Locality Summer School

 Before I took part in the Locality Summer School, I had never been to Korea before. Despite the fact that I have studied this country for three years I knew it only from the texts of scientific articles, textbooks and TV dramas. Preparing for long and challenging internship in one of the Korean universities I wanted to try myself in getting known with the country of studies at a short program. For example, one or two weeks would be fine to make up my mind. The program of Locality Summer School, which was held in a beautiful small town near Seoul named Yonin, suited perfectly for this. The goal of my participation in this program was not just to get acquainted with culture and traditions of South Korea but to find out what the life in this country looks like how its people behave and how a foreigner to behave among them. First of all I wanted to come up with an opinion about what is happening in Korea what its people think how the life in this country flows. And my expectations have been met in full by the program of the Locality Summer School. Although the masterfully worked out schedule did not give the participants even a single minute to lay around but the training was not stressful at the same time.

 Thanks to the efforts of Korean professors staff, team captains and just ordinary Korean students even a person is not proficient in Korean won’t feel uncomfortable. All the tasks that we had to perform during the program we did together and I always knew that I can rely on my team. If something was not clear for me on the Korean my coworkers willingly explained to me in Russian, so each of us trained the language, practiced in the language of studying.

 Before I arrived in Korea, I thought that I would experience difficulties in understanding the language of communication but thanks to the joint efforts of my team the multicultural barrier has been overcome. Thanks to dozens of various assignments and activities I had no time to feel sad. I thought that the strict adherence to the schedule would be rather boring but during the program I was overwhelmed with positive emotions.

 Thanks to the participation in the Locality Summer School now I can easily start a conversation with an absolutely unfamiliar person and attract the stranger. It became easier for me to get acquainted with people and talk to them without filling embraced. Also, I realized what a real teamwork looks like when each participant makes a efficient contribution to get a common goal. In the course of the implementation of the general project dedicated to social networks each member of my team introduced his irreplaceable part into it nobody was procrastinating. We together made a plan of attractions in Seoul, which we visited to highlight in our project. In the Find Your Own Local Sports in Korea section of Summer School program we visited the Leeum Museum and Pcban.

 I myself am interested in the history, culture and literature of Korea so for Guided Tour To Seoul part I chose the History Museum, the Museum of Hangul, the Royal Palace Gyeongbokgung, the Sodemun Prison and the Museum of Modern Art. Before I visited Sodemun prison I thought that the texts about the Japanese occupation and the Korean War written by the Koreans are rather biased. Nobody likes the position of the colony. But after I saw with my own eyes the conditions in which the prisoners lived, what inhuman tortures they endured, how they worked without food and rest, I was imbued with the patriotism and steadfastness of the Korean people. Memories of the survivors, recorded interviews with them, real photos of that time made me believe that a man is capable of everything. A modest but majestic memorial built to commemorate in memory of the dead imprinted me with its mysteriousness and unusualness. And the actual fingerprints of the inmates' feet in front of their rooms and photographs inspired me with horror and respect at the same time. I looked into the eyes of the real heroes of a long walk through eternity and was proud of the fact that we also have a glorious history.

 The Museum of Modern Art showed the country's current realities and the psychology of people as well as possible. Especially I was amazed by the exposure of the burning white screens of computers, smartphones and tablets. The visitor stood in a closed white circle of screens and felt as the screens sucked him inside. It was impossible to see anything else besides the screens when standing in front of this exposition. There are only screens, screens, screens. As if they were pushing portals into a strange, frightening world, they attracted my eyesight, and I was thrown into the cold or the heat. Time seemed to stop then. The screens literally sucked out the vary soul, washed out the whole being. There are only screens around. The whole world is one white screen. And people are obeying puppets. It is frightening. Koreans understand the modern problem of people's dependence on gadgets, understand the whole horror and helplessness of the situation.

 The royal palace captured my heart with its colorful architecture, which is so characteristic of the eastern civilizations, the cradle of which is China. But at the same time to consider Gyeongbokkung as a cast of Chinese palaces is certainly a mistake. There is a note of Korean proud independence and authenticity throughout the ensemble. It is the magical inspiration, as if I'm passing through time and space, being transported to the era of the Vans wasn’t spoilt even by the crowds of tourists around. Truly eastern in its unhurried and colorful dress silk, changing the guard also touched my heart. Followed by the melodious music of Korean traditional instruments the procession of the guard gracefully floated along the crowd and paced in military style in the same time. It is an amazing combination.

 The Museum of Korean writing struck with its modesty and at the same time silent monumentality. Sometimes to say a lot you just need to keep silent. This museum just perfectly covers this simple truth. The whole museum is one round hall with scrolls on the wall, on which gradually the hieroglyphs turn into Hangeul. And passing this museum, I involuntarily wondered how patriotic the Korean people are. How much they love and appreciate their country, language, their rulers. How proud they are of their country, not ashamed of even the most difficult pages of history. How many other nations exist that can boast that they have an alphabet museum? They do seem to have a lot of. 
 

 We literally ran to the Historical Museum. But I still had time to look at the elegant vases of the Korah era. Light green in color, as if made of a serpentine or a little whirlwind, they strangely for a long time riveted a glance. How could people then, in the distant 12th century, create such a beauty? And the main thing is such a solid, passed through the centuries, finally to occupy a place of honor behind a thick mirror on a soft cushion in front of the audience?

 White marble flowerpots permeated with thin black strips touched me no less. All the time while we walked I struggled with the desire to touch them. Touch the past. To feel the cold of the age-old stone under my skin. The statues of Buddha and Bodhisattva, the crowns of the Vans, ancient daggers, mock-ups of the houses of the aristocracy and the poor, all this was done with incredible accuracy repeating the history. Visiting the historical museum, even a person who knew nothing about the history of Korea comes out from there with a clear idea of ​​how people lived in that era. And two nights spent in a hanok, a traditional Korean house and did only make me feel like a heroine of a historical drama, but helped me to understand better many of those features of the behavior of Koreans, which previously seemed strange to me. For example, when I just arrived and moved into the room, I went right there in the sneakers. And it was necessary to remove them and leave at the door. There is no furniture in the traditional Korean house. They sleep, eat, sit, all on the floor. That’s why they take off their shoes when entering the room.

 Also, during my journey, my team tried to uncover in front of me all the strings of its mysterious Korean soul, and the way to the heart, no matter the man or woman lies through the stomach. One of the most important components of the unique Korean culture is certainly the food. It may seem tasty, tasteless or just strange, but to taste Korea, you have to eat traditional meals. Koreans can’t cook any European cuisine, they still cook it in their own way, in Korean. It should be noted such a feature of Korean cuisine, like sweet in combination with spicy. Everything in the understanding of the Koreans should be either sticky sweet, or so hot that tears come from the eyes. Perhaps this is due to the peculiarities of the climate there. It is very hot and wet. They eat hot and spicy meal, so that the body chills itself. A sweet seize to wash down the fire inside. Foreigners may not like this. It is interesting to try an unusual meal for a single time, but it is impossible to try unusual meal through the day long. I missed fresh fruits and vegetables, I would happily exchange for them all the offered sweets and tasteless rice, used instead of bread. The caloric and sweet food of Korea is created to make up the calories lost in the heat, but a foreigner, gets bored quickly from endless rice and noodles, but Western food there is very expensive and only partially Western one.

Korean people themselves are certainly open and sociable, loving to assemble into big noisy companies. Koreans love to eat in a big company, this is a kind of ritual that must be observed. Therefore, it was always awkward for me to have dinner, lunch and breakfast in the continuous cacophony of different voices, where I was constantly touched, asked if taste is good to me, shared food with me and, in turn, climbed into the my plate. I did not know what to answer, what to do. All the same, the Russians are more individualistic, more introvert. In Russia, meal is more intimate process.

 In my opinion, Koreans smoke a lot and drink a lot. A farewell party arranged in honor of me on the day of departure lasted until dawn. There is an opinion that Russians drink a lot. But this was a regular student's party, not even the most ardent celebration of the New Year. I was struck by this feature. Before that I watched this only through Korean serials, so I made a discount on the director's intention and the actors' play. But it was not a game. It was a real life. It shocked me.

 From the lectures of Korean professors who tried not to lead us into boredom, I realized that Korean society is still rather conservative, although it tries to adhere to progressive positions and convince the whole world of it. At one of the last lectures on economics and foreign investment, we were told about how many countries Korea has local agreements with that is a member of the WTO, but at the same time mentioned how ordinary citizens protested against signing agreements with the European Union. Conservatives, they fervently wished to leave the domestic market intact, not allowing import of foreign goods. Another clear example of xenophobia in Korea is their emphasized pride in authenticity. A professor who read about Korean public holidays more than once consciously or unconsciously stressed that such important holidays as in Korea are nowhere in the world, and foreigners are not able to imbue them. On the streets, especially near the markets, you can often catch on yourself a haughty look "you do not eat right, do not keep it right, you're not going right. You're a foreigner."And yet Koreans are friendly and polite anytime. Koreans are used to working honestly and appreciate and respect others. From the trip to Korea and the participation of the Locality Summer School, I realized that Korea has a great potential for further development, because despite the already achieved, they do not count themselves as a developed country.

 I'm certainly interested in this bright, magnificent and versatile country called South Korea, it's like a brand new airplane filled with tanks, standing on the runway and just about ready to take off. I would really like to catch this flight to the future, bearing in mind that the gate is open and the boarding is going on.