A Marine! A Hero! A New Life!

Bill Hall slowly shuffles into his office, where his oak desk sits in the corner with stacks of 
paper, a laptop, and a printer. His walls display 82 years of life with badges of honor, framed 
photographs of himself and colleagues in uniform, and a poster board with information about 
New Wine Men’s Retreat Center, a men’s recovery center for alcohol and substance abuse that he founded.  

(Please click on the link below to read the full story).

http://www.rewritemagazine.com/

Going South

Korea hosted the 1988 Summer Olympics (Seoul) and will host the 2018 Winter Olympics (Pyeongchang). She's come a long way from the cease fire in 1953 to proudly being able to host not just one but soon two Olympics.  Why not a third?  Why not in Busan? Why not put in a bid for the 2020 Summer Olympics?

People either love or hate Busan.  We lean toward heavily dislike.  Young people enjoy the night life and the beautiful beaches.  The older folks enjoy the wealth that came with the skyrocketing real estate prices, thanks to the wildly successful port business.  Depending on what site you visit, the Port of Busan ranks 3^rd in the word in port traffic (Busan News 2013), 5th (Wikipedia 2011) or 10^th (Marine Insight 2011).  Whatever the ranking, it translates into a lot of people and traffic.  Hence our lack of love for the city.  Too many people, too much traffic, and never ending road construction.  The 1-1/2 hour drive south to Busan often ends up being 2-1/2 hours.

   

All Busan photos are stock photos from the internet.

In order to increase their chances of winning the 2020 games, Busan sought to solve the population and traffic problems by taking advantage of the available land nearby in Goeje.  The problem is, Goeje is an island.

Their answer was to build an underwater (on the ocean floor) tunnel combined with two suspension bridges. Since Korea had no experience in building underwater tunnels, they sought help from Denmark and together, they successfully built and opened the tunnel in December of 2010.  The 2020 Summer Olympics, however, was awarded to Tokyo.  Busan plans to bid again for the 2032 games.

The attached clip of the tunnel project is worth a watch if you have the time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9o5dtQ18I0

Jackson (our Cambodian “son”), the kids and I recently went on a field trip to Busan, Goeje Island and Oedo Island.  Oedo (pronounced Whe-Do), a private island purchased in 1969 by Mr. & Mrs. Lee Chang Ho, is now a magical botanical wonderland.  The 10 minute ride took 40 minutes as we detoured to visit some fun little island(ettes) to ooh and aah before we land on Oedo.

http://www.oneweirdglobe.com/2009/01/destination-geoje-do-oedo-paradise-island is a blog I found with great photos of Oedo.

New Busan port. 

 Goega bridges 1 & 2 (stock)

 http://nw.newsworld.co.kr

 Our GPS shows us driving in the ocean.

(For Korean history buffs, U.S/Korea had a POW camp at Goeje during the Korean War.)

Goeje POW Camp

POW Robert

 Robert and Jackson helping the POWs during their bath time.

It was fun walking behind this group of halmonies (grandmothers) and harabujis (grandfathers) and eavesdrop on their war time reminiscence. 

Until I saw this women's dorm, I never gave much thought to women prisoners of war, of any war. 

  

 Drying fish in the sun.

The kids passed on the fresh fish and opted for a picnic lunch on top of the Windy Hill.

Windy Hill.  

We topped off the day with dinner at a restaurant overlooking part of Jagalchi Market (Korea’s largest seafood market).

The following photos are from the internet (Jagalchi Market).

There are well over 4,000 islands in Korea.  CNN Travel states 3,358 are officially named.  Below is a link with fun info on 33 islands worth visiting in Korea. 

http://travel.cnn.com/seoul/visit/33-islands-korea-677487

  

It's All About the Relationships!

It’s all about the relationships.  Even when it comes to the apples.  

We have an apple guy that comes to the campus every week.  He has a large apple orchard and my suspicion is that he makes a pretty good living from it.  Yet, every week, he drives an hour each way to sell apples to Handong students at 3 or 4 apples for a dollar.  By Korean standard, this is almost free.  He does this because he knows the students have very little money. 

His two sons graduated from Handong in 1996 and 1997.  There was no campus store then.  Nor the new road.  It took twice as long to get to town to pick up any food.  So he brought the apples onto the campus in order for the students to have some apples to snack on while they studied.  It's been over 15 years since his younger son graduated from Handong.  Yet, he still comes because he wants to give something back to the school.  He wants the students to be able to have some fresh apples.  It’s not about making a few dollars.  It’s about the students.  It's about giving back to the school that trained his two sons to obtain jobs at two top companies in the country.  

So when he said we could come visit his apple orchard on a field trip, we jumped at the chance.  All 50 plus of us.  They fed us.  They taught us how to spot the apples ready for pickin'.  They let us watch the apples being sorted by weight.  When it was time to go, we all lined up to buy the apples we picked to take home to eat, to bake, to make apple sauce, and to dry them for snacks.  

Sweet, crispy and wonderful apples!

For us, it wasn’t only about the apples.  It was about the new relationship we were developing with the “apple man.” 

Since I didn't do very well taking pictures, please visit my new favorite blog to view some fun pics.

Susan

http://korealantinga.blogspot.kr

Back in the Saddle

Susan and the kids are back in Korea after nearly 2 months visiting the states.  Life has now poured back into this shell of a house where dad has fended for himself the past month.  As their arrival approached I started culling the rotting vegetables from the refrigerator and cleaning the apartment "just enough" to show I was capable of surviving, but still that things were very much in need of mom's talent for keeping things in order.  Amazingly, their 7 suitcases of stuff, which was unpacked and spread around the floors, magically disappeared somehow into closets and storage around the apartment.  Soon, under mom's direction, everything was once again clean and shipshape with no sign of my "bachelor" stay.  Just as predictably, the kids tracked in a covering of sand for the just cleaned floor after their first trip to the beach.  The world is back in order and dad couldn't be happier.

Today starts the annual Chuseok holiday in Korea.  We are staying on campus this year after trying to travel on the suddenly gridlocked roadways last year.  Everyone in Korea takes to the roadways to visit their families and/or ancestral villages for Chuseok.  The holiday falls on Thursday this year, and the government extends the holiday an extra day on each end to allow for travel time.  From an American perspective, it is most like our Thanksgiving holiday.  There is, however, a gift giving component to Chuseok.  It is traditional for the family members to bring a present to their parents for the holiday.  This generally takes the form of a carefully selected box of flawless fruit, prime cuts of meat or some other delicacy.  All the markets set up special displays of these gift boxes attended to by employees attired in traditional Korean hanbok (colorful gowns).  The stores are crowded and there is excitement in the air.  We plan to help the remaining foreign students on campus celebrate by joining in with other faculty members to prepare a special Chuseok holiday meal for dinner on Thursday.

As you might imagine, many look towards public transportation during this time of intense national migration back home.  Reservations are generally made well in advance.  Despite the availability of planes, trains, subways and the KTX high speed rail, our family prefers to use the Korean bus system.  This is amazing in that I have a near phobia about buses.  I remember my first ride on a Greyhound bus as a child.  Even then, it was too cramped and uncomfortable.  As an adult, I'd rather walk than take a long distance bus in the US.  Korea is the Heaven of bus travelers however.  The intercity and long distant buses are spacious.  Usually 2 seats on one side and one seat on the other side of the isle.  Each seat has a light and air conditioning vent along with curtains for the window, a foot rest and more than enough legroom for a 6'5" passenger to even cross his legs.  There is a pocket in front of each seat to store small items, a cup holder, and space for small luggage over the seat.  Oh, and did I mention the seats recline way back and that they usually have a large screen tv mounted in the front?  It is certainly the most comfortable way to travel long distances in Korea.  Major routes have buses leaving as often as every hour - and there is plenty of room in the baggage compartment to store all the suitcases.  We always use the bus to to Incheon (a 4 hour ride) to fly to and from the states.  Riding these buses triggers a memory of what travel used to be like back in a more golden era.

Your very happy Korean correspondent

Home Alone

Traveling internationally is not the arduous experience one would anticipate.  Yes, the flights are long, but they are also usually more comfortable than domestic flights in the US.  Flying back and forth to Korea on Asiana Airlines reminds me of the thrill of flying in an airplane during the 50s.  The cabin stewardesses are attentive to your every need with nice meals, snacks, warm towels, slippers, headphones and lots to drink.  There are no signs of the cattle prods used to usher passengers on and off the plane for domestic flights, nor the shoe horns used to squeeze you into your seat in a plane cabin that is more reminiscent of a cattle car on the back of an 18 wheeler truck.  I wish I could say the US carriers offered a similar degree of service on international flights.  Somehow I doubt it.  We'll have to wait for a report from Susan who, with the kids, will rejoin me in Korea in mid September after flying home on United Airlines.  I had to return early to be here for the opening day of classes on August 19th.

Unfortunately, I arrived back in Korea just in time to experience the tail end of what I  am told has been the biggest heat wave in 85 years.  All I know is that it was over 90 degrees when I arrived back on campus at 1 a.m. after catching a bus and a cab from the airport in Seoul.  Thankfully we had installed a small air conditioner in our apartment.  Unfortunately we did not install one in the bedroom.  It is tough to sleep in a hot room with only a fan and the onset of jet lag.

While I was adjusting to the Korean heat wave, Susan and the kids were traveling down  to Imperial Beach for our annual 10 days at the beach to celebrate the end of summer.  Instead of hot sticky weather, they were enjoying cool ocean breezes and surfing lessons.  Although I wished I could have been with them, it made me very happy to think of them enjoying the little cottage on the sand next to the pier.  We have so many wonderful family memories there and it is indeed a blessing we have been able to arrange our schedule to continue to enjoy the cottage despite our move to Korea.

In anticipation of my opportunity to experience a bit of bachelorhood in Korea waiting for the family's return, Susan stocked the freezer with frozen hamburger patties, home made burritos and 

bulgogi bakes (similar to Philly cheese steaks) from Costco.  Surprisingly, I haven't yet broken into this supply thanks to meal invitations from faculty members and students.  It's not just the international flights that remind me of what it was like to live in the 1950s.  We do have a very supportive community here that helps me ward off the loneliness of being apart from Susan and the kids.

In order to keep myself busy, I attended to some needed car repairs for our Kia family van.  I'd noticed quite a bit of wear on the tires and decided to replace them all around.  The local auto mechanic can take care of this for you.  While replacing the tires he called to let me know that there was a broken U-joint that needed replacement and a brake hose that was failing as well.  I also asked him to replace the windshield wiper motor which had broken.  In the US, the costs of these repairs and new tires would have cost close to $2,000 based on my past experiences.  Here the total cost came to a little over $500.  As you can see, although some things are very expensive in Korea, car repairs are a bargain.  Everyone tells me the car repairmen and taxi drivers are all honest.  I think they're right!

Your faithful (and a bit lonely) Korean correspondent

A Visit to California and Korean Banking.

This Thursday we return to California for a short visit to put things in order before returning to Korea for a much longer commitment.  We hope to visit as many friends as possible, visit our home church, attend to the 2012 taxes, pack for the longer stay in Korea and fit in a bit of a vacation up at the Mammoth Lakes condo we share with a group of partners.  I'll return to Korea in 3 weeks for the fall school term and Susan and the kids will return in mid September when airfares are cheaper.  It will seem odd visiting the only home our kids have known until our adventure in Korea.  We don't have any present thought of selling the home in the near future.  Too many sentimental memories.  The kids are looking forward to California and the opportunity to see their friends at home.  They are also especially looking forward to meeting the new resident puppy at home named Lucy.  They have seen lots of pictures of the young lady who is the offspring of our golden lab Koda.

We are happy to escape Korea for the summer.  The days are getting hot and the humidity is rising.  Still, it cools off somewhat in the evening.  It is nothing like the heatwave we experienced when we arrived in Korea last August.  We have since installed an air conditioner and have several fans.  

I've not mentioned much about the banking system in Korea.  In someways it is wonderfully convenient, and in other ways needlessly complicated.  Susan is a bit of an anomaly over here in that she doesn't have a job.  Because of her Korean birth, she gets a more versatile visa than the rest of us.  Still, she cannot get a credit card or account in her name.  The same is true for obtaining a cell phone.  We have also found that some bills need to be paid through a particular bank.  Other banks are better for other purposes.  I suspect most Koreans have at least 3 bank accounts.  On the plus side, there are no such things as checks in Korea.  Everything is done online or through an ATM.  It is common to send money directly to a bank account to pay a bill or loan money to a friend.  In that regard, it is wonderfully convenient.  It is also nice to know that Susan needs me to open the accounts.  Once the accounts are opened she gets an additional card and takes care of all the banking.  Pretty neat system overall.

A Korean 4th of July

Not surprisingly, the 4th of July here in Korea carries none of the significance attached to the American holiday.  Ex patriots wanting to celebrate tend to find other expats for small local celebrations at a Western bar or head off to the beach to set off fireworks which are legal in Korea.  This year Susan noticed a poster at the local Korean supermarket advertising a free concert on the roof of the supermarket on July 4.  It listed a line up of opera singers who would be offering a program of popular hits.  This sounded great to us - but not to the kids.  We are in monsoon season and it was raining on the 4th.  They would prefer to stay home and find some "real" fun things to do.  Rather then drag them along and spoil our outing, Susan and I headed off to the market after Susan called to confirm the concert was still on despite the rain.  Along the way we shanghaied a visiting professor from the US who happened to be walking across the campus. 

In Korea most everything, including stores, are multiple stories because flat space is at such a premium in this mountainous country.  This local supermarket was 8 stories high.  Groceries were on one level and the other levels were devoted to department store items and parking.  We drove up to the 7th level where they have an outdoor entertainment area only to discover they moved the concert indoor to a level below in a wide corridor used for the escalator system.  Chairs had been arranged and a crew was busy setting up the sound and light equipment.

As we found seats, I wondered at the likelihood of a grocery store in Anaheim offering a free opera concert on their premises to their patrons and the residents who lived in the neighborhood.  Not going to happen, and if it did, few would show up.  I think this sort of a concert is unusual even here in Korea where music lessons are a normal part of growing up and we find ourselves surrounded by wonderfully talented student musicians and singers here at the university.  The concert started with the introduction of the market owner who apologized that we weren't able to experience his hope of offering a summer concert on the rooftop under the stars.  He promised to carefully save profits so that he could construct awnings on the roof to provide shelter for another concert in the future.

The concert that followed far exceeded our expectations.  The series of baritones, tenors and a lovely soprano were wonderful despite the less than ideal conditions.  One baritone noticed some "foreigners" in the audience and sang for us a beautiful rendition of "My Way" made famous by Frank Sinatra.  Its not my favorite song, but his voice was magnificent and put a big smile on my face.  Susan's favorite was the soprano saxophone player who played so beautifully she didn't know whether to laugh or cry.  We could not have had a lovelier time - made all the better by the absence of our kids who would have probably whined throughout.  Not that there weren't plenty of kids present, most of whom were very young.  That produced a lot of chatter through the performances which was a bit distracting.  Pohang is a blue collar port city largely devoted to the steel industry.  Most of the artist who sang were classically trained residents of Pohang.  Their leader explained that they were committed to taking culture to the poorer residents of the city and sought out opportunities to sing at venues like our market.  They certainly accomplished their goal, and delighted Susan and me with a wonderful way to celebrate the 4th of July.  I should probably add that the kids weren't entirely left out.  We picked up some Krispy Kreme donuts earlier in the day from their sole outlet in downtown Pohang inside Lotte, a luxury department store.  They were very pleased at the rare treat.