Happy New Year!

It's not really new years here in Asia. Why? Because Lunar New Year is what they celebrate around here. That's cool, another day off for GI Justin like the Superbowl (methinks there were just too many calls in sick over the years and/or people drinking at work watching it on TV anyway). I'll take it- eventhough I won't watch it, because I'd rather watch drunk people sing Karaoke (It's Norebang here) than football. And you can't even watch it for the commercials. Why? Armed Forces Network (AFN) has to edit them out because they can't endorse any product or company. So it's no good anyway. I watched it off and on last year in the Sandbox, but only because to not watch it would get you branded a commie and what the heck, I had to work that day and the other 122 I was there. 4 months I'll never get back. What's 4 hours then?
In any case, I hope 2009 is a good year. There's a lot of things going on for me and the rest of the world. If Kim Jong Il was smart, he'd attack us during the Superbowl, but I wonder if we're just going to wait them out. Let their airplanes wear out, their shells disintegrate, and their people fall apart and starve to death. I'm guessing that's their strategy, because absorbing 22 million people healthcare and education nightmares would cripple this economy even with their lower birthrate. I guess they could just absorb a few miles a year until they get it all. Just say in 2009, they'll move the DMZ to the 39th parallel and go up from there. Good luck keeping that orderly.
I've talked too much about that stuff. 2009 will be a good year. I'm working with good people, our family is healthy (despite Violet popping positive for TB), we're safe and not worried about finances and our marriage. We drive junky cars, but that's part of the adventure. Only the cool kids drive crappy cars anyway. I know I'm not compensating for something at least.
I did just finish the mini-series from 1978 called "Centennial" based on the book by James A. Michener. It was interesting, to say the least. I don't even remember too much from 1978 (I was in Kindergarten) but that show was really good. Maybe it was that sort of 'connection to the land' that convinced me to buy land in Idaho City- although none of my ancestors lived up there. I fought forest fires up there in 1992, and camped there in the 1980s for Church and Scouts, but it's not sacred land like Kirtland or Nauvoo. I'll tell you, there's no better place to build a doomsday compound- there's more backhoes and police scanners per capita there than anywhere else. I'm a fiddle-playing, SKS-owning, ham radio-operating, dirt-bike-driving, military trained Mormon-survivalist. I think I'll fit right in. But I'll have to outsource the gutting of animals, because -YUCK.
Here's my Christmas Present to myself. Get a Harley if you want to keep the midlife crises away. I'm too young for that phase of life, but now the door is open to get something bigger when/if I make it that far or Julie doesn't trade me in for a trophy husband. I'll get a cigarette boat or an airplane to be dumb in.

Christmas in Korea Part 2

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OK, so we took the kids to Lotte World for Christmas Eve. One reason is because we'd be sitting around the house tell the kids to be quiet, stop running, calm down, shhhhh, and then the neighbor lady would come up and tell us she can't sleep and we're bothering her. We smell her smoke in the summer and don't say anything but then again, whining to an Asian about cigarette smoke is going to get you nowhere. At least they don't smoke in the subway stations like they used to. I can only imagine this place 10 years ago.

Anyway, it was 122,000 won and worth every penny because we kept them occupied and at the end of the night, they got into bed with absolutely NO argument. I think this summer I want to go backpacking in the Sawtooths. They'll walk 3 miles and sleep really well at night.

Lotte World is an indoor and outdoor amusement park with an ice rink in the bottom, and a mall built on one side and the outdoor part is on an island. Owned by Lotte Dept Store, it's a status thing. See, every company has a baseball team, orchestra and an amusement park or something heavy-hitting. It's really interesting. When we got there, we had NO idea how to get to the rides, because it looks like everything is hidden. There's all these people riding the rides, but how did they get there? Finally, we look and see there's a series of tunnels and staircases to get to the rides. The first ride was a 'hot air balloon' on a track that raises you off the platform and goes around the ceiling of the huge building you're in. It was a good way to try to figure out how these Koreans get to their rides. And at the same time, there's all these shows at the stage at one end. They're singing all these Christmas songs and dancing and it looked really festive. So we went around and then got a speedpass to Pharoah's Curse, another ride with a 5 kilometer long line (it's metric here). Then we rode another ride and went to find food. Their hot dogs were 2500 won each, not bad and they had an English menu at the burger stand. So about 12,000 won later, we're all full. Not huge portions, but not bad prices, either. Thank goodness they didn't send me to Japan! Koreans hate them anyway. So we hit the rides again and the kids had a good time. They really ate up all the attention the people in the lines gave them. Violet has grown used to the ajumas waving at her, she just stares back now and I have to grab her hand and wave, because I don't want my clown-haired kid to offend them and 5,000 years of culture. I can't say no when ajuma and ajashi offer their seats to my kids, either. They're 80 years old and standing on the subway for my overnourished kids to climb all over the poor saps next to them? When those folks were my kids' ages, they were lucky to have food every day or miss getting beaten by a Japanese soldier, trust me- Spencer won't shoot up a high school because he had to stand on the subway when half of Korea decided to go to Jamshil station at the same time! But you can't turn down any gift. Julie gave the kid in the picture here a fruit snack and the kid's parents gave us a stuffed heart and I think the kid cried. So Julie's feeling guilty, they felt obligated to give a gift because they accepted one, and she complained we should not take their stuff. But you can't offend them by saying no. See why there's so many wars over here? On my mission if you completmented something that someone had, they had to give it to you. So I had underhanded companions that went around extorting things from people, belts, shoes, clothes, etc. I guess that leather sport coat and quena I got are booty from my exploits, but I didn't try to take everything I saw!

They sold Hite beer at the place. Apparently, it's cool to knock a few back with the family at the park. But the signs at the rides said if you're drunk, don't ride the ride. And in this country, it's a limited-liability state. You drive drunk into a wall, you can't sue Daewoo because your car let you drive drunk and you can't sue Hyundai Contruction because they built a wall you crashed into. On the plus side, medical care is cheap, plentiful and just as good as the USA. I might get my face shored up a bit before I leave. Take about 10 years off in case I need to be prepared!
My favorite part of the night was the ride/game called Desperadoes. You're on these 'horses' that rock up and down like a real one (but do horses let you shoot guns when they're dragging you around? I hate horses anyway. But you have a gun and out comes the guide jabbering away in Korean (NOTHING in this park is in English, really) and all of a sudden, everyone starts blowing him away so I did, too. You're in this bar scene and you're supposed to shoot the bad guys, so I start firing away like John Wayne in any number of spaghetti westerns. I got the high score in round one and they take your picture. I wanted all the Hangooks to see the Kojangey from Idaho with a new 357 at home in a box (in Idaho) could shoot and defend their soil. They're just like the Japanese, they want to shoot guns and look tough. In Guam, they all go to shooting galleries and pay way too much to shoot a 9mm, AK-47, M-16 or 44 mag. Anyway, the next round I was in 3rd because the stupid horses started galloping and I couldn't get a good site on the wagon we were chasing or something. I don't know- it was all in Korean. I guess the horse was galloping in the saloon we were shooting up in round 1. What the heck is wrong with these people? I need to take my Korean counterpart at work to the US. He is an F-4 pilot (the USAF stopped flying those in 1996!) and pretty serious, but he's starting to figure out I'm a total goofball. But that guy needs to come to the US and shoot guns and waterski and go 4 wheeling, like I'm going to this summer when I go home. I only wish I could take my Harley with me.
11PM comes and the kids are dragging their butts around. It's funny. They're so tired and we have a long subway ride ahead of us. A LONG subway ride ahead. It's crowded and they're moping around, after the Korean version of Wall Street goes by, it's emptier and they get to sit down. Then we transfer and finally get to Ichon Yeok and we have to walk the 500 meters home. Those poor kids! They got in bed and instantly died right there. It was a lot of fun to watch them be so tired and go right to sleep. They woke up around 9AM. Christmas Day, when every other kid in the world couldn't sleep past 6AM, they're still sawing logs. Dang, I look fat in that picture.
Best 122,000 won I ever spent!

Christmas in Korea

A few questions I've gotten from Facebook (the reason I've slowed down on posts here) is if they celebrate Christmas here like they do in the US. Short answer : yes. But they don't really understand it all. This part of the world (isolated more than Japan in the grand scheme of things) has had Confucian influence for over 3,000 years, so the whole Christianity thing is really new. Less than half of the people observe any religion at all (which is why it's amazing to me the crime rate is so low). So they don't understand the emphasis on Christ's birth. They just know it's a time to stock Christmas stuff, so have they gotten over-commercialized? Not really, have we? Yes, because we're the ones with the Savior and they're the ones with the traditions we've been able to influence. But this blog isn't about us, it's about my experiences in Korea.
We did have a Church Christmas Party at the Yeongdunpo Chapel with the Koreans and the Seoul English Branch. It was a smashing success in my opinion, and not only because I'm on the activities committee. But it was a lot of fun. I wish I could have stayed longer, but I had the "CJ3 Holiday Social" to attend, of which I'm on the committee for them as well! Man, I'll tell you what, based on my responsibilities alone, I deserved to be a major in the AF a LONG time ago!
But they had a cool shadow puppet thing where a guy follows Jesus around and sees all the miracles and learns about him and his suspicions change to discipleship. It was all in Korean and you had the words to read on the screen that were projected up there but you could feel the emotions as they read their parts and moved their puppets around. At some point a little Korean kid got in there and messed it up, and I'm sure the parents were embarassed, but it didn't detract from the show at all. Here's the clincher- when the KOJANGEYs and the MIGOOKS (Americans and Koreans) do an activity together and there's food involved, the Americans get turned off by the Koreans' lack of waiting in lines. They just swarm the tables and grab what they can and there's no order or anything. It's the same on the roads so the Americans get offended that they wait in line forever and get nothing at the end. So this time we announced the way food would be served. And it worked. It took an hour or so to feed everyone, but it was better than a lot of people getting mad and not wanting to do anything with the Koreans again. Maybe one of these days we'll play softball against them or something. Collectively, they're an extremely capable people, but they aren't much as individuals. They're too programmed to think a certain way to be adaptable other than in a survival situation. The US teaches people to think outside the box and rewards rebels that make it. Here, it isn't like that. But they love to see our kids and touch their hair. Especially Violet the red head.
I played the violin a little at the Christmas Party and then it was off to Yongsan to watch everyone get loaded and stand around socializing. We sang some Norebang (Karaoke in Korean) and drove people to the clubs so they didn't drive out on the roads.
Our Christmas tree is 3' tall in the spirit of everything being small in Asia.
I'm working half days so there's no real hurry to get everything done. That's nice.

Harlem Globetrotters / Army Equipment

We went to see the Harlem Globetrotters on base Monday night. They put on a good show, but I have to wonder just how good the Washington Generals are! They keep getting beaten all the time. Have them tour with the Lakers, and where are the cheerleaders?
It was so crowded, we had to sit on the gym floor for the first half. But the fieldhouse gym isn't that big anyway.
The kids were total monsters the next day, and we met for the Christmas Tree Lighting at Yongsan in the cold before skipping the Santa part for a pizza and heading home. I paid the rent on the way home and the real estate agent is amazed that our utility costs are so low (they have to give us the unused money at the end of the year). But 3.79 million won later, I got out of there, paid up for December. Even with the low won rate, it still seems like a lot of money, because it is.
Today at work, I had to get a new ID card, because my little chip in the card stopped working. It doesn't matter, the computer the Army put on my desk in the 1950s era building is a piece of junk. Any slower and we'd lose a war with Guam. The Army is used to having crummy stuff, so they put up with it. Not so with the Big Blue. Mama Air Force makes sure her little airmen are taken care of with nice computers and facilities that don't have asbestos and lead paint. She's gone off the Reservation with the F-22 fleet purchase, but we're just a few more mishandled nukes from that changing as well. We'll see what BHO does in office, if he chops the military back 25% they probably won't touch Korea at least in the near-term. Then after I leave Korea, they can start slicing back things around here. Hey Army, your stuff sucks.

Korean Labor and Goods

So I needed to get a new bridge for my violin. I got it from Julie's Mom in March 07 when she passed away she gave it to me. It's beautiful-sounding and has a lot of character (meaning it's not all varnished up like a new one)- and it's over 100 years old. Carved in 1903 or 1907, it's a Stradivarius copy but it sounds like a real one to me! Then again, I have an untrained ear.
I took it down to Insa-dong Market with the kids and for 25,000 won (about $20 USD) and in 20 minutes, it had a new bridge and for another 12,000 won, I got tuners put on the tailpiece. 35,000 won got me a new set of D'Addario Helicore Strings which is cheaper than the US. I was just amazed it was done so fast. In Papillion at a certain music store that will remain nameless- I dropped off a cherrywood bow and the guy ruined it trying to get the old horsehair out of it. I should have refused to pay for that and really let them have it, but I'd bought a carbon-fiber bow at a better shop in town. So when I go to the States, I can expect more of that. So I'd better not get used to it.
And I got a music stand for 22,000 won. It's a really nice one, too. Julie likes to play duets with me, but doesn't like when I look over her shoulder and play in her ear. So a music stand will help her out. Cheap won, cheap stuff. Korea ROCKS!
We got a Christmas gift for a Korean orphan for around $30- a remote control car. Treasures in the markets are a lot of fun. You can find all sorts of stuff and the trick is - you're not looking for it right then, but if you don't get it, you'll never see it again. That's the hard part.
Finally, we're getting a Wii for Christmas. They're $250 on base at the PX and 257,000 won ($190 USD) off base. But the Korean ones don't play US games and don't come with much. But I found controllers off-base at the Electronics Market and they're 27,000 won. If it works on our Wii, I just saved a bundle on accessories. If it doesn't, I only lost 27,000 won. I'm going to test it out on Chris Chang's Wii. Then I need the stuff for Wii Fit, Rock Band and Guitar Hero. And the dance thing or whatever.
Oh, and I want one of those nice Daelim Motorcycle Trucks. It's a copy of a Kawasaki Ninja (Hyosung also makes a Ninja Knockoff) with a mini-bongo bed. There's only one word to describe how people ride motorcycles around here - DEATHWISH.

Korean TV

OK, so we live off-Post (it's an Army Post, not an Air Force Base) so we don't get the government-issued TV. We do have cable TV and internet here (at least the internet is in English). The vast majority of TV channels are Korean. So there's a lot of TV dramas that have people talking to each other and to me, it feels like they're going to start hitting each other any minute. Lots of tension. Then again, they may be just saying hi- but it sure looks intense. Anyway, they also show a lot of subtitled CSI and Law and Order. I don't know how the people read that fast, because I'll glance at the characters and try to sound out the word, but it changes way too fast. I do know all the sounds to the Hangul characters, but not when they're on screen for 2 nanoseconds.
The nice thing here, is they show very limited commercials, so you see most of the show at once. Then at the end, there's 15 minutes of commercials. So you just mute the TV and get stuff done. I need to post some of the commercials here, because they're funny. There's one that's not funny at all, it's kind of scary. There's a mountain in the middle of Seoul (there's really a lot of them), with the S Korean flag (Taegugki) on the top of the mountain, and all these giant hands start digging at the mountain and the flag starts to fall. Then other giant hands grab the flag and hold it up and fix the mountain. At the very end, there's a little family and they all hold up their pointer finger and the announcer says a bunch of stuff in Korean and then the phone number 111 ("il, il, il") pops on the screen. I didn't get what it was about and my description was too hard for my ROK counterparts to understand, until one of them that used to live in the US explained it to me. It's to report N Korean activities (like if you see someone plant a bomb or do something suspicious). Brought to you by the National Intelligence Service: http://eng.nis.go.kr/app/main/index
They have an immigration threat that makes the guest worker program in the US look Nobel Peace Prize material. People mostly go to the US to work and earn money. If they come here, it's usually to assassinate someone. So they have 55 years of paranoia that's worked its way into daily life.
Other commercials are for cars, kimchi refrigerators, and telephone services. Most are weird to Americans. But they seem to get our stuff, or it wouldn't be on here.
Maybe the US should show all the commercials at the end of the show- I wouldn't complain.
The kids watch Disney Asia which is more themed toward this part of the world. I wish we could go to Hong Kong Disney from here. Maybe we'll save up some won and go.

Ganghwa Island 강화도

We took another field trip for a few guys leaving the office. One was a commander out there at Ganghwa Island- just a mile away from N Korea. We could see the N Koreans moving around outside, but it was really cold outside, so there's not a lot of reason to be out there. There were some really grainy images on a camera they were panning around. I saw a guy on a bicycle and a truck rumbling around. It's a neat island with the Observation post on the North side to keep an eye on the 'show' village they have there to deceive the S Koreans. Interesting place.
There was also a museum that had exhibits on the invasions of the Japanese, Americans, and French. While it's a little unnerving that you're an American and they're showing your people killing their people, a little skirmish where our guys turned their cannons on a fortress and then let out a few hundred soldiers to wreak havoc on their military in 1871, is nothing compared to what the Japanese did around here. They still have a bad reputation around here. The fastest way to make friends with a Korean is tell him how bad the Japanese are. I'm not a big fan of Japan, because my kids can't be quiet on the subway here, so they'd talk on their subway and they'd hate us. Korea isn't like that, so it's nice that way. That and the subway doesn't cost 4 bucks to go 1 mile. The people in Korea are really friendly and open.
Once again, I thought I was buying manjoo on the street and it wasn't. So I gave it all away to Koreans. Manjoo is pudding-filled cake balls they sell on the street. YUMMY.