A Korean Khristmas

This was my first Christmas without my family. Most foreigners I’ve spoken to here say that Christmas gets depressing for them, but I am lucky enough to have found some great friends that feel like family to me, so it was a very beautiful, relaxing, and fun Christmas.

Khristmas in the Aparte.

The girls and I decorated the aparte while listening to Christmas music and drinking wine.

I bought stocking and personalized them for Laura, Myles, and myself, and hung them with care...on the wall.

I spent Christmas with my 4 best friends, Mary, Ben, Sarah (+Jinu), and Myles, and Ben and Sarah's parents who came here from Canada for Jinu’s first birthday and Christmas. Christmas Eve was spent at Ben, Mary, and Sarah’s apartment. Mary made a delicious meal for us of fish, chicken, squash, sweet potatoes, twice-baked potatoes, and broccoli. We had Mary’s homemade apple crumble for dessert, accompanied by wine, makgeolli, and whiskey.

The gifts "under" the tree at Ben and Mary's aparte.

Khristmas Eve dinner Korean/Canadian style.

Christmas morning Myles and I opened our stocking at our apartment, and head over to Ben and Mary’s for brunch. Before making brunch we opened pressies and basked in the joy of giving gifts. Then we had our wonderful English brunch complete with bacon, egg, toast, and jam. It was truly a great start to Christmas Day. For the remainder of the day we laughed, chatted, and enjoyed each other’s company. At 9:30pm we had to catch a 3 hour train to Joon’s (Sarah’s husband) hometown where we planned to hike, celebrate Jinu’s first birthday Korean style, and hopefully fit in the Green Tea Fields, and Jirisan National Park.

*Heather, Brian (Ben and Sarah's parents), and Jinu looking at a gift from Sarah.

*Mary, Jinu, and Ben displaying some hand crafted gifts a la Sarah.

*Jinu trying to steal one of my pressies!

We arrived around 12:30am to a town in the South called 순천 Suncheon, known for its mountainous and sea side views, and also the birthplace of Jinu’s 아 빠 (father). Joon’s parents, who drove us to our Love Motel, met us at the train station.

After a semi-good night’s sleep, we woke up bright and early to go on a short hike on a mountain behind Joon’s family’s apartment. What a great way to start the day, the air was cool but refreshing, the hike was the perfect difficulty level for 8am, and both the mountain itself and the views it provided were perfect.

A view from the mountain behind Joon's family's aparte.

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At the top...we made it!

Brian, Ben, Mary, Joon, and Myles at the top.

When we were off the mountain we went to Joon’s parent’s apartment for breakfast, before going back to our motel to get showered and dressed for Jinu’s first birthday celebration. In the past, many children in Korea didn’t make it to their first birthday, which is why it is celebrated so exquisitely. The First Birthday in Korea is called a 톨 Tol, it typically is held at a banquet hall or restaurant, and includes the baby's parents greeting the many guests, lighting candles on a birthday cake, the 톨자비 Toljabee (which I’ll explain soon), sharing a meal and making a toast. The parents wear traditional Korean clothing, 한복 Hanbok, as well as the baby.

Joon, Jinu, and Sarah wearing Hanboks.

The Lee and Tucker family together for the first time.

*The Lee-Tucker family plus Myles and I.

Jinu wishing he were a big boy.

The Toljabee: where there are various items that are placed on a table. The baby (in this case Jinu) picks up an item that is intriguing to him, and that item is supposed to be telling of its future. Each item has a different meaning. The most traditional items are thread, a brush, a Korean calligraphy set, pencil, book, and money, but parents can also choose items they would like to have as options.

*Jinu choosing his future...

Jinu chose a gavel, a judges mallet, that suggests he will work in a law related profession.

*He chose the gavel!

After the birthday party, Sarah, Joon, and Jinu got changed and we went to 보성 Boseong to see the famed green tea plantations. There are thousands of tea trees lining the slopes of a small mountain, arranged in manicured rows following the organic curves of the slope. We climbed to the top of the mountain to gain a second perspective on the stunning fields, and caught a glimpse of the setting sun at the top. When we descended we had some 녹차 (green tea) ice cream, and a green tea latte. We finished our evening with drinks at Joon’s parents apartment, and off to bed we went.

Manicured rows of green tea.

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*Me, Mary, and Sarah.

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*The Lee and Tucker Family's plus Myles and I.

*Heather, Joon's mom, Me, Sarah, and Mary.

*Mary and I...too cute!

*Catching the sunset at the top of the green tea field.

*Dinner in Boseong after a looong day.

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Rising early again to make the most out of our last day in the South, we all climbed into the rented van and drove for about 2 hours until we reached 지리산 Jirisan National Park. It is the largest national park in Korea, not including the coastal national parks, and is the second highest mountain in South Korea, its highest peak reaching 1915m-high. It boasts views of mountain ridges that seem to go on forever, and closely resembled a sea of waves as the peaks were capped with snow. We hiked a trail leading to Nogodan, a 1507m-high peak in the west of the park. The mountain was covered with snow and ice making for an interesting and tricky climb at times, contributing to a stunning and unforgettable hike. The beauty of this mountain is without words, and the fun had is indescribable.

We stopped for lunch and this was our view.

Mary keeping Jinu warm.

*Getting Jinu ready to climb a mountain.

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The snow covered steps...very slippery!

One of the very incredible views from the top.

*Beautiful mommy and sweet baby

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*Sarah and I trying to help Joon carry Jinu up the mountain.

*The fam.

*Team Awe-ful...fighting!

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*Unbelievably, Joon’s dad carried Jinu up the whole way, apparently he is a tank.

*Another one for Team Awe-ful

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*Another mountain conquered

This Christmas proved to be full of love, life, and laughs. It surpassed my wildest imaginings of what my Korean Khristmas would hold. So thank you everyone for an unforgettable, miraculously delicious and exciting holiday season. I love you all with my whole heart.

And to everyone at home, I hope your Christmas’ were busting with love, laughter, and festivities. Sending much love from Korea.

매리 그리스마스

*All photos with an asterisk are taken by Mary, Myles, or Ben.