an evening in Anguk

Yesterday was Onni Cha Eun’s last day at the office before her departure to the Philippines, so the Asia Start Program director, Sosengnim, invited us all to the restaurant in Jongno to have some samgyesap (Korean barbecue). I can’t remember when was my last bite of samgyesap so I guess I ate like a pig (irony… for the non-Korean familiar people, Korean bbq is mainly based on pork). Well, that’s the only thing I could do, as everybody was speaking in Korean. There were two friends from Asia Start, among them the girl who sings pansori so well (I cannot remember her name, so I always call her ‘pansori dong sang’, the younger sister that sings pansori).
After the huge barbecue, Teacher took us to his office, in Anguk, in a lovely hanok house. I loved being in the hanok house, seeing from the inside a hanok house full of books and music instruments. Stupid mouse did not take her camera and the mp3 player unfortunately… It was just nice to see the stars from the open roof, feel the fresh air in the paved yard, see the light on the traditional door, and sip a bit of soju. I would have loved taking a few pics of the house, and of the enjoyed moments there. Pansori dong sang played some kind of harp, one was from South Korea and the other one from North Korea. The South Korean harp was pentatonic, and the North Korean harp was usual. (Pentatonic refers to tones. A bit technical to explain. So, for once, please check in a dictionary, feel lazy to explain musical theories…). Interestingly, the melody produced by the instruments really sounded like the pansori singers’ voices in their expressiveness. Well, I’m talking about these details because that’s one of the very few conversations I had that evening, as there was a pianist among us. He’s going to play for Cologne orchestra at Salle Gaveau in Paris, in Fall 2008, so I guess I’ll meet him again. Interesting encounter, right? (my mum is a pianist).
Anyway, I’ll try to go back in this area. I heard there was a set-jetting occasion in the neighbourhood, as the high school nearby was shot during a couple of episodes for Winter Sonata. Check out for the boys’ high school nearby exit 2, Anguk Station!
Felt sad to see Onni leaving. Though her English was as terrible as my Korean, and though it was sometimes hard to communicate, she was always good to me. It’s always hard to say goodbye, but I’m only at the beginning of this process towards Korea…