Goodbye to Daegu (6/15)

Our last day of class in Daegu had finally come, and we spent it discussing Japan. The main question we focused on was whether or not Japan would rearm. Although Japan has a strong (but small) navy and air force, they've essentially avoided having a standing army since the end of WWII, when it renounced the use of force to settle disputes. This changed somewhat during the Cold War, when the US's distractedness in Vietnam and the close proximity of a potentially threatening USSR encouraged Japan to rearm, but has prevented Japan from developing significant offensive capabilities. Will the rise of China and other contemporary regional challenges change this pattern of behavior? That's the million dollar question!

Guided graciously by the Korean transit system yet again

Winding Down Class, Hiking Up Mountains (6/14)

On what would be our second to last day of class at Yeungnam University, we discussed the institutional architecture of the East Asian region. We ran through the alphabet soup of major regional institutions, including ASEAN, APEC, the East Asian Summit, TPP, and SCO. Different countries play different roles in each of these diverse institutions, but through discussion we established some characteristics for different actors. The US wants involvement. China wants a regional block. Japan wants to stay "head goose" economically, equal with China and the US. Korea is somewhat of a go-between/glue for the US, as defense, and China, as the new giant. ASEAN, made up of the littler states in the region, is hedging-- they prefer a mesh of institutions or anything that will prevent them from being squished by the bigger players.

After class, we went on another field trip, this time to Hapcheon, a heretofore unexplored region not far from Yeungnam. Our first visit was an incredible organic bed and breakfast beside a massive man-made lake. The bed and breakfast belonged to a friend Dr. Yi had made at the Yeungnam dining hall a few days prior-- this was a very special visit for us!

America, Art, and Animal Rescue (6/13)

Back at Yeungnam-- a shot of the campus taken from the library, if I recall!

Even though a "regular" day at Yeungnam involved less travel and overt thrills than, say, a trip to POSCO, this one was pretty eventful.

In the Classroom: The United States in East Asia

The day began, as so many did, with class. Today our topic was the good 'ole U. S. of A. We took a rather clinical approach, beginning with a discussion of CINC scores. CINC scores are basically social science's way of taking the utterly baffling world of international politics and fusing it with the accessibility of a video game-- by running a state's capabilities through a nifty formula which includes factors such as population, production of strategic resources such as steel, and military expenditure, one ends up with a convenient score that can then be used to roughly compare the material capabilities of different states, as well as the world at large.

Field Trip! POSCO, Seokguram, and Cheonmachong! (6/12)

Aboard another shockingly fancy bus

Today was a day of much traveling and sight-seeing, but unfortunately not many pictures! Whether for the sake of NATIONAL SECURITY at POSCO or simply out of awe and respect at Seokguram, my camera stayed inactive during much of this day's adventures. I'll supplement the few pictures I took with what I can find on the 'nets to try to give you an idea of what all we witnessed while bopping around the greater Daegu area.

The view from the parking lot-- before they confiscated my camera!

Our first stop was the legendary POSCO steel mill. One of the largest in the world, and with one of the most interesting histories, POSCO bears considerable significance. Basically, in the 70s, during a period of economic restructuring, Korea's president decided to build the best steel mill in the world. Korea didn't have a steel industry at the time, so such an undertaking was met with much skepticism both domestically and internationally, but Korea's commitment was so strong that it actually pulled it off, much to the benefit of Korea's economy as a whole. This is a prime example of what's known as import substitution industrialization, which has proven to be one of the most effective methods of industrialization in the modern era. By selling domestically-produced steel under the cost of foreign competitors, POSCO not only grew and profited as a company, but it also helped other businesses and industries in Korea grow and develop. POSCO was a key player at the heart of Korea's rapid rise to become the economic powerhouse it is today.

Notes on North Korea (6/11)

Dr. Tessman droppin' knowledge by the pond

As a new week began, we found ourselves back in the classroom, this time to discuss the role of North Korea in the region. We started with the North's Juche ideology, which our readings traced back to interactions with the Soviets, specifically their guerrilla tactics. Kim Il-sung, the Supreme Leader of North Korea, professed radical self-reliance from the nation's beginning, to which the scholars we read attribute much explanatory power. They claim this is responsible for much of North Korea's behavior as well as its isolated, security/survival-focused position in the global community, painting a picture of the North struggling to balance the pursuit of political and economic concessions from the global community with the protection of its identity, ideology, and legitimacy, both internationally and domestically.

We then jumped to the subject of Korean peninsular reunification, discussing it from the points of view of the  major regional actors.

Unmunsa, the Nun's Hermitage (6/10)

Unmunsa, a Buddhist nun's temple in the mountains near Daegu

T H E   O N E   T H I N G   that every person from the previous year's trip told me to do was to talk Dr. Yi into taking us to Unmunsa, a special Buddhist temple in the mountains near Yeungnam. They all said it was their favorite visit of the entire trip, so of course I was interested, given how much I'd enjoyed the other temples we'd seen throughout our travels. My other travelmates had heard the same thing, and we'd been collectively working on convincing Dr. Yi since our arrival in Daegu. Unmunsa wasn't an official scheduled visit, but because we had another day off due to the weekend, Dr. Yi finally caved and consented to taking us. Since her business from the previous day had kept her away, our plan was to catch a bus to the temple (whose location Dr. Yi explained to Dr. Tessman over the phone) and meet up with her there.

Daegu's transit system-- not at all confusing or intimidating, right?!

It was certainly nice to have Dr. Tessman as a guide-- even though he didn't know much more Korean than the rest of us, he had been to the area several times, and had the added benefit of being a Respected Authority Figure and whatnot. That, and the fact that I was far from traveling alone, calmed my trepidation towards the Korean transit system after my struggles from the previous day. Things did go a bit rockily for a while-- our bus's departure lept forward an hour unannounced, and Dr. Yi's travel plans got delayed-- but we all ended up safely at the temple's gates before too long.

Back to Tongdosa (6/9)

The entrance to Tongdosa Temple, shot on my first visit

T O N G D O S A   T E M P L E   was easily my single most favorite destination from my entire time abroad. My last visit blew me away, and by this time I'd made up my mind that I needed to go back. I'd seen a particular symbol in the museum of historical Buddhist art there that stuck with me to such a degree that I knew I needed to return to capture it. The symbol was a stylized lotus design, used as a roof-end tile like the one pictured below. I wanted to record it better than the crude sketch I'd made in my notes from memory in order to turn it into a tattoo to commemorate my travels. Unsurprisingly, none of my trip mates were interested in going back to a place we'd already been, but the thought of traveling alone through a foreign country on a mission of my own design just added to my eagerness. When I heard we'd have our Saturday to ourself, I knew I had to go back to Tongdosa, and that's exactly what I did.

source: Konstantin Photography

I explained my plan to Dr. Yi, who actually had to do some traveling of her own to take care of some business. She offered me some basic directions on how to get to the temple via the train system, assuring me it was a simple task. We went together to the train station near the university, where her train promptly departed, leaving me alone in an unknown place. I killed time before my train arrived by people-watching, taking particular pleasure in waving at anyone who made eye contact on a passing train. I got a lot of elated return waves, especially from younger people; these positive interactions, although fleeting, made me feel very much connected and not at all as alone as I was.

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!

Andong, Part II (6/7)

Our group assembles outside our camp site

W E   A W O K E   T H E   next morning to the peaceful Korean countryside, rested and ready for another day of touring Korea's past. We boarded our swanky bus for Dosan Seowon, a famous Confucian academy not far away. I was amazed by the skill with which our driver maneuvered our massive bus through the winding and hilly roads of the countryside and was thankful to arrive in one piece! Be sure to check out the video from my last post for a clip of our winding way there!

A picture of a picture of Dosan Seowon

A map of the Seowon's grounds

Dosan Seowon was built in 1574 to protect the teachings of several Confucian scholars who had fled a warring China. It was the home of Yi Hwang, a very influential Korean philosopher of the time who had close connections to the king. It was the site of a very famous national exam given in 1792 to more than 7,000 people. Typically these exams were given in the capital of Seoul, but King Jeongjo sent government officials to administer the test there in Yi Hwang's honor.

Back In Time To Andong (6/6)

Our opulent tour bus

O U R   A D V E N T U R E S   A G A I N   left the classroom, this time towards a traditional Confucian village known as the Hahoe Folk Village in the Andong province. Dr. Yi took back over for this portion of our trip, lecturing to us about Confucianism and its role in Korean culture on our way to our first destination: a traditional mulberry paper mill.

Korea historically developed paper not long after China, but soon refined its techniques to the point that Korea's paper was renowned as the best in the region. This paper was so durable and adaptable that it spread deeply into Korean culture, permeating such crafts as architecture and fashion. It was therefore a necessary stop on our journey to learn more of Korea's past.

East Asian Regional Politics and Korean Language (6/5)

D A Y S   L I K E   T O D A Y   granted my wish for academic rigor. Our East Asian Regional Security class was followed by an introductory class on the Korean language, meaning we had a day full of educational gold! I was a very happy student, but not a very happy photographer-- it's hard to take interesting pictures when you're in class all day!

Lectureface.jpg

In our first class, we took an extremely valuable regional-level look at East Asian security. Dr. Tessman outlined the abundant sources of potential conflict in the 21st Century. Much of this tension is readily apparent about the region, but doesn't necessarily register as a reason for pessimism, at least to my non-realist eyes. Regardless, there's a lot to worry about if one's really looking for it, and Tessman eloquently arranged these threats into five areas: 

• Radical differences in economic and political size and power that throw the concept of the balance of power to the wind;

• A lack of inclusive institutions for collective security and cooperation (think NATO or the EU)

• A mix of regime types including new democracies, quasi-democracies, authoritarian and communist states

• Historical animosities, such as Japan's colonialism, political tension between China and Vietnam, the Korean War, and the growth and prominence of the regional giants India and China

• Resources, including the Spratly Islands (those islands in the South China Sea that everyone is always sabre-rattling about), the region's Rare Earth minerals, and, as populations increase and our environment changes, the availability of water

Back in Korea (6/4)

O U R   R E T U R N   T O   Korea came with a radical change in the pace of the trip-- no longer were we tourists visiting historical sites, we were students whose class took place within and beyond the classroom. We arrived in Daegu, the city that would be our home for the next leg of the trip, quite late the night before, and were up and at 'em quite early this morn.

From what I'd seen in transit between the airport and campus, our borough of Daegu appeared to be far smaller than either of our previous two cities, Busan and Beijing. It was more like your medium sized college town, not unlike Athens, the heart of UGA. We were to stay at the guest houses at Yeungnam University, which was our host in Daegu. Our rooms were very nice-- they slept two, had balconies with wonderful views, and even had a fancy entryway to a nice raised wooden floor! Yeungnam did a wonderful job of making us feel welcome and comfortable.

The formal entryway to our room

Our home at Yeungnam!

The view from our room

A F T E R   A   Q U I C K   breakfast at the dining hall next door, we walked to the heart of Yeungnam's campus to visit their Korean cultural museum. They had some incredible artifacts, including multi-story texts, gorgeous pottery, and adorable historical childrens' toys. It was nice to revisit some of the history of Korea's dynastic past that Dr. Yi had alluded to in our time in Busan-- we weren't completely ignorant like I'd felt in China; we'd heard enough previously to have some familiarity and understanding about the context of what we learned.