Somehow I find myself awake at 5am. I just never got to bed. Something about the peace of the night is soothing and I hate to sleep it away. Besides, tomorrow is a holiday and I don’t have to work, so I can just sleep away the day, though there is a certain guilt about doing that. I’ll most likely rise at 11, get my usual toasted sandwich and then assess what is to be made of the day.
I just started reading ‘The Aquariums of Pyeongyang’, a memoir written by a North Korean escapee, who spent many years in a concentration camp. It is a sad tale, but an interesting one which is hard to stop reading. It’s easy to think that those up North don’t appreciate how good it is outside, but reading that book I think that maybe they do, but the propaganda spins it to resemble a great evil instead. I hope to see it first-hand one day soon.
A university offered me an interview for a campus down in the south of Korea, a small seaside town named Yeosu. I looked at the map and it was completely out of touch with everything I know here, and while I won’t take the job, it sparked in me an interest in exploring the countryside. I have made a decision to travel every month at the very least to a place in Korea I haven’t yet been. I have sat here in Seoul, procrastinating away weekends which don’t really mean much. It will be nice to have a change, considering travel is so cheap here.
It’s amazing how much Koreans hate the Japanese. It’s a simmering discontent which dwells just below the surface and is ready to explode given the slightest provocation. Recently there was the whole Dokdo Island fiasco when the Japanese sent surveyors to a group of islands typically owned by Korea. But it’s not just history. Dokdo was the first point of invasion by the Japanese army all those decades ago when they invaded the Korean peninsula and set about destroying Korean culture. All this history, yet Japanese children today never learn about it in their history classes. You can see why Koreans have such a hard time letting bygones be bygones.
I think Korea has been invaded pretty much constantly throughout it’s history. Puts a people on the side of paranoia. In the case of Korea however, it’s not without good cause.
Locally, everyone is geared up for the World Cup. They are now idolizing a new hero coach, while we Aussies have the old one training our team. Dick Advocaat can be seen molded in wax statues and people will pose for pictures constantly at COEX and other shopping centers around the city. Everywhere you go, you hear the Korea theme song and cries of “Korea, fighting!” I really hope they aren’t terribly disappointed. They did lose to Ghana yesterday 3-1. As for the Soceroos, well they have a tough draw. In their group are Brazil, Croatia and Japan, three seasoned World Cup teams, while ours is one which hasn’t seen a Cup play in 32 years. With TVs in the streets and 93% of Koreans actively following the tournament, it is going to be an interesting time when the matches start.
That’s it, I’m too tired.
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