Last Post From Korea

Heading home today.

Last night the remaining 6 of us in our original group of 15 went out for dinner. We ate grilled pork until we popped. A very fitting last meal.

Then...as if that weren't enough, Jo Jin-Man (our USU sculpture professor and leader of the trip), took us to visit this bar that he used to take his wife to when they were in school.

It was a shanty-type building, loosely made out of sheets of masonite stapled together with a few 4x4 vertical beams that were an aged patina of charcoal black. About 2 dozen small tables and old beat-up chairs were all we had to sit in. The roof was just under 6-feet tall, so everyone had to hunch over to walk through the place.

Very tight and small, and it felt again as if we were in a building built for Hobbits.

Graffiti covered the walls...literally there was no blank space at all. The walls were a dark brown and the graffiti was either scratched into the masonite, which looked lighter, or written in pen/marker. It actually looked quite beautiful and I wanted to make a photograph, but alas, I had made a critical error in judgement and left my camera home. I guess I am ready to leave now when I no longer feel compelled to carry it everywhere.

So, this bar serves one type of alcohol...traditional rice-wine. Stored in a huge 20-gallon sink, scooped out into small basins to bring to your table, then scooped out again into small bowls that you drank out of. The drinkers in our group got pretty sloshed on rice-wine (MAH-ko-lee), and what they didn't drink got poured right back into the original 20-gallon storage tank. I guess they figure the Hepatitis virus cannot live in alcohol? Glad I don't drink.

The power in S. Korea is all 220 volts...which will figure large in the history of this particular bar. Apparently all of the extention cords tacked to the walls supplying power to all of the fans hanging on the walls (just imagine this place in the hot-sticky-humid conditions during the summer...), have shorted out and burned down the place. Twice. Remember the description of the vertical support beams? That's why they're black.

They also serve grilled fish to pick at while you're drinking. A pleasing combination indeed.

We left the bar and headed out into the streets to relax. There was a pop-group performing, which of course drew out the inner modern-dance performer among those who had been drinking. A sight to behold, and even the Korean singers were enjoying the performances.

Then...yes the evenings events continue...we headed out to do a little Karaoke.

Now, I've never done any Karaoke before, so this was going to be a treat. We went to a pretty nice place (I guess) and the way it works is you pay for some time in a private room, they bring you a few beers and set you free. You select your songs from a very thick book, punch the songs # into the computer and up comes the lyrics and music.

It was actually pretty fun, and we sang/yelled/screamed until about midnight.

Then, those of us who were still sober headed out and went back to the guest-house to sleep. Dunno how late the others came back in.

I've shot about 40gb of images and am looking forward to getting home and editing them. I did also meet and photograph a Christian minister who spent 1 1/2 years in a Chinese prison after being arrested for helping some North Korean refugees. A very interesting man, and his story is full of intrigue. I interviewed and recorded him for about 30 minutes while we had lunch.

So...20 days in South Korea. At times frustrating, at times extremely rewarding. I can't wait to get home, see my family and mow my grass.

Signing out for now...heading to the airport in about an hour.