i had dinner with my host’s friends–a bunch of hearty, interesting and cool aunties (ajummas) and uncles (ajusshis)–last night and my host, who has done a bit of wwoofing himself during his younger days, was explaining to them what it means to be a wwoofer.
these people who wwoof, they are not really interested in the usual things that society pursues, like money, or career… they are more interested in living a life than making a living, and learning about what it means to be human (인간답게 살고 싶다). they want to learn about the local life and culture. i mean just look at our country alone, korea has so many regions and provinces, each with their own sub-culture. what wwoofers get out of wwoofing is not something you can simply get from a package tour, or by walking the streets of sinchon or insadong. should the wwoofer one day decide to pursue a career, they would make great ambassadors or great at handling global relations, because they have interacted with people from many backgrounds and cultures.
i couldn’t have said it better myself, and these are the exact reasons why i love wwoofing.
my first day yesterday was interesting to say the least.
i was picked up at the bus terminal by two talkative ajummas and brought to a roomful of ajummas, ajusshis, grandmas and grandpas who were singing karaoke and dancing while in the middle of their lunch. one of the ajummas kept smiling and staring at me and said that she would like me to be her daughter-in-law.
in between lunch and dinner, i helped to bring the horses from the fields back into the stables. it was a bit scary at first to be handling such a huge animal, but the horses they asked me to lead were very gentle and just so lovely. love love 
during dinner my host’s friend also commented on wanting me to be his daughter-in-law, and he took it one step further by inviting all of us to his house (which is just beside the restaurant) after dinner, so that he could introduce me to his son.
it was a failed attempt, because after saying hi, his son escaped and ran out of the house. lolol. that’s quite funny. apparently i am only liked by korean aunties and uncles, but not so much by their sons. heehee.
one of the uncles said to me, “you are like a daughter to all of us.”
the main reason i can’t get enough of korea is because of 정 (jeong), or 情. i haven’t encountered another culture that is so quick to treat a stranger like their own, and not just pay lip service. i see this more with the older generation (which is why i love hanging out with the ajummas and ajusshis), though the younger generation, like my korean friends, have a lot of jeong as well.
this is great. i need to wwoof in korea more, maybe even make it a yearly thing. heehee.
