Adventures in Korea (Part 2)

As a 1.5 generation Korean American, visiting Korea has allowed me to get in touch with my Korean side. The past few summers I have been back, it was mostly about seeing my "eagle" dad and visiting family. It was never about seeing friends because I had lost touch with them all.

Except at church. In my previous life in Korea, I grew up in one church. From the moment I was conceived to when I was 9, I went to the same church. You have to understand that in the midst of constant flux through moving all over Korea due to my father's military career, this church was something that remained a constant. It was there I made some friends. Of course, over time and distance you lose touch with even those friends but there are still memories and a deep sense of affection, or 정(情)

in Korean.

So today, I got to meet some of those friends for lunch. There were definitely shared memories that were reminisced and I definitely loved every minute of it. Something that was lying dead deep inside me felt alive again.

I should note that I have not hung out with true Koreans (or I guess "Korean Korean" international students aka "FOBs" in the U.S.) who are my age for a very long time, partly due to difficulty relating to those individuals at my undergraduate institution (my lack of knowledge of Korean slang, the generally higher socioeconomic status of the FOBs, and their exclusion of other cultures--intended or not--were some factors) and partly due to my own stubbornness/small heart.

I'm glad there was a chance for redemption in relating to true Koreans my age, despite my lack of Korean vocabulary and regular fumbling of words and awkward pauses. It really helped that I knew these guys and gals (from College 1st year to one year above me) from before, which fostered a safe environment for me to stretch myself in using Korean in ways I have not before. It also helped that these were church friends.

One thing I was a bit sad, or 우울(憂鬱) in Korean, about was how after my departure to the U.S. our paths diverged greatly, never to be the same as it was before. Sometimes I do wonder what would have happened if i had stayed in Korea - I know I would never have gotten the opportunities that I have gotten in the U.S. (like med school) for sure... but I guess I would have maintained the relationship with those church friends, and what would that have looked like? I don't wonder a lot because the U.S.A. is and will be my home for a while but on occasion I do...

As I contemplated some of this at a Korean grocery store following my mom, the Hawaiian version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow played (but with female voice). I'm not sure what all this means, but it may take some time to process.