When I returned to Korea with my daughter, Molly, in 1999 (not 2000, according to records) I went through pretty serious culture shock with the high rises and unrecognizable cities and towns. I didnt have the Korean language any longer, and no spouse or translator to help me navigate this strange world. Molly was 21 years old, the same age that I was when I arrived in Korea in 1971. She had her own culture shock going on, and we explored this alien, yet familiar, world together. When I returned to my Peace Corps hometown of Sangju, I couldnt orient myself to anything now that it had become a huge agri-business hub and high rise city. I searched endlessly for a familiar place, to no avail. These street photos were taken in Sangju, and you can see that I tried to capture scenes that were at least slightly reminiscent of my home so long ago. Its a good thing I took these photos, because there were no signs of any of these traditional buildings upon my return to Sangju last year (2013) for the official revisit. The photo of the yogwan room was where we stayed in the town at the entrance to Haein-sa. We were able to find traditional yogwans pretty easily back then, 15 years ago, with an inside bathroom where you did all your washing in one tiled room with a long spray hose to use for bathing and laundry. I think we did our laundry, Peace Corps style, in that bathroom, and the jjigae served in the small restaurant next door was perfect for a cool spring evening after a day at the temple.
Posted on: Sat, 01 Nov 2014 21:19:55 +0000
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