My only previous experience in Korea was for plane changes on my way to China. That trip occurred during the summer and from the air I could see that So. Korea appears to be a beautiful, green country. Unfortunately, this winter visit to Korea did not permit me to see that beautiful countryside. It was cold and rainy much of the time. Yet, I did see enough to learn that Korea is a clean and attractive place.

The people I met on this trip were all very happy and outgoing; not as shy or reserved as others I've met in Asia. We had many hours of laughing and fun during my stay. From Aurea's fellow teachers at the academy where she works, to the people in her church, to her students and to people I met in the hotel and on the street. Everyone was very kind and hospitable. I very much enjoyed meeting people on this trip.

Food
I suppose the single biggest challenge I have when traveling abroad is the cuisine. I always seem to find a way to communicate and get around, to shop and learn about the culture and historic sites. But, eating presents the biggest test of endurance. The challenge on my two week China trip was to survive a diet of very greasy food. Koreans love spicy food. Take your hottest Tex-Mex dish and multiply it by a factor of 2 or 3. Everything from chicken soup to rice, from meat to vegetables is super hot. And, it's not sufficient that everything is cooked with high octane spices; they slather it with a red hot pepper sauce once it reaches the table.

Cooked cabbage, fish, beef and rice are favorites. Koreans are fond of a side dish that is served with virtually every meal. It's called Kimchi and consists of cooked cabbage, spices and usually anchovies, all marinated and left to ferment for weeks before it's consumed. It's somewhat like an enhanced sauerkraut that someone forgot to throw out. It's a very strange concoction for Westerners, but a staple for Koreans.

My meals in Korea were a variety of traditional Korean fare in restaurants and Western style at such elegant places as KFC and McDonalds, plus a couple of quasi-Western meals at the hotel restaurant. Even the little ketchup packets at McDonalds, though they looked just like we find here, contained souped-up, extra spicy catsup.

Octopus in various forms (fried, dried and fresh – as in live – yes, eaten live) is a common dish. Dog meat is a special treat and some restaurants are dedicated to that specialty. I avoided them with the same amount of effort as I did the snake restaurants of China.

Transportation
Public transportation is excellent in Suwon. The buses are good, but seats are few; they can accommodate many more passengers standing than sitting. Taxis are everywhere and reasonably priced. A taxi ride of about 2 miles runs you about $2 U.S.. I was cautioned about cab pricing. There are cabs in black, white, silver and yellow – all priced differently. The cars are all the same kind (Hyundais or Kias), and take you to the same places, but for some reason the black colored cars are considered premium rides and cost significantly more. I guess it's more prestigious to arrive at your destination in a black car than a white car and you pay for that prestige.

Very nice coaches (charter-type busses) make the trip between Suwon and Inchon Airport (a nearly 2 hour ride) for $6 U.S. each way, which is clearly a bargain.

There is light rail and train service in parts of the country.

As in most major cities around the world the commute hour is to be avoided if at all possible. Aurea and I tried to ride a city bus from the Folk Village back to her apartment one afternoon during the commute hour. We rode the thing for about 2 hours and only made it half way. We eventually ditched the bus and grabbed a cab to finish the trip. The bus was locked into a certain route on the busiest streets and seldom moved at all. The cab driver knew which routes to take to get us back quickly.

Communicating
I met few Koreans who spoke English. However, there is enough English signage to get around town. Historic site signage is usually bilingual. Fortunately, my friend Aurea, who accompanied me everywhere, has learned a fare amount of Korean. When I did encounter people who knew or were learning English, they were eager to practice it, especially Aurea's students.

Leave your shoes at the door
Korea shares the Japanese custom of removing your shoes at the door of their homes and many restaurants. That takes some getting used to. The two traditional restaurants we visited served meals on short tables that you sit around on the floor. I found that many buildings are heated through the floor for that purpose. It's an odd sensation walking around in your stocking feet on heated wood floors.

Religion
Buddhism is the leading religion in So. Korea. However, as in many places I've visited, it seems to be more of a cultural legacy than an active part of the average person's life. People visit Buddhist shrines and temples periodically much like Catholics go to church once or twice a year in America.

Christianity has a strong presence in So. Korea. The largest Christian church in the world is in Seoul.

Aurea has served in a church in Suwon that is comprised of about 20 satellite churches around the city. The main church is in downtown Suwon and probably seats 4,000+ people. That church has seven morning services to accommodate the crowds. The minister's sermon is televised live to the other 20 satellite churches. Aurea's church, for example, is in a canyon outside of Suwon. It has several morning services of its own and the sermon is shown on a large projection TV from the main church downtown. Her church has it's own worship service with singing and local announcements. All of the churches also provide translation service in other languages, including English. 

I regret not taking pictures of Aurea's church. But frankly, I was so shocked and in awe of the place, that I simply forgot to snap any pictures. The campus is in a canyon outside Suwon, surrounded by mountains. The structure itself is fairly new and resembles a huge European cathedral in size, but without the traditional spires, statues and trimmings of a cathedral. It is simply HUGE. Koreans are very faithful in giving money to their churches! I didn't even see the inside of the main church that we attended. I was told that the main sanctuary is reserved for special occasions. I am confident that it seats several thousand people. We met instead, in a large room under the main sanctuary that probably seats 800.

Aurea serves as a lay leader in her church's foreigner's ministry. With so many people from other countries working in So. Korea, there is a large number of non-Korean speaking people who attend church there. So, after the morning church service, the foreigners gather in another building on the campus where they are served a free light lunch (more spicy Korean soup, cabbage and rice). They then gather in a fellowship hall to sing, play games, share their testimonies, pray and learn a little Korean to make there lives a easier on the job. I attended with Aurea and this was a lot of fun. People from all over the world were there, but the largest groups were from other Asian countries (Indonesia, Vietnam, Laos, Philippines), Nigeria, Pakistan and India. One Pakistani guy sort of latched on to me. His English was excellent and he had many questions about America. He is a relatively new Christian, but growing fast.

The director of Aurea's school (Interpretation Training College), David Yoon, is a deacon in the church and leads the foreigner's fellowship. He is a wonderful man and he graciously drove Aurea and I around for much of our visit, despite his busy role at work and church. I have invited him and his wife to visit me in Arizona and I hope they can make it someday. She is an attorney and Aurea and I helped her and her husband celebrate her earning her Master's degree on the Saturday we were there.

David inquired about my ministry role in the U.S.. I told him I have a full-time career with Bank of America, but that I have had lay ministry roles in churches all my adult life. I did not realize that he wasn't certain what that meant until he introduced me to the church as an American pastor. And, then he publicly asked me to bring a spontaneous devotional to the group. I took Aurea's Bible (which is in English, thank heavens), and spoke for a few minutes on Psalm 32, with two translators (Chinese and Korean) translating for me. After the meeting, one of the Nigerian men approached me. I could barely understand him, and I'm not sure how he understood me, but he did say that my thoughts on the passage meant a great deal to him. I guess I got off lucky. Aurea had warned me that they might ask me to sing.

Economy
Everything from transportation to food to site admission was on a scale similar to what you would find in the U.S.. In other words, fairly expensive. The exception was my hotel. The room I had ran $50/night and you couldn't touch something that nice in any U.S. city for under $150/night, higher in SF or LA.

Korea has a no-tipping tradition, but of course you can get extra consideration for a modest gratuity.

Politics
Unlike my observations about China, where I concluded that the people have very little national spirit, Koreans are strongly nationalistic. Re-unification of the North and South is foremost on everyone's minds and a constant theme. How they anticipate it happening is anyone's guess. South Koreans are keenly aware of the poverty and starvation facilitated by the communist dictatorship in the North, so it's hard to believe that they would trade their freedom simply to become one country again. As with most cultures where a generation grows up between wars, the younger generation of So. Korea is strongly anti-military and it exhibits a growing dislike for America and its strong presence in their country. I didn't encounter any overt sentiment of that nature myself, but demonstrations are a regular occurrence in Seoul and around U.S. military and business facilities. I would liked to have visited the border and Panmoonjon, but there wasn't time for that during this visit.

The older generation of So. Korea seems to have a greater respect for their past and the role the U.N. and America played in pushing communism out of their nation fifty years ago. They also understand the role of U.S. dollars in their country.

Foreign presence
I saw very few Americans or Westerners during my 4.5 day visit. However, Suwon is off the beaten path for Westerners, and I passed through Seoul quickly. There are supposedly 30,000 U.S. military personnel, plus their families and several thousand U.S. civilian and business people in the country. There are also a lot of foreigners from elsewhere in Asia and Russia in So. Korea, working in factories.

I did observe several over-flights of U.S. fighter aircraft patrolling the skies. One of several U.S. air bases in the country could be seen near Suwon from atop a tower on the Hwasong Fortress wall (see the page about historical sites for more information on Hwasong Fortress).

U.S. food products can be found easily in grocery stores and are very popular. Electronics, appliances and automobiles are predominantly Korean-made. Korea also imports from China, Taiwan and the Philippines, just like the U.S.

History
This will be elementary to most readers, but my narrative about Korea would not be complete without a summary of its recent history.

All of Korea suffered greatly during WWII under Japanese occupation. In fact, the correct English spelling of Korea, is "Corea." The Japanese changed the name during their occupation and it stuck. Korea was divided in an agreement between the U.S., Russia and China at the conclusion of WWII. It is unfortunate, but the Chinese and Russians wanted to exert their influence on Korea and that was the way it came about. In 1948, No. Korea transitioned to Communism under that influence.

No. Korea invaded the South in 1951. The U.N. came to the assistance of So. Korea and in three weeks, pushed the communists all the way north to within just a few miles of the border with China. It was a defeat on the scale of the Gulf War. However, the Chinese and Russians then came to the aid of No. Korea, providing thousands of troops, equipment and air power. That equalized the balance of power and U.N. forces were pushed back South and the front lines were loosely established near the 38 degrees Latitude. The 38th Parallel is the current demarcation line between No. and So. Korea under an armistice. Both countries are technically still at war.

My No. Korea theory
I am a nominal student of world history, especially of the last 75 years or so. The current issue with No. Korea restarting their nuclear program does not trouble me as much as it does many people. I think the likelihood of renewed fighting on the Korean peninsula in the near future is very remote.

First, No. Korea hasn't the technology to wage a modern war. Yes, they have the largest foot soldier army in the world. But, the country is starving and in severe poverty. If the North decided to send their army over the border to the South, most of those soldiers would defect and eagerly sit out a war in So. Korean prisons, well fed and cared for until they were reunited with their So. Korean cousins.

However, China will never allow No. Korea to attack the South. Nor will they allow the North to do anything to bring down the wrath of the U.S.. The last thing that China wants, is for the U.S. to occupy positions along their border after easily defeating the North. Plus, China currently has a problem with No. Koreans crossing the border for assistance. Thousands of No. Koreans have fled their own country in recent years because they were starving. They sit in Chinese camps and China cannot afford to host many more.

I believe that before No. Korea does anything to invite a U.N. or U.S. invasion, China will either depose the No. Korean leader, buy him off or even occupy the country themselves to stabilize it. China doesn't want No. Korean to sell nuclear weapons to terrorists any more than we do. I believe the No. Korean problem will be taken care of by China with just a little saber rattling on our part to keep the issue warm.

HOME

All content copyright © 2006 by Dan Evans