The Beautiful Jeju Island

If someone asks me which place is the most beautiful in my country, I will say it is Jeju Island. Jeju Island is one of the most famous places in Korea. When I went to Jeju Island, I saw beautiful beaches, waterfalls, cliffs and caves. Now, I introduce Jeju Island to people who want to visit.

* How is the weather in Jeju?
Jeju has semi-tropical weather, but still shows four seasons. I went there in the winter, but it was not cold. If you visit Jeju, you can enjoy each season in Jeju with a particular color such as brilliant yellow-colored flowers in the spring, the golden beaches and sea in the summer, the light brown wispy reeds flowing in the fall, and the lovely snow flowers of Mt.Hallasan in winter.

* What kinds of food is it famous for?
When I went to Jeju, I could see mandarin orange in a farm because it is the most well known fruit in the Jeju. A long time ago, the mandarin oranges used to be a present to kings as special products of Jeju. Jeju also has a wide variety of native foods including red tilefish (Okdom in Korean) stew, grilled and seasoned red tilefish, and ribbon fish soup.

* Communication?
Native Jeju people speak standard Korean but also speak with a strong dialect. This dialect makes communication difficult even to Korean because it sounds like another language. However, they usually spoke standard Korean for visitors.

* Where are the best places to go?
- Seong-eup Folk Village
Seong-eup Folk Village was one of my favorite places in Jeju. Jeju village is vividly revived and has perfectly preserved Korean tradition. When I looked around there, I felt that I traveled back to the past. I saw the unique lifestyle culture of the island such as the windscreen stone wall and the stone statues which have become the prime feature of the landscape in Seong-eup Folk Village.

- Mt. Hallasan
Mt.Hallasan stands tall in the middle of Jeju Island. This mountain has the well-developed climbing course. I went to a short climbing course that came back down in one day. However, the weather conditions often changed and there was a lot of wind, so I was very cold. If you want to go Mt.Hallasan, you have to be well prepared for bad weather before going up the mountain.

If you want to feel unique mood in Korea, I recommend Jeju Island because Jeju is a paradise where you can taste both traditional Korean and exotic surroundings.

A Full Moon Holiday, Chu-Seok

Chu-seok is one of the most important holidays in Korea. Chu-seok is often recognized as the Korea version of Thanksgiving Day. Chu-seok is the day of August 15 by the lunar calendar, and therefore falls in September 25 by the solar calendar this year. Many people return to their hometowns to celebrate and socialize together, so the government decided to make holidays including days before and after Chu-seok. During the Chu-seok, Koreans give thanks and show their respect for nature and for family ancestors.

Song-pyeon is a kind of the rice cakes and the traditional food of Chu-seok. At the day before Chu-seok, all families get together to make Song-pyeon. New rice is used to make moon-shaped rice cakes with a sweet filling such as sweetened sesame seeds, chestnuts, and beans. The dough is then steamed with pine needles, which add unique fragrance to this food. There is a saying that if you can make the pretty shape of Song-pyeon, you will have pretty daughter. Other foods of Chu-seok are newly harvested rice, taro(like potato) soup, Kim-chi, fish, new fruits and vegetables, and all of the fall season.

Cha-rye is a ritual ceremony to show respect for family ancestors. In the morning of the Chu-seok, some people dress in Han-bok, the traditional clothing of Korea, and other people dress in nice clothes. Then, the descendants gather at their homes to hold Cha-rye in the honor of their ancestors. Families make a formal bow of gratitude. After the Cha-rye, the family members sit down together at one table to enjoy some delicious foods.

Chu-seok is the day we can see the biggest full moon of the year. At night, most of people enjoy a traditional pleasure to go outdoors and pray hope on full moon. After this some people enjoy Gang-gang-sul-lae, which is the traditional game in Chu-seok night. People hold hands and dance in circles, singing “gang-gang- sul-lae”. The song starts to be slow initially, and then it comes to be quick little by little. Also the dance follows the song and becomes faster.

I will for the first time have Chu-seok in USA. I will miss this traditional customs and foods on the Chu-seok day. On that day night, I will look at the full moon even here, and wish for health and happiness of my family and friends.

Lovely Children

I had worked at special school until I came to USA. I taught children who have some disabilities at kindergarten. They have difference congenital disabilities such as mental retardation, autism, and Dawns-syndrome. Most of children don’t have self-caring skills and speaking ability. They needs care and supports all day.

Every time school starts, my heart fluttered in anticipation. How would I spend time with them this year? What they needed from me? How could I help them? When I met them, I always had expectation as well as anxiety. First few days, they are afraid of school, so they didn’t want to separate from their mother and started crying every morning. However, after a few weeks, I realized that they are just children who want play, have fun, and be happy.

While I spend time with them, they became better a little by little. At those moments, another teachers and I felt excited and happy. However, they changed very slowly, so they needed a longer time and a lot of patience from us. When one child came to school, he always wore diaper because he missed critical time to develop bathroom skills. After 8 months of regular training, he was able to use bathroom and didn’t wear diaper anymore. Another child had a habit that he ate lots of food with his hands. In addition, he stole other child’s hood. As a result of 1 year training, he could use spoon with help and stop stilling food. I wrote about these changes in their behaviors and performance everyday, and then I discussed with their mother about that. Therefore, their mothers and I shared a lot of information about them.

Last week, I received one e-mail from a child’s mother. Her mail said that her daughter is healthier and became better at everyday activities. When I read this mail, I was very happy. Now, I so miss them, and I hope they always have happy days and continue to get better. One more hope will be that they keep their pure smiling and laugh. I will remember them forever.

Jo-gak-bo, My Best Hobby

When I have free time, I enjoy my hobby, Korean traditional patchwork. In Korean, it is called Jo-gak-bo. ‘Jo gak’ means small patch, and ‘Bo’ means wrapping cloth. Therefore, Jogakbo is wrapping cloth in Korean traditional patchwork style. A long time ago in Korea, it was used for packing or carrying things, like storage or shopping bag. However, today Koreans usually use it for decoration, such as curtains, table runners, and wall hangings.

Traditionally, it was made of left over fabric or old clothes, but today it is made of traditional fabric, such as cotton, silk, and linen. I usually use linen because it is washable and practical, and semi-transparent. Also I usually use cotton thread when I make Jogakbo using linen and cotton. Sometimes, I use silk thread when I use silk, but I don’t use often because silk thread is so expensive and buying is too difficult. In addition, when I make Jogakbo, I use needle, scissors, and some other tools.

Making Jogakbo is simple. First, I design and sketch a pattern, such as kind and color of fabric, and size and shape of patches. Next, I cut the fabric following the pattern, and then I sew each patch together. Although sewing machine is fast, I always do hand-made because I like sewing by hand. However, hand sewing needs patience and enough time. For example, during the last break, I made a curtain patchwork. It took three weeks by working about six hours a day.

In Korea, when I told people making Jogakbo is my hobby, they usually asked me two questions. One question was “Why do you like making Jogakbo?” I said, “Because when I focus only to sewing, I can forget about everything else. I enjoy just sewing and quite moments.” The other question was “Can I have this one, please?” That moment was very awkward to me. Maybe they seem to think making Jogakbo is easy, but I put a lot of time and effort into one patchwork. So, it was hard to give it away.

Now, I’m planning another patchwork. I don’t know how long it will take and when I complete another patchwork, but it is sure that I really love Jogakbo.