are born out of wedlock to Korean mothers who are abandoned by foreign partners (particularly soldiers) who leave the country. Many of these children are born into unfortunate circumstances where the father reneges on his responsibility to take care of the child and disappears from their life. It is a very interesting contrast between two cultures that are similar in many ways but differ in some key social aspects. It is partly a product of cultural and historical influences.

Spring must be here

Spring must finally be here.  The pheasant family that lives nearby has been more active than usual.  I came home today and heard the sound of frogs croaking in the distance.  I heard the low rumble of the magpies announcing their territorial aspirations.  Our neighbor put out their lawn table and chairs.  The lawn is looking a little greener, and I will soon have to break out the water hose and lawnmower.  The first mosquitoes of the year appeared today.  One tried to land on my hand, but I brushed him off and darted into my house quickly.  I’ve heard that the mosquitoes will continue to buzz all year until sometime in December when the last one dies inside one’s home.  While I don’t like mosquitoes (who does?), it’s nice to see nature waking up and blessing us with more beauty.  Mosquitoes are preferable to hibernating nature.  The landscape was previously dingy with dead grass and barren, skeletal trees, but soon the cherry blossoms will bloom and the trees will grow leaves again.  Korea is beautiful in the spring.  Barring any Yellow Sand, this is the best time of the year to be in Korea.