2004-02-14 - 3:52 p.m.

Thursday night here was the full moon festival (first

full moon of the new lunar year). There was a

combination pow-wow and drum corps show at the

Gwangmyung ball-field. Many folks were dressed in

traditional clothes, and we step-danced on the field.

I just do the steps I learned at Maine pow-wows and

fit right in. There were people with containers of

fire, swinging them on "dog chains," and a big

bonfire. It was noisy fun. All this shindig goes by

the prosaic name, "moon viewing." It was pretty

nippy, probably about 20 degrees F. Another good

reason to dance. ;-)

When you say

> traditional clothes; meaning Corean clothes? Because

> when you talk about pow wows, I think of Native

> Americans.

Yep, traditional "hanbok" are baggy trousers with a

cuff at the ankle and a V-necked jacket tied with a

ribbon (not Chinese-style frog buttons). The cloth is

usually silk brocade in pastels or earth-tones. One

elderly gentleman was dressed in pink, rose and cream

brocades. Women wear balloon skirts with an empire

waist and a short bolero jacked tied with the ribbon.

They usually have the baggy pants on under the skirt

and petticoat (unless it's summer). Summer hanbok are

usually made out of a very light-weight linen.

The marching bands wore traditional farmer clothes:

the trousers come tight to the leg along the calf, but

are baggy around the thighs and hips. The jackets

have closer sleeves, too. The jacket and pants are

white, but they are protected by a long dark vest with

slits up the sides, so that it flares out like flower

petals when the musicians spin around in their

march-dance. Over this vest, they wear yellow, red,

and blue sashes, around the waist and diagonally over

the shoulders. On their heads they have caps with

long ribbons attached to a swivel, so that by bobbing

their heads, they make the ribbon swirl in elegant

patterns. (I must confess, I've been watching these

high-school kids practice for a month or more. It was

so great to see them in their "dress uniforms."

> Of course, if we all stopped and took

> notice of where we live we would probably find the

> same wonderful visions.

You are SO right, Em! I find that telling my friends

here about Maine (the town of Corea, seaweed farming,

and making sauerkraut, for example), makes me

appreciate it a lot more.

We Mainers may be a bit more ethnically mixed, but the

Coreans remember that they were once Three Kingdoms,

and the regional political rivalries are still

powerful. And they are as clannish as Mainers, too.

Good to hear from you!

Happy Trails!

~ Sil

P.S. Spring is on the way; the magnolia buds are

getting fat.

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