Smoke Signals
Quick Stop In Korea Continues A Tribal Connection
8 NOVEMBER 1,2006
By Chris Mercier,
Tribal Chair
Quick question: Does, a stopover
in a foreign nation actually count
as having visited that country?
Technically, you have set foot on
that country's ground. Hut then
again, not always do you end up
going through customs, nor do
they stamp your passport. In other
words, it's kind of a trick question.
More importantly, it's the kind of
question that will plague a tired
and jetlagged mind, which is ex
actly what mine was on September
20, 2006, as my feet finally touched
down in Incheon, South Korea, just
about an hour outside of Seoul.
I had the good fortune to visit
that up and coming nation as part
of an ongoing sister county rela
tionship between Yamhill County
and Geumsan province that goes
more than a decade back. In fact,
in 1996, Mark Mercier then also a
member of the Grand Ronde Tribal
Council, made the same trip. Ac
cording to some of my companions
who happened to have been part
of that same trip, Geumsan has
changed quite a bit. I take their
word for it. Hut here's the blow
by blow run down of my brief, yet
fascinating experience.
I am greeted at the airport on
September 20 after having been in
transit for nearly 20 hours, includ
ing an 11 -hour flight from Portland
to Tokyo. I left the morning of
September 19. The time is roughly
9 p.m. on September 20. The time
difference, in case any body is inter
ested, is 16 hours. Koreans are 16
hours ahead of us. When I return
to the United States the following
week, my flight from Seoul leaves
at 11 a.m. I arrive in Portland at
8 a.m. ...on the same day.
Hob Youngman, a local business
man who is part of the delegation,
and Jane Mauk of the Northwest
Korean Culture Society, also a
traveling companion, informed me
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Chairman Chung Hyu-Soon, the head of
Geumsan province, also known by his American
peers as "Clinton."
that South Korea has one of the
highest standards of living in the
far East. Actually, the quality of
life and cost of living about parallel
that of our country, which to me is
kind of surprising, as I have trav
eled through other countries in the
region Thailand, Laos, Cambodia
and Malaysia. Those countries have
a ways to go. Korea doesn't, and
that is very obvious as our driver
takes us down to the central part
of the country, where Yamhill's
sister province resides. We speed
past a slew of new condos and con
struction, -rarely dipping below 70
m.p.h. Many buildings bear com
pany names and logos,
like Daewoo. Mauk in
forms me that a lot of
the bigger companies
provide housing for their
employees. They are
everywhere, these com
pany neighborhoods,
sparkling condos and
apartment complexes,
jutting out of the ground
and lined up beside each
other like titanic con
crete dominoes.
We arrive in Geum
san and our hotels at
just after midnight. I
haven't slept in well
over 24 hours. Our
host, Chairman Chung
Hyu-Soo, the head of
the province's council,
greets us in the lobby,
looking a little peaked
himself. Mauk and
Marian Newell, a local
hazelnut farmer (Willa
mette Filbert Growers)
from Newberg, in-
formed me that Chung's
nickname is "Clinton",
because he looks startlingly like
our former president. Really, he
does. We are showed to our rooms,
in bed by 1 a.m. Chung informs us
that we will be rising at 8:30 that
morning, when our guided tour of
the province will begin. Chung
doesn't speak English, but through
body language and a few words we
understand, like "sleep" and "wake"
and "eight. ..ter-tee", the plan is
made abundantly clear.
Our hotel serves what is called
an "American Breakfast", and that
means fried eggs, bacon, white
toast, sliced kiwis and melons, and
plenty of coffee. Chung greets us
very chipper. Like a lot of Korean
businessmen, I learn, he almost
always wears a suit and tie. His en
tourage of what seems like at least
two or three men dress similarly.
At times we have a translator, at
other times we don't.
We are taken to the World Gin
seng Expo to set up a booth repre
senting Yamhill County. Newell
, sets out tons of packets of hazel
nuts, all of which are taken within
an hour. I put out Tribal calendars
and about three dozen issues of
the "Smoke Signals" pow wow is
sue. Those two are taken quickly.
The expo grounds are very impres
sive. September 21 is not techni
cally the official opening day, but
nonetheless there appears to be
a "pre-screening" of the opening
ceremonies. We are invited.
Chung takes us to the provin
cial offices, where his secretaries
serve us cold tea that reminds me
of shredded wheat. Newell and
Mauk explain that it is toasted
wheat tea. I like the flavor, but
still find the idea a little unusual
for a beverage.
Not until lunch of our first day do
I get to experience a real Korean
meal. I have heard of kimchee, the
pickled spicy cabbage that accom
panies every meal, but this is my
first time trying it. We are taken
to a local restaurant where we must
take off our shoes and sit at a line
of small tables no more than 15
inches off the ground. Before us sit
a number of small dishes, probably
a dozen at least, from which we will
all eat. Also present are a hand-
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Gyeongbokgung Palace: Sunday visitors enjoy a stroll through the massive old complex, located in the northern part of Seoul. The palace grounds
also host the beautiful Korean National Folk Museum.