Tae Kwon Do

From Tegucigalpa, Honduras to the capital of Korea;

From Bogota, Colombia to Bangkok, Thailand;

Tai Kuan Doh seems to be the martial art of diplomacy.

Will Koreans more passionately embrace their own?

Who was the martial arts master who gave violin concerts in Tegucigalpa in the 1960s?

How might kae kwon do  bring greater equality and better citizenship to a people?

Thank You, Visitors

I am please that people outside the U.S. take time to read these posts.
What Then? is visited by individuals from South Korea, Denmark, Russia, Canada, Germany, and Malaysia.


The most visits in the last 30 days came from: Denmark, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Iran.


In the last 7 days the most visits came from Hong Kong, Japan, and Canada.


There are lots of visitors from all over Europe and other places such as India, China, And Thailand.


The area from which I have consistently received the least visits is South America.
I love SA. El Alto in Bolivia is great. I dream of Los Termales in Uruguay. I could live outside of Rio Negro and visit Medellin weekly.
Who would not love the climate of Cuenca.

Energy from the Tides

Electric energy from the tides and the waves to .......

Seems we could benefit from some of that.

There are people in France benefiting by harvesting the tides.

People in Korea are beginning to harvest energy from the tides in a large scale to their benefit.

Let's begin to benefit from sea energy now.

Joseon

I became conscious of Korea at the same time I noted a loss of confidence on the part of my father.


Near the beginning of the 'Korean War' I heard my father say that it was wrong for the people of the United States to be butting into anyone else's civil war.
Soon after that I heard him renege by saying that he just didn't understand and who was he to say.


I still don't know much about Koreans. While working on the docks I did discover that Koreans could work with Japanese without loving them.


Form early reading I seem to remember that they knew about riding horses very early in their history, but that they had raised bears even earlier.


I think that your history book will tell you that Korea is one of the oldest continuous civilization in the world.


The oldest evidence of pottery in Korea is dated just after the flood, about 8000 BC.




There were lots of people in Korea before the Gojoseon Kingdom was founded about 2500 BC, which is the time from which date the beginning of the Korean people on the Peninsula.


I think that pre-Buddhist Koreans had already successfully resisted Chinese and Mongolian invasions. Still, I imagine that Koreans carry some Chinese and Mongolian genes. Please correct me where I need correction and add your comments.


I think that Koreans are just now finding evidence of how very old the use of bronze is on te peninsula.
Before about 300 BC an iron culture began toward the south of the peninsula. The Koreans are very much their own people, but I do believe that they were influenced by very early contact with Han Chinese.

The Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea

Self-reliance has been a main aim of theirs.
To that end the peoples of the world allowed more than 1,000,000 people to die of hunger there in a very short period of time.
Their government has become what we can call totalitarian.
How have I been incorrect here.

"Police Action"

I remember it being called a 'police action' because many of us still thought that, if the people had not declared the war through their representatives, the war was illegal. We did not call people in power criminals. My memory is not perfect and I may not have all this just right.


The winners of WWII, Russia and the US, divided Korea between us. Russian forces occupied the northern part and US forces the southern. I don't remember anyone consulting the Koreans. Powerful people in the US, fearful of the power of our ally, began calling parts of the world communist or non-communist. They told us that the norther part of Korea was bad, communist.


The Russians seemed to have had less interest in Korea than we did. They seemed more interested in consolidating their power closer to home and were a bit neglectful of their duties of occupation. Most of us were pretty busy at home too, catching our breath and beginning to feel the peace. But, we were told, Chinese were bad, communist, too.


Some Koreans wanted to be whole again. They felt divided and conquered. They were not pleased to be occupied. But we had a good reputation. They knew that as democrats we valued the people and justice for the people. In June of 1950 armed Koreans from the north crossed into the south in a bid to unite their country. Americans knew about uniting; they knew about civil war too.


But it seemed that some people in the US were not sympathetic. The US, with the help of the UN, got 17 countries(I just checked)to help stop the Koreans from uniting. Most of the leaders of those 17 counties were please not to be dominated by Japan or Germany, felt some loyalty to the US, if not the cause. Americans were the good guys. However, they were pleased when the US leaders said that the could get US personal to do most of the bleeding; that US citizens would agreed to be taxed for the costs  of a 'police action.'


We did good and moved our troops across the north right up to the Chinese border and seemed ready to cross it. The Chinese, remembering that we had been calling them bad, asked us to back off. We had just won the greatest war and were not ready to 'back off' for anyone. China was sill suffering from their part in the war and were broke, still had something to fight with, including a lot of willing Chinese. They backed us out of China, across the north and back into what has come to be called South Korea.


Not completely up-beat, but better than The Black Death.


Home work: Why didn't Russia stop us from going into the north? Why did we give we give up our war powers? How ready should we be to have our young bleed even if we have made them pros? 


  

Steven L Herman

Steven L Herman




One interesting and wide source of info about Korea and much of Asia.

Goryeo

 I'm trying to get some feel for from whence Korea has come. It's not easy for me.


It seems that in early times there were important relationships between the people who would become the Koreans we know today and peoples of early Mongolia and Manchuria.


It seems, because I'm not at all certain, that these people found it necessary or expedient to resist advances of Certain Chinese people.


It further seems that after the 7th century of 'the common era' a people called the Goguryeo fought with people of certain Chinese dynasties (was one of them called Sui?)in 'wars' that were to become important to the people who came to be called Korean. It seems that much of this important history occurred near the boarders of China and what we now call North Korea.


To keep me confused it seems that beginning in the 5th century AD a people called the Silla gradually expanded their influence across the Korean Peninsula and so a time came called the Unified Silla period.


In 918 AD the Silla period was followed by the Goryeo. I wonder how that happened?


Goryeo is a short form of Gorguryeo which is the source for the English name Korea! Well, what is the Korean name for Korea? We don't know much do we?


Is it fair to say that Korea began in 918 AD when we don't even know what Korea is to Koreans? Are there Koreans who have ever heard the word Korean?

Find Out About Korea

One way I was told to find Out about Korea and Koreans was to get a Korean girlfriend. That way you may quickly find out about Korean mothers, fathers, brothers, grandfathers, aunts, dogs, language,customs, culture, religion, etc.

Getting to know something about basic Confucianism may be a calm and useful start for leaning about Korea.

Visiting South Korean cities like Seoul, Gyeongju, or Busan may be eyeopening. Also, in those cities it is not hard to to find helpful English speakers. In getting to know the beautiful Korean countryside, small towns and out of the way cities you may find tour operaters and guides helpful. Consider checking out a mountain and an island while there.

Checking out the two Koreas in Wikipedi is informative even for Koreans.

Travel books (I like to check out the cheaper used ones first) by outfits like Frommer, Moon, and Lonely Planet are often interesting and informative. You can find much at your local library and bookstores. Amazon.com is a great for books and videos. Take a look at The Two Koreas by Don Oberdorfer.

Maybe it is time for you to check out Korean restaurants in your area. Maybe there is a Korean shopping area not too far from you. Remember that there is no rule against striking-up a conversation with  Korean at these places. If a lady takes your eye, remember to find out a bit about her family relationships sooner rather than later.

As long as you are shopping check out the Hyundai and Kia dealerships. There are other Korean car companies you may find interesting; among them GM Daewou.