A Noble Pair...

Meet Mrs. Yang... She is the matriarch of the Yun Family. The other day, Mrs. Yang, a very warm person, was gracious enough to invite us and our dinner guests over for some quince tea.


Once you enter the Yun’s hanok, 5 generations of noble family history whisper softly to you from its walls.


At 140 years old, this is the oldest home in Korea that is still occupied by its founding family. Mrs. Yang is the 5th generation of Yun matriarchs...and won’t be the last.


That night, our guests Professor Kun-Pyo Lee of KAIST and his #2 son (that’s how he liked to introduce himself), Choong-Hyo, were not anticipating such an historical after-dinner treat. Especially, since the #2 son is now studying architecture...


...We had quickly forgotten about the nifty conversation piece that Professor Lee had brought to dinner. I think the gadget is called an iPad!!! But, I digress...


...Everyone marveled at the intricate craftsmanship and the massive ceiling beams, which must be at least 20 inches thick. But the real story is not about the house...it is just a symbol. The real story lies in the hearts of the generations of Yun’s who lived there...


For instance...The Yun’s have traditionally reached out to the West. Above...Mrs. Yang is showing us a set of antique fusion-style dinnerware designed by a late family patriarch. The above dish happens to be part of a serving set designed especially to appeal to western dignitaries who often visit the Yun family. Most of whom are accustomed to passing around a serving platter rather than sharing a single dish from the center of the table.


The entire set is truly one of a kind...and a testament to the generations of creative Koreans who have been reaching out beyond their own culture.


As Mrs. Yang guided us through the rest her fantastic home, she reached for a photograph from the book shelf. It was an old photo of two beautiful Red-Crowned Cranes. The majestic pair were the Yun’s family pets for several generations. I understand that Red-Crowned Cranes can live for more than 70 years. So the photo was likely taken in the early 1900’s.

The birds were a beloved pair even though they often tormented the Yun children of past generations...

...At 1.5 meters tall, they must have been quite a terror for the kids. The above picture should give you some perspective!

For context, you should understand that Red-Crowned Cranes are symbolic of Korean national identity not unlike the Bald Eagle is to the US. And similarly the Yun's are living symbols of Korean nobility. So that makes the next little story even more tragic...

During the Korean War, the North Koreans forcibly occupied Seoul and along with it, the Yun Family compound. During that occupation, the compound served as a field hospital for North Korea. They painted a cross on the roof of the main residence to divert the US from bombing the beautiful property. The US obliged.

Though the North Korean occupiers managed to save themselves from being bombed, they did not show the same mercy toward the resident pair of cranes. For some twisted reason they decided to kill and eat the two symbolic creatures. What a shame...


Love dance...
Red-Crowned Cranes mate for life. When initially excited, they pick up small sticks and grass, toss them exuberantly into the air and stab at them as they fall to the ground. Once in love, they have a spectacular courtship ceremony where they prance stiff-legged around one another, bowing and stretching alternately while their wings are half extended. The dance is accentuated by leaping high up into the air as their legs dangle beneath them.

Maybe their essence still inhabits the shadows of the Yun’s grand old residence...the stone urns that the pair used to drink from still stand guard at the gate leading to the guest house...often filled with fresh rain water...

...waiting for the majestic couple to return.

Sibling Rivalry

Alex Skyped me excitedly this morning. As you may know, I have tried to encourage my kids to follow creative and non-academic endeavors. I have exposed them to Irish dance, foreign languages, piano, saxophone, painting, drawing, ceramics, etc. I also encourage sports like football, baseball, track, water polo, as well as academics.


So, as a parent, you always uncover some unintended consequence to your child rearing...

I expected sibling rivalry... However, I figured the rivalry would be in sports and academics, but as it turns out Amanda and Alex are one-upping each other in the arts. First Amanda out did Alex in Irish dance. Amanda is older and more coordinated than Alex. Alex grew much more quickly than her older sister which made coordination a [temporary] problem for her. This visibly irked Alex.


Now, Alex seems to be excelling in ceramics. So today, Amanda told me sheepishly that Alex was much more creative than her.

I could see the mental anguish in Amanda eyes who loves art and sees herself becoming an architect someday. I thought about my response for a moment... Especially, after Amanda had showed me several of her beautiful drawings. Then I figured it out.


Recently, Alex seems to have given herself permission to experiment. She allows herself to try and fail. And if she does fail...she keeps her momentum and picks up where she left off. Amanda, being the oldest child is more controlled, worried about pleasing her parents and afraid of failing. When she fails...she internalizes it and punishes herself. I have to counteract this...

Amanda is definitely artistic, but maybe she needs more encouragement to experiment without being punished by failure. Try and maybe fail...then she can see it is not so bad after all. We all are looking for permission to try...


...That’s the only way can we figure out how to live.

Forbidden Fruit

Since everyone has been writing about Apple and their new iPad, I thought I would write about a different fruit, but one no less popular. Maybe even more popular...

Recently, I found myself in Seattle taking in the sites. A nice city set in a stunning landscape. I was not expecting to be there, but life changes quickly. For Seattle, the day was unseasonably cold, windy and rainy, but the sun kept trying to poke through the clouds. Compared to Chicago, it was a typical day for April. Unlike Chicago, Seattle’s cherry trees were in full bloom. I thought the treeline streets looked quite pretty...so I snapped a few shots while we drove through the neighborhoods...

As we stopped at a nondescript intersection, I noticed “fruit” hanging from a particularly colorful tree. Shimmering red sparkles caught my eye.

OMG! Stilettos?

It was absurdly beautiful and disturbing as they dangled above our idling car. Annoyed, I asked my friend why people throw shoes up, into trees and power lines. I hate visual clutter, I thought to myself. At the same time, I eyed a woman loitering conspicuously nearby as though she had nothing better to do. My friend proceeded to educate me about the subject...if you see hanging tennis shoes you can buy drugs there...and...high heeled shoes means you can find prostitution nearby.


I could not help but think how the red & black heels created such a stark visual metaphor...Forbidden fruit hanging from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil...I wonder if they teach this kind of marketing in an MBA course...the dark side of creativity is quite powerful.