Special KWVA "W in Your Dream Vacation Fund-Raiser" Information ...

Choi Ki Soo looks at Doug Halbert’s old photos
Chi Ki Soo, at lunch at Seoul Station, hands his card to the reporter from Dong A, the newspaper that
helped us find him
Choi San Kim. The first activity on the
agenda was to remove shoes and present
gifts.
Mr. Choi very proudly unwrapped two
gifts he had for me. The first was a wall
hanging of carved wood. At the top is a
large Korean men’s hat; next is a Korean
pipe; next is a replica of a coin; next a
replica of a coin purse, and last a wooden
ABOVE: The bedroom in Choi Ki Soo’s apartment
in Daejon. Note that there is no bed. The floors are
warm and they sleep on the floor
RIGHT: The living room of Choi Ki Soo’s apartment.
Note how sparkling clean everything is
shoe. He proudly held it against the wall to
display it and then handed it to me.
Then, he started unwrapping the second
gift. It is a pair of glass covered dolls
in traditional Korean costume and assembled
as a wall hanging. The carved wood
hanging is symbolic of a wish for prosperity.
The glass-covered dolls are a symbol
of friendship. After viewing the gifts and
extending many bows and thanks, Mr.
Choi, then, with very great care, rewrapped
the gifts and packed them in a
box for me to use in carrying them home.
The ladies of the house then began
bringing a spread of food you cannot
believe to two tables about 8 inches above
the floor in the living room. There were
vegetables, meats (the main meat was
Pulgogi [a thin cut beef that is marinated
and bar-b-qued on a hibachi] which you
combine on a lettuce leaf with bean
sprouts, hot bean paste, garlic, and kimchee),
three varieties of kim chee (fermented
cabbage, the Korean National dish),
squid, octopus, fish, and rice.
We had great fun trying everything
using chop sticks. (We were offered forks
but they were politely declined as I felt
that “when in Rome, do as the Romans
do”). There were many other items and all
were excellent.
The men of the house did not interfere
in the kitchen or with the preparation and
serving of the meal. The women run the
house. The men run the world outside the
house.
Choi Ki Soo mentioned that men are
helpless in the house because they are not
allowed to touch anything in the kitchen.
It was very clear that the women of Korea
have a long way to go before they are
treated as equals! It is
certainly a “man’s
world” there. The only
place a woman has any
authority is in the home.
After the meal we
enjoyed conversation
with the help of Mr. Oh
and took numerous pictures.
I have already
sent copies of the pictures
to Mr. Choi and
hope to hear from him
in the future.
Continued on page 65
53
The Graybeards
May – June 2009