Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Korea is an Interesting Place

While we have been in Korea we have been taking pictures of interesting things that we see.  While we were at the Camp Humphrey's Branch one Sunday, while waiting for people to exit priesthood meeting, we looked across the street from the third floor of the building.  We witnessed a woman on her roof filling her Kimchi pots.  Kimchi is a stable in Korea.  Korean's raise cabbage in any and every available piece of land.  Kimchi also spelled kimchee, kim chee or gimchi, is a traditional fermented Korean dish made of vegetables with a variety of seasonings. It is Korea's national dish, and there are hundreds of varieties made with a main vegetable ingredient such as napa cabbage, radish, scallion or cucumber. Kimchi is also a main ingredient for many Korean dishes such as kimchi stew, kimchi soup, and kimchi fried rice.

Korean Woman putting cabbage into her pots for Kimchi


 
Another interesting thing about Korea are the cemeteries.  This cemetery is located a block from our apartment. Most people here are cremeated. The rich can afford to bury their dead. The land is of a huge premium here. The dead are buried in their coffins, but the coffins are standing up. It is so the dead can look over the landscape. The burials are usually on little hills, so the dead can see further. That is why you see these mounds in the cemetery. They build the coffins with six planks of wood. Four planks represent the four points on the compass. The other two planks represent the heaven and the earth. When we drive to Kunsan, which is about three hours away, we go to the serviceman's branch there, we see all kinds of these little cemeteries on our trip. When the weather is clearer and better I will take pictures of those.    

 
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2 comments:

  1. Hi,
    I was wondering if you knew any ex-missionaries from your mission in Korea and residing in Arizona. I am seeking bilingual Korean speakers for interpreter positions for our center in Tempe, AZ. Please let me know if you can recommend anyone at jdiez@transperfect.com or 480 270 6694. Thank you!
    Joanna Diez
    Transperfect Remote Interpreting

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  2. Dear Elder and Sister Riding,

    I think my husband and I will be your replacements! We just got our call today and enter the MTC on Sept. 29th. We will be going to Camp Humphries as military relation specialists. Let us know how to contact you and what to expect.

    Thanks!

    Jean McPherron
    jeanmcpherron1@gmail.com

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