Hanok Heaven

These photos were taken a little over 2 months ago but I wanted to post some images of a hanok, Korean traditional home. This type of home is rather rare now and, in Seoul, you can find clusters of hanok in certain areas. Our friends Peter and Aruna live in a hanok neighborhood in Seoul. The house is absolutely beautiful and I am afraid the photos do not do it justice. The home was actually part of an aristocrat's dwelling but since has been divided into several houses. The push for development has meant that many of these homes have been destroyed and now there are activists (ironically, the most vocal one a man from England) protesting 'renovations' that work against the original construction of the homes. In a hanok, the emphasis is on airflow and making sure the ceilings are not too high. Also, a hanok must face the south. Many of the newer constructions don't abide by these ideas. Some people believe that as long as you keep the sloped shape of the roof and a general exterior facade of a hanok then any other types of changes are ok. Anyway, there are people who can be labeled activists and those who believe in preservation of the hanok but also believe that renovations are necessary and have looser ideas as to what kinds of changes are ok. There are special rules about telephone and electric lines--for the most part they try to hide these to lend 'authenticity' to the neighborhood. Above and below, we took a walking tour of the neighborhood before paying a visit to the family at their home.

Below, we find the gate and front door to their home.

Continuing the walking tour, I took a few detailed photos of some tiles and the winding streets. Each house is surrounded by a wall.

The house below--the boys are slowly make their way up the wall--is the house of the former mayor of Seoul and current South Korean President, Lee Myeongbak. Living in a hanok has become trendy; something that artists and foreign residents do, for the most part, as most average Korean citizens do not want to live in a hanok. Many believe that a hanok would be uncomfortable (parking and shopping are issues). Because living in a hanok has become trendy, it can be pretty pricey. A lot of the hanoks, owned by families for generations, sit empty. Many hanok owners have taken government grants to renovate their homes and then rent them out for a pretty penny to people who want to live in them.

Peter and Aruna's house is L-shaped. Once you enter the gate, you see a little courtyard in the middle. The wall behind the table is the wall to the bathroom; a room that sits apart from the main part of the house. You have to walk outside and along the brick porch to get to it (would bite in winter). In addition to a shower area, sink and toilet, they've fit a washing machine and laundry area inside the bathroom. Hanok are certainly a study in space efficiency. Shoes are left outside in the courtyard as the porch is treated as if it is inside the house. Peter and Aruna have created a little dining nook in their courtyard, with a table and chairs. The doors to the middle room and the kitchen slide open while the large windows of the room nearest the bathrooom (behind Aruna) open like French windows.

Below, a detail of their bamboo tree, wall, and the sloped roof of a neighbor's house.

Jack sits on the porch and enjoys the view. Behind him, you can see the door to the kitchen and to his right the entrance to the middle room. In the room closest to the kitchen (which you can see through the open door) you can see the windows that they push open to let air in. The doors and windows are covered with rice paper, but for summer Aruna replaced the thick paper of the inner doors (most Korean houses have two or more sets of sliding doors for insulation--even our home has three sliding doors/windows per room) with linen. It really lets the breeze in without exposing the family to mosquitos.

Below, Aruna, a master chef who can make several meals at one time with minimal ingredients, emerges from the kitchen. The kitchen is at a lower level than the rest of the house. The reason for this is that the heating system is ondol heating--bricks under the house carry heat from the kitchen to the rest of the house. Years ago, the kitchen stove warmed the whole house (basically, the floor is heated). For a better explanation of ondol heating, you can go here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ondol

As an academic, Wikipedia is my sworn enemy, tempting students to the dark site with easy citations; but, what the hell people--this is a freaking blog. Check out the cite if you want to know more about how ondol works. Our apartment has a version of ondol heating, but it is run by electricity that heats up water in pipes under our floor. Super cozy in winter.

Below, the boys play in the room closest to the kitchen. Each room is divided by a set of sliding doors. For this photo (and the others) the sliding doors are open. To close the doors, you pull one from each side and they meet in the middle. In the space above the kitchen (to the right of this room) is an attic-like space where they can store lots and lots of stuff. Within reach, they keep bedding and some clothes. At the far side of the room, the papered panels slide to and fro to reveal more storage space where the family keeps clothes on hangers.

I've dubbed the room below the 'den' due to its plethora of books, cds, dvds, lounge beanie chairs, and television. It's the spot where the family can enjoy a movie together as well as storytime.

Below, Dahin demonstrates that even a hamster has a place in a hanok. Rainbow the hamster is a cute little fellow who does not try to escape his cage (imagine that).

The house is tiny, but grownups and kids can have their own space. While the kids watch a movie, the grownups enjoy Nutella spread on french bread and drink cappuccinos--yum!

Below, Jack admires the beauty of the middle room of the house. It serves as the guest reception area. Aruna, being a former Buddhist nun, is a master at tea making and pouring. We enjoyed some tea that she prepared for us. Peter's photos adorn the walls. While you can't see it, the ceiling is cathedral-style (it slopes up to a point--don't know how else to describe it) with exposed roof beams. Track lighting has been installed along the roof beams to lend a nice, relaxing glow to the space. Needless to say, I love spending time in their home. When the invitation is extended, I don't hesitate to make the drive north of the Han River to hang out in their lovely hanok.

Happy Birthday Boys!

The boys celebrated their 5th birthdays on Wednesday. The morning started with servings of miyeok-guk (sea mustard soup). Oliver and Ronan's teacher packed a package of miyeok and soup mix in their backpacks on Tuesday with a note (you can see under Ronan's arm; he insisted on having the note next to him while he ate) that said: "Dear Hyunmo and Junmo: Happy Birthday! Hope you have a wonderful, bright time with friends. I love you! Mongnyeonban [the name of their class] Seonsaengnim." It was very, very sweet of the teacher to do this. Miyeok-guk is a soup that all new mothers eat everyday after giving birth. It is loaded with iron, protein, and vitamin C. On your birthday, you're supposed to eat it for breakfast. We decided to keep the boys home from school and went to the pool for a few hours. That evening, their friend Leon came over to help the boys celebrate turning 5. We had pizza (the boys' choice) and cake and ice cream.

The boys got many gifts. Dahin used her own money to buy the boys walkie talkies. Jack and I got the boys toy robots. Leon and his parents brought dinosaur books, puzzles, and games. It felt like Christmas in July!

Scenes from Myeondong

Pull up a stool, or a milk crate, and enjoy some street food for a snack, or heck, dinner. The menu includes sun-dae (intestines stuffed with rice and other stuff--I don't really know what's all in there, but I do like it; especially with some coarse-ground salt; yum!), different kinds of vegetable pancakes, ddokbokki (rice cakes smothered in a sweet and spicey red pepper paste), and deep-fried vegetables and seafood. Signs above this stand are in Japanese and then Korean; many, many Japanese tourists visit Myeondong to shop and eat.

Technically, Myeongdong is not closed to automotive traffic. Most of the time walking in Myeondong is spent dodging cars and, more frequently, motorbikes. Still, people just walk in the street since there are no sidewalks. Very few cars actually brave the crowd of people and choose to drive on the outskirts, but a few stubborn souls will force their way through the sea of high heels, 'murses' (man purses--more on these in a future post), and trendy dressers.

Another Interview and Dinner Out

I had a radio interview with TBS fm for the program MTown found online at:
http://tbsefm.seoul.kr
Sue Park is the host and, it so happens, she also interviewed me for KBS World. I like her interview style, so was happy to be asked for another interview with her. While Oliver slept in the car, I entered the TBS studios with Dahin and Ronan, and gave Sue a call to let her know I was there. A couple of celebrities walked right past us as we waited in the lobby for her to come get us (TBS has two radio stations--one English-language and one Korean, and a television station). The place is pretty heavily guarded; no one gets past security if they don't know you. MTown is a music program during which Sue plays music requests. Once a week she hosts a guest in a segment called "Guest House" and I am this week's guest. Normally, it's live radio, but I can't make it to Thursday night's time slot since I have a dinner planned with some fellow ethnomusicologists. So, we recorded it, but did the program in 'real time' as if it were live radio. I got to play a couple of songs by some neo-traditional (for lack of a better word) artists that I thought might fit the demographic personality of the radio listeners. Above, the kids are so excited (really) to be exposed to the world of radio broadcasting. Anyway, they patiently waited for the 30 minute interview to end. Below, Sue, 'shy Ronan', and I pose for a photo.


After the interview, we met Jack and Oliver in Myeongdong, the busy shopping district near the TBS building, and decided on Chinese for dinner. Hoping for San Francisco-style Chinese, I was a bit disappointed. But, it was still good and the atmosphere of the restaurant was great--jazz playing in the background, servers smartly dressed in Chinese-style clothes, and a busy vibe. Like most eating establishments in Korea, it was very kid-friendly. The kids were adored for just being their goofy selves.

Right by the front window, people were continually making potstickers. They looked and smelled amazing.

Dahin was a little offended that she was handed a fork. She said, "Hey, I know how to use chopsticks," but then she reasoned that "kids in China probably use forks when they eat, too." Glad she inherited my frenetic sense of reason--one minute this, the next minute that....The prawns in mayonaise sauce were pretty good. I had really been hoping for my absolute favorite, walnut prawns (lightly fried shrimp served with candied walnuts and tossed in a mayonaise sauce), but this is what we got. Oh well. Guess we have to visit San Francisco sometime to eat the food I am craving. Like Chinese food in the U.S. is Americanized, in Korea it is Koreanized to satisfy Korean tastes. It's nothing like the food I grew to love in the Bay Area (which, as well, differs from the kind and quality of Chinese food you get in other parts of the U.S.). At the same time, it was unusual to see this prawn dish on the menu (which is why I had high hopes) since most Chinese places here serve primarily jjambbong (spicy seafood soup), jjajjangmyeon (noodles in a black bean/pork sauce), and tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork)--the sweet and sour, as well, is very different from what is served in the U.S. I've grown to appreciate it for what it is, but it still does not FEEL like I am eating Chinese food (as I've come to know it).

Navigation

Jack is obsessed with the navigation in our car. He calls 'her' "Laura"--slightly disturbing, isn't it? He completely trusts Laura, until she leads us astray (which she has a couple of times), but, overall, she's pretty good at getting us to where we need to go the fastest way possible. It's cool because, at night, the navigation will show a night scene including stars and the moon (in the proper phase, even) and during the day, it will show a day scene. It even shows landmarks. Rarely does Laura leave anything from the surrounding landscape out. Our whole neighborhood is perfectly mapped; showing our apartment area, the boys' preschool, and Dahin's school, in addition to everything else.

Saying Goodbye

A little girl with whom Dahin has struck up a friendship is leaving to live in the States for a year. It's the norm here; kids coming and going because their dads or moms get a one-year visiting prof post in some school elsewhere or the parents send their kids abroad so they can get some intensive English in for a while (English is quite the obsession here). The boys have a cute little friend who, as well, is leaving this week to live in the mid-West of the U.S. for a year. Sad to see him go as he was a regular over at our place for snack and playtime after school (he went to the same preschool as our boys). Dahin and her friend have spent a lot of time with each other and both girls are sad to be seperating. I took them out for lunch and a movie so that they could have some fun together before saying goodbye.

Above, riding the subway to the CoEx Mall; below, posing in front of the "UP" display (can't wait to see that one).

Looking very much like the ladies who lunch at the pasta place. Pasta or western-style lunches tend to be pricey. I made the mistake of asking Dahin's friend what she wanted for lunch (note to self: this is not a democracy). But, overall, the CoEx Mall eateries are expensive, no matter what kind of food you have. Korea-style was not much cheaper. 25,000 won ($25) for two plates of pasta (the girls split one) and one iced-tea (which the girls also split) is a bit much for lunch; I had thought to only spend about $15 or less. I was all into the idea of doing Burger King, but oh well...

Below, waiting for "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" to begin. A huge bucket of popcorn and two large drinks cost 7,500 won (about $7)--a bit cheaper than the States. I had a coupon for 1,000 won off, so it was even cheaper; woo-hoo! Also, a matinee is 6,000 won (about $6); I had two free tickets, so only had to pay for one. Again, woo-hoo! Seats in movie theatres are assigned. I was asked to pick my seat on a chart when buying the tickets.

I think the girls had fun. The next day, Dahin's friend left on her journey to the U.S.

Sunday brunch with Halmoni

We met Halmoni after she wrapped up church and headed to a chicken place for lunch. True to form, she ended up feeding one of the kids before lunch was over. If you eat with Halmoni, you really, really need to E-A-T. She helps Ronan finish up his kuksu, above. The kids got a milder version of the buckwheat noodles--just some soysauce added. The grownups got the full-on, fire-breathing version. Very good and very, very spicey.

One thing Oliver will always eat well: pasta of any kind. He ate lots of the chicken and finished his meal with a healthy bowl of noodles.

Dahin demonstrates how to eat a cornbread pancake (Buchimgae). If you're having trouble using one chopstick-wielding hand to separate the pieces, just take a chopstick in each hand and slice it up into pieces as you see fit. I can't get enough of buchimgae or jeon; love the stuff.

Movie night has been restored!

Movie night was a once-a-week event that was held on either Friday or Saturday night at our home in Oakland. The kids would choose a movie (usually from the library), we'd go home, have dinner, kids would get ready for bed, I'd pop popcorn and then we'd watch the movie. We finally got a dvd player from Costco and found a couple of dvd rental places in the neighborhood. Hey, it only took us 6 months to do this. DVD rentals cost about $1.50, so it's affordable. I rented the kids "Bedtime Stories," which they enjoyed thoroughly, and I got myself "The Changeling" to watch later that night on my computer. I have to remember to stock up on popcorn kernals when I see them at a store; difficult to find. Next tradition to restore: pancake Sundays. I'm terrible at making pancakes from scratch (soliciting pancake recipes people!) and the kids hate the pancake mixes here. Like most Korean ready-made foods (pasta sauces, bread-stuff, etc), the mixes are overly sweet and the kids just don't go for that. [Anyone who says Koreans don't eat a lot of sugary sweet stuff, I really, really beg to differ. My blood sugar has peaked since moving here so have to be careful when eating out or eating food other people prepare since sugar is added to most everything. Cereals from the US are "Koreanized"--can't handle the Special K here since it is so, so sweet. So, moving on....] I used to use Bisquick in the States, with lemon juice and vanilla. I found some Bisquick in Costco, but am thinking of trying a homemade recipe provided my sister sends me her recipe she claims is the greatest pancake recipe ever (not-so-subtle hint-hint).

Solar Eclipse

Who saw it? Technically, you're not supposed to look at it, but I did (hee, hee). I arrived at HUFS this morning to return tests and to participate in a noon-time Korean Studies panel and found out about the eclipse (reason #1 I should never attempt going into broadcasting: I don't read the news). It was quite sunny this morning, but at around 10:30, it became overcast. When I went downstairs to the first floor I found people looking at the eclipse through old pieces of film (who knew there was a use for it; everyone's digital these days). When you looked through the film at the sun, you could see the shadow of the moon creeping over the sun. We only had a 70% partial eclipse, but it was enough to darken the skies and freak me out since it looked like it was going to rain AGAIN. But, luckily, around 11:30 am, the skies cleared and we had a beautiful, sunny day.

On a completely unrelated note, we lost power at our apartment village tonight. Power was out for about an hour and we had fun trying to 1) locate some candles ( a neighbor bought some for us), 2) actually go into the dark apt that we are convinced is haunted (or at least just freaky when pitch black) and 3) daring young children to enter our apt with us so we could light candles b/c we were too chicken to enter alone ('we' meaning Jack and I). Once power was restored, the voice of the ajeossi reverberated through the apartments via speaker phone, reassuring us it was a city-wide problem and not a problem with our own power source. Yet, just then, a friend of Dahin's rushed into our place to let us know that people saw someone sneaking around the apts when the lights were out--they didn't respond to calls from people, etc and fled. Ajeossi was pretty sure it was a burglar, which means the power may have been cut intentionally. Hey...what they don't tell you....

Buddy Newsflash

As I noted in an earlier post, Buddy has been adopted by an American family. At our monthly community meeting last night, we were told that the family is a military family living on a base in the Seoul vicinity. The family sent photos and the print-outs were posted on the wall of the community room. The women here who handled getting Buddy taken care of were concerned about what would happen to Buddy if they were stationed elsewhere or if they went back to the States. The family emphatically told them that Buddy was now family and would go wherever they go. I think, as well, the US military covers such expenses as the transport of family pets. The kids were all saying how much they missed Buddy, but everyone was delighted to see the photos of Buddy with his family. I'm just so glad that people here took responsibility for him and did the right thing by personally seeing to it that he got adopted. He's a great dog; very sweet, playful one. There are so many animals here in need of good homes--Buddy won the lottery!

Folk Village

As part of my 'duties' at Hanguk Univ of Foreign Studies Korean Studies summer program (my time there thankfully short--hey, a girl's gotta publish--due to the fact I am splitting the teaching duties with a colleague) I was asked to think of a fieldtrip idea. I did and, guess who became the one in charge? Yes--I become the 'leader' of the folk village field trip. I was told that threat of rain did not mean a cancelled trip, so we forged ahead. We made it through a traditional wedding and some houses/complexes used as sets for tv dramas and movies before it poured. Ah well; one cannot change the weather. I became a little star struck when I realized that one of my favorite movies, "The King and the Clown," was filmed here (as indicated by the sign). I made Dahin pose in front of it, but I was facing a semi-solo mutiny.

The wedding party (you can see the wedding in the top pic above) paraded out of the central plaza of the home to the accompaniment of the taepyeongso and drums. I was glad my students caught this little bit of musical performance. I had hoped they could see the pungmul ensemble, acrobats, and the tightrope walking. They were supposed to write a paper about a performance and many were counting on the trip to the village to do their observing. But, alas, it was not meant to be. This was the only performance we caught that day (well, if you don't count the people dressed up in hanbok and 'living' in the village).
I dared Dahin to go into the haunted house, but she flat refused. The timing was so perfect on this one: As she was asking me, "Is it scary?" we heard a loud hissing sound and people scream. Answered that question. It was a good thing she was too chicken to do it; they charged a fee to go into the Toggaebijip (goblin house), which I thought was unreasonable considering the price of admission to the village itself (10,000 won--about $10--not that bad, but seriously, why are they charging for something like that?).

We entered this yangban (aristocrat) house for a look around. There was a lot to see and I got my fill of textiles (my current obsession).
I crammed myself into this wedding box (oh, I don't remember what you call it--something you sit in and people carry you around; you know) just to see if I could. Yup, it was tiny and, yup, I look like a giant; reminding me that I need to make some effort in the running arena and drop those 10 pounds or so I've put on since coming to Korea. The photo doesn't lie...Anyway, Dahin (below) wonders how the heck I crammed myself into it. Worst part was, I wore a skirt and had to figure out how to get out of the box without exposing myself as a crowd had gathered to take blackmail shots (my students included in that bunch).
Yes, the yangban house was a blast. The rustic feel of the place was fantastic. And, just in case you didn't see all the signs and indications that a well-known drama was filmed in this very spot, including a 'costume corner' where you could try on the costumes and look like your favorite melodrama star, they had a tv set up so that you could see bits of the drama. Get it? Yeah, it was filmed here. No, really. REAL-LY! Anyway, how's that for authenticity. Ok, now let's move on....We went to the market place where Dahin decided on a painting of her name. The artist did a wonderful job with her name--telling her that he made the first syllable resemble bamboo so that she would grow tall and strong and the second syllable was bright and sunny. She likes it. Then Grace, one of the fellow profs we wondered around with decided, since it was raining, she wanted to drink a little. What the heck, we joined her and headed toward the empty eating area (below). There, we found grumpy French tourists who were not satisfied with their orders, frustrated ajumas who were tired of waiting on grumpy French tourists, and several feral cats.

I ordered a potato pancake to go with the alcohol. Dongdongju is related to makgeolli, a sweet alcoholic beverage, with a slightly fermented flavor, that is made from rice. Makgeolli is usually milky in appearance, but the Gyeonggi region variant, dongdongju, looks more like tea. It tasted slightly medicinal, with a hint of ginseng. Accompanying the mid-afternoon drink under a tent was conversation on the state of Korean studies and current hiring practices. Dahin, you can tell, was thrilled. We stayed there out of the rain for a while, until the student leaders came looking for us (seen behind my colleague Grace) and we headed for the bus early.

The kitty below, obviously in need of some medical attention, was hanging out at the tables, ready to catch bits of food that fell through the slats in the platform.

On the way out of the park, we ran into women spinning silk. We learned that the woman on the right is the woman on the left's mother-in-law, and she is teaching her to spin silk. I've never seen real live silk worms in action before. They're the little white ball-looking thingies in the picture on the bottom. I'd like to take Dahin back there when it is not raining. When I asked her if she'd like to go back she said, "No." But, maybe I'll try again a little later to see if she'd like to see the performances that take place when the weather is better. Dang rainy season.