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A Lady from China Continues Traditional Korean Culture
It’s the Story of Kim Myeong-seon who has Settled Down in Buyeo, Chungnam
2009.08.21(금) | CNnews (
chungnamdo@korea.kr)
Someone’s shijo melodies are echoing around. They are sorrowful and yet dignified, weak and yet powerful. The performer is Kim Myeong-seon (31) who left China to settle in Korea nine years ago. Dressed in a beautiful hanbok(Traditional Korean Clothing), she strikes a wonderful harmony with the traditional Korean verse, shijo.
Kim is the up-and-coming Star of Shijochang
“I have loved singing since I was little. I was good at singing and listening. It was purely by accident that I saw a Shijochang contest held at the Shijo Center. The very first moment I heard Shijochang, it felt very misty and warm. The more I listened to it and appreciated it, the deeper and the more fragrant it felt. Then I said to myself, “I have got to learn that.” That’s how it all started.”
I asked her how long it would take her to learn a piece of shijo and perform it completely.
“They say it takes full three years to learn the basic shijo, which means it will take as least three months to master the first three words of a shijo. It’s a well accepted idea that once you get the knack of shijo, you will naturally develop intimacy with other areas of Gukak, the traditional Korean music. In the end, Gukak and shijo seem to be connected to each other, don’t they?”
Her First Encounter with Her Husband who is 17 Years Her Senior
Kim is from Jilim, China. It was her brother-in-law that introduced her to her husband (48). Her brother-in-law had a Chinese coworker at the company, who thought Kim would be a good match to his coworker’s brother.
“The first time I was introduced to him, I found him very senior to me. He was 17 years older than me. The big age difference discouraged me from the idea of getting married to him at first. But now I realize that the age difference doesn’t matter in a marriage. But I was very serious with the subject then. Now we have children. We try to adjust to each other. He tries to be a little bit younger than his age, and I act older than my age. That’s how we bond with each other.”
She’s a Smart Homemaker who Runs a Healthy Family
She and I picked up her three children at the school and daycare center for her family picture shooting. Her oldest son Bongjung is seven years old and goes to elementary school in the first grade. Her oldest daughter Minjeong is six years old and youngest one Nageum is five years old.
Playing her roles as a mother of her three children, the only daughter-in-law of a large family, and wife of her much older husband, she has already become a “seasoned” homemaker. And she has something to tell non-Korean women who are married to Korean men and live in Korea. “I am not sure I am in the position to give advice to them. But it’s for sure that nothing is easy from the beginning. Leading married life in a strange country is very demanding. They would cry a lot at first. But it’s important for them to embrace their decision and to endure difficulties in the process. They need to make conscious efforts to get accustomed to the Korean culture. They should ask a lot of questions. Just sitting around and missing their homes won’t do them any good and will make it harder for them. I can assure them they will be happy again if they embrace the situation and work on it.
Kim is the up-and-coming Star of Shijochang
“I have loved singing since I was little. I was good at singing and listening. It was purely by accident that I saw a Shijochang contest held at the Shijo Center. The very first moment I heard Shijochang, it felt very misty and warm. The more I listened to it and appreciated it, the deeper and the more fragrant it felt. Then I said to myself, “I have got to learn that.” That’s how it all started.”
I asked her how long it would take her to learn a piece of shijo and perform it completely.
“They say it takes full three years to learn the basic shijo, which means it will take as least three months to master the first three words of a shijo. It’s a well accepted idea that once you get the knack of shijo, you will naturally develop intimacy with other areas of Gukak, the traditional Korean music. In the end, Gukak and shijo seem to be connected to each other, don’t they?”
Her First Encounter with Her Husband who is 17 Years Her Senior
Kim is from Jilim, China. It was her brother-in-law that introduced her to her husband (48). Her brother-in-law had a Chinese coworker at the company, who thought Kim would be a good match to his coworker’s brother.
“The first time I was introduced to him, I found him very senior to me. He was 17 years older than me. The big age difference discouraged me from the idea of getting married to him at first. But now I realize that the age difference doesn’t matter in a marriage. But I was very serious with the subject then. Now we have children. We try to adjust to each other. He tries to be a little bit younger than his age, and I act older than my age. That’s how we bond with each other.”
She’s a Smart Homemaker who Runs a Healthy Family
She and I picked up her three children at the school and daycare center for her family picture shooting. Her oldest son Bongjung is seven years old and goes to elementary school in the first grade. Her oldest daughter Minjeong is six years old and youngest one Nageum is five years old.
Playing her roles as a mother of her three children, the only daughter-in-law of a large family, and wife of her much older husband, she has already become a “seasoned” homemaker. And she has something to tell non-Korean women who are married to Korean men and live in Korea. “I am not sure I am in the position to give advice to them. But it’s for sure that nothing is easy from the beginning. Leading married life in a strange country is very demanding. They would cry a lot at first. But it’s important for them to embrace their decision and to endure difficulties in the process. They need to make conscious efforts to get accustomed to the Korean culture. They should ask a lot of questions. Just sitting around and missing their homes won’t do them any good and will make it harder for them. I can assure them they will be happy again if they embrace the situation and work on it.
