This past summer was the IKAA Gathering - the largest gathering of Korean adoptees in Korea that takes place every 3 years. The last time I participated, I was staying in Korea temporarily for a short term Korean language course. However, this time, I participated as a resident of Korea, having now lived in Korea for almost 2.5 years. Participating as an adoptee living in Korea, as opposed to just visiting, had a different feel to it. I was able to meet a bunch of new people, catch up with my adoptee friends that don't live in Korea, and also enjoy a good time with my circle of friends I've made in Korea.
I paid for the full registration as I wanted to attend as much as I could. A special weekend pass is offered for those that are adoptee residents in Korea however the weekend is only a short snippet of the full program. The first big event is the opening ceremony which features many distinguished guests. Below are some photos:
Chung Chin-Youb: Minister of Health and Welfare
IKAA President (Liselotte Birkmose) and President Emeritus (Tim Holm)
Roberto Powers: Consul General of the Embassy of the USA in Korea
Republic of Korea President Park Geun-Hye Video Address
Song Yong-Duk: President of Lotte Hotels
In addition to participating, I was also part of a workshop that G.O.A.'L hosted about its services and living in Korea. I talked about living and settling in Korea for adoptees. My coworkers talked about the organization itself as well as birth family search. Our workshop was very well attended and we also had many people ask questions after the session concluded.
G.O.A.'L Workshop Attendees
G.O.A.'L Workshop Attendees
I was also able to attend some of the film sessions however I didn't take any pictures there. I saw the film Twinsters and Approved for Adoption. The one I didn't get to see during IKAA was akaDan but I ended up seeing that film a little after IKAA. I've now seen a variety of adoption related films and I must say that each is different in their style and how they address adoption. While most of the films I have seen deal with Korean adoptees, I have seen the film Somewhere Between which documents Chinese adoptees.
Since I also had to work during the week of IKAA I didn't get to attend much else of the actual conference. There are many other events and workshops that take place during the Gathering including a scavenger hunt, age breakout sessions, and other social events. If you are a Korean adoptee that has yet to attend the Gathering in Korea, I highly recommend you go to at least one.
The IKAA Gala Dinner is the big closing event (in addition to the after party) where there are performances and a great meal to go along with it! Check out the pictures below:
손승연 Performance (Pretty sure it was her, will try to confirm)
Traditional Korean drumming
Traditional Korean fan dance (부채춤)
NCT 127 Performance
NCT 127 Performance
I look forward to the next IKAA Gathering in Korea during 2019!
~
My second tourist attraction in Singapore was the Singapore zoo. Part of the zoo was under construction when I was there but that did not have too much of an impact on my experience. They do offer a tram for a small fee if you don't feel like walking the whole zoo. I did not try out the tram but families with smaller children seemed to be using it most when I was there. They had a good number of different animals and exhibits to explore as well as a show or two that were set at a number of times throughout the day.
The zoo is a little bit far from say...central downtown Singapore but it's not all that hard to get to. I took a route involving the subway and a bus. Many families and other tourists also were taking this route. The bus left from a fairly large depot and one just had to find the right door to stand by (which happened to be at the far end from the exit). There was a sizable queue for the bus when I got there but I managed to wait only about 5-10 minutes for the bus. You get dropped off right in front of the zoo and can take the same bus back. The subway stop to that bus depot is right across the street so, again, not too hard to navigate. Although if you have small children or have trouble walking around, maybe a taxi would be easier.
Below are some shots of some of the animals I saw. As usual I thought I took a ton of photos but seemingly I didn't really. Oh well. Some of the highlights for me were the big cats and I also liked seeing the big fruit bats (Flying foxes). The bats were in an enclosed kind of aviary which also housed a number of other flying creatures like butterflies and birds.
I still think the San Diego Zoo is my top in terms of zoos I've visited but this one is up there. The general upkeep and landscaping of the zoo is good and you can spend a decent amount of time wandering through the exhibits. There are also food and souvenir shops so, you can get your shopping/eating on as well.
Singapore Zoo Information Website: http://www.zoo.com.sg/ Hours: 8:30AM - 6:00PM Admission: Adults are S$32 but discounts can be found and tickets can also be bought online Getting there: I took the subway to a bus depot which had a bus to the zoo. This is by far the cheapest option. http://www.zoo.com.sg/visitor-info/public-transport.html What to bring/wear: Good walking shoes, a camera/camcorder if you want to take pictures, sunscreen and sunglasses are a good idea. Water if you get thirsty :) Maps: http://www.zoo.com.sg/visitor-info/park-map.html
A lot of people I spoke with before this trip had no idea where Doha is. I did my best to explain the location and also mention Qatar it is where the FIFA 2022 World Cup will take place. Personally, I think there is value in knowing geography and being able to read a map. In fact, when car GPS units started to hit mainstream years ago - I met people who really struggled to read a road map.
Anyway - work sent me to Doha, Qatar for... you guessed it...a trade show. While my flight itinerary actually showed IAD -> DOH, there was a very short stop off in Dubai. This was my first time the the gulf region and never have I ever been through so much security. Besides the normal protocol in USA airports, upon stopping in DXB we had to disembark, go through another security station, wait for our gate to open, go through another security screening (palms, waist, ankles tested for explosives residue) plus a bag check. After getting to Doha I waited quite a long time for immigration processing and then grabbed my bag to head to customs. In the customs area, even if you had nothing to declare they had tables and more x-ray machines set up so they could randomly pick passersby for more screening.
I finally made it out into Qatar proper after what seemed like forever.
Upon arrival to my hotel, I was quite impressed. I stayed at the W Doha hotel and it was very trendy looking. It was like stepping into a night club rather than a hotel lobby. The doormen were quite helpful and friendly and assisted us from arrival to getting our bags to our room and helping us find all the proper light switches and such. Below is a room tour:
That night I barely slept, waking up at all hours due to jet lag. It was expected but for once I wish I could just instantly adjust.
The next two days were spent inspecting the exhibition venue and the build of our stand. The venue was very nice. It was clean, well lit, properly laid out, and had sufficient facilities for the size of the event. I've been to many of these exhibition venues and often times they suffer in a few categories but this venue seemed top notch. There was quite a bit of construction happening around the venue but nothing that really disturbed the function.
Set up went smoothly and the event got underway - I won't bore you with the details of the trade show but basically this show was focused on maritime defense and security. Many, many exhibitors were present to show off their wares and services. Others were there to focus on B2B (business-to-business) ventures.
Overall, I did not really know what to expect going to the gulf region. There is a lot of new construction and development currently occurring. There is also a high influx of imported labor from surrounding nations and Asia. I hear that only about 30% of the Qatari population is native Qatari people and that the other 70% are ex-pats and workers.
My flight back was uneventful and I actually slept most of it which I thought would help with the jet lag battle but around 2PM local time I was already feeling tired.
This past Wednesday, my culture class visited a Buddhist temple romanized as "Geumseonsa". We met on campus and then headed to the subway for a somewhat long ride to the northern edge of Seoul. Upon arrival, we had a bus ride up the hillside and then a hike up the side of the mountain on a road/stone incline. Check out this house on the walk up:
While the weather had cleared up for us, it was still fairly hot and humid. I was sweating bullets by the time we reached the main gate, but the smell of fresh air was nice.
[The Temple]
The temple had a variety of buildings, the tour guide led us to only a few but we got to walk around most of the other ones. We were shown how to properly bow to the Buddha in one of the halls containing the main Buddha statue. (I apologize as I'm not very well read regarding Buddhism). We also saw another hall where the monks also gather to pray, meditate, and worship. The center entrance is reserved for the monks of the temple while non-monks enter through the sides.
Near the entrance to the temple are some very large instruments. These all have significance when played; see the picture below:
[Chatting with the monk]
We had tea set up for us in one of the buildings and a monk greeted us and let us ask whatever questions we wanted. They said every time someone asks how to become enlightened...we were no stranger to that question either. The monk said you will just "know". Through our teacher who did a lot of translating from Korean, it sounded like once you are enlightened, you see reality as it is - not through your physical eyes, not through any type of filter, just as it exists.
Others asked about life at the temple and how monks interact with the "real world". The response to that question was one of needing to balance wisdom with practice. The way I took it was needing to balance gaining wisdom from life in the temple to practicing a good life with others. The monk said it was a constant...not struggle but maybe challenge for the monks.
We took a few pictures afterwards with the monk and then said our thank yous and goodbyes before heading down the mountain. It was quite a relaxing and serene experience. This may have been because of the streams and small waterfalls and nature all around us but I definitely felt somewhat at peace up at the temple.
[Post-temple]
After returning to Seoul I met up with my friend at the "팔색 삼겹살" restaurant in Sinchon. Their special is 8 different types of pork belly. In addition to all the pork, we got a big seafood soup/stew.
Maybe some of you have met my friend before here (TTMIK).
