In a fairly typical fashion, I was out in the park tonight, but there was nothing typical about it. Flags adorned with images of the whole of the Korean Peninsula waved everywhere, people cheered, and were obviously enjoying all the fun, why, specifically I don't know. And then *they* appeared. Clad in their Han-Bok finery, they began to play Korean drums. And as they played, in their drum-beats, I heard the sound of my own soul. It was an elegant brand of thunder. Ultimately, the sound of the drums does nothing to erase the other misdeeds of the culture, but this was Korea connecting to itself, and, in some way, to me. Something in learning the language and such things now is a moral imperative, for no other reason than that's what you do for friends. You learn about them, you accept them, and ultimately become as much like them as you can manage, while not losing your sense of yourself. Would I ever take that ultimate step in *my* heart, and own a Korean car? Admittedly, the Mini Cooper is still the one to have for these Klobucars, and given that driving a Hyundai Sonata or Kia Optima would remind me far too much of being in a cab, Those are out. The Daewoo Matiz isn't available in America, and in any event, Martha probably wouldn't fit in it. Can't get the Hyundai Porter or Kia Bongo trucks in America, either, although either of them, as I have mentioned before, would show the Ford F-150 and Dodge Ram for the sissy-wagons they really are.
But that doesn't matter. In the same show, there were martial arts demonstrations of Tae-Guk and Tae-Kwon-Do, both of which were impressive, although despite the fact that the Tae-Guk display was impressive, and indeed noone injured themselves, they did ultimately strike me as cheerleaders with nun-chuks. I also have my personal issues with putting such things in the hands of 10 and 11-year olds, but the impressiveness of the display was undiminished. Learning Tae-Kwon-Do is another thought that crossed my mind. We'll see. Big picture, it was an undeniably positive impression, and I may once again reconsider traveling in Korea as the opportunities arise; maybe Seoul next time, like I planned.