Before going to Korea I was so excited! It was my
first time out of the country, and I was unsure what to expect. Once on the
flight to Korea, I was unsure if we were ever going to land! A 14-hour flight
was the longest flight I had ever been on, and it felt never ending. As I
looked at the satellite map on my TV screen, I remembered just praying to God
that he would get me there safe and sound.
Once he did that, I knew I would be able to handle
the rest of the venture in Korea, but boy was I wrong. There are tons of
challenges I faced once I was there, and I can say that it was not easy. Getting
used to the Korean culture was the hardest part and really challenged me as a
leader. Eating food I didn't normally eat, waking up at 6am and staying wake
until 9:30 at night, sitting on the floor, taking off my shoes when I stepped
in the room and more. However, that was just the beginning of my summer experience
in Korea.
The first few days of VBS preparation were extremely
time consuming and left everyone exhausted. In all honesty, everyone felt as if
they were in prison (lol).
We were on a tight
schedule! I would say we were up by sunlight and down by moonlight. For bedtime
there were about 8-9 people to a room, and we all slept on the floor on
palates. However, it was just the Korean culture. The Scranton Center wanted us
to experience as much of the culture as possible, which I understood.
We made the best of the room situation by having
sleepovers and late night chats. We also didn't have a lot of time for WIFI or
talking to anyone from home because of the packed schedule. And because of
this, I think we as a group had a closer bond with one another.
I am so glad we had the bond we did, because the
Korean-Americans were the best thing that happened to me on this trip. They
help all the "American Americans" (which are the African and White
Americans) with so much, especially, the most important thing, the FOOD!
The food was the hardest thing for me the entire
trip. Learning to adjust to a totally opposite taste than your home taste is
just unheard of to me. All Koreans seem to eat is just plain rice (no
seasoning) and Kamchi, for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Sometimes rice cakes for snack too (with real rice).
I must say I am not a fan of Kamchi, and when I came back to America I never
wanted to see a plate of rice again (lol). My favorite part of the Korean food
was any of the meats they gave us, when they gave us meat, their soups,
watermelon, ice cream and their kiwi salad dressing (lol). That kiwi salad
dressing was the second best thing that happened to me (a lot of the girls didn't
like it but I loved it).
After VBS preparation was over, we went to the Elim
House for Vacation Bible School to teach the children, which I felt it would be
easier. However, after that first day of dealing with the kids, I realized I
was facing bigger challenges. The amount of energy it took left me exhausted
again. VBS was the longest three days of my life. Every chance I got to talk to
my mom, I would tell her how I wasn't having kids and she would laugh. But the
experience was definitely worth it! I felt like every teacher there made some
kind of impact on those children's lives. And I honestly know they won't be
forgotten, whether it be their skin color, name, niceness or tone of voice.
In addition to my VBS experience, I also had the
experience of being a part of the Peace Seminar where I met many friends. Not
only did I have my friends from the United States, but I gained relationships
with students from Japan, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Korea. The programs and sessions
the Scranton Women’s Center provided for everyone allowed us to build endless
relationships. There have been times where we have laughed together, cried
together and even danced together. I had an opportunity to learn so much about
the Korean culture and history.
I learned about the “comfort women” (Women of
Halmonies), which I had never heard of before. The comfort women were about 200,000
women ages 10 and older who were forced to be sex slaves by the Japanese military
during WWII. These were women from all over Asia, with a large percentage being
from Korea, trapped as sex slaves for about 7-8 years. The Japanese set up
stations known as “Comfort Stations” for the military men to have sex with the
women after a long day out on the yard. One woman would take about 20+ men a
day, back to back. Men who ranked at a higher position in the military were
able to receive a longer time with the women, usually up to 8 hours. Even if
the women were sick or had a disease, they would still have to perform. This
had to be the most gruesome story I had ever heard before. Walking through the
museum and seeing the photos made me wonder how I could have not known about
this story.
As of today, the comfort women of South Korea
protest every Wednesday in front of the Japanese Embassy for an acknowledgement
that this happened in WWII and an apology for it. Until this today, the
Japanese military have not acknowledged any of their faults or apologized to
the women. The group and I had the pleasure of going to a Wednesday protest to
meet the women. Unfortunately, the day we went was too hot for the older women and
they were not able to make it, but a few people from my group did get to speak.
This was definitely one of the highlights of my trip.
I was also able to go to the DMZ (Demilitarized
Zone) and see the separation of the two countries of North and South Korea.
There, I was able to meet South Korean military soldiers and heard the story
about the two countries. Hearing that the North Koreans were unable to leave
their own country because of government was unreal to me. I immediately wanted
to do something. The group and I heard stories of people traveling through the
mountains just to get to South Korea for freedom. However, as of today the
North Korean people are no longer able to do so; they will either die or be put
in jail if they try.
It was such a humbling experiencing seeing the
soldiers there, because I knew they were not going home anytime soon. All the
soldiers want is to end the separation between the two countries and to have
peace. I really didn't know how serious war was until I was actually at the DMZ
and saw the separation between the two countries. The group and I were not even
able to take photos facing North Korea. I just hope the war between the two
countries gets better and the people of North Korea will be free soon.
I would like to thank the Scranton Women’s Center
for opening my eyes to the culture of Mary Scranton, EWHA, the history of the
Korean War, the Women of Halmonies, the DMZ and more. I thoroughly enjoyed my
time spent in Korea.
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