The 38th Parallel

I’m standing next to my Uncle Wonnie. He’s peering through a viewing slot in the bunker. The opening is about six inches, … More

The Myth of Every Hope Fulfilled

From the top of the Gwangbok Lotte Department StoreI can see the Yeongdo(daegyo) Draw Bridge crossing Busan Harbor.From this height, … More

On Jeju Island we travel rough backroads on our small bus,bumping along narrowly through perfectly planted fields,row on row of … More

There are soldiers buried in the United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Busanwhose bodies were not returned to their home countries.Examining … More

I’ve had this dream before, variations of it, many times.This morning it was my final dream of the night,so right … More

He realized relatively young in life that he would die. That knowledge comes to each of us at a different … More

Steel, maybe, lots of steel. Perhaps concrete by the boat-loads. Wood, really, I would rather not use. Impermanence has proved … More

“It’s right there,” he said, pointing to the small break in the tree line, hard to tell from this far … More

At the destruction of the world I sipped coffee that was too hot. Like everyone else, I’ll guess, I didn’t … More

It’s best to be born mid-century.I was born in 1954, just a babe in the nuclear age.If you come in … More

These stone tablets grow row on row, symmetrically planted concrete flowers blooming in a precisely laid field as far as … More

Our guide seats us on the time worn smooth stones of the ancient wallhuge and never breached defense ringing round … More

He fortifies himself against the cold journey ahead,this way too frigid life for a Kaua‘i boy,downing one last long sip … More