Namsan, meaning “south mountain,” sits opposite Seoul’s Bukhansan on the north side of the city. These days, it’s popular with hikers, bicyclists, tourists and cozy couples who attach locks on a series of fences—to show the strength and...
A surprising number of South Koreans have never been to the Demilitarized Zone. Of those I have asked, the usual explanations are “I am not interested in going there” and “It’s too scary.” Neither, in my view, is convincing. How could any person...
Last night, I attended the end-of-year party hosted by my friend Yoon Yong. It was at the Bierhof, a second-floor restaurant just across the street from where I work. Mr. Yoon, who was born in 1939, is head of an NGO called Badkiller. The...
My girlfriend Audrey, despite being born and raised in Seoul, had never witnessed the long-running weekly protest outside the Japanese Embassy. Somewhat more historically oriented, I had done so numerous times. I took a day off work and went with...
A fairly big crowd had gathered at Forester Field on October 14, 1967 to witness a football game between arguably the best junior high teams in Dallas. I refer to the Hill Highlanders and the Gaston Warriors. The happiest person there must have...
Frederick Lawrence Appelbaum (bogus name, although the initials are real) and I attended Hexter Elementary School, Hill Junior High School, Bryan Adams High School and the University of Texas together. The present story pertains to events at the...
Things were kind of chancy for me back in 2007. I had been laid off at my job and had perplexing trouble in finding another one. My bank account, not large to begin with, shrank more every day. I was on the government dole. Surely I would not...
A couple of miles south of the Colorado River in Austin, Texas—at 700 East Live Oak Street, to be precise—is Stacy Pool. I have fond memories of this spring-fed neighborhood pool which is open year-round and charges no admission. Between October...
I recently updated my will. Not that I fear my death is impending—I don’t. But as I told my executor, Brian Ullom, “You just never know.” It seems that the people with whom I attended high school (class of 1971) are dying with alarming frequency...
As my fiftieth birthday approached, I felt entitled to a vacation. With encouragement from the husband of a friend, I decided to visit a small island off the coast of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. It was not uncommon for Texans to go south of the...
It was a raucous and rollicking scene at a pair of addresses—9880 Marlin and 9853 Champa—in east Dallas throughout the 1960s. Along with one or two of my brothers, I sat on the living room floor, watched the comedic stylings of the Three Stooges...
I cannot remember doing any mountain climbing before moving to Korea almost 10 years ago. Since then, however, I have ascended and descended parts of Bukhansan, Seoraksan, Taebaeksan, Gyeryongsan, Songnisan, Woraksan, Chilgapsan, Jirisan...
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