Visit to Nasan, Hampyeong and Some Observation

I can’t focus what to write for my final report, what to say? THANK YOU – KAMSAHAMNIDA. Although it was just over 10 months, it seems I stayed here in Korea for long already.

New interns arriving, others we are still anxiously waiting for their arrival. The intern from Nepal up until now does not have his passport, their country is an emergency situation where they are having endless curfews. We have to go just the same. Today I only have five days here in Korea, the homecoming is really getting to a close.


Agnes, Mus and I are laughing how are sched are getting filled this week and next. Our super busy week indeed. Lunch and dinner dates with friends and even acquaintances. I thought Filipinos are hospitable but Koreans are super hospitable as well.

I made several videos of the last weekend of our host Kim Dae-in. He brought us to his hometown with his wife and children and stayed at Nasan, Hampyeong for an over night. The rural scene here in Korea is eerie, except for the sound of birds and insects hardly could I hear cries, giggles or noises of children in the neighborhood (except for Dae-in’s baby who cries every time she sees us – strangers to her eyes).



I learned that for the last 15 years or so not a baby was born in their village. The elementary school has to close down because there are no more school children, the same case with the other village I visited. All I saw in that village was an abandoned classroom. I saw a photo album of the last batch of children doing a tie-die and the hand globes they used still remain in on corner of the classroom, maybe 6-5 years ago.

I wonder what will happen to the village if the old people are gone. Will they hire foreign farm laborers to till their lands and plant vegetables for them to make kimchi. I don’t seen any reason why kimchi will have its foreign recipe and update in the future.

Children of rural folks who gets good education remain in the city. After getting educated, they marry as they are expected, have their own children and stay in the city. Those who are farmers have to remain in the village, unable to find a Korean wife have to resort to importing a foreign bride. These are women from my country, Vietnam, China and some other Central Asian countries.

The country that used to be so closely knit and very proud of its pure race is now starting to open up and face the reality of becoming a mixed raced. Good thing that there are the like of Hines Ward who is now a role model for the discriminated bi-racial Korean children. Another of those phenomenon that Korean has to face, they can’t really remain a single race after all.

Anyway, still have lot’s to write and reflect about – opps I just wish I could write a feature article for my year-end report for change of a technical report, hmmm… what if…

Here’s some of our pix of those sites visited in Hampyeong and the video links are posted at daily motion.



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