This day we woke up to some heavy Korean summer rain. When we arrived at the campus rain coats were handed out to all of us. Walking around in these rain coats was very warm as the temperatures were around 35 degrees, however I found an umbrella at the stairway of our dorm.
Lunch was prepared by the campus canteen.
Ready for action
Today’s cultural experience was taking 태권도 (Taekwondo) lessons. The name consists of three different words: 태 meaning kick, 권 meaning punch with the fist and 도 is a state of mind. This took place at the gym in the basement. Here everyone participated both families and OKF volunteers and the energy level at its max.
At first we were given a demonstration by a group of young athletes and afterwards we would practice some kicks and splitting a piece of wood. The uniform we used for the training had our names embroidered and were provided to us as a gift afterwards.
Taekwondo Group photo
After the exercise a networking session was arranged for the adults and the children would go see some Korean history. The network session had an introduction from different speakers from: G.O.A.’L, 325Kamera and finally some history of the adoption in Korea in the 1970s.
Network meeting
325Kamera is an organization with a mission to see as many Korean families united again after separation. They offer free DNA kits and once taken you register in their database for others to search in. During the presentation a general discussion concerning the pros and cons were also debated as well.
The history of adoption in Korea was also quite interesting. Understanding the different presidents motives behind their adoption policy was new to me, some did it for the sake of the children and others for the economic benefits, a new perspective I hadn’t considered before.
Time for a little evening walk which took us by a Baskin and Robbins. Here we enjoyed a very nice ice cream treat and glanced at the Ryan shaped cakes in counter. The evening ended up in the supermarket where they had a dog deposit locker, which was quite a view to us. Usually in Denmark it would be used for bags, but you can place your dog inside an airconditioned locker while you do your groceries.
Highlights of the day
- Taekwondo lessons
- Networking with G.O.A.’L and 325Kamera
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