Counting in Korean Style

Jiwon,

The life in Seoul has so many things to discover. Especially with friends from different countries,even a tiny little thing becomes a cultural exploration and analyze. This time, I want to share the water bottle provided in a homy restaurant.

We come to eat our dinner in the same restaurant after afternoon rehearsal session from Monday to Saturday. Day after day, this routine boosts our observation to the details around. One day the Japanese artist Yuji found out the interesting measurement numbers on the bottle, starting from 300ml., 500ml, 700ml, 900ml, 1100ml, 1300ml. Both of us were shocked because normally we count 200ml, 400ml, 600ml, 800ml, 1000ml, 1200ml in our countries. We checked the bottom of it and for sure which is manufactured in Korea (not in China), then how does this idea come up? There might be a national custom or mindset hidden in this message...... We were beating our brains for this trifle till the dishes were ready in front of us. After that, everyone only focused on the food and no one mentioned it again......

Actually, it is not important whether we get the correct answers or not. The finding and sharing are truely precious to me. Now can you come up any interesting/crazy/weird explanation for this bottle?

Snow Painting

Dear Jiwon,

I have moved to Seoul for several days. The days in Yugu Performing Village is remote to me now. Sometimes I would think of the Grandmother who cooks for us in weekdays and the smothery smell from the burning woods..... No matter what I encountered in the past two months, those are turned to be a piece of rubbed papper, easily forgettable. All I know is to carry on the life now. I only have one month left in Korea. I want to experience more and more and more......

Here I want to show you the first snow I saw in Yugu. It was so beautiful and I had a great fun with my friend Asif in snow painting. You might not see it clearly from the photo, I drew a little monster and two Chinese characters meaning "Winter".

Yesterday it snowed again in Seoul. I couldn't play the snow painting but only walking in the flying snow. It was another impressive moments in the snow, I LOVE it!

This picture taken from the window of my room in Seoul

My Korean friend played the song "White Christmas" from her i-phone 4 as she saw the snow by the window. Eveything is so matched with the white snow, the voice of Louis Armstrong, good friends and a little worries in mind. Hope you enjoy listening it.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Rq6y71i12w

Walking in Your Past

Jiwon,


I prefer to call your real name...


I felt very excited when reading your letter about your childhood with your grandmother in Young Cheon Market. So I decided to leave my team and found the market by myself. It was happened around two weeks ago and I didn't have time to put things in order. Now I am writing my past which is your past as well. It seems to me another interesting occurrence to me.

떡 Ddeok 
Traditional Korean rice cakeI bought a pack of colorful rice for testing. I thought each color would have different flavors but actually not... they all tasted similar or the same... filled with sesame paste.













내복 Underwear
My Korean friend Soyoon told me this is not old fasion anymore. Some of young people still wear this kind of complete set, costed about 22,000 Won.

 서대문 Seo dae Mun

Independent Gate
One of my favorite photos, shot in the middle part of pedestrian zebra from Young Cheon Market to Independent Gate. I didn't have time to walk inside of the park, maybe together with you next time.

At dawn, it is the scenery of a platform near London. If I didn't say it is London, it wouln't look that different from a platform somewhere in Korea. I have been always a urban girl. I was born in a city. I was brought up in a city. And I settled down in another city after my thirties. My trajectory goes from a city to another.

Life is going along at its own pace, sometimes slow sometimes fast. My life shifts different times through different spaces and my work is to patternise and metaphorise those different realities. Metaphor(meta-phorein) in the original sense as in Greek it means 'transportation'...

I am grateful for this Hope's invitation that we create (a) performance(s) together as international artists. I don't know how we will shape or where we will arrive, but this is an exciting new journey through spaces and times....

Fall in Korea

Jiwon,

I'd love to praise the beauty of Autumn in Korea. It is so beautiful here in these couple weeks. Although some of the flowers I photoed previously are fading now, I still keep watching their changes in colors and shapes day after day. To me, I aware more of the importance of being in its disappearance, like people always learn to cherish something as it is not existed anymore.

Somehow sometimes I have to remind myself I am living in the time now, not in the past, in dreams or in any fictional settings. Have you ever have this thought? So, when I awake from my imaginations, sometimes I have a little depression. It is meant that I would prefer to stay in my imainary world more than the reality......

I am really enjoy the time now, not just the Autumn here, but the satisfication of every aspects, including the new friends I met here, the task I am working on, the food and the nature... Once I even had a thought to move to Korea. Hahaha, I am actually into a situation of "fall-in-love" with Korea!

One Asia

Hi Jiwon,

I've just finished the Samulnori program with one of the best players in Korea Mr. Hong Yoon Ki. Within the four-day intensive learning, I focused on playing Janggo for the competition on the fifth day. It truely was a mission impossible because none of my team-mates are musicians or have good knowledge in Music. However, we still stood on the stage and tried to do our best. The result was not too bad but we still couldn't involve in the second run of the competition. Anyway, I was so glad to break my limitation on one new thing. The feeling of achivement was really attractive, and I thought I may fall in love with Janggo instrument. Have you had such emotion before?

Janggo needs to be played by both hands. Sometimes one rythem would speed up to the most and hardly can see players' hands and heads. To me, they all look like psychedelic. There was a several times that I could reach this kind of "mind state". I think one should memorize the score very well and then he can have the freedom to play around of it.

"One Asia" is the name of our team. We actually came from different countries and cities for the ASSITEJ theatre program. By invitation, we made the Samulnori competition as our first collaboration. It did link us more than before and I believe we could make the theatre production as good as what we did in Samulnori.

Let me introduce my team-mates for you. Now they are my family in Korea!







If you or your children want to learn Samulnori, you can get more info of the teachers, schools, competitions,performances, festival from the website below:
www.samulfestival.co.kr
www.samulnorischool.com

Want Some Black Coffee?

Jiwon,

The previous two times when I were in Korea, I found out the people here are used to drink instant coffee in a small bar-pack mixed milk and suger inside already. To me, I can't say that is a proper coffee for my morning stomach. This is perhaps my least requirement of a day.

This time, I brought my grained coffee and Vietnam-style coffee maker. However, I spend about a week time to find out the best way of making. Now the process of making becomes a sort of coffee ceremony to me. Once in a day (normally in the morning) I would prepare the tools and materials to the kitchen. As the water is boilded in the kettle, I will arrange everything properly set on the table. The total making time for one cup of coffee costs about 10 minutes.

From the picture you may ask: why not simplely adapt myself to instant coffee then? Actually I do drink it once or twice since I arrived Korea. I really can't like it......so I prefer not to disorder my digestive system.

Gongju Flowers

Jiwon,

I like flowers in the ground, better than the ones in the flowerpot for sale, or the ones fractured and arranged artificially in beautiful vases. The art village school where I'm staying now has many kinds of flowers around. The growth of their own attitudes are so overwhelming, even the dead ones stand still elegantly.


I don't have much knowledge of flower names or their messages. I believe I would be more joyful if I know about each kind well, as if I am delighted by knowing you from how you deal with all those little daily trifles.


When I did the bow down to the ground in the temple, I should open my hands and palms up to the sky. One of the sayings to this gesture is presenting lotus flowers for lifting Buddha. In this way, I already have flowers in hands without asking from others.

Maybe, this is part of the awareness of Seon in life.
("Seon" is Zen in Koren).

Young Pyung Sa 永平寺

Jiwon,

I spent in a Korean templestay for 3 days 2 nights. The name of the temple is Young Pyung Sa. We took about one and half hour there but still in Gongju province. I were a bit surprised my sense of distence. Maybe it is because I stayed in Macau for quite a long time. I felt every place I want to go should be reached in about 15 to 30 minutes. If I go back to Taiwan Taipei, I would assume the approximated time to reach one place is about 30 minutes to 1 hours. Now I am finding out the avarege time cost in Korea, for now I would say about 2 hours to go one place from wherever you are then.


Today is my nephew's birthday. Although I couldn't bring him any gift back right away, I sent my pictures taken in the temple to show my wishes instead, hoping his life is happy and colorful as the blooming flowers in the mountains.

The same blessings to you as well.

P.S. What's your religeon? I don't have any; however, the short visiting reminds me some valuable thoughts I knew but leave them behind for a long time. If you are interested in it, check the website: www.templestay.com

The message for this flower is "Mother's Love"

Masked People

Hi Jiwon,

Haven't heard from you for some time, are you busy taking care of your kids? When will you bring them back to Korea?

I found out Korean really put a lot of efforts to remain their traditions. The city I am staying now is Gongju (公州). On the date of my arrival, there was a closing ceremoney of Great Baekje World Festival. My mates and I visited around and discovered a huge world mask collection in the exhibition mall. I believe the one I saw here may not be the biggest; however, I was impressive of the look in each of them. Some are really weird, I should say......

The first time I had a little knowledge of Korean masks was in Andong (安東)2006. I backpacked alone and found Hahoe village (河回村). It's truely beautiful and I spent hours to walk around. If I could schedule some days to visit again, I would like to sleep overnight and feel the sounds from the nature.

Simply I want to let you know how I started loving Korea and would like to know more this time. I wondered whether you have been to the places I went. Since you are in faraway England, I hope the writing to you wouldn't raise your sigh for homeland then.

I photoed many masks in the exhibition. Guess which is the one from Korea? I will tell you the answer later.

Incheon Grand Bridge

Jiwon,

I am so bewitched by the Incheon Grand Bridge. This is perhaps the longest one I've ever seen in my life till now. Have you ever passed by this bridge? Since you go home once or twice in a year. I am sure you would have chances to see the beauty of it. I took many pictures on it, then I found out those lines are very much like a music score to me. In the car, my friend was listening Jazz music "Take Five" by Dave Brubeck, perfectly matched with my feelings along the way. Hope you feel what I felt by listening his freestyle.

Flying to Your Homeland

Jiwon,

Yesterday I took an early flight to Korea. I was so excited to stepped on your homeland again though it's not the very first time. I guess it's because we have been building a stronger relationship in a far more distance, since the night we met at Seoul Fringe Club in 2006(I assumed this is the year we met, sorry about my poor memory...)

I should write you more later about how I reached your country this time. For now, I simply sent you the colorful gleamings I saw in the flight, as if which is wearing a splendid costume while flying into Korea sky.