On My Way To Korea

Sopyonje (서편제) is an incredibly sad-stricken movie looking into the life of a grief stricken family.  Partly because of the wretched life of poverty and partly because of the intense control of the father.  I personally see this movie as almost something of a dialog of Korean history, a tale of never ending sadness and unavoidable obstacles.  The director Im Gwon-taek (임권택), who directs one of my favorite movies Tae Baek Mountains (태백산맥), never fails to amaze me in his ability to create a world I feel so connected to.  The actors, of which generally show up in all his films, also contribute a lot in the realization of their characters.  Of course the beautiful long shots of the Korean landscape are also breathtaking.  Though I’m sure I’ll enjoy spending most of my time in the city, I can’t wait to visit the rural areas of Korea.

Just a super side note, it’s so funny watching this after I’ve seen some other movies and come to learn more about Pansori.  Near the beginning there’s a sequence you might recognize if you’ve seen Chunhyang (춘향뎐).

Anyways, I really believe anyone wishing to learn Korean needs to watch this movie.  You probably won’t benefit vocabulary-wise, but seeing the traditional culture will help you understand more about the Korean people.  In regards to watching movies to learn about Korean culture, this would be one of the top movies on my list.

The whole movie can be summed up in one word: han (한).  If you don’t know what han is, you will if you watch this movie.  Han encapsulates the idea of existing in a state where you can’t help but live in misery and must learn to just live with it.  A common translation is lamentation.  Many consider this han to be the representative of Korean culture.  I would definitely agree with that analysis.  They’ve suffered invasions and are currently divided, furthering the sorrow many have to live with daily.

Is the movie depressing?  Well, kind of.  I won’t give much away, but pretty much every aspect of the family member’s lives is pure misery.  Part of that is fate, part change in the world, part self-inflicting wounds.  The only thing that brings them joy is being miserable together doing what the father loves.

If you are interested at all in learning about the roots of modern Korean culture, watch this movie.  It may not be exciting or funny, but it is a treasure chest filled with insights into one of the world’s most misunderstood societies.

Cultural Notes

Serving Women

There are multiple scenes where Korean ladies  pour the drinks for the men.  This is a very traditional role for women which continues even to today if you go to certain types of bars.  I personally would never go to one of those places, but that’s just me.

Pansori (판소리)

Pansori, unique to Korea, is a special way of singing and telling a story.  It’s actually been acknowledged by UNESCO as a treasure of Korea.  Along with this film, another great film to watch if you are interested in Pansori is Chunhyang (춘향뎐).

Han (한)

This is one of those words that doesn’t exist in English.  Just read the review about this movie and ask around to other people what they think 한 is.  If you have a good explanation, feel free to contribute a comment so others can read your definition as well.

I had a lot of fun playing and singing 곰 세마리, I really love all Korean music.  Well, I posted the video on Cyworld and it seems to have gone viral!  I’m on the Cyworld (Korea’s Facebook) homepage in the 신선집중 section.  The funniest thing is that the description says “태극기가 잘 어울리는 외국인의 곰 세 마리” (you can click on that to see the video on Cyworld).  I guess it’s a big deal to put up the Korean flag in the correct orientation.  Anyways, it’s fun to have 10 seconds of fame^^.

I’ve been learning the ukulele lately and decided to try covering the famous Korean three bears song.  Here’s what I came up with (sorry in advance for my general tone-deafness and pronunciation^^):

곰 세 마리가 한 집에 있어.
아빠 곰 엄마 곰 애기 곰
아빠 곰은 뚱뚱해!
엄마 곰은 날씬해!
애기 곰은 너무 귀여워!
으쓱 으쓱 잘 한다.

Too slow? View the standard (non-high quality) version here.

This was a great production that took place in Vancouver, Canada in May 2007 by the local community showcasing the diverse culture in the area.  I got to be in the Korean part where we wore hanbok (한복) (traditional Korean clothes) and danced and sang doraji (도라지) and jindo-arirang (진도 아리랑) although it’s hard to hear our voices over the accompaniment.  I got to be one of the white (as in color of the hanbok, no pun intended) servants.  You can see me at 1:48 walking behind some girls in the front of the servants with my shovel doing some grade-A shoveling.  At the end we do a traditional Korean bow.  Anyways, I hope you enjoy!

Here are the lyrics to the two songs in order:

도라지

도라지 도라지 백도라지
심심산천에 백도라지
한두 뿌리만 캐어도
대바구니 철 철 철 다 넘는다
에헤요 에헤요 에헤요
에야라난다 지화자 좋다
얼씨구 좋구나 내 사랑아

(we sing it twice, so you hear it again)

진도아리랑

<아리아리랑 스리스리랑 아라리가 났네
아리랑 응응응 아라리가 났네>

<후렴>

<후렴>

<후렴>

<후렴>

Here’s just a good Korean song for winter. When it’s really cold and you’re outside you can sing or hum 겨울바람.

Here is the only video I could find of someone singing this:
http://video.naver.com/2008021900250708411

가사 (some differ):
손이 시려워 꽁!
발이 시려워 꽁!
겨울바람 때문에, 꽁꽁꽁!

손이 꽁꽁꽁, 꽁!
발이 꽁꽁꽁, 꽁!
겨울바람 때문에.

어디서 이 바람이 시작됐는지.
산너머인지, 바다건넌지
너무너무 얄미워!

손이 시려워 꽁!
발이 시려워 꽁!
겨울바람 때문에, 꽁꽁꽁!

손이 꽁꽁꽁, 꽁!
발이 꽁꽁꽁, 꽁!
겨울바람 때문에.