Anyhow, it doesn’t matter. It was still a good trip for a day…I stopped at the Fantastic Studio in Bucheon en route, and checked out the outdoor set where so many 20th-century historical dramas are shot.

“As a Vancouverite, I ended up in Chinatown, and suddenly felt like I was back home. Heh. I didn’t get that same eerie sense of familiarity when I was walking through Incheon’s Chinatown, however—it felt just as Korean as any other place in Korea…which is not a bad thing, but it certainly didn’t “feel” “Chinese,” despite the architectural adornishments.”

Well, it’s not surprising that a Chinatown in one North American city would remind of a Chinatown in another. I don’t know if you’ve ever been to China, but speaking as a former resident, I must say that Chinatowns in North America do not resemble the streets of any Chinese city I spent time in. Seeing rows of bitter melons and pomelos and hearing Chinese voices gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling, but I never felt like I was back in China while strolling through the streets of Chinatown in NYC, San Francisco, Chicago, DC, Seattle, Boston, or Vancouver. Chinatowns in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Japan each have their own distinct look. When I’m in a Chinatown, I feel like I’m in a Chinatown, not in China!

Thanks for the photos, Robert…I was there a year ago, in the spring of ‘06, on a cloudy day. You saw a lot more than I saw, and I thought I covered it all. Anyhow, it’s a neat daytrip: take the subway train to the last stop, cross the street and through the gate, up the main route and the stairs, check out MacArthur’s statue, walk a few steps to the promontory overlooking Chinatown, and take in a superb view of the harbour.

Funny thing, though. Years ago, when my grandmother passed away, I was in Montreal for her funeral in dreary November, and feeling homesick. As a Vancouverite, I ended up in Chinatown, and suddenly felt like I was back home. Heh. I didn’t get that same eerie sense of familiarity when I was walking through Incheon’s Chinatown, however—it felt just as Korean as any other place in Korea…which is not a bad thing, but it certainly didn’t “feel” “Chinese,” despite the architectural adornishments.

Here’s a good breakdown of the Korean independence movement. Just because it doesn’t get western press, it doesn’t mean it never existed.

“The neutrality of this introduction is disputed.”

“It has been claimed that some or all of this article or section is incoherent and not understandable, and should possibly be reworded if the intended meaning can be determined.”

Two reasons I never trust _any_ Wikipedia article related to Korean history.

http://japanflag.com/english/e-doklip.htm

tocchin’s talking nonsense, if not, blatant lies.

There was never Japanese trust of Koreans in their military. This link explains exactly why.

http://www.k2.dion.ne.jp/~rur55/E/epage12.htm

http://www.answers.com/topic/k.....e-movement

” I was trying to get into this elite school. My Japanese school teacher talked to me in private, saying, ‘You’re a Chosunese. You can’t make it to a school like this. Know your places, you Chosunese.” And the story goes that, he had a score good enough to make it anyway.”

What kind of school teacher tells his pupil that he can’t make it to a certain school, because of his racial background?