Subject: Weekend news

Date: 11-Feb-94 at 18:34

From: Roger White

It's New Year in Korea. I'm in the middle of a five day holiday. I'm spending the holiday resting in Suwon because all the long distance traveling facilities are really crowded. I was going to spend the holiday in Japan but I couldn't get a plane reservation. Japan celebrates solar new year, not lunar new year, so this isn't a holiday season in Japan and Japanese sights wouldn't be very crowded. Ah well, this way I save money instead of spending it.

Korea's New Year is a lot like America's Thanksgiving. It's a holiday for visting relatives, and more than half the country is on the road to a home town to visit the oldest relative. The Koreans also honor ancestors on New Years, so part of the tradition is to visit the graves of the father's ancestors. This year it was a "White New Years" a big storm came through and dumped about four inches of powder on Wednesday--that's the most snow I've seen at one time since I've been here. Korea's winter is cold and dry.

That much snow snarls traffic. The Koreans don't have snow plows. They pile sand by the road and locals get out and spread it around when the snow comes. They also use a little salt. A pickup truck with two men in the back drives around and they shovel out salt.

I shot some pictures on Paldal Mountain, a park in the center of Suwon that is build around the restored Suwon City walls. Pictures of old looking oriental walls and pine trees covered with fresh snow. It was snowing while I was shooting. That afternoon I went to see Mrs. Doubtfire. The sound track is the original; Hangul subtitles are added.

One of the students at our institute contracts to do subtitles for the American movies. She comes to me for advice occaisionally. The Koreans watch a mix of Korean movies, Hong Kong drama and Kung Fu movies and American movies.

Korean movies are mostly dramas. They also do a few comedies. I saw a comedy called Two Cops. I couldn't understand anything the actors said except when they said "Hello" on the phone, but I understood the story just fine by watching what was happening. It was a buddy movie where one cop was older, streetwise and taking money, the other was new and idealistic. I enjoyed it because it showed me a lot about what Koreans consider trendy.

Korean TV shows are mostly drama, comedy and quiz shows.

Thursday was the clearest day I've seen in Korea; a beautiful blue sky and lots of hills to be seen in the distance in every direction. I snapped winter pictures at Youngjusa temple and the twin king's tombs south of Suwon.

So, that's what's keeping me busy this week. Next week it's back to the grindstone. Catcha later, Roger