Hello! So, as my Aunt Mary kindly pointed out to me during holiday Skyping (thank you for keeping me accountable, Aunt Mary), it has been quite a while since my last post. The holiday season was long and busy. That, and my lack of motivation to write, helped me realize that I need to find a new way to share my experiences with the people I love back home.
One thing that I have been really good about is posting photos. I truly love taking photos. If you click on the “photo” page above, you can see some of the shots I have taken here, and my Instagram account where I post every few days. So, I began brainstorming how I could share my story on my blog in a more effective and enjoyable way. I came up with something a little new; short videos of my experiences here, to help break up the fully written blog posts.
About a week ago, I came back from a trip to 제주도 (Jeju Island), where I spent a week traveling and studying its unique culture and history. Jeju Island is an absolutely gorgeous island off the coast of South Korea. It is known for three main things, “Women, Wind and Stone.” And growing delicious tangerines. Almost all the citrus that is eaten in South Korea is grown on Jeju Island. Although nowadays it is known for being a honeymoon destination, Jeju Island has a deep and painful history. Leading up to, during, and even after the Korean War, Jeju resisted the politics occurring on the mainland. They even set up their own democracy. But because of the fear and control occurring on the mainland, Jeju was mislabeled as a communist threat by South Korea and the United States. Because of this misunderstanding and resistance, massacre occurred. In some instances, hundreds of people in a matter of hours were slaughtered. About 1 in 10 people on the island were killed.
Now, years later, the trauma still remains. People who lived during this time are still living on the island. Although the love of the island and its beauty remains, and can serve to help one forget the pain, it is clear that there is still so much hurt remaining when speaking to the locals.
Again and again, we were told about how Jeju is a place where beauty and pain are one. This was extremely powerful to me. Beauty and pain as one. This thought runs through all of our lives. Some of my most painful memories also serve as the largest periods of growth in my life.
I have also recognized that my lack of blog posting is because I would much rather speak about my thoughts and experiences through conversation. Don’t get me wrong, I will continue to post my thoughts, photos, and videos, but this is only one blink of such a deeper story. Hopefully it will be a spark that starts a later conversation between the two of us.
Below is the video I created during my time on Jeju Island. The song I picked also reflects my thoughts on beauty and pain being one. This has been one of my favorite Korean songs since I have begun my experience as a YAV, and it sings Hallelujah and praise to God…