We love hearing about people in the community who are experimenting with makgeolli making.   We recently got in touch with Brian Romasky, who has started making his own makgeolli, and is documenting his results on his blog.  We wanted to know a bit more about Brian, so we asked him to introduce his makgeolli story to us.

Tell us a bit about yourself, where are you from & what do you do for a paycheck these days?

 

What are the biggest challenges of brewing your own makgeolli at home?

In the beginning the biggest challenge was finding enough information and resources on how to brew makgeolli. I watched a few youtube videos, one by Zedomax and a few Korean ones that were much shorter. In addition to that, my friend showed me posts from a few years ago on a homebrew forum. The posts had a basic recipe and some simple instructions, but even that wasn’t much to go off of. I compiled all of the info and used what I could combined with my friend’s brewing advice to turn out my first batch.

 

 

Now, the biggest challenge is refining my brewing methods with limited space and equipment. I’m currently living in a tiny one-room apartment with low ceilings, so sometimes there is just not enough space. There’s also a level of uncertainty when I’m brewing from one of the books written in Korean. I’ve picked up a few books on makgeolli brewing over the past year in order to have more resources to draw from. My wife has been amazing in translating the instructions for me, but so far we do this by word of mouth only, so there have been times when I missed or skipped a tiny detail. So sometimes I’m double-checking and triple-checking with her as I’m brewing. This is another challenge that I’m planning to overcome.

 

 

Also, there are times when I think that I’m finished with a brew after following the instructions to the letter, then I look at my brew and I look at the book back and forth and something doesn’t match up. The color is maybe slightly off, or there is more/less particulate than in the book, these kind of things. And that’s okay, it’s supposed to be a learning process. I won’t beat myself up over the differences, but I still strive to produce something authentic, something delicious.

 

You have brewed makgeolli in Korea and the US, how did you go about finding the Nuruk when you were stateside?

Finding nuruk was like a quest the first time around. I looked online, I checked the Korean supermarket, I asked my wife in Korea (because we were living apart before we got married). She looked in the supermarkets and farmers’ markets without any success. Eventually, she found some on Auction (auction.co.kr) and mailed it to me. So, for the time I was brewing in the US, I used the nuruk she mailed to me. After that I found it stocked at H-Mart in Philadelphia. It was funny because one branch of the supermarket had it in stock while others didn’t. Plus my wife had already shipped me more than what I needed for the time being. I’m hoping they still carry it when I go back.

 

 

Have you had any big success or failures you would like to share your experiences with our Mamas & Papas?

My biggest successes were probably my first batch and my first batch without added yeast.

When I brewed my first bottle I used champagne yeast along with nuruk, and the results were surprisingly good. I was pleasantly shocked when even my wife told me that it tasted good. Then, after coming to Korea, I tried brewing without added yeast. The results weren’t bad, but they were more sour than what I was used to. Still, I was happy to have a successful makgeolli using only nuruk.

 

 

As for failures, there were a few times when I messed up the rice pretty badly. In the traditional recipes I’ve made the rice is always made a certain way, first by steaming the rice and then by letting it cool. I didn’t have a proper steamer for a while, so a few times I tried to ghetto-rig a steamer using a strainer and a saucepan with lid. The results were disappointing. One time I got distracted and burnt the rice by letting the water boil out of the pan, and another time it failed to cook all the way through. These were failures that I could have prevented with better equipment, or even just focusing only on brewing. They’re the kind of things you do once and then go, “ah, that was pretty dumb,” and try to prevent from happening again.

 

What is your makgeolli palate like?  Do you prefer sweet/sour/bitter/strong/thin makgeolli?  Do you have a favorite makgeolli at the moment?

Right now I’m into something that’s on the thicker side with a bit of texture. I like sweet makgeolli, but not too sweet. I also try to avoid artificial sweeteners when possible. I find a strong aspartame aftertaste to be gross.

 

 

 

My current favorite would be the yeotnal makgeolli (옛날 막걸리). When I read the review you guys wrote on MMPK I completely agreed. This is the kind of makgeolli I’d like to make in the future when my skills improve.

 

Where is your favorite place to enjoy makgeolli when out and about?

No favorite places yet. I don’t think I’ve been to enough to judge fairly.

 

 What advice can you give to other people starting their own brews?

Get as much information as you can before you start, and don’t skimp on equipment. Some of the difficulties I’ve had starting out could have been avoided if I spent a little extra on some of the more specialized gear. At the same time I know that some people are cannonballers while others will just test the water. What I mean is that some people go all out when they start a new hobby and try to buy the best gear, while others do it on the cheap and get the bare necessities. I think finding a medium between those two extremes is the way to go.  Also, try to taste someone else’s homebrew if possible. It’ll really put into perspective what kind of makgeolli you’ll actually be making when you start. Chances are your first few batches won’t taste like the bottle you buy in the supermarket.  Homebrew is significantly different from the mass-produced stuff, and that’s part of the beauty of it.

 

 Check out Brian’s blog for more updates on his homebrew experience, and for links to other blogs click on our Homebrew Resources page.  If you have a makgeolli blog, or you would like to share your own experiments, contact us at mmpkorea@gmail.com.

PARTNER YOGA: A journey together

I first practiced Acro/Partner Yoga a year ago, with my husband, Daniel, and my four-year-old daughter, Ainara, and it was an experience that in all this time, has changed dramatically the communication between us, our career projection, as well as our goals together. Soon you will know how.

For years I was terrified by heights. It all started when I was fifteen years old: I fell down accidentally from the first floor of a house to the ground (it was solid, made of polished rock). This accident caused me a week of a super strong pain in my whole thorax, and moving an impossibility (not even a tiny bit), because the pain would be unbearable if I did. After a week of absolute zero movement (they carried me in their arms to help me go to the toilet or to take a shower), lying down on a couch, I was diagnosed with a severe pneumonia, so I had to spend several nights in the hospital, waiting to recover.

After some days the condition got better and a young body fully recovers relatively easily, but young minds can be very sensitive and equally easy to impact. From this moment on, I experienced vertigo whenever heights were involved. Even looking out through a window filled me with an uncontrolled anxiety during the first two years after the accident.

As the years passed, working a lot in myself to gain spaces that were taken from me by my fear, I conquered some. But then, in the year 2008, Daniel, my husband, and I, decided to start working together in a choreography that would mix contemporary dance and static hand to hand (which is a discipline within the circus arts, in which a couple makes static balancing postures together).

That didn`t go well at all. Being an aerialist, for him it was just a matter of “doing it, training and rehearsing”; but for me it was something that was confronting myself directly with my fear, that I thought, erroneously, had gone away. I lacked of self confidence, of bravery, and he lacked of compassion and understanding. Even though he is a very kind man, but it was just too contrasting how the same thing that for him was such a big passion (the air and the sensation of flying), for me could be at the same time, so absolutely terrifying.

I remember many times trying out different balances: both beginners’ level and intermediate, and stop suddenly full of panic. Sometimes I would even start screaming. Sometimes I would just laugh nervously. Many times my whole body would start to shake or forget everything that was crucial to keep us safe, like pulling my abs in, for example.

It was last year in Mysore, India, where we discovered Partner Yoga. This beautiful practice is part of Yoga Therapy. And for us, it was definitely a healing experience. It brought to our awareness that the most important thing while working with your partner is the loving atmosphere: to take care of each other while practicing; to feel the breathing of your partner so you can breathe together and create harmony together.

With all these amazing thoughts, we took our chance to stop our pushing and rushing ourselves and start feeling each other and the great way our bodies could easily connect in the same energy. And as if it was magic, all the blockage in my mind then suddenly flew away from me, and brought more peace to my inner self…and a new starting point for Daniel and me to reconsider our original plan of performing our hand in hand act together, now with our daughter performing as well.

For us as a couple, it has been a beautiful way to feel ourselves in a perfectly loving, harmonic and caring experience. This has potentiated a fulfilling richness in our relation in a way that cannot be told by words because the experience belongs to the senses: the way we feel each other, the way we can strongly connect with each other. And definitely, it has brought a deep sense of understanding and lovingly receiving each other’s energy, mood and character.

As for my lost fear, I do not miss it. I won`t say that if I try something new I won`t feel a natural nervousness. It is perfectly fine to feel nervous, but you already won the battle if you feel brave enough to do it, after understanding how to. Now I am a braver person, and feel proud of the spaces I have conquered within myself, through the patience and love you create while practicing Partner Yoga. Thanks to this experience, I can trust Daniel to put my whole body in his hands, and know he will do all that he can to protect me. I can trust that I am a stronger person that can overcome whatever fear may cross my path, through breathing, trusting and letting go of any tension in my body and my mind.

Now, each time we practice we have a great time together, trying new ideas full of creativity that bloom during each practice, and that we enjoy letting those ideas flow and grow and take us to new places and experiences with our bodies. Each difficulty we find in the way becomes a goal to conquer, an inspiration to improve our skills together and a boost in our daily energy and motivation.

My invitation to you is to try out Partner Yoga with a beloved one. Choose either your partner, your daughter or son, your mother or father, or a very dear and close friend. You will start a journey together that will enhance your relationship with many positive things. It will take you inward to an inner realm that is beautiful and full of light…and is truly and deeply yours.

Corina Sucre
30 yrs.
Yoga and Pilates Teacher (500 hrs Yoga Alliance Registered School)
Dancer, Choreographer, Circus Artist.
Lives in Hong Kong with her husband and daughter.
Loves to inspire people and to be inspired by them.
corina.sucre@gmail.com
artelavid@gmail.com

자신의 길을 개척하는 사람들 -그 첫번째 인물 ‘이재현’

TACFIT Team Leader
CST Instuctor
CST Kettlebell specialist
STOTT Pilates Instructor
FMS Instructor

전통무예 박양박수, 박양서각 지도자
전통 상무놀이(까기와 잽이) 지도자
전통 정형도수치료 하외술 지도자

연세대학교 경영학과 졸업
연세대학교 물리치료 전공
무브먼트 스페셜리스트를 꿈꾸는자

내 어린시절의 기억이라곤 학교,학원,학교,학원…가끔씩 친구들과 하는 축구. 그때는 그게 당연한 줄 알았다. 학창시절 성적이 좋은 편이었고 학교에서 공부를 잘하는 집단은 그룹으로 따로 묶고 학원도 그런 그룹 아이들의 어머님들끼리 치맛바람 날리면서 다 같이 몰려 다니고 하는 그런 생활의 연속. 일상의 모든 패턴이 틀에 짠듯 똑같았고 당연히 문과친구들은 나중에 법대나 경영대를 이과는 의대 치대를 가야된다는 생각. 누구 하나 그런 생활과 생각에 의문을 품지 않았고, 그런 생활속에서 자기철학이란 것은 있을 수도 없었다. 학교에서는 오로지 국영수만 강조했지, 체험학습같은 것도 없었고 ‘나’라는 존재, 자아를 형성할만한 기회는 없었다. 내가 아는 세상 그것이 이 세상의 전부인 줄만 알던 시기였다.

그렇게 고등학교를 졸업했고, 재수학원을 다니고, 수능을 쳐서 나름 좋은 대학에 아버지께서 원하시는 경영학과를 들어갔다. 그런데 그렇게 들어간 대학교에서 난생 처음으로 여러 다양한 사람들을 만나게 되었고, 이때 나의 철학을 형성하게 되는 중요한 두가지 활동을 하게 되었는데 하나는 태껸 동아리활동이고 다른 하나는 야학 영어강학(강의라 하지 않고 강학이라 불렀음)이었다.

난 어릴 때부터 경제적 어려움 없이 유복하게 자랐고 내 주위사람들도 모두 그랬다. 그런데 야학에서 강학을 시작하면서 만나게 된 분들은 달랐다. 정말 어려운 환경 속에서 배움의 기회를 놓치신 40대 이상의 연세 드신 분들이 자식들 다 가르치시고 정말 공부에 한이 맺혀 공부하러 오신 분들, 검정고시 시험을 준비하는 그런 분들이었다. 야학에서 사람들을 가르치며 내 평생 처음으로 무엇인가에 열정이 있는 사람들을 만나게 된 것이다.

그때까지의 내 삶에서 열정같은 건 없었다. 좋은 학교를 가기 위해 공부했고 그렇게 좋은 학교만 가면 성공한다고 하기에 그런 줄 알았고 그렇게 시키는대로만 했다. 그런데 야학의 학생들은 말 그대로 공부에 열정이 있었다. 좋은 대학가서 직업을 구하기 위해 어쩔 수 없이 하는 공부가 아니었다. 누가 시켜서가 아니라 스스로 진심으로 공부하기를 원해서 온 사람들.

내가 대학을 올때까지 십수년을 그렇게 치열하게 공부를 하면서도 단 한번도 내가 원해서 공부를 한 적이 없었는데 야학에서 그분들을 가르치면서 놀라운 경험을 하게 되었다. 매일 밤마다 “아…오늘 또 야자해야해?” 매일 아침 “아…오늘 또 학교가야해?”를 입에 달고 살았다. 내가 원하는 것이 아닌 남이 시키는 것을 이유도 모르고 억지로 하니까 늘 부정적,소극적으로 공부했었는데 그분들은 공부에 열정이 있고 자기가 원해서 하니까 늘 적극적,긍정적이었다.
“선생님 저 잘할 수 있죠?”라는 질문에 “네 잘하실 수 있습니다. 저번보다 성적도 많이 올랐는데요. 열심히 잘하시고 계세요.”라는 나의 대답에 세상을 다 가진듯 기뻐하시는 모습에 충격 아닌 충격을 받았었다. 난 그때까지 그런 감정을 단 한번도 가져본 적이 없었으니까 말이다.

이 경험을 통해 내가 과연 원하는 것이 무엇인가에 대한 의문을 가지게 되었고 그 답을 쉽게 구할 수가 없었다. 왜냐하면 그때까지 국.영.수 빼고는 제대로 경험한 것이 없었기에 내가 좋아하고 원하는 것이 무엇인지도 모를 수밖에…그래서 닥치는대로 새로운 것들을 경험하기 시작했다. 클래식기타를 배우고, 중국무술도 배우고, 학교에서도 경영학 전공이었지만 다른 학과 수업도 많이 들었다. 특히 인문학수업을 많이 들었는데, 타학교에서는 보기 힘든 문화인류학 수업을 들으면서 많은 영향을 받기도 하였다. 뿐만 아니라 철학,사회학,체육학과 수업까지…여러 다양한 주제들로 경험의 가지를 뻗어나가기 시작하면서 내 인생의 브레인스토밍에 들어갔다. 그렇게 경험을 하다보니 어떤 건 재미없는 것도 있고 또 어떤 것들은 내가 재미있을 것이라고 생각해서 시작했는데 아닌것도 있고 그렇게 3,4학년이 되면서 이제는 마구마구 뻗어나간 경험의 가지들을 하나씩 하나씩 가지치기하기 시작하였다.

그렇게 가지치기를 통해 발견한 내가 진정 좋아하는 것들 중의 하나가 바로 무술이었다. 그런데 태껸을 하면서 초보자였기에 부상을 많이 당하였고 치료를 위해 한의원과 병원을 다녔지만 치료가 잘안되었고 치료가 잘안되는 것에 화가 나기도 하고 ‘왜 이리 안낫지?’라는 의문이 들면서 내 스스로 더 공부를 해야겠다는 생각에 인체, 즉 몸에 대한 관심이 시작되었다. 그렇게 생긴 관심으로 하외술을 전수받게되고 좀 더 전문적으로 하고싶다는 생각이 들어 한의전문대학원에 관심을 가지게 되었다. 그런데 나는 침이나 탕약 이런 것에는 크게 관심이 없었는데 이후 더 자세히 알아가기 시작하면서 내가 진짜 관심이 있는 것은 한의학이 아니라 재활 그중에서도 스포츠재활과 근골격계에 관심이 많다는 것을 알게되었다. 그중에서도 손으로 하는 치료, 도수치료에 가장 끌려서 깊이 조사한 결과 외국에서는 물리치료사들이 이 부분에서 두곽을 나타내는 것을 보았고 결국 물리치료학과를 가야겠다는 생각까지 하게 되었다. 거기까지 생각이 정리되면서 이후 군대문제해결을 위해 해군장교로 군복무를 하고 제대후 같은 대학 물리치료학과 3학년으로 학사편입했다.

물리치료사의 길을 선택했는데 트레이닝에 대한 관심은 어떻게 시작되었나?

처음에는 피지컬 트레이닝에는 별로 관심이 없었다. 체구가 작은편이 아니었기에 무술을 수련함에 있어서도 힘이 부족해서 힘들었던 경험이 별로 없었고 그래서 크게 필요성을 못느꼈다고나 할까. 그런데 나의 이런 생각에 변화를 준 사건이 하나 있었다. 군대 복무 시절 삼보 세계챔피언 출신의 러시아경찰특공대 삼보코치와 수련할 기회가 있었다. 그런데 그저 평범한 44살 아저씨처럼 보이는 그 사람에게 한손으로 내 몸이 이리저리 끌려다니며 완전히 제압 당했다. 처음 느껴본 완벽한 힘의 압도를 느끼고 많이 좌절했었고, 선체력 후기술이란 말이 헛말이 아님을 절실히 깨달았다. 그리고 그때부터 육체적 트레이닝에 관심을 가지기 시작했다.

사실 그때까지만 해도 트레이닝과 재활이 관련이 있다는 생각을 못했었는데, 트레이닝에 대해 파고들면서 스캇 소넌의 CST/TacFit이라는 단체에 관심을 갖게 되었고, 현대 세계적인 재활의 추세는 재활+트레이닝, physio therapist의 앞글자와 트레이닝이 합쳐진 physio training것도 알게 되었다. 재활과 트레이닝이 다른게 아니라 결국 하나라는 것, 둘 다 신체에 일정한 강도의 스트레스를 주고 그걸 극복하는 과정에서 강해지고,성장한다는 개념에서 같다는 것을 알게 되었고 그부분을 집중적으로 연구하기 시작했다. 그때까지는 그냥 관심과 흥미가 있는 정도였다면 이후 전문적인 지식을 배우기 시작하면서 진짜 이 일을 하고싶다는 생각을 하게 되었고 그것이 오늘의 지금까지 오게 되었다.

새로운 길을 선택하면서 부딪친 반대극복은?

그 당시는 정말 힘든 일이었다. 난 외아들이다. 어렸을 때부터 한번도 부모님의 뜻을 거역하지 않는 말 잘듣는 모범생이었다. 그러던 내가 잘 다니던 경영학과를 그만두고 물리치료학과로 편입하겠다고 하니 부모님의 반대는 오죽했겠는가. 아버지께서 설득도 시키려고 하시고,화도 내시고,온갖 방법으로 회유도 하시고 그래도 내 의지가 꺽이지 않자 결국 포기하시고 대신 모든 경제적 지원이 완전히 끊겼다. 물론 자기 힘으로 인생을 개척해나가는 많은 분들이 있지만 늘 있다가 갑자기 없어지니까 처음에는 정말 난감하더라. 군대를 장교로 선택한 이유도 학비를 벌기 위한 부분도 있었다.

그럼에도 불구하고 내가 굳이 이 길을 포기하지 못한 것은 경영학과 공부를 할때는 전혀 느끼지 못했던 희열을 무술,재활공부할 때는 느꼈기 때문이다. 정말 내가 미친 것만 같았다. 그렇게도 공부를 싫어했던 사람이었는데 그런 공부가 재밌다고 느끼다니 내 자신이 신기할 따름이었다. 내 인생 처음으로 공부가 재밌다는 것을 느꼈고 이것이 바로 내가 좋아하는 것이구나 하는 것을 깨닫게 되고, 이걸 안하면 나중에 정말 후회할 것이란 생각이 들었다.

그리고 내 선택에 확신을 가지게 된 또 다른 이유들 중 하나는 학교를 다니면서 만났던 여러 선배들의 모습 때문이었다. 은행,증권,대기업 등 소위 잘나간다는 곳에 취업해서 후배들의 부러움을 받는 경영학과 졸업선배들을 여럿 만났었는데 그때 그들과의 술자리에서 술이 거하게 취하면 마음 속 솔직한 얘기들을 털어 놓기 시작했다. 그런데 하나같이 모두가 불평,불만이었다. 힘들어 죽겠다. 짜증나서 미치겠다. 때려치고 싶다. 충격이었다. 그 모습을 보면서 내가 원하는 꿈을 접고 살면 나도 나중에 저런 모습으로 살게 될 것이라는 생각이 들었고 내가 원하는 것을 꼭 해야겠다는 확신을 가지게 되었다. 또 다른 이유는 군대생활 장교를 하면서 난 절대적으로 그런 정형화된 생활에 맞지 않다는 것을 느꼈다. 그 당시 하루하루가 희열이라곤 전혀 없었다.매일 내가 이러고 살아야하나 하는 인생에 회의감이 들 정도였다. 그 군생활로 인해 내 결정이 더 확고해졌다.

그렇게 내가 편입을 결정한 후 주위 사람들 특히 동기들의 반응은 가관이었다. 말문이 막혀서 아무말도 못하고 충격을 받은듯한 반응이 대부분이었다. 나를 미친놈 보듯 했다.그 누구도 이해해주거나 응원해주는 사람은 단 한명도 없었다. 그때는 정말 외로움을 많이 느꼈고 힘들었는데 지금은 그 사람들이 참 고맙다. 왜냐하면 그 사람들로 인해서 내 결정에 대해 정말 수천번을 더 고민했기 때문이다. 매일 밤 종이에 로드맵을 그렸고 군대에서는 해군일지에 매일매일 하루 한장씩 썼다. 앞으로 이길을 선택해서 내가 거지가 되거나 흔히 말하는 기능공같은 물리치료사의 삶을 살더라도 정말 후회하지 않을 자신이 있는가? 난 이렇게 해서 이런 식으로 나가서 이런 길로 가겠다 등등… 스스로 매일 자문했다. 정말 내가 미친 것이 아닐까라는 생각을 수없이 했다. 하지만 매번 결론은 똑같았다. 그럴지언정 이 길을 선택하겠노라고. 결국 도전해야겠다는 생각이 더 확고해졌고 이렇게 실행했다.

‘Decision’ ‘결정’에 대한 생각?

우리의 인생은 매일 매 순간순간이 선택의 연속이다. 이전에는 두가지 선택의 갈림길에서 99%와 1%로 나뉘는 확실한 경우에만 어떤 선택을 할 수 있다고 생각했다.

진로를 고민하던 당시 주위 선배나,멘토들에게 많이 물어봤는데 어떤 일의 선택이란 것이 그렇게 확실하게 답이 보이는 게 아니란 것을 알게 되었다. 대부분의 결정은 항상 미세한 차이에서 나온다. 이건 보수는 좋은데 여가시간이 적고 저건 보수는 적은데 내 여가시간이 많다. 항상 얻는게 있으면 잃는게 있다. 절대적으로 좋고 절대적으로 나쁘기만한 그렇게 쉬운 선택은 없다. 그런데 우리 인생의 딜레마는 그런 어려운 선택일지언정 우리는 반드시 그 무엇인가를 선택해야만 한다는 것이다.

그렇다면 한번 생각해보자. 그 차이가 미세하더라도 어차피 좋고 나쁨의 차이는 있을 것이기에 자기 스스로에게 물었을 때 1%라도 더 원하고 좋다고 생각하는 것을 선택하고 그렇게 선택한 것에 대해서 절대 후회하지 않으면 어떨까?

대부분의 사람들은 어떤 것을 결정하고 실행하기 전에 생각만 너무 많이 하는 경향이 있다. 이런 얘기를 후배들에게도 많이 해줬는데 그때마다 나오는 얘기가 그렇게 해서 실패하면 어떡할거냐 만약에 실패하면 그래서 그 선택이 잘못된 것이면 어쩔거냐 하는 얘기를 많이 들었다. 물론이다. 당연히 실패할 수도 있다. 하지만 나는 내가 원하는 걸 선택하고 거기에는 분명히 실패할 가능성도 있지만 난 내 마음이 조금이라도 더 가는 51%에 내 믿음을 건 것이다. 그런데 많은 사람들이 이런 선택을 그토록 어려워하는 이유는 자신이 선택하지 않은 것들로 인해 희생된 기회비용에 대한 생각이 너무 많기 때문이다. 어느 선택을 하건 그 선택으로 인해 희생되는 기회비용은 발생하는 것이고 그것은 당연히 자신 스스로가 감수해야 한다. 그렇다면 내 결론은 1%라도 더 내 마음이 이끄는 곳에 승부를 걸겠다는 것. 스승님께서 말씀해주신 이 가르침 이후 난 내 인생의 모든 선택에 있어 그렇게 결정했고 그 이후 내가 내린 그 어떠한 결정에도 단 한번도 후회한 적이 없다.

남의 이목 때문에 고민하는 사람들에게 해주고 싶은 말?

내가 이런 결정을 하고 새로운 길을 걷기 시작한 이후 나에게 진로와 관련된 질문을 하는 친구,후배들이 많았다. 진로결정에 있어 고민하는 그 사람들의 공통점은 다음과 같았다. 마음은 이미 A라는 어떤 결정을 하기를 원하나, 남의 이목과 경제적인 문제 때문에 B라는 선택을 포기하지 못한다.

즉 A:자기가 좋아하는 것 Vs B:안정적인 것의 고민이 대부분이었다. 그러다 결국 B를 포기하지 못하고 선택하게 된다. 이런 식으로 B를 선택한 사람들을 지금껏 많이 만났는데, 그 사람들은 열이면 열 모두 자신의 선택을 후회하였다. 반대로 지금껏 만났던 A를 선택한 사람들은 단 한사람도 후회하는 것을 보지 못했다. 이건 정말 놀랍고도 중요한 결과다.

이때 B를 선택한 사람들은 나도 사실 A를 원했었다,경제적인 문제 때문에…등등 여러 변명을 댄다. 물론 그걸 헛소리라고 생각하지는 않는다. 그런데 난 이말을 꼭 해주고 싶다. 지금 이 시대에 더이상 안정적인 직업은 없다는 것이 나의 아주 현실적인 논리이다. 금융계,대기업에 그렇게 힘들게 입사해도 거기서 또 무한경쟁이다. 경쟁에서 낙오되면 가차없이 잘려 나간다. 그렇다면 당신이 좋아하지도 않는 일을 하면서 이런 무한경쟁에서 승리할 가능성은 얼마나 될까? 나는 이런 실증적인 논리로 내 길을 선택한 것이다. 당신이 안정된 것이라고 생각하는 그 생각자체에 의심을 가져라. 세상의 흐름은 예측할 수 없다. 안정적이다, 철밥통이라고 하는 그런 것들이 언제 어떻게 뒤바뀔지 모른다. 무엇을 근거로 그것이 안정적이라고 생각하느냐 라는 나의 질문에 많은 사람들이 선뜻 대답하지 못했다.

그렇다면 다시 생각해보자. A,B라는 선택안에서 안정적이라는 것은 그저 당신의 생각일 뿐 사실 둘 다 안정적이지 않다. 그렇다면 당신의 선택은? 아주 간단하다. 이제 결정은 내가 좋아하는 것과 안좋아하는 것 둘중의 하나를 선택하는 것이다.

실례로 내 친구 중에 민사고를 나온 친구가 있다. 공부를 아주 잘했고 수능성적에 따라 카이스트 전기공학과를 갔다. 그런데 그 친구는 학교 수업진도 따라가고 과제하는 것만 해도 너무 벅차고 힘들어 미칠 지경인데 같은 과에 어떤 친구들은 수업과제는 물론이고 자기 개인 공부도 하고 또 스스로 프로젝트를 만들어서 새벽 3,4시까지 잠도 안자며 연구에 매진하는 친구들이 있더라는 것이다. 카이스트에는 진심으로 공학이나 전기 기계 이런 것을 좋아하고 관심있어 온 학생들이 많은데 이런 사람들은 자신의 전공에 관심이 있고 열정이 있기에 그 친구 자신은 도저히 범접하지 못할 정도로 열심히 한다면서, 진정 열정이 있고 무슨 일을 좋아서 하는 사람은 절대로 이길 수 없다는 것을 절실히 깨달았다고 한다.

좋아하는 것을 선택하면 자기가 좋아하는 것이니 당연히 그것에 열정이 있을 것이고 열정이 있으니 누가 시키지 않아도 재미가 있어 더 열심히 할 것이고 이렇게 열심히 하니 당연히 경쟁력이 높아지고 이렇게 선순환이 되는 것이다.

나는 높은 이상을 추구하지만 그 바탕에 있어서는 아주 현실적인 사람이다. 내가 원하는 것을 그저 망상으로 끝내지 않고 반드시 실현되게끔 하고싶은 사람이란 말이다. 내가 진로를 선택할 때 주위에서는 나를 아주 감성적인 사람으로 보는 이들이 많았는데 위의 내 논리에서도 알 수 있듯이 사실 내가 더 현실적인 사람이다.

어떤 결정을 함에 있어 ‘머리는 차갑게 가슴은 뜨겁게’라는 체 게바라의 말을 항상 좋아했다. 내가 원하는 바를 현실에 맞춰서 반드시 이루고 싶었기에 이런 고민을 굉장히 많이 해서 나온 결론이다. 많은 사람들이 결정에 앞서 생각하는 그런 전제를 뒤집었기에 가능한 결론이다.

내 인생의 격언이 있다면?

인생무상.
난 불교신자다. 인생무상이 내 인생의 모토다. 오해하지 말길 바란다. 절대 허무주의가 아니다. 인생이 무상하다고 생각하기에 오히려 내 삶에 열정이 있고 더 애착이 있다. 아무리 돈을 많이 벌고 내가 이루고자 하는 것을 다 이루고 명예,부를 쌓는다 해도 결국 모든 사람은 죽는다. 내가 사랑하는 사람들도 결국 누군가 먼저 죽을 것이고 그렇게 모두가 헤어지고 아무리 건강한 사람도 나이가 들면 죽게 될 것이다.

난 원래 굉장히 욕심이 많고 집착이 강하고 누구를 이기려고 하는 경쟁심이 강한 사람이었는데 그 욕망의 끝을 봤을 때 너무 허무했다. 결국 우리가 아둥바둥 거리며 사는 것이 뭔가를 이기고 성취하려고 하는 것인데 그것이 너무 허무하더란 말이다. 왜냐하면 그게 영원히 유지가 될 수 없으니까. 내가 엄청난 근력과 젊은 피부 이런 모든 기능을 유지하면서 영원히 죽지 않고 사랑하는 사람들과 살 수 있다면 좋겠지만 알다시피 그것은 불가능하다. 그래서 허무하다. 모든 것에 욕심을 부리고 집착만 한다면, 그저 이기고 성취하는 것에만 매달리면 결국 그 끝은 허무하다는 것을 깨달았다.

내가 무술과 재활을 좋아하고 선택한 이유도 무술은 죽음과 관련이 있고 재활은 사는 것과 관련이 있기 때문이다. 죽고사는 문제. 즉 생사관에 대해 나 스스로 깨어있도록 해주는 것이 무술과 재활이었다. 예전 일본 사무라이들은 아침마다 진검을 꺼내어 그것을 바라보면서 명상을 하는데, 그렇게 매일 아침을 ‘내가 오늘 이 칼과 함께 죽을 수도 있다’라고 생각하며 하루를 시작했다고 한다. 다같이 한번 생각해보자. 내가 정말로 오늘 죽을 수도 있다고 생각하고 그렇게 믿는다면? 그렇게 매일 아침을 시작한다면 하루를 어떻게 살겠는가? 자식, 부모, 친구,아내가 뭔가 조금 마음에 안드는 행동을 했다고 불같이 화를 내고 상처를 주겠는가? 당연히 아닐 것이다. 얼마 남지 않은 삶을 소중히 여기며 용서할 것이고 감사하는 삶을 살게 될 것이다.

재활을 통해서는 내가 물리치료를 하면서 장애아동, 중풍,뇌졸중 등으로 후천적 장애를 가지게 된 사람을 많이 보았다. 그분들을 보면서 나라고 예외이겠는가 나도 언제라도 순간의 사고로 저렇게 될 수 있다는 생각을 하게되고 이를 통해 매일 매일을 내가 어떻게 살아야 될 것인가라는 질문 즉 생사관에 대한 인식이 생겼다. 그런 인식 속에서의 인생무상, 즉 사람은 누구나 죽는다가 내 인생무상의 핵심이다. 그래서 그것을 늘 인지하고 하루하루를 열심히 살아야 후회없는 인생을 살 수 있다고 생각하기 때문이다.

한국사회의 보수적,일반화 문화에 대한 생각?

정말 쉬운 대답이면서도 어려운 대답이라고 생각한다. 내가 물리치료 실습 생활을 하면서 이곳이 굉장히 보수적인 집단이라는 것을 느꼈다. 같이 공부하는 다른 동기들로부터 “넌 물리치료사 안할 거지”라는 질문을 많이 받았다. 그 사람들에게 있어서 물리치료사란 개념은 반드시 병원 물리치료실에서 일해야 되고 이런곳에서 저런 것을 해야된다고 딱 정해져있다. 물리치료사는 이걸 해야된다. 의사는 이것을, 트레이너는 이걸 해야된다. 그래서 트레이너가 조금이라도 다른 짓을 하면 너 왜 남의 영역을 침범하냐고 공격하고 물리치료사가 트레이너를 하면 첫 질문이 “너 체대 나왔어?”이다. 그럼 영문학과 나오면 모두 다 영어강사하고 영어교수만 해야 하는가?

사람들의 너무나도 단순하고 보수적이고 획일화된 생각에 내가 오히려 더 놀랐다. 우리가 사는 세상이 그렇게 단순한 건 아니지 않은가? 선배들이 걸어간 그 발자국, 이미 딱 짜여진 그 길 속으로만 걸어가야만 한다는 생각. 외국에서는 전혀 이런 생각을 하지 않는데, 자신만의 창의적인 길을 가는 것을 너무나도 당연시여기는데 우리나라에선 정해진 길을 조금만 이탈하면 이상한 사람, 미친 사람, 배신자 취급 받는다. 그런데 요즘은 내가 조금만 시간을 투자하고 노력하면 너무나도 많은 정보들을 얻을 수 있는 세상이다. 외국의 사이트, 블로그나 페이스북 등의 SNS를 통하여 다양한 정보와 여러 인물들을 접할 수 있다. 나도 그렇게 인터넷을 통해 스캇 소넨, 알베르토 갈라찌, 이도 포탈 같은 사람들을 알게되었고 그들의 삶을 보면서 세상에는 이렇게 사는 사람들도 있구나 하고 용기를 낸 것이지 나도 만약 그런 간접정보를 얻지 못했다면 그냥 한국사회에만 갇혀서 내가 듣고 보는 것이 세상의 다라고 생각하면서 지금과 같은 선택을 하지 못했을 것이다. 이제는 모든 정보가 오픈되어 있다. 본인이 관심을 가지고 조금만 노력하면 다른 창조적인 사람들의 삶을 엿볼 수 있다. 분야와 관계없이 요리든 문학이든 춤이든… 다 나온다. 페이스북, 블로그, 트윗을 통해 자신들의 일상을 다 올려준다. 그런 것을 찬찬히 보면서 ‘아 이런식으로도 삶을 살아가는 사람들이 있구나’라는 것을 알게 될 것이고 사실 세계적인 입장에서 봤을 때 그런 사람들이 생각보다 많다는 것도 알게 될 것이다.

인생의 주체자가 누구인가? 내 인생의 주체자는 나인데 왜 남의 눈속에 자기인생을 허비하려 하는가?
인도의 유명한 철학자 오쇼 라즈니쉬의 말이 있다. ‘스스로 충만한 자 남의 눈속에 인정받길 원하지 않는다.’ 남의 눈속에서 인정받기를 원하는 사람은 사실은 자기 스스로 열등감이 있거나 스스로에게 만족하지 못하는 사람일 가능성이 크다. 자기가 충만하면 남에게 영향받지 않는다. 자기 스스로가 확신이 없으니 남이 너 잘한다 그러면 ‘아 내가 잘하나?’하고, 여러명이 너 잘한다 그러면 ‘아 내가 잘하나보구나’라며 남의 이목 속에서 무엇인가를 보상받으려고 한다. 그런데 그런 사람이 정말 자기 삶에 만족하느냐 하면 그렇지 않은 경우가 더 많다. 누구나 분명히 자기가 좋아하는게 있다. 좋아하는 것과 안정적인 것이 따로 있다라는 잘못된 전제 때문에 자신이 원하는 것을 선택하지 못하니 삶이 스트레스가 되는 것이다. 당신의 길을 선택하는데 있어서 너무 두려워만 하지말라고 얘기해주고 싶다.

나는 위인전을 많이 본다. 남이 사는 모습을 많이 보는게 좋다. 한국이든 외국이든 성공한 사람들의 삶, 여기에서 성공은 꼭 재력 명예의 성공을 말하는게 아니다. 내가 말하는 성공은 자기 삶에 만족하는 사람들을 말하는데 책을 통해 발견한 이런 이들의 공통점은 이들 모두가 자신의 성공비결을 자기가 좋아하는 것을 했을 뿐이다라고 말한다는 것이다. 이들은 한결같이 ‘남들은 내가 성공했다고 하는데 난 단지 내가 좋아하는 것을 했을 뿐이다’라는 그얘기가 꼭 하더란 말이다. 그들은 커리어의 선택에 있어 생각의 프로세스가 달랐다. 명예 돈을 먼저 생각하고 그것을 따라 자기가 할 것을 선택한게 아니라 자기가 진심으로 좋아하는 것을 먼저 찾았고 그것을 선택하고 그 길을 열심히 걷다보니 돈도 따라오고 사람도 따르고 명예도 따랐을 뿐이라는 것. 난 그렇게 분석했다.

배움이란?

나는 사실 굉장히 거만한 사람이었다.모범생 증후군이라고 들어봤는가? 성적이 좋아서 어릴 때부터 칭찬을 받았고 그래서 난 내가 아주 잘난 줄 알았다. 그 성향으로 인해 대학을 다닐 때 나의 여러 관심분야에서 내가 가르침을 받는 선생님들이 무조건 최고라고 생각했고 그래서 내가 배우는 것들이 최고라고 여겼다. 아주 유치하게도 말이다. 동물의 왕국에 사자를 통해 볼 수 있듯이 남자,수컷에게는 누구나 최고가 되고 싶은 욕망이 본능적으로 있다고 생각한다. 그래서 세상에는 내가 하는 것이 최고가 되어야 한다는 생각을 가지는 사람이 많고 권위욕을 가지는 사람이 그토록 많은 것이다. 그래서 설령 내가 하는 것이 최고가 아니더라도 최고로 만들어야 된다는 생각에까지 이르게 된다. 돈을 주고 사건, 거짓말을 하건 어떻게든 내가 하는 것이 최고여야만 한다는 생각. 나도 그런 욕망에서 예외일 순 없었다.
그런데 결국 내가 깨닫게 된 것은 내가 진정 열정을 가지게 되면 다르다는 것이었다. 열정이 있으니 당연히 다른 뛰어난 사람들이 하는 걸 보게 되고 바보가 아닌 이상 진정 좋은 것은 좋다는 것을 알게 된다. 그렇게 생각이 바뀌고 나니 세상에 너무 뛰어난 사람들이 많았고 너무나도 좋은게 많았다. 예전에는 그저 단순히 내가 최고이고 싶다라는 심정적인 욕심만 넘쳤다면, 열정이 생기고 나니 이제는 이것을 정말 진심으로 잘해보고 싶다는 생각으로 변화되었다. 그러니 안배울 수가 없었다. 내가 겸손해서 배우는게 아니라 세상은 넓고 뛰어난 사람은 너무 많다는 걸 알게되니까 쓸데없는 알량한 자존심 따위는 신경쓸 겨를이 없었다. 내가 잘난 사람에게 배우면 내가 더 발전하는 걸 느끼는데 그것을 거부할 수 없게된다 . 진짜 인정하기에 그 사람에게 배우는 것이고 그것은 부끄러운 일이 아니다. 배움에 대해 주저하는 사람은 열정이 없거나 심정적인 욕망만 큰 사람이라고 생각한다. 예를 들어 진짜 사랑하는 사람이 있다면 자존심 내세우며 물불을 가리겠는가? 뭐든지 다하지 않을까?

현실과 이상간의 괴리에 대해서?

열정적인 삶을 사는 것도 좋지만 꼭 모든 사람이 그런 삶을 살아야만 된다고는 생각하지 않는다. 열정이 넘친다는 건 자기가 좋아하는 것에 집착이 강하다는 것이고 이것은 사실 무엇인가에 미쳐있는 것이라고 생각한다. 뭔가 거대한 것을 해야만이 그것이 훌륭한 삶이고 어떤 것에 미쳐서 열정적으로 사는 삶만이 제대로 된 삶이라고 생각하지 않는다. 난 그저 내가 미치도록 좋아하는게 있었을 뿐이고 그래서 그 좋아하는 것에 미쳐 있는 사람일 뿐이다. 앞에서 한 모든 얘기들은 나처럼 무엇인가를 좋아하는 것이 있는 사람들에게 하는 얘기일 뿐이다. 드문 케이스이지만 내가 살아가면서 만난 사람들 중에는 그 무엇을 해도 감사한 사람들이 있다. 모든게 감사하고 어떤 일을 해도 감사한 사람, 매사에 항상 감사한 사람들 난 나쁘게 생각하지 않는다. 대단한 사람들이다. 만약 당신이 거기에 해당하는 사람이라면 그렇게 살아야 된다고 생각한다. 왜 꼭 미쳐서 날뛰어야지만 멋진 삶이라고 생각하겠는가? 난 그렇게 생가하지 않는다. 그런데 이때 중요한 것은 당신이 어느 부류의 사람인지를 먼저 알아야된다는 것이다.
무엇이든 감사해하는 부류의 사람들이 아닌 자신이 정말 하고싶은게 있음에도 불구하고 전자와 같은 성향의 사람인 척 가장하고 살아가는 사람들은 반드시 자신의 삶에 대한 고민이 필요하다고 생각한다.
지인 분중에 한 여성분은 모든 것에 감사하는 삶을 사는 분이다. 그런데 그분 주위에는 나와 같이 미친 사람 즉 유독 열정이 넘치는 사람들이 많았다. 그래서 그분은 오히려 본인도 그렇게 무엇인가를 파고들며 열정있는 삶을 살아야만 하는가?라는 스트레스를 많이 받으시는 것을 보면서 열정된 삶만을 쫓는 것도 어떤 이들에게는 폭력이 될 수 있겠구나 하는 것을 느꼈다. 자기 자신이 어디에 맞느냐가 가장 중요한 것 같다.

Ikigai(내가 아침에 눈을 뜨는 이유)가 무엇인가?

인생이 무상하다 해서 허무주의가 아니고 아침에 일어날 이유가 없는 건 아니다. 꿈이 없는 잠을 한번 생각해보자 . 밤에 잠이 들어서 꿈을 꾸지 않고 깨지 않고 영원히 자버린다면? 그것이 죽음이 아닌가? 우리가 잠에서 깨어나야지만 의식이 돌아오고 내가 잠에서 깨어났는지를 알 수 있다. 즉 잠에서 눈을 떠야지만 내 인생,삶이 시작되는 것이다. 저녁에 침대에서 눈을 감고 잠자는 것은 죽는 것 즉 무의식으로 가는 것, 다음날 일어나면 다시 의식이 생기고 살아나는 것이고 그러니 나에겐 하루하루가 죽고 살아나고,살아나고 죽는 윤회다. 난 하루하루 삶과 죽음이 매일 반복되는 새로운 삶을 사는 것이다. 그래서 그 새로운 삶을 후회없이 살려고 노력하게 되고 이렇게 매일 반복되는 새로운 삶이 나에게는 자극이 된다. 하루하루의 챗바퀴같은 일상이 결국 나에게는 열정의 원동력이 되는 것이다.

내가 추구하는 것은?

한마디로 Total Movement Solution이다.
내가 좋아하는 모든 것들이 결국 인간의 움직임과 관련있다는 것을 알게 되었다. 여러가지 것들을 배우고 수련하면서 인간이 몸을 쓰는 것이 모두 비슷하다는 것을 느끼게 되었고 수련을 통해 이렇게 직관적으로 느낀 것들을 이후 재활치료를 공부하면서 결국 학술적으로도 이 모든 것들이 같다는 것을 알게 되었는데, 그 결론은 움직임(movement)이었다. 무술, 트레이닝, 재활도 움직임이고 무용도 춤도 움직임이다. 모든 것들이 다 움직임이다. 그런데 그 움직임을 사람들이 이건 무술이다 저건 필라테스다 그리고 이건 재활운동이다, 근력운동이다 등으로 이렇게 구분을 지은 것일 뿐 결국은 모두 움직임이다.

예를 들어 설명해보겠다. 시간(time)을 한번 생각해보자. 시간이라는 건 원래 어떤 형체를 가진 것도 아니고 나눌 수 있는 것도 아닌데 사람들이 필요에 의해서 인위적으로 년,월,일,주,시,분,초 등으로 나눈 것이다. 그렇다면 무엇인가를 필요에 의해 이렇게 나눌 수도 있다면 반대로 통합할 수도 있겠다라는 생각을 하게 되었고, 무브먼트의 통합에 대해 고민하게 되었다. 움직임안에서 모든 것들이 다 연결되어 있기 때문에 말이다.

이런 통합과정에 있어 나는 동서양의 이론과 방법까지 모두 통합한 무브먼트 솔루션을 만들고 싶다. 동양적인 것들은 형이상학적이고 서양은 인체를 바이오메카닉적(기계적)으로 분석하여 해결책을 추구한다. 내가 느낀 것은 이 모든 것들에는 각자 논리와 근거가 있다는 것이다. 그리고 결국 이것들도 모두 움직임으로 집결된다. 어떤 기준으로 나누었냐에 차이가 있을 뿐이다.

예를 들어 인종을 나눌 때 보통 어떤 기준을 사용하는가? 피부색깔이다. 문화인류학 수업에서 배운 내용인데 인종구분의 기준을 유당을 소화시킬 수 있는 효소인 Lactose가 있냐 없냐를 기준으로 하면 동유럽과 아시아가 하나의 분류로 묶인다. 기준에 따라 전혀 다르게 분류된다는 말이다.
동양의 체계는 동양 나름의 분류기준이 있다. 내가 공부해보니 굉장히 정교했고 상당히 실증적이다. 서구의 체계는 굉장히 분석적이면서도 체계적이었다. 나는 최종적으로 동서양의 특징과 체계들이 모두 어우러진 Mind와 Body 즉 정신(감정)과 육체를 아우르는 피트니스를 추구한다.

예전에 이런 경험이 있다. 대학교 시절 강단에서 발표를 하는데 교수님께서 전혀 예상치 못한 질문을 갑자기 하셨다. 그때 쩔쩔매며 너무 당황하고 긴장했었고 그렇게 발표를 겨우 마치고 강단을 내려오려는데 한쪽 다리가 완전히 마비되어 질질 끌면서 내려왔던 기억이 있다. 마음,감정,스트레스가 내 몸에도 직접적인 영향을 끼친 것이다. 이렇듯이 인간의 마음과 몸을 따로 떼어 판단할 수 없다. 서구는 이 부분을 그리 중요하게 여기지 않는다. 그런데 나는 이런 보이지 않는 무형의 감정(마음)이 아주 중요하다는 것을 알게되었다. 그렇다면 그런 감정에 어떻게 접근할 것인가? 형이상학적인 감정이나 스트레스 등을 어떻게 컨트롤 할 것인가? 인간의 정신과 육체는 연결되어 있는데 이것을 movement 즉 움직임을 통해 어떻게 감정까지 함께 치유,통제할 수 있을지를 고민하는 Mind와 Body가 함께 어우러진 무브먼트 솔루션을 원한다.

내가 죽은 후 다른 이들에게 어떤 사람으로 기억되고 싶은가?

크게 기억되지 않는사람이 되기를 원한다. 명성이 높고 업적이 높을수록 후대에 그사람은 신성시되고 교조주의로 빠지는 경향이 있다

Simon Kang

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“Gross! What is that thing?”
…Is the most probable reaction you’ll receive from someone catching a glimpse of kombucha tea fermenting in someone’s kitchen for the first time.
“Is that an alien fetus floating in a jar of Earl Grey?!” Ermm, no, it’s my kombucha SCOBY. And if you have not been completely turned off by this point, then read on, brave soul. This article will introduce you to kombucha tea, which has been around for centuries, but has only recently become a trendy, health beverage in North America for which folks will shell out, on average, $4 US per bottle. The good news is that it’s very inexpensive and relatively easy to make yourself at home.
So what’s all the fuss about kombucha? More importantly, why would anyone possibly want to incorporate this unconventional beverage into their diet?
A Rose by any other name…
Kombucha has gone by many names throughout history, including “Mushroom Tea”, “Japanese Fungus Tea”, “Chai of the sea”, “Russian Jelly-fish Tea”, “Stomach Treasure” and even “The Tea of Immortality”. Its many names are a testament to the many cultures it has become a part of. Kombucha is believed to have originated centuries ago in East Asia, most likely in the North Eastern area of China that was once known as Manchuria. It traveled via the Silk Road into Russia and eventually all of Europe, more recently branching into other Western countries as far as North American and Oceania. Today, kombucha can be found on nearly every continent in the world (save Antarctica).
The exact origin of kombucha is unknown, and like any other ancient innovation, many countries lay claim to it. One legend is that it was invented in the Qin Dynasty (220BC) for the Emperor Qinshi Huangdi, in a search for an elixir of health and longevity. Kombucha’s ancient roots in China have lasted over the centuries. During the Cultural Revolution, every household had a pot of Kombucha brewing, although this is no longer the case today because of China’s busy modern lifestyle. According to another legend, it was a Korean doctor named Dr. Kombu, who brought kombucha to Japan, for the Emperor Inyoko in 414 AD. Samurai were said to carry it in their wine skins to give them energy in battle. Others write of a fermented, vinegary beverage which filled the flask of Genghis Khan and his armies. A legendary drink for a legendary conqueror with legendary military as well as umm…other kinds of prowess.
The most definite recorded history of kombucha began in Ukraine and Russia during the late 19th century. It was very popular in Russia and Europe until World War II, when sugar and tea were rationed. Since these are the main ingredients in brewing kombucha, it is easy to understand why the practice was largely lost. After the war, it enjoyed a brief resurgence among the Italian elite, and then began to gain popularity throughout Eastern Europe in a kombucha renaissance of sorts.
In the 1960’s, Swiss research confirmed the health benefits of drinking kombucha, providing another boost to its popularity. An urban legend is that in the Chernobyl meltdown of the 1980’s people were astounded by a group of people who seemed to be resistant to the horrible effects of radiation. And oddly enough, many were elderly women. Upon further inspection, the common thread turned out to be that these women were regular Kombucha drinkers.
Over the last few decades, Kombucha has spread across the globe, and become the next trendy health beverage. It can be found practically anywhere in as many different forms as there are of kimchi in Korea, from the home-made varieties to the mass produced. It might be brewing on the kitchen counter of the sweet, elderly Italian nona that lives next door or found inside the grocery cart of a hipster at the nearest Whole Foods. And if this article is convincing, you might start brewing some yourself!
(For a fuller look at kombucha’s history and legend check out this link http://www.kombuchakamp.com/what-is- kombucha/history-and-legends-of-kombucha).

OK. But what the hell is it exactly?
Kombucha tea is a fermented beverage made with tea, sugar, bacteria, and yeast. Although it’s sometimes referred to as a mushroom, fungus and even the “Mother”(look out!) the kombucha SCOBY is technically not a fungi — it’s a colony of bacteria and yeast. Kombucha tea is made by adding a SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast) to sugar and tea, and allowing the mix to ferment. The resulting liquid contains organic acids, enzymes, healthy bacteria, as well as other chemical compounds that are unique to each batch.
And what about the taste?
The SCOBY’s bacteria and yeast eat most of the sugar in the tea, transforming the mix into a refreshingly fizzy, slightly tart, fermented beverage. Like other fermented beverages (think beer, wine, makgeolli), its taste can drastically vary due to the different brewing materials and methods used. How sweet or vinegary the tea tastes depends on how long you allow it to brew. To put it simply: the longer you let the sweetened tea ferment, the more sugar the SCOBY eats and the more acids and probiotics it creates as a by-product, making the brew more sour than sweet as time goes on.
It also contains small amounts of alcohol which may explain why it’s so gosh darn addictive and happiness inducing. Though really, the alcohol content is very small amount – usually between .5 and 3%, depending on length of fermentation. Single fermentation home brews of kombucha usually contain only .5% alcohol. If you do a second fermentation in a bottle to flavor it and increase the carbonation, the alcohol content will increase slightly. But generally speaking, the alcohol content of home brewed kombucha falls below 1%.
To be fair, kombucha is not everyone’s cup of tea (sorry, couldn’t resist). My favorite unsavory description of kombucha’s unique taste is from a more detailed and humorous rant that can be found at http://jezebel.com/5968226/fuck-you-kombucha. The writer describes the flavor as something akin to”fermented foot juice mixed with botulism and then put in a Soda Stream”. As you might have guessed, however, I am on the opposite end of the camp. I love it’s slightly sweet and sour taste. But, I am also fond of beer, wines, and Hongcho (흑초) – a ubiquitous, Korean, summertime beverage made by mixing a concentrated fruit vinegar with water (more information about Hongcho can be found here http://blog.korea.net/?p=16032). I find kombucha especially refreshing in the summer over ice with a little squeeze of lemon or lime juice. It’s a nice change up to instant iced Americanos as it offers a little pick me up without the jittery feeling that highly caffeinated beverages can produce. Its aforementioned health benefits are also a plus and will be explored below.
Snake oil or Miracle cure?
Kombucha has been touted as a cure-all of all sorts of ailments, including digestive disorders, baldness, and depression. It is even used by AIDS and cancer patients to help boost their immune systems. However, at this time there is no scientific evidence to support these anecdotal health claims.
Yes, you may have heard many things about kombucha tea – that it contains countless probiotics, organic enzymes, amino acids and is rich in B vitamins. That is has hyaluronic acid and glucosamine to relieve joint pain as well as glucaronic acid which aids liver detoxification. That is gives one super sensory perception and mind powers. Well, unfortunately, all of these are myths.
Eileen Laird, from Pheonix Helix, has done a very neat job separating kombucha fact from fiction. She explains that very importantly, every batch of kombucha is different. The things you can count on EACH batch to contain include: (1) at least one beneficial yeast, (2) acetobacter (the beneficial bacteria found in the SCOBY), (3) gluconic acid (a pH regulator) and (4) acetic acid (an anti-microbial acid, which also stabilizes blood sugar). Most batches of kombucha will also contain an analgesic (a pain reliever), an anti-arthritic compound, an anti-spasmodic compound, a liver-protective compound, and several anti-bacterial compounds. The blend will vary from batch to batch. That’s why this elixir can’t be patented – it embodies change.
And what about the claims that kombucha can be deadly? This claim is unsubstantiated. The two deaths that were reportedly tied to consumption of kombucha were in no way found to be directly tied to the beverage. They probably were the result of improper brewing techniques. (For a more detailed and nicely organized look at Kombucha’s myths and truths go here: http://www.phoenixhelix.com/2013/03/25/kombucha-myths-vs-truths/#sthash.ygXRkGSz.dpuf)
The Bottomline

Kombucha is not a miracle cure nor is it snake oil. But it may have beneficial effects for many, seemingly acting as an adaptogen and restoring health where it is needed. As Hannah Crum of Kombucha Kamp says, “Kombucha is not a panacea – it doesn’t cure anything! It brings the body back into balance so that it may heal itself naturally. That is how it is able to do so much.” (http://www.kombuchakamp.com/health-benefits-of-kombucha). Many people swear that it has helped them in some way. But like any other medicine, herb or diet, the results vary from person to person. For myself, it gives me stable energy, is a wicked hangover cure, and helps sort out any digestive issues. Since everyone’s body will react differently, try it out for yourself and see what it can do for you.

How to Make a Kombucha Homebrew
(Recipe adapted from these websites: http://www.culturesforhealth.com/make-kombucha and http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-kombucha-tea-at-home-173858)
Makes about 1 gallon tea

What You Need

Ingredients
3 1/2 quarts OR 14 cups OR 3 L’s filtered water

1 cup white sugar

8 bags black tea (or 2-3 tablespoons loose tea)

2 cups starter tea from last batch of kombucha
OR store-bought (unpasteurized, neutral-flavored) kombucha
OR an equal portion of either distilled white vinegar or pasteurized apple cider vinegar (preferably organic) in place of starter tea

1 SCOBY per fermentation jar

Materials
Stock pot

Strainer if using loose leaf tea


An 1 gallon glass jar or two 2-quart glass jars

A plastic or wood stirring utensil (never use metal in contact with a kombucha SCOBY!)

A breathable cover for the jar such as a tight-weave dish towel or paper coffee filter (I use a clean old t-shirt that I cut up and it works fine)

A rubber band to secure the cover


Bottles: Six 16-oz glass bottles with plastic lids, 6 swing-top bottles, or clean wine bottles

Instructions
Note: Avoid prolonged contact between the kombucha and metal both during and after brewing. This can affect the flavor of your kombucha and weaken the SCOBY over time.
1. Make the Tea Base: Bring the water to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar to dissolve. Drop in the tea and allow it to steep until the water has cooled. Depending on the size of your pot, this may take a few hours.
2. Add the Starter Tea: Once the tea has cooled to room temperature, remove the tea bags or strain out the loose tea. Stir in the starter tea. (The starter tea makes the liquid acidic, which prevents unfriendly bacteria from taking up residence in the first few days of fermentation.)
3. Transfer to Jars and Add SCOBY: Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon glass jar (or divide between two 2-quart jars, in which case you’ll need 2 SCOBYS) and gently slide the SCOBY into the jar with clean hands. Cover the mouth of the jar with a few layers of cheesecloth or paper towels secured with a rubber band.
4. Ferment for 7 to 30 Days: First choose a safe spot. An ideal culturing spot should be at room temperature. Temperatures between 70° and 80°F are ideal. The best fermenting spot for kombucha is out of direct sunlight. Be sure the spot has reasonably good airflow because access to oxygen benefits the fermentation. If you have a good spot in mind (airflow-check, good temperature-check) but it gets hit by direct sunlight you can protect your SCOBY by making “a dress” for the glass jar. Simply cut an opening over the bottom of small black garbage bag and place it around the neck of the glass jar. Try your best to not disturb it!
After 7 days, use a straw to taste the kombucha every other day. When it reaches a balance of sweetness and tartness that is pleasant to you, the kombucha is ready to bottle. Some people like their kombucha best after it has been fermenting only a week. Others prefer 2, 3, or even 4 weeks or more of fermentation. Keep in mind that shorter fermentation periods will result in a sweeter brew. Longer periods will result in a more vinegar-like taste.
5. Remove the SCOBY: Before proceeding, prepare and cool another pot of strong tea for your next batch of kombucha, using the same recipe found above. With clean hands, gently lift the SCOBY out of the kombucha and set it on a clean plate. As you do, check it over and remove the bottom layer if the SCOBY is getting very thick. You can give bits of your SCOBY away after the first few brews. Sharing is caring, people.
6. Bottle the Finished Kombucha: Measure out 2 cups starter tea from this batch of kombucha and set it aside for the next batch. Pour the fermented kombucha (straining away any stringy bits if desired) into bottles. At this stage you can look into second fermentation techniques. (More on this here: http://www.culturesforhealth.com/flavoring-bottling-kombucha)
7. Carbonate and Refrigerate the Finished Kombucha: Store the bottled kombucha at room-temperature out of direct sunlight and allow 1 to 3 days for the kombucha to carbonate. Refrigerate to stop fermentation and carbonation, and then consume your kombucha within a month.
8. Make a Fresh Batch of Kombucha: Clean the jar being used for kombucha fermentation. Never use bleach!! Combine the starter tea from your last batch of kombucha with the fresh batch of sugary tea, and pour it into the fermentation jar. Slide the SCOBY on top, cover, and let the process begin again!
Additional Notes:
• Batch Size: To increase or decrease the amount of kombucha you make, maintain the basic ratio of 1 cup of sugar, 8 bags of tea, and 2 cups starter tea per gallon batch. One SCOBY will ferment any size batch, though larger batches may take longer.
• Putting Kombucha on Pause: If you’ll be away for 3 weeks or less, just make a fresh batch and leave it on your counter. It will likely be too vinegary to drink by the time you get back, but the SCOBY will be fine.
• Other Tea Options: Black tea tends to be the easiest and most reliable for the SCOBY to ferment into kombucha, but once your SCOBY is going strong, you can try branching out into other kinds. Green tea, white tea, oolong tea, or an even mix of these, make especially good kombucha. Herbal teas are ok, but be sure to use at least a few bags of black tea in the mix to make sure the SCOBY is getting all the nutrients it needs. Avoid any teas that contain oils, like earl grey or flavored teas.
Troubleshooting Kombucha
• It is normal for the scoby to float on the top, bottom, or sideways in the jar. It is also normal for brown strings to form below the SCOBY or to collect on the bottom. If your SCOBY develops a hole, bumps, develops dry patches, darker brown patches, or clear jelly-like patches, it is still fine to use. Usually these are all indicative of changes in the environment of your kitchen and not a problem with the SCOBY itself.
• Kombucha will start off with a neutral aroma and then smell progressively more vinegary as brewing progresses. If it starts to smell cheesy, rotten, or otherwise unpleasant, this is a sign that something has gone wrong. If you see no signs of mold on the SCOBY, discard the liquid and begin again with fresh tea. If you do see signs of mold (will look like the mold you would find on old cheese), discard both the SCOBY and the liquid and begin again with new ingredients.
• A SCOBY will last a very long time, but it’s not indestructible. If the SCOBY becomes black, that is a sign that it has passed its lifespan. If it develops green or black mold, it is has become infected. In both of these cases, throw away and begin again.
• To prolong the life and maintain the health of your SCOBY, stick to the ratio of sugar, tea, starter tea, and water outlined in the recipe. You should also peel off the bottom (oldest) layer every few batches. This can be discarded, composted, used to start a new batch of kombucha, or given to a friend to start their own.
• If you’re ever in doubt about whether there is a problem with your SCOBY, just continue brewing batches but discard the tea made. If there’s a problem, it will get worse over time and become very apparent. If it’s just a natural aspect of the SCOBY, then it will stay consistent from batch to batch and the kombucha is fine for drinking.
Lemon-Ginger Zinger Kombucha
(Recipe from http://www.culturesforhealth.com/lemon-ginger-zinger-kombucha)

Great Free Online Kombucha Resources
……for more pointers, recipes etc.
http://www.culturesforhealth.com/kombucha#Kombucha_Articles_Videos_Recipes
http://www.kombuchakamp.com/

By Joanna Tambakis

Ahh, middle school. Such an awkward phase, where we come up with gimmicks to make ourselves cool. We are at the stage of forming an identity – one that will carry us though the travails of puberty. Some are drawn to the “class clown” identity. For me, I remember having a single strand of hair on one side of my face because I thought it was hella cool. I also said “ya’ll” a lot. Anyway…after my first day of teaching middle schoolers I am keenly reminded of the phase, but this time I’m on the other side of the podium.

So I actually surprised myself when I taught today. I tend to get anxious delivering presentations to my peers but I was really at ease in the classroom. I projected well, didn’t stumble over words, planned well, and generally enjoyed my time teaching today. That being said, the first class of the day that I taught was pretty rough.

The first class was small, which made me relieved. However, it worked against me. It was a class of about 10 boys and only 3 girls. The girls were distant and didn’t engage in the class. Two boys were really outspoken, but in the “class clown” kind of way. Three of the boys were in the back of the room being big shots and throwing around each others’ pencilcases. The other five were talking in Korean about LoL. Meanwhile, I’m delivering an easy lesson about expressing opinions by introducing myself via “two truths and a lie”. Once in a while I caught their interest but they were all basically “tuned out.”

Truthfully, I would be too. When you don’t understand 80% of what the instructor is saying, it gets tiring. That being said, I used the simplest terms and slowest speech I could. They are simply not ready for a class led entirely in English.

My second class was a little better than the first despite some technical difficulties in the beginning. I had a list of riddles which were invaluable for my classes because I breezed through the powerpoint every time when I was sure I was going to spend too long on it. Backup activities are Godsends. My co-teacher for this class was on the quieter side, kinda lurking around and ethereally present…is she here? Not here? Thankfully it didn’t make too much of a difference.

Third class was the best. This group was the high-level English class. They were obedient, engaged, and willing to participate. It was a nicer atmosphere to work in. The co-teacher chimed in once in a while which was also nice. One girl came up to me at the end of class and told me that I was a “very kind and good teacher” which was gratifying and so, so cute :3

My last class of the day was pretty good, the co-teacher for this class was the most vocal throughout the lesson which sped things along. There wasn’t any hand-holding as far as waiting for the co-teacher to translate, but somehow after she said the directions in English everyone suddenly understood? Ok cool?

At one point during the day, one of my co-teachers was like “Why middle school? You should be teaching little kids, elementary…” as if apologizing for the behavior of middle schoolers. I am actually still glad it’s middle schoolers. Singing and dancing isn’t really my thang. And I feel like these students still need to get to know me as a teacher. Hopefully we can have some fun and learn a lot in my classes. I want to make English something that they like, not something that they are forced to do. It will take some time but with some more engaging activities I think things will get better. Can I keep all of my students from being tuned out? Maybe not, but I want to at least make it helpful for the ones that are tuned in.

Roasted Tomato Soup

This has become my new favourite vegan tomato soup. Not only is this little treasure super easy to create but it contains tons of the antioxidant lycopene, which protects your skinfrom sun damage, especially important during these long summer days. It’s also easily adapted to your taste.  

The recipe evolved when we accidentally doubled up on fresh tomatoes and had no space left in the fridge. What a great problem to have. For the rest of the week, every guest was invited to a bowl of delicate tomato soup and focaccia bread.

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Roasted Tomato Soup

Serves 4

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Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

1 hr 30 min

Total Time

1 hr 40 min

Ingredients

6-8 large ripe tomatoes, quartered

2 yellow onions, quartered

6 cloves of garlic

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 cups of good quality vegetable stock

3 bay leaves

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180˚C (350˚F).

Spread the chopped tomatoes, onions and whole garlic cloves on an oven safe dish and drizzle with olive oil.

Roast in the oven for 45-55 mins until the tops of the vegetables begin to darken and sizzle.

Once cooked, add the roasted vegetables to a large pot with two cups of vegetable stock and the bay leaves. Bring to the boil then remove from the heat allowing the flavours to combine for a further 25-30 mins.

Remove the bay leaves and blend the soup to form a rich red. You may need to do this in two batches as you should end up with 3 litres of soup or more.

Add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with fresh basil or parsley.

Notes

Experiment: Add 1 can (435ml) of coconut milk before you serve to make this roasted tomato soup creamy. Or add 1/4 tsp of cardamon with the bay leaves to create a punchier heat.

BETA

calories

153

fat

7g

protein

4g

carbs

21g

more

 

I like to serve mine with cheesy focaccia bread coated in a generous layer of vegan butter. It makes the perfect dipping companion for a bold soup like this one.

A BUDDHISM PRIMER BY JESSE DIAZ

When water vapor condenses on a windowpane, it starts out as a gas, invisible to the naked eye. Gradually, the process of condensation proceeds and we are able to see a foggy sheet appear over the surface of the glass. That which lay beyond the glass becomes concealed. slowly, sparkly bits begin to form as over the foggy layer tiny droplets of water begin to coagulate. Then, dramatically, when one of those droplets becomes heavy enough, it plunges down the glass leaving a clear streak across the fog, revealing a slice of whatever happens to lay behind it.
To an earthling, this familiar situation is easily explainable because of our familiarity with earthly phenomena. To an alien from a desert planet that has no knowledge of even the existence of liquid water, let alone condensation, however, the entire process would appear abstruse at best. It would be perceived as a mystery, labeled as such and tucked away into the alien’s memory, assuming it has one, as one of those unsolvable riddles of the universe. After all, in daily life, what use could a knowledge of the chemistry underlying this obscure process possibly bring?
The Buddha described the architecture and dynamics of the human mind as being too complex for an ordinary person to simply understand after only a light investigation. We are kind of like aliens to our own minds. He described the human mind as being like a bamboo thicket which was tangled at the bottom with its trunks, and then tangled at the top with its branches. The bottom tangle is like the confused mind that sees the world in terms of concepts, has feelings about what it perceives and then reacts to those perceptions. The upper tangle is the world that we seem to inhabit and naively take for granted. We live “in our heads”, and get tangled up there, then we live out “in the world” and get tangled up in that. This was what perplexed the Brahman, Jata Bharadvaja, when he approached the Buddha one day and asked:
A tangle within, a tangle without, people are entangled in a tangle. Gotama [The Buddha's name], I ask you this: who can untangle this tangle?
The Buddha then answered:
A man established in virtue, discerning, developing discernment & mind, a monk ardent, astute: he can untangle this tangle. Those whose passion, aversion, & ignorance [the 3 root effluents or defilements] have faded away, enlightened masters, their effluents ended: for them the tangle’s untangled.

Where the physical experience and the knowing of that experience, along with perception of contact happening at the senses & perception of physically experienced objects totally stop without trace: that’s where the tangle is cut.

—Jata Sutta

In English, this means that if you can meditate until all physical experience of the body, mental thinking about objects, and perception of anything at all completely vanish, you will have undone this tangle and glimpsed Nibbana. Our lives are like an endless struggle to gain whatever we think we happen to lack at the moment. And the Buddha says that if you are clever and follow these momentary struggles and frustrations back to their source, you will come to the realization that every aspect of our being is bound up with stress and pretty much sucks. That is to say that until what we usually think of as ourselves and our lives -body, mind, experiences and the world- are all completely gone and stop popping up we will never have peace. Was the Buddha on crack or was he onto something profound 2,500 years ago?
A young upstart may say that he or she happens to like having a sexy body, a cunning mind and the life of a G. But the Buddha would say “Uh uh, girlfriend! It’s our attachment to these things that keeps us tangled up in this seemingly endless cycle of thwarted satisfaction, where we fear loss, need more stuff, and wish become something other than we are.” Okay, so the girlfriend part is my own creative interpretation, but the rest is basically accurate.
In essence, the universe doesn’t revolve around whether or not a person likes certain things, and this thinking is specifically implicated as the very cause of our going around like dogs chasing our own tails, always trying to make things just the way we want them, only to have our elaborate plans suddenly collapse; the things we gain, disintegrate or disappear; and the things we avoid, return and annoy the ever living shit out of us. So not only is the Buddha saying that all of our favorite toys are dangerous, but he’s also implying that the reason we wanna play with them in the first place is because we’re all insane and stupid. Basically any thing that people might seek out and try to enjoy is targeted as being a hot potato. So you’re not gonna find the Buddha shaking his rum bum at the club. Let me just put it that way. He eschews all that worldly stuff. Big time.

mental factors and dependent origination: the mind is an engine of stress
Analogous to the earthling who is able to divine the mysterious process of the water cycle that accounts for fog and dew drops on a windowpane, a Buddhist practitioner peers into his or her own mind and watches the arcane, complex processes unfolding there. The technical language used to describe this process is refined and employs a technical vocabulary, each word carries an extremely specific meaning: words like support condition, necessary condition, co-emergent condition, requisite condition, etc. (In all, there are 24 such “conditions”). But just as the strange notation of mathematics becomes second nature to the mathematician, the various conditions and the complex phenomena that they describe -eye, object of sight, seeing, feeling, perception of the object, etc.- become familiar friends to the meditator. What’s more, after becoming familiar with the constituent conditions and the relations that they have to the elements of experience, a beautiful thing happens: the mind suddenly becomes able to apprehend not only its own parts and their individual functions, but the overall shape and actvity of the larger edifice that they comprise. The mind becomes fluent, in a sense, in the language of its own programming, the language of conditioning known as “dependent origination” or Paticca Samupadda.
To put it another way, a meditator is like an auto mechanic in training, reverse engineering a car in the dark using only a tiny flash light to see by. After years of hard work and investigation, there is this sort of Aha! moment when in a flash of insight, the would be mechanic comes to understand that all of the bolts, valves, belts, gears and grease are part of a complex machine that has a higher function. In the case of the car, the higher function is to drive a person somewhere, which is pretty bad ass, especially if you are a high school boy who wants to get laid; in the case of the mind, however, this higher function is to generate dukkha, or to make stress and suffering. In contrast to getting laid, this really sucks… a lot.
On the other hand, the meditator also gets his or her own “Aha!” moment, but the Aha! moment for the meditator is an insight into the inner-workings of conditioned mental phenomena. Figuring this out won’t get you laid, but it will empower you to put an end to stress and suffering, which, believe it or not, is way more awesome. The Buddha referred to this insight as a “breakthrough in discernment”. Not long after discerning this for himself, he reached the end of his long search for truth and attain supreme enlightenment. And he did say that it’s better than sex. Now you know why monks are celibate.

Nibbana, tranquility, mindfulness and the 4 protections
Gaining insight into how this process works is like suddenly becoming fluent in a language because it is a matter of becoming able to sense something instantaneously, with precision. No deliberation or 2nd order reasoning is necessary. With enough exposure as an infant, when a person speaks in his or her native language, it is with the marriage of feeling and a mastery over the means of expressing it. Unless you are a politician, you do not need to spend long hours putting words together to express what you want to say. The rules of the system are so internalized in you that they are obeyed instinctively. In this same way, the meditator intuitively knows what will lead to stress and what will lead to its “non-arising”, one of the many synonyms for Nibbana.
When one masters any skill, the obeying of its rudimentary principles becomes automatic and consideration of these principles occupies little to no real estate in that person’s conscious awareness. This fluency is achieved through a long-term, sustained entrainment of one’s own mind, using the Buddhist methods. These methods include discipline in virtue, tranquility and concentration techniques, perfecting the 4 foundations of mindfulness, and mastering the 4 protective meditations (loving kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and tranquility). The 4 protections can temporarily ward off negative, self-defeating mind-states and ensure that nothing will knock you off course as you pursue the 4 foundations practice that leads to wisdom and insight.
When a course in Buddhist theory is strategically combined with a practical fieldwork unit -an expedition into the forests of your own mind, let’s say- insight into the superstructure of the overall ecosystem is a gimme. The process of learning the teaching, training in its methods and realizing its ultimate goal are every bit as thrilling and alluring as any search for a fabled city of gold on a newly discovered continent. But just as our cuddly, desert planet, alien friend might not be able to appreciate the physical mechanisms behind the sudden and beautiful streak of a water droplet squiggling out a clear path across a foggy windowpane, those of us who are too afraid, or are satisfied to be ignorant of the inner-workings behind the vague and shapeless building blocks of our own experience will never know the thrill of discovery that awaits a simple, albeit life changing look inward.

the 8 fold path, the 3 root defilements and karma
But studying, training, and realizing this process is only the beginning. Once you see the path that leads peace and the end of stress and suffering, the arduous task of walking it still lies ahead. Though difficult, walking this “8 fold” path may rightly be called the hard task of living. For pain is actually felt, not denied; egoism, spotted out, not indulged.
Deluding yourself will seem an attractive alternative to meditation at times and you will be tempted to use pride and anger to cover up your inner-weaknesses, but you won’t, because you will know where those things lead. Like the skillful hunter parked out in a tree-hide, you will watch the water hole of your still mind and observe the strange and wondrous creatures that come there to drink, disturbing it from time to time. These creatures are the ugly products of your negative karma, which constantly arise due to the aforementioned effluents of passion, aversion and ignorance, that remain as fixtures in our own personalities. We can think of these effluents as deeply engrained habits that lead us to make ourselves suffer. We used to run scared from or fight against the various feelings, perceptions and thoughts that arose in us due to these malodorous aspects of our own inner-beings, but now, at the waterhole of the mind, we are determined to meet them with love, compassion and equanimity until they live out their lifespans and naturally pass away. Why? Because with our expanded wisdom we know that both the flight and the fight will lead to further suffering, to a further disturbance of the mind.
At some point along the way, these beasts will stop coming to the pond. Large stretches of peacefulness will become the norm and only occasionally will a slight wind blow ripples across it to blur the usually perfect reflection of the surrounding forest. The effects will manifest in your daily life, interactions will be performed mindfully, and as the effluents weaken, the experience of life will asymptotically approach a quality that can only be described as “pure” or “meaningful”.

the 5 aggregates, 3 marks of existence, 4 noble truths and the 8 fold path again
With the non-arising of fear, clinging, anger, desire, the moments will all appear like stars to you, dazzling and distant, beyond your reach, but satisfyingly so. For only to be able to see them with your eyes is part of their beauty. And to see them fade away into morning and disappear into a sunlit sky, bedazzled by clouds against a surface-less blue, will seem altogether so miraculous that it will never occur to you that something better has been lost. This is the pleasant abiding that comes from letting go and concentrating on the present, because chewing on old memories is like eating stale food and fantasizing about the future is like eating junk food, both the past and the future are out of our control and to be attached to things which are uncontrollable will lead to suffering. And what cannot be controlled? Our physical experience, our perceptions, our feelings, our mental formulations, sensory consciousness. These 5 things are out of our control, they are subject to decay, and clinging to them leads to stress. That is to say, the “5 aggregates” bear the “3 marks of arisen phenomena”, which are non-self, impermanence and suffering.
The non-arising of these 5 aggregates is equivalent to the realization of Nibbana, or that to which the 3 marks do not apply. Nibbana alone does not decay and it alone is not bound up with suffering. When asked if Nibbana was a “self”, however -a word which in Pali implies a controllable nature as well as an abiding essence- the Buddha would respond with silence, careful not to answer in a way that might confuse his nuanced teaching with either the belief in an eternal soul or the belief in the annihilation of all conscious experience upon the death of the body. The nuanced view that he did hold, which is the cornerstone of his teaching, is laid out in what he called the “4 noble truths”. These four Truths are:
1. the truth of suffering: all aspects of living experience are stressful and end in death2. the truth of the cause of suffering: craving for worldly things, to become, and to destroy
3. the truth of the cessation of suffering: abandon craving and end suffering
4. the truth of the path: the 8 fold path that leads to the abandonment of craving
And what is this path? In the Buddha’s own words:
I saw an ancient path, an ancient road, traveled by the Rightly Self-awakened Ones of former times… just this noble eightfold path: right view, right aspiration, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration…I followed that path. Following it, I came to direct knowledge of suffering, direct knowledge of the origination of suffering, direct knowledge of the cessation of suffering, direct knowledge of the path leading to the cessation of suffering…Knowing that directly, I have revealed it to monks, nuns, male lay followers & female lay followers…

—Nagara Sutta

The main hall and the 9th century carving of Seokgamoni-bul at Golgulsa Temple in Gyeongju.

Hello Again Everyone!!

Introduction to the Temple:

Golgulsa Temple (Bone Cave Temple) was first established in the 6^th century by the saint, Gwangyu. Golgulsa Temple is situated in the ancient, and beautiful, former capital of Gyeongju. The temple has a beautiful 9^th century carving of Seokgamoni-bul on the face of Mt. Hamwol. And this carving is joined by 12 neighbouring grottos, which were former halls and residences at the temple. The most beautiful of these caves is the hall dedicated to Gwanseeum-bosal (The Bodhisattva of Compassion).

But Golgulsa Temple is most famous for the practice of Seonmudo, which is a Buddhist martial art. The practice of Seonmudo dates back to the Silla Dynasty, when the priests Wongwang and Wonhyo taught the martial art of mind and body to an elite corp of military personnel. Seonmudo was passed on from generation to generation until it was finally suppressed by Japanese colonizers during their occupation from 1910-1945. Finally, in the 1970’s, Seonmudo was revived under the watchful eye of the head monk Yangik. Training people started in the 1980’s.  And in 1990, a practice studio was built for monks and people to learn the ancient martial art. Now, the health and practice of Seonmudo is stronger than ever.

The Temple Stay program at Golgulsa Temple is the most diverse program in all of Korea. It offers NINEdifferent programs, and the program runs 365 days a year. For the more casual guest, you can enjoy the regular schedule, the day schedule, or a private relaxation schedule. For the more intense and specialized visitor, you can enjoy the instructor program, group martial arts learning, or training with Grandmaster Jeogun. It truly has something for everyone!

For more information on Golgulsa Temple.

(Courtesy of the Golgulsa Temple Stay website).

Directions:

First, you’ll have to get to Gyeongju. From Gyeongju, you can take either bus 100 or 150 that goes towards Gampo. You can catch this bus across from the intercity bus terminal. Get off at the Andong-ri intersection and walk the 20 minutes to the temple entrance. Keep your eyes open as there are only a couple signs that mark the way to Golgulsa Temple.

View 골굴사 in a larger map

General Schedule:

In total, Golgulsa Temple runs NINE different programs at the temple. Here are a few sample schedules for the three most popular Temple Stay programs at Golgulsa Temple.

A: The Golgulsa Temple Regular Schedule: This program runs from Monday until Saturday, and you can join it at any time.

Monday to Saturday Schedule:

4:00 – Wake Up
4:30 – Morning Chanting Service
5:00 – Sitting and Walking Meditation
6:30 – Breakfast
8:30 – Seonmudo Training
10:10 – 108 bows, meditation, and tea time
12:00 – Lunch
14:00 – Meditation (Mon/Wed/Fri) Archery (Tue/Thu/Sat)
15:00 – Community Work (every day except Sun.)
17:50 – Dinner
18:40 – Orientation
19:00 – Evening Chanting Service
19:30 – Seonmudo Training
22:00 – Bed Time (Lights off after 10pm)

Sunday Schedule :
4:00 – Wake Up
4:30 – Morning Chanting Service
5:00 – Sitting and Walking Meditation
5:50 – Barugongyang (Buddhist Ceremonial Meal)
8:30 – Tea and conversation
9:30 – Optional Excursion to local sites (extra charge-10,000 won per person)
12:00 – Lunch
15:00 – Seonmudo Demonstration
19:00 – Evening Chanting Service
19:30 – Seonmudo Training (only for those who stay 1 night)
22:00 – Bed time (Lights out at 10 pm)

(Courtesy of the Golgulsa Temple Stay website).

B: The Golgulsa Temple Daytime Schedule: In this program, there are three different kinds of schedules.

Program 1:

20,000 won, per person / in groups larger than 10 people / 2 hours in duration. Pilgrimage to the temple, watch Seonmudo performance and try Seonmudo training.

Program 2:
25,000 won per person / groups larger than 10 people / 2 and a half hours.
Pilgrimage to the temple, watch Seonmudo performance, try Seonmudo training and enjoy a temple meal.

Program 3:
30,000 won per person / group larger than 10 people / exceeding 3 hours.
Pilgrimage to the temple, watch Seonmudo performance, try Seonmudo training and enjoy a formal monastic temple meal (Baru-gong-yang).

(Courtesy of the Golgulsa Temple Stay website).

C: The Golgulsa Temple Relaxation Schedule: In this program, there is no set schedule; instead, people can stay at the temple just to relax or meditate.

Cost 70,000 won per night (private room)

1,500,000 won per month (private room)

30,000 won per night/per person (Normal room)

*(Temple Stay activities are not included. If you will want to join them you can always talk to us and choose some activities to attend after additional fees). Bedding is provided (bring your own towels and toiletries)
* Enquiries: 054-775-1689 d-kumkang@daum.net

Golgulsa Temple Information:

Address : San 304 Andong-ri, YangbukMyeon Gyeongju-si Gyeongsangbuk-do
Tel : +82-54-744-1689 / Fax : +82-54-745-0172
homepage : http://www.sunmudo.net
E-mail : d-kumkang@hotmail.com

Fees:

Adults: 50,000 won; Teens: 50,000 won; Under 13: 40,000 won (Regular Schedule)

Adults: 20,000 won; Teens: 20,000 won; Under 13: 0 won (Daytime Schedule)

Link:

Reservations for the Regular Schedule Program at Golgulsa Temple.

Reservations for the Daytime Schedule Program at Golgulsa Temple.

Reservations for the Relaxation Schedule Program at Golgulsa Temple.

The 9th century carving of Seokgamoni-bul at Golgulsa Temple in Gyeongju.

My Faith and My Yoga Mat – A Prayerful Pose.

Rolling up my yoga mat and placing it back in the basket, my thoughts wander to about a year ago. So much time has passed since then, so many people have come and gone, so many things have changed, including me. Especially me.

I’m truly thankful for Kaizen, and the people I’ve met there, especially Simon and Mindy. They are two people with a driving passion for what they do. They are dedicated masters of their arts, and they inspire me daily to improve myself as they strive for constant improvement as well. I’m also thankful for the friends I have made because of the way we can encourage, motivate, challenge and comfort each other. Kaizen is like my home away from home. It’s a community of people where I feel safe and comfortable. I never imagined that I would be where I am now a year after, with a newfound avidity for exercise, as well as practicing yoga… Yoga? Yes, yoga.

A year ago, I would’ve told you that I firmly believed practicing yoga was wrong, due to its Eastern religious roots. Christianity and yoga is a very controversial topic among Christians, but I never joined the debate. I didn’t want to question it, and I felt like I should let sleeping dogs lie. It wasn’t until Simon suggested during one of my consultations that I should try yoga that I started wondering about it.

That was the start of a journey that not only brought me to the point where I am now, but also to knowing my Savior better.

To me, this was uncharted territory and I decided to explore it. For I believe that one has to be convinced of what one does, through the help of the Holy Spirit, by constantly asking and seeking His guidance. In doing so, these Godly convictions are accompanied by the peace of God that surpasses all understanding, and it becomes the fundamental foundation on which I make my decisions. (Phil 4:6-7) For all people view things differently; all people have different opinions. Yet the Word of the Lord is true and will stand forever, and His Spirit will lead me according to His statutes.

Like many other things in life, this journey started with questions that needed answering.

Yoga… what is yoga, and can Christians do it?

The term “yoga” means “yoke” or “to unite,” as in uniting the body, mind and spirit. Yoga, in its original form, is an ancient Eastern religious practice, related to Hinduism, and it still remains part of several Hindu practices today. However, things and times have changed and the yoga practiced nowadays only slightly resembles the original practice. There are thousands of different ‘styles’ of yoga, since everybody experiences yoga differently. We all have a different view on ‘what yoga is’ – our own definition of yoga.

It is undeniable that Hinduism involves yoga; however, all yoga is not Hinduism.

The way I’ve experienced it, is that yoga mostly focuses on the physical postures (asana) and the breathing exercises (pranayama). From what I’ve learned, yoga combines the breath and movement to develop and strengthen the body.

Other people might argue that yoga is pagan. Yet there are so many examples of pagan traditions that have been co-opted by Christians and used for worship, for example Christmas and Easter festivities. We, as Christians, all know that we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on Christmas and not Santa Claus, a tree or even the gifts. Just the same, Easter is a time when we focus on Jesus’ sacrifice for us on the Cross and on His resurrection, not on the Easter bunny and Easter eggs. Yet, we still enjoy the fun festivities and the ideas associated with the latter.

So in my opinion, to say that Christians cannot take a practice that was intended for something else and use it to worship God, is to ignore the transformational power of Christ. For Christ came to set us free. We are no longer slaves, living under the law; we are sons and daughters of God, with His Spirit living within us. We also know that Satan has no power over us, unless we give it to him. Christ freed us from bondage.

Yoga, Hinduism and Idol Worship

As a Christian, I know and believe that there is only One God: the Holy Trinity.

4 Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one.” 5 For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”— 6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.”

1 Corinthians 8:4

31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

​​​​​​​​​ 1 Corinthians 10:31

Just as eating food cannot save me, in the same way, doing yoga does not determine my salvation; Jesus Christ does. He bought me at a very costly price – His own life. I do not worship idols through exercisng, for I know there is only one God, and He is the one who created me, who made my body and gave me the ability to exercise. Therefore, I will give thanks to God, and dedicate my yoga practice to Him daily.

If through practicing yoga, I cause a fellow Christian to stumble, it changes the situation, and I will stop practicing yoga for the sake of my fellow believer. But I have not yet encountered anyone who stumbled because of this reason. I experience my yoga practice as a time where I can meet God and connect with Him through, among others, meditating and praying while exercising. I believe it has become a part of my testimony.

Meditation and Looking Inward

Meditation is referenced throughout Scripture – Jesus did it, David did it and the Lord exhorted Joshua to do it.

8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

Joshua 1:8-9

I see meditation as being mindful of something, thinking about it, paying attention to it. But not only that, I also see it as a time to listen. To me (and this might be different for all believers) prayer and meditation are closely knit together. Prayer is, to me, a conversation between God and me; meditation is the act of listening to God. It is through meditation, and constant prayer, that I came to receive my answer from God regarding my yoga practice. Jesus said that when we pray, it should be in solitude and with few words. (Matthew 6:5-8)

Through meditation, I also became aware of my thoughts, feelings, behavior, and physiological changes, and I’m able to submit all of it under God’s will. I allow Him to align it with His will for my life in order for me to serve Him, and the people around me, better. I also found that you can meditate on the Word (Scriptures), creation (the work of God’s Hands – Psalm 9) and gratitude – God is omnipresent, when we seek Him, we will find Him. (Jeremiah 29:13)

And what about looking inward, when Christians should be looking out towards Jesus? As Christians we agree that nobody can come to the Father but by Christ (John 14:6). Jesus gave us His Holy Spirit to dwell within us and to speak to us. I can look inward to receive new strength and faith from the Holy Spirit who dwells in me to do God’s will.

And my yoga practice? Did it change me, or my faith?

Before I started practicing yoga, I was very uncertain regarding the implications it would have on my life and my faith. I watched several YouTube videos, I read many articles and studied the Scriptures, and I talked to many people, including my pastors about this, I even discussed my concerns with Simon and Mindy. Through constant prayer and seeking God’s wisdom, I found peace and blessings in doing yoga. I can honor God through my practice, knowing that it’s for Him alone that I do it, for there is no other God.

So how did I change? In the beginning of this article, I said that I changed. Not only did my view on yoga as a Christian change, but my view about my body changed as well. Exercising and yoga definitely changed me a lot. Yes, I gained confidence, strength, and many other qualities, and I learned to overcome obstacles, to reach for my goals, and to believe in myself. But, the one thing that changed and had a huge impact on my relationship with God was my perspective on my own body and how I view myself.

When my eldest sister was pregnant with her son, she made a book, documenting the changes in her body every week of maternity as her little boy grew inside her. I remember talking with her about the wonder, no, the miracle of life. How fragile and precious it is. I have always viewed life as precious and as a miracle; just not my own. I have often seen my faults, the areas where I lack, all the parts that aren’t ‘perfect, beautiful, or good enough’, but I have never seen my own body as a miracle or as something precious. I remember the first time I was able to do a yoga pose and balance correctly. It opened up a new world. My body did something that it has never done before, something that I didn’t even know it could do. It clearly wasn’t out of my own power. No, it was through Christ, for He gives me the strength to do all things.

3 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

​​​​​​​​​​Philippians 4:13

This has been my motto since I joined Kaizen. Nothing is impossible. Difficult doesn’t mean impossible. It simply means you have to work hard.

Nowadays, every time I manage to successfully do a new pose, I thank God for the way He made my body, and I stand in awe, knowing that He knows my body, my heart and my soul way better than I do myself. I truly am fearfully and wonderfully made, intricately woven together. (Psalm 139)

Yoga is just one part of my journey at Kaizen, but it’s a part that I truly enjoy and where I can grow.

Applying yoga in everyday life? Oh, yes!

I’ve learned a couple of things in my yoga classes that I’ve found to be just as applicable in everyday life.

1) Breathe in, breathe out– most of us are living a fast paced life where we struggle to find time for everything. We’re always in a rush, with something else waiting to be ticked off our never-ending ‘to-do’ lists. It’s stressful and it’s hard to catch our breath in times like these. Yoga taught me to remember to breathe. It doesn’t change the intensity of the pose, but it makes it easier to bear; breathe in, and let the tension go.
2) We’re all different– just because your neighbor manages to successfully complete a pose, doesn’t mean you have to. It’s not a competition, just strive to be better than you were yesterday, which brings me to the next point…
3) Some days you get it, others you don’t and that’s okay– Don’t tie yourself to successes or failures. If you tie yourself to failure, you’ll start to believe that you cannot achieve the goal. Like Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re always right.” But be careful not to tie yourself to successes either. Enjoy your success, appreciate it and give thanks for it, but then let it go, because there’s always room for improvement. Remember, it’s okay to fail. We all have to practice and work on our technique. That’s how we grow. We can’t force our body into a pose it’s not ready for yet. If we do, we might just end up hurting ourselves, thereby taking us further away from our goal. The same goes in life: sometimes we just need to be patient. We cannot force things to go the way we want them to.
4) Preparing is important– we cannot simply enter a pose, we need to prepare for it. More often than not, it means to do other poses, and warming up our bodies in order to prevent injuries. Sometimes we need to change a move, or modify it towards our bodies’ need; the important part is to remember that each move has a purpose. Life is often like that, each small piece has a purpose in the bigger picture, even though we’re not always aware of it.
5) Don’t focus on the tension, but be sure to align– when I’m in a difficult pose, I tend to tense up. My shoulders, neck and my back muscles will immediately contract, and my face will look extra strained. The last thing I want to think about is my technique an alignment. However, when my body is properly aligned, the pose becomes so much easier. In the same way, I have to make sure that my life is in line with God’s plan for me; otherwise everything seems like chaos and it becomes quite overwhelming.
6) Sometimes you have to do the opposite in order to improve; every pose has a much needed counter pose. To grow means to get out of your comfort zone – only outside our comfort zones can we truly improve.
7) Rest and relaxation is important, so slow down! In every class, during savasana, I realize this and come to appreciate the opportunity to do nothing and give my body a break.
To wrap it up…

Discernment is profoundly important in any Christian’s life. In the yoga class we should continually evaluate our intentions and actions, just like everything else we do during the day. We should submit it all to God, and glorify Him alone in everything we do. Just like I invite Christ into my home, my classroom, my relationships and my heart, in the same way, I invite Him into my yoga practice.

I believe that it is up to each individual to find what yoga means to them, how they want to practice and interpret it and how they want to use it.

My pastor gave me Scripture from Romans 14:23 which states, “But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.” He told me that, in some way, if I feel that practicing yoga is wrong, then perhaps for me it is wrong. I prayed about it a lot, and decided to try one class. Before the class, as well as during the class, I prayed, asking the Spirit to make me feel uneasy and very uncomfortable if I should not be there; in such a way that I would have no doubt. I found that the yoga class was not a spiritual experience for me; rather a very challenging form of exercise that I enjoyed. Since I started practicing yoga, my faith has grown. I am fully aware of the fact that yoga does have deep roots in Hinduism and pantheism, which is why I still pray before, and during every class, that the Spirit will be present and will make me aware whenever I move away from the Lord’s will. My desire is to serve Him and to be a witness for Him. If yoga becomes a hindrance, I will gladly give it up, but if in any way, He can use it to His glory, I am His instrument and would like to be used by Him for His Kingdom and glory, not my own.

So every day when I unroll my yoga mat, I am excited to approach another class with Him, to attempt the physical challenges that await and I invite Christ to be present in my practice. I ask Him to help me, not only with the physical part, but that I will glorify Him whether I succeed or not, and that I may come to know Him more; that He will use me, even in a yoga class and help me to live in a way that will shine His light to those around me.

When my co-teacher opened the door to my apartment, I don’t know what I was expecting. Here, around the corner of the middle school that i work at, in a small building three floors up. When she opened the door, I thought that I really had the worst luck in the world.

I was greeted by a horrible mildew smell and absolute filth. The place seemed like it had been used by four people and then ditched for five years. The floors were caked with dust. The sheets smelled bad. The kitchen was covered in an ungodly amount of food residue and spilled sugar. Laundry room reeked. The place was awful.

After this first look, all I could do was drop off my luggage and head off to the school to meet my superiors for the first time. But I made a mistake that would make matters worse – I locked the inside door. When I came back from the school visit, my co-teacher and I were bewildered that the second key on the ring didn’t work. All of my money and possessions were in that hellhole, locked up. We called the landlady but she was out. I had to go back to the school while my co-teacher called a locksmith.

Half an hour later at the apartment, the locksmith hobbles over and picks the lock.  The landlady, back from her excursion, also came to see the spectacle. From what I could understand, she asked the locksmith how much it would cost to change the lock but she determined that it was too expensive… I picked up some money and off to Homeplus we went.

Just when I thought I had the lousiest luck that day, things turned around. While shopping, my co-teacher and I ran into two students from school. One was quite bold with her English, a bit tomboy-ish and the other was a little more reserved. They talked to my co-teacher and she told me that they wanted to help me shop. One started pushing the cart and I asked them about what foods I should get. It was so cute ^^ They also wanted to help carry all the things to my apartment. My co-teacher bought them ice cream and we went back to the apartment.

When we got there, my door was already open…inside was the landlady ahjumma cleaning the apartment because she felt bad. I said goodbye to the students as my co-teacher took them home, and I immediately started cleaning with the ahjumma. She has a strong Daegu accent and can’t speak a word of English but I managed to use a few Korean expressions with her and converse as we cleaned and scrubbed side by side. Despite the language barrier, we appreciated each other’s company. I insisted multiple times in Korean that “I’ll do it” but she didn’t want to leave T___T She stayed until around 11pm.

The next day after class and a solo trip to Homeplus, she was there again, this time washing the sheets. While it was going we sat on the floor and watched TV together. It was surprising when she started singing along to one of the Trot songs playing, my heart melted a little.  I told her she has a pretty voice LOL I really stretched my Korean abilities to its absolute limits in the few days I’ve been here. I don’t know how anyone could manage without knowing any Korean at all. When she was leaving I offered her Peppero but she politely refused and pointed to her teeth. I’ll have to think of something better to give her.

Right now I’m still cleaning my apartment, the kitchen is taking two days at this rate but at least I’ll know that things are clean. The girl who lived there before me, if I meet her, she better run the other way because the filth she left behind was straight up illegal.  With every blackened paper towel I hate her more, but hopefully when my apartment starts smelling nicer I”ll forget about my murder plans.

So why didn’t I simply move or request a new apartment? Because I want to make this work. I don’t need a fancy apartment or new appliances, I just need a place to come back to. It may be tough to live there but it’s gotten better. And, of course, my landlady is awesome :)

Our last makgeolli making class was such a success, we thought ‘Why not learn how to cook up a mean Jeon to go with our homebrew?’ So next Saturday, the Head Chef at deliciously awesome Muldwinda will hold a class to show us the ropes. And just in time to learn before Chuseok!

When: September 14th, 5pm
Where: Muldwinda (Chungjeongno Station)
Cost: 30,000₩
What: Instruction of how to cook your own variety of mixed jeon, followed by some top shelf makgeolli to go with it.

If you would like to join us, send an email to mmpkorea@gmail.com. Spots are limited, so get those emails in quick!

What’s in a brand name? 

When I was in the Philippines, I didn’t care much about brand names. Even when I gave gifts to family and friends, I wasn’t very particular about the brand of the gift. Sure, I spent a lot of time searching for the best present, and it should have good quality, too, but the best present or a good quality gift doesn’t necessarily have to be pricey or luxurious. This is not the case in South Korea. Koreans care a lot about brands, and they don’t mind spending an awful lot of money on luxury brands or top-of-the-line products when they buy presents. Look around you, even in small towns, you will find brand name stores or shops selling expensive gift sets. Last weekend, we celebrated my 시어머님’s (si omonim: mother-in-law) birthday. My husband and I agreed that this year we would give her a gift instead of money, so I went to Lotte Depatment Store  to buy her something special. As a 며느리 (myeonori: daughter-in-law), it’s my responsibility to prepare my mother-in-law’s present. It should be expensive. It should bear the name of a popular brand for 아줌마 (ajumma: a term for married or middle-aged woman). It took me three hours looking for the perfect pair of pants and blouse for her, but good thing, end-of-season sale has started, so I didn’t spend more than I expected. If I did, it wouldn’t have been such a big deal, because I like my mother-in-law, but then our bills… ugh!

If you are giving your 시부모님 (si bumonim: parents-in-law) presents, make sure that you are ready to spend money for the best gift. We never cease to please the in-laws, especially on special occasions.

It’s all about the money!

The best gift to give your Korean parents-in-law is actually money, but then you can’t just give them any amount. I suggest, you buy them gifts for birthdays or Parents’ Day, and give money on the two most important occasions, Chuseok and Seollal. Giving money to the parents-in-law is mandatory on these two occasions. In my husband’s family, we bow to all the elders on Seollal, so we don’t give money only to my parents-in-law, but also to the eldest uncle. Some of his cousins give to other uncles, too. I told my husband that we are not rich to give money to all his uncles, so we give only to the eldest uncle, since he is the one who hosts the family gathering. My husband agreed. Traditional Korean families follow this custom of giving money to the elders. On the other hand, the elders give money to the children. (Read more about Seollal.)

Money as a gift is given not only on Chuseok and Seollal, but also on weddings and birthdays. Think of it this way: when you attend a wedding or a big birthday party like 돌 (dol: a baby’s first birthday), you are actually paying for the food you eat. Weddings in Korea and dol parties are very expensive, so many guests are invited to help shoulder the expenses.

How much money gift should I give?

The money gift you give to your parents-in-law on Chuseok andSeollal depends on how generous you want to be, but the least amount of money should be 100,000 – 150,000 KRW (90 – 135 USD) for each of them.

If you will be attending a wedding or a dol party alone, and you are not a close friend of the couple or the family, 30,000 or 50,000 KRW (27 or 45 USD) is a fair amount of money to put into the wedding envelope. Never give 40,000 KRW, as “4″ is considered an unlucky number in Korea. My husband and I always give 100,000 KRW (90 USD) to an acquaintance, because we are attending as a couple. To a friend, we don’t mind giving 150,000 or 200,000 KRW  (135 or 180 USD). To a family member, we give more.

If you are very close to the couple getting married, you can give them a present instead of money. Just make sure the present is something that will be useful to them. Like I said earlier, it “can’t be just any gift”. Also, you may want to consider giving your money gift personally to the couple, instead of handing it in at the entrance of the wedding hall where the money gifts are received and recorded. The money gift you give to the person in charge of the registration will not go to the couple. The parents will use it to pay for the wedding. Some of my husband’s friends slipped their money gifts into my bag. Another friend who came late handed my husband his money gift. He didn’t go to the registration.

My husband’s boss put 1 million KRW (900 USD) into the envelope, but we didn’t have any idea that he gave a large amount until after our honeymoon. Guests with higher social status or high position in a company are expected to give bigger cash gifts. (I wonder if my husband and I will still be attending weddings when he’s already a CEO. ^^)

None of our money gifts on our wedding landed in our hands. That time, I thought it was fair, because my parents-in-law were the ones who paid for our wedding, but later, I’ve learned from my Korean friends that nowadays, some Korean parents give half of the money gifts to the couple to help them start their own savings. (Read more about money gifts in Korea.)

You can never go wrong with gold.

In Korea, the most generous first birthday gift you can give to a child (or his parents) is a 24-karat gold ring. Jewelry shops in Korea sell tiny gold rings, bracelets and other accesories for dol. Now why would you give gold to a baby? Koreans believe that gold does not depreciate, so it’s the most valuable gift you can give to a child. These days, however, only family and some close friends follow this tradition, as gold has become very costly. Most guests prefer to give money.

Are you meeting your Korean parents-in-law for the first time? Don’t forget the gift. 

When I came to Korea a month after my wedding, I brought presents for my husband’s family: bags for my mother-in-law and my sisters-in-law, belts for my brothers-in-law, and a special wine for my 시아버님 (father-in-law). My mom had been saving that wine for my father-in-law, because she heard that he likes wine. It’s a Chinese wine, but 아버님 (Abonim) didn’t drink it. I asked my husband why Abonim hasn’t even tasted it. He said it’s because it’s “made in China”. “It’s Chinese wine”, I told him, “not the cheap kind.” “It doesn’t matter,” he replied, “Next time, just buy him Johnnie Walker or Jack Daniels.” From then on, every time I come home to Korea after vacation, I buy 아버님 branded wine, whiskey or cognac. I also stopped giving my sisters-in-law bags. As mentioned earlier, brand names are quite important to Koreans. If the brand of the bag is not familiar to them, no matter how expensive the bag is, they would think it’s cheap. On the other hand, my other sister-in-law who had been to the Philippines many times appreciates Filipino-made bags. In fact, we went shopping for bags together in the Philippines. I sometimes see her using the bags I gave her. =) 

Koreans prefer a gift from another country that is either rare or very expensive in Korea. If your mother-in-law likes jewelry, you can give her pearls. Pearls cost a lot here. Handmade or native bags also make a lovely gift. I rarely see Korean women use native bags. Omonim doesn’t wear jewelry, so I didn’t buy her pearls. She’s not crazy about bags either. My sister-in-law and I gave her bags and purses, but she rarely uses them. She’s a very simple woman who is not into accessories, so I always have a hard time preparing her gift… but unlike my father-in-law, she is more appreciative.

Abonim loves coconut wine, but Korea does not have this kind of wine. My country is famous for products made out of coconut, so every time hubby and I have our vacation in the Philippines, we buy coconut wine for Abonim, my brothers-in-law and our friends.

If you are meeting your parents-in-law for the first time, think of a product your country is best known for or something that can’t easily be found in Korea. (Read more about Korean parents-in-law.)

Although preparing gifts on the most important occasions in Korea can be stressful, there are times when you don’t need to break the bank just to please the person you are giving a gift to. Gift-giving here can also be simple, unpretentious, exciting and gratifying. 

What can I bring when I visit a Korean family’s home?

When your Korean friend invites you to his home, especially if it’s the first time,  never go to his house empty-handed. It’s common courtesy. Flowers, fruits or wine are some of the gifts you can bring. If your friend has kids, you can prepare some goodies for them, too. When my husband and I visit his friends, even just for a drink, I make sure that we have something for them. In return, his friends sometimes send us gifts of fruit or food.

If you are invited to a housewarming party, the usual gifts to bring are laundry detergent, bundles of tissue or toilet paper, candles and matches or anything that is used in the house. Sometimes, Koreans give plants or flowers in pots.

If you are visiting on Chuseok or Seollal, there are gift sets in any supermarket or department store that you can purchase a few days before or during the holidays. The gift sets are usually food or drink, and their prices range from the affordable ones to the insanely overpriced items.

Is it really give-and-take?

Koreans are very thoughtful. They like to give the best and most lavish gifts. In return, they expect to get gifts of the same worth. (Read more about Korean thoughtfulness.)

My husband calls it give-and-take, but to me it is nothing like that. I believe that when you give a gift, you don’t expect anything in return. When you receive a gift, you appreciate it no matter how simple it is. Do you ever wonder why the amount of each money gift given on a Korean wedding is recorded along with the name of the giver? This is not done, so that the couple can send thank-you notes to the guests. The money gifts are recorded, so that the couple’s parents know who gave the least and the most amount, and of course, so that they can keep track of how much money was collected. When one of the guests gets married or has a big party, the couple (or his parents) can give the same amount that the guest has given them on their wedding.

Give-and-take is also practiced in the workplace. Simple favors are sometimes returned in the form of gifts. Traditionally, Korean businessmen give gifts to those who have assisted them or may help them in the future. It is also normal for businessmen to exchange gifts when they meet for the first time or make business deals. These are ways of establishing good business relationship in Korea.

This is the way Koreans say “Thank you”.  

When I was teaching in an international school, Korean parents would give teachers gifts even when there was no special occasion. At first, we were reluctant to receive the presents, but we were told by one of the Korean moms that giving gifts to teachers is normal in Korea. There was even a time when I was given money in a card envelope. I was thinking of giving the money back, but a Korean friend advised me not to do that, because returning a gift to a Korean parent is very rude. In other countries, accepting presents (or money gifts) from a student’s parent may be perceived as a form of bribery, but in Korea it is the parent’s way of saying “Thank you for teaching my child”. 

Let’s say you offer your Korean colleague a sandwich. The next day, he brings you a lunchbox withkimbop (rice rolls), fruit or other lunchbox food. You can simply thank your thoughtful colleague or be extra nice by returning the lunchbox with food in it. (Read more about this topic.)

This month, we are going to celebrate Chuseok. I’m starting to save money for gift expenses. I grew up in a country where a simple gift, even one that doesn’t cost much, can easily make someone happy, but now I live in a country where there are higher standards set on gift-giving. Having lived in Korea for years, I’ve gotten used to the idea of giving a gift to show respect or establish rapport rather than to give a gift simply because you care. 

A waterfall and plunge pool in Jeri-on, Changnyeong is our new go to place to cool off. It is a short bike ride away and it is very pretty. Another place we will miss when we leave Koreae!

David and I went to the Philippines for our summer vacation. As I have mentioned before our Korean boss likes us to write a report about what we done and where we went. I am not sure whether is it because he is interested or nosy! LOL David wrote the report this time and he mentioned that we got engaged. Whoop! We were expecting our boss to read the report and ask us all about it. He didn’t. Is this proof  that our suspicions are correct and that the dozens of reports we write are never read?! (or maybe he just doesn’t care! LOL)

Changnyeong English Village

Vacation Report 2013

David Moxon and Rebecca Rhone

The vacation finally arrived and was very welcome after a long spell of teaching since the winter. We took a bus to Seoul on the Friday night directly after we finished work. It was nice to be in Seoul early so we could do some last minute vacation shopping. We spent the Saturday shopping around Myeongdong before taking a bus to stay closer to the airport for the Saturday night. After checking in we had an early night as our flight was early on the Sunday morning.

          We awoke early and checked in with no problems and not before long, we were airborne. Our first flight was five hours. We had to transfer to a different terminal in Manila for our second flight. Our next flight took us to Puerto Princesa. This was around an hour and went by quickly. We arrived at our hotel at around 8pm and went out for some dinner. It was a great chance to try our first taste of Filipino food.

           The next morning a minibus came to pick us up from the hotel to take us on a trip to our final destination, El Nido. The bus ride took seven hours including a lunch stop so we were relieved to get to our final destination. Again, we unpacked and headed out to explore the town. There was a power cut so we headed to one of the few places I town that had a generator. Here we ate dinner and made a few friends.

           The next morning we awoke early and decided to visit a local beach, Las Cabanas. It was really picturesque and it was nice to relax after two days of travel. We spent the day lounging on the beach and swimming. We were lucky enough to see our first sea turtle.

           One of the main attractions of El Nido is the oceanic park. We spent the next few days exploring the area via boat. The boats, called Bancas, take around eight people to visit the different beaches and interesting rock formations. It was stunningly beautiful.

           One day we decided to hire a kayak for the day. Becky and I paddled to a deserted island and spent the day paddling from one beach to the next. We took all of our supplies and had snacks and picnics as we went. It was a glorious day. I had secretly booked a romantic meal on a private beach for that evening so I told Becky we had to go back to the hotel to get ready. At 5pm a private boat came to pick us up and take us to a special beach. A chef prepared our dinner and we ate as we watched the sunset. Before dessert I asked Becky to marry me, I was relieved when she said yes. This was a very special day indeed.

           Our final day was spent learning a new sport, Paddle boarding. It is similar to kayaking but you stand up with a long paddle to propel yourself through the water. It was great fun but I fell in a few time, all part of the fun.

           All too soon it was time to head home. We took the journey in reverse order, this time there were a few complications. Our airline, Zest Air was not allowed to fly, so we had to be transferred to other airlines, which resulted in a few delays and a little stress. We were lucky though as some other passengers were highly inconvenienced, to the tune of being delayed for five days. We had a night in Manila where we stayed in a very nice hotel and managed to go to the giant ‘Mall of Asia’ in Manila before heading to the airport. At this point we didn’t know how we were going to get back to Korea so we were really happy when we were able to board our flight home. We took a bus from Incheon directly to Masan and took a local bus from their back to CEV. We had a great holiday but were excited to get back to CEV and conclude our Korean adventure.

RT @aclipse: Exploring Korea Underwater: The Busan Aquarium http://t.co/hHaEh78fMV

 The front facade to Samyeongam Hermitage at Tongdosa Temple.

Hello Again Everyone!!

There are just so many beautiful and well kept hermitages at Tongdosa Temple. In this case, the Story Of… discusses Samyeongam Hermitage, which is part of a collection of hermitages that surrounds Tongdosa Temple.

When I first visited Samyeongam Hermitage back in 2004, I was blown away by its beauty. I’ve been to my fair share of smaller sized hermitages associated with much larger temples, but Samyeongam Hermitage surpasses most of them. With the twin Koi ponds out in front of the elevated hermitage courtyard, as well as the two pavilions that stretch out over these ponds and the mountains that frame Samyeongam Hermitage, and this hermitage has both natural and artificial beauty.

 The beautiful pavilion that overlooks the equally beautiful Koi pond.

This beauty is re-affirmed to me each of the handful of times that I’ve re-visited the hermitage throughout the years. But the most memorable moment came in 2012, when I was out taking pictures of the hermitage’s courtyard. The head monk at the hermitage noticed me as he came out of the monks’ quarters. With a passing smile between us, he continued on his way, and I on mine. I continued onto the main hall, where I took some pictures inside the hall while there were no visitors. The head monk noticed this and nicely told me that I should hurry because his morning prayer service was about to start. After that, he disappeared for a bit.

Wanting to get a few more pictures from the hermitage’s courtyard, and down onto the twin Koi ponds, I hovered around one of the pavilions. Suddenly, the window to one of the monks’ quarters swung open. It just so happened to be the head monk, again, holding out a bowl of peanuts for my wife and I. After we took the bowl, he reached down and grabbed some bread, as well. He then motioned us towards the pavilion to enjoy the view and enjoy what he had given us. He then said that if we were still around after the hour long morning prayer, he would like to join us. Unfortunately, we already had plans; otherwise, I’m sure it would have been yet another great conversation with a Korean Buddhist monk.

It’s kind of funny that you set off in exploring a Korean temple or hermitage and you end up eating a bowl of peanuts provided to you by the head monk of a hermitage.

For more information on Samyeongam Hermitage.

 The view from the restive pavilion.