Without fail, my grandma and her sisters visit their parents grave every month. It's an activity that I don't entirely understand; perhaps due to my young age or my (knock on wood) lack of a deep emotional attachment to someone who has passed away. I do think it is nice that brings together these sisters in a way that (currently) I can't fathom occurring between my brothers and I. A few weeks ago (before Chusok) my host family had a large family celebration that I didn't understand in the slightest. Sidenote: speaking Korean at an intermediate level is no guarantee that you be able to understand what the heck is going on. I had never heard of "Beolcho" and was a bit perplexed when asked if I wanted to go. My inner monologue was something along the lines of "go where?" and "I wonder where in the world they are taking me..." but since those questions seemed to not have answers in Korea or English I hopped in the car and ended up half way to Hallasan (the volcano in the center of Jeju). I then switched cars from host mom to host dad and host brother and we drove further up the mountain. When we pulled off the road it was at a cow field in the middle of nowhere. About twenty other men jumped out of a truck with gardening tools- which is when I noticed I was the only female present. I sorely regret not having my Nikon because it turned out I had been invited to the grave cleaning that takes before Chusok. If I had to compare it something more relatable to an American audience I would call it the "Dia de los Muertos" of Korea as it was all about making the grave look nice and respecting their ancestors. I honestly felt callous taking photos of such a spiritual event. The large number of men (all described to me as "family") meant that this grave was finished rather quickly but apparently they had been doing this all day and this was the last one before dinner. I'm not sure I will ever be able to attend another one of these again, I feel very thankful that I was placed with this wonderful family.
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Author안녕! I'm Emmy and this is my blog detailing my life in Korea with Fulbright mainly through pictures. Feel free to contact me on my about page. TTFN Archives
June 2016
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