Journal 18 (copied)
This past weekend I went to visit my grandma in Jeonju (which is famous for it's bibimbap) and learned that the family would be making kimchi together. This event is called kimjang and applies to the making of kimchi with friends and family for the winter season. So a LOT is made as there were no fresh vegetables a long time ago. The kimchi from this event served as an important staple to the Koreans and was there source for vegetables. Kimchi can be made in various ways so there are many kinds. My grandma, due to the family's tastes, makes one without the small fish ingredient. She utilizes water chestnuts and sea salt for the kimchi (one reason why some people may not touch other kinds of kimchi like myself and my mom). When I arrived, my grandma was just finishing up the last batch of kimchi as her friends and neighbors had come over a few days ago to make kimchi together. So, 5 little grannies made 120 heads of kimchi. My grandma, the next day, went to one of the friends' homes to help with their kimjang as well. She made enough for the family and sent them out by mail, as well as for herself. That's over 5 families ... and she even made kimchi for me. I particularly like Mul Kimchi as it is not spicy at all, so she made a tub of that. (I must say, the kimchi I brought back with me weighed more than my backpack with the laptop in it.) It has a particularly refreshing taste with a sort of vinegary flavor. The broth in particular is really good and it's used in various Korean dishes too.
While my grandma was helping others make kimchi, I met up with my friend, SA, who I became acquainted with in Japan. It was wonderful to see her once more and we went to the Hanok Village together. A hanok village is basically a village made up of traditional Korean houses and one can even stay over in the homes to experience the lifestyle of long ago. My friend and I simply explored the area and ate some traditional desserts that involved red bean. I had a soup whereas my friend had a shaved ice-like dessert. My soup had little chewy rice cakes, cinnamon, walnuts, and the red bean (which was quite smooth compared to my friend's). It was a wonderful warm snack to eat on a chilly day. My friend's dessert consisted of red bean that was more porridge like with the beans intact (as it was not grounded up), rice cakes, and black sesame powder covering the ice. Both our dishes were very simple but a delight to have. I have learned amongst my many US friends, with red bean, it's either you hate it or love it dish. While checking out the village I learned a few things from my friend:
- the swastika flag that was sticking up clear above the buildings is the sign of the fortune teller
- fruit trees are not picked clean, Koreans tend to leave the top-most ones for the birds
- one of the temples we swung by used to be a Confucian temple for learning and it was used in a drama
- my friend too, is quite shocked at the change in attitudes and actions of students these days (and she's a bona fide Korean)
I had a wonderful time chatting away with her, but it was rather amusing in that we utilized the 3 languages we knew. If we were not able to communicate in one language, we would simply switch into another to get our point across. It seems ... that because I am taken to be a lot younger than my age, that some of my friends come across as older when I am next to them. My friend informed me that while we were in Japan she recalls, quite vividly, wanting to laugh so badly at hearing what some Japanese said while I was next to a guy from Wisconsin ... They thought we were father and daughter. In reality, I am much older from the guy from Wisconsin.
What's great about visiting my grandma's home, is that I was able to make my way to her place with a little bit of help. I hitched a ride with one of the teachers and then one of them made sure the cab driver had the right directions to where my grandma was located. From there, the cab driver contact my aunt and once I saw the streamlet I found my way. The last part of the trek I was able to do by myself based on memory alone and it has been over 10 years since I last visited. The stream, I recall in my younger years being filled with water with a least a foot or 2 of space. My mom remembers doing laundry in that stream. I remember that same stream dwindling down to basically a trickle in which I could climb down the stairs and float paper boats on, but no longer is that doable for that same stream is now covered in greenery. My grandma's home is still traditional even though it has been re-modeled a few times. Going down the lane to the entrance and stepping up into the home I realized how much size perception changes from a little kid to an adult. At least I was not as afraid of the bathroom anymore, for one has to step down into it. There is no sink in the bathroom and I believe where the toilet is located, it used to be a squatting toilet because it's on an elevated platform. There were some changes but overall it gave me a great sense of welcome along with nostalgia of when I was younger.
My relatives came over around evening so it was straight to bed we all went. The next morning (Sunday) we all went to the National Cemetery in Imsil. There, I finally got to see my grandpa's grave. Each gravestone is the same minus what is written on them. All of the graves are located on the side of the mountain and it's quite a sight to behold. Each grave has a vase in which you can put flowers in and it seems all of them were fake, but very bright flowers. The cemetery is quite clean and well manicured. My grandpa's stone held his name along with his birth and death and all of the family members up to the grandchildren. So, my name was written there as well. When family comes to visit they bring snacks and drinks to share with the dead. The drink is poured 3x's and a prayer is offered. Afterwards, the family and I snacked on the chips. My aunt threw away the makgoli (rice drink) in order to prevent my uncles from drinking but they managed to save 1 cup and shared it between them. They were then scolded for that since they were the drivers for the day.
While going up the mountain (roads were blocked off) I was struggling due to injuring myself on the bus on Friday, my uncle taught me how to make it easier on the person going up in front of you by using 1 finger and pushing them upwards just by poking them in the back. My relatives do not have to do much at the cemetery because it is for veterans and soldiers, the government cares for it. The other graves in our family are in remote places in the mountain. They are gentle mounds with nary a marker or stone. You can spot them all over Korea and most are tended up to the 4th generation, in order to not burden the 1st son. Due to the fact that Korea is patriarchal ever since Confucianism got introduced, all of the responsibilities (such as handling certain ceremonies, etc) go to the 1st son. Interestingly enough, in my mom's family, the females still have a lot of say.
Once we were finished with visiting the graves we proceed to the Nambu Market which is a large open market nearby my grandma's. The Korean Tour site states that this market is one of the oldest ones, so you definitely get a traditional vibe from here. I have yet to see an open market like this in the US, as we saw some shrimp still lively twitching about in a bucket. You can purchase many foods quite fresh here. There are many things you can buy, but alas it was a Sunday and it seems the market has declined a bit although it is much cleaner than I remember. I opted to follow my cousins to a nearby shopping area and found some interesting things to check out. There is a blog that I like to follow in getting extra information on seeing cute or unusual stuff in Korea, and while I was exploring that shopping area I found some of the places the blogger mentioned. Too bad I did not get to try the food though. I would have loved to try a cone shaped pizza (http://cuteinkorea.com/kono-pizza-in-korea/).
Overall, it was interesting to see, compare, and reflect on what has changed or stayed constant in my visit to Jeonju. Some change is good, but there are also many things that are forgotten and lost. This weekend, both my grandma and I had more vigor than usual and my parents could hear it in our voices.
While my grandma was helping others make kimchi, I met up with my friend, SA, who I became acquainted with in Japan. It was wonderful to see her once more and we went to the Hanok Village together. A hanok village is basically a village made up of traditional Korean houses and one can even stay over in the homes to experience the lifestyle of long ago. My friend and I simply explored the area and ate some traditional desserts that involved red bean. I had a soup whereas my friend had a shaved ice-like dessert. My soup had little chewy rice cakes, cinnamon, walnuts, and the red bean (which was quite smooth compared to my friend's). It was a wonderful warm snack to eat on a chilly day. My friend's dessert consisted of red bean that was more porridge like with the beans intact (as it was not grounded up), rice cakes, and black sesame powder covering the ice. Both our dishes were very simple but a delight to have. I have learned amongst my many US friends, with red bean, it's either you hate it or love it dish. While checking out the village I learned a few things from my friend:
- the swastika flag that was sticking up clear above the buildings is the sign of the fortune teller
- fruit trees are not picked clean, Koreans tend to leave the top-most ones for the birds
- one of the temples we swung by used to be a Confucian temple for learning and it was used in a drama
- my friend too, is quite shocked at the change in attitudes and actions of students these days (and she's a bona fide Korean)
I had a wonderful time chatting away with her, but it was rather amusing in that we utilized the 3 languages we knew. If we were not able to communicate in one language, we would simply switch into another to get our point across. It seems ... that because I am taken to be a lot younger than my age, that some of my friends come across as older when I am next to them. My friend informed me that while we were in Japan she recalls, quite vividly, wanting to laugh so badly at hearing what some Japanese said while I was next to a guy from Wisconsin ... They thought we were father and daughter. In reality, I am much older from the guy from Wisconsin.
What's great about visiting my grandma's home, is that I was able to make my way to her place with a little bit of help. I hitched a ride with one of the teachers and then one of them made sure the cab driver had the right directions to where my grandma was located. From there, the cab driver contact my aunt and once I saw the streamlet I found my way. The last part of the trek I was able to do by myself based on memory alone and it has been over 10 years since I last visited. The stream, I recall in my younger years being filled with water with a least a foot or 2 of space. My mom remembers doing laundry in that stream. I remember that same stream dwindling down to basically a trickle in which I could climb down the stairs and float paper boats on, but no longer is that doable for that same stream is now covered in greenery. My grandma's home is still traditional even though it has been re-modeled a few times. Going down the lane to the entrance and stepping up into the home I realized how much size perception changes from a little kid to an adult. At least I was not as afraid of the bathroom anymore, for one has to step down into it. There is no sink in the bathroom and I believe where the toilet is located, it used to be a squatting toilet because it's on an elevated platform. There were some changes but overall it gave me a great sense of welcome along with nostalgia of when I was younger.
My relatives came over around evening so it was straight to bed we all went. The next morning (Sunday) we all went to the National Cemetery in Imsil. There, I finally got to see my grandpa's grave. Each gravestone is the same minus what is written on them. All of the graves are located on the side of the mountain and it's quite a sight to behold. Each grave has a vase in which you can put flowers in and it seems all of them were fake, but very bright flowers. The cemetery is quite clean and well manicured. My grandpa's stone held his name along with his birth and death and all of the family members up to the grandchildren. So, my name was written there as well. When family comes to visit they bring snacks and drinks to share with the dead. The drink is poured 3x's and a prayer is offered. Afterwards, the family and I snacked on the chips. My aunt threw away the makgoli (rice drink) in order to prevent my uncles from drinking but they managed to save 1 cup and shared it between them. They were then scolded for that since they were the drivers for the day.
While going up the mountain (roads were blocked off) I was struggling due to injuring myself on the bus on Friday, my uncle taught me how to make it easier on the person going up in front of you by using 1 finger and pushing them upwards just by poking them in the back. My relatives do not have to do much at the cemetery because it is for veterans and soldiers, the government cares for it. The other graves in our family are in remote places in the mountain. They are gentle mounds with nary a marker or stone. You can spot them all over Korea and most are tended up to the 4th generation, in order to not burden the 1st son. Due to the fact that Korea is patriarchal ever since Confucianism got introduced, all of the responsibilities (such as handling certain ceremonies, etc) go to the 1st son. Interestingly enough, in my mom's family, the females still have a lot of say.
Once we were finished with visiting the graves we proceed to the Nambu Market which is a large open market nearby my grandma's. The Korean Tour site states that this market is one of the oldest ones, so you definitely get a traditional vibe from here. I have yet to see an open market like this in the US, as we saw some shrimp still lively twitching about in a bucket. You can purchase many foods quite fresh here. There are many things you can buy, but alas it was a Sunday and it seems the market has declined a bit although it is much cleaner than I remember. I opted to follow my cousins to a nearby shopping area and found some interesting things to check out. There is a blog that I like to follow in getting extra information on seeing cute or unusual stuff in Korea, and while I was exploring that shopping area I found some of the places the blogger mentioned. Too bad I did not get to try the food though. I would have loved to try a cone shaped pizza (http://cuteinkorea.com/kono-pizza-in-korea/).
Overall, it was interesting to see, compare, and reflect on what has changed or stayed constant in my visit to Jeonju. Some change is good, but there are also many things that are forgotten and lost. This weekend, both my grandma and I had more vigor than usual and my parents could hear it in our voices.