For years, I had been on the mailing list for
Friends of Korea, not because I signed up but likely from being a returned Fulbright fellow. I only vaguely felt that it might be something that related to me. They are an affiliate group that is similar to others, made up at first of returned Peace Corps volunteers who had served in Korea. While the acronym is not great, I like that each group is called "Friends of __[insert country]__." Our papermaking org was called Friends of Dard Hunter for a long time and recently changed to one that indicates borders, which I don't like. The idea of friendship being up front might seem hokey but feels real. The Peace Corps ran in Korea from 1966–1981, when South Korea was rebuilding after so much devastation after wars, occupation, etc. These volunteers are now in the sunset of their lives, yet still devoted to cross-cultural education, communication, and support. They lived in a Korea that my parents escaped, became part of Korean families, took on Korean names and learned the language. A really different orientation from white Americans who descend upon Korea with superficial interests and self-serving designs, who always raise my suspicions.
I was pleasantly surprised upon meeting this group in that it's entirely different from those who raise my hackles. In particular,
Gerry Krzic, the president of the board, has modeled immense generosity, care, hospitality, and camaraderie in a way that proves that he spent formative years of his life in Korea. So much of the way he interacts with and takes care of people, especially his students, reminds me of what a Korean auntie would do. He invited me to present a plenary at their annual meeting in his hometown and workplace of Athens, at Ohio University. I had never been, but Gerry made it absolutely memorable, even overnighting Korean goodies from his garden (including perilla leaves,
my favorite) in the summer to remind me of the gig in the fall.
Greg Caldwell received the
Kevin O'Donnell Distinguished Friend of Korea Award, another exemplar of lifetime service to Korea and the organization, having served in the Peace Corps, as associate dean of students leading international education at Lewis & Clark College for the lion's share of his career, and as Honorary Consul for the Republic of Korea in Northern Oregon. Impeccable in presentation every day, and with the warmth of his North Carolina upbringing in his voice, I was so pleased to meet him and learn more about
his service to students from around the world. I especially related to his efforts to re-home cherished belongings in the long process of Swedish death cleaning, and appreciated his connections with Korean adoptees in the Portland area where he lives, who have received many of his objects from Korea.
After stopping in Columbus to see Cat Sheridan and a textile show at the
Riffe Gallery, I arrived Thursday afternoon and joined Gerry, Greg, Rob, and Anne for dinner. I was so happy that we ended up at
Casa, since Cat had told me that was the place to go in Athens. Rob & Anne had driven in from upstate New York, and also served as
Peace Corps volunteers in Korea, where they met. It was great to have a new audience for my
hanji book, and see how the spirit of Peace Corps truly resonates for the rest of these people's lives. I was impressed by their collegiality, eager willingness to do tons of unglamorous work (sooo much schlepping of food, props, giveaways, consular gifts, people, and so on via van), and positive attitudes. They embodied a lifelong ethos of service, kindness, warmth, and giving that I have not seen all in one place for a long time. It was a refreshing change from what a friend said succinctly about being tortured by the worst of humanity, and a reminder that everyone at some point chooses their path. Everyone I met here had chosen service early in their lives and have not wavered.
The food was an obvious example of Korean/American hospitality! Gerry had ordered Korean food that a student picked up in Columbus, along with more food than we needed, to make sure everyone felt welcome and well nourished. He continues to text me almost daily to say I need to eat more, which is extremely Korean behavior. I was amazed by his ability to pull this entire meeting together with so little time, and the level of detail that included getting enough extra containers to pack food, which meant that I got to have kimbap for breakfast the next day. I should have known he is an old hand at organizing large groups of people across cultures and ages and geography; everything went without a hitch.
The days were full.
Melissa Haviland picked me up at the hotel on the first morning and showed me the printmaking and papermaking facilities, which should be better represented by my photos but I was so excited to see this dog washing basin being used as a papermaking vat that I had to share. We had met at the Minneapolis
papermaking conference where she took one of my paper thread classes. She chairs one of the best printmaking programs in the country, has tons of energy, and makes thoughtful, well-researched art. We visited Sandra at the
Kennedy Art Museum, and I enjoyed her tour of the excellent shows (two of which include handmade paper!) that highlight the collection as well as current art faculty, plus a site visit to the classrooms where I'd teach the next day. Because Cat recommended it, Melissa took me to
Beads and Things, and I wished for more time to spend browsing. We zipped through
Passion Works, then back to campus to start meetings and presentations. I was fascinated by Christy Gavitt's talk about
her work in North Korea in the late 1990s and sad I could only stay for the first part of
Bruce Fulton's talk about translating Korean literature into English, since we had to set up for the meeting, plenary, and food in another building.
After the meeting and eating ended, we went out for drinks and I got to spend
more time with the younger leadership of the organization.
Jenna Gibson is at Notre Dame and
Ekaterina Mozhaeva
at Stanford's Center for East Asian Studies (with my book and me above), and both began their
service in Korea on Fulbright ETA grants. The founders of Friends of Korea established Korean Studies around
the world at a time when it did not exist in the academy or really on anyone's radar, and set a foundation for future generations to evolve the field. I wasn't able to see Jenna's and Ekaterina's presentations/panels but
loved sharing Fulbright Korea stories and admire their dedication to the
field early in their careers. We could be frank about the racial makeup of the org, and what role Korean diaspora have in it. Hope to see more of them soon!
Thankfully, I rode with them back to the hotel to get some rest for my joomchi workshop the next day (the youngest people left first, haha). I was prepared for 40 students, which really tested the table space of the museum, but it worked out great! Everyone was very engaged and seemed to enjoy themselves. Saturday mornings can start slow but this group was chipper, no complaints. There were two adjoining rooms and somehow I crammed them all into one
for the demo, and then they spread back out to work for the rest of the
time.
I don't have a picture, but I was also presented a big check to support a scholarship for a future Hanji Retreat student next year! I'm so grateful and will share more about that later.
It was a lovely mix of community members, OU students, Friends of Korea members, and museum staff. Beautiful weather as well the entire visit.
I was happy to also have the daughter, granddaughter, and protegé of
Sara Gilfert in the class. I never got to meet Sara or visit
Paper Circle when it was open, but they were very much on the papermaking in Ohio radar when I moved to the state.
Melissa and her son started to put hanji up on the windows to dry since
there was zero table space to do otherwise, and everyone followed
their lead.
You never ever know what a group of students will produce; this was a fantastic way to follow up my talk the day prior. Nothing beats handling hanji and working in tactile and communal ways.
We went out for lunch afterwards and then revisited Passion Works. We were instructed in all photos to show off the tote bags that an OU student designed admirably. Gerry took this photo, L to R: me,
Becky (who works with Gerry at OU), Jenna, Ekaterina, Anne, and Rob. Once Gerry took us back to the hotel in the van to transfer my teaching materials to my car, he of course insisted on giving me enormous amounts of leftover food (which I then redistributed back in Cleveland). Thanks to him and Rob for taking and sharing these photos!
I should stop at that last pic to emphasize the fabulous people who made this all happen, but instead, I'm sharing the excess amount of food I ordered at a Vietnamese place near the international market in Columbus that Gerry recommended (I had already stopped on the way to Athens at a Japanese market that he told me about). I didn't believe that the bánh mì was going to be a foot long until it arrived (don't worry, I packed it to take home). It took at least three days for me to recover from but I'm grateful we made it work and happy to be in the fold. At times like this, it is always a blessing to meet new friends and colleagues, to celebrate service to others, and eat like a champ!
