Monday, November 08, 2010

Once Upon a Time and Now
Once upon a time, in a small village named Suji, lived a young waygooken (me). This waygooken loved to ride his steed (bike) through a beautiful and exotic land (Korea). He loved to see the mountains, streams, temples, and how the country folk lived. However, one day, the young waygooken rode into the country-side to see a disturbing site. The Korean dwellings that reminded him so much of the dwellings in his native land (houses) were broken into and ransacked. Many dwellings, schools, and restaurants were vandalized with windows smashed, items strewn about, and walls torn down. The young waygooken was confused. Who could have created such destruction and chaos? Mercenaries? Zombies? Northern Barbarian Invaders? Time passed and the young waygooken left the village of Suji never to know the answer.



Then, years later, the waygooken returned on a new steed (I bought a new bike). He came back to reminisce and to learn what had transpired on the once bountiful hills of Suji. As the waygooken pedaled out to where there were once family dwellings and rice fields, he saw what foul beast had truly ransacked the countryside. Land Developers!!. The waygooken clenched his fists and cried out with emotion, but mostly pain, for as he gazed upon the newly constructed apartment frames, he hit a pothole and flew off his bike. Land Developers!!

(Really, nothing against land developers. I just road back to Suji to see what ever happened to all those trashed houses and restaurants I saw a few years ago. Funny thing about Korea, they don't just build one building at a time. They build whole cities at a time. Kind of interesting to watch, but I admit, my countryside and rice fields are missed. Archives here.)

No comments: