I went to the Korean War Memorial and museum in Seoul today. I've never been there, although I came close to going a few times. It's interesting to go there for me, in part, because it's sited on land that was still part of the Yongsan Garrison (US Military command base in Korea) when I was first here in 1991. Being in the Yongsan area always makes me have strong recollections of when I was here in Korea in the Army.
The museum had a few interesting aspects. I actually enjoyed the displays on the first floor, about earlier Korean military history (i.e. back from 19th c. and earlier) than about the Korean war. Modern state nationalism and ideology-driven conflicts, in all their manifestations, often leave me feeling rather negative about the human condition. I suppose the earlier stuff is more interesting because it's less relevant… I can kind of look at is a broad swathe of almost literary background, which is always the way I best enjoy reading history, I guess.
I've had people asking me for "more videos." I have lots of "footage" (kind of an outdated term in the age of gigabytes of storage on harddrives or USB sticks), but I need to put some things together. Maybe I'll work on something tomorrow. I'm going to visit my former job and say a final goodbye to some of my students and coworkers in the afternoon, but hadn't really decided on something for the morning yet.
I've been feeling rather conflicted the last few days about "Korea." What I mean, is that I have been pretty sure I want to come back, and I have some solid opportunities to do so, to work. But I keep playing lists in my head: positives about Korea in one column, negatives about Korea in another, and it's too evenly balanced. And there are other adventures to be had, elsewhere in the world.
How strong is my interest in, and acknowledged passion for, the Korean language? How willing am I to accept those many annoying aspects of Korean culture, in my pursuit of the language?