By no stretch of the imagination am I a health nut. I once
lived on fish tacos and Coca-cola for two weeks when my husband
went out of town. I do however, have a running habit that's
been hard to shake for the past 8 or so years. Before moving
to Korea I asked a friend if it would be safe for me to run
here. She said safety was not an issue, "But everyone
will stare at you. They'll think you're crazy".
This was all the encouragement I needed.
Within a week of my arrival I joined a gym and found a good
jogging path. Since then, I have witnessed some very strange
phenomena in the Korean exercise world. I have attempted to
describe and categorize some of these occurrences in the following
passage. This list is not intended to be an all-inclusive
list. I am certain that dozens of weird exercises exist, unbeknownst
to me in various forms here in the ROK. I am certain,
however, that the exerciser will be found wearing some type
of synthetic blend sweat suit regardless of the temperature.
Homosapienkoreanensis As
observed on Dong Bek Island
Dong Bek Island is met by a bridge that adjoins it to The
Westin Chosun Hotel on Hae Un Dae beach. The 1km
long paved track that circles the tiny island is
marked every 100 meters and for this reason it remains
the most popular area to walk or jog in Hae Un Dae. As you
begin the short walk from the hotel to the island you will
notice a very large enclosure. It is furnished
with large feeding troughs and house-like structures to protect
its inhabitants from the elements. The area (about the
size of a football field) is surrounded by a 1-meter high
fence. It took some time to realize what type of animal was
housed there. Then I saw the bunny. Big floppy ears,
big fuzzy feet, eating some lettuce. What has this got to
do with exercise? Nothing. Why the mini Bunny Zoo? I have
no idea.
After several minutes, I closed my mouth and made my way
uphill to the Island track. There were dozens of sweat-suited
runners making their way around this very scenic track, bunnies
on one side, pink flowered shrubs on the other. Most of the
joggers appeared to be male and around 50 years old, though
I cannot be certain of this. Because most of the adult population
appears much younger than their true age and because they
are considered 1 year old on the day of their birth (and then
gain another year each January 1st), you must do
a complex mathematical equation in order to reach the real
age of any Korean.
It didn't take long to find a subject exhibiting an exercise
technique that would be considered unusual by Western standards.
Though he appeared to be middle-aged like most of the other
joggers, my careful calculations told me that this man was
exactly 75 years old. Unlike the rest of the joggers, this
man was jogging backwards. As he jogged steadily up the
hill (backwards) he held his arms high over his head, while
his loosely held fists allowed both index fingers to point
upwards as he made little stabs towards the sky in time with
his foot steps. A little too, Saturday Night Fever for me.
As I passed him (forward) I checked the old guy out. Nice
calves! I couldn't help but imagine what The Backward Hustle
could do for my big butt.
Another man was near the rails guarding us from the rabbits.
He held his arms out straight over his head and then bent
at the waist to make a 90-degree angle. Quickly he straightened
himself out, still reaching for the sky. He continued to do
this rhythmically, looking like one of those little toy birds
that "drinks" from a glass. I was beginning to get
nauseous and was forced to look away.
Feeling exhausted after the run to the island and then a
few laps, I was ready to head home. Despite my disappointment
and the 45-year difference in our ages, I was unable to pass
Backward Calf man a second time. As if she read my mind, I
heard a woman on the side of the track clapping for me! The
ajuma stood perfectly erect in her Nike sweat suit and firmly
clapped her gloved hands together in a steady rhythm. It
was just like the 10K runs and marathons back home…a complete
stranger who knew the highs and lows every runner feels at
the end of the race…she understood what I was going through…she
knew I needed her support…she wanted to cheer me through my
final, victorious lap. I looked at her as I shuffled pass
so I could give her a grateful smile and wave. She did not
look at me. She did not stop clapping after I passed her.
She didn’t Know, Understand or Cheer me. She was exercising.
Homosapienajumaensis
The "ajuma"
is a married Korean woman whose powers and skills are unlike
any other woman on Earth. Though many ajumas' do not work
out side of the home, the work her husband does at his office
often pales in comparison to the work done at home, seven
days a week. She does not "bring home the bacon"
so to speak, rather, her husband may ask her at 2 a.m. to
prepare some bacon as he and his four drunken buddies
sway in her kitchen after a night of heavy drinking.
The ajuma is not able
to leap tall buildings in a single bound, nor is she likely
to claim that she still weighs the same 45 kg (90 pounds)
as she did when she was first married (she may have plumped
out to a hefty 115 pounds). However, even the untrained observer
in the field ( E-Mart ) will notice these ladies bustling
about with a ten-pound watermelon in one hand, the sticky
fist of a toddler in the other and a sleeping baby strapped
onto her back, prepared to walk home with the trio. No, she
can’t leap tall buildings but she can probably beat you up
the stairs.
The Health Club
After exerting himself for several minutes on a stationary
bicycle, the Middle-Aged Korean man did the only logical thing
to do. He stepped into the stairwell for a cigarette. I used
to scoff at this practice but then I realized that the smoking-gym-men
were the exception and not the norm. And back in the States,
most smokers don't exercise at all, so at the very least,
the lung-cancer sufferers in Korea are healthier than those
in the U.S. Plus it is much easier to push that O2 tank around
if you’re fit.
Although I cannot confirm it, I have been told of a muscle-head
man that makes his way into the mens’ locker room once a week
carrying a bucket filled with a dozen hard-boiled eggs. Much
to the disgust of the other men, he peels and eats the eggs
right there in the locker room. I was ready to request the
installation of a cholesterol-reading machine next to the
scale but then realized the Egg Man might be the same person
as the Stairwell Smoker. Not wanting to perpetuate the weekly
Bathroom Brunch nor the construction of a Cardio-Cancer Care
wing of the nearby hospital, I rescinded my request. Perhaps
an unexpected heart attack on the treadmill may be just the
thing to turn my stairwell into a smoke-free zone.
Careful observations (and confirmation of my suspicions with
a Korean friend), told me that Korean women believe that if
you slap yourself, it will help you lose the fat in that area.
I’ve seen women on the recumbent bicycles slapping the heck
out of their tummies as they pedal-Ouch! During the Aerobic
Class the instructor leads a round of intermittent yelling
and stomach slapping as she bangs a couple of drum sticks
together. Those ladies beat their shins, thighs and abdomens
silly for 5 minutes, all the while yelling in unison with
their leader. Still the ajuma pooch remains. However, she
has no arm flab to speak of.
After exerting herself for several minutes on a stationary
bicycle, the Middle-Aged Korean woman did the only logical
thing to do. She stepped into a bathroom stall for a cigarette.
Dressed in a matching Reebok sweat suit and headband the woman
emerged from her private room, checked her make-up and headed
back for a second Pedi-Slap session.
Conclusion
Knowing the work that the typical ajuma does on any given
holiday one cannot help but wonder how do these “Super Women”
do it? Can we shrug it off as genetics? Or could it be that
the Korean lifestyle and exercise habits make an old woman
able to climb a flight of stairs with a grandchild strapped
to her back and 20 gallons of Kim Chee on her head?
If left to make conclusions at this point you may wonder
what, if any, benefits are there to the above described methods.
I've seen evidence that these methods, though strange to the
foreign observer are both tried and true. However, please
do not try any of these exercises at home. Unless your home
is Korea, that is.
Still, my stories of 75 year-old Backward Boogie Jogging
man and the Acrobatic Ajuma may not convince you of the physical
superiority of the native Korean. It’s understandable if this
anecdotal evidence doesn’t make you a believer. Just check
the Race section of next Sports Illustrated you see and consider
the recent victory of Korean, Lee Bong-Ju, winner of the 2001
Boston Marathon. After a 10 year jeopardy by Kenyan runners,
Lee (who won an Olympic silver medal in Atlanta 1996) made
his best effort and ran the race 24 seconds faster than the
second-place finisher.
For some reason I doubt if anyone mocked his pre-race warm
up doing the Macarena.
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