Foreign on the Fourth

Today marks the third time that I have been in active use of my passport on the Fourth of July.  I've celebrated Independence Day in Kenya (2002), Germany (2011), and now South Korea (2013).  On one hand each of these experiences have reminded me of the value of the freedoms and opportunities which I have as an American and on the other hand has made me truly realize that there is an amazing human spirit and overall interconnectedness among people which transcends nationalism and politically defined borders.  So to my family and friends who will be celebrating today..."Happy Fourth of July!!"

Overnight we stopped in the city of Daegu, South Korea's third largest city (behind Seoul and Busan).  While there were no defined study tour objectives, we did have time last night so as to explore.  One of the things that we have noticed about Korean cities is that there are almost no single-family detached houses.  All over the place, including the suburbs and even rural areas, you see high rise condominium buildings.  We've been told that the ideal for a Korean family is to own a condo.  We've joked amongst each other about these condo complexes all looking the same and parallels have been made to our suburban "Levittown" areas.  Instead of little boxes on the hillside all made out of tickey-tackey like we see, you have high rise buildings on the outskirts all made out of tickey-tackey.  So even without an official agenda, other than a hotel stay, in Daegu we have reflected upon Korean urban life.

Lectures...Round Two

I'll post professor pictures ASAP

During our second day at Korea University we had lectures/discussions on the following topics: Modern History, Society, Traditional Arts, and (following lunch in the university cafeteria) Cinema.

Modern History: While the session's title was geared to the modern era, it included background information on the legacy Korea's 2000 years of written history.  Nationalistic maps often portray the era of the "Three Kingdoms" as being much larger than they most likely were.  This era of "Three Kingdoms" might better be classified as the first era of a divided Korea (as compared with the current North-South split). The Choson Dynasty was 500 years and there are other examples of dynasties elsewhere in the world.  An interesting discussion focused on the heroes' images placed on currency: in Korea such are dominated by the Confucian scholars rather than key political or military leaders.  It was noted that there were three waves of the era of Japanese occupAtion and only the third (1931-1945, assimilationist era) in which Japanese behavior become deplorable and most Koreans truly developed a strong hatred.  The speaker's analysis contends that Gen. MacArthur is highly responsible for the current North-South split: his telegraphed ideas about an invasion of China during Korean War so as to oust Mao were intercepted and resulted in the Chinese invasion which caused UN/US/Southern forces to lose ground and shift back to armistice line.  A short discussion focused on "dictators" of the south which impacted economic development.

Society: The presentation began with a 21 minute video of the 1980s pro-democracy protest movements in South Korea so as to help contextualize the political society.  The discussion which followed focused on what could be an intriguing dynamic considering such a strong social push for increased democracy; there is a strong conservative perspective with a longing toward the leaders of the 60s-early 80s. Why might this be...not long after the political structural shifts there was some economic turmoil that occurred in the same era as the political liberalization.  The American montra of "it's the ecomomy, stupid" might help put the longing to the era of pseudo-democracy.  In the recent 2012 presidential elections, lower-class (economically frustrated) voters had a 65.7% bend toward the more conservative (era of less democracy and more governmental control of the economy) perspective.  It's little surprise that the daughter of one of the former president-dictators won the election, especially with a campaign making strong overtures to the success of her father's era.

Traditional Arts: A discussion which rapidly covered a progression of time using the various mediums of traditional Korean art.  Slides were shown of items used as examples as the era and medium being discussed.  One especially important aspect of the discussion which grabbed my attention involved the diffusion of culture, religion, and art from China to Korea to Japan: slides were shown of "National Treasure No. 83", a bronze bodhisattva statue made in Korea, connects with the diffusion of Buddhism from China into Korea and then a later, near identical, red pine statue found at a temple in Japan shows the continued diffusion of Buddhism on to Japan and yet in a Japanese traditional art form.  As Confucianism migrated into Korea the styles changed from elaborate to a more non-di script symbol design in white ceramics.

Cinema: Korean cinema has a troubled history often linked with strong censorship during both the era of Japanese occupation as well as the pseudo-democratic dictatorships.  Recent relaxing in censorship and international attention to domestic film festivals have advanced Korean cinema into international perspective.  Korea has 50+ university departments with degrees in film making.  Going to the theaters is big among viewers where as home viewing (DVD or online) is low.  40-60% of tickets purchased are for local films rather than those from other countries.  Many stars get their start on TV and then transition with popularity.  Korean films tend to be less ironic and more emotionally direct than films from other countries.

위로 이동 Gutenberg

(title translation: "Move Over Gutenberg")

While I've known this before, Johannes Gutenberg was not the first to invent a printing process based on movable type.  Such information was even included in the Gutenberg Printing Press Museum I visited in Mainz, Germany in 2011.  I know this is shocking to many of my readers who are so steeped into the lore of Western History's slant on the existence of the planet.

About 600 years before Gutenberg developed a movable type printing press in central Europe, the Chinese were transitioning from carved wooden blocks to ceramic blocks for printing purposes.  Then 400 years later, still 200 years prior to Gutenberg, the Koreans took this Chinese technology and made it even more modern by creating metal blocks for their alphabet.

Regardless of who did it "first", the ability to produce reading material in an ever increasingly rapid manner has had a significant impact on the increase in literacy, education, and thus economic development throughout the world.  When more can read more understand.  When more understand they act.

For more information on the historic importance of metal movable type within Korea, check out this World History unit from the Annenberg Foundation.  If you watch the pop-up Video on Demand, the portion on Korea begins at the 10:50 minute mark.

Eyes of a Child

This past Sunday night, my weekly Bible study group was concluding a series on fears.  During the discussion, the topic of seeing the world through the eyes of children came up.  So often, children have a completely different outlook on life than we adults have.  Too often we see the "realities" and fears of life rather than embrace the simplicity, hope, and joy that it offers.

This made me reflect upon some of my travels and the faces of children that I've met.  With some I've developed a relationship (even if only temporary) while others it was more of a passing encounter.  But nearly every time, regardless of culture, color, race, religion, economic, or other human defined background, I've looked into their eyes and glimpsed the simplicity, the hope, and the joy that life offers.

Me with Jazmine, Pricilla, & Jhon in Lima, Peru, June 2000

These three lived at Posada de Amor, a home for orphans & abandoned children

Me with several precious girls outside of Kisumu, Kenya, June 2002

A little girl in a Mon village along the River Kwai in Thailand, June 2009

My encounter with a day care group in Seoul, South Korea, November 2009
These children were on a field-trip at the Korean National War Museum

Me with a group of boys in Bodza, Malawi, July 2010
These boys attend a feeding center where I helped a team from my church drill a water well

My friend Holly and a group of girls at a school in Aschaffenburg, Germany, June 2011
(don't worry, the girls had already finished their lunches before we joined them)

One of my great honors as I've roamed the roads of lands remote has been to see the face of God as expressed through the hearts of children.  No matter the culture, you can see the simplicity, the hope, and the joy of life expressed on their faces.