Caucasians With Mokkums

Nestled into a modest studio three stories from the streets of Chipyeong-dong, we cautiously tapped the frosted-glass doors of Master Lee’s dojang for Haedong Kumdo. Both of us admittedly nervous, but with a desire to resume training that outweighed all else, entered the school.
 
Master Lee rose from his small, over-furnitured office with a curious look that snapped into a smile. He nodded . . . that means we should speak. What do we say?  Would he understand us? Will we offend with our directness, a characteristic "flaw" of Americans? We said nothing, following our gut instinct to bow instead. Not that our speaking would’ve upset him in any way, but bowing definitely makes a favorable impression especially on a Master.
 
After a slow, hobbled discussion in broken English/Korean of our want to train, Master Lee agreed to take us on.
He then gave us the grand tour of his school. The main room’s green floors and fluorescent lights are lined on one side by a cracked, mirrored wall, on another by rack upon rack of swords, and finally a wall of windows facing the street. The closet-esque locker rooms, packed full of students' uniforms, are stuffy from the lack of air circulation. Overall, I’d say it was pretty homey.
 
What does it cost to train in South Korea, you ask?  For the opportunity to experience training in a martial art in its native country, a whopping $60 per student/month. Amazing.  Simply amazing.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Hey, guys, mom told me about your blog. It's pretty schnazzy. I like the pictures a lot. Thanks for the shout out with the cranes mobile. Anyway, I'm glad you guys found a do jhang. It sounds like a picturesque place to train. I think it's really cool. I hope you guys are loving it out there. Korea looks like a beautiful country. Talk to you later.
-Tim
2:15 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

One Year On

So one year has come and gone and here we are still in Korea. This past year has been tumultuous, to say the least. Underwater trees, busted eardrums, vomiting in the park from food sickness or too much sun, or let’s just say it: alcohol. And that was only one trip. I suppose this retrospective should be something along the lines of “Things I’ve Learned” or maybe “What to Do and What not to Do in Korea” or some equally inane clichéd thing, no offense to those who enjoy those kinds of lists, I’m just not that way, generally, I hope. So then what is this going to be? Really short. When I came to Korea I expected the language to come rather easy, I suppose if I had studied as hard the first five months as I did from August, I would have a much better handle on it. I know enough to get around, but there is a lot more, as if that isn’t obvious. My time at the place where I was employed was as turbulent as this year, and in some way could have been the cause of all the chaos. But th...
Read more