Harabeoji and Halmeoni in Boon

SOUTH KOREA | Monday, 14 January 2013 | Views [451] | View Smaller Image

Cumbersome Cucumbers for All Comers. Meticulously arranged sliced cucumbers are sun dried on the terrace of a Buddhist temple’s dining hall with a capacity of more than a hundred. Each mealtime, a mix of all ages –juveniles undergoing reformation, travelers experiencing culture, locals seeking solace, martial arts aficionados—converge to enjoy all-vegetable dishes lovingly prepared by the likes of this grandma. (Gyeongju, South Korea)

Tags: temple stay, vegetarian meal, sunmudo, gyeongju, south korea, grandma

Harbinger of Hegemony. Unmindful of her weather-torn skin even just as the sun has risen, this grandma (like other members –most of whom are aged more than 60 y.o.--of the dying breed of haenyo or literally translated as sea women and can hold their breath for a long time without scuba apparatus) takes a moment on the coast to unload and inspect her find before diving back and toughing it out again and again in the freezing waters and other likely perilous encounters brought by jellyfish or even sharks--among many others--in order to gather baskets full of bounty with promises that by doing so she is paving the way for especially her female descendants’ opportunities for less harsher conditions. (Jeju, South Korea)

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Respite in the Street. From early morning to late in the evening, this grandma reaches over to serve, skewers fish cakes, rolls mochi, washes cups, keeps the boilers and fryers fired up and filled with comfort food cooking, all in about 60square feet of cosmic rhythm with passersby combating the cold weather. (Gimhae, South Korea)

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Harabeoji and Halmeoni in Boon

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