Kateeekapsheda

Friday, September 13th we attended the most exciting history lesson I have ever witnessed. A friend from church invited us to the reenactment of the Nakdong River Battle. It was held at the original battle site about 20 miles from Daegu, near Camp Carroll.

The first couple of hours we watched drill and ceremony, tai kwando demonstrations and various other ceremonial performances. There were also the typical addresses by political and military leaders. It was enjoyable and well done. But the true masterpiece was the reenactment itself.  A short video presentation set the stage by filling in some historical information and telling the story of Korean families impacted by the invasion and war. Then the bank of the river exploded with activity. The pyrotechnics literally rocked the whole area. ROK (Republic of Korea) and American soldiers portrayed the battling armies of the UN forces and invading North Koreans. I found myself engrossed in the scenes before me. It was an emotional experience. I was impressed that the hand of God was in the actual battle which was so critical to the outcome of the war. The Nakdong River was the last stronghold of the Pusan** Perimeter. Had the North Koreans been successful in their attempt to cross the river and take control, the path would have been cleared for their move toward the coast and the capture of the Port of Pusan. The UN forces, under the leadership of the United States Army, held the line with great effort and seemingly at first against terrible odds. Their victory turned the tide of the war as it turned back the advancing North Koreans.

General Walker, commander of the defending U.N. Forces, uttered the words, "Today, we will stand or die."  The South Korean commander, also a General officer, shouted, "If I take a step back, shoot me!"

I was again impressed with the link between South Korea and The United States. Time and time again these sentiments were expressed by those who spoke. Most poignant was a talk given by a 17 year old high school senior. She wondered aloud why anyone would lay their life down for a small country they had never heard of before. She expressed gratitude for her freedom and thanked the soldiers of the United Nations armies for their sacrifice. It has been a life changing experience for me to hear history from this point of view. I am grateful for this opportunity. 

An American general ended his talk with "Kateeekapsheda". The Korean woman next to me explained that it means "let's go together." I was touched by that comment - made to an audience of Korean war veterans, students, citizens, soldiers, and two senior American missionaries.

NOTE: Pusan is now known as Busan. The spelling of several Korean cities has changed to make the pronunciation more accurate. For example, Daegu used to be Taegu.

The Button Tin

This is my mother's mother- one of my favorite people ever. Grandmothers have a special connection with their grandchildren. I have learned that from both sides of the equation. We didn't often live near her, but we did get to visit often. How I loved trips to Grandma's house. My grandmother loved to sew. I have fond memories of looking at the stacks of bright fabric and the paper patterns folded in their envelopes. I always loved getting a new dress or pajamas made by Grandma. I also remember her button tin. It was an old Christmas cookie tin filled with mismatched buttons. Buttons left over from  projects and some she rescued from worn out clothing. Looking  at the different colors, shapes and sizes of buttons was fun. She saved them just in case she could use them in the future. She was very practical and very frugal.

I am going to share my own "button tin" with you today. A collection of unrelated pictures and information for you to enjoy. No philosophizing this time! I hope you have fun or at least learn a thing or two! The information I will share comes from Korean friends here in Daegu. It may or may not apply to South Korea in general.

Our door was "heart attacked" with this
beautiful paper wreath. A welcome
gift from two Sister missionaries.

--Writing someone's name in red is inappropriate. It means they are dead. I will keep that in mind, and hopefully I don't read my own name in red in the near future.

--Koreans have a different way of determining some one's age. At birth you are one. You turn two on the following lunar new year. So it is possible for an infant to actually be considered two years old. I am not fond of this system. When you ask a Korean his age, he will usually tell you both his Korean age and his American age.


A little one-on-one b-ball with "Troy"
at our church's outdoor court. He was sure he could beat an old man.
Some how Troy was off his game.



 


 --Most people here live in apartments. The traditional system for renting is very different than anything I have heard of before. The owner sets a fee, which is a percentage of the value of the home. It could be $30,000 or much more. The tenant pays the fee upfront. They usually have to get a loan from the bank. They typically do not make monthly payments to the landlord. They do not rent it for any specific amount of time. When they are ready to leave the apartment, the owner returns the money in full, minus any costs for damages. The benefit  for the owner is that they can use the money for investments or business until the renter moves out. This tradition is beginning to change. Some apartments now set a lower move-in fee and then also charge a small monthly rent.


This is a bench outside a
cultural center a couple
miles from our apartment.
I wonder if anyone ever sits on it!

Whenever we walk around down town we see lots of school kids in their uniforms. It seems like they come and go all hours of the day. So we asked our friend Sup about the school system. Mandatory school attendance does not begin until about six or seven years of age. Kindergarten is optional and people used to have to pay for their kids to go. But Korea's population is below replacement rate, so the government now offers free kindergarten as one of several incentives to encourage Koreans to have more children. Elementary school has grades one through five. Middle school includes grades one through three, and so does high school. A senior is considered to be in grade three of high school  The kids go earlier and stay later as they advance to higher grades. They go to different high schools based on their academic accomplishments and their future careers. High schools that focus on academics have very long days. They start at about 7:00 am and end about 10:00 pm. After school ends for the day, the kids go home and do a couple more hours of homework. To quote Sup, high school is when the "nightmare begins".
I love this stack of tea cups.
It's outside some kind of an office
building on a very busy street. I don't know
if it has any relevance to the business. I just like it!
**Note: Months later I found out it's an apartment building. Our friends the Miller family lived there.

That's it for this post. Now you know a few things that are very much part of the Korea adventure.

 



Peace on Earth?

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

A few days ago Elder Fairhurst shared a headline with me as he was reading our hometown newspaper on-line. It was about the most recent attack, the latest massacre. The nation, cause or incident is not the premise for this post. It seems like there's always some battle, or attack, or slaughter at the center of the nightly news and screaming from the front page of each newspaper. Some shocking evidence of inhumanity that incites fear and sadness. I listened to some of the sorrowful details then responded with a sigh and said; "There will never be peace in this world."
After I mulled that over for a while, I realized that I had misspoken. This world will never be at peace, until the Savior of mankind returns. That is true. But there is peace in this world. I thought back to my blog post on sanctuaries. There are many places of peace in this world. More importantly, each one of us can be at peace  regardless of what goes on around us. Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace. As we strive to be his disciples and exercise faith in him. we can feel of His peace. That is a reassuring truth, for His peace can not be taken from us.

Monday we returned to Apsan park. This time with fourteen young energetic missionaries. We had so much fun. We met at the subway transfer station then rode to the subway stop closest to the entrance of the park. Then the hike began. I am sure we were quite a sight as we walked the streets until we entered the park. Yet even with the laughter and chatter of our group, the park was as beautiful and peaceful as I remembered. I wanted to bottle the wonderful cool pine scented air and take it home. We decided to take a different path than we did the time before. A few minutes into the park we came to a Korean War memorial and museum. I was a little surprised that all of the missionaries wanted to stop, pleasantly surprised. Our Korean museum guide shared the history of her country with deep feeling. The young missionary that leads our District translated. I was amazed at how little I really knew about that war. I knew even less about the extreme hardships the Korean people have endured. I was moved to tears several times. One story was especially disturbing. The South Korean army was ill prepared and poorly equipped to fight against the invading North Korean army. They suffered devastating losses and their army was decimated. It got so bad that they had to draft middle-school boys into the army. Eleven, twelve and thirteen year old boys were armed and sent to battle. I have three grandsons that age. The thought of such a thing broke my heart. Our tour guide expressed how grateful the Korean people were for the Americans. At the end of the tour I asked our District leader to translate something for me. I simply said, "It makes me sad that your country has had to go through so much., but you have become very strong." She responded with warmth. I only understood two words. Megook and chingu. America and friend. This was an experience I hope I never forget. Those headlines and broadcasts of war are about real people. Children of our Heavenly Father. Our brothers and sisters. No matter the political stand, we should have empathy for them. We should pray for them. We should pray for peace.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

한국 음식

Today's post is about our adventure with Korean food. First as a disclaimer, we really haven't been all that adventurous yet. Baby steps! Almost all of our excursions into Korean cuisine have been accompanied by a guide who could read, speak and understand Korean. Neither one of us is brave enough to order without assistance. Consider it training wheels. Those of you who know Fred know he will try almost anything. His resistance is due to the fact that food here tends to be very spicy. A Korean friend told us that Daegu is known for its spicy food...well, and fried chicken! My fear comes more from concern about what I might be eating than how spicy it might be. I don't like to eat food that resembles the creature from which it came. In other words, I don't like body parts to look like body parts! I especially don't like eyes to be looking up at me from my dinner plate. So maybe this will be the first part of a two part post. Maybe I will update you on our experiences with Korean food again toward the end of our mission. Of course that is making an assumption that we will get a little braver as time goes on.


Korean King meal.
 

A young Korean friend  took us to a very traditional restaurant. We sat on cushions on the floor. You do not order from a menu. They just bring the same food for everyone, with one exception. People of honor (in our case old people) receive a special main dish. The meal begins with lots of appetizers/side dishes. I mean LOTS. The small serving dishes you see are for everyone to share. If you empty one they will bring another with the same amount. The dishes included dried fish, anchovies, kimchi and more. Our special main dish was rice porridge, which had no flavor whatsoever. Oh to be a kid again!

Sister missionaries at Ashley's Buffet.

Beef and Leaf

We took these two missionaries to lunch at the place of their choice. The Korean sister picked her favorite, an American food buffet. It was a very nice place but I think promoting it as an American food buffet is false advertising. I didn't recognize most of the food. The sweet Korean sister put away about 4 full plates of food. She loved it, until she accidentally got something that was super hot. You should have seen her eyes roll back as she frantically waved her hand in front of her mouth. I am so glad we didn't try that dish. If it was that hot for her, we would have cried.  She was fine after downing a few glasses of soda.



This was a very nice downtown restaurant, a Korean barbeque. The Americans have nicknamed these kinds of restaurants beef and leaf. This is also a buffet, except you fill your plates with raw meats, greens and other veggies. You cook your own meat on a small stove in the center of your table. You grill the meat and any veggies you want to include.  When they are done you wrap them in a green leaf (lettuce or mint), spread bean paste on it and dip it in a sauce. They also have rice, bread and some fruit. It's all you can eat and boy did those missionaries eat.


Zone conference! (This is held every six weeks when we meet with missionaries in our area for training) I knew for sure we were in Korea when we were served a delicious meal of bulgogi, kimchi and rice for our lunch. Bulgogi is thin sliced meat, usually beef or pork. It is marinated in pear juice, soy sauce, minced garlic, diced green onions and sesame oil. Then it is grilled. Kimchi is simply raw vegetables (most often cabbage) soaked in salt water and seasoned with spices before fermenting. It is usually served cold. I have tried it several times and like it, though it can be a bit spicy.


Saturday evening was so beautiful and cool. We decided to go for a walk down town. We also decided to bravely order our own dinner from a real Korean restaurant. In a narrow alley behind our apartment complex are several very small places to eat or to order food. So at the end of our walk, we decided to get some take-out close to home. We bravely ordered.... fried chicken. Sorry for the let down. It was quite an experience even then. In fact it was pretty comical. We couldn't read the menu, there were no pictures, the cook didn't speak English and as you know our Korean is less than limited. Finally an English speaking Korean customer came to our rescue. Fifteen minutes later we left with our box of fried chicken and a side of pickled radish.

This is a picture of  a common menu board you see outside restaurants.
Next time we will find a place where we can just point! Baby steps!!

"Home is the nicest word there is.”

I love this Laura Ingalls Wilder quote. Today I have home on my mind. Homes of the past and present. Home means so many things, the least of which have anything to do with the house itself. Home is memories, familiarity, safety and more. I love our home in Montana. Over the last six years we temporarily lived elsewhere three times. Each time I wondered how much I would miss my home. The first two times we lived in Colorado. I don't recall missing my home much, if at all. Living here is different. I do miss my home a little. But I also know that a few personal touches help to make a living space a home. Then over time you have experiences and create memories and the house becomes home, even if its temporary. I have been known to say, "Where ever you live. What ever you live in. You have an obligation to make your house a home." I know, I know.... its not necessary to use quotation marks to quote yourself. But really now, who else is going to quote me! Besides it just looks more profound in quotation marks.
We've added a few personal touches to this apartment. We came with two suitcases each and that's what we go home with, so we can't get too carried away with personal touches. More importantly we have had experiences that will become fond memories. So, though I miss our Montana home some days, I can enjoy a sense of home right here in Daegu for now.  Ready for a virtual tour of our home in Korea? I couldn't really get in position to take very good pictures, but hopefully this will give you an idea.


When you get off the elevator, you  see
 our front door. One of the two  apartments
 on this landing. The heart wreath was a surprise
 from two sweet sister missionaries.

The guest bedroom. The curtains cover
the glass wall/sliding door out onto one of
three "ante" rooms.

The little kitchen that could!
I have cooked about 30 meals for others
 here, as of today! Learning to cook in Celsius
 ovens  has been interesting.

























This "ante" room runs the length of the
apartment bordering the guest room, our
bedroom and the living room. At the far end is a
 garden room We can open up the wall
in the living room and make it much bigger.



















 

The room off the kitchen. It has a washer, a clothes drying rack which raises and lowers with a remote control and an extra oven. It also has two refrigerated kimchee drawers which we use for produce.

***mystery device????














Our office. 2 desks & glass wall/sliding
door to a room with an extra fridge & freezer.
 The fridge full of soft drinks for visitors.


 





Looking through the living room into
the kitchen/dining area. You can see
 another glass wall/sliding door. It also leads
to an  "ante" room. Note the wallpaper-
all the rage here.















Our bedroom. To the left is a glass
 wall/window that looks out onto our small
 indoor garden. To the right is a walk
through closet/dressing room then a bath.




 









That's it.  A glimpse into our home away from home. We express our gratitude every day for the favorable circumstances we have been provided. For the next 16 months we will have experiences that will create the memories of a life time!

***the mystery device is a foot pedal that operates the kitchen faucet. No kidding. I just press down with my foot and the water pours out. I love it! I want to take it home!









Sanctuary

 Fred took us on another amazing adventure Monday. We finished our morning "chores" and had a full day without any specific assignments. So with some free time, and a desire to see more of this amazing place -he got out a map of Daegu, found Apsan Park, and said let's go! So off we went.
Side note: Fred is an amazing navigator. He can look at a map and know exactly which way to go. Believe me that's not easy here. I am very grateful he is willing to drive because I have made a solemn vow never to drive in Korea. For our safety and those of everyone on the road! Besides that, its really hard to drive with your eyes closed- which is what I do when the traffic gets scary.


Pressured air house to blow the sand
off your shoes . Brilliant!

Oh how I loved this adventure. We found a beautiful forested park, an oasis in the middle of this huge city. It was a bit of a hike, but well worth the effort. A small part of the path was rock, the rest was well groomed dirt. I loved the smell of pine and the crunch of mountain soil under my feet. I loved the chirping birds and the canopy of green above. It was a sanctuary to me. Something about this beautiful environment is restorative, calming and invigorating all at the same time.  After a hike of about a mile, we came to a cable car station. For 8,000 won each ($8) we could ride even farther up the mountain. The panoramic view was breath taking. The stark difference between the city and the park was obvious. The feeling of being in a sanctuary was magnified even more. We spent about thirty minutes up top before riding the cable car back down. As we hiked down to our car, I felt such a sense of gratitude. Being close to God's creations in their natural state draws me closer to the Creator.

Even the outhouse had an
Asian flare.

I have been thinking about our need for sanctuary, an escape from the sometimes chaotic world around us. We crave relief from the constant noise and intrusion. We can find sanctuary in beautiful natural environments, in our churches or other places of worship. As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we often find sanctuary in our temples. Yet, sometimes it is not possible to retreat to such places. So we need to make our homes sanctuaries. Places of respite. Places of love, peace, service and devotion to God. Making our home a sanctuary can bless our lives, and we can share that peace as we invite others in.










The Great Imposter

During our first few days here we noticed red swastikas in windows or on signs during our morning walks. We found it a curiosity and also a little unsettling. So a couple of weeks ago we asked our friends in our Korean class if they knew what that was about. They explained it was a symbol used by Buddhists. I had somehow missed that bit of history, but it certainly peaked my interest. So I did a little Internet search to see what I could find. I read several entries and they were all very similar. I have cut and pasted a little of the entry from Wikipedia below.
 The swastika 卐… dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization as well as the Mediterranean Classical Antiquity. Swastikas have also been used in various other ancient civilizations around the world including China, Japan, Korea, India, Nepal and Southern Europe. It remains widely used in Indian religions, specifically in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism… The word "swastika" comes from the Sanskrit svastika…  The swastika literally means "to be good". Or another translation can be made… "being with higher self".



I was amazed. I had no idea that the swastika had originally represented something of beauty. Something desirable. Then later we came across this beautiful Buddhist temple as we were walking to the market.  There on its fence was a red swastika. I suddenly looked at this symbol with a different perspective.

How could something beautiful and spiritual become the icon for the vilest of human atrocities? The answer lies in a fundamental truth, Evil is the Great Imposter! Had Hitler created a flag with images of emaciated Jews or the horrors of the gas chambers, no right minded person would have followed him. So he did what evil always does. He took something of worth and twisted it. He took a symbol of goodness and rotated it slightly then led his armies to unthinkable acts of genocide.  Oh how we must watch and avoid this Great Imposter. Evil comes in subtleties. It snares those who are not watchful and careful by twisting truth and goodness until many people are fooled. Until they have become so focused on the fraudulent version they can no longer recognize the goodness in the  authentic version.  Evil thrives in darkness, it can not bear the light of truth. Darkness and light can not co-exist. They can not be in the same place at the same time, for the light always casts out the darkness. Our safety is found in the light. Some people call it our conscience. It is the light of Christ. A gift given to all of God's children. When the light of Christ opens our understanding, evil retreats. Let us all turn to the light of Christ. Let us cast out that Great Imposter.


The world needs us to stand up for truth and to bravely shine its light on those who promote evil.  Let's reclaim our symbols of good. Let's honor truth, cherish our families, nourish charity, in short let us follow Christ.





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