When walking around Busan, you will see some things that cause you to do a double take.Take this first picture for example. When someone from America sees the words "black face" you can't help but think about the historically racist portrayals of black people by white actors. Immediately you think to yourself: "Ok, I know these people aren't racist, at least not racist enough to make a store dedicated to creating "black face actors," so what's going on here?"
What's a foreigner to do? Investigate of course! As many of you readers know from our previous posts, hiking is a huge pastime here. There are hiking stores all over the place. Like back home, the brand North Face is pretty popular (not that Americans hike all that much or strictly wear that particular brand for hiking). Like many Americans who grab their favorite North Face jacket when the winter weather rolls in, Koreans love to wear mountain clothes wherever they may be going (this includes the beach). Well, I guess you could call this place the off-brand North Face because it is just a hiking store that sells apparel for a bit cheaper than the real North Face brand. So that's mystery number one solved, although I don't think I'll ever tell my friends at home that I'm wearing Black Face. Something tells me that might not go over too well.....
As for mystery number two, I know what comes to mind when you first look at this picture because it is the first thing that came to my mind too. But you have to look carefully at the symbol. Notice anything? It's actually a reflection of the symbol that probably first came into your mind. So what is it? What is this symbol for? Well, whenever you see this, this means that there is a Buddhist church nearby.
I remember from many years ago (either from high school or one of my many conversation with
my history buff of a father) that the Nazi symbol was taken from another culture. After seeing this symbol here many times, I did some investigating and learned that this symbol means "good fortune." It is a symbol that can be found in many Asian religions and spiritual doctrines primarily in Buddhism, Hinduism and Confucianism. So during the time when Germany was completely broken as a country following the first world war, the savvy Adolf Hitler needed a symbol for his followers to rally behind with their new found party. Since these Asian religions have been around for many years, I suppose he was inspired to borrow from them. However, being the egomaniac and devout "Christian" that he was, he reversed the symbol to make it his own. If given the opportunity, he probably would have wiped out the very people that he got the symbol from and claim he was actually the one who created it.
So there you have it. No racism. No fascism. Just a country with people of love to hike (or just wear the hiking clothes) and practice Buddhism whenever they find the time during their seven-day work week. Like Jessica has said in many of her posts, this whole experience has been an exciting adventure and I am grateful for each new thing I learn while teaching here. And we're only a quarter of the way through!
What's a foreigner to do? Investigate of course! As many of you readers know from our previous posts, hiking is a huge pastime here. There are hiking stores all over the place. Like back home, the brand North Face is pretty popular (not that Americans hike all that much or strictly wear that particular brand for hiking). Like many Americans who grab their favorite North Face jacket when the winter weather rolls in, Koreans love to wear mountain clothes wherever they may be going (this includes the beach). Well, I guess you could call this place the off-brand North Face because it is just a hiking store that sells apparel for a bit cheaper than the real North Face brand. So that's mystery number one solved, although I don't think I'll ever tell my friends at home that I'm wearing Black Face. Something tells me that might not go over too well.....As for mystery number two, I know what comes to mind when you first look at this picture because it is the first thing that came to my mind too. But you have to look carefully at the symbol. Notice anything? It's actually a reflection of the symbol that probably first came into your mind. So what is it? What is this symbol for? Well, whenever you see this, this means that there is a Buddhist church nearby.
I remember from many years ago (either from high school or one of my many conversation with
So there you have it. No racism. No fascism. Just a country with people of love to hike (or just wear the hiking clothes) and practice Buddhism whenever they find the time during their seven-day work week. Like Jessica has said in many of her posts, this whole experience has been an exciting adventure and I am grateful for each new thing I learn while teaching here. And we're only a quarter of the way through!
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