Old Footage

Over the last few days, I've watched and logged the footage I'd shot during my stay in Korea 2002-2003. Chang transferred the miniDV footage to DVD for me.

Watching those images brought back a lot of memories and feelings, and reminded me of where I was in my life at that time. As much as I may miss Korea, my friends there, etc., I am reminded that I went there to get a handle on my deepest self, so that I could come back and live the life I am now leading, with a husband and a fulfilling career. I wouldn't trade my present life for anything. This is exactly the kind of perspective I want to communicate in the film.

The footage of me in the noribang is particularly moving - I spent hours in the noribang with my friends, and it seems like a lot of our memories were made around the singing room.

There is also a great deal of video taken at the beach and the seaside, and of course footage of crazy kids mugging the camera. I was taken aback while watching it, at how sharply I spoke to them when they tried to grab the camera. Clearly I was irritated - one of the side effects of teaching there, I think. There is no privacy and the kids there have no disciplinary boundaries (like "don't touch"). This was one of the things that used to drive me nuts - one of the things I'd lost sight of.

Another theme that keeps surfacing as I watch the footage is how my memory has become distorted, and how there were certain things I'd forgotten completely. In many ways I'd romanticized my life there, glossed over the hardships. Perhaps this is what we do with many situations. Though for sure, there were excellent memories and wonderful experiences to focus on. How deeply do I want to dig through this for the film? Something to consider.