Korea — julio and christina

JULIO

Arriving to South Korea after two months of being in Bali was a welcome shift and drastic one. We had been considering staying in South East Asia to keep costs down and hanging in Thailand, Cambodia or even Vietnam. Having been in India for two months before Bali, the humidity, bugs, noise, internet issues and general chaos was wearing on me. There is also a certain level of protective concern that I experience which I know is a little unfounded considering bad things can happen anywhere even in the safest of places but something in me was longing for order, modern civilization and some of the technological comforts like stoplights, connectivity and peace which can be elusive in South Asia.

We had a really long day of traveling form Bali to KL where we experienced a long layover that was perhaps the longest seven hours of my life. Sometimes KL just really gets to me, I cant explain it but it was brutal for my consciousness and things got dark. We finally made it onto the plane and the relief began as we began our decent to Busan. metropolitan City on the South East tip of South Korea. Korea was the first country in the Far East I ever traveled to and it made a lasting impression on my. That strong feeling of sticking out like a sore thumb, not being able to read the language and knowing that there is very little soft and fuzzy reception for you as a tourist or visitor. After the overly westernized welcome in Bali it was somewhat refreshing . I lived in an insular Korean Buddhist monastery for a year when I first moved to Hawaii and became more intimately acquainted with the intricacies of Korean culture, food, psychology, protocol and daily life. Returning to the origin of all the smells, food and psyche I expereinced in the Korean monastary was exciting.

Me with Rev Dae Hwa Park at the Won Bhuddist Temple Makaha, Hawai’i

Korea is having a major moment and will continue too for the foreseeable future. Forget about trump and all the theatrical bs of dictators and Dennis Rodman for they blind you form the glaring reality that Korea has surpassed the US and most of the world in so many fields. From education, filial piety, economics, cuisine, technology, green transportation, health, you name it and Korea is doing it better, faster, stronger and with more intelligence behind it. Everything from the systems to an ice cream to a cell phone makes more sense to me and just seems to work better, its astonishing.

There was a war here that divided the country that spawned from the battle of ideologies of the Cold War. Both sides of Korea claimed to be the true seat of government, the North siding with Russia and China and the South with the Allied Forces. The North made a move into the South in 1950 and the United Nations made the decision to repel the invading force with Americans providing 90% of the troops for the operation. My Father was one of them. He was drafted while going to college at 19 and would fight in the infantry becoming a Sargent and then photographer under Gen. Douglas Macarther. He would tell us stories from the war, dancing with Marylin Monroe and a fateful encounter with a North Korean soldier on the battle field. We traveled together to Korea when I was twelve years old and toured the DMZ and Camp Bonifas which was a powerful and emotional experience for both of us. The Korean war went on for three years, leaving the country divided and claiming the lives of millions on all sides. For some reason it is a blank spot for most Americans and although it almost lead to a third World War it remains shrouded in confusion and is many times referred to as "the Forgotten War". It was almost the site of another nuclear attack by the US in Asia but the fear of war with China kept it from happening. My father shared with me that due to being in the infantry and military photographer had caused him to see unthinkable horrors, piles of bodies and tour the decimation of cities and villages after massive bombings. He spoke of Agent Orange, nuclear weapons and radiation sickness all being present. It is no coincidence to me that he, after living a healthy lifestyle, died of rare form of Chronic myelogenous leukemia and the medications to used to treat it. I think of him often while traveling but especially in Korea where he served and in Japan that he loved so much.

This was not the Korea I had witnessed in the 90's or in the monastery. This was a now the 11th most economically powerful country in the world (fifth largest exporter) and you can feel it. There also exists a balance between tradition and modernity reminiscent of Japan. The Korean diet in many ways is unchanged and among the healthiest on the planet. From K-Pop to K-Beauty, Korea's moment is palpably felt and in my opinion it will not only last but continue to grow in the coming years.