kernelsfromkorea

Wrapping things up....

2004-12-20T10:46:00.000+09:00

Already, nostalgia of this place is seeping in before ive left. within my departure is burrowed a strange mix of opposed emotions. i believe culture shock will greet me upon my return.

So as the ripples of my stone cast into the pool of Korea will imminently fade, so shall the kernels of my blog. I hope to share some more personal stories with you fair friends, face-to-face, back in brisk minnesota. fare thee well, this blog shall sleep.

Tom Franek

Piano Exam

2004-12-08T20:14:00.000+09:00

So last Friday I took my piano exam. The week leading up to it i put most things aside and practiced maybe an average of 7 hours each day. But Tuesday before taking it i made the mistake of cliping my fingernails. My folly resulted in the fingernails partly wanting to tear from my newly sensative skin. The tension of a fingernail tearing from the finger is not a pleasant one. I amended the problem thanks to some korean friends who introduced me to paper tape. i duly applied it, and indeed it lessened the blow.

The exam itself is in actual fact quite short, a mere 12 minutes of heart pounding...umm, im distracted by the girl next to me in the PC room eyeing herself up with a webcam for the most appealing photo she can possibly get, preparing for chating i suppose. Well, anyway, students are required to prepare 30 minutes of music. I myself prepared maybe 40 minutes, 8 pieces, and they could only hear the beginings of 6.

I entered the cool large room and after a bow (not a performance bow, a traditional bow of respect) towards the 7 or so distantly seated Yonsei piano faculty, I seated myself at the piano...

...I think it went well. Despite all of the practice, there's still things to work on. but im proud of the climactic push.

Pusan

2004-11-29T10:52:00.000+09:00

A while back i traveled to Pusan. From Seoul (north east) it's on the opposite end of South Korea (south east). In the minds of Koreans it's rather far, 5-6 hours by car, but to me that's just a drive from home to the north shore in Minnesota.

Pusan, as it hugs the sea, is quite well known for great raw fish you can buy from fish markets - it's live and ready for you to choose, and they slaughter and fillet it on the spot. We stayed with a Korean friend's relative who lives there, a kind short portly Buddhist lady. She cooked up enoromous feasts during our stay, keeping with the custom which asks that one presents more than the visitor could ever consume. One of our meals consisted of this esteemed seafood, which was met with extreme delight other then one little exception: in front of me sat a spicey fish head soup. The relative claims Koreans find the head to be the best part of the fish, a beloved delicacy. As i wished not to disgrace my host, i indeed consumed all the weird innards of the fish head. I had to chew on the brian for its juices before putting it aside (as is the custom), and ate all the squishy textures and pieces of the eye ball. Apparently many elder Korean men love to chew on fish brain. Luckily i kept it all down and appreciate the experience, but i wont be calling home to tell mom the recipe.

Cell Phone Culture

2004-11-10T11:09:00.000+09:00

Among other things, Seoul is a cellular telephone culture. Everywhere you look you see somebody with Mr cellphone. Without execption the younger generation seems to have one in their possession, and often times you'll see the older generation with them too. If you take the subway you'll see at least 5 people talking, playing games, or text messaging on them to pass time. There's seldom a class period that goes by without the murmer of cell phone vibrations, and the clandestine reponses to friends that inevitably follows.

Text messaging is in fact, an intricate skill. One simply watches in awe as they first witness a connoisseur text messager perform their craft. With frightening speed the fingers take on one of those visual effects in which the eye is too slow to process the action (similar to watching a humming bird flutter its wings).

Before coming to Korea, i walked around with adamant aversion to those who needed to walk around with a cell phone pressed to their ear between classes as if it were a cigarette break. I wondered if the people within their proximity were not as worthy of a greeting. Like the movie "Lost in Translation," I felt that people have a million different ways to connect with their expensive little gizmos, but ironically they're distanced by them and can't connect (at least in any intimate sense), and thus all is lost in technological translation.

All of us Oles eventually purchased one. The cohorts insisted upon their importance. when my parents came my dad joked about my hypocricy. I justified my purchase and use of it through cultural argument: when in seoul (wanting to learn their culture), do as the seoulians do. And like it or not, they are neccessary if you want to find a friend in such a big place.

Autumn

2004-10-27T18:08:00.000+09:00

As my korean vocab perhaps extends furthest into the depths of weather gab, i engage many in an enthralling meteorological discourse. More often than not, Koreans i speak with prefer the fall season. and with good reason. the summer was way too hot, and they say the winter gusts are freezin'. I even recall a particular gentleman muttering that all Koreans just hunker down and wait all year for autumn: A time when the fall breeze through the canopy of leaves never fails to please, and the nuetral weather allows them to untether those burdens from which they find difficult to sever.

Last weekend i embarked to Mt. Seorak with 3 close friends. Our trip coincided with an abundance of autumnal tints. From a distance the mountain resembled one of those Thomas Kinkade paintings my friends at home chide me for enjoying: a wash of multicolored tones blending into one another, some shaded and others shimmering with dabs of sunlight. Once we hit the hiking trails I discovered we weren't very good hikers, but great loiterers. All too often we were held in our steps, heads upturned at a kaleidoscope of luminated leaves, a swirling mirage, a myraid of mini-stained glass windows. Witnessing the coexistance and interaction of these two natural phenomena (the fall season and the mountain) breathed into us the mental health that i sensed earlier in those who proclaimed their love for autumn.

Pollution and Exercise

2004-10-20T10:16:00.000+09:00

I don't believe ive ever seen a korean jogging around seoul. But occasionally I go against the grain and jog in the city at night. The problem is that no matter where you go in the city you'll be hard pressed to find a breath of fresh air. Whenever inclined to take a deep breath one is inevitably met with a putrid whiff of poop (maybe falty, old sewer systems?), cigerate smoke, traffic exaust, fresh throwup, rotting garbage composting on the sidewalk, or worse yet, a combination therein. So while im running i ponder whether or not im benifiting my health or afflicting my helpless lungs. in the end im forced to clasp my lips thereby blocking the mouth's airway to the trachea, and soley focus breathing through my inborn mini-filter: the nose. but since the nose is seemlessly bound to the olfactory capacity, my filter idea requires that i also endure the frequent pungency. i wonder if this polluted double edged sword is what deters koreans from running fanaticism.

Needless to say, I greatly look forward to some fresh air back at home.

Political Ponderings

2004-10-10T19:01:00.000+09:00

The irony in studying abroad remains that i feel more in touch with American politics while im on the opposite side of the globe. I suppose this is because the recent Bush/Kerry political debates i've been able to catch mention the homeland almost nil while discussion of possible threats from abroad (where i am) abound. one of those threats to our God blessed nation is the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, aka North Korea. As ive been studying the inescapable lock Kim Jung Il has on the people of North Korea through their unique political system which somehow legitimizes what's been deemed the worst of the worst in terms of human rights violations, i feel as though i understand the korean situation better than mr george w bush (who would now want to probably tear down this blog posting under the beloved Patriot Act he wishes to institute). A visit to the last remaining barrier between nations, the DMZ (demilitarized zone), supplied a more subjective emotional value to the current civil war put on hold. Since mr bush doesnt have his eye on the north korean nuclear weapons or the north korean situation but instead quite intently focused on nonexistant implimants of mass destruction elsewhere, one can imagine my joy when i recieved my absentee ballot. i plan to send it off tomorrow.

Chusok

2004-10-06T13:32:00.000+09:00

The so called Korean thanksgiving was this past week. It's a time for pilgrimage and family reunion. all of those souls who've strayed from home reunite in the domicile of their youth. fittingly enough, i too was able to see a few members of my family: mom and dad. they left our home town northfield and endured the 14 hour pilgrimage by plane to be with me, and to experience what turned out to be a rather dead Seoul. being chusok and all, most everything shuts down and everybody goes home (which is often a distant refuge from work apparently). but by the end of the week things returned to status quo and they saw the full force. We checked out the markets, the Seoul namsan tower, my home in the subdistrict Shinchon, the intricate transportation system, the food, among numerous other ineffable, miniscule details. i was happy to show them a piece of the pie.

The Group

2004-09-24T14:04:00.000+09:00

Back Row left to right: Solah (KC), Margot (O), Amanda (O), HeeJeen (KC), HyoungJuu (KC), Tom (O), Taykun (KC), Toshi (O).
Front Row left to right: Mr Wee (YA), Kyoung Me (KC), David (O), and Tommy Chweh (YA).

O: St. Olaf Student
KC: Korean Cohort from Yonsei
YA: Yonsei Administration friends

Follow up on "School Pride"

2004-09-23T18:21:00.000+09:00

On the night of the last sporting event the streets of sinchon (sub-town of seoul, where yonsei is) swarmed with yonsei and korea university students bordering on hysteria. It's a tradition that the students, still garbed in school pride, run around in packs screaming leader-call mass-repeat messages to the local resturant, bar, and sometimes even shop managers. If they belly out their cheering songs loudly enough times they're met with free food, drinks, or supplies. we hit dunken doughnuts, baskin robins, numerous resturants, a few bars, and even got free hairgell from a beautician shop. a display which, im afraid, wouldnt fly in northfield if conducted by oles or carls.

School Pride

2004-09-19T10:52:00.000+09:00

The rivalry of the 3st and 2nd best universities in korea, korea and yonsei university respectively, battled this weekend in the greatest sporting spectacular of the year. every fan of yonsei wears blue, and korea red. they pack the stadium on oppisite sides.

during the week leading into the sporting events the schools respectively held cheering practices. ive never heard of such a thing. people pack the ampitheatre and follow the unquestioningly "cool" cheering squad (akaraka) perform the set of songs used continuously throughout the anticipated games. although the rivalry is there, an unexpected comradery is also present. for instance, at the last cheering practice korea university students joined yonsei students and they taught each other cheers, and then danced and sang together into the night.

The most interesting twist to the scenario surfaced when i realized cheering and fan freemasonry were perhaps more important then the various sporting matches themselves. The crowd sings and dances uniformly throughout each game (even before and after the game, during halftime, or while there is no play whatsoever) - i still dont know how the players could concentrate with the blaring music, boisterous crowd and occasional pyrotechnics.

Yonsei University...

2004-09-12T21:58:00.000+09:00

the land of the prodigious. driven by themselves, their parents, or fear, yonsei students perform in their field with alarming specialty. one can see assiduity printed across their forehead as they haste around campus. the pressure builds and at night on many a side street in seoul one can easily find the corollary: a student hanging on a couple friends shoulders stumbling back home, or off to the side spewing out the 3 bottles of soju that recently replaced stress with inibriation.

most of them know some english, that key to a better future. the pianists here are absolutely astounding. they're on a completely dfferent level than the student pianists ive met anywhere else. the language teachers here know at least japenese, korean, and english. their various inculcated aptitudes can make one feel inadequate from time to time.

how are these students so smart? like the 9 year old daughter at my hasukchip, they start english, piano, korean, and other studies as young as possible and then are pushed really hard. ive been told high school is the apex of the severity (8am-12 midnight studying). and if admited to one of the unanimously lauded univerities, the sweat is off their back and the pace slows. but if they dont make it...well, apparently the suicide rate for post-highschool and precollegiate teens is pretty high.

The Language

2004-09-11T09:57:00.000+09:00

the korean language is the largest part of what makes koreans how they are. confucianism is directly built into the language. when you greet somebody who's age you can't determine, you must ask so that you know what societal hiearchery within the language to use. an elder recieves a new set of honorific terms, nouns, verb particles, and sometimes new verbs altogether. likewise a youth is met by lower speech. for example, "to speak" in romanization respectively differs as follows: "malsum hashimnida", or "mal hay." 6 sylables vs 2. In modesty one introduces one's wife literally as "house person," while the guest uses an honorific term. I was told there are 8 or 9 different levels with which to communicate.

i was serendipitously invited to accompany antonio pomba-baldi and 6 other pianists from yonsei to a fine korean resturant in iteawon. one of the pianists impressed upon me just how overwhelming the lingual class systems can be: "sometimes it's just too much!"

How do I look?

2004-09-07T13:01:00.000+09:00

Koreans are openly concerned about their appearance. the image of a korean checking their hair, face, makeup, or clothing is unnecessarily concealed by a private moment. it happens in the subway, class, or in a random shop window (surrogate mirror) on the street. They always want to look their best so they'll dress up: females in dresses, makeup, and high heals (even to traverse the rough roads of seoul), and males in buttonups, dress pants (sometimes a full suit). Appearence often parallels status (but this is the case in most places).

at home i think most of us are just as visually self-concerned. in fact, the person who casually denies the concern of their appearance ironically adheres to an aesthetic that aims to casually deny that they are concerned with their appearence. in other words, they are concerned about not looking concerned. the difference is that koreans are open about it and void of embarressment, while our vain upkeep lurks in the solitude of our minds and bathrooms. one's not better than the other; both are beauti-concious. all it means is that over here you can check yourself out publically.

Antonio Pompa-Baldi Masterclass

2004-09-03T14:26:00.000+09:00

yes, it just so happens that the 2nd place winner of one of the most prestigous piano competitions, the Eleventh Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, conducted a masterclass today at the yonsei music building. thankfully for me the Italian, ignorant of any korean, delivered his thoughts in perfect english (with a translator at his side for the crowd). his comments were always clear and his demonstrations to the students droped my jaw to the floor. he spoke of a schubert sonata being very introspective and voiced his music like an orchestra. he emphasized that the bach bussoni chaccone, although busoni's arrangement, needs to be played in bach's style (because it's his piece). lastly, he likes to imagine a late scriabin sonata in terms of lighting effects: dark at times, then transparent, or playfully shimmering.

there are many students that are good pianists here. all that ive seen have been technically proficient. it's slightly daunting, but by now im fairly used to it since i went to brevard last summer.

you can now post comments! my apologies for unknowingly restricting them earlier.

Vacation from vacation

2004-09-02T09:58:00.000+09:00

The trip couldn't have gone better. for the first time all the korean cohorts and oles were together, and the 5 days provided the adhesive to found the begining of an extended rapport. many highlights decorated the sojourn: walking through clouds on a mountain, in dynastic tombs of antiquated nobility, near buddhist temples and the aural meditations from within, among naked asian men in an authentic full-scale sauna, through a colorful seafood market, around an old korean folk village of kindred inhabitants (a chain subsisting from centuries ago), in the Independent Hall of Korea which illuminates their history (with special emphasis on koreans tortured by japenese - a claim which japenese textbooks still do not acknowledge).

were us oles ugly tourists or welcomed parts? im not sure, but i think we were closer to the later by dint of our company and partial knowledge of the language.

Summer Class and Housing Conclusion

2004-08-25T21:58:00.000+09:00

I moved into the ha-suk-chib on monday. from the moment i displaced one month's rent from my pocket into ajumoni's hands ("aunt" - what one calls the lady who owns and runs the house), relief and contentment slowly permeated my mind and the moving-out doubts therein. once again the shoes adorn the hallway. i love my little yellow room. very basic and ascetic. it provides privacy, and allows agreeable amigos and amigas anytime i approve. a window invites some natural light, a fan mounted on the wall blows and buzzes. ajuma serves breakfast and dinner each day, authentic mouthwatering korean food. during meals i practice my korean with ajuma and her 2 daughters (2nd and 5th grade maybe). their living space lodges an upright piano which helps me communicate a little beyond my korean articulations. today i entreated them to a little beethoven, clementi, chopin, and some others they request that i sight read.

summer classes ended today. summer class friends leave soon. my predominately japenese class and i became good friends. likewise, the teacher, a rather playful and humorous lady, took us to lunch yesturday (and apparently went out drinking later - an event i missed as i was introducing some korean pianist friends to my quaint yellow shelter). Noticed oddity: korean's of 50 years or more can easily be mistaken for someone in there 20s. many of them, my teacher included, evade the loss of youth that haunts the thoughts of so many. they mask senility inexplicably and imperceptibly. it's entirely enigmatic.

tomorrow i embark on a 5 day adventure with the oles and korean cohorts - a journey to some sights in south korea.

Housing Deliberations

2004-08-21T10:24:00.000+09:00

for the first two weeks we stayed in a charming dormitory, Mu-ak. In Muak one places one's shoes outside of the room in the hallway, though theft is of no concern. the pillows are filled with pieces of clear plastic straws, not feathers or cotton. a tiny convenient store resides in the basement floor. the drink machines carry my favorite beverage (aside from some traditional korean concoctions) "aloe morning." a stuborn old korean man, ignorant of any english, gaurds the entrance and checks IDs, a burden i grew to love curiously enough.

We moved into the International dorm 3 days ago, however. a complex in which we planned to live in until the end of the program. We dont like it. it's not korean. people there dont speak korean, mostly english. There are cameras vieled with dark globes decorating the hallways, staircases, and lounges - big brother is watching. Students dont place there shoes outside the door because they just might get stolen - no trust. the pillows are plump with cotton. the ironically likable gaurd is replaced with a high tech finger scan and code entry. The vending machines are deprived of "aloe morning," and so too am i. there isnt a convenient store; which is needless to say, inconvenient.

Thus, all of us cohorts are considering an on-campus or near-campus living complex, "han-suk-cheep." they are cheaper, provide the basics, and most importantly, house yonsei korean students which would force us to work on korean. they offer breakfast and dinner, laundry facilities, a bathroom. it's more rustic, but more culturally sound. the only inconvinience i know of is that the location is further from my frequent destinations. the international house is willing to refund a certian amount. we need to do some monetary mathematics and diaboliacal deliberations. we'll see.

Music Friends

2004-08-17T21:16:00.000+09:00

Today i finally had my piano audition. the teacher liked my playing, set me up with a teacher for for 1st semester, and granted me an access card to check out practice room keys. after the audition i met 7 korean yonsei students my age or a little older (so far ive met mainly japenese students studying korean like me - because their grammer paralells korean), 6 of which play piano extraordinarily. We spent 6 hours together thereafter - in a practice room showing some skills at the keys, eating ramyon near the world cup stadium, and speaking broken english or korean respectively over some korean goodies at the swulchip (a korean bar). they were overflowing with welcoming generosity. the truest definition of friendiness. they also helped me tremendously with the korean language and will continue to do so im sure. in class i learn high societal forms built in the words (polite and formal style), but they taught a little bit of how friends speak to one another. almost a completely different language!

Being Caucasian in Korea

2004-08-14T11:44:00.000+09:00

if you're different you're usually either the shunned rotten egg or the eulogized rare delicacy. fortunately in korea, i am more akin to the latter. i dont mean to be narcissistic, but i can feel that a surplus of eyes survey my presence. others tell me im the handsome tall dark haired american, something to behold. this isnt the case in minnesota.

for instance, ive only been to one club in america and i was simply another sardene packed into the congested space. last night we went to harlem, the quintessential club: thin fog of smoke, screaming music (i had ear plugs), and a strobe light creating that paneled visual illusion. An ambiance condusive to lasciviousness, or dissorientation and escape. in contrast to my role as the ignored deposit on the wall, my presence evoked many smiling looks of interest. this purely physical attention is a rather unique experience for me.

Korean Cuisine

2004-08-11T18:04:00.000+09:00

My smile of uncontrolable ecstasy while witnessing the communal meal in "Babette's Feast" is tantamount to my sensations devouring the cullinary genuis that is korean food. Sidedishes often accompany the meal allowing for a bit of creativity, mixing poignant combinations to your liking or salavating suprise. No wonder the polite reception to korean food is to enhale it like a slob.

Not only is the taste superior, but eating "right" seems an obsolete notion. Thin people abound unquestionably with out a trace of the atkins low carb diet or any other fleeting, unnatural adjustments flooding the markets. Delectables like kimchi, p'ajon, pulgogi, naengmyon, marun anjwu, and traditional drinks serivice salubrity superfluously. i wish our system didnt buoy foul fast food and the narrow selection therein. the tours of taste transcend that tomb.

Songrooms

2004-08-07T23:43:00.000+09:00

songrooms are extremely popular in korea. they're better understood by bending the direct translation into "karaoke room." tonight all the cohorts and a yonsei student who went to st olaf last year, Minah Oh, went to one amongnst the plethora of these musical outlets. unlike a karaoke bar in america, each room is encapsulated and fairly soundproof. so the shy voices out there are less embarressed and more apt to open there voice to the microphone. we all belted out some our favorite korean, japenese and english songs. smiles, laughs, claps, tranfixed states all met each other's crooning. who knew singing with friends could be so fun.

tiolets, classes, and more

2004-08-07T10:25:00.000+09:00

The latrine's water pressure is not strong enough for toilet paper, one must place it in a trash can. However, i first began flushing it. i assumed there would be a sign informing me otherwise. but it's as unspoken a rule as putting a sign on your house reading "don't steal from me."

Hanguel is everywhere. Of course it would be, but when you can't read it effieciently it becomes arduous. moreover, daunting. in dint of it's phonetic consistency, you can always read the language, you just cant always understand it. you realize how many words are in a language. and you gape at those who know 3 or more here.

im in a korean language course just above the beginning level taught by a very goofy woman . she only uses korean. everyone in the class, interestingly enough (given historical animosity, is japanese (except for myself and a frech student). thankfully the french student knows some english, so if either of us dont understand we can ask one another for clarification. the dialogue is not always clearified though. nevertheless, i enjoy the classes very much, am learning canyons full, and have an unending desire to speak korean well - i have 5 months time.

more bits later

stimulus

2004-08-04T23:28:00.000+09:00

as expected, stimulus overload over the past 30 plus hours ive been awake. first however, i took off on the thrid not the second since an overcautious flight agent would not let me through the gates on the 2nd. she misinterpreted my visa, locked out my flight and sent me home. their was a certain subconscious mental preparation for the trip, which deflated once marooned in mn for another day. from this floating state, i became fortunately ungrounded, differently this time, as the following day they let me board the aircraft. both of my flights provided amiable plane buddies. the first to chicago a golfer guru and his wife from minneapolis. the second flight, 14 hours in length, was even better as i was placed next to Bosook and Su. Su i met in the check in, and Bosook i met on the plane. 3 points. 1, the billowing marshmellow terrain of clouds at 39000 feet is far to celestial and powerful (i even saw a circle rainbow, which i captured and will post maybe). 2, ive never been such a minority, an invaluably subjective experience. 3, Su (a friendly commonwoman from Busan who helped translate conversations and guide them with others) and Bosook (biologist in boston) both taught me all sorts of korean and made an otherwise time consuming flight enjoyable.
Seoul: busy, congested, unsafe driving, flashing neon signs. the crowds make an interesting atmosphere, one which constitutes the individual nature of seoul to be sure. Hi Jin Kim, Hyoung Joo, and Deun keun kim, the 3 cohorts ive met so far: very nice, took us olies (5 total) out on the town, fun indeed.

Creation

2004-07-31T07:52:00.000+09:00

In the beginning, there was the shadowed chamber known as log. Thanks to a chance encounter at the bank with Professor Wilson, i discovered today the patent postings known as blog. So away with the fog, this journal is lit for an occasional monologue. moreover, one can interact by posting questions, comments, or an occasional flog. welcome! and take to this site at your own leisurely jog.