I really don't know if some things are meant to be popular or admired here sometimes. I'm watching some strange channel on T.V. that is looping music videos of some Korean bands. The song I'm watching now is called "Only Lonely Glory", by a band, literally, called Bump of Chicken. I don't know if there was some mistake in the translation of that one, but, Bump of Chicken have a killer sound. The song before this was called "Happy Sad", and the video was basically a Korean girl who looked like Etta James and En Vogue, dancing around a city, and again I think somebody misinterpreted the definitions of those two words, happy and sad, because the video was her dancing around a black man straight out of, literally again, 1980s Chicago. He strummed an electric guitar and wore a purple suede hat, with a feather. And that was the video for "Happy Sad".
The next one is better. It's called "dousitekimiosukininattesimattangdarou?", obviously a very straightforward and simple name that doesn't need further explanation. And I didn't miss a letter. It's really called that, and I suppose you could Google it.
I'm learning more about how to eat out, and that many sit-down-on-the-ground establishments' menus average around 5,000 won a meal. These are usually served with kimchi, of course, and other vegetables (?) alongside the entree itself. Today I put on some sandals and walked around my part of the city, making mental notes of the services or items each shop offered for future reference. I came across a place that served items called Colpops. I've heard of these before, and Colpops are actually a reward at the academy I teach for good-behaving students. They collect coupons, and once they acquire 25 they're given a golden coupon, which is good for one Colpop at this place which resides in the building next to ours. A Colpop, as you can see in this picture I found which describes the item perfectly, is chicken nuggets and coke.
The chicken nuggets, which are very small, are stored in the peak compartment while your coke is stored in the belly. You eat the food, and drink the coke. Kids love it, I liked it, and apparently it's the "snack of the future" from South Korea. Does this or does this not sound like both something America should already have, and this?
There's a show on T.V. too called Magic World. It's hosted by an English-speaking white guy who rivals Richard Simmons in unabashed flamboyance but not in his red afro, and a Korean lady who I'm not quite sure the white guy understands, and his responses may well be scripted and he might be playing me for a fool. It's a kids show, and I wonder if this was the show Wonder Showzen was modeled after.
Sunday, October 11th, 1:33 pm
Something is really funny about something I just did. And I can’t say what unfortunately. I wonder if it'd be the kind of mistake or question that really was hilarious in this last where I, with a translation, would laugh too. I walked again across the city to Yudalsan Mountain in the last 45 minutes and went a considerably longer way than the time before, considering I left at noon I had a lot more time to spend in the sun before nightfall. And so, I found myself passing by a small café that had an older man outside excited to see me and greet me and invite me inside to eat. I was planning to get a small meal before I headed up the mountain anyway so this worked out and I walked in, and I’m sitting in a booth now that looks over a large part of the city. When I sat down, though, I figured I’d try to order something I know and THEN take the plunge I normally do when gazing into a menu of completely unreliable symbols.
My question was, “Do you have coffee?”.
Something was maniacally funny about this and he immediately starting laughing. He then told a coworker who was walking by. She laughed harder. In the booth next to me, a younger couple who apparently too have no sympathy or soul for the confused foreigner, also laughed. And you know I don’t believe it was the kind of thing that was malicious in any way but I definitely asked the wrong question, and I do not have my coffee now. I’m waiting for whatever I ordered, a 6,000 won “item” that could be anything from a mistakenly ordered alcoholic drink to a bowl of raw eel and rice. Those are the rules of menu roulette and I’ve cognitively accepted this truth weeks ago. It’s 1:57 in the afternoon now. I’m going to enjoy this meal and then head up the mountain. And remember folks and friends: Be infinitely confident in your own skin, because we are all talking meat.
And the kind man who originally mocked my question did, minutes later, bring me my coffee. In fact he bought it outside at a coffee vending machine - and these are awesome by the way. They serve a particular kind called "milk coffee" which is just too tasty for a first-hand attempt by me to contaminate it to describe it.
Sunday, October 11th, 6:28 pm
It was quite a long but an immensely fruitful day. I'm just now sitting down at my apartment and I'm going to give a lengthy recap of the events since the Cafe Incident, which I've coined as such and have garnished with capitol spelling. That meal turned out to be very good but I can't say what I ate other than the obvious kimchi and the rice. These are the kinds of meals you can get in many many places for around 5,000 won, which really is an amazing deal considering too that there are no tips in Korea. No tips at all.
After the cafe I walked over to a small shop and bought a bottle of water and paid the man 600 won for it. The opening steps to the somewhat intimidating climb are a great introduction to the mountain itself, and up the steps to the first plateau you come across many engravings and statues that describe Korean history in this area, and more notably Mokpo's role in that history. Unfortunately a lot of the writing describing the monuments are written in Korean.
I do know, as you'll see in this picture, that this particular monument is a large rock with the engraving of a popular Mokpo song called "Mokpo's Tears", describing the grueling enslavement of Japanese occupiers many years ago.
Knowing that it's likely a very sensitive historic point of interest I'm going to say this next part in a style that I'll call "aforementioned preemptive beforehand apologetic". The woman singing the song, that repeats every hour in all hours of the day, sounds almost similar to whoever voiced the singing bush on The Three Amigos. And to be honest the song seemed very "happy" even though I know for a fact the lyrics describe occupation from ruthless invaders and the struggles and deaths, even, endured by Koreans. Anyway, the left part of my face was a smirk and the right was reverent.
These pictures were taken as I went up.
There are markers that tell you in meters how high you've traveled and where you're currently at. The summit is 850 meters, and you start at around 40 meters. So, for a 810 meter climb, you're traveling vertically about a half mile. It's a pretty solid hike to the very top.
This picture here is of the formation of rocks off the main path where I had my encounter last weekend with a bee sent directly from the lower bastions of hell to hover playfully near my leg with its stinger exposed and dripping with intent to end my life and expose my female shrill I'd inevitably shout if the hornet were to strike me.
I've included a picture of the Giant Asian Hornet (actual name), the instigator of my new bee phobia.
I made my way to the summit and surprisingly passed by a few English-speaking people. Most were from Canada, one was from New York. I gave my emphatic introduction which is very honest considering I don't see too many people who aren't Korean nowadays. I chatted with a few groups who were either making their way down the mountain or up it. It's very good to meet new people this way, and we all have similar motives to be here, generally speaking.
When I reached the summit I took a few minutes to admire the view and introspectively retreat to myself. And you know a lot of these moments I prefer to keep to myself, but I don't see a lot of harm in relaying it to those of you who are reading this, and describing some premium details of this journey here. The view was absolutely exotic and gave me chills the same way the San Juan Islands do in Washington, or a beach does when the sun is shooting its very last light across the sky and turning that sky an eerie red, or when you're listening to your favorite song and simultaneously feeling euphoric about your life and what you've done and what you're doing, and knowing that although things aren't perfect you're trying your best to make them that way.
There's a lot of opportunity here for edifying ambiance to make its way into you and allow you to appreciate yourself, and life, and other people, while acknowledging the sometimes overpowering stress that is common and growing in this world, in our lives. See there's an alternative and very passionate truth I keep with me relating to this, and coming here to Korea has in even two weeks confirmed that truth to me, that life is beautiful and so much of our disdain for it comes from how we attribute events, people, and our own thoughts. Thankfully in the same way our love of life can also be translated as such. It's the people we keep around us and the goals we keep that make the experience worth it. I like how DMX puts it: "To live, is to suffer. To survive, that's to find meaning in the suffering". I think it's important to occasionally inject meaning into the experience if you feel you're simply passing days.
I listened to a few songs and wrote a few words down and then I packed up my things, headed down the mountain. I went a different way than before, and eventually found myself on some sort of triple black-diamond expert trail that had a lot of high-difficulty traversing elements that pretty much obligated me to create a mental note to buy some highly needed hiking boots. They'd grip the ground better because at least three times I almost slipped right onto the backside of myself.
There's a Buddhist Temple that sits in the center of the mountain at the bottom towards its 100 meter mark on the ground. If you're a clean freak it's highly possible you're a closet Buddhist because these people keep their things minty, and from high enough it's looks like a business model a company might show at a board meeting. At the bottom I walked along the road, and was again shown extraordinary generosity from the Korean people. A few times on the way up the mountain I came across a young family that was taking pictures, and I one time was asked and another time offered to take a picture of them. I did, and they passed me by on the road and stopped the car, and gave me some frozen milkshake snack. It was an incredibly nice gesture and it had me smiling as they drove away. It had me smiling too twenty minutes later when I passed by a small food shop and locked eyes with a pretty cute Korean girl. She gave an obvious smile, and about twenty steps after I passed the shop I kicked myself, and turned around. She spoke pretty good English and we had a few words to each other. Her name was (well it still is, and in fact I always wonder why people might put 'was' in this scenario in writing; are name changes this imminent?) ... Her name is Choe im Jeong. She was nice, so I told her we should talk again. She agreed, and she told me to come back next Saturday to the same place and see her again. She's a student here in Mokpo at a university, and her weeks apparently are quite busy.
I walked through my part of town a different way and was relieved and proud of myself to easily find my apartment. I'm recognizing a lot of places in this area now, and I know where to go to buy a lot of things locally. This is a high achievement for two weeks in a completely foreign country, city, town. I walked in, surrendered to a chair, and I wrote this.
Stay classy, everyone.
update! update!
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