Spring , Wedding Invitations & Father
Spring has come in Seoul and I am aware of this because my schedule gets busier every weekend with wedding invitations from those I have acquainted with. Getting invited to weddings as a spinster isn’t always a pleasant thing, I may have to say. Especially if I am not so close to any of bride or groom, receiving invitation cards is almost like getting invoices or bills to pay. Unfortunately, here in Seoul, attending weddings of acquaintances is a customary thing if one still intends to maintain the relationship with those who get married or whose child gets married. The attendance books conveniently decorated with a cover letter “Guest book” are the records of who paid what amount of money, etc., and it is mandatory to fill up before you enter the wedding hall. Usually, a wedding ceremony lasts about half an hour and guests can barely get to see/talk to a bride and a groom during the ceremony. Guests come, leave their names on the book, receive coupons to allow them to enter a cafeteria, and sit there for another half hour or so with people you never have seen before, then leave without even saying goodbye to the newly weds. Seriously, I doubt I would like to marry in this fashion if I can ever have a chance to do so.
Two nights ago, one of two daughters of a Korean Ambassador, who also was one of my bosses two year ago, when I worked for the MOFAT, got married at a wedding hall not so far from my office. My office is located in a rather business district of the city, so I was a little bit surprised to find out there was a wedding hall in one of those gigantic building forests. I knew I probably wouldn’t have a chance to give my best regards to him or any of his family members since I assumed it would be a BIG event and there would be tons of guests from every sector of the society. Most part of my guess was right. Although the wedding took place 6pm of ordinary weekday (considering most of employees work until 6~7pm, it certainly wasn’t the time or the date of anybody’s favorite.), there were still at least more than 600-700 guests were served on the well-organized sets of party tables when I got there around 6:30pm. I had to stand and catch the glimpse of it. Within such a short period of time that I saw the wedding, there were plenty of things came into my mind. They may be rather childish and immature kinds of thoughts. But first thing came into my mind was the almost forgotten nostalgia on a father figure in general. Second was genuine curiosity on becoming a person who has a magnetic power to attract that many people, or may be put this into a different way, becoming a person to be needed by that many people. It certainly was a luxurious and a very big wedding, guests of which included many big shots from governmental/non-governmental sectors of the Korean society. I still had some unfinished loads of work back at the office, then. Just before I got up and about to leave the banquet, to my surprise, the Ambassador and his wife came to my table to pay a visit to guests therein, so that I could at least congratulate them in such a short moment. Then, I came back to my office and completed the work of that day, and left there around 10pm.


Promotion
Couple of days ago, I was quietly called by an attorney who also has been taking care of administrational work of our team and heard that I was promoted. Now, I am one rank up from the bottom, called Daeri (assistant managerial position), and got a raise of approximately USD 4000 yearly. This may be considered very insignificant for many, but I still feel very appreciative for those who consider me as a candidate for the position. Working at the firm for a year, I now can take about 10 days of legally paid dayoffs this year. Although not many employees are taking more than three dayoffs at once, I am dreaming about taking some time off and visiting Vancouver sometime this year.

Mannerism
Do not take me wrong. I do very much enjoy working out at the gym after work with my sister every nightfall, consulting hardships of a day with my mother, filling up my stomach with delicious warm food cooked by mother, and gathering with relatives and friends who care for me, and very appreciate all of them. I love that I now can afford to shop things I want to buy without too much worries on paying next month’s bills, I love to keep my schedules updated with exciting new events, meetings, and I love my self-esteem rather healed, and I become not afraid and confident of my life genuinely. But routines and busy tempo of life in the city gradually drains me, and I feel much less sensitive on ongoing issues around the world, that is, feel rather isolated therefrom. And I begin worrying maybe time does not always remain favorable to me, so unless I take actions now to break this routine, things that I consider as undesirable will only continue and get worse.

Long Walk
It was a holiday celebrating/remembering the March 1st Movement (the famous Korean non-violent independence movement under the Japanese occupation in 1919) yesterday. I took a nephew and wife of one of uncles along with my sister to Gyongbok Palace (the palace where Kings of Joseon Dynasty used to reside), the Blue House (directly interpreted as ‘a house having a blue rooftop; [cheong-wa-dae], the place where Presidents of the Republic of Korea have resided since 1948.), and Insa-dong (an authentic district of the city where ones can find many traditional souvenirs, art crafts, antiques, etc. It took us almost several hours to complete the course, but nobody really complained too much and followed thereof, which is my favorite course of walk in town. (I was grown in that area.) Upon completing the walk, I thought myself how wonderful things would be if our lives could be like that; ended as we planed, long but eventually completed, tiring sometimes but such fulfilling at the end, and troubles here and there but all smiling at the end.