Students' Thoughts on War

To Nicole
Hello. Nicole. :-)
Teacher, I think Korea is dangerous now.
Because, North Korea was killed ours peoples.
So, South Korea was angried.
I am scared. Because maybe, South Korea and North Korea
start a war. I want to live in without war
world.
Wars were made peoples hurts.
So I don't like wars.ㅠㅠ

Another student wrote:

Yesterday, north korea readied war. so, naver popular chart
one is 북한 전쟁 선포. So I very worried. and I want to live.
if started war, I will steal the supermarket! Therefore, I must surivie!

Lee Hyori (이효리)'s "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"

Lee Hyori as a hot party alien with poor taste in clothing? Um, yes, yes, and yes.

Just for fun, here is the original Chitty Chitty Bang Bang with Dick Van Dyke.^^

All Three Moms Met

This past Monday my biological mom came to Gumi to visit, and so met my host mom in person, and even my migook mom (migook means American) via gmail video chat. It was nice, my Korean mom said thank you to my parents for raising me well, and my American family assured them that it was a pleasure (though I think they forgot about the teenage years in saying that, hehe, ah well it's better that way^^).

My host mom and Korean mom chatted the whole day, and so b/c my host mom's English is better than my Korean, I got to learn more about my family. I guess my mom was saying how her heart was very heavy since giving me up, b/c she was always worried about how I would grow up. But now that I met her, her heart has been freed so to speak, her great burden has been lifted b/c she doesn't have to worry anymore.

Also, apparently my grandfather didn't actually know about my story until last year. My grandmother knew, but b/c of my grandfather's somewhat strict personality, he was never informed about my mother's pregnancy. Though my mom emphasized that both of my grandparents really really like me, so I need to get over to Cheongju again soon to visit them. And apparently, my grandfather still has a lot of questions for Doug, hehe.

I also learned more about my grandmother's story. She lost her arm specifically in ddok-making equipment. (ddok is Korean rice cake, similar to the Japanese mochi) In order to grind the rice really finely, dangerous equipment is used, and so I guess my grandmother had a slip-up and lost her arm in the process. Strange that I've had an affinity to amputees since college...

So yes, the day I've been dreaming of since I was a little girl has come true. My Korean past and American upbringing has come crashing together. And I even gained a third mom in the process (my host mom). As my American mom puts it, when it comes to family, it's either been feast or famine.

Jeonju International Film Festival

So this past weekend I was lucky enough to catch some of the Jeonju International Film Festival (aka JIFF). I only got to see 7 movies, but I was pretty happy with what I saw. On Friday night I saw Francis Ford Coppola's new film, "Tetro." On Saturday throughout the course of the day I saw three films, including a Japanese film that I would definitely recommend, "Viyon no tsuma."

At midnight I attended a screening of 3 more movies: a post apocalyptic anime that started out really interestingly and then got a little too fantasy-filled for me, a brutal masturbatory French zombie movie, and a fantastic Japanese horror movie from the seventies, filled with that bad but good seventies porno-like quality film, dreamy technicolor, and fantastic music. This last movie came on after 4am, and was in Japanese accompanied only by Korean subtitles, so needless to say, I had no idea what most of the dialog was. I would catch bits and pieces, but at 4 in the morning and 5 movies later, I couldn't handle it. To give you an idea, below is the trailer.

And on Sunday, I enjoyed another Japanese movie, "Bare Essence of Life." The main character was played perfectly. Below is the trailer.