South Korea

The House of Korea Lawn Program in Balboa Park drew Joanie, Gladys, Laurie, and me to San Diego the last weekend of July. We made a whole day of it by eating lunch at Friend’s House Korean in Kearney Mesa, exploring Zion Market which has all things Korean, seeing the Lawn Program, eating ice cream in fish shaped waffles at Somisomi, and then having supper at DJK Korean BBQ. The Lawn Program was amazing, but the sound and video quality on their Facebook recording wasn’t great so, although I had a great time trying to glimpse myself in the audience, I’d rather show you recordings of similar performances, such as:

· Gayageum, Korea's Traditional String Instrument: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRk8Q_gYskA

· Korean Fan Dance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuF0OosXR78

· Korean Drumming: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsyJwOrC68o

· Arirang: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qd4MBE_PQYQ

· K-pop: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmuL-BPFi2Q&list=PLOHoVaTp8R7dfrJW5pumS0iD_dhlXKv17&index=7

· Taekwondo Skills (yes, they were just as fun to watch in person): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKEbws4QhEk

· Both the taekwondo exercises and the last drumming presentation were done to the soundtrack of Gangnam Style – so upbeat and with a great sense of humor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bZkp7q19f0

Both Joanie and Laurie have Korean ancestry and they know how to order! At Friend’s House, we had bibimbap, godeunuhgui (grilled mackerel), bulgogi, and both japchae and seven of the great sides of both fresh and pickled vegetables. Since I shared recipes for japchae and sides in my North Korea blog, I’ll recommend that you search YouTube for how to make kimchi (there are so many options!) and check this site for everything from Korean BBQ to vegan recipes: https://www.koreanbapsang.com/

South Korean authors are easier to find than North Korean authors and my AAUW book group has read two: Please Look After Mom by Shin Kyung-sook and The Vegetarian by Han Kang. I really liked The Vegetarian because it is strange. Be warned that many people in my book group didn’t appreciate the weirdness. That’s what is so fun about the book group. I’m having a hard time getting through the Korean inspired novel The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See that we will discuss on August 26. Other members of the group will tell me what they found interesting, and I will reevaluate.

Besides book group books from or about South Korea, I read A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park on my own because I love young adult novels. I also found a fun book on Project Gutenberg, Korean Folk Tales: Imps, Ghosts and Faries by Pang Im and Yuk Yi: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/51002

Crash Landing on You, which I watched with great enthusiasm last week for North Korea, is not the only Korean drama on Netflix and, check it out! Just this morning APNews ran an article on K-drama and how much of it is crowd-translated! https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-entertainment-tv-arts-and-entertainment-4d0ea4ac421ad3a49e2b9b36d1e13f4f If you want some recommendations from the many K-dramas available, check here: https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/g33302077/best-korean-dramas-on-netflix/

Besides checking out several Korean dramas on Netflix, I watched two more South Korean produced movies. The costumes are beautiful in The Royal Tailor Sang-eui-won and the plot reminded me of Amadeus. It can be found both on Kanopy and on Tubi along with many more Korean movies: https://tubitv.com/movies/609677/the-royal-tailor

Even better is a movie another Korean American friend, Kriselle, recommended more than a year ago when I first started doing this blog. The Last Princess made me cry even more than The Notebook. I paid (just a few dollars) to watch it on Amazon and it was so worth it! https://www.amazon.com/Last-Princess-Son-Ye-Jin/dp/B0719FPGVJ/

To learn more about Korean Buddhism and Art, check this series from the Khan Academy: https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-asia/korea-japan/korean-art/a/introduction-to-korea

To find things to do in South Korea, Bookmundi has a great list: https://www.bookmundi.com/t/16-things-to-do-in-south-korea

If you do get a chance to travel to South Korea, I still recommend using your local travel advisor even though my favorite travel advisor and great traveling companion (who once missed a plane in South Korea and thus had a day to explore Seoul) has sadly needed to move on to another job. The travel industry continues to struggle. May they survive and thrive. May we all survive, thrive, recognize our mutual humanity, learn to deal with our conflicts, and allow peace and health to flourish in South Korea and throughout the world.

Photo Credit: https://www.bookmundi.com/t/16-things-to-do-in-south-korea