After my return to Korea, we spent the next month in Seoul, seeing most of the tourist spots such as the various palaces, museums, public parks, universities, shopping centers and shopping arcades, a number of which were located in some of the topnotch hotels. There are several shopping arcades though, that are not as fancy and oriented mainly to the tourist trade. They are the ones located as part of the vast subway system that is very modern and well controlled. Some of these arcades can run as much as five to ten blocks and they too, offer an infinite variety of smaller shops, many of which are probably family enterprises. We also dined in a number of well known restaurants, some associated with larger hotels, while others were more of a local nature. On a number of occasions, we would invite one or the other members of the family so that we had a chance to meet with all of my wife's immediate family, save her elderly, but spry grandmother, whom I have never had the pleasure of knowing. The Koreans do not leave any tips since these are already included as part of the bill and it seems that it is almost an insult to do so otherwise. We also attended a number of movies, many of which were recent American films. Often they had Korean dubbed in which made it easy for the spouse, but hard for me. We did a lot of walking as did many people, enjoying ourselves out in the street with the crowds, and watching the families with their kids, who were absolutely more spoiled than those in America, but always well behaved.
 
 

Then one day, the family invited us for dinner. This was a big day for us since it meant we were accepted perhaps with some lingering reservations as part of the family. We took a cab and went to their home, which was something like a condominium since they had purchased one entire floor of a three story building. It was a nice place, modest but clean, and equipped with modern appliances. The furnishings though were Korean, and the custom of sleeping on comfortable bedding spread on the floors was observed, as was eating Korean style, that is, off a low, round table while sitting on the floor. We chatted amicably for awhile with the wife doing a lot of the talking and interpreting. Her mother, a good cook by any standard, outdid herself and prepared a sumptuous meal with many Korean specialties and side dishes. I was very glad that we had not come empty handed after seeing the effort that her Mom went through. The meal was as delicious as it looked, and her mother was pleased to see that I was not shy when it came to enjoying it. We talked some more after the meal and before we left, they invited us to a picnic later that month, since it was getting on to Spring and the weather was moderating.
 
 

We spent some more time sightseeing, but this time a bit away from the city proper. There was the Korean Village, for example, which was something akin to our Puritan Village, or Jamestown. The Koreans, dating back some four thousand or more years, certainly did not lack historic settings for their "Village", which consisted of showing homes and life styles of both peasants and aristocracy throughout the ages. The wife's sister went along with us for the day and we had a very good time, even though snow was still on the ground. There were also places where one could buy crafts made by the staff on location, and dressed in historic costumes. We visited several gift shops and bought something for everyone in the family. We also toured the Golden Tower, a skyscraper some seventy stories high overlooking the city and the Han River. The top floor was an observation platform where one could see the city in all directions by walking around in a circular pattern. In the basement we visited the aquarium, which had many interesting species of sea and marine life.
 
 

It was early Spring 1986 and some of the amusement parks opened that had been closed for the season. This was the spouse's favorite type of entertainment which she pursued with a passion, not only in Seoul, but throughout Korea. There were not many rides that she did not venture on, even though she protested loudly at first and feigned being terribly scared or frightened. Monorails, the Viking, the Magic Carpet, the Mouse, and on and on. We went on almost all the rides and activities, a number of them two or three times over. She really enjoyed herself immensely. Luckily for her, there were about three major amusement parks around the Seoul area and she was a visitor to each at least twice over. Only one thing really scared her, and that was the Ghost House. We would not think much of it, but I had to cajole and drag her in almost against her will. Once inside she held my hand tightly and when the going got a little spooky with fake cobwebs and the like, she was almost besides herself. It was the one and only time I took her there. Later, we took her parents with us to the largest of the close-by amusement parks where they enjoyed themselves almost as much as we did, especially her Dad.
 
 

There was one thing however, that started to bother the wife particularly when we were out among the crowds. Slowly and subtly, but ever more noticeably she became aware of some of the comments that were made by total strangers. Koreans are not in the least shy about asking, even someone they hardly know, the most personal questions. We would be taken back and surely insulted if someone treated us like that here. Our answer would be a brusque, "Mind your own business", or "What did you say!!" Koreans somehow do not mind, or if they do, they do not show it, and they generally answer the question. Not only do they pry and ask some very embarrassing questions, but they are free in giving you their opinion or advice, whether or not you asked for it. I mention this only because as we were out on the streets, so to speak, any number of Koreans came over to the wife and stopped to chat with her, mostly wanting to know this or that about me, and of course a number of times, being negative or uncomplimentary in their comment. It began to bother the wife, who did not want to be insulted merely due to my presence. She started to complain about it and asked me if I did not mind taking walks by myself. I understood her problem, and though I did not like it, I obliged her.
 
 

It was then that the idea of leaving Seoul for a few months and seeing the rest of the country struck me. My spouse agreed, especially since she was always shy about possibly meeting some of her old friends and acquaintances while having me in tow, an event that actually happened in a department store, where we bought something and the saleslady was an old schoolmate of the wife. Apparently there is still quite a stigma to the person and their family if a daughter marries a foreigner, or even worse, a serviceman.
 
 

We left Seoul, taking one of the very modern trains and as a foreigner, I was always seated in the VIP railroad coach, something like a first class air traveler, albeit at usually twice the normal fare. The trains were smooth, and the ride with comfortably cushioned seats and wide windows, very enjoyable. We only made a few stops in major cities along the way and each time vendors with anything from hot food to chocolate and ice cream would board the train and hawk their merchandise. The countryside changed leaving Seoul, to high rise apartments on the outskirts and further out clusters of modern factories. Eventually the scenery changed to small farms and rice paddies with quaint looking rural villages nestled in-between. Then, approaching a larger city we would again see high rise apartments with factory complexes scattered between, until we rolled into the city outskirts proper where we could view dwellings, businesses and normal city patterns. The train would pull into a station right on schedule, and leave promptly, sometimes with a few stragglers running to get on the coaches. It would be fair to say one could set his watch by the train schedules.
 
 

We arrived in Pusan on the appointed hour, and took a cab to a downtown hotel. As anywhere, cabbies are a wonderful source of information and although I may have bent the rules, I always tipped them generously. The hotel was on one of the crowded main streets and within easy walk of all kinds of interesting places. We found a jewelry shop, which made custom items and we arranged to have our wedding rings made to order. Although we were married, we did not have a formal wedding, so that we did not need rings before. I did buy the bride a set of three rings each with a square center stone and studded on each side with chipped diamonds as an engagement ring. I was informed later on by my wife, that a double gold ring was more the style for her. We also arranged to buy that at the same shop in Pusan, where I felt I was being dealt with fairly. Later I bought her a heavier gold chain with a square locket and a little diamond on it. Actually she was not all that interested in jewelry, and we did not overdo it. I did make sure though that she had some traditional Korean necklaces with their well known national semi-precious gems. Of course I had bought her a very nice ladies watch and had not forgotten the rest of the family. Upon consulting with my wife, we found some type of jewelry including better grade watches for all members of her family during my stay in the country.
 
 

It was my intention to try to outfit the wife with a reasonable selection of better grade items. Koreans worked a lot with 24 carat gold and jewelry. It was probably less expensive if one purchased it in reliable stores where there was very little chance of being taken in. Furthermore, although my former wife had nice pieces of jewelry, they were distributed to our daughters and their children upon her demise and according to her wishes, so that I sort of had to start over again with my new wife. We also enjoyed shopping for her clothes, since she was essentially a college girl and really did not have a fitting wardrobe. Many of her clothes were either altered after purchase, or hand tailored to fit in the first place. The same was true of her shoes, especially since she had such tiny feet. She was always nice and asked my opinion of styles and materials, but until she came to the U.S. and lived here for some three years she really did not know just what style would suit her best. Unfortunately, it was too late by then to do her shopping in Korea.
 
 

Pusan as it is called now, really was Busan as I noticed in one hotel elevator registry plate, but apparently through mostly foreign mispronunciations, the "B" was transformed into a "P" and the name stuck. It was a large city and we toured most of it and the surrounding countryside. After a few weeks we decided to move on to Masan, a seaport with a smaller city base. It was an interesting place and we enjoyed it. It was also there that we checked the wife's eyes and her glasses, which she was not particularly fond of and the optometrist prescribed new lenses and we bought new frames as well. They were gold filled and looked nice, at least for awhile. Masan had many nice shops as well and good local eateries, so it was enjoyable to live there. It also had one other feature, which was close to the spouse's heart, namely an Island which was dedicated as a city park, zoo, recreation area and yes, an Amusement Park. What could have been more in vogue. We traveled to the Island many times, by ferry, to spend most of the day there. It was also in Masan that a young Korean introduced himself and wanted to know if I would speak English with him. In turn he would act as our guide for the next several days and of course, practice his English as well. This type of an approach happened several times during my stay in various parts of the country and apparently students who seriously studied English were always on the lookout for an American so that they could measure their real understanding and also their ability to speak and be understood by an American. What would invariably trip them up were the many idiomatic expressions that we use, which often do not have an accurate translation, such as, "It´s raining cats and dogs", or the many phrases coming from the streets, such as, "Cool man, cool."
 
 

After we left Masan, we decided to go to Taegu and from there to Taejon, Chonju and Kwangju. We explored each city fairly thoroughly and also nearby National Parks, where we took hikes to scenic places and waterfalls; shrines or monasteries with their splendid Temples and their long but often tragic histories were also favorites of ours. It seems that the monks formed frequent centers of resistance in long bygone eras, and since their locations were mostly deep in inaccessible mountains they were able to hold off aggression from outsiders as well as support counter attacks or guerrilla warfare. The Temples that were overrun by the invaders were usually wiped out to the last man and burned to the ground as both a sign of crumbling resistance and revenge. Most Temple and monasteries have therefore been repeatedly rebuilt over the centuries. We also saw royal burial mounds, and a recently excavated one which showed the actual Royalty buried therein, especially in the Silla part of the early kingdoms. We also viewed the famous Korean Observatory Tower, featured on certain Korean postage stamps, which some claim proves the Korean mastery of the Lunar Calendar as well as their mathematical prowess, many years ahead of other nations. There was also a visit to one of the Temples whose fame was as a national Treasure in the form of an old but very large library, where thousands of laboriously hand written books were preserved over the years and hidden from invading armies, much as the fabled Library at Alexandria before it was burned to the ground. The Koreans have numbered and cataloged their National Treasures, so that historic or memorable landmarks, stone pagodas, Temples, shrines, and so forth have a National Treasury number; a neat way of keeping track.
 
 

On some outings we had to take busses since they were deep inland or in a central part of the country. One of these was to a relatively new resort, where they had built a new amusement park called something like, Bugok Hawaii. It had a lot of the latest in rides and the equipment was in fine working order. The wife had a wonderful time and so did I. They also featured an indoor tropical botanical garden. A gala variety show on a professional level with much costuming, singing and dancing was a big attraction. I found the cultural level of Korea, especially in the larger urban areas, such as the big cities was well advanced in the fine arts. There were any number of occasions when we purchased tickets and went to see National Dances, traditional folklore, musical events and even an opera, in this case, Madame Butterfly. It was sort of unique to see all the cast, including that of the American Ambassador and Lieutenant Pinkerton, played by Koreans. Of course all the rest of the cast, and in particular, Madame Butterfly, certainly had a proper oriental origin. There were other recitals that we attended as well, often in a smaller, private auditorium, sometimes without charge, where leading pianists, cellists or violinists would perform while their solos would be recorded on the spot.
 
 

We took the opportunity to visit the northern part of the country and spent time in Chunchon and Kangknung where we had a hotel room right on the beach, overlooking the Sea of Japan. It was there on the balcony about five in the morning one summer that I got up to watch the sunrise. Then I knew why Korea was named, The Land of the Morning Calm. Unfortunately that calm did not pervade throughout the major cities. As the summer wore on, we were often caught in-between scenes of rioting students and police reactions, and even some hours after it was all over, we still had to cope with the after effects of lingering tear gas. It was difficult to predict just when and where disturbances of this type would materialize so that one could avoid them. I remember we were having dinner one time in a very ornate hotel dining room when all of a sudden we heard the sounds of rioting students and police action not too far away. The wind must have been blowing in the right direction because soon all the guests as well as the staff were wiping their eyes and giving up on their meals. At other times, student demos as they were called, would tie up traffic for hours in an already jammed city such as Seoul. These events did not really interfere with our normal routines, but they were a nuisance.
 
 

I had been waiting some seven months, when word finally came through to meet for an appointment with the Embassy staff. We waited for our number almost six hours, when the wife was finally called for her personal interview. It took another two weeks for her Visa to be issued, and then in late July we made arrangements to go to the States. We had another surprise coming, in that booking passage was difficult, even though I had purchased round trip tickets in advance. It seemed all flights were full for the next three weeks, but with a kind reservation agent who apparently sympathized with us, our waiting time was cut to ten days. During the last few weeks, we stayed in Seoul and had a lot of outings with the family. I guess they sensed it was goodbye for their daughter and they wanted to see as much of her as possible. They treated us to hand tailored Korean national dresses, two for the wife and one for myself. We looked somewhat cute in them, but realizing the expense we reimbursed the family. Finally the day came for us to leave Korea. Dad and family drove us to Kimpo International and we all joined in the lobby to process our baggage and our tickets. Time came for the final farewells and everyone was a little sad and uptight. Her Mom gave me a buzz on the cheek, while her Dad shook hands. Again the out-processing at Kimpo was immaculate security-wise, with women going in one direction, while the men went in another. As usual all pockets had to be emptied, all papers had to be in order, all luggage checked at least twice, and finally approval to board was granted. The flight left on schedule, and we looked at the fading coastline of Korea as we winged our long way to LA International. My wife was both happy and introspective. She had made her decision for better or for worse and she was stuck with it. I was happy with my new wife and was wondering how she would react to the culture and language shock awaiting her, and what was really going through her mind. Then she held my hand and we drifted off to sleep.
 
 

Well, dear reader, did not I promise you a well deserved respite, so well as a matter of fact, that you probably need at least another two nights before you can even finish this STORY. When you finally do, however, then please turn to STORY FOUR for your next session. Thank you.