Today is my last day in Seoul. To commemorate my final day, I followed my uncle, aunt, and cousin to mass. From the little I have seen, adult Korean Catholics are pretty different than adult Korean Protestants. While Korean Protestants are extremely emotional and vocal during service, Korean Catholics are...not. It was quite strange for me to be in a service in Seoul where people weren't raising their hands or crying out. I was lost for most of the service since I didn't understand the prayers and a large part of the sermon, but I'm glad I went (though I probably wouldn't go back). The presence of Christian churches in Seoul amazes me. For example, there are tons of people passing out handouts on the subways and popular streets about churches. (There are also old people with megaphones yelling to the pedestrians that they are all going to hell and must repent now. But unlike the nice people with the handouts and free refreshments, no one pays that much attention to the yellers.) In fact, there are a bunch of ads for churches on the subway map. (These maps have been faithfully guiding me these past two months. I will miss the multi-colored, multilingual, and extremely clean Seoul subway system.) It's safe to assume that the exterior of the church is a good representation of the economic background of the neighborhood. In the wealthy neighborhoods, the churches are gorgeous and immaculate buildings (e.g., Onnuri). In poorer neighborhoods, churches can be dilapidated buildings.
Back to my leaving the country: a part of me is happy to leave the unbearable humidity and monsoon season, but I am going to miss my relatives, even the crazy ones. And the food! I ate so much here and everything I ate was delicious. Even curry pizza. I look forward to chillaxing at home (call me if you live near me!) but I'm going to miss Seoul. I learned a lot, both about English's role in Korean society and about my own family. South Korea is an interesting country, historically and currently, and it was fun to look at Korean society and culture through my Korean-American eyes, though I can't stand Korean pop music any longer. (I get confused with all the girl and boy bands. They all look and sound the same.) I hope to make it back to the motherland soon!
Susan
PS On the next blog post of "Till We Have Faces"...
