Finding My Seoul
I’m not sure what woke me, the dream or the thunder, I sat up confused as to where I was, and what had just happened. I felt like I was in another place, there were people in my dream from a place I’d never seen, they spoke a language I shouldn’t understand but in my dream I did.
I stood and made my way into the bathroom, the cool water splashed on my face felt good, and helped to clear the confusion. I looked in the mirror, what had just happened?
A vision returned of a past that wasn’t my own, the costumes were strange, the people were beautiful, they were a people I wanted to understand, a people I wanted to embrace, shaking my head to clear it, I walked into the kitchen for a much needed cup of coffee. The smell of coffee brought me back to reality and my musings, turning on my laptop I clicked on the app to watch movies online. I started flipping through the different genres until a show caught my eye, actually the picture stopped me in mid-click. There right in front of me was the costumes I saw in my dream. It was a story from the Goryeo era, and present day.
I was hooked, and my life has never been the same. I found myself at the library searching for anything I could find about Korea, I was surprised how little was available or out of date everything was. I went back and forth between KDrama and the library.
Then to my surprise I happened on an episode about KPop artists and their beginnings, their struggles, and how their lives were changed, and controlled by the industry. I fell in love, I’ll have to say my music is as wide as the distance from where I live, to the place I want to call home.
Let’s just say that my granddaughter understands my music choices better than my own children. I also was intrigued by the traditional music called Gugak, and I loved it. I wondered how the two would sound together. My journey has now began to transition from America to Korea. I am learning each day and preparing myself for the day I will walk off the plane at Incheon Airport and touch the soil in Korea. I hope to share my walk in the direction of Seoul, and of a land I have only truly witnessed in my dream, I hope you follow me on this journey.
By Cindy Lewis