The Index, a Year in Seoul at Ewha Womans University

August 25, 2012 – July 13, 2013
Number of classes taught	4
Number of new preps for these classes	4
Largest class size	103 students (all first-year)
Smallest class size	3 (all graduate students)
Number of male students taught in these 4 classes	2
% of persons encountered every weekday who were male	1
# of countries represented in my classes	16, from France, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, China, The Netherlands, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, The Philippines, USA, Finland, Nigeria, Poland
Number of pounds lost	5
Space, in square feet, of living arrangements, approximately	289
# of sermons preached	6
# of books read	15
Best one read	Cloud Atlas
Longest one	Game of Thrones (five vols.)
# of months lived without a car, a cell phone, keys, and a stove to cook upon	11
Of these four, the one missed the most	The stove to cook upon
Most paid for a large box of Quaker Oatmeal	$19.00
# of pictures taken	2915
# of Buddhist temples visited	15
# of Christian churches visited	6
# of times visited the world’s largest (in membership) church	2
# of Hikes taken with the Seoul International Hiking Club	25
Most famous person I met in Seoul	Jane Goodall
# of people for whom I was named “godfather”	1
# of courses I proposed to teach for the International Summer School at Ewha, July 2014	4 :)
Dear Readers, Friends, Family, Thank you for your reading and your comments. I hope this year has been for you, as it has been for Grace and me, a wondrous, magical and most restful year. Marc

NATIONAL TREASURE No. 1

Namdaemun (Korean=남대문 / Chinese=南大門) or "Great South Gate" is one of eight gates that allowed access to Seoul during its Pre-modern period. Over 700 years old, this gate has served as a key symbol of Korea, for citizens and expats alike. (Thought-exercise: Can you name a structure you see often that is over 700 years old?)

The picture just below shows the gate about 100 years ago. Until 2008, it was the oldest structure in Seoul made of wood.

Imagine the national horror when, in 2008, an arsonist, upset over what he felt was unfair treatment in a business deal, entered the structure at night with some flammable liquid and a lighter, and caused this: 

Rebuilding began very quickly:

Finally, this past April, Namdaemun opened again.

Views of the side-wall:

One may go into the gate itself, look up, and see colorful pictures of traditional dragon figures.

Wherever we went in Korea, we witnessed dedicated efforts to keep historic treasures in good repair. National Treasure No. 1 is a good example of "visible history".

Marc