If you can’t see the video, click here to view online.

Dae-Wang Am

King Munmu, the 30th King of the Shilla Dynasty, achieved the unification of the countries of the Korean peninsula in AD 688. The King used to express his desire to become a dragon after his death to protect his kingdom from enemies. When the king died he was buried under a great rock in the East Sea in accordance with his will and transformed into the guardian dragon of the kingdom. People, therefore, call the rock ’Dae-Wang Am’ meaning ’The Rock of the Great King’.  It is located in Gyongju, South Korea. Meanwhile, the spirit of the Queen also became a guardian dragon of the kingdom after she died since she could not forget her husband’s noble will. Later the dragon flew to Ulsan and submerged herself under this rock to protect the East Sea. People also began to call this rock ‘Dae-Wang Am’ and it is said that seaweed does not grow around this rock because of the dragon.

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What is Animoto?

Animoto allows you to create stunning movies from your pictures and text. We tried it out for this movie as well as some we made for our moms on Mother’s Day and we really liked it.
Just upload your pictures, select some music, put in some text and it takes care of the rest. It really couldn’t be any easier. You have to pay to make a video longer than 30 seconds,to download the video and/or for higher quality video. But, if you just want to share a 30 second clip online it is free and their prices are reasonable if you want more options. We just paid for a month and then cancelled instead of having a yearly membership. We may do the same thing in a couple more months once we have some more ideas and pictures to share. Check it out here and let us know what you think.

1. Dedication Has Its Rewards

This one is pretty self explanatory, but the thing to keep in mind when something gets difficult or tiresome, is that in the end, the reward will usually be worth the fight.

Taekwondo Master Yun, Azel, Valerie and Griffin

2. Sometimes the Rewards are Not What You Expect

When we first started training in Taekwondo, we thought the reward at the end would be that we could say we were black belts and that we would know how to defend ourselves better. In the end, both of those things are true, but we have found that the more rewarding part of the journey is the friendships we have built with the people we attended class with, and our instructor.

We have learned so much about each other and there are things that can be learned through struggling together towards a common goal, that cannot be easily learned in other circumstances. We will always have a special place in our heart for our Taekwondo instructor and the friends who have taken this journey with us. Those are our biggest rewards.

3. Learning is 90% Mental and 10% Physical

Our bodies are capable of doing amazing things, but many times, the reason we rarely reach those levels is because we allow our minds to tell our bodies we can’t do it. Whether it is going a whole class without a rest, doing those last few push ups, or practicing that kick one more time even though your hips feel like they are about to fall out of socket, the attitude to keep going is important. One of the things Taekwondo has reiterated is that success is an attitude, thought process and work ethic more than anything else.

4. The More Challenging Something is, the More Rewarding the Outcome

No one feels a lot of reward from completing an easy task or quitting when something gets difficult. As humans, we seek challenging things out as we intuitively know that accomplishing those things holds the greatest reward. In a society that seems to value mediocrity, people who stand out need to push beyond the norm and accomplish that which is not easily aquired.

5. Good Traits Require no Common Language to See and Appreciate

Our Taekwondo instructor does not speak English and we do not speak Korean, but over the last 12 months of training, we have come to realize more and more that common language is not a necessity for sharing kindness, respect, understanding and friendship. Paulo Coelho so beautifully captures this idea in his book, The Alchemist, in which he talks about the universal language. This is not some mystical new age thing, but rather a realization of the fact that we are all humans made by the same Creator and He has put in us the ability to see, understand and relate to the humanness of those around us. If people show genuine happiness, kindness, thoughtfulness and friendship, no language is needed to recognize, appreciate and reciprocate those traits.
On the other hand, bad traits share the same ability. If you are lazy, mean, rude, impatient or otherwise not enjoyable to be around, that too can be easily seen by people of other languages, cultures and beliefs. We should all strive to show the love that is in us to others and be ready to explain where it comes from if asked.

Here is a video of our test so you can see what it was like. Big thanks to our good friends Trinh and Eugene for coming over on a Saturday and filming it for us.

BONUS: Accountability Is Key

Paragliding was so much fun and we were glad to share the experience with our friends Helmut and Celina.  We hope you can get an idea of what it is like and enjoy it along with us in the video.

Thank you to Oh Su Hyun for helping us be able to do this!

How To Make One Yourself

To make your our video similar to this one, go to pummelvision.com as you may have guessed from the video.  There you can pull pictures from Flickr, Facebook, Dropbox and a few others.  You’l have to authorize pummelvision to allow access to the account you choose and then also let it know if you want to publish to Vimeo or YouTube, so you can instantly link it to anyone on Twitter, cheekybingo, Facebook, etc. After that, put in your email address and wait a few hours to a couple days and pummelvision will email you when your video is ready.

Bonus Video!

Griffin has been taking pictures every couple of days and posting them to his Facebook account.  Here is a video of all of them.  These are taken and edited on an iPhone.  Enjoy!

If you ever get the chance to visit China, we would highly recommend a trip to Guilin.  The beautiful and unique landscape and the kind and genuine people have made it one of our favorite travel experiences yet.

We will be posting more updates from our trip to China soon, but in the mean time, you can see some pictures from our trip here.  And, a video of the Li River Cruise in timelapse below.  Enjoy!

Highly Recommended Tavel Guide Service

While looking for information and recomendations on Guilin, we came across a great tour guide and decided to try him out. I’ll let our Trip Advisor review tell you the rest, but the main point is, if you want a great experience, book a tour of Guilin with Jack at Yangshou Private Tours.

Trip Advisor Review:

When it was determined that the Cheonan was sunk by a North Korean torpedo, many of our students and co-teachers became anxious.  Just this week, our students participated in a “war drill” to practice what they would do if the North attacked.  Most people believe that war will not happen for a variety of reasons.  First, the South will never attack the North for fear of economic repercussions.  Not to mention the fact that South Korea wants nothing but peace and for the countries to come to an understanding.  Many believe that the North would not attack because they know that allied forces would immediately come to the aid of the South.  However, knowing what we know about North Korean thought patterns, “all out war” could be a real possibility.

The people of North Korea have no grasp of reality due to the limited access to world news and technology.  Their government tells them, and they believe, that they are the happiest and best people in the world and that outside of their country, people are barely surviving.  We’ve heard countless testimonies of North Korea defectees that escape to the South and realize that the South Korean economy is booming (as compared to their own) and the people are happy and thriving.  They’ve always been told that South Koreans are starving and dig through trash to find food.  Of course, none of this is true, but how would North Korean’s know this? They are not allowed to access the internet expect through a dozen or so pre-aprroved sites.

It’s not all gloomy, though.  We’ve found some very comical aspects of living this close to the most reclusive nation in the world.

For starters, we find it hilarious that South Korea frequently sends “propaganda” across the boarder via flyer-filled balloons.  This propaganda includes photos of South Koreans eating a lot of food and drinking alcohol and generally just being happy.  They also send messages telling anyone who finds them that the North Korean government is lying and South Korea is a great place to live.  They also blast similar messages from loud speakers stationed at the DMZ.  (Just this week North Korea threatened to blow up the loud speakers if they weren’t turned off.)

Although American journalists are not usually allowed into the DPRK (North Korea) as Laura Ling and Euna Lee found out, British journalists and other nationalities are occasionally granted access.  The staged theatrics that are set up for such entrances cannot be understated.  It’s laughable that they put on these productions and expect the world to believe them.  For example, they tell one journalist that they are completely self sufficient and do not need any outside help.   Unfortunately for them, a U.N. provided tractor drives by at this exact time as one of the interviewees races to cover the U.N. seal that is branded on its side.  In another instance the journalist is invited into a Korean home for a celebration.  She is told that the man of the house is celebrating his 60th birthday and retirement.  Forgetting his script, the man actually tells her that he is 59 years old, works at the factory every day and usually has noodles for lunch.

We can’t get enough of the stories we have heard and find them really interesting.  If you do as well, check out some of the videos we’ve found below(click the picture to be taken to the page).

Great video on what life is like inside the terribly sheltered and naive country of North Korea. Very sad treatment of their people.

CNN Video about North Korea's scandalous soccer team and an article about borrowing Chinese fans for a cheering section.

One practice we’ve been really curious about is that of Acupuncture.  Nearly every Korean we know has tried acupuncture at some point in their life, but many were afraid that foreigners would not like it, so we were cautioned about trying it.  However, when the opportunity arose for us to give it a try during our church’s annual health screening day, we were ready to see what it’s all about.  Being that the health screenings were free, made it even better.  (Although, unlike these kinds of treatments in America, going to an oriental medicine clinic in Korea will cost you about $8.)

The doctor asked both of us what pain we were currently experiencing, and let’s just say that Taekwondo class left us with no shortage of answers.  Griffin explained to the doctor that he may have a pulled  muscle in his leg and I have a couple of sore knees.  Griffin braved the needle first (of that I am really glad!).  Since Griffin had explained to the doctor that his pain was in his left leg, we were a little surprised that he inserted a needle into his right foot.  The doctor assured us that he knew what he was dong.  ;)  I was a little startled when the doctor began really twisting the needle into Griffin’s foot.  When it was pretty deep, I had to ask if it hurt, but Griffin said he couldn’t even feel it, which made me feel a lot better.  Another needle was soon placed in his other foot and he was asked to be still for about 20 minutes.

Next was my turn.  Again, to my surprise, my knee pain was treated with needles inserted into my upper left arm and my left hand.  I didn’t feel the arm needles at all, but the one he put into my left pinky finger did smart a little.

There are many theories about how acupuncture works, but  one of the most commonly held beliefs is that of “Gate Control,” which states that the needle can basically inhibit a pain stimulus and block the pain pathway of the spinal cord.

Although many people think that acupuncture is just a placebo, I have to say that I was a believer before I ever tried it.  My grandmother, who suffered from terrible arthritis, could not make a fist before she tried acupuncture.  Several sessions later, she said her hands hadn’t felt that good in years.  Her doctor explained to her that if she had begun acupuncture treatments when the arthritis first began, it would never have gotten that bad.

As for me and Griffin, we have mixed reviews.  My knee pain is all but totally gone, but that could be due to a night off from Taekwondo and the ice I applied to it for several hours.  Griffin says his muscle pain is mostly unchanged.  But, could we benefit from a few more treatments?  We’re definitely considering it.

If something is bothering you, we highly recommend trying something new for a change.  You just might be surprised at what oriental healing arts can do for you.

Here is a quick video with some pictures from our experience.  Hope you enjoy!

Upon entering the city, we were at a loss of words for how to describe the scenery.  As our bus winded through the streets toward the festival, we could look nowhere but outside, waiting to go explore this magical time and space.

Once off the bus, we located a crowd gathered in the middle of the main rotary and caught a fun Taekwondo exhibition of black belted children.  We were really envious!

Afterward, we met up with some other friends and headed up a nearby lookout mountain to check the view from the top.  The lookout was incredible and a site we will never forget.  We journeyed back down and spent some time just walking around the area to check out the other scenery.  For that day, Jinhae was host to many food vendors and souvenir stands, along with thousands of people who came to visit.

After a fun day with friends and having spent time praising God for His beautiful creation, we boarded the bus home.

We visited several other nearby cities and took in the Cherry Blossom sites in our own city as well, and we find that we always enjoy our experiences the most when we are able to experience it all with people we care about.

If you ever get the chance to visit Korea in the Spring, make sure to check out the Cherry Blossom Festival in Jinhae.

Here is a quick video with some of our experiences in Jinhae.  Enjoy!!

Last night we had a board breaking test for our upcoming Pink(not so excited about the color) belt test.  It was so much fun and invigorating.  We all passed and had a fun time doing it.  We even got to watch our Taekwondo master break 8 boards at one time, which was amazing!

Geek Info: I brought along my Canon 7D to take some video at 60 Frames Per Second, which is twice the normal speed of film(30FPS) I then used a program to slow it back down to 30FPS which creates the slow motion effect you can see bellow, and then put it all together in iMovie.  Enjoy!

To see our Taekwondo Master break 8 boards at once, check it out on our facebook page here.

If you want to see our Taekwondo class in “Fast Motion”(Time Lapse) check it out here.

The secret is we go to class four to five nights a week.  This is normal in Korea and we actually get a lower grade on attendance if we miss only two classes in a month and a half.  In The States people usually attend class two or three nights a week max.  This is one of the reasons for the time discrepancy.  We have been taking lessons for about 6 months now and are five belts into our ten belt training, so we are half way there.  Due to vacations and not coming five nights a week every week, we are guessing it will take us about a year and a half to achieve a black belt.  Valerie and I are both so excited about this future achievement and mostly about being able to accomplish it together in the country where the sport originated!  Thanks so much for following along on our journey as we work towards this goal together.

The other night I decided it would be fun to do a time lapse recording of our one hour class to share with all of you.  Our typical class look like this:

5 mins- Jump rope
10 mins- Stretching, push-ups and sit-ups
10 mins- Form practice (repetitive stances, punching, kicking, blocking)
10 mins- Kicking/Punching paddle
20 mins- Poomsae practice (Specific moves in order. So far we know three forms and are learning the fourth.)
5 mins- Cool down stretching

Enjoy the video!

This save us a lot of time and also some money due to the fact that we do not have to spend $2.00 or more on buses everyday.  It costs us about $8 a week for gas and that includes going to get groceries and weekend rides to the beach or though the mountains.  If we had to do it again we would probably spring for the 100-125cc scooter as we are unable to make long road trips on our bike.  For 50cc scooters in Korea no insurance and no tags are required, so that’s why we chose that option.

We took a video to share our new, much faster, commute and it was shot at the peak of the Cherry blossom season, so the streets are lined with beautiful trees in full bloom.  Enjoy!

Korea does  not use the 20/20 scale for vision acuity that I am used to and instead uses a 1.0 scale where 1.0 is the same as 20/20 and anything higher is better.  When I was tested before the surgery, my vision was -4.75 in my right eye and -3.75 in my left eye.  Since higher than 1.0 is good, you can imagine that these negative numbers are not so good.

Entrance to LASIK Center.

When I went in for surgery, my eyes were numbed using some drops.  I was suited up and taken into a sterile room where Dr. Shin and several assistants were waiting for me.  Not much was spoken in the room since there is a language barrier, but the words I needed to hear were, “Don’t Scare” and “You’re doing very well.”  Also important was “look at the red light.”  Since this is an all laser procedure, I was first asked to be very still while a laser created a “flap” in my cornea.  At that time, my vision became very foggy and, I will admit, I was a little nervous.  I was then taken to another table where the flap was folded over away from my eye and the laser surgery could begin.  I was asked to “look at the red light” and “don’t scare” as a popping sound a burning smell started.  First my right eye and then my left were subjected to the laser treatment that reshaped my cornea to allow for better focusing of light.  One small glitch occurred as Dr. Shin noticed a small piece of dust had gotten under the flap of my left eye after the surgery was completed.  I was taken back into the room and the dust was cleaned out using water and some special tools.

It was quite a strange experience, mostly in that I was actually able to see the tools as they touched my eyes.

Afterward, I was asked to rest for about 30 minutes and then my eyes were checked again by Dr. Shin.  When I was allowed to go home, my eyes were extremely sensitive to light and, as the numbing medication wore off, were more than a little scratchy.  It was quite a task to keep from rubbing them.  I took a nap when I got home and when I woke up my vision was little blurry, and my eyes still a little sore, though getting better.

Two of the extremely nice staff members of Dr. Shin's LASIK clinic

By the next day, I was doing great.  I headed back to Shinsagae to for my follow up appointment early the next morning and was amazed that I did not need my glasses or contacts anymore.  Less than 24 hours later, my vision had improved to 1.2 or roughly, 20/16.  By my followup appointment one week later, more improvement!  My vision is now 1.5 or somewhere between 20/12 and 20/15.

The man who restored my vision to better than 20/20, Dr. Shin

I still see some halos around lights, but Dr. Shin assures me that it will go away over the next several weeks.  All in all, I am totally amazed with the results.

Cafe S at Shinsegae Eye Clinic

If you have the opportunity to get LASIK, go for it!  If you’re in Ulsan, I highly recommend Shinsagae for your Bright New World!  If you’re in the U.S., you can fly to Korea and have the procedure done at roughly the same price as the procedure only in the states.  So, you might as well get to visit Korea, too, right?

For pictures from the trip, please check out our Flickr set here.

Here is a video I put together of the first trip we took.  This is part 1 of 2 and in this video we make a traditional Korean Mask and visit a traditional Korean Paper Factory.  Enjoy!

For pictures from the trip, please check out our Flickr set here.

In December we had two other home visits that we have not yet had the opportunity to tell you about.  First, was an evening with Mrs. Chun, from Chungun Middle School.  Mrs. Chun is one of the best English speakers in Korea!  Having lived in the Boston area for more than a year, she is extremely easy to talk with. Also, I enjoy having her classes at school because they are always so advanced and well-behaved!  We were thrilled when she invited us for a home visit.  Our evening began with a restaurant near her home where were were served Galbi, a type of marinated ribs that we had never tried before.  Mrs. Chun brought along her two sons, Harry and Alvin, as well as her niece, Shannon and nephew, Lucky.  Her husband was not able to join us for dinner because of his work schedule.  After dinner we took a short walk to Mrs. Chun’s home where were were treated to all kinds of fabulous desserts.  Shannon showed off her English skills and we had fun looking at all the awards Mrs. Chun’s smart sons have received.  Soon, Mr. Ahn, Mrs. Chun’s husband, was able to join us.  He is such a kind man and we had fun talking with both of them.  Afterward, they were kind enough to drive us all the way out to our Taekwondo class, and dropped us off with a cheesecake!  Amazing.  We were so excited to spend time getting to know this family.

Valerie and Griffin at Galbi Restaurant with Mrs. Chun and her niece Shannon

Valerie and Griffin at Mrs. Chun's House with Lucky, Alvin, Shannon and Harry

Next, we were invited to the home of Mr. Suh, one of Griffin’s co-teachers.  Entering this home was a little different than the others we have visited.  Right away we noticed some incredible paper-mache` figures depicting all kinds of scenes.  These dolls are positioned all over the house and they are amazing.  We were even more amazed to know that Mr. Suh’s wife, Mrs. Jeong  hand makes these dolls as a hobby.  Their son, Martin, is quite a gifted young man.  His English is spot on and he speaks like an adult.  He’s also very sweet and served as a wonderful translator for us.  We were excited to be introduced to a traditional Korean game called, Yute.  Martin and I defeated Griffin and Mr. Suh, so we were very happy with our win.  We were served an amazing dinner that Mrs. Jeong had spent a lot of time preparing for us and we were so grateful for her time.  After dinner we spent some time relaxing and talking.  Mrs. Jeong  showed us how to make Kimchi Chigae, our favorite Korean soup.  She made it seem easy and even gave us all the ingredients but we still haven’t quite gotten the hang of it.  We were given several gifts as we left: The complete Kimchi Chigae soup-making kit that Mrs. Jeong put together, A hand drawn Yute board and some Yute playing pieces, and a hand-painted Chinese scripted fan.  (Which now hangs on our wall at home.)  Then, the best surprise, we were invited back to the Suh’s home to learn to make her famous paper-mache` dolls.  We are incredibly thankful for their time with us, their unique generosity, and for the extremely kind 2nd invitation.  We are excited to tell you about the doll-making ventures next time!

Valerie and Griffin with Mr. Su, Mrs. Jeong and Martin

The Delicious meal Mrs. Jeong cooked for us!

Recently, we also visited the home of Mr. Kang, from Chungun Middle School’s Admin Office.  Toto, as he calls himself, speaks excellent English and has spent some time living abroad.  Toto lives with his mother, Mrs. Cho,  and the two of them were kind enough to invite us over for lunch.  After a traditional Korean noodle dish, we took a drive out to Unheungsaji Temple in Ungchon.  The temple site is really beautiful as it sits atop a mountain and has an excellent view.  We spent some time looking around the temple where Toto spent much of his childhood, since he and his mother are devout Buddhists.  Toto explained some of the traditional Buddhist customs and we also had the unique opportunity to speak with the resident Monk.  (We also got to go inside the temple as well as the Monk’s home, which we have never experienced before.)  We were able to talk with the Monk (Thanks to Toto as our translator) about the economy as well as some past prejudices in different parts of the world.  After the drive back to our part of town, we had dinner with Toto before saying goodbye.  I’m glad to get to see Toto every day in our school office and he is always a bright and cheerful face at school.

Valerie and Griffin with Mrs. Cho and Toto

Delicious noodle lunch Mrs. Cho made for us

Valerie and Griffin at Temple with Toto, Mrs. Cho and the monk.

It’s families like these that have made our stay in Korea one of the best times in our lives.  We hope to return home with the same kindness in our hearts and willingness to open our homes to others if ever given the opportunity.