Costco in Corea

 

This is the Chongychong River.  it used to be under ground covered by a roadway.  The last mayor of the town apparently opened it up again. 

 

 This is the food for the day.  Made of honey, they work it until it is stringy (like cotton candy), and then roll chopped nuts in the middle.
They call it "old man's beard" because it's white and looks like an old man's beard.

I know how to spell Korea...but with a C is an accepted alternative spelling  Not sure why.  Anyway, Angela and I went to Costco on Saturday.  As in the States, that is a big no-no.  Huge lines, family outings with kids everywhere, it was a zoo.  It was really interesting to see the prices of foods we're used to.  Also, all the imported items must have Korean writing and descriptions...so many of the American foods have labels slapped on in Korean.  I would guess that many of the items I normally buy at Costco in California, were at least double in price.  They get a lot of imported Australian meat, some US meat, and also some Korean meat.  Angela explained that Korean beef isn't very good.  But Australian and US beef is VERY expensive.  There were only two kinds of lettuce from which to choose.  Limited selections of some other items, but in the spice aisle, gallon-sized cans of red pepper paste (for making kimchi, and everything else).  I took a picture on my phone, but I'm having problems transferring them.  Maybe another day.  I also picked up treats for my school kids.  Wonder how long they will last.

There was a free screening of a documentary on the women that were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese army.  It was called "63 Years On."  If you have a chance to view it, I would highly recommend it.  The Japanese army kidnapped young women and held them in what was essentially brothels for the service of their soldiers. The women and girls were taken from all over Asia, including Korea, China, Taiwan, Thailand, and more.  They interviewed a women from the Netherlands who was living in Java at the time.  She too was taken.  It is estimated that somewhere between 50,000-200,000 women and young girls were put to service as "comfort women."  They were raped, tortured, made to do hard labor without food, beaten.  The documentary actually interviewed five of the survivors.  They have amazing and heartbreaking stories.  There is a resident for some of the survivors (www.houseofsharing.org), as many of them were rejected by their families when they returned.  Although, many of the women have passed away, I think they said about 10-12 still live there.

Tomorrow I begin my teaching.  I'm a little anxious about it, since I'm not trained as a teacher, and it will be my first day at two of the places.  I hope things go well.  My house mom also asked if I could tutor her niece three days a week.  These kids are dedicated to long hours of learning!  Wow.