"Watch Out For Those Japanese Bastards!"

I have so many odd conversations due to the fact that I can speak Korean.

Yesterday in preparation for my trip home I headed over to 인사동 (仁寺洞 / Insadong) to pick up some assorted gifts for friends and family back home. On the way from the subway station to 인사동, I walked past 탑골공원 (塔골公園 / Tapgol Gongwon), and decided to head in and scope the scene out.

I had been here once before (roughly two years ago to the day), and had lost the pictures I had taken there of National Treasure Number 2 (a ten story pagoda). So I headed in, and snapped the photos below.


Korean National Treasure No. 2


Korean National Treasure No. 2 (from a different angle)


Monument of Wongaksa. (Treasure No. 3...not a national treasure mind you).

Afterwards, I was headed out, to carry on towards 인사동, but before I left I checked out the Korean Declaration of Independence. I was examining the original version (in 漢字 and 한글) when an older man approached me. The park was loaded with old men, and it was only a matter of time before one of them decided to speak with me.

This gentleman was clad in some less then elegant clothes, had one tooth, and extremely dark skin...all the signs of a homeless person in Korea. Upon approaching me, the man pointed to the English language version of the Declaration, and in fairly decent English said, "You can read the English Declaration over there." I explained to him in Korean that I can understand Korean, and wanted to see how much of the Korean version I could understand.

He was excited to hear that I could speak Korean and began telling me about the Korean Declaration of Independence and the events leading up to the it. After asking where I was from ("America...New York." "AH New York! [thumbs up]"). He then proceeded to tell me about how when he was in school (Japanese school mind you), he had to bow to a picture of the Emperor of Japan ("like he was God or my ancestors"). He told me about how Japanese cops would randomly force people to kneel in the streets with their arms raised above their heads. He also explain the best example of passive-aggressive behavior I have ever heard. He told me that in his class they would have to clean the picture and would use rags that had been used to wipe up their sweat to "clean" the picture of the Japanese Emperor. And then he offered me this warning, "일본놈 조심하세요," (Watch out for those Japanese bastards).

He explained to me that Americans needed to watch out for the Japanese, and be careful of being all buddy-buddy with them. He then thanked me for listening to his tale and we parted ways.

I then headed to 인사동 to nab some gifts for people. For those of you not in the know 인사동 is an area of 서울 (Seoul) that has countless traditional crafts, foodstuffs, art, and artifacts. So I picked up some gifts, shocked shopkeepers with my knowledge of Korean language, and then headed home.

Oh and I got Goonies on DVD for 1,000 won (a little less the USD$1) at the Korean version of Just A Buck (or insert you local $1 store name here). "HEY YOU GUYS!!"