Grandparent's house in Wonju, South Korea. It is also my home for the next year. My mom lived in this house since she was in elementary school!
Entrance leading to the living room.
Grandma's kitchen! That sounds like a restaurant. Anyways, it is here where I've become extremely skilled at washing dishes.
Backyard and grandpa's garden.
Roof where we hang clothes and spy on people. It's called the ok-sang.
Mom and BFF since pre-school! Wow, that's impressive.
We visited my grandmother's grave and our family's names are engraved on the back of her tombstone. On the left is my family starting with my dad's name then on the right side are my uncle's family's names.
Dad's planting a flower at grandma's grave.
Praying. It is customary to bow 2.5 times when visiting those who have passed away.
Am I allowed to smile?
Auntie and cousin Roy at grandma's grave.
The area where my grandma (dad's side) is buried. In Korea, they bury people underground but build mounds on top to look like little hills of grass.
Ordering jja-jjang-myun that comes in a metal box--I love that metal box!
This is my grandpa who is currently in the hospice with lung cancer. He is 87. He's originally from North Korea (and has a cool North Korean accent) and came to the South side as a soldier where he was captured by American forces during the Korean War. He lost his wife and son after the DMZ line was drawn and subsequently, began a new life. He remarried and had my mom.
This is really interesting. It's a store that helps people find their mates in other countries, particularly from the Pacific Islands. The ratio of men and women in Korea isn't very disproportionate but in the countryside, there are many more men. These people can come to this store and find a wife.
My grandpa has really pretty feet and my mom was sad that she didn't get those feet genes.
Workers on a strike!
Mom grilling fish in the backyard.
One weekend, we went to my 2nd cousin's very big wedding in Seoul. At the entrance were two ice-carved swans.
Family including the groom on the right (my 2nd cousin).
This was a very fancy wedding with about 600 guests.
The beautifully-decorated aisle to the altar.
Bride walking down the aisle. It felt like a movie production.
It's cute that there are chopsticks on such a westernized plate setting.
Reciting their vows.
The appetizer: tuna. Some of these pictures may seem pointless but they are quite meaningful to my sisters so I am obligated to show them.
Wedding dessert: mango mousse.
2nd cousin Grace and me. Kids grow so fast these days.
Dad with his cousin, although they look more like brothers than his real brother. People at the wedding thought they were twins.
Korean traditional wedding immediately following the reception.
Collecting dates and chestnuts from the parents indicating how many children they should bear. It went up into the double digits and the new couple was getting kind of nervous.
I met up with Kristie Lee! Old GHP buddy who is also teaching English in Korea.
I love Korean food but this was probably one of the best things I've eaten here. It's just a big chunk of bread that is toasted and covered with honey and butter. It was especially tasty after eating something spicy.
Mom and her crazy high school friends. They were nice but more rowdy than any group of kids I've seen. We spent the whole day together.
This is my mom's friend's place called Santiago Cafe. I thought I was in Europe. It was adorabstooks!
Parents are chilling at their friend's cafe.
The market in Wonju.
A really nice friend named Joohee unni. She can speak English really well!
Korean BBQ and some soju (Korea liquor). They were just about to say "gombae!" (equivalent of "cheers")
Shaving grandpa's face.
Korean holy land called Baeron Seongji: the 2nd priest of Korea is buried here as well as many martyrs who were beheaded because of their faith.
The church was built to look like the bottom of a ship.
Nice mausoleum for those who have passed away.
Statue of 2nd priest of Korea. I don't know what happened to the 1st.
Father Yo wanted to unite grandma and me through hand holding.
Grandma praying at the grave of the priest who baptized her.
Lady and puppy on motorcycle. I have seen this same ensemble multiple times in the past week.
Grandma smiling at grandpa's side.
Family visiting grandpa.
About to eat chicken stew with rice (dalk-baek-suk).
We went into the middle of nowhere to buy some famous miso bean paste (duen-jang) from an old family-owned business. This place has been televised because it is really good.
To make miso bean paste, the soybeans are fermented in big jars indefinitely. One can make a lot of korean traditional dishes with this stuff.
Scooping miso bean paste to take home.
Grandma and me at our neighborhood church.
Rainy season: view of Chiak Mountain from home after it rained all night.
Grandpa receives a blessing from Father Kim.
A visit to my great uncle's orphanage in Nonsan.
Entrance.
Cafeteria.
Great uncle and family at the orphanage.
Rice field in the countryside.
Ginger is grown under these tents.
Visit to great aunt's daycare.
Can I please pinch your cheeks?
I love fungi!
Buckwheat noodles in an ice bowl.
Snack cart on the train. Harry Potter-ish?
Seafood heaven!
Pusan city located at the southeastern corner of the country.
Alive and edible.
Fish market where every lady is yelling at you in her Korean Southern accent to buy her fish.
View of the colorful bridge from the beach.
About 75% of those businesses are sushi restaurants. Competition is fierce.
Family friends.
View from an island off Pusan. Japan is within eyesight.
Statue of mother and children who symbolize the families that wait for their fathers to return home after fishing in the ocean.
On the way home from Pusan, we stopped at this large rest stop.
Inside the rest stop.
This is the beginning of the funeral rituals for my grandpa who passed away. Fruits, incense and flowers adorn the shrine. Family members stay at this site to welcome visitors for three days straight. No sleeping for us.
Family members gamble with Korean cards in front of grandpa's memorial. My reaction was, "the nerve!" but apparently this is customary and not disrespectful. After all, it was grandpa's favorite pastime.
After friends bow to grandpa's memorial, my parents "receive" the bow of the friends as a sign of gratitude.
Funeral service at the church my grandparents attend.
Burial service at Baeron Seongji (Korean holy land).
Mom is reading a touching letter she wrote to grandpa at the burial service.
Grandpa's place.
Grandma's godmother who is explaining the importance of these Korean customs. She's a silly character with missing teeth, half-dyed hair, a cackle for a laugh and unmatched clothes. She makes me smile.
The first sangshik, which means tabled meal. It is Korean custom to set a table for the deceased because the spirit is hungry. Grandma is pouring some Korean liquor (soju). I was really confused when we ate all the food soon after.
We visited grandpa's burial site as is custom on the 3rd day after the funeral.
Everybody takes turns lighting the incense, pouring the liquor and bowing 2.5 times.
Chatting at grandpa's niche of the mausoleum.
3 generations at the center of a medieval labyrinth.
Meditation exercise on the labyrinth.
Boreum sangshik: 15 lunar days post death another table is set for the deceased; we bow and pour Korean liquor.
Traditional Korean-style mass on the floor. It was a neat experience except my legs fell asleep. 
With friends at Baeron Seongji.
I know this is too obvious to even express but I noticed that everybody here is Korean. It's so weird to think that the people who never leave the country may never know what race consciousness is.
Friend's dog that wears a baby diaper wrapped with pantyhose.
The dog is cute.
Some people believe butterflies have a spiritual significance. At the funeral, a butterfly landed on my grandpa's picture so my grandma believed he had already become a butterfly. Several days ago, another butterfly landed in our house and she proceeded to talk to it because "he" had visited us. I had this picture taken to show my grandma that "he" had visited me while I was eating in a restaurant.
Duck feast.
Street in front of our house.
Spiders everywhere: I used to be scared of them but now I talk to them in English when I get tired of speaking Korean.
