Ancient Korea vs. Modern Korea Dear Diary, July 6, 2011 My parents always tell me about Ancient Korea and how my great x10 grandmother lived. It sounds fascinating. But I wonder how much has changed from a thousand years until now. Probably everything has changed except the food, language and some of our culture. Most people think of a seesaw as a toy little kids play on. But did you ever think that a simple toy could serve a big purpose? In Ancient Korea it did. Women were once not able to go out and see the world, like us. So what did they do? Play Nul-tti-gi of course. Nul-tti-gi is a Korean seesaw. When we travel back to 1,000 B.C., you will experience the diary of a Korean girl living an Ancient Korea. Traveling Back Thousands of years… Dear Diary, Dec. 11 I’m not allowed to see outside. I’m not allowed to see the grass. My friends and I lay down a big bag of rice. We heave a plank of wood onto the bag and my friend squats down in the middle to balance the board. I go over to one end and step on the plank of wood, hoping it will stay. Then I jump. My friend flies up and then drops. When she hits the wood, I fly up and I see the grass, the trees. It’s wonderful! I plan to do this every day. Nul-tti-gi was very important to girls because they were very isolated. Imagine what it would feel like looking at the exact same surroundings, every single day! No one is sure how Nul-tti-gi was created, but this is just one theory about how it was invented: Girls were isolated because it was a belief that boys and girls should not be together and were to be separated. They weren’t always separated though. Before they turned seven, girls were allowed to go anywhere. After they turned seven, goodbye boys and hello, isolation! So I guess the girls missed their freedom and created a way to see outside: Nul-tti-gi! Not only were young girls isolated, but they also had many chores. One was da-deumi, an ancient Korean method of ironing. Dear Diary, Dec.12 Oh no…a great big pile of laundry to iron is right in front of me. I have to finish this by the end of the week. I grab two rollers which resemble clubs and sit in a comfortable position. I start beating the cloth with the wooden rollers, ironing the cloth to make it fresh and crisp. Thump…tap…thump…tap…the rhythm comforts me and I start to enjoy making rhythms. Thump BOOM…taa…tap tap… Tap…tap…boom… Maybe da-deumi isn’t so bad. Dear Diary, Dec.12 Later My hanbok got dirty finishing up da-deumi so I had to change clothes. I’m going to wear my best hanbok. It’s quite beautiful, made out of fine silk. I tie the chima around my body. It’s a long billowing skirt that reaches down to my toes. I love it. It billows out so I can stretch my legs; I don’t have to walk little baby steps. Then I slip on my chogori and tie it up. It looks like a small jacket. All these fancy hanboks are reminding me of my cousins wedding that will be soon. I’m having a new hanbok made for the wedding. Her wedding will be the best! I just know it. Dear Diary, Dec. 14 The wedding was very nice. Of course it had all the things any wedding should have. I love the little mogan figurine on the wedding table. It stands for everlasting love which everyone attending the wedding hopes for the bride and groom. I will miss my cousin though. When she is married, she is no longer part of my family any more. She is just suddenly severed apart from our family. Now they go to her house and then to the groom’s house for pae-baek. It’s a small ceremony with only family members present. The groom’s parents will toss dates and chestnuts at them and the bride tries to catch them in her skirt. Tossing the food at them represents “many grandchildren.” Dates represent boys and chestnuts represent girls. I hope they will have many grandchildren too. New Years’ is coming soon. In a few weeks, we will make rice cakes. We eat them as a special food on New Years’. We mostly eat rice cakes on special occasions. I’m mostly excited about making rice cakes because I get to watch people make them. Dear Diary, Dec. 31 Watching them make rice cakes was sooooo much fun! Someone brought out steamed rice and put it on this great big board. Then a strong man hit the rice with a big hammer-like thing. Then some women turn the rice over and wet the hammer with water so the hammer won’t stick to the rice. Soon, it will be a rice cake. It looks so good. I can’t wait to eat some. Tomorrow my friends and I will play Nul-tti-gi. It is the beginning of a new year…. Going back to now… Now, this is a diary of a Korean girl living in modern South Korea. It is the day before her baby sister’s first birthday. Dear Diary, July 8, 2011 Today is my baby sister’s first birthday. My family and both of my parents’ families are coming to celebrate. We are all gathering at our house, so I have to clean my room. What a waste of time; we’re not even doing it in my room. Once I asked my mom what happens at dol because I have no memory of my first birthday. “At dol, one event that everyone enjoys is when a baby is dressed in traditional clothing, and is seated at a table where small items are laid down. The belief is that whatever the baby picks up, it will represent the baby’s future. For example, when you had your first birthday, there was string, money, a toothbrush, a stethoscope, and plastic food on the table. You picked up the money, which means you will be rich when you grow up.” (Oh yeah! I’m going to be rich!) My sister picked up string out of the same things there were at my first birthday. String means long life. It’s not as good as being rich, but I guess it’s okay. Dol is a pretty fun event. (Probably not to the baby though.) We’re having a family outing to the beach for my sister’s birthday. Dear Diary, July 9, 2011 We just got back from the beach! When we went, I saw people taking baths. Not real baths of course. There are some mud flats nearby, and people take mud baths and mud massages. Then they wash off the mud in the ocean. It looks really fun. I beg, beg, beg my mom to let me take a mud massage. She always says no, though. Oh well. I definitely don’t think that people got to do this in ancient times. For some reason, all this fun is now making me want to do a big project. I should think about it. Dear Diary, July 12, 2011 I know what I want to do! It’s been the same thing everywhere. In America, Russia, Europe, and even here, Korea! Pollution. I bet that when my greatx10 grandmother lived, the air was super clean and the water was the clearest you could have ever imagined. I’ve done some research, and I found out that a lot of South Korean cities are polluted by cars, factories and other air polluting things. It’s terrible. You know how I wrote that I wondered how much has changed from Ancient Korea to now? I’ve got a pretty good picture in my head now. Dear Diary, July 20, 2011 Well I’ve learned a lot and I think I’ve got an idea of what’s changed and what hasn’t. I’ve learned that for government, we have a president instead of a king. That’s pretty good. A lot of stories seem to have mean kings who do only what they please. I’ve learned that some American cultures have mixed in with ours. When I hang out with my friends, I can go to McDonalds or Dunkin Donuts. But we still have delicious Korean foods like kimchi, bulgogi, and jap chae. I’m glad. Some of them are really goodJ. We still have the ondol heating method. It heats the floor, so if I ever have to sleep on the floor, I’m toasty warm! I guess not as many things have changed like I thought they would have. Glossary Nul-Tti-Gi (Nul-ddee-ge) a Korean seesaw which women play on New Years’. Dadeumi (Da-duimi) an ancient method of ironing using two rollers. Hanbok (Han-boke) traditional clothing Pae-Baek (Peh-bek) a small ceremony with only family members after the wedding. Ddukchigi (Dduk-chee-gee) the process of making rice cakes in ancient times. Dol (Dole) the event for a baby’s first birthday. Kimchi (Gim-chee) a spicy side Dish, foundKorean meals. Bulgogi (Bool-gogee) barbecued beef with many seasonings including soy sauce and sesame oil. Jap chae (Jap-che) sweet potato starched noodles mixed in with many vegetables.