Tuesday, October 22

Today we went to the southern coast of Korea, which was about a 3 hour bus ride.  You know how karaoke is really big over here?  Well, the bus is equipped for karaoke.  As in, a big flat screen tv up front and a microphone that can reach to everyone on the bus.  George’s aunt, Yuh Kwan Jang Nim Harmon (Yuh Kwan Jang Nim is her title, Harmon is her married name) said she wanted everybody to sing.  (She’s a 9^th degree black belt, so everyone tends to obey her.)  If there was a lag in the microphone being passed around she would say, “Sing!  I don’t hear singing!”  George and I sang “Total Eclipse of the Heart.”  Everyone asked George’s aunt to sing, and she sang “Itsy Bitsy Spider,” but with her accent, she pronounces it “Itchy Bitchy Spider.”  I died laughing.  So funny.  Apparently it’s a running joke in her family and in the school that she can’t pronounce it, so they always ask her to sing it.

On a side note, this is the aunt that wrote a book that I’ve talked about.  Her story is nothing short of amazing, and I highly recommend it. 

Once we got to the southern coast, we took a cable car up to the top of a mountain.   Again, these pictures really don’t capture just how beautiful the view was. 

Should have moved the purse.

Looking at these pictures you might think to yourself, “Gee, that would be a good place to propose,” and someone did.

A Kuk Sool couple from Texas 

moments after getting engaged

That brings me to something else I’ve noticed as I learn more about Kuk Sool.  There are a lot Kuk Sool couples.  I’ve asked around to see if there’s a slang phrase for it, but there is none.  Kuk Sool-mance?  George’s aunt met her husband in Kuk Sool (if you read her book you can learn the whole beautiful story), and one of her daughters just married a man she met in Kuk Sool.  There are so many couples here that met through practicing this martial art.  It makes sense.  Kuk Sool Won isn’t just about the kicks and swords and punches.  It’s also about character and morals.  It is a way of life.  And then as can be expected, some of the children of these couples do Kuk Sool and on down the line it goes.  It’s a family affair. 

This evening, the hanbok tailor came to help George and me pick out our hanboks.  I had been charged with looking through a few books and picking the ones that I liked.  I already had a feeling that my favorites would not be well received:  I like darker, earthier colors, and in the hanbok store the day before, George’s mom seemed to be loving all things pink.  So I wasn’t surprised that when I showed the tailor my favorite one (dark green top with a blue/gray dress), he scrunched up his face and motioned “no way” with his hand.  He then explained to George (in Korean) why that was the wrong choice.  I only understood one word, but I knew what he was saying.  “Grandmother,” was the word I understood.  When George’s mom came to see what we had chosen, she asked if I had decided to go with the tailor’s suggestion.  I told her yes because my choice was no good; it was for a grandmother.  She wanted to see it, so the man flipped to the page for her.  She collapsed in her chair, laughing.  She almost looked like someone was tickling her she was laughing and tossing so much.  George said he had never seen his mom laugh so hard.  Pink it is.