Bamboo Forest and a Korean Wedding

Damyang Bamboo Forest is on the top of Serena and Max's list of their

Our lunch of side dishes

favorite places in Korea. They went soon after they got here a few years ago, and they had been meaning to go back. After they told us about it, it sounded like a really cool place to see, so we made a plan to go on a day trip to see it with them. Max and Serena have a car, so we got up early to meet them and drive the 3 hours to get there. As I may have said in a previous post, Max has his daughter, Hailey, living with them in Korea for about a year, so she was, obviously, with us as well. Damyang is a city to the south west of Daegu. As soon as we arrived, we were all getting

Bamboo growing in husks like corn

hungry, so we grabbed a bite to eat. It was a pretty good but also kind of strange meal. We shared a plate of grilled meat that came with some sides, but then we also got a

In the bamboo forest

Serenity by the pond

 set meal that was basically just a cup of rice in a bamboo stalk cup and a TON of bonchon (side dishes). I honestly have not had a meal that included so many side dishes. That being said, the sides were really delicious: salads, crab in spicy sauce, soup, etc. The bamboo segment made the rice taste a bit sweet, but it was interesting to try something new. We were all satisfied after eating, so we bought tickets and headed into the bamboo forest. On the path up to it, there are a ton of people selling things made from bamboo. We didn't end up buying anything, but there were some cool products. What I really wanted to buy was from the special handmade and authorized bamboo craft shop. They had a hand-woven bamboo fan and the bamboo was dyed various colors. They also had jewelry boxes with the same kind of thing on the top. As you might imagine, everything in that shop was, understandably, really expensive. The bamboo forest is really pretty. You follow a pathway through it, and it grows everywhere. Along the path are various things, like the waterfall with panda statues all around it, play structures for kids, or traditional Korean buildings. I didn't actually know how bamboo grew before visiting the forest. Bamboo kind of looks like corn when it is still growing because there is a kind of brown "husk" surrounding it. The reason

Bamboo ice cream

Hailey and the Pandas

 bamboo is segmented is because the husk grows out of the base of each segment and falls off then the segment is done growing. At least this is what it seemed like as we walked around, and I saw the bamboo growing in different stages. So bamboo first grows tall, then the husks peel off and the segments begin to harden (new bamboo is really flexible and moist), then it gets thicker around. It was really interesting to me, and I'm not even really a plant lover. We walked around with Hailey, taking pictures of her doing silly things. On the other side of the forest, there are several traditional Korean-style buildings set up. Some people sell things from a few of them, but others are just for relaxing in. There were also fountains and little ponds set up, making the place look very serene and peaceful. Before leaving Damyang, we stopped to eat some bamboo ice cream. It was really delicious! It tasted a bit like green tea ice cream to me. We also took a few pictures of a scenic street in the city that is lined with metasequoia trees. Then it was back in the car for the 3 hour trip back to Daegu. Max was nice enough to drop us off at our house. We were completely exhausted by the day spent walking around in the hot weather, and we had to wake up early the next morning for a wedding!

I teach a class from 4 to 4:30 to other teachers at my school who want to practice their English. One of my most dedicated and high level "students" this semester is named Hana. She is a math teacher, and she also participated in a teacher class when she taught at Gianni's old school, Haksan Middle School. So she knows both of us! Hana is very kind and fun to talk to. I enjoy her company during my teacher class. We talked about American and Korean weddings during one of our classes, and she shared with me that she was actually getting married soon. She gave me a special paper invitation to come. Koreans invite a ton of people to their weddings--basically anyone who they know and everyone who works at the same place as them. But only important people get a paper invitation, so I felt very honored that she gave me one. Her wedding was at a typical Korean wedding hall where they have many weddings in one day. Her wedding was scheduled in the 10:30am slot, so a bit early. I think Koreans generally like afternoon weddings because it gives them time to have their more traditional, intimate ceremony somewhere else after the big, modern one. The Paradise Wedding Hall is located near Sandangmot subway station, so it wasn't too far from our house. Most of the teachers that I know

the whole family in hanbok

or socialize with from my school weren't actually there, so Gianni and I were a bit confused at first. I'd only been to one Korean wedding before that. We went up to one of the floors of the hall, and there were about 8 different smaller rooms off the main lobby where different weddings were taking place. We found the room where Hana would be getting married and gave the wedding hall staff our gift. Koreans give money as wedding gifts, and you generally give money in odd increments ($30, $50, $70, etc.). Giving a gift of money gets you a food ticket so that you can go to the buffet after the ceremony. After that, a teacher from my school pointed us in the direction to go take a picture with Hana. The bride usually sits on a nice bench in front of a backdrop and takes pictures with guests before the ceremony begins. Hana was happy to see Gianni again, and I took a picture with her in her beautiful big wedding dress. When I told her that, she said she was in her "full makeup" and, circling her face with her finger, said "money, money, money." As in, it was expensive to get all made up for the wedding. She's a very funny person. Her wedding hall room was quite grand. As with most weddings, the aisle was raised in the center of the room with round tables and chairs for guests around it. Gianni and I grabbed a seat at one of the tables and watched the engagement photo slideshow of the couple while we waited for everything to start (slideshows like this set to music are

a dramatic and beautiful entrance by the bride

bowing respectfully to the bride's parents

basically standard practice before the ceremony--some of the engagements pictures are of the bride in a different wedding dress from the one she will actually wear at the wedding). When the ceremony began, Hana's mother and the groom's mother walked down the aisle together and lit candles at the other end. Hana told me that the groom's mother usually wears blue and the bride's pink. Her mother works in textile dying, so she had hand-dyed the hanbok (traditional Korean clothing) she was wearing for the ceremony. The groom's father was already sitting on a throne-like chair at the other end of the aisle, and the groom's mother sat next to him on her own chair. Hana's mom sat on another chair opposite the groom's parents. Then, the groom walked down the aisle and stood to wait for Hana. Hana had been in a small room adjacent to the main ceremony hall taking pictures with guests, but when it was time for her walk down the aisle, the blue, velvet curtain separating the small and large rooms rose up to reveal her standing there. It was all very dramatic but beautiful. The ceiling was very high in the small room, so the curtain had a long way to rise. There were even chandeliers on the ceiling above her head. She walked down

the groom singing for the bride

a few stairs to meet her father and walk down the aisle with him. I guess there are some Western traditions that Koreans have adopted in their own weddings. First, the bride and groom made a speech together, thanking their guests for coming. Then they did what I assumed to be their vows. I'm not sure if this is common practice, but the groom even sang a song to Hana! At the last wedding I went to, Mr. Ahn sang and played the piano for Jessie, but I can't imagine every groom is expected to do something. The couple also bows in respect to both sets of parents, bringing the families together and being welcomed by their new in-laws. The most interesting part of the ceremony was when it turned into a game show! There was an MC of the ceremony throughout, but at one point, he came out and talked to the groom for a while, asking questions and making him do push ups when he got something wrong. Not sure what he was saying. He even made him run and yell down the aisle. It was so funny! All throughout the wedding, attendants were directing the family members, bride, and groom around to where they needed to stand, telling them what they needed to do. They adjusted Hana's dress as needed and even wiped away her tears! It's kind of nice to have someone making sure you look perfect, but it also feels a bit intrusive and staged. But this practice is very typical of Korean weddings. At the end of the ceremony, the couple walk down the aisle together and pose for pictures. They are supposed to kiss, but they favor very light kisses or barely touching lips. Apparently, it is embarrassing to kiss in front of your parents

the newly weds!

and coworkers, so they don't really do it. They are very demure in Korea. After the ceremony, the guests file out and go down to enjoy the buffet and the couple and family members take pictures on the stage where the ceremony took place. In the buffet room, guests from all the weddings that day eat food together. The buffet at this hall was really big! There were so many choices. I had a hard time finding anyone I knew at first, but Gianni and I ended up sitting with my vice principal and other teachers at my school. Although I didn't know many people, I was happy that I got to see Mr.

the buffet was huge!

Ahn. This semester, he moved to a different school (teachers rotate schools very frequently in Korea), so I haven't seen him in a while. His was the first Korean wedding I ever went to. I also got to see another teacher, Gi Eun, who was a substitute last year and sat next to me in my old office. She speaks a little bit of English, and we would always talk to one another. She had a baby last year, so she was out of school for a while. Anyway, I really enjoyed Hana's wedding. She was beautiful and so was the ceremony. I think it's really interesting to see which parts of Western weddings they choose to incorporate into Korean weddings. It's a unique cultural fusion. Congratulations Hana!