Asian Literature- The Royal Bee

Today's highlighted book on Asian literature is THE ROYAL BEE by Frances Park and Ginger Park. This is an elegant picture book about a boy named Song-ho from Korea who desperately wanted to go to school. But he wasn't from the wealthy families, the yangban, but instead a poor sangmin boy. So he wasn't allowed to attend.

Yet this didn't stop him. He sat outside of the school in the freezing cold, his ear pressed against the rice paper door just to listen to the master. This determination changed his life forever.

The illustrations by Christopher Zhong-Yuan Zhang cast a portrait of a beautiful age in Korea. It's an excellent way to see the dress, culture and landscape of Korea.

What I love about this book: How this story showed the courage of Song-ho to stand up for who he was as well as his determination to never give up despite the obstacles faced before him.

What makes this book unique: I especially love how this is written by two sisters and it's based on their own grandfather's experience. How inspiring!

Why should you read it? It's a story set in Korea. (Okay so I'm a little bias there). The values and morals makes this not only an excellent read aloud but inspirational as well.

Favorite lines: "shadow of the master", "The Sodang School, surrounded by golden rain trees", "when the moon shines into the Great Hall"

Exotic Destinations- Kyongju, Korea

Kyongju (sometimes spelled as Gyeongju) is one of the hidden gems of Asia and some of the oldest ruins are found there.

It's located on the coast of the southern tip of Korea and dates back to the Silla Dynasty. Many poeple call it the "museum without walls" since everywhere you walk, you are coming upon some lovely temple, pagota, or palace.

This city inspired me to write two books and I would love to go back and walk through it's ancient streets. There is so much history and richness in its past.

a mound tomb

Places of Interest

• Seokguram grotto- From the temple, take a bus trip up the mountain. On a clear day you can see the ocean.
• Bulguksa temple- This Buddhist temple was built in 548 and then redesigned in the 8th century. It's really striking with it's archetecture and design.
• Yangdong Folk Village
• Kyongju is also where the Hwarang warriors were trained during the Silla era.
• Kyongju National Park- excellent hiking the trails
• Cheomsongdae- an ancient observatory built during the reign of Queen Sondeok in 634. See picture below.

• The Mound tombs which are like smooth grass hills with hidden tombs inside. (see the picture at the top of this heading)
• Actually, there is sooo much to do but these are just a few highlights!

Food

Check out the Do-sol Ma-eul which has excellent Korean food.

I love a good teahouse, so if you go, this is a great experience.

They are also know for famous for hwangnam-ppang which is basically a bean paste in a bun.

Bulguksa temple

Places to Stay

• We stayed at the Hilton which was nice but a bit sterile.
• Check out Gyeongju Guesthouse, Hanjin Hostel, and Sa Rang Chae Guesthouse
• My husband stayed at a Buddhist monastary when he took a group of students as part of their tour of the area. Apparently they woke the whole group up at 5 am to do a long run through the mountains and then rigorous training. I don't remember the name of this monastary, but I thought it was pretty cool!

Here's a video clip from YouTube:

Happy Chinese New Year!

Happy New Year! It's another new year in the Chinese calendar. I'm so used to celebrating it while we were in Asia for the last 10 years that it feels weird to know I have school this week! Bummer, right?

I'm super excited about this year because it's the YEAR OF THE DRAGON! Oh yeah. And I think it's going to be a good one.

Chinese legends tell the tale of how during the eve of the new year a mythical beast named Nian would feast and plunder on the village's livestock, crops and even villagers.

So the villagers started putting food outside their doors to keep the monster at bay. Then one year, a villager noticed that Nian was afraid of a child wearing red. So they strung red lanterns across their villages and hung red scrolls in their windows. They even lit fireworks to scare him off, too.

Today, the Chinese prepare feasts, shoot of fireworks, have parades and hand out gifts. It's a beautiful, festive holiday.

In Korea, the day is called Seollal. Koreans call this day the Lunar New Year and it's celebrated in a three day holiday. Visiting family during this holiday is very important.

This why when we lived in Seoul, we'd NEVER travel. The traffic to leave the city was horrendous. If you were to travel, you'd need to leave before dawn.

Here's a video I took of a dragon parade in downtown Seoul:

I always loved visiting the museums and shops during Lunar because everyone else was gone and we wouldn't have to fight the traffic or the lines. We'd practically have the place to ourselves.

And ohhhh the rice cakes they make at this time of the year. So soft and savory. Yum.

Happy New Year!

Thanks to Real Image for the lovely pictures.

Obsessed with the Hwarang Warriors

I'm a history fan. I totally love the stuff. Documentaries are almost as enjoyable as watching Jane Austen movies. In high school, I used to read my history books for fun. So when I moved to Korea, I was totally entralled with Korean history and especially the Hwarang Warriors.

I did a blog post on it a while back after visiting a museum in Seoul and interestingly it's one of my most popular posts.

There's a lot of really cool things about the Hwarang warriors:

1. They inspired the Japanese to create what we now know as the Samurai warriors.

2. They practiced a martial art form that evolved into what's taekwondo today.

3. They were known to be able to kick a man off a moving horse.

4. The first Hwa Rang Do were females.
5. They followed many of the same ethic codes as the European knights did.

But the thing that sums it all up the best are the pictures. There's something very romantic about the age of Asian chivalry.

Korea's Got the Coolest Stuff

A friend of mine sent me this link and I was like: "A virtual grocery store? Brilliant!"

But the thing is, if anyone can do it, Korea can. They are so technologically advanced and service orientated, it's totally expected.

Basically, it's a shopping experience catered for those too busy to shop. Tesco (similar to the American version of Walmart) has created a virtual supermarket in a subway station. While waiting for your train to arrive, why not get your grocery shopping done in the meantime?

I know, it's a busy mom's dream come true.

First, browse through the products on the wall. Then scan the bar code of the item you want with your cell phone. And viola! A basket of your goods will be delivered directly to your apartment!

See? It's cool. Very cool.  

Hints of My News!

I can't say much so I'm just going to share some pictures with you.

Kyongju Palace

 The Samjokoh Amulet

The Haechi

 The Tiger of Shinshi



Goodbye Korea- With Love

Dearest Korea,

I'm flying out today. And leaving you. I'm not sure if I'll be back, but I have a feeling I just might. You have given me so much these last 8 years living in your lands. And I'm grateful--no, more than that. I'm changed and I know I'll never be the same.

I've been thinking a lot about these 8 years. 

The Snapshots

• Chusok Moon
• Jagged Peaks
• Mud flats
• Tiled roofs
• Rice paper lanterns
• Colorful palaces
• Rice patties

The Moments

• Hearing my child's first cries
• Writing my first book
• Standing on the DMZ line
• My first belt test
• My students' smiles

The Memories

• Teaching at an amazing international school
• Letting my boys grow up in an international setting
• Watching World Cup Game in the throngs of thousands in downtown Seoul
• Holidays with friends
• Hiking to the top of Soeraksan
• Building friends for life
• Winning my first writing award
• Hanging out in the backyard of F
• Growing as a teacher in ways I never thought I would

Through all these experiences, you have shown me the heart of your people. I hope I can take away from all of this the same zest for life, the work ethnic, and the willingness to help others that I've learned here.

Annyonghi kaysayo.

With love,
Chin-ah (Christina)

What a Rush!

I've been doing some research over the past few months on the Korean Horn Bow for my latest WIP.

But I really wanted to get a clearer sense of how the bow worked and felt. So I dragged my family to downtown Seoul, Gwanghwamun to the Pavilion of Yellow Storks (Hwanghakjeong).

It's the most famous archery pavilion in Seoul and in this part of Korea.

There they gave us a lesson about the Korean horn bow.

Most bows can shoot an arrow between 50-100 meters, but the Korean Horn Bow can shoot as far as 145 meters.

The reason for this is its made up of 8 different materials all glued together by the croaker fish glue. No chemicals are put inside of this bow either. The outside of the bow is made up of a water buffalo horn, which creates the power within the bow.

It takes a master craftsman 1 year to make 50-100 bows, depending on their speed. This is a picture of an archer stringing his bow, which is very difficult. After the wood has been stretched, it must be put under heat.

The archer keeps his horn bow in a silk pouch called the kundae. After the archer takes the bow out, she ties the kundae around her waist where it holds five arrows.

We also got to see a demonstration of a group of people shooting their bows so far away that I could hardly see the target! And they were hitting the targets. Amazing.

I also got to try out the bow. The Master also gave my hubby and I a lesson.

You begin with, "Please forgive my archery". Then the Master says, "I wish you success".

To shoot this bow, you:
1. Use a thumb ring to draw back the string.
2. Raise the bow obligatory to the target
3. Focus your heart (this is a critical part of the culture)
4. Chest is wide open
5. Hands in line
6. Draw back the string past the shoulder
7. Aim slightly upwards
8. Allow the heart to guide the arm
9. And let go!

Wow. What a rush!

96 Boxes

They're all gone. All 96 boxes! Now that doesn't seem like much I suppose when you think it's everything we're bringing back to the States. And realize that hubby and I came to Korea with only 4 suitcases and no kids. So, we have accumulated.

A couple of you asked some questions in the comments of my last post, so I thought I'd answer them here.

Choosing a Shipper
If you have more than a few boxes to take back with you, then instead of mailing them, you use a shipper. We contacted three different companies. They each came to our house and gave us an estimate. Then we choose the company that we liked the best. We ended up not taking the cheapest one but the company with the best recommendations and service within our price range. That ended up being Transpact (they have the tiger emblem as you can see on all of the boxes).

Getting Ready

Then we take a number of days to get ready for them because each box is quite expensive. In shipping, you don't pay for weight but size. So we had a HUGE moving sale, and gave and threw out loads and loads and LOADS of stuff. The tricky part here in Korea is that nearly everything that you throw out must be recycled. Like food (yucky food bucket!), paper, plastics, and metals. If it doesn't fit one of those categories you have to PAY to throw it away because you have to use a certain expensive garbage bag. It's a lot of work, but it really makes you not want to throw stuff away.

Moving Day
On moving day, the movers come and you tell them what stays and what goes. They box it all up nice and pretty and put it in a crate.

You can see in this picture that they use a lift to take boxes in or out of a house and load them into a truck. Pretty cool, huh?

That crate (see the picture- we actually have three crates) is trucked to the port and put on the boat. It floats its way to us and then gets on another truck. The interesting part is the most expensive part of the trip is the trucks, not the boat fees.

Anne- If you're doing a really big move, it's so nice to have them come and pack it all up and do everything for you but it is expensive. So I guess you have to pay for luxury. But I don't know how else we would get the stuff back to the States otherwise.

So there you have it. A little lesson on Moving Across Continents!

Oh and Nora- yes, I hope to be teaching. We'll see if I get a job! If I don't, I'll for once have a clean house and heaps of time to write. Wow. That would be a dream, wouldn't it?

The most important advice I have to give is be ready for them to come and then have fun with it. Take lots of pictures and order in yummy food.

Or you can be ninjas like my boys and be the protector of the shipment in case any bad guys come.

It's Really Happening

The movers are here! Like in my house right now! After being up late last night doing last minute organizing of what will stay, what's going in suitcases and what's being shipped, now I get to sit here and relax. (Well, kind of)

I can't believe it's all happening. These last few weeks have been so busy with all the goodbye parties, us getting ready for the movers, packing up classrooms, and doing last minute shopping. It's all gone by in a whirl.

It's interesting how each of us are taking the move. Doug is stressed, I'm here blogging about the event, Caleb won't look at the truck and Luke is bouncy around thinking this is just so much FUN. I wonder how we'll deal with the transition in the next few months.

There's so much on my heart and mind about leaving, but I can't think about that right now. Soon, I think I'll write down some of my thoughts.

In the mean time, don't you like these pictures? Cool truck too!

They'll take this truck and put all our our boxes on a container and then they'll be shipped across the Pacific and the Panama Canal to Miami. Then by another truck, they'll take it up to Orlando. It should arrive at our house in a couple of months.

And isn't it cool how they build a box to fit the furniture?

The Things We Do as Writers

Have you ever done something really odd or crazy because you had to know what it felt like so you could write about it?

Well, when I started writing my current WIP, I decided my main character needed to be a black belt in taekwondo. Not only for the book to progress the way I wanted it to, but also, because my MC's personality screamed she needed to be a girl that could kick your butt.


Problem was I had watched a lot of taekwondo, and there's a difference between watching and doing. So I enrolled in the Seoul International Taekwondo Academy. Just imagine me (the girl who's danced ballet her whole life and never has hit anyone) doing taekwondo. Yep. I'm a wuss.


But I got hooked! I loved it. You get to learn these cool routines called poomse and kick boards and yell really loud. And I met lots of great friends in my class (see the picture above). Turns out, I like it. So much that now I'm going to have to work my way up to being black belt or at least try.

I just had my last belt test and here's a video of me breaking a board for the test. (And I didn't land on my butt! I know, I was worried, too).

And yes! I got my orange belt!

So how about you? Any crazy stuff you've tried so you could be a better writer?

The Lantern Parade

The Lantern Festival was the other weekend and finally hubby and I got to go see the parade. It was actually the same night as our fun dinner out so we got two for one.

We knew it was somewhere downtown and we were trying to tell the taxi driver where to go when at a stoplight we realized the parade was right in front of us! We jumped out of the cab and ran over to take these pictures.

And what a lovely parade. All the lanterns are made out of hanji paper (traditional Koran rice paper).

These ladies are wearing hanboks, the traditional dress.

Now, this guy looks like one to not mess around with, doesn't he?

Check out the video I made of the parade!

19 Days of Goodbyes

The time has finally come for me and my family to leave Korea. I can hardly believe it as I'm writing this blog post. We'll be flying out in 19 days!

We've lived in Indonesia for 2 years and now here in Korea for 8 which makes it 10 years living away from home. That's a long time.

I sit here and think of the person I was before all this and I can hardly recognize myself. I've changed in so many ways. I've learned new languages and understood new cultures only in a way that you can living in a place rather than visiting it. I've become and mom, grown as a teacher and started writing. When I move back to the States, I really won't be the same professionally and individually.

But I was also thinking about the bizarre things that I learned how to do like:
1. Wash my clothes in a plunger washing machine (it's one step better than by hand--well, maybe!)
2. Go without electricity for days at a time
3. No Internet
4. No cable
5. No car
6. Got a tough stomach
7. Going without peppermint patties and Twizzlers (I think that was my biggest sacrifice)

Most of those were from my time in Indonesia, but the experiences I had along the way make every hardship worth it.

So lately I've been saying my goodbyes. To our little bamboo grove, to my running trail, to my favorite kalbi restaurant and my favorite mountain. The hardest will be the goodbyes to friends of course. But I can't think about that right now because I still have 19 more days.

19 days to be with those that have become like family.

19 days to capture in a memory.

19 days of Korea.