2022: October

October’s fall, when the weather finds a perfect balance between hot and cold. The leaves begin to change, and your steps outdoors gain crunching background music.

Biseulsan

The first week of October, I drove to 비슬산 (Biseulsan) a mountain to the west of Daegu. I drove up the winding mountain roads to 예연서원 (Yeyeonseowon) a Confucian Academy.

If you haven’t noticed, I enjoy visiting the temples here. If you look carefully at the paintings above the doors and windows outside of the temples, they are always vibrant, and generally tell a story. Some tell fantastical stories of how a temple was founded in a particular location. Others tend to tell a story of Buddha’s divinity.

This particular temple seems to tell the story of a boy finding a cow, loving the cow as they both grow, and then the cow dying. I’m not sure what the message is, beyond time passing, but… here it is!

At the entrance of this temple, there were 4 Buddha statues to welcome you. One held a dragon in the right hand, and a golden ball in the left. Who knew Buddha’s dragons like to play fetch?!

Bundang

The second weekend of October was a long weekend, in honor of the founding of the Korean alphabet 한글 (Hangeul). I trained up to 분당 (Bundang) to visit H and her family, taking advantage of the 3 days.

We spent that Saturday enjoying the beautiful weather, picnicking with friends and watching the children play. We ended our day with a delicious meal at a fancy Japanese restaurant.

Our Sunday plan to go camping was thwarted by heavy rain. Instead, we filled our day with children’s arts and crafts. I don’t think I’ve ever cut so many mini paper pictures!! To ensure the kids could get some fresh air and exercise, we had a bubble blowing session in a shelter outside the apartment.

On Monday, I headed back home to reality. We would meet again for Halloween weekend.

Mid-October

As the landscape was turning from green to a sea of vibrant red, yellow and orange, I took more walks after school, soaking in the beauty and great weather

One weekend, my neighbor M and I went to 영남제일완 (YeongnamJeilwan), originally an ancient gate in Daegu. As we were walking about, we could hear music playing. Naturally, we wanted to check it out, so, heading downhill, we started hearing the familiar sounds of Korean traditional instruments. An elderly man saw us poking around, and waved us over to where he and his group of friends were having a traditional music jam session. They handed us a 징 (jing), a brass gong, and tried to show us the rhythm to play.

Even watching the hand holding the stick, hitting the jing, I couldn’t quite count the rhythm. It did not seem to follow a basic 4 or 8 count structure. I could count 1 & 2 & 3 easily, but then the rhythm would quickly change, and the rings of the jing would be echoing over with each strike. M and I both attempted, but also tried to find a respectful way to bow out after about 10 minutes of intense brass ringing through our ears. Eventually, they group took our instruments and began playing again. After observing a few more minutes, we waved, bowed and said goodbye. We captured that special moment in our memories, but sadly not on our phones.
**Here is a (not-so-great quality) video of what the traditional music sounds like. Try to listen for the rhythm each individual instrument is playing. Listen for the jing! Samulnori

부채춤 (Buchaechum)

The final weekend of October was going to be busier than I’d originally planned. I was taking part in a traditional fan dancing class (부채춤: Buchaechum), and would also be driving 3.5 hours north to 강원도 (Gangwon-do) to spend Halloween weekend camping with H and the family.

As pleasant fate would have it, M and I both were signed up for the same fan dancing class. As it would be a 1+ hour (one way) public transportation, we decided to carpool to the lesson in my car. We arrived to the lesson, where we were met with other foreign teachers (this was an event only offered to foreign teachers!!) and given hefty welcome bags filled with water and snacks, as well as large bright neon fans.

The instructor was graceful and energetic, encouraging us in Korean. We learned a 30 second long routine, which we performed in two separate groups, and then combining the groups into one. The steps themselves, may appear simple, but the technique was difficult. Steps were made with slightly bent knees, heel-toeing forward and side, toe-heeling for any move backwards. The most difficult was the opening and closing of the fans.

The fans were heavier than I had imagined. And they were a little stiff, as they were new. When opening the fans, the movement is “outside-in”. Imagine having a fan in your right hand, and the arm is extended out to the right. You must open the fan with the swift flick of the wrist, towards your body. The same goes for having the fans above your head or low, at your waist. To close the fan, you flick away from the body. A mastered dancer can do this easily, and you’d barely notice the wrist flick. The open or close was usually within 1 single count, however most of us were struggling to execute it in even 3 counts.

The signature move of the dance is creating a blossoming flower with the group, which gathers in a circle, backs inward. As we gathered, we made a standing blossom, which opened and closed within 8 counts. Those standing at the back of the circle faced kept their arms and fans high above their heads, bending and waving the fans behind their heads. Those in front faced the “audience”, keeping their fans low and in front. Those on the side must gradually place their fans high to low, in order to match the back and front and create the flower. The following step was to create a circling flower. Every dancer walks in-sync, around the circle, and the fans must follow their respective positions, not unlike cars on a rollercoaster.

It’s a beautiful site to behold, when it is done well. Here is a beautiful example of a traditional Korean fan dance: Buchaechum

Gangwon-do

After we finished with our fan dance lesson, I hopped into Chip and started driving north to 태기산 (Taegisan), a mountain in Pyeongchang, Gangwon-do. I was meeting H’s family and friends for a weekend of camping. The drive was 3.5 hours, but the scenery along the highway was lovely! The campsite was way back in the woods of the mountain, where you actually begin wondering if you read the sign correctly. The trees were golden giants lining the path.

I arrived before 4pm, giving me plenty of time to relax (while everyone was busy unpacking and putting up their tents). I entertained the children while the parents were busy with preparations, and explored the grounds. As it was Halloween weekend, many campsites were decorated with ghosts, pumpkins and hanging lights.

Our group consisted of11 people: 2 Americans, and 3 Korean families. 5 of us had studied at UNC Charlotte (which is how I first met H, as my freshman year suitemate), or lived in Charlotte. We enjoyed a delicious dinner, grilling meat, reminiscing about the Charlotte life and talking about different experiences in Korea.

As the sun finally went down, and early enough to ensure the children would get to bed on time, we went trick’or treating around the campground. Pikachu made a surprise appearance, which drew in a crowd of both children and adults. There were a few of us who had costume’d up, but it was a lovely way to meet fellow camping families!

The children loaded up on candy, and were sent off to bed. The rest of us enjoyed a few hours of crisp night air, a small bon fire, and soju.

The next morning, after a hearty breakfast, we began tearing down the tents and getting ready to leave. I took charge of washing the dishes, as I knew the parents would all have their hands full with packing, tents and children. We headed out around lunch time, and stopped at a restaurant in the nearby village to eat and grab ice cream and coffee.