كوريا Adventurer across worlds and lives, Prof. Mariam AlSayegh: South Korea as I loved it with all the exaggerations of love

Dear ladies and gentlemen
If every person expressed what he thinks honestly,
the dialogue between people would become very short, useful and wonderful,
so I will talk to you honestly about Korea now..
 
South Korea is drawn in my imagination.. like a charming girl..
innocent features, many details, with soft velvety skin, and a dreamy look,
and goals to change the present to create a different future
that takes its people from the groans of wars, divisions, poverty,
misery and debts that claimed the lives of girls and boys in the prime of life
and ignited others to achieve glory.
 
February 2008 was the first time I went to Korea via Incheon International Airport,
and I remember that the visit was after President Lee Myung-bak won the presidential elections and assumed the reins of power.
The Korean people at that time were eager for
a new beginning and an era of prosperity and peace,
and I shared the same feelings with them,
as I went to draw from new springs of knowledge that they had arranged.
It came by pure coincidence when a Korean production company contacted me
wanting to train new stars for singing and acting groups,
and I was nominated by a Korean economic figure
who had previously attended a training course for me
on the etiquette of creativity and successful personality,
and he felt that it had added something to him,
and he wanted the rising Korean generation to learn those ideas from me.
 
I went carrying inside me my thoughts
and readings about the history of Korea since the Kingdom of Gochoson
before Christ and the legend of Dangun and the gods of wind,
clouds and rain
and the emergence of the ancestors of Korean nationalism and the unity between the new powers and the local powers,
and the kingdoms of Goryeo, Joseon, and Silla.
I have great admiration for the golden age of the Silla Kingdom of Buddhist culture
and arts and for the aristocratic government of the Goryeo Kingdom,
which had the Buddhist religion.
Because I am interested in Confucian ideology,
I was fascinated by the history of the Joseon Kingdom and its distinguished thought, culture and very high literature.
 
I was also keen to read about the fall of the Joseon Kingdom
under Japanese colonial rule for thirty-five years until the end of World War II,
then Korea's liberation from Japan, and its division into South and North Korea in 1948, then North Korea's invasion of the South in 1950,
and the signing of the armistice after three years of the fratricidal war that
left many tragedies and wounds.
 
The South Korean experience made me feel proud, because despite its stumbling
in the sixties, it achieved the miracle of the Han River,
i.e. economic growth in the seventies.
 
Then Korea witnessed stability and democracy by implementing the presidential election law
at the end of the eighties.
 
Now South Korea is in a constant pursuit of peace,
development and achieving political, social and economic stability,
as greatness is to fall and then rise again.
So, I went on my first visit with a passion for learning more and a lot,
especially since at that time I had recovered from cancer thanks
to the application of bioenergy studies, meditation and healthy living practices, so I was eager to learn more and meet a number of specialists to exchange ideas.
Unlike many who fell in love with Seoul, the center of economy,
politics and culture in Korea,
Where is Gyeongbokgung Palace, the Royal Guard Changing Ceremony,
the National Folk Museum,
Shopping at Insadong Old Street, Itaewon Street, Korean Ginseng Center,
Everland Theme Park, Lotte World, Passion for Taekwondo,
Suanhwaseong Fortress, Nami Island.
 
I fell in love with Jeju Island! The nature reserve and geological park is one of the new wonders of the world and a representative of the world's natural heritage,
The Island of the Gods extends along the southern coast of Korea,
and is the largest island in it,
This volcanic island created from basalt and lava,
has picturesque views with tropical weather,
which carries a distinctive legendary oral literary history,
which has revived the economy and tourism and provided many job opportunities
Because it has become a destination for tourists and a place to host international conferences and meetings, due to its wonderful tropical humid weather,
and its tourist attractions such as Mount Hallasan, the dormant volcano,
one of the main landmarks in Jeju and the highest mountain in South Korea
Around the volcano we find 360 other volcanoes with cone-shaped volcanic craters that resemble green plateaus,
and it has the longest lava tunnel in the world, and the Jeongbang Falls
and Cheongnyeon Falls, Hyope Cave, and the Dol Harebang statues.
The National Museum in Jeju is an epic struggle of the Korean people's steadfastness against the Mongols and then the Japanese.
The Twisted Museum is an epic love story with more than 140 air statues from around the world,
and dolls in the form of Mona Lisa, Napoleon and other historical public figures.
The Haenyeo Museum and statues of strong female divers sitting cross-legged
and female divers Haenyeo who hunt and collect abalone and other seafood without diving equipment.
The path of the Bigarim Forest and rice fields, the fields of silver grass, the wind farms where horses love freedom.
Yongduam Rock or Dragon's Head Rock with its towering rock formations
and blue waters and the accompaniment of Korean shows.
Tangerine Farm, Sprite Garden, Oli Street, Yongmyori Beach,
Sangbangulsa Cave, Seongsan Peak.
Seogwipo Pleasure Boat Cruise.
Seogwipo Folk Village which has preserved ancient Korean customs
and traditions, Confucian schools, horseback riding, Korean jewelry shops.
I love the painting of Seopjikoji Island, I fell in love with it last spring,
and the natural conola flowers where the island coast overlooks the ocean waters
 
And the reflection of the clear blue in it,
the best bioenergy courses I taught were there last year.
 
Gyeongju City which is like a museum without walls,
and the historical heritage landmarks Bulguksa Temple, Gyeongju National Museum
 
And the Astronomical Observatory and Seogwiram Cave,
the statue of Bonjeon and Buddha and his disciples.
 
Bulguksa Temple, Daegu City, Haeinsa Temple and Gayasan National Park
and the Tripitaka Koreana Treasure with 81,341 woodblock prints.
 
Andong Hahoe Village with its people and village houses,
Sokcho Port and fishing boats and merchant ships,
Seorak National Park with its four provinces "Sokcho, Inje, Goseong, and Yangyang".
Daecheongbong is the highest peak of Mt. Seorak at 1,708 meters, the eastern region of Uesiorak, and there are many villages in the Naeosiorak area.
 
Baekdamcheon Valley and where all the streams meet and at the end of it is Baekdamsa Temple.
The cable car to Jungyeomseong Fortress on Mt. Seoraksan.
Jungyeomseong Fortress Plateau and 80 types of rocks, where the East Sea and Sokcho City are located, Shinheungsa Temple, Geumgangsan Mountain,
Hyeonsoju Bridge.
Because the mind is like the stomach, what matters is what you digest,
not what you swallow, I became addicted to the delicious and healthy foods of Jeju,
beef broth "Yukjang",
abalone porridge with rice, pork with soybean paste, and spicy
and regular cabbage kimchi accompanied by local soju.
I fell in love with the Korean heart, as happiness has two sources: simplicity
and kindness, and this is what I found in them during my training of a number of Korean youth and stars in the artistic,
economic, and political fields.
 
I noticed that the most wonderful thing that distinguishes Korean youth is kindness,
innocence, and the desire to learn, innovate, and shine.
 
I also noticed a deep love for the United States of America
and a tendency to imitate its stars and even excel over them.
 
The truth is that I noticed a special interest in human development in Korea
and the love of the new generations for reading, philosophy, travel, roaming,
and learning.
 
But during my last visit, I noticed through discussions with specialists
 
that there has been a change in the nature of academic achievement
 
and students' interest in quantity and their shift from creativity to indoctrination
as a result of family pressure on their children!
 
This worried me greatly.
But in the brainstorming sessions this year, my students surprised me with
a group of amazing progressive ideas,
in several fields, which made me repeat out loud:
 
Now I know why I love this people,
for the sparkle of their hearts and eyes with passion and love for the homeland,
 
May God bless a people who raised the slogan what you do not wish for yourself,
do not wish for others,
 
A people who loved their homeland and sought to raise it and believed that
a man's morals are formed by poems
 
and developed by ceremonies, rules, etiquette
and the development of human capabilities.
 
Be well and in love.
 
Cleopatra is beloved by the nation.
Shahrazad of poetry, novels and stories
Cleopatra, beloved of the nation
The orange silver moon
Goddess of the four letters
Goddess of the alphabet and insight
Goddess of the twenty-fifth hour
A diamond of Light mountain