Brief Korean History - Chosun dynasty to 1950

Dear Mom and Dad,

                Korean history.  Wow.  Where to start…

                I supposed what most people at home would be interested in is the modern history, although that should in no way dismiss the thousands of years of fascinating history of the Korean peninsula.  However, I understand that what most people outside of Korea know anything about, is a mere spattering of its modern history.  Sadly, we in the West often dismiss history that is not directly related to the West.  Why sadly?  I guess that is a personal opinion, because I am fascinated with history.  The life and times of people are not really so drastically different.  We all eat, sleep, love, marry, have children, work, live.  The rest of living, while it identifies us as unique cultures, is in reality superficial- surface differences, but that is what we see first.  And that is what we, with all of our superficial human nature, take exception to when we are searching for division.  But enough of the personal philosophy!  Woo-hoo, heavy!!

              Back to history.  The Korean peninsula/people have a long (I mean looong) history and so traditions and culture identity runs very deep.  5,000 years deep.  And because of its unique positioning, it is often caught smack-dab in the middle of several major powerful enemies/neutrals/tense-allies at any given time.  It has learned to be wary of its neighbors.  They’ve paid that price over and over and over… Over 1,000 times have they been attacked or invaded by surrounding countries or large marauding bands of pirates etc.  Which works out to be about once every five years or so, if you go by straight statistics.  Obviously, there were times that the invasion lasted longer, and there were long stretches of peace and prosperity.  But there has always been an expectation of “Where’s it coming from next?” 

             So then comes modern day Korea, which we will say for sake of understanding begins at the end of the 1890s.  The previous Chosun dynasty lasted from the 1300’s to 1897.  This was the period of unification for the Korean peninsula.  So, yes, division in Korea is not new or unprecedented, it has just become virtually impossible to move between the states now.  During prior divisions, there was still trade and travel, etc. but the Chosun dynasty was kind of the Golden Era for the Korean peninsula.  At least it may have been in the beginning of that era.   The Korean alphabet, hangul, was created by King Sejong ( a HUGE source of patriotic pride) effectively eliminating illiteracy (and enraging the aristocracy, of course.  Everything enrages them).  Crops produced almost more than people could consume and with very little effort.  Pictures of restaurants show heaping bowls of rice and side dishes for one person that would feed entire families today.   And then 1910 rolled around.

           Remember the 1,000 invasions?  Well, China and even Russia were sometimes the cause.  But usually it was Japan in some form or other.  Previously just before the abrupt end of the Chosun dynasty, there was infighting between Korean peasants and some of the ruling yangban (aristocracy)  which led to Qing (Chinese) intervention, which angered the Japanese ( not necessarily just because of that) and led to the first Sino-Japanese war, between China and Japan.  Most of which was fought in Korea…  All in all, a real big mess.  Not long after the Japanese assassinated the Korean Empress, the Qing admitted defeat giving Korea independence from the Chinese.  Except, Japan gained control of the peninsula, which was both good and bad, since the Russians were being a bother and the Japanese fought them off too in 1905, 7 years after the Chosun dynasty changed its name. Technically it was still the Chosun dynasty but no one called it that any more.  The bad came at the same time and of course later as well.  Whew - complicted, eh?

           When are we getting to the part about the 38^th parallel?  Soon, I promise.  We’ll get there.

Meanwhile, a lot of ‘stuff’ happened, including the assassination of the Japanese Prince Ito, Japan’s Resident-General of Korea, in 1909 which Japan took exception to and then eventually annexed Korea to Japan in 1910.  In short.  A lot of other stuff happened too.

            Now, Korea and Japan have long had serious tensions and animosity over the centuries, and with some very good reasons.  Perhaps we in the West look at it a little lightly, simply because we don’t really know the history.  It’s just not our history, so it doesn’t impact us and some might think it’s funny, that intense dislike and distrust, especially since they are allies now (of a sort).  But here is a little sample of the most recent animosity that lives on very vividly in the memories of the elders here and passed on to their children and grand-children.  

           1910, Japan took full control of Korea.  Yeah, little more than 100 years ago.  Well, they slowly began to create a mini Japan within Korea.  Korean children went to Japanese school.  They learned Japanese in school.  They could be punished for speaking Korean.  Korean adults were pressed into serving the Japanese in homes and even (sometimes) forced into Japanese military service, and foreign affairs, to forward the policies of Japanese rule in Korea.  Koreans were often forced to give up their own Korean names and take on Japanese names.  And then there were the Comfort Women.  Although there is some debate between various nations over this issue, nevertheless, it remains a serious issue. A huge, make no mistake, a HUGE source of Korean anger and hatred toward the Japanese.  Especially in more recent years.  For 35 years, Korean people had to ‘become’ Japanese without ever becoming Japanese, without ever being treated as fully human to their occupiers.  The backlash today:  old Japanese infrastructure is totally abandoned.  Japanese style/supplied housing sits empty and untouched.  Old Japanese bridges are closed off and in disrepair.  That, of course, is not all.

           Then there was World War II, and V-J day (Victory over Japan day) after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the signing of Japan’s surrender on September 2, 1945.  This is when the US and its allies first drew a division line at the 38^th parallel, where the US held the southern half and the Soviet Union took over the northern half of the peninsula.  

Wikipedia- Seoul street combat

            1948, Korea failed to hold their free elections between the north and the south (slightly different at that time period. It was not yet North and South).  The north, under the dictates of the Soviet Union established a communist government with General Kim Il-Sung as the leader and the south a democratic (of sorts) government with Syngman Rhee under the protection of the US.    Also important to note:  the Russians pulled out in 1948 and the US pulled out in 1949. China was still fighting its own civil war in China, Stalin didn’t want to engage the US in war while it was cleaning up from the German invasion and Eastern Europe occupation.   This left the 2 fledgling Koreas, still not entirely separated, on their own. Meanwhile, during this period, the whole peninsula was seeing massive widespread poverty.

            Reunification efforts continued for the next couple of years and intensified even just months before the Korean War broke out in June of 1950.  However, negotiations ultimately failed, when Kim Il-Sung ordered his troops to move south and attack the south after convincing China to commit Korean ethnic troops and eventually supplies to support the north regime.  June 25 the north attacked, while the south technically knew that something was happening, but dismissed the possibility.  The south was badly outnumbered, outgunned, out-tanked, out-supplied, out-planed, and over-all just badly under-prepared.  

             And within the first few days they were badly beaten, and unfortunately made some disastrous decisions that led to the abandoning of several military units and killing thousands of civilians along the way.  The south had 95,000 troops before the war started, and within the first few days of battle, they had less 22,000. Eventually, the US joined in the battle in July, using the logic that Japan was in danger and was a key protectorate in the East and could not be put in danger by the encroaching communist forces.

             Long, long story a wee bit shorter.  After severe fighting on both sides of the 38^th parallel and three years of civil war and near defeat for the South and the US several times, along with Chinese forces entering soon after the US entered the fight.  Eventually the battle front stabilized just around the 38^th parallel, about an hour’s car ride north of Seoul, the capital city, which had changed hands at least twice during the war.  The only area of Korea that had not seen northern occupation during the war was the area immediately surrounding the port city of Busan, nearest major city to Japan.   Once the front stabilized the war was pretty much at a stalemate, neither side gaining or loosing much territory and neither really giving ground.   

Wikipedia - Orange northern troops movements, Green southern troops

            Eventually an armistice agreement, cease fire, was agreed upon, and the 38^th parallel became the new dividing line by UN Treaty Council.  And now, this is when it officially became North Korea and South Korea. It was to be a demilitarized zone; troops were to be pulled back 2 kilometers on either side of the border.  And the UN Treaty Council outlined exactly what and who were allowed inside, and when and how.  However, there was no peace treaty. It also effectively trapped people on both sides of the demarcation line who had family or just plain wanted to be on the other side, whichever side they happened to be on. More on all that later.

            For now that brings us up to 1953 on general modern Korean history.  I must admit that I had to do a little bit of research to find out all this information.  And unfortunately for expediency’s sake I resorted to Wikipedia.  I know, not the best source of information, but readily available.  I also included some anecdotal information as well from friends and teachers and other sources here.  If you are interested in anything, I highly recommend doing your own personal study.  It really is very fascinating!! 

            Really!!

Cakes!!!!

To my sister,

I promised you some pictures of cakes in the bakery.  The cakes here are fantastic.  Not just mere sheet cakes with miles of icing and blue or yellow roses, the cakes here have fruit, candies, and characters imbedded in the cakes.  They come in many shapes and sizes and sometimes they not only have characters on them, sometimes they ARE characters. 

 Despite the overwhelming cuteness and prettiness of the cakes, there is not a whole lot of variety in flavors.  Usually you will find just chocolate, vanilla, or tiramisu. Sometimes there is a marble cake or even a green tea or nut cake.  But these are less decorative and usually come as cake logs or cake rolls with a light cream rolled in the layers.  These are pretty good, not too sweet, but with good flavor.

The only other common flavor of cake is the cheesecake.  Nearly every pie-shaped cake is a cheese cake of some kind.  And since cheese here is an import, it is not of the best quality or taste.  Here, cheese of any kind, tends to be bland and plastic-y tasting, almost like eating glue.  There is good cream cheese here, but it is very expensive and is more of a treat than a staple.  And many cheesecakes try to be fancy and use things like gorgonzola or gouda, but the cheese is not great quality and when paired with a bland and flour-y cake batter, it leaves something to be desired.

The tiramisu cakes though, are great.  I had one for my birthday (thanks guys!) and was given the leftovers to take home.  It didn’t last long. 

But whatever your opinion on cake is, these are pretty fun to look at!  Check it out!

Those cupcakes are literal.  Cake in a cup.

A lesson in humility. Or humor.

Dear Mom and Dad,

Well, more for mom and less for dad.  Sorry dad, this may be a topic you are not very interested in.  It’s more for the ladies…

I love going shopping.   And I live in a town that is fortunate enough (read: big enough) to have one of every major department store.  Just one is enough.  I don’t need to remember neighborhoods when asking for Home Plus, or getting confused about which Lotte Mart someone wants to meet at.  But that’s not the story today.  Today's story is a little more personal.

I was shopping for personal feminine hygiene products.  And of course this is Korea, the land of the helpful sales clerk.  There are two main types of sales clerks, when facing foreigners.  The first and most common is the shy “I see you, but I’m afraid to ask you anything.”  They usually smile and keep standing there until you approach them.  Usually these tend to be younger women.  The older women sales clerks, which are closer to the ajumma age range, have the ajumma mentality.  A little abrupt and sometimes overly helpful in a “This is my way, so it’s going to be your way, too.”  I once bought a roll of paper towels because an older sales women stuck it in my basket for me.  I’m not sure why, she was selling mini packaged sausages…

Well like I said, I was shopping for personal hygiene materials, which is not as easy as it sounds in a foreign language.  Luckily most products have some kind of picture on them and you can figure things out from there.  There is some trial and error involved in that, like the one time I thought I was buying travel tissue…  My first visit to a restroom without toilet paper proved me wrong.  "Ooooh-hhooo, Nooo!

Well this time I was in Home Plus, my personal favorite for buying the occasional western food brands that are marginally less expensive than other conveniently nearby options.  I don’t like traveling long distances for groceries, especially without a car.  I can’t cook Korean food very well, and from some of my practice results, probably shouldn’t try until I take some lessons!

Anyway back to the story.  Personal Hygiene aisle in Home Plus.  Not my favorite aisle to be in, especially when the store is busy.  This time there were not one, not two, but three clerks in the aisle.  The first one was the shy one, the third one was at the other end, and the middle one…Oh, the middle one was right where I wanted to be!  Alas, and alack! Woe is me, I want to pick my things and be gone!  I know, generally, what I want, but I think I must’ve spent 5 seconds too long in choosing.  I couldn’t find my usual brand, hence the hesitation. 

Sales clerk approaches, and in Korean says what I guessed was “Can I help you?” I said “No, I’m all right!”  She stayed however and saw what I was studying.  She reached over to a handy-dandy visual guide to products and brands.  On a large card were actual samples of products.  Kinda handy!  The first set of cards was of the normal kinds you find in Korea.  These are usually very thin and practically useless.  I wanted something a little sturdier, so I looked at the next card she very sincerely handed me from where I have no idea.

I cannot describe the unique mixture of nervous astonishment and humor, horror and embarrassment, amazement and wonder, at such an object placed before me and with such concern.  Maybe, it was because I was expecting the next card to be a logical upgrade; slightly thicker, but still the same product. The ‘enormity’ of the situation was perplexing, and although I understand the need for such products and it is a serious thing for some people, the products she handed me were not for that particular serious condition.  This was completely a woman’s product.  And the American nickel glued to the first one, I could not understand the purpose of at all.  The nickel wasn’t used to compare anything; there was nothing it COULD be compared to. It was just there...

There was no logical size gradient, just thin but normal.........and massive!  I don’t think there would be room left for the person wearing them… 

Anyway, I quickly chose the first package I could reach that looked similar to my normal brand, and left.  When I finally opened it, there was a seriously suspicious whiff of curry, before I had a truly vivid flashback to my travel tissue issue…  “Ohhh-hhhoooo, Nooooo!!!!” 

Sports Day

Dear Mom and Dad, 

      A little while ago, my middle schoolers had their sports day.  There were no classes all day that Tuesday, so it was a good thing my first set of classes had a movie day, the day before.  I don’t like having my classes on different lessons.  When we meet only once a week, its next to impossible to get them back on the same schedule.  Especially, since my Tuesday classes seem to miss the most.

     Well, the kids were ready early that morning, and it was quite a spectacle.  They were excited to have that ‘free’ day although none of them would admit it, of course.  Technically it wasn’t really a free day.  It was a bit like the Presidential fitness test back home.  They were being tested on certain fitness aspects, but the rest of the time it was treated as a sports day.  A lot of the contests were treated as a class event, meaning that the entire class participated, and then were scored based on ranking.  They did win some kind of classroom prize at the end of the day.

     Let’s see, what did they do?  There was the class-wide rope pulling contests. There was the  100 meter dash, the 600 meter relay (boys, girls, and boys and girls). There were the three legged races, three-legged relays, jump roping, chin-ups.  Class dodge ball and badminton.  Each grade competed with their grade level, and each class had a ‘costume’ of sorts.  Just check some of the pictures.  There were ‘police officers’ ‘buggy clowns’ stars, polka dots, camo jackets etc.  It was a fun day. 

      I spent the morning outside watching them.  The kids were surprised to see me watching them and some got a little shy to know that I was watching, but they were giggling anyway.  The afternoon, I had some work to do in my office, so I spent about an hour or so upstairs, then came down for the final part of the day.  I thought it was fun!  When I asked the next week, the kids complained that they were sore the next day.  “It’s not fun, teacher!”  I think they were fibbing a bit.  Just check out the pictures!

Later!