The way out

Jan 30th, 6AM:

We were on the bus towards the airport when it stopped abruptly in what looked like nowhere and more than half of the bus walked out into dawn's cold mist. Seeing everyone get out, I thought we must be at the airport. But the ride was supposed to be much longer, so we remained. The bus began driving again and we passed hundreds of Koreans walking very uniformly on the right and there, on the left, was every one's destination: rows and rows of factories. It saddened me to see so many folks getting up before the sun and fighting their way into THAT. Then again, Koreans forget, and so do I, that this is still Korea. Despite David Bekham on cellphone adds, Mickey Mouse on old women's Tshits, and posters of Shaq in pizza parlors, this is still Korea. And for dawn's early factory folk, unlike me, this is no the beginning of a long vacation.