First of all, I must state that in Korea, there is a festival for EVERYTHING. Apple festivals, floating lantern festivals, walnut cookie festivals, mud festivals. You name it, there is a festival for it. Last weekend, we decided to head a little further into the heart of Korea for the Ginseng Festival in Geumsan. That's right, folks. There is a Ginseng Festival. We got up early Saturday morning and rode a bus for a couple hours to Daejon, a really large city in our province; then we transferred to another bus for another hour until we came to the smaller town of Geumsan.
When we got off the bus, we immediately began to collect stares. The inhabitants of our city are pretty used to seeing foreigners. For the most part. In Geumsan, however, it seemed obvious that we were most likely a rarity. Armed with my phrasebook, I looked up the word for "ginseng" and the word for "festival," hailed a taxi, spouted off my new Korean vocabulary, which, luckily, was not difficult for the driver to understand in spite of my heavy American accent, and we were off. Even in small towns there are taxis here. It seems easier to get a taxi in the smallest towns in Korea than it is to get one in Queens sometimes. The cab maneuvered down crowded streets full to bursting with vendors of all sorts and their patrons, searching for the best bargain. It was hard to tell where the normal Saturday open air market ended and the actual festival began. At the entrance of the festival, we spotted tent after tent after tent filled with all things ginseng. Occasionally, some folks who were staring at us would shout "Hello!" and then run away, giggling at having exhausted their entire English vocabulary with the use of that one word. We waved a lot, smiled a lot, and bowed. A lot.
Everywhere we went, people plied us with various Geumsan ginseng delicacies. There was one very kind, yet oddly assertive, gentleman leading us from tent to tent, trying to get us to taste and experience everything the festival had to offer. There was ginseng tea, ginseng candy, ginseng wine, deep fried ginseng (couldn't quite bring myself to try this one), ginseng jellies, ginseng syrup (with a honey-like consistency), and, to the dismay of our already overstimulated taste buds, some sort of ginseng extract. The good-natured ladies distributing samples gave each of us a popsicle stick they had dipped in jar full of a dark, thick liquid about the color and consistency of molasses, and then they smiled, eager for the positive reaction they were sure we would have when we tried their tasty treat. As soon as the dark goo assaulted my tongue, it was everything I could do not to immediately search for the nearest napkin to wipe it away. I don't know that I can even describe the taste fully. It reminded me of when Dumbledore, in one of the Harry Potter books, says he came across a Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean that tasted like earwax. It was oddly bitter, metallic, and earthy, and left an aftertaste like nothing I have ever experienced. The Hubby and I both looked at each other and tried to smile as we choked down the stuff. We didn't want to offend, but... Man, that was nasty! Speaking of Harry Potter, ginseng itself really reminds me of those screaming plants in the Chamber of Secrets books. I kept half expecting to have to cover my ears to prevent passing out.
After we escaped the ginseng food gauntlet, we decided to go into the Museum. There, you can learn all about how ginseng is the life-giving root that has sustained the Korean people and, indeed, the world for hundreds of years. Did you know that ginseng is apparently good for every organ and system in your body? You only thought that beans were the magical fruit. As I travelled around the museum, looking at all the exhibits and photos, I noticed that we were being followed. Every time I looked over my shoulder or a few feet away from me at various angles, I saw a guy who looked to be the official festival photographer snapping dozens of photos of me and the Hubby as we wandered the different showrooms. He was accompanied by another guy with a video camera, who was also probably shooting promotional footage for the festival. Later, as I perused a brochure, I noticed that it was littered with pictures of smiling foreigners who, like us, had visited the festival in years past. If one were to look at advertisements and information pamphlets for next year's festival, I am pretty sure you will spot a couple of Americans who look uncannily like us smiling back at you from the pages.
After we had visited all three floors of the museum and learned about the wonders of ginseng, we were in the lobby deciding where to go next, when two women appeared at our sides and hurriedly led us (and by led I mean nicely, but firmly, grabbed our arms and pulled us) into an alcove where they thrust 3D glasses into our hands and then, for lack of a better word, shoved us into a small room with a movie screen. The tiny theatre was packed, but we found two seats together in the back row. Dozens of eyes followed us intently as we made our way to our seats. Not sure what to expect, we sat down and put on our glasses as the lights began to dim. What we saw next made the entire trip worthwhile.
We proceeded to watch a 3D cartoon (thankfully, with English subtitles) in which the god of Ginseng, ages ago, took pity on mere mortals and gave them this magical root. As a result, the humans prospered greatly. To protect the ginseng, the god appointed a warrior turtle to guard it from any that might seek to harm it and take away the life-giving energy it provided. The god of Death, however, became angry and jealous of the humans' prosperity and decided to steal the ginseng from the people. In the year 2011, the evil god succeeds and defeats the warrior turtle with his evil swarm of flying insects. The film then cuts to a scene of people purchasing ginseng from a market, and as soon as the god steals the ginseng, they begin to writhe around in agony, clutching their heads, hearts, stomachs, arms, legs, etc. (all parts of the body which ginseng is supposed to benefit...sooo....the whole body, according to Koreans). The roots they are buying shrivel in their hands. Pain and anguish come to the people due to the loss of the ginseng. All of a sudden, a man appears at the side of the defeated warrior turtle asking if he is too late. We then discover that the man is from the future, from the year 2035, where the world is dying due to the loss of the ginseng. We see a glimpse into the future when the man is given his mission to travel back to 2011 and to stop the god of death from carrying out his evil plans. In the scene from the future, there is a huge chart on the wall that shows a dark graph depicting the loss of human life in correlation to the loss of ginseng. At the bottom of the chart, the word "ginsengocide" appears, written in English.
At this point in the film, the Hubby and I are trying our best to stifle the laughter that perpetually threatens to erupt from us as we take in the amazing-ness that is this whole cartoon experience. Which is 4-D, by the way. Air keeps blowing on us every time the evil flying insects appear.
As the film continues, the future-guy and the warrior turtle locate where the god of death has hidden the ginseng, encased in a glowing, blue force field. They fight the god and defeat him, essentially killing death, mind you. After the battle, the future-guy collapses, apparently dead. The ginseng magically begins to grow around him, lifting his still form off the ground. Then the ginseng begins to shoot off magic bubbles that float into the man's mouth, reviving him and restoring ginseng to the world. Christian metaphors abound.
 |
| Best ginseng propaganda film EVER! |
As the lights came back up in the theatre, the Hubby and I just stared at each other, open mouthed. "That. Was. Awesome," he said, his smile matching my own. Only in Korea. We made our way back to the bus terminal and headed back to Daejon, satisfied with our entire experience, if only because we saw that incredibly strange, yet delightful cartoon.
At the terminal in Daejon, I turned around, looking for the ticketing booth, when, much to my surprise, I spotted a couple of people we had met at our orientation in Cheonan the month before. I called to them, and we agreed to meet up later to hang out. We all ended up staying in Daejon that night, having a great time with other native Engish speakers.
 |
| Daejon night life! |
Can't wait for our next adventure in Seoul next weekend for Korean Thanksgiving, or Chuseok! Stay tuned.
No comments:
Post a Comment