Yi Sun Sin, Royal Wedding, School Tragedy

Thursday was the birthday of Korea's most beloved general, Yi Sun-Sin. He was born in Asan, which is ten minutes from school, so me and Csilla went to be a part of the festivities. There was a huge festival in the town. We also went to the memorial built in honor of this great hero of Korea.

Yi Sun-Sin was the general who led the Korean navy to victory over the Japanese during the Japanese invasion in the late 1500's. He never lost a battle and was one of the reasons why Korea was able to withstand the Japanese. He invented several new battle techniques including the Turtle ship, which is a wooden ship with an iron spiked cover, protecting the men on board. He crippled the Japanese navy, giving the Korean army a chance against the powerful Japanese army. He is buried in Asan and every year he is honored on his birthday.

I think he epitomizes what a true Korean patriot would be. All his battles were in defense against the Japanese, he never initiated an invasion of Japan. Before being called for duty, he was well educated and wrote poetry. He invented the Turtle ship to modernize the Korean navy. He was a brave and intelligent general who only fought because his country was being attacked.



At the memorial, we saw his home that his family continued to reside in after his death. We also saw the graves of his family (he is buried in a different area of Asan). His most beloved son, who was killed by the Japanese while he was at sea fighting, was also buried there. There were several gardens connecting each area of the memorial, which were blooming with a variety of flowers. The last area we went to was the shrine to Admiral Yi. When we reached the shrine, there were several elderly Korean men paying their respects to Yi. They lit incense, bowed, and said "Thank you great Admiral Yi" in Korean. It was touching to see these men, who most likely fought in the Korean War, paying homage to the greatest Korean war hero. I wonder sometimes what Yi would think of the issues facing both Koreas today. I don't think he could have ever imagined the tragedy that Korea faced in the last century: Japanese occupation and the division of his country.

We got back from the festival in time to watch the English Royal Wedding live. Csilla and I were the only people somewhat excited about the wedding, so we watched it together. I find English history and culture absolutely fascinating. It is one of the few monarchies that remain and one of the most well known. We loved watching it, for Csilla, to see all the Europeanisms reminded her of home. For me, watching the royal wedding was like glimpsing the hundreds of royal European weddings that have occurred over history. There is so much tradition and history that is represented, it's beautiful to see. Amidst a world that is changing faster than ever before, we could see an event that has remained the same for about two thousand years.

While we were watching the wedding, Csilla got a call from one of her Korean friends. She lives in the Korean dorm across from our dorm. She told Csilla that a freshmen girl in the Korean dorm had committed suicide by jumping from the 6th floor. She was 18. We do not know too much information about her, except that she was not adjusting well to school. It was a huge shock, especially since it happened in a dorm on campus. There was a lot of chaos at the dorm as ambulances rushed to the scene and police came to file a report. It breaks my heart that a young girl with so much life to be lived ahead of her would think that there was nothing left to live for. I pray that her family may find peace amidst this tragedy and that the school may honor her memory by raising awareness among students about being alert for signs from friends and classmates that may be suicidal. Too much remains unsaid, we need to care enough to care about each other.

Thailand Trekking: Day Two

We woke early for a delicious breakfast cooked by our guide Gee. He made us eggs, toast with homemade jelly, and pineapple. It is winter in Thailand, so the days are hot and dry, but the night is cool, around fifty degrees. The morning air was cool and crisp, so we huddled around the fire while eating our breakfast.


After we had breakfast, it was time to hit the trail. Today will be the longest trek, about eight hours of hiking over six hills. We hiked our tallest hill today as well, which was around 800 ft. It will be a tough day, but the last leg of the hike would be on the backs of Asian elephants, so that was motivation for the group.

As we left the village, we immediately began a vertical hike up the first hill. When I say a vertical slope, I mean VERTICAL! We were on our hands and knees, clutching our bamboo sticks for support, slipping on the dry dusty trail. We hike uphill for about forty minutes before we reached a point where we could stand on our feet.


We then continued on the trail, hiking down beautiful valleys, pristine streams, and breathtaking cliffs. Even though it was the dry season, there was a lot of life in the forest and quite a few flowers in bloom.


On the last hill, we had to cross from one side of the top of the hill to the other. The trail went around the edge of the hill, which was extremely frightening! I was already slipping and sliding all over the place, to have literally six inches between me and a 500 meter cliff was very nerve wracking. Meanwhile, our guide was skipping along this narrow path, telling us to be careful and smile.



We descended from this hill to a group of locals who lead elephant treks through the hills. We had lunch there, resting our weary feet in the ice cold brook nearby. After lunch, we had the much anticipated hour long elephant ride through the hills. I have no words to describe this experience besides amazing, breathtaking, majestic, intriguing, and awe-inspiring. The elephants were magnificent gentle giants that seemed unfazed by the fact that they were carrying three people. To ride through the hills of Thailand on the back of an elephant is an experience that will stay with me until the day I die, it was more than anything I could have imagined. After a long day of trekking, to reach the village we would be staying in for the night by elephant was great.



The village we stayed in was a group from the Hmong tribe. It was a larger village than the Karen village we stayed in the day before. There were about 2,000 people that lived in this village. The Hmong people are not nomadic like the Karen tribe, so the village was a lot more settled and permanent. After a lovely dinner cooked by our guide Gee, we watched a group of the local children dance a traditional dance. They were absolutely adorable and looked exquisite in their traditional dress. We spent this last evening watching the stars in the clear sky, appreciating the seclusion we have here in this place from the rest of the world.

Easter in Seoul

Happy Easter from Korea! I spent Easter weekend in Seoul. I stayed with the Byeons, who were very happy to spend some time together.

Thursday night after Maundy Thursday service, I went with Hyesun to see the movie "Jane Eyre" based on the book by Charlotte Bronte. The book is one of my favorites, so I had high expectations. It was pretty good, the movie was pretty accurate to the book. It was nice to spend time with Hyesun, celebrating the end of midterms for both of us. Hyesun will be graduating this summer, so it is a bittersweet time for her as she prepares to leave the academic world to enter the workforce. I think she is excited about this new chapter, yet at the same time, she doesn't feel ready quite yet to say goodbye to school. I think this is true for a lot of Korean students. Korean students are taught to spend all of their energy studying and preparing for the next exam and the next academic level. When the time comes to leave this world of cramming facts for creative innovation working in the "real world," they are in a bit of shock.



I went to several places around Seoul the next two days. I wanted to see some of the little known places around the city where there would be a lack of tourists. I first went to one of the lesser known palaces near the historic area. It was built in the 1600's after the Japanese invasion. It was almost completely destroyed during the Japanese occupation. The palace is in the process of being restored, so it is not a popular destination. I found it fascinating, because it was in a secluded area amidst the city and I enjoyed seeing the process of restoration. Many of the famous Korean historical sights were partially or completely destroyed during the occupation. After Korea gained her independence, the Korean people have been going through the process of restoring what was lost. Because it is still being rebuilt, there were only a dozen Koreans walking the grounds. It is such a contrast to some of the larger palaces, where tourists are around every corner.

The Good Friday service was held in both English and German. ILC shares the church building with the German Lutheran Church, so we had a joint service. To hear the story of the Passion in German is something that I will never forget. The reader was so expressive and the language is absolutely beautiful. We also sang some of the hymns in German, which was an experience! The Germans were able to pull the rest of us English speaking, German language butchering congregants along. I never thought that I would spend Good Friday in Korea singing in German!


I also went to visit Seodaemun Prison, which was built by the Japanese to imprison Korean rebels during the occupation. After the end of the occupation, an Independence Park was built around the prison, which has several memorials to the thousands of Korean people who gave their lives for the cause of a free Korea. It is one of about twenty five prisons that were built by the Japanese to imprison Koreans who protested the occupation. This one was the largest, at one time holding over two thousand people. The prison was one of those places that is difficult to see, yet it impacted me and gave me a greater understanding about the occupation of Korea. The crimes committed by the Japanese during the occupation truly are as disgusting and disgraceful as the acts by other powers at that time, but it is rarely discussed. As I walked around this prison, seeing the torture chambers, prison cells, and the execution room where thousands of Koreans were killed without a trial, I was shocked by how atrocious the crimes of the Japanese who controlled Korea at that time. It is tragic that this dark chapter in the 20th century is not discussed and parts of it are not even recognized by the Japanese government. I hope that the world will learn more of this tragic time in history to prevent it from repeating again.

On Sunday, I went to Easter service at ILC. This is my first Easter away from my family and my home church. I was overwhelmed by the love that my church home here in Korea, ILC, bestowed upon me. Celebrating Easter with a group of believers from all around the world showed me the reason why Christ came to this world. We may have our differences, but in God's eyes we all fall short and desperately in need of rescue from the bondage of our sin. Easter proclaims a universal message of hope and restoration. The Resurrection of Christ is the reconciliation of the world, the restored relationship between God and every person that has walked this earth.


After church, I spent the afternoon at the Wasmunds with many other church members. We had an Easter luncheon, which was made by Dee Dee. I am thoroughly convinced that Martha Stewart can't even be compared to Dee Dee. She made about ten different dishes, including hummus wraps and zucchini pasta salad. She also had a dessert buffet, which included carrot cheesecake and an assortment of cupcakes with grass like frosting and little edible handmade Easter critters (bumblebees, ladybugs, and bunnies). Next to every dish was a little printed card with a description of the dish. She told us that it was nothing and we were too easily impressed, I would like to see her definition of a tough crowd! The food was so delicious. It was great to spend the afternoon with Lutheran friends.


This week, a group from a Lutheran High school in California came to Korea for a mission project. The group was led by two of the Wasmunds friends from Taiwan, Ben and Robyn. After lunch, I took the group to Insadong for some shopping and to see more of the city. It was nice to spend time with Christian brothers and sisters who came so far from home to serve in Korea. The kids were so funny and upbeat! Even though we got a little lost (I'm still not entirely familiar with every area of Seoul, it's a huge city), they were excited just to see the city. We stopped by a few cosmetic shops (there were six girls and one guy, so this was expected). We also went to Insadong market, which is one of the larger "tourist" shopping areas for Korean souvenirs. Some people were able to do their much needed shopping, while others were able to taste a bit of the Korean street food. After shopping, we went to a local Korean restaurant and had dinner. I was able to chat with Ben and Robyn about their experiences abroad while working in Taiwan. They are incredible people with a heart for serving others and leading by example. The group will spend the week working with some of the homeless in Seoul and an orphanage in the city.

After dinner, I said goodbye to the group and headed back to school. Two hours later, I was back at SCH ready for the second half of the semester, here we go!