Jo Hyun Jae

Day 3

On day 3, we originally planned to go to visit the Naesosa Temple and Seonunsa Temple which are located at Buan, a county at the North Jeolla Province. Naesosa Temple is where Princess Seonhwa walked around in circles while sadly waiting for Seodong to return and where Seodong was hit by an arrow. However, based on the unpleasant experience we had on the previous night, we decided not to take adventures anymore and we changed our plan to visit Iksan again instead. When we went to Iksan, we noticed that there were a lot of Seodong related places such as Seodong Park and other film sets.

We decided to go back to Mireuska Temple first because when we visited the temple on the first day the museum was closed. The museum is just adjacent to the temple and inside the museum, a model of the original temple was recreated and displayed. The museum also provides a lot of information about the history of the temple such as when and how it was built. The idea that such a huge temple was built on reclaimed land really fascinated me.

After spending about an hour at the museum , we decided to move on. Unfortunately, similar to our first visit, it took us more than an hour to find a taxi. Our next stop was the Seodong Park which again was located in a very remote area. To avoid the problem of waiting for taxis again, we thought we were smart enough to ask the taxi driver to come back and pick us up after half an hour. I asked the taxi driver in Korean. I was not sure whether he understood me or not but he left us with a cunning smile. “I do not trust him as all,” my friend said. “Neither do I,” I replied dryly.

Seodong Park is very big but again there are not many stuff in it except a huge statue of King Mu. We were very disappointed to find that King Mu had a long face and it bore no resemblance to our JHJ at all. Of course, our JHJ is much more handsome. We wondered why they did not use JHJ as a model for the statue. Well, I guess there might be copyright issues. After about half an hour, we waited at the spot where the taxi driver left us. We were right – there was no sign of the taxi driver. Seodong Park was at the bottom of a hill and no taxi would come here at all. We tried to call the tourist centre but to no avail. At the end, we gave up and decided to walk back to the main street. Then suddenly we saw a car passing by. I stopped the car immediately and with my poor Korean, I told the driver that there was no taxi around and we wanted to get back to the city centre. The driver smiled at us and asked us to get into his car. His wife was sitting at the back, and eventually he took us to the nearest taxi stand.

After all the troubles with the transportation, my friend and I were a bit fed up and decided to call it a day. We decided to go back to Yu Shing and this completed our little adventure to the places of SDY.

Before I end my story, I must tell you an incident that happened on the day we went back to Seoul. My friend and I decided to go back to Seoul by train. While we were looking at the departure board at the train station, a Korean man who spoke very good English came to ask whether we needed any help. We told him that we would like to go back to Seoul and surprisingly he escorted us to the ticket office. Later we found out that all the train tickets must be reserved. Since my friend and I did not reserve any seats, we could easily end up sitting in different cabins. This nice man talked to the officer and made sure that we got on the train which had adjacent seats for us. We really appreciated his kindness. Before we could thank him properly, he rushed into the train platform and disappeared. I looked at my watch and realized that this man had less than one minute to catch his train. I have heard a lot of rumors saying that most of the Korean men are arrogant and rude. Well, I can tell you this is not true anymore. Most of the Korean men that I met in my trip were very nice, kind and warm-hearted. Just like our JHJ?

Well, this is the end of my little adventure to follow the footsteps of SDY. Looking back I think I am very brave and naïve. Even today my friend still keeps complaining that I have trapped her into joining the trip. Had she known that my Korean was so poor, she would never have followed me. Ha! Ha! Luckily, we all came back to Hong Kong in one piece. I would like to go back there again. There are so many places that I have not visited such as the Iksan film sets, the Naesosa Temple and Seonunsa Temple. I guess this time I need at least 12 months to plan my trip!

THE END

**Please credit http://jo-hyun-jae.com if you wish to transfer**

After reading Jo Hyun-Jae’s message on July 17 that he drank every last drop of his “samgyetang” (ginseng chicken soup), I went to my favourite Korean restaurant the next day and had the same.

It’s a little difficult to consume everything, though.  Korean ginseng chicken soup is cooked in a pot with a whole chicken (spring chicken) stuffed with glutinous rice and boiled in a broth of ginseng, together with other ingredients like chestnut, red dates, ginkgo nuts, pine nuts, green onions, sliced egg, garlic,* and is taken with sliced spring onions and a little salt if so desired. (The salt is actually not required because the soup is already very tasty.)  You don’t just drink the soup; you eat everything, so it is a meal in itself.  This Korean delicacy is not only savoury; it is also very nourishing.  “Samgyetang” is traditionally served in the summer for its supposed nutrients, which replaces those lost through excessive sweating and physical exertion during the hot summers of Korea.

The Koreans take their food very seriously — from what I see in dramas like “Jewel in the Palace” (Dae Jang Geum).  They seem to like cutting everything into thin strips (julienne) or cubes.  The preparation takes up most of the time.  The presentation is very important and so are the china ware used to hold the food.  There could easily be more than ten dishes which could be quite overwhelming (to a foreigner, anyway.)

Last year when my husband and I visited Seoul, a friend of his took us to a famous restaurant that served traditional Korean food.  There was such a parade of dishes (some looked similar) that I lost count after the 8th.  Our host was so attentive that I felt obliged to eat till I dropped.  After that I understood why the King in “Jewel in the Palace” only samples a few dishes out of the myriad presented to him at every meal.  One could get stuffed, literally.

Now the Chinese, like the Koreans, love their food.  The ideal woman who makes the best wife must be equally proficient in the living room (playing the perfect hostess entertaining guests) and in the kitchen (being the perfect chef preparing 10-course dinners.)  There is actually a 3rd requirement which I’ll not mention here since this is a family website (suitable for children too.)  It has to do with the privacy of the bedroom.

Now cooking is not my forte; I am an indifferent cook.  I work hard at cooking, like I do everything else, but the end doesn’t justify the means, or rather, the end results are not worthy of the efforts I put into it.  I’ve always admired people who are good at cooking.  Remember that old English proverb?  “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach”, meaning cooking for a man is a means to win his affections.  Of course you have to be able to cook well, otherwise it may produce the opposite effect.

Han Yi-Jun falls in love with Cha Eun-Jae in “Only You” partly because she could make spaghetti the way his mother used to do.  Her passion for Italian cooking is infectious, and he needs her to help him revive his mother’s old restaurant.  I’ve always found that scene** very poignant — the one when he cooks some rice dish for her, very colourful, garnished with lots of red, green, and yellow bell peppers.  Somehow there is something very moving in the way a woman (or man) spends hours in the kitchen and then emerges with palate-tempting dishes exuding irresistible aroma.  I don’t care what those women’s libbers say, but cooking is a natural instinct for a woman, the nurturing principle, the ingrained habit.  And most men appreciate this ability in a woman.

Chefs (male or female) in their uniforms look very dashing to me.  Han Chae-Young in “Only You” looks much better in her chef’s uniform than her halters and vests (worn over one another.)  JHJ in his pastry chef uniform in “Sunshine” is so drop-dead gorgeous that he single-handedly raises my esteem for pastry chefs.  (I have a friend in the U.S.A. who almost had a fit when her son dropped out of medical school to train as a pastry chef.  I gave her a copy of “Sunshine”.)  That scene in “Sunshine” (see photo above) when Jung Eun-Sup makes a mini-cake for Ji Yeon-Woo and then that oaf Kim Min-Ho bursts in with his pig’s trotters is so funny precisely because of the contrast and the conflict between the Koreans’ fancy for European cuisine and preference for traditional Korean fare.  So in a way Yeon-Woo is torn between her love for the new and her attachment to the old.

For someone who freely confesses to being a C- cook, even I marvel at myself for having so much to write about cooking.  Somehow everything related to JHJ can inspire me to launch into a long discourse.  If anyone has a recipe for “How to become a good cook in XX days”, please send it to me.  No Rachel Ray “30-minute meals” for me, please.  I may not be able to cook, but I love good food!

* Some of the minor ingredients may vary slightly in individual recipes. (I did my research!)  The ones I listed here are used in my favourite Korean restaurant.  I went there 3 times last week to make sure I got everything right!  This photo that I download from the internet isn’t really very good — looks more than congee than soup!  I should have taken a photo of the “samgyetang” at the restaurant.

** I must take this opportunity to let out one of my pet peeves.   The hands carving the vegetables in the close-up are obviously not JHJ’s.  We all know he has beautiful hands, with long slender fingers.  The hands in the close-up are a chef’s hands, very deft with the knife but nowhere near as fine and delicate as our JHJ’s.  Of course the director would not use his star in this minor scene.  The chop/chop/chop, slice/slice/slice, cube/cube/cube can be dangerous.  (I can attest to that: most people keep their Band Aids in their medicine cabinets; I keep mine in a kitchen cupboard.)  The director probably thinks nobody would pay attention to this little detail.  Did anybody notice this incongruity besides me?

(Credit for “Sunshine” photos: CarpediemJapan.  Thanks!)

Song “Light” by Liu Ruo-Ying (光：刘若英）

I’d like to ask if you still remember my name

When the tide of humanity ebbs and flows time and again

Those years, those years, those things, those crazy, passionate, romantic days

Ah! it’s like another life!

 You were here for a while and I think about that all my life

How is it I could be so insensible

Just a moment of happiness — why do I insist it is the most unforgettable thing?

Crossing the mountains and oceans, it is not really unlonely to live through joy and sorrow

Luckily this heart once warmed by you still shines with a light that you left behind

You glitter once and I feel dizzy for life

I’m like a fool; I feel so embarrassed

But I really thought then that the way you held me was a hint of commitment.

Among the human throng, after longing and disappointment I am still alone

Luckily these eyes that cried for you still shine with a love once possessed

These years, these things, this instant, this life

How did you pass all this time?

Please promise me one thing: If I can see you one more time

Please let me see

Your old radiant self.

想问你是不是还记得我名字
当人海涨潮又退潮几次
那些年那些年那些事那一段疯狂热烈浪漫日子
啊恍如隔世

你来过一下子我想念一辈子
这样不理智是怎么回事
才快乐一阵子为什么我却坚持那一定是
我最难忘的事

越过高山和海洋喜悦和哀伤不是不孤单
幸好曾有你温暖的心房还亮著你留下的光
你闪耀一下子我晕眩一辈子
真像个傻子真不好意思
可是我在当时真以为你拥抱我的方式
是承诺的暗示

经过人来和人往期盼和失望我依然还孤单
幸好曾为你流泪的眼眶还亮著爱来过的光
这些年这些事一下子一辈子
你都度过了怎样的日子
请答应一件事如果说我能再见你一次
请让我看到的还是
你那灿烂的样子