Hosive

a low key day at the korean folk village. first….some definitions. the korean folk village is the korean equivalent of colonial williamsburg where the roots, history and cultural beginnings of the people can be learned. this village is served as the filming site of several popular korean historical dramas(compare and contrast above). second, low key in the tsang family can mean two things. one is a low energy, less demanding, leisurely pace; or two, low key sounds like loki(the norse god of mischief)and that means trouble or smirky fun. it means both here. you’ll see in a bit.

first theresa is in front of the exhibit that showed you the different kinds of roofs people used to install based on economic status.

there are many to choose from including bark(poor people), baked tiles(rich people), straw(commoners)and then my favorite,(the big pic at the bottom)random slate tile pieces(rich but cheap). its a roof made of pricey slate stone but the owner skimped on having someone skilled to install it and did it himself poorly so it looks like crap. these guys must have been the connection point between theresa’s ancestors and my cheap donkey people. dude! you paid for the good stuff….just front the extra cash to finish the job right!

theresa has already done a fine job detailing the cultural shows that took up most of the day so i won’t rehash the korean dance, acrobatics, traditional wedding and equestrian/horsie shows. go to her site to read and see that stuff. you’ll notice her day 3 is my day 2. she is using the the traditional lunar/korean calendar which includes the plane ride in the trip. i am counting days we are actually out of the womb.

we had a chance to cross over a narrow traditional bridge. we saw a ton of grade schoolers run across and immediately noted that this attraction would never fly in the states with the 8 foot drop into rocky waters, lack of guard rails and lawsuit culture…not to mention that brats in the states would push each other off to their deaths. there are not pictures of me on the bridge because a quarter of the way, i was in a place called vertigo. i had to turn back.

ready for that loki fun that i was referring to?

this was relatively tame during an exhibit on marriage and mating rituals…….but then came this…..

there was a description of the wedding night followed by a picture of “excited” neighbors poking holes in the paper walls to have peep. this was not the end……..

there was a recreation of said wall with holes poked where peeping toms had made their mark…..and clearly, through the holes you can see something is going on. why don’t we take a look? (relatively worksafe)…..when you look in (or stick your camera in the holes)….you get flashes of this!

i don’t remember williamsburg being like this! mercifully, the groom blows out the candle lighting the room before us neighbors can see more but not before he gives the camera a norse god of mischief smirk. i really appreciate the openness of the korea exhibits! instead of the usual politically correct, overly modest nonsense, the folk village told it like it is! or was.

that’s enough excitement for today! there were lots more loki parts to the exhibit but i’ll save them for another post.