We had the special opportunity to visit the DMZ (demilitarized zone) between North and South Korea. The tour was educational, and we got to peer over the border at the North Korean guards (no hand motions, including waving or pointing, was allowed for fear of being mistaken as communication with the communist North). For more on the DMZ tour, see our pictures on Flickr. (You need to log in to see our "friends only" pictures. Ask us for log-in info.)
The building behind us is North Korea!We also had the wonderful privilege of dining with General Lee of the Korean Special Forces 3rd Brigade. He is a godly Christian man and a friend of Peter's.
In front of the Special Forces 3rd Brigade (Flying Tiger) building.Bottom: Mrs. Yoon, Mr. Yoon, General Lee, John C., Janice, Corrie, John K.
The general presented us with an autographed photo of the taekwondo demonstration by Special Forces soldiers during the Asian Games.Sounds
Because Derek and I looked like everyone else here, whenever we traveled as a team, people would often single us out and speak to us in Korean... only to apologize after we shook our heads and said "Sorry, I don't speak Korean!" in our best American English. After a while, I even resorted to, "Me...Chinese!"
It was a little frustrating to look like everyone else, yet not be able to speak like everyone else (except simple phrases like "hello" and "thank you"). This reminded us of our need to be flexible in adapting to different cultures. Even though a culture may appear very similar on the surface, it could be totally different in reality.
Just take eating rice as an example. In Chinese culture, to be polite, you must lift up your bowl and shovel rice into your mouth with your chopsticks. Leaving your bowl on the table is considered impolite. In Japanese culture, you must not lift up your bowl, but pick up the rice with your chopsticks (of course, they have stickier rice, so it's easier to pick up). In Korean culture, you must not lift up your bowl, and you must eat rice with a spoon. To pick up rice with your chopsticks is ok, only in informal situations.
Did you know that the Korean word for "red bean" sounds like "Hong Kong"?Tastes
Korean food is the best!
Don't forget the kim chi! We learned that Koreans are real serious about their kim chi. In Korean households, they have separate refridgerators where only the kim chi is stored.
No comments:
Post a Comment