Jeonju; Cougar Town

You are now reading the blog of a broken man. It seems as though a slush too far with the latest fly fishing rod, or essential gear may have broken the camel's back. It's a long story, so I'd better get round to the beginning.

Today we returned to the traditional quarter of Jeonju to play dress-ups. Yes tha's right. The session was all about the Korean dress, Hanbok. Everyone dressed in some form of native attire.

Amelie looked sweet in her pink dress, finished in a white jacket decorated with a pink rose blossom branch motiff. The same pattern was repeated in a border around the bottom hem of the dress. Later she was furnished with firstly a pink hat and later a tradtional head band to complete the ensemble.

Poor Amelie has very neglectful parents as we were admonished for not putting her hair in a pig-tail . Girl's hair is ususlly put up in some way for everyday wear in order to keep it bth under control and clean.

Liz dressed in a lovely golden dress topped with a white jacket, rainbow hooped sleeves and a burgundy tie straps. Quite fetching it looked.

Impresed with the smart appearance of the women folk, I awaited my outfit with anticipation. Well... at least you can say it was interesting. Salmon pink trousers toped with an apricot jacket. Very fetching. To complete the outfit came a black horse hair net loosely called a hat. The shape of the hate is said to indicate your status....I think mine said …..”gotcha”.

There colours surely aren't traditional colours. It has to be a joke played on us by the women running the session. “You won't believe I had those Aussies dressed in today.” “I can't imagine, those guys are so gullible, aren't they?”

Apart from dressing up , we were taught about formal ad informal Hanbok wear and how various outfits indicate social status, whether you are married, single, noble or attending a formal occasion. We were also taught how to bow correctly. The bow is different for Males and Females and varies with the audience of the bow, a peer, elder, or king/noble.

It was during the dress-ups that the deception occurred. I can't think why. Perhaps it was the outfit I had donned as it is hard to look manly when the costume is that of a smoked trout. Once fully dressed I turned for matriomonial approval only to see Liz diisappearing behind closed doors. She reappeared resplendant in a lime wedding jacket over her golden dress. How glamourous my bride looked. My heart skipped a beat. That is until it stopped a moment later.

There he was the treacherous lout. One of the boys in our group stepped out dressed in the outfit of a Groom. Oh how the deception of 'The Cougar' is delivered with such evil ferosity. There they stood posing for photos, even the Mother of the Groom joined in the display obviously proud of her son's match. This was a 'kid' less than ….....well I don't dare give the fraction less family services are called in.

Oh well........ At least it'll give me more time to go fishing.

During the afternoon Sumny had lined up some students from the local university to volunteer and act as guides around the village. This provided them with a great opportunityto practice their English and gave us a handy tranlator to ourselves. It proved practical trying to learn about various activities performed in craft workshops and for shopping in the gift shops.

Our guide Hae-In was lovely. She took us to paper making, traditional medicine and topped the excursion off with a visit to a traditional Korean Teahouse. Tea here is not like in the west. It is both meditative and medicinal. You do not simply order an English Breakast, or Earl Grey. You select a tea to relax, relieve stress or attnd to any ailment you may have. There are also teas for men and women. The menu is quite confusing, especially as it was written in Korean. Fortunately we had Hae-In there to help us order appropriately. A lovely cool tea for Liz and a more Manly herbal broth for me.

It seems, for now, I have regained favour with 'she that must be obeyed' However the message is clear. Notice is formally given by 'The Cougar” shape up or.........