Below The 38th

Well,I was visiting my old stomping grounds of South Korea again after an absence of more than a few years. One poor,befuddled fellow here thinks that when my computer is down or when I have other,more important things to do than post on the BB -- I must be strategizing! LOL!

I still had a lot of belongings in S.K. that I was taking care of --including my precious books --(many more are in America).

It was interesting for me to observe some differences in South Korea over the years. I first started working there in 1998. Now the people are quieter. But not as quiet as the Japanese. On the bus ride from Incheon to Seoul it was packed yet eerily quiet --not the Korea I was used to. At the crosswalks vehicles now stay in their proper places behind the line and don't inch forward. I had been nudged my cabbies in the past. In advance of the World Cup,in 2002 car drivers were awarded recognition for staying behind the lines. Now it is rather orderly. People even queue up in business settings which is mindblowing.

Boy do I miss Korean food! I haven't quite warmed up to Chinese food yet. In my area it is still rather oily and the sanitation is poor when I eat out.

I used to regularly visit a Christian bookstore near the Express Bus Terminal. Now the English section has been drastically reduced to only two units of shelves for English Bible translations. Of course the NIV dominated with the NLT being a respectable second. In addition there were selections (aside from a smattering of parallel Bibles) of normally five volumes of various translations i.e. KJV,NKJ,CEV,HCSB,NASBU. Believe it or not there were two old Living Bibles and one TNIV! And only one ESV on the shelf. One CEB too.

It was good to catch up with friends --both Korean and American. And it was a delight to return to church services there --and those long sermons due to the translation.

All in all a very nice physically and spiritually rejuvenating time.

 

Just about the same as any American would.

They just had a reunion a few days ago after a four year lull. The older North Koreans and South Koreans are dying off fast as you would expect. So many want to be on the select list after not seeing their close kin for 60 or so years. Looking at the pictures is heartbreaking. After that short happy/sad affair both parties return to their separate nations never to see their loved ones again.

There are record-breaking defections with North Koreans finally coming to South Korea. But to have a full-fledged reunification is just not possible --even if the regime is out of the picture.

So there are Christian groups (Americans and Koreans) who meet to implement ways of sharing the Gospel to those in North Korea --as well as to assist them with food,clothing and medicine.

One of my American friends married a former North Korean man. They have a 6 month old girl. I got an inside scoop from him.

If anyone has a chance read :"The Aquariums Of Pongyang: Ten Years In The North Korean Gulag" by Kang Chol-Hwan. I read it years ago and it is very informational and stirring.

 

You know, spending time in South Korea again after a space of years makes me think that in many ways,though in Asia,it's got not only a Western feel to it --but an American sensation -- as strange as that may sound.