A bridge and a poem

안녕하세요!   Hello again from Korea!

Here I am near the rainbow bridge between Jeongha-dong and downtown Andong!

I took a walk down by the river today. The light was gold in the late afternoon and it was a little warmer today than it has been :-)

Here are a few interesting things you might not know about Korea:

• The competitive playing of some video games is televised. The most popular game played as an "E-Sport" in Korea is Starcraft. There is an entire channel devoted to E-sports.
• Holiday gifts are usually simple and practical things like food, drinks and health products, especially ginseng.
• Young couples in Korea sometimes purchase and sport complete matching outfits, called "couple wear."
• While Taekwondo is Korea's official national sport and is widely practiced, Soccer, baseball and basketball are the most popular televised sports. Korea has 8 professional baseball teams.
• You should never pour a drink for yourself in Korea, especially soju! If someone older than you fills your cup, it is polite to hold the cup with two hands as they pour.
• Personal image is very important in Korea and people generally spend time dressing up before going out. Business suits, dresses and skirts are common.
• It is good luck to visit at least three different temples on Buddha's birthday (in Early May.) Many temples provide visitors with a free meal of Bibimbap (riced mixed with egg and vegetables) on that day.
• At restaurants in Korea, servers generally do not check up on their tables as they might in many Western countries, it is expected that customers will summon them by shouting "Yeo-gi-o!" or by pressing an electronic call button on the table when they need service.
• Use of the Koreanized form of the word "service"("suh-bees-uh") in a restaurant means that something is "on the house."
  
• The rainbow bridge in Andong is populated by thousands of web-building spiders during the summer time and makes sounds like grunting animals at night when its lights are turned on. :-)

The rainbow bridge

Under the bridge

The area around the river is being landscaped and developed.

And here is a poem by one of Korea's most famous poets, Yun Dong-Ju (윤동주)

Let me have no shame
Under heaven
Until I die
Even wind among the leaves
Pains my heart.

With a heart singing stars,
I will love all dying things
And I must follow the path
That's been given to me.

Tonight also
The wind sweeps past among the stars.

Yours truly,
Michael TheMonkey