Friday in Daegu (6/8)

O U R   R E T U R N   T O   Yeungnam University meant a return to classes, the first of which was not Dr. Tessman's international affairs class, but instead a Korean drumming class led by some of our peers.

A drum circle on a college campus? Get out!

Here's what the drumming sounded like:

We were each given a drum to use, and divided up to learn our parts. I was given the buk drum, the smaller circular double-headed drum (seen in the center of the video above). We learned several separate rhythms from the set in the video, and then learned the cues to move between them, and were given their general ordering. The small gong is the leader-- its shrill pitch can be heard easily above the others, which is useful for signalling transitions. Although we were given simplified parts, I must say we sounded pretty good all together!

A F T E R   O U R   D R U M   S E S S I O N ,   it was back to the classroom for more international affairs with Dr. Tessman. Today our topic was the rise of China and its role in the region. We discussed the nature of the international system, typified by the Washington Consensus, or neoliberalism, as promoted by the US and the EU, and how China would fit into this picture. We can assume that survival and prosperity will play a big role in China's plans, as they're assumed international norms, but will China accept the international and regional status quos, or will it seek to shift them more in its favor? The point I took from the lecture was that we don't yet know, and neither do the actors in the region, which can cause unease and instability, as with any uncertain shift in the balance of power. Some schools of thought think this to be a critical issue with far-reaching implications; it reminds me of the Wilderness of Opinions.

The things you find while wandering...

I did some wandering around campus after class, where I found both a cool lil street sculpture (pictured above) and an entertaining soccer match to occupy my time. Then, my travelmates and I hopped on a bus to the city center to check out Daegu's nightlife! This was my first introduction to Korean nightclubs, which blew me away-- lots of sweet architecture and decorations, extreme lighting, and basically all the trappings you'd imagine in a hip urban club. These places seemed bigger, nicer, and more popular than the clubs I've visited in the States, but my experiences in that regard are limited to smaller cities-- it's probably not a fair comparison. I had a good time and enjoyed seeing a new side of the urban Korean landscape!

Downtown Daegu

Waiting outside a club