Yongdong Village, July 7

Today we visited a traditional village built on Confucian principles. It has become more commercialized to the regret of some of the traditionalists. Bit this seems to be necessary for the survival of the village. We went to the house of the cheon song (I'm not sure about the spelling of that.) He is a seventeenth generation cheon song. In agricultural societies these were the village elders, but as society has transitioned to a more industrial society their role has become more ceremonial. He doesn't speak English so Dr. Petersen translates our questions.

The cheon song answers questions, expressing his concern over modernization and the delicate balance necessary to maintain Confucian principles while existing in the modern world. He also discusses the growth of the village and how many people are returning to traditional ways and values. We later walked to the village seo dan, or school. Students here would study to take their exams - either military, civil, or technical exams. Technical exams included law, doctor, accountant, translators and scientists. We walked through the village to the house of another chon dong who is not in residence. We had a traditional Korean lunch at a restaurant in the village. The restaurant looks as if its actually part of someone's house. After lunch we're allowed to explore on our own. This village is larger than I expected and very vibrant. The people here are very close to nature. While walking I see students from the nearby school collecting samples from the stream. I think how lucky they are that they can walk right outside the school door and apply what they've learned in science class. There are so many tourists that I wonder if the people here ever get tired of them. The irony is that tourism allows the village to survive. There are people selling handmade goodies and crafts right outside their thatched- roof homes.