Articles by mgedwards

A bilingual elephant?

Yahoo! published an interesting news article about an elephant at Everland Theme Park in Yongin, Korea that speaks some Korean.  Apparently elephants have the ability to mimick sounds, including noises and rudimentary speech.  In this elephant’s case, he spent so much time with his caretaker over the years that he learned how to mimick several short Korean words, including "yes," "no," "sit," and "lie down."  Elephants actually communicate through sound and body language.  It’s unclear whether this elephant understands the meaning of the words he’s speaking, but one could argue that he expresses them as a form of communication. 
 
What I actually wondered tonight was whether the elephant could learn multiple languages and become bi- or trilingual.  He already speaks elephantish (referred to as "a-rroo!" in native elephantish), and now he can imitate some Korean words.  If this elephant was shipped from Everland to the San Diego Zoo and stayed there for several years, could he imitate a few English words too?  The possibilities boggle the mind.  As it is, one could make the case that he is the world’s first bilingual elephant.  Given the Korean’s insatiable thirst to learn English as a second language, it’s surprising that the elephant did not gravitate towards learning English instead!

Jeju, Land of the Phallusians

Dear Reader, before you read tonight’s entry, I urge you to review the accompanying photo album so that you can see for yourself that I am not merely engaging in sophmoric humor when I write that Jeju Island is a maternal culture with an hyperactive fixation on a prominent feature of the male anatomy.  The island has never served as a penile colony, and yes, the culture is matriarchical.  BUT–and that’s a big BUT–as I stood and beheld Oedolgae, the lonely rock in Seogwipo, I was suddenly exposed to the naked truth that was hidden right before my very eyes!  It is a secret that quite possibly exists just to give the locals a jolly good laugh whenever they watch naive tourists mindlessly ogle the mysterious harubang, bulbous statues that have been erected around the island and stand at attention in kitschy souvenir shops.  The phallic images that fill Jeju Island are not limited to man-made creations.  Natural, hardened rock formations and pillars of cooled lava flows festoon the island, kindling the imagination.
 
Am I merely out of my head?  The nuances are hard to ignore once you uncover the truth.  Surely I’m not the only one who believes that Jeju Island was populated ages ago by libidinous voyeurs with phallic tendencies who passed these traditions on to their progeny…and spawned a generation of souvenir hawkers and tour agents.  Could early Jejuans have actually descended from the mythical Phallusians?  It’s enough to make you go…hmm.

Back from Jeju Island

We returned from our Labor Day weekend trip to Jeju Island earlier tonight.  I wish I could write that a restful time was had by all, but alas, we played much too hard for that.  I’ll write more about it tomorrow and post a grab bag of new photos for you to enjoy. 
 
One thought I will share tonight is that I don’t think Hawai’i is a suitable comparison for Jeju Island.  Jeju, a large, subtropical island about 85 kilometers south of the southernmost tip of the Korean Peninsula, is often compared to Hawai’i for its warm climate and unique culture.  Although Jeju features unique cultural assets I will expand upon in further detail over the coming days, it is still Korean, whereas Hawai’i is largely a mixture of Polynesian and American influences.  Hawai’i is also tropical, isolated, and it features a chain of volcanic islands, the largest of which is still active.  Jeju is a solitary island.  While Mt. Halla (Hallasan) on Jeju Island features a large, convex shape similar to that of Mauna Loa on Hawai’i’s Big Island, it is dormant and much smaller than either Mauna Kea or Mauna Loa, Hawai’i’s two largest peaks.  Jeju is also known to snow in winter.  Hawai’i’s twin mountain giants both get snow, but the lowlands on the Hawai’ian islands never see snow. 
 
So which location do I think most resembles Jeju Island?  Obviously, culturally Jeju Island culture is most akin to Korean culture, albeit Korean culture with a unique twist.  However, geographically Oregon State may actually offer the closest comparison to the climate on Jeju Island.  Jeju’s terrain resembles the Pacific coastal region between central Oregon and northern California.  The Oregon Coast features a wet climate, dramatic terrain, beautiful beaches, dormant volcanos (e.g. Crater Lake), twisty roads, even palm trees.  Oregon is also home to several Pacific Northwest Native American tribes, although they are based further inland and along the Washington State and British Columbian coasts.  The southern Oregon Coast features largely deciduous trees with a smattering of pine and palm trees.  It also snows in Oregon, although infrequently during the winter.  Oregon is a gem many tourists visit each year, but it lacks the glitz and penache offered by Hawai’i.  That is reason enough for Korea to promote Jeju as the Korean version of Hawai’i, rather than a locale to which it more closely resembles.