Gapyeong's lovely Gapyeongcheon Stream and Jarasum Island will host the Jarasum January Festival (Jan 9---31), a great opportunity to take in Korea's spectacular winter scenery. You don't have to be a sportsman to enjoy the ice-fishing, one of the festival's most popular events. There will be plenty of other events, too, including Korean traditional ice sledding, snow sledding, star-gazing, wish-making and Friday evening jazz concerts. Fun is guaranteed for all! Jarasum, a small island in the Bukhangang River, is perhaps most famous for its autumn international jazz festival, one of Korea's most famous. The Gapyeong area, with its wild rivers and dramatic valleys, is wonderfully scenic, and even better, just a short trip from Seoul.
Admission: Depends on program, but fees can be redeemed for discounts on goods and services in Gapyeong.
More Information: (031) 580-2065, 4628, www.jazzcenter.co.kr/singsing (in Korean).
Getting There: Jamsil Station, Line 2. Transfer to a Gapyeong-bound bus from Dong Seoul Bus Terminal. The bus trip takes less than an hour. Likewise, you can take a train to Gapyeong from Cheongnyangni Station.

Seoul Selection is happy to announce the release of two more volumes to its popular "Korean Film Directors" series, LEE Doo-yong and LEE Jang-ho. LEE Doo-yong has covered an extensive range of genres in the course of his prolific career, and since the 1980s he has been viewed, both in Korea and abroad, as having captured the sentiments of the Korean people through works on distinctively Korean themes. LEE Jang-ho's 1974 film Heavenly Homecoming to Stars, meanwhile, was one of the most amazing debuts in the history of Korean film. During the 105 days after its premiere, some 465,000 viewers came to see it, a box office record for Korean film at that time. Both volumes are chock-full of biographical data, film analysis and essays. Pick up your copy at Seoul Selection bookshop.

- Good tours of the DMZ are conducted by the USO (795-3028) and TOURDMZ (755-0073). For more information on their tours, click here (USO) and here (TOURDMZ).

- The Seoul City Bus Tour is a great way to explore the city of Seoul, especially if you're new to town. For more information, click here or call 777-6090.

- The Royal Asiatic Society conducts entertaining and informative tours to some of Korea's most historic sites. Click here for more information, including schedule.

- For self-starters, the Seoul City Tourism website has several walking tours and self-directed tours. You can also give them a ring at 2171-2461.

- The Korea Tourism Organization website is another great place to get information. If you're on the road, just call 1330 for up-to-date tourist information.

Korean Men and Western Women, Part II

Anecdotes from conversations with, and Internet postings by, western women indicate to me that they find Korean men as physically attractive as Western ones.[1] So why aren't there more Korean man-western women couples? I think it's rooted in culture.

Even in the liberated West, it's still expected that the man approach the woman, and then chat with her. Korean men don't have much experience with this. For a long time, marriages in Korea were arranged. When I arrived here, that era was drawing to a close, but most marriages were still de facto arranged marriages. Most Koreans didn't date before marriage, and even those that did often didn't marry their boyfriend or girlfriend. The opinions of one's parents were paramount, and there were few things that Korean parents had stronger, narrower ideas about than who their children would marry. If Mom or Dad didn't like your boyfriend, then that was it; it was finished. Also, your parents probably wanted you to meet the son of one of their friends. If that didn't work out, they likely had other friends' sons lined up. So Koreans had very little experience courting. Even now, if a Korean man is interested in a woman, he might ask a third party, preferably an authority figure, to have a talk with the girl, recounting the man's good qualities.* Also, dating often takes the form of a blind date or something called, in Konglish, a "meeting," in which a group of guys and a group of girls meet. They are randomly paired off into couples, after which they will, eventually, go their separate ways. So, as you can see, Korean men don't have much experience going up to a stranger and saying, "Hi. I guess you like jazz, too?" Like all social skills, it takes practice. A man has to be forward enough to show that he's interested, but not too much so. Korean men can be passive and reserved in some situations, but in others, very aggressive. As Michael Breen wrote, "The Korean business environment can be very brutal and, contrary to the spirit of the cultural advice that businessmen are given, it is my estimation that more western managers have lost out in business with Korea because of a failure to be aggressive than because of a failure to be polite."** Courtship involves striking the right balance, and in my view, Korean men are often either too shy or too aggressive.

Another problem is that Koreans tend to see foreigners more as walking, talking stereotypes than as individuals with unique personalities.*** American movies, TV shows, and pop stars, such as "Basic Instinct" and Paris Hilton have unfortunately shaped stereotypes about western women. Middle school children watch the characters of "Sex and the City" sleeping with a different partner every episode, and think that that is representative of western women. Britney Spears' multiple marriages and no-panties gaffes are also well-known. The end result is that western women are stereotyped as being "easy," and some of the Korean men who approach them do not have intentions of having serious, romantic, emotional relationships.

Once a relationship starts, it has to be maintained. One way to smooth over inevitable misunderstandings is to communicate, but Koreans, both men and women, don't do this. They like to talk (e.g. on their cell phones about trivial matters, such as what they ate for lunch), but they don't like to communicate. These days, its common to dump somebody simply by not answering your phone (caller ID makes it easy). Vera Hohleiter, a German expatriate who gained fame on a talk show called "Misuda" named this as one of her biggest problems, if not her biggest problem, with her Korean boyfriend.[2] Koreans can't get their fill of the latest gossip about boy band members, but getting them to talk about problems is like trying to pull teeth. It's not surprising that South Korea now has one of the highest divorce rates in the world.[3]

Finally, there is the fact that in Korean tradition, first-born sons live with their parents. This means that marrying a Korean man means caring not only for one's children but for one's parents-in-law. Given how demanding Korean parents-in-law can be, this is something that scares even Korean women.

I will finish by pointing out that Korea is one of the fastest-changing societies that you'll ever see (expatriates in Korea know this), so in ten years, the situation could be very different.


* A female foreign colleague of mine studied tae-kwon-do. One day, the instructor had a talk with her about another practitioner, telling her about how he's a nice guy, a diligent worker, etc.

** The Koreans, page 169

*** Again, see Micheal Breen's The Koreans, page 28


Related Topic: Korean Men and Western Women, Part I

Written by Richard Stansfield ( smaug1004@hotmail.com). The writer has been living and teaching English in Korea since 1996.

Note: The views of the writer do not necessarily reflect the views of Seoul Selection.

Golf, Boxing and Kimchi Princess

A miscellany of high-quality hyperlinks from the week, courtesy of SEOUL editor-in-chief Robert Koehler.

- USA Today looks at Korea's mixture of culture and golf.

- In the Korea Herald, Aaron Raisey looks at the 10 best photographic locations in Korea. Heck of a photo of Gyeongju's Anapji Pond by Simon Bond, by the way.

- The JoongAng Ilbo talks with Lee Seong-jun of the Gaya National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage, which led the reconstruction of a 1,500-year-old girl from Gaya.

- North Korea: fine art exporter?

- Speaking of North Korea, the Chosun Ilbo sat with North Korean defector and female boxer Choi Hyun-mi.

- Learn about the history of Korea's coal mining industry at the Macha Cultural Village.

- The Hankook University of Foreign Studies is adding 15 new languages to its curriculum, raising the total to 60.

- The Korea Times looks at the top science and technology stories of the decade.

- Kimchi Princess: Bringing the taste of Korea to Berlin.

- In case anyone's interested, my visit to Ganghwa Island's hanok churches is now accompanied by a travelogue.

Gwanghwamun Square? Without cars? Well, believe it, because on the nights of Jan 1 and 2, traffic will be blocked along Gwanghwamun Square to open the space completely to Seoul residents. Cars will be blocked between 5pm and 11pm, giving visitors a chance to take in various cultural events, including the Seoul Festival of Lights (7pm to 10pm), a parade and street artist performances. This is an unmatched opportunity to enjoy downtown Seoul's newest public space in comfort. Oh, and did we mention the ice skating rink?
Admission: Free, although the ice rink is 1,000 won an hour (includes skate and helmet rentals)
Getting There: See here

Celebrating 20 years of cultural ties between Korea and Peru, the National Museum of Korea proudly presents "The Great Myth and Mystery of the Inca Civilization" thru Mar 28. This latest display of the mysterious Peruvian culture will feature 351 artifacts from major Peruvian museums, with 41 of them making their debut in Korea. For those fascinated by the medieval Andean civilization, this exhibit will be the perfect introduction to Peru's cultural heritage and history.
Admission: Adults: 10,000 won, Youths: 9,000 won, Children: 8,000 won, Kindergartners: 6,000 won, Seniors: 5,000 won
More Info: 1588-8067, www.incakorea.co.kr
Getting There: Ichon Station, Lines 1 (Jungang Line) & 4, Exit 2. Walk 150m toward Yongsan Family Park.

A number of places --- mostly mountains --- are holding events to welcome in the first sunrise of the New Year (article in Korean) at around 7am on Jan 1. Places include:

- Haneul Park in Mapo-gu
- Mt. Achasan in Gwangjin-gu
- Mt. Samgaksan in Gangbuk-gu
- Mt. Gaeunsan in Seongbuk-gu
- Mt. Inwangsan and Dongmangbong in Jongno-gu
- Mt. Dobongsan's Madangbawi in Dobong-gu
- Mt. Yongwangsan in Yangcheon-gu
- Mt. Eungbongsan in Seongdong-gu
- Dream Forest in northern Seoul
- Tour boats and water taxis on the Hangang River

This writer did the tour boat on the Hangang River last New Year, and it was a wonderful experience.

"PLANET B-BOY," a documentary film featuring the dreams and passion of B-boys from around the world, will be presented at a special screening event at the KFCC. Feel the passion of the youth who share their feelings with each other through hip hop despite their differences in nationality, race and language. "Planet B-Boy" will be shown at the Cinema Room of the KFCC at 3 pm every Saturday from Jan 9 to 30.

About the Film:
Despite the difference in race, nationality and language, young people gather under the banner of hip hop. The documentary that is "Planet B-Boy" depicts the beautiful battle of B-boys to achieve the single goal of winning the annual international B-boy competition "Battle of the Year." Presenting a culture birthed from the desire for freedom and peace and one that has captured the imagination of the youth around the world, the film focuses on the dance, lives and friendships of B-boys that have devoted their youth to dancing. Whether it is getting recognition from their parents or country, or making more widely known the B-boying they love, all of the crews of various countries have their own desperate reasons to win Battle of the Year. The film ends by documenting the dream stage of the B-boys and announcing the final winners of the biggest B-boy competition in the world.