Posted by Peace Corps Korea Reflections
This is a shout-out to all the Americans who answered the call to serve in the Peace Corps. As some of you know I served in Gapyeong, Korea from 1979 to 1981, working as a tuberculous control worker in a rural health center. Serving in the Peace Corps changed my life in so many ways. It led to a life-long fascination with South Korea, including becoming reasonably fluent in the language, meeting and marrying my wife whom I met after my service ended, and a MA degree in Korean studies from the University of Washington in 1986. It also led me to join the Foreign Service and serve in the Embassy from 1991 to 1993 and serving on the Korea desk from 1994 to 1996.
Before joining the State Department, I taught ESL for the US Army, for the Korean Consolidated Administration school, and later at Kyunghee University for three years and Government and Asian Studies for the University of Maryland in Korea. I lived in Korea from 1979 to 1984, 1988 to 1991, and from 1991 to 1993, and have resided there as a retiree from 2016 to 2018, and from 2019 to now, residing in Yong Jong International City, near the Incheon Airport, and now in Gimpo City.
Along the way, Korea changed so much and is not the country I first learned to love back in 1979. Here are a few of my poetic reflections.
Korean Poems
Korea travels
I first came to Korea in 1979 in the Peace Corps
Stayed in the rural countryside
Where I was one of four non-Koreans
Had to speak Korean to survive
Stayed on in a variety of jobs
Including diplomatic service
I last lived there in 1993.
Non-Korean food was hard to get
Outside of the GI ghettos
English speakers were few
And the country was not foreign-friendly
There were few foreign residents
Most American service members
Some missionary types
Diplomatic corps
A few English teachers
A few ex-pat business people
Most women quit after marriage
As it was a male-dominated society
In the rural countryside
No one knew a woman’s name
They were referred
to as so and so “mom”
Or so and so wife,
Or the generic aunt,
or grandmother
Public transit was just getting going
But traffic was not too bad
Few people could afford cars
Back then the old Korea was still there
And it was a very different place and time
Going through the transition
to the country, it has become
Today’s Korea is a very different place
The rural countryside is deserted
Wilderness areas are coming back
Even wildlife is coming back
In the mountain outback regions
50 percent of the public
Live in the Seoul metro area
Including Kyeongi province
And Incheon city where I reside.
Public transit is among the best
In the world.
Internet fast and cheap
Everywhere connected
Highways are decent but overcrowded
The KTX train is fast and convenient
The Incheon airport one of the best
The choices for food are much better
Used to be it was almost impossible
To find non-Korean food
Outside the GI ghetto towns.
Now it is everywhere
Even saw a Mexican restaurant
In a suburban Busan neighborhood.
In the end
Koreans should be proud
Of all that they have accomplished.
I remain optimistic
That someday the two Koreans
Will become one again
And that they will continue
To advance and grow
But the essence of Korea will remain
Waiting for Korean Springtime
The world peace forest
Stretches five miles
Through a delightful forest
Including a nice lotus pound
A winter watering hole for birds
And a small mountain
I welcome the advent of spring
The cherry trees snowing
The Tulips and roses blooming
After a cold sometimes hard winter
Especially during the COVID pandemic
Which kept so many people
Trapped indoors
As I walk the path
With the love of my life
By my side
Enjoying another springtime
Filled with love and affection
That is why I love Korean springtime.
Life in a Korean village
I am living in a Korean village as an exchange student. One day my host family asks me to go to the local health center to tell them to change the father’s medicine, and give me a note, the old medicine, and instructions. I am a little apprehensive, but they told me that was fine since the dragon who controlled the village had approved the request already. I smiled I had met the dragon who seemed to like me which made things in the village go much better. The daughter is cute.
First Trip to Korea
When I first went to Korea
Almost 45 years ago
It was a very alien place.
An overwhelming experience,
I entered a hot, humid, sauna.
The smells were intense
The food was spicy
filled with passionate heat.
chaotic
cacophonous
discordant sounds
filled the air.
the language sounded
like everyone was screaming.
Taxis honking, cars barking.
People screeching
Loudspeakers blaring
Sirens blasted the air.
Millions of strange people
Military police everywhere
With guns watching everyone.
I felt I was a stranger
in a strange land
Everyone speaking
A weird language
I did not understand anything.
Over time I got used to it
The smells became normal
The food was now delicious.
The sounds are less chaotic
Less cacophonous
Less discordant
I even eventually learned
How to speak the weird language.
I fell in love with this strange place
Which became my second home
And now I live there half the time
And half the time in the United States
Neither here nor there
Am I here
But I remain a true stranger
In a still strange land.
Buddha Prayer Stones
In Korea mountains
There is a custom
Of putting rocks
On top of other rocks
Building little towers
Of rocks
along the mountain path
An ancient shaman tradition
Taken over the Buddhist temples
The rocks piles were dedicated
To the Sanshin mountain spirits
And would grant wishes
To those who added
Rock to the cosmic tribute
Sanshin would honor
Those prayers and wishes
Winter roses
Red, black and yellow
In a field of late snow
Early March
End of winter
Beneath the early blooming
cherry trees
their petals joining the snow
along the world peace forest.
Visiting Jade Garden
Near Chungcheong, South Korea
On a beautiful spring day
The cherry trees were in full flower
Pink and white petals
The scent
of cherry trees in the air
Other trees just starting to bloom
Red, yellow and white tulips
Beginning to bloom
The sounds of spring all around
Birds singing
People walking about.
Talking to one another
As they wander the pathway
Taking in the springtime splendor.
The sun warming up
The pathway winding
Through the Forrest.
Meeting the Girl of My Dreams in Korea
April 3
The Peace Corps changed my life
Not in the obvious ways
That it did
I learned a new language
A new culture
Met many different people
Did some constructive
development work
And contributed to friendship
Between Koreans and the US
All the usual things that Peace Corps
Is supposed to accomplish
But the Peace Corps changed me
And I became the man I am now
Because of those two years
I spend in the countryside
Of South Korea
I went to graduate school
I became a diplomat
But most importantly
If I had not gone
to the Korean peace corps program
I never would have
met the girl of my dreams
The women I was fated to meet
I first met Angela in 1974
When I was in high school
And fell asleep in a class
And had the dream that haunted me
To this day
In the dream
I met a beautiful Asian women
Who was speaking to me
In a weird language
And then she disappeared
Like in Start treck
And I fell on the floor
“Screaming
You are you?”
I continued to have these visions
Every month for seven years
I eventually learned that she was in Korea
And so, I joined the Peace Corps
to go to Korea to find her
After I finished Peace Corps
I stuck around for another year
Thinking I would find her
But never did
Just when I was due to return to the US
To go to Graduate school
I had the final dream
In this dream
She said in Korean
Don’t worry you will meet me soon
That night getting off the bus
In front of me
Was the girl in the dream
I looked at her
And I knew she was it
And she looked at me
And knew I was it
We met up for coffee
And we dated
I proposed to her three days
after I met her
And then we married
Two months later
Despite her family’s attempts
To keep us apart
And we have been married 40 years
And I fall in love with her
Over and over again
And I still have the dream
When I am alone
Or when I am stressed out
I see her standing by the bed
Smiling at me
Saying
Everything will be alright
And it is
and so thinking back on my life
My life changed forever
When I left the US
To join the Peace Corps
Long Live the Peace Corps
this is a true story of the love of my life. I met her in 1982 when I was teaching in Korea after having finished my Peace Corps service in 1981. We got married two months after we met and have been married 33 years. I still recall the dreams of how I would met her from time to time.
I always thought this would make a great love story movie.
© 7 years ago, john Cosmos Aller love • spiritual • w • wedding • reincarnation
Spring Time Sketch in Youngjongdo, Korea
In the early morning dawn
I like to go for a walk
Down among the cherry trees
And flowering plants
Just to welcome
Another fine spring day
As the sun comes up
Dispelling my dismal mood
And filling me
With love
Hope and peace
As I walk the in
the world peace forest
Through the forest
and over the mountain
breathing the springtime air
alive filled with life
and I think to myself
this moment
is the moment
that I am meant to experience
life itself
and nothing more
nothing less
Just breath in life
based on a photo of cherry trees along the world peace forest near my house in Youngjongdo, Korea, and based on the April 21 writers digest poetry prompt to write a poetic sketch
Hiking In Korea
Korea is a land
filled with mountain paths
everywhere you go
there are paths
leading deep
into the mountains
one of my favorite paths
is the world peace forrest
which meanders around
my town
linking a lake, a lotus pound
and a nice mountain peak
and on the top
on a clear day
you can see North Korean
in the distance
and the Incheon airport
near by
Korean Pottery of Love
In Korea
there are many pottery kilns
ancient art form
in the land of the morning calm
I have a few pieces
I bought years ago
and enjoy looking
at my vase
filled with love
for my wife
Korean Springtime
Korean Springtime
I walk the path with my love
Still Under her spell
this is the 40th springtime I have enjoyed with the love of my life by my side © a year ago, john Cosmos Aller
one of my favorite places to hike in Korea © 2 years ago, john Cosmos Aller
American Coffee Takes Over Korea
About 30 years ago,
American-style coffee chains
Discovered Korea.
After the 88 Olympics,
Koreans discovered the joy
Of real brewed coffee,
Hot, Sweet, Neat
The rest is history.
I love coffee and was so glad that you could finally get a decent coffee in Korea, prior to the Olympics coffee shops were called tabangs which were where men mostly would hang out drinking instant coffee or Korean tea, and flirting with the cute waitresses.
© a year ago, john Cosmos Aller
hot humid weather in Korea,
hot humid weather in Korea,
outside like walking in a sauna.
Most people don’t use air conditioning
due to both expenses,
fear of air conditioning disease
(Which is a real thing).
hanging out at a coffee shop or mall
discouraged as COVID continues to spread.
Only two people can dine out at night
over 2, 00 cases a day now
only 20 percent are fully vaccinated.
temperatures will hit 40 degrees (100 + f)
later this week
as the monsoon season ends
and the August heat begins.
Koreans are learning
new words to describe this
heat dome
tropical nights
Polar vortex
Monster typhoons
Killing floods
Killing heat waves
are now common.
used to be that July and August
were hot and humid
but rarely about 100 dF.
Now that is becoming the norm,
as global climate change
begins hitting Korea hard.
the winters are colder
but much shorter.
Late January to early February
Polar Vortex swept through
the summer is longer
starting in May
and lasting until mid-September.
Autumn is lasting
from Mid-September
to Mid-December.
Spring just late April to early June
So far no killer wildfires.
As the monsoon season
Came on time
Monson flooding
Just before the killer heatwaves
the prompt was to write about the local weather Korea is experiencing a heat dome highs in the 90’s (40 C) real feel close to 100 F, with tropical nights in the 80s F. No relief in sight until late august, the second hottest summer in Korea so far but it will probably break the record heat
Walking Along the Winter Korean Beach
Walking along the winter
Korean beach,
With the love of my life
By my side,
She looks at me
With red hot love
Flames shooting
From her black eyes
Seoul 1979 and 2015
2013 Seoul 1979
April 7
When I arrived in Seoul
Back in the day in 1979
Seoul was a grim city
Big, polluted, overwhelming
Filled with Koreans
And nothing much to do
Other than eat Korean food
And drink Korean booze
Tourist sites were none existent
And foreigners were few and far between
The GI’s stayed in Itaewon
And there were few other foreigners around
And there were very few places in town
To eat non-Korean food
Just the fancy hotels
The base and Itaewon
But Seoul had it’s charms
It grew on me over the years
And gradually became less grim
Less forbidding
And less foreigner unfriendly
When I left Seoul in 1984 it was changing
Before my very eyes
And when I came back in 1988
it was different city
And those were the days
Of the Olympics and Seoul’s emergence
As a modern city
2014 Seoul 2015
April 8
Seoul is so different now days
Very little of the old Seoul remains
The Kangwha moon area downtown
Still exists as warren of alley ways
Between big buildings
Filled with restaurants and shops
But the old tabangs (tea shops)
With the tabang girls
Are long gone
The karaoke bars and girl bars
Are still there going strong
But coffee shops and fancier restaurants
Are everywhere
And foreigners are everywhere
Seoul is no longer a city just for Koreans
It has truly become a world city
Must to the dismay of the traditionalists
Parts of the old Seoul remain
and the mountains and parks
have become very popular indeed
there has been a resurgence in Korean Buddhism
and in traditional arts and crafts
and traditional foods as well
no where more than in Insa dong
the Mecca of traditional Korean culture
these days
and Itaweon has become
the heart of the expatriate part of Seoul
with people from around the world
gathered together
along with the young and hip
Koreans
And there is even a gay quarter now
unimaginable in the old days
Seoul has changed
For the most part for the better
But I still miss the Seoul of my past
And will mourn its passing
As I get older
Along with the city
That I have adopted
As my second home town
thoughts of life in Seoul in 1979 and 2015 © 7 years ago, john Cosmos Aller
Melting away my heart
Driving out the cold
of the winter beach.
Korean beaches are romantic in the winter and I am living in a beach resort island near the Incheon airport, © 8 months ago, john Cosmos Aller
Love in Korean
Love in Korean Dew Drop Inn
When sam Adams
first met her
The lady of his dreams
There was as the Koreans
Would say
Spark from heart to heart
이심촌심
isimchonsim
truly love at first sight
첫눈에 반하다
cheosnun-e banhada
they both knew
that it is just fate
운명
unyoung
that they had met
that date.
Two months later
They were married
It all happened
40 years ago
48 years after
She first came
To him in his dreams.
the prompt was to incorporate foreign words into a poem I chose Korean which is my best foreign language as I have been struggling to learn it for 43 years
https://lovejakecallerworld.tumblr.com › post › 651516125065183232 › venice-in-korea
Jake Cosmos Aller — Venice in Korea
May 18, 2021Venice in Korea “Venice in Korea and other Korean Stream Bed Parks ARA Canal Incheon Over the last decade, Korea has build hundreds of stream bed parks throughout Seoul and Korea. There are great… Jake Cosmos Aller — Venice in Korea. 1.5M ratings 277k ratings See, that’s what the app is perfect for. Sounds perfect Wahhhh, I don’t …
Jake Cosmos Aller — ARA Canal Incheon Venice in Korea Manisan…
Jun 3, 2021I have reached three milestones. the World According to Cosmos now has over 4,000 followers from around the world. Thanks to all of you for visiting my site and caring about my musings about Life, the Universe and everything. Second, I have not posted 264 posts over the last few years since I started this blog late in 2019.
Korean Summer Haiku by jake cosmos aller – FanStory
Jul 2, 2022Korean Summer Haiku by jake cosmos aller. General Poetry posted July 2, 2022. jake cosmos aller. Retired US Diplomat (State Department) living in South Korea. Served 27 years in 10 countries. Traveled to 55 countries, all 50 states. Grew up in Berkeley, California. Married, no children.
https://fanstory.com › displaystory.jsp?id=1061790
Korean travels by jake cosmos aller – fanstory.com
May 20, 2022jake cosmos aller Retired US Diplomat (State Department) living in South Korea. Served 27 years in 10 countries. Traveled to 55 countries, all 50 states. Grew up in Berkeley, California. Married, no children. A published poet, and short story writer. Finished six nove – more…
The Life of a PCV by jake cosmos aller – FanStory
Jul 20, 2022by jake cosmos aller. Corners of the world. In 1979-1981. Than my own. I learned to speak Korean. In a town that was in the countryside. Of Seoul or the nearby city of Chuncheon. And foreign agricultural workers as well. Than when I lived there over 43 years ago.
https://www.poemhunter.com › jake-cosmos-aller › biography
Jake Cosmos Aller — Yeongjongdo Redevelopment Proposals
Yeongjongdo Redevelopment Proposals ” Yeongjongdo redevelopment proposals bike rail trail in Yeongjongdo The Korean government has ambitious plans for developing Youngjongdo where I live. Here are my… Jake Cosmos Aller — Yeongjongdo Redevelopment Proposals. 1.5M ratings 277k ratings See, that’s what the app is perfect for. …
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Food Imperalism by jake cosmos aller – fanstory.com
Jul 17, 2022Food Imperalism by jake cosmos aller. Biographical Fiction posted July 17, 2022. Retired US Diplomat (State Department) living in South Korea. Served 27 years in 10 countries. Traveled to 55 countries, all 50 states. Grew up in Berkeley, California. Married, no children.
https://spillwords.com › author › jakecosmosaller
Venice in Korea by The World According to Cosmos
poetry and rants by the Cosmos. Listen on . Message
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Jake Aller – Venice in Korea WHERE TO LISTEN to the World… | Facebook
Venice in Korea WHERE TO LISTEN to the World According to Cosmos breaker audio Google podcasts radio public Spotify Korea Radio public c: on PocketCasts: Visit to Gangwha Ginseng Market We…
https://www.poemhunter.com › jake-cosmos-aller › biography
Jake Cosmos Aller — ARA Canal Incheon Venice in Korea Manisan…
Jun 3, 2021I have reached three milestones. the World According to Cosmos now has over 4,000 followers from around the world. Thanks to all of you for visiting my site and caring about my musings about Life, the Universe and everything. Second, I have not posted 264 posts over the last few years since I started this blog late in 2019.
Jake Cosmos Aller — Update: Korean River/Stream Bed Parks ARA Canal…
Jun 8, 2021Update: Korean River/Stream Bed Parks ARA Canal Incheon Updated letter to NPS and updated photos for Cheongjecheon streambed park. Letter to National Parks Director, Minister of Tourism, and KT One of the little-known gems of Korean tourism is all the great river parks and stream bed parks throughout Korea.
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Jake Aller – Venice in Korea WHERE TO LISTEN to the World… | Facebook
Venice in Korea WHERE TO LISTEN to the World According to Cosmos breaker audio Google podcasts radio public Spotify Korea Radio public c: on PocketCasts: Visit to Gangwha Ginseng Market We…
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Finally here are a few pictures of my Peace Corps days my friend Robert Voetsch who served in Yangpyeong, Korea just sent me.
And a few other photos from here and there
What a beautiful journey!: Celebrating the 50th … – Peace Corps
The Korean government has acknowledged these strong ties by hosting several reunions over the years. Last month, about 80 returned Volunteers and family members traveled to Seoul, South Korea, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps arrival in the country. We were there to attend the opening of an exhibit on the Peace Corps at the …
Images for peace corps Korea
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=peace+corps+Korea&atb=v314-1&iax=images&ia=images
Peace Corps Announces Collaboration with the Republic of Korea on Volunteer …
Peace Corps opened its program in Korea in 1966, and more than 2,000 Peace Corps volunteers served there before operations closed in 1981. Since 2008, the Republic of Korea has recognized the service of Peace Corps/Korea volunteers by hosting return trips for many former volunteers so they can again visit the country. Peace Corps and KOICA …
https://www.peacecorps.gov › news › library › peace-corps-volunteers-honored-by-the-korea-society
Peace Corps Volunteers Honored by The Korea Society
Peace Corps/Korea brought over 2,000 Americans to serve in Korea’s classrooms, farms, and industry. From 1966-1981, the assistance provided by these Volunteers, at a critical period in Korean history, helped to cement U.S.Korea ties. Kevin O’Donnell, the first country director of Peace Corps/Korea, and fourth director of the Peace Corps will …
https://www.peacecorps.gov › countries
Countries – Peace Corps
Peace Corps Volunteers serve in over 60 countries. Find your place in the world. … South Korea 1966-1981 2,060 Volunteers Served Caribbean. The Dominican Republic. 1962-present 13 Volunteers …
Korea in the side-view mirror: Reflections of a former Volunteer
It was, as the Peace Corps ad says, “The toughest job you will ever love.” When I left Korea in the mid-70s I was certain I would never see it again. As the years passed, the recollections of my life in Korea crystallized into increasingly romanticized memories. They became nearer and dearer to me in my life’s side-view mirror.
https://www.peacecorpsconnect.org › companies › friends-of-Korea
National Peace Corps Association | Friends of Korea – NPCA
About Friends of Korea. Friends of Korea was founded in 2002 by former Peace Corps volunteers who served in the Republic of Korea between 1966 and 1981. Since Peace Corps ended its program in Korea in 1981, the challenge for Friends of Korea has been to find a mission. Over the past several years we have been engaged in a series of …
https://peacecorpsworldwide.org › memories-of-serving-as-last-peace-corps-Korea-director
Memories of serving as the last Peace Corps/Korea Director
Oct 21, 2020Oct 21 2020. 1. by James Mayer (Korea 1978-81) The Korea Times. Friends of Korea. Peace Corps volunteers and others hold a walk-a-thon to raise funds for heart surgery in 1981. / Courtesy of Nancy Kelly. No one likes to be last. But I had that distinction as the Peace Corps Korea country director, and I am forever grateful that it happened.
Peace Corps – Connect With the Peace Corps
Connect With the Peace Corps. The Peace Corps. We are inspired by hands-on, grassroots-driven, and lasting impact. Learn more about our mission. In a changing world, building a better future together. New Opportunities Now Available. Dozens of new Volunteering openings are live on our site.
Some 2,000 Peace Corps Volunteers Served in Korea. They Have Also …
Peace Corps Volunteers and the Making of Korean Studies in the United States. Edited by Seung-Kyung Kim and Michael Robinson. Center for Korea Studies, University of Washington. Reviewed by Steven Boyd Saum . The Peace Corps sent more than 2,000 Volunteers to South Korea 1966-81, to teach English and advise on healthcare.
National Peace Corps Association | Peace Corps Korea All-Group … – NPCA
Mention you’re with the Korea Peace Corps Reunion. Dan Strickland (K-18; danstrickland2001@yahoo.com) is our reunion point person and is available to answer questions or make suggestions. Let us know you’re coming by sending Dan an email with your name(s), your Korean name, K-group #, and check-in/out dates.
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