August 15th is Gwangbogjeol (광복절), better known as Korean Independence Day or "Liberation Day."  The holiday commemorates the surrender of the Japanese on August 15, 1945 to the Allies, officially ending 35 years of Japanese occupation of Korea.  Korea remained under Allied control until 1948, when North and South Korea were officially established.  In English, "Gwangbogjeol" has traditionally been referred to as "Korean Independence Day," although the Republic of Korea (South Korea) was not formally established until August 15, 1948, and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) was not established until September 8, 1948.  During the interim period between August 15, 1945 and August 15, 1948, administrative control of Korea gradually shifted from the Japanese to the Allies and then to Koreans.  Thus, the liberation of Korea, the implication that Koreans obtained the full right of autonomy, did not occur on August 15, 1945 but rather over a three-year period, culminating in the founding of the two Koreas.

 

Yesterday’s Gwangbogjeol celebration was an especially memorable one.  August 15, 2005 marked the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II, when Japanese Emperor Hirohito’s announced that Japan accepted the terms of the Potsdam Declaration, a joint statement made on July 26, 1945 by U.S. President Harry S Truman, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek outlining the terms for Japanese surrender.  Yesterday was filled with interesting events, especially in Korea.  My family did not brave the crowds in downtown Seoul to commemorate the occasion.  We would not have been able to understand enough Korean to enjoy the significance of the holiday and would have been lost in the crowds.  However, I saw the remnants of the celebration downtown and read about the day’s events with interest.  The Seoul City Hall is still bedecked with 3,600 Korean flags (Taegukgi, or 태극기) commemorating the occasion.  It’s quite the sight to see.  Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi issued a formal apology for Japan’s involvement in the war.  A delegation of about 200 North Koreans, led by Kim Ki Nam, secretary of North Korea’s Korean Worker’s Party and vice chairman of the DPRK Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Fatherland, attended the festivities.  Several members of the delegation made the first-ever North Korean visit to the National Assembly and National Cemetary of the Republic of Korea.  The day also included the first-ever video reunion for families separated by the political division of Korea.  The mood of the celebration in Korea this year was decidedly focused on the peaceful reunification of the Korea Peninsula.  I had the day off and enjoyed the opportunity to rest and relax before another busy week.  For Koreans, this Gwangbogjeol was a special one.  You could just feel it.

It’s been often said that when you eat at an ethnic restaurant, go where the locals go and avoid the ones that are empty or filled with foreigners.  Well, that’s not always true.  Last night, we went out for dinner and looked around Seoul for a place to eat.  We wanted standard Korean fare–the usual bulgogi, galbi, and bibimbap.  We passed over a couple of empty restaurants, figuring that they were empty on Saturday night for a reason; namely, they weren’t very good.  Instead, we went into a restaurant filled with Koreans.  We had no idea what food the restaurant served when we went in.  It turns out that the restaurant served spicy pork bone soup with potato and sesame leaves.  In Korea, most restaurants have a single specialty that they do well and accent the dish with panchan, or side dishes.  This restaurant specialized in a particular Korean dish not often served in other Korean restaurants.  It was delicious, despite the fact that it doesn’t sound very appetizing to the Western palette.  The pork and sesame in spicy broth actually taste pretty good.  Still, the meal we ate wasn’t exactly what we wanted to eat.  It turns out that the empty restaurant next door served bulgogi, galbi, and bibimbap, the usual Korean fare.  Of course, that’s exactly what most Koreans don’t want to eat when they go out on a Saturday night.  They can get standard Korean fare at home anytime.  Instead, Koreans would rather go for something a bit more exotic like pork bone soup.  Today, we went for lunch at a familiar Korean restaurant and got our fill of wet bulgogi.  As expected, the restaurant was virtually empty, and most customers were foreigners.  Sometimes the old adage I mentioned isn’t true.  Sometimes it’s better to avoid the places where the locals go and stick with what you want to eat.  Otherwise, you might be unpleasantly surprised.  The bulgogi may not be the best, but it will taste better than something not appealing to your taste buds.

 

From the "Things that Make You Go…Hmm" Department:  It annoys me that the signature lines on Korean credit card slips is so small.  Most signature lines are small, one-inch boxes in the lower-right corner of credit card slips.  Today, I finally realized that that is because Koreans sign their name in hangeul (한글), Korea’s unique writing system.  Koreans need far less space to sign their names than do westerners, because  Hangeul signatures are much more compact than Romanized signatures.  I’ve learned to abbreviate my own signature so it will fit in the signature box.  It’s just one of many little quirky things about Korean culture I’ve realized in the brief time I’ve been here that are different from the United States.  For example, if you own a foreign car (non-Korean), be prepared to have difficulties finding common car parts and accessories.  If you need an oil change for your Toyota, you have to bring the oil and air filters with you.  The local garages don’t carry them.  You will either have to order them online or go to a Toyota dealership, which will have to order the parts from Japan just like any other car part.  So it is in Korea.