[Terry's Tale] Blossoming Korea

The area of Cheonan where I live is a newly developing area so the buildings in the immediate area tend to be new and upscale.  But for Korea, this is the ‘normal’ in so many areas. With a brief twenty minute walk around the upscale area where I am living I can easily view a large number more of the sturdy high rises that are the living abodes for many Koreans today as well the new buildings that are growing to provide for Koreans of the future.  In fact, the sound of new construction is one, sometimes annoying but omnipresent, aspect of day-to-day life here.

In outer appearance they are similar in many respects though you can see variations from the basic patterns in some.  I would think, though I cannot say for certain, that you probably find such buildings in other countries.  Still, Koreans do add their own distinctive flourishes to the buildings, and the new shops and restaurants that spring up around such buildings once they start becoming occupied, are definitely Korean!

Interestingly enough, one of the first people than Han, Wan-hui introduced me to was the realtor who works not only for the complex in which I reside, but several others (including new, as yet unoccupied ones) as well.  His name is Kang, Hong-moo, and his eldest daughter, Kang, SoI (pronounced So – ee) was one of the first children I began to work with in instructing English.  An outstanding student, SoI has a great future ahead.

Mr. Kang’s office is in the business section of this building complex – yes, there are even a few stores and business offices right here!  In addition, each building complex is equipped with its own security office and personnel, though safety here – even the perception of safety - is much greater here than in the US.  That is not to say that Korea does not have such problems, but these problems are not in such relatively large numbers proportionate to the population as is in the case of the US, and here, citizens do not own, let alone carry around, guns.

Above and below: Mr. Kang, Hong-moo briefly relaxes with his family in his office.

Below: The Cherry blossom trees blooms wane.  In full 

development they truly add a special ambiance to the area.

Thus you now have some intimation of the type of area in which I live.

This pattern of development is similar to ones I have witnessed in the US, though the general concentrated amount of development is Korean.  Thus, in yet another blog post, I have pointed out the strong similarities between people from the US and people from Korea.  The greatest oddities that US visitors find are the language and the food (though you can even find the Korean equivalent of ‘Tex-Mex here).