Field Trip!!!

Yes, it was field trip day a few weeks ago. One afternoon, the school closed early and we booked it for the Korean National Cemetery followed by a street where Korea's Cherry Blossom Trees bloomed.

I found it strange though that when we got to the Korean National Cemetery, it was only teachers. (Grade 3 Teachers specifically.)

"Where are the students," I asked.

"They go next week," my co-teacher replied.

So we're taking a field trip for teachers? Alright, I'll roll with it.

The first stop, the Korean National Cemetery, was a nice sight. It featured tanks, airplanes and cannons used by the Korean Military and monuments to fallen soldiers. But what I really noticed was how damn neat and tidy the tombstones were.

By far the cleanest and neatest cemetery I've ever seen. And I've been to a lot of cemeteries.


Notice how each headstone has alternating red or yellow flowers.

I asked my co-teacher, Son Young, "Do all cemeteries in Korea look like this, or is this one special because it's the government cemetery?"

"All the cemeteries are like this," she said. I still don't know whether to believe her and will make trips to witness these Necropoli for myself.

As a fan of cemeteries, I must say it was somewhat disappointing. Every single headstone looks the same and carries only text (which I couldn't read because it's written in Korean.)

But there was no difference in height, width or style amongst the tombstones. Kind of boring for a cemetery aficionado like myself.

But, as a former death care professional, I admired the ease this created for cemetery maintenance and upkeep. Mowers do not have to zig and zag between odd shaped rows. There was no variation in a row of column of headstones.

Every headstone was numbered too, which would make navigating the cemetery ideal.

The Korean Cemetery is parallel with what I've learned of Korean society. Because it's based on the Confucian Philosophy, there is not a strong desire for people to stand out. The group is considered more important, as is benefiting the group. It's kind of nice living amongst this philosophy when American children and people thing they are all special and everyone wants to hear what they have to say.