Again Experiencing Lack of Background Knowledge: "Mama Fairy and the Woodcutter"

I absolutely adore Korean time travel dramas! When I was in Korea, I felt that history was so alive, side by side the ultra-modern, that a blend of "today" and "yesterday" must be a part of everyday life for people living there.  No time travel or fantasy drama was too much for me --- until "Mama Fairy and the Woodcutter."  

This drama is charming, but I have been perplexed: Sun Ok-Nam, the Mama Fairy, is simultaneously a sweet halmoni (Grandma) (Ko Du-Shim)  and a beautiful young woman (Moon Chae-Won)?  Jeom-Soon (Kang Mi-Na) is her lovely daughter who transforms into a cat with potential tiger moments?  Of the two men, which one is Mama Fairy's husband reincarnated: Jung Yi-Hyun (Yoon Hyun-Min) or Kim Geum (Seo Ji-Hoon)?  And what about the talking deer and the son, who's an egg?  If the acting hadn't been so good and the animation so engaging, I would have given up.  

Then, somehow I learned that this drama is based on the Korean fairy tale, "The Fairy and the Woodcutter."  Perhaps the references to the fairy tale were in online synopses about the drama that I saw when checking out how many episodes the drama would be or where I had seen Moon Chae-Won before.  Given the fairy tale theme, the beautiful talking deer and other special effects made sense - but they didn't really because, of course, I don't know the story of the fairy and the woodcutter. Again, I am experiencing that lack of background knowledge, lack of Korean "story grammar," that first made Korean dramas so engaging, so intriguing for me.  Years ago and many, many dramas ago, almost every scene was a surprise to me. The actions, the relationships were all so unexpected.  I loved it!  I was being exposed to Korean culture in such delightful ways.  Yes, I fell in love - not just with Bae Yong-Joon in "Winter Sonata," but with all aspects of Korean culture.  Doing so vicariously, I experienced no negative effects of "culture shock" or cross-cultural miscommunication.  Every drama taught me something new about Korean life and values. (Yes, I know TV is not real life, but the K-dramas on TV were my window into parts of Korean culture.)  Recently, after watching so, so many dramas through the years, the story lines and the characters' relationships were becoming predictable, a complaint you sometimes hear, but which I'd always disagreed with - they hadn't been predictable to me, at least, until recently.

Then suddenly, "Mama Fairy and the Woodcutter" throws me for a loop!  I can't imagine how this drama is playing with the plot of the fairy tale.  What are the unexpected twists the writers built in to engage those very familiar with the fairy tale?  I have no idea -- and I'm not sure I want to find out.  Is reading up on the fairy tale going to spoil my current adventure with the story?  What would I lose if I had more insights into what might happen?  I was glad that the one youtube video I watched on six popular Korean fairy tales ("Learn the Top 6 Korean Fairy Tales" by LearnKoreanwithKoreanclass101.com: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmPwUFfxYsc) only said that he wasn't sure if this should actually be a kids' story because the woodcutter kind of threatens the fairy to marry him.  Hmm.....

"Mama Fairy" has challenged me to learn more, to go deeper.  Fairy tales hold and nourish the cultural psyche, so I need to read up!  In my search on Amazon, I found Julie Kim's Where's Halmoni?, a storybook that introduces children to the characters in Korean fairy tales and myths.  I definitely want to get that - after I finish watching "Mama Fairy."  

With only four episodes left, I feel I need to protect this first viewing experience. Later, I will read the actual fairy tale, watch youtube videos of it, and read more Korean fairy tales.  For right now, that lack of background knowledge and total unpredictability keeps me watching and charmed.  And yes, I am hoping for a happy ending!  But you know Korean dramas don't always go for that easy ending, all perfectly tied up with a bow, and fairy tales from all cultures can be pretty tragic.  Right now,  I am hoping that the egg-son hatches and gets to see his dad reincarnated, alive again, and I kind of think the psychiatrist who has been in love with Jung Yi-Hyun for ten years will comfort him when he loses Mama Fairy to Kim Geum, or Kim Kim, as they call him.  You may be watching and you may have other insights and predictions, but my guess is based on how caring Kim Kim is to the tigerish cat-girl, Jeom-Soon. He has helped her out whenever he could, just like a real dad would!

Dramafever Should Be Resurrected!!!

Two months gone, but not forgotten!  Dramafever should be resurrected!  Nine years of my viewing history - gone!  I did get my refund back almost immediately, which was to their credit.  However, Dramafever offered an important option to viewers!  Now I value my collection of K-drama DVDs even more.  They won't just disappear - although some of them might not play anymore, and some of them had horrendous, just hilarious subtitles!  Any suggestions out there for how to revive or resurrect Dramafever?  How about Dramafever 2.0? 

Resurfaced: Kimchi Poised to Take America by Storm [Arirang Today]

Memoir: My 꿈, My Dream, Came True: My Trip to Korea

My 꿈, My Dream, Came True: My Trip to Korea with the 4th Global Conference of Excellent Korean Language Learners It still feels a little like cheating to have been able to attend the 4th Global Conference of Excellent Korean Language Learners, sponsored by the King Sejong Language Institute (Sejong Hakdong) supported by the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, held August 22-27 in conjunction with the World Korean Educators Conference, held August 22-24, in Seoul, South Korea. Sixty-seven participants from 28 different countries arrived in Korea to experience the culture first-hand after successfully studying the Korean language. Even though my efforts to develop fluency in Korean have not proved to be so successful (I still rely on Google-translate a lot), I think I qualified because of my deep love for Korea, the Korean language, Korean culture, and my Korean friends! My persistence for the past five years in studying Korean and organizing gatherings related to Korean food, films, concerts, dance, and art exhibits for the Hallyu Surfers in Los Angeles resulted in this great opportunity – a week in KOREA!

I arrived at Incheon Airport and walked through the sliding doors that I’d seen in so many Korean dramas! There they were -- all the people waiting for family and friends and business associates. I paused a little too long to take it in and looked for someone to be holding the sign that I’d seen in the orientation papers that had been emailed to me. No one - so I walked to door #7 to find someone from the conference and get my bus to Gyong Gi University in Suwon, where we’d be staying. I walked through lucky door #7 into a moist embrace from the hot and humid weather I’d been promised and found conference attendees who’d just arrived from Australia and the Philippines and a very handsome and helpful staffer from the conference. We got on the bus and headed across the looooonnnng Incheon Bridge. (When I was leaving, exhausted from the exciting week, I would amazingly take three (3!) short naps and still not finish crossing that bridge!)

The participants were housed in the beautiful Dream Tower of Gyong Gi University in Suwon. I was so impressed by the key card that we were given: it let us through security to the stairs and elevators, was a key to our room, and activated the power for the room when we slid it into the slot by the door. So efficient! My roommate, Alyssa Donovan, a high school senior from Maine and a TEACHER at her Korean language program, and I settled in and found out that we both had the same yellow “Of course, it’s the carrot!” bag (당근이지 tang geun ee jee) from my friend’s online shop, www.okitokki.com.

 Each day was filled with events and tours, led by our beautiful and patient team leaders, Sunyoung Kim and Yujin Kim! Yujin Kim and Sunyoung Kim – Wonderful Leaders! Day One seemed like a week in itself! We started with the Opening Ceremony at the National Museum in Seoul in the morning (attended by the First Lady of Korea as well as the Minister of Culture, Tourism and Sports!), then enjoyed a modern take on my favorite bibimbap at the restaurant there, had a guided tour of the historical exhibits on the first floor and then of the Buddhist sculptures on the top floor. After that, we got on the tour buses (three for our huge group) to go to Gyeongbok Palace. I couldn’t believe I was actually there – not only amidst the history going back to King Taejo in 1394, but also because of my own emotional connection. How many historical dramas – sa geuk --had I seen that took place there? It looked just like the place where the crown princess – or so we thought – drowned in the reflecting ponds in the past-present fantasy Rooftop Prince. I didn’t feel guilty at all that my connection to the 5,000 years of Korean history was made by crawling through the window of Korean dramas. (At first I’d just peeked in, but Kim Sun-ah of My Lovely Samsoon and Bae Yong-joon of Winter Sonata invited me in a long time ago, and I’ve been addicted ever since!)

 After our visit to Gyeongbok Palace, we strolled down Sejongno to the immense statue of the Great King Sejong. In every photo with our new friends from all over the world, King Sejong’s hands raised to bless us in our studies and cultural experiences in the Land of Morning Calm. A formal dinner with an awesome musical performance took place before we were taken back to our dorm to sleep and rise to a very busy morning, which started with a American-Korean fusion breakfast at the breakfast buffet in the Foodteria of our Dream Tower. If you can imagine, each day was as jam-packed as the first with the sights and sounds of Korea right there! We visited Hwaseong Haenggung , where Dae Jang Geum was filmed. One of the KBS photographers that was traveling around with our group asked me what I thought, and to my surprise, I started crying. I tried to explain in my limited Korean that I couldn’t believe I was actually there, walking through the places that I had come to love so much as I watched Dae Jang Geum.

 We also visited Magoksa temple, where the beauty of the temple structures blended with the natural beauty of the location. The global cultural experience the participants shared in visiting Korea was brought home again as the two participants from Sri Lanka knelt in front of the three Buddhas. Nadeesha Ma said that it was the same, but different.

 The program also included a two-day side trip to Jeon Ju, where we visited the palace, stayed at a guest house and slept on the floor, saw traditional Hanok architecture, and visited the cultural center for special classes in cooking bibimbap (yum!) and made hanji fans - much needed! However, it was the intense experience of participating in one of the five Korean cultural groups – traditional Korean dance, K-pop, drama, Tae kwon do, and Samulnori – that helped all the participants bond and truly appreciate the amount of training, technique and passion that goes into developing skills in these expressions of Korean culture.

 I was in the Samulnori group and raised my hand for the buk. I was surprised to find out that I would be playing the big barrel drum. I told everyone that maybe it seemed easier than the other instruments, the Changgo (hour glass drum), Kkweng guari (small gong), and Jing (large gong), but so much technique was still involved that it was a real challenge. Our three Samulnori instructors were world-class, as were the instructors for the other cultural groups. Choi Chan-qyun sonsaeng nim tried to teach me, but I was a nappun haksaeng (bad student)! He limply hit the drum and made a face; then he did it right, and it sounded so different! I pounded out the rhythms enthusiastically and suddenly, I loved my buk – and Samulnori! The teacher tied the drum on me so that I could carry it as we ran into our spiral and then out to our positions. Doreen Lee, from China, and I were the two buk players, and we started the group with “Tong! Tong! (pause) Tong! Tong! (pause) Tong! Tong! Tong! Tong!” We all learned our “Ari Ari Rang” lyrics and dance and “Arirang” to sing at the end with a rousing shout of “Dae han min guk!”

 Our group – from Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Algeria, Hungary, Kazakhstan, LA, San Francisco, Poland/Washington, D.C., China, Indonesia, and Taiwan -- went from zero knowledge to being able to perform at the group competition that was part of the closing ceremony for the conference. All the groups had appropriate costumes and in the dress rehearsal, the teachers tied our red, yellow and blue sashes so we looked great! One of the five honorable judges was Mr. Kim Duk Su, who had actually created Samulnori as a performance art, transforming it from the traditional farmer processionals it had always been. Our Samulnori “Dream Team” came in second – after Taw kwon do. We took lots of group photos with our teachers and with Mr. Kim Duk Su, photos that are now posted on all our Facebook pages!

 My 꿈, my dream, really came true! Now I miss Korea, I miss my buk, I miss my new friends from all over the world. However, I’m so thankful that I had this unforgettable and amazing trip! My new dream is to go back to Korea! In the meantime, I will keep studying and hope to actually become an excellent Korean language learner! Fighting!