How I Celebrated Samiljeol

On March 1, 1919, a movement began in Korea protesting colonial rule by the Japanese.  A group of Koreans wrote a document similar to the U.S.' Declaration of Independence.  Japan reacted to this with aggression and many people were killed, but the Koreans eventually would prevail.  Much like the Declaration, this did not lead to immediate independence, but it was a catalyst which led to the Korean people thinking about independence which they would officially gain over 26 years later with the defeat of Japan after World War II.  Thus, Samiljeol is a national holiday every March 1 to celebrate this movement.  Why is this important to me you ask?  The answer is quite simple.  I get a day off!

After an exhausting last week and a half, I needed a day away from my students.  After a leisurely morning on March 1, I went hiking for the 2nd time in Korea.  The weather was gorgeous!  I'm guessing the high temperature was somewhere around 12-13 degrees Celcius.  I went with Mark and a friend of his, Olivia.  This time, we headed to a trail near the Changwon Shooting Range.  We noticed that they offer skeet shooting and said we will be trying that in the future (check here for pictures and a description when we go).  Anyway, we head up the trail and I notice a few cemeteries along the way.  It seems like an out of the way place to bury someone, but then again, this is Korea and there probably isn't enough flat land for the types of cemetaries I'm used to seeing.  Continuing on, I should mention that Olivia is into fitness and is making it up the trail with ease.  Meanwhile, Mark, and especially I, are huffing and puffing as we trek along.  Unlike last time, we did not make it up to the top of the mountain, but we weren't planning on it from the outset so it was no big deal.

 There were a few cemetaries along the trail.

 A random single grave on the hillside.

 I'm still not sure whether the stairs make it easier

or harder.

 The thumbs up was fake!  I was dying!

 Mark was doing better than me, but he was

feeling the burn as well.

Dusting the shoes off!

After grabbing a quick bite to eat, we went to see a movie at City 7, the main shopping mall in Changwon.  For the most part, everything was similar to the movie-going experience in America including the prices.  It cost 9,000 won for a movie ticket.  There were two exceptions, however.  The first was that when you buy the tickets, you are assigned seats, much like in a stadium.  The employee showed us a map of the auditorium and what seats were available and we had to choose our seat locations ahead of time.  The other main difference was that the movie was subtitled in Korean.  We saw Safe House with Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds.  Obviously, the movie was in English, but I couldn't take my eyes off of the Korean subtitles for some reason.  I guess that is something I will just have to get used to.  Aside from the subtitles, once the movie started, I forgot I was in Korea for those two hours!

While the day wasn't exactly relaxing, it was defintely something I needed.  Since the last two weeks have worn me out (though not in a bad way), I needed a day not on the weekend to just go out and have fun.  I know the Koreans back in 1919 weren't thinking of me when planning their movement, but they sure seemed to pick a day that was convenient for me!