Korea 2011
The movie below is really a slide show set to music; it’s from my seventh vacation in the Republic of Korea (ROK), from 19–28 September 2011. A casual or even serious observer might wonder what a person can get from seven trips to anyplace, including a lesser-known destination like Korea, especially when the first one was a recent as 2003. First, it’s the good people of the ROK, whose kindness, discipline, and industry are unlike anything I’ve seen on earth. I admire them to such an extent that just being in Korea, surrounded by Koreans on subways, at sporting events, and in restaurants and shops, is such a pleasure, practically an honor. Plus the bachelor in me, however aging, loves spending time in a country where almost all the women under the age of forty are incomparably beautiful; the unfulfilled father in me gets a kick out of the Korean babies and toddlers, who are impossibly cute.
Second, there’s Seoul, the country’s capital and largest city. Other than a day-trip to popular Chuncheon, about an hour and a half northeast of Seoul by train, I spent this trip in Seoul, where, as always, I had a great time. On this vacation, for instance, besides doing my usual urban walkabout—strolling in and out of galleries and museums, breathing in the city as I walked along its many busy streets, visiting the occasional department store and, believe it or not, grocery store to get a feel for how the average Korean lives—I attended two excellent classical music concerts by Korean artists and two baseball games.
Korea was decimated after what we call the Korean War—it looked like the surface of the moon, so ravaged by the fighting. But what these amazing people have done since 1953, even since the 1980s, has, to my knowledge, no precedent in history. Their pride, value of education, and hard work has transformed a waste-land into a first-world country, excelling in economics, technology, the arts, and sports. Koreans are a credit to all of humanity. I’m proud to be associated with them, even if it’s just as a regular traveler to their country.
Yes, there’ll be an eighth visit...and I probably won’t stop there.
Second, there’s Seoul, the country’s capital and largest city. Other than a day-trip to popular Chuncheon, about an hour and a half northeast of Seoul by train, I spent this trip in Seoul, where, as always, I had a great time. On this vacation, for instance, besides doing my usual urban walkabout—strolling in and out of galleries and museums, breathing in the city as I walked along its many busy streets, visiting the occasional department store and, believe it or not, grocery store to get a feel for how the average Korean lives—I attended two excellent classical music concerts by Korean artists and two baseball games.
Korea was decimated after what we call the Korean War—it looked like the surface of the moon, so ravaged by the fighting. But what these amazing people have done since 1953, even since the 1980s, has, to my knowledge, no precedent in history. Their pride, value of education, and hard work has transformed a waste-land into a first-world country, excelling in economics, technology, the arts, and sports. Koreans are a credit to all of humanity. I’m proud to be associated with them, even if it’s just as a regular traveler to their country.
Yes, there’ll be an eighth visit...and I probably won’t stop there.