52page

www.groovekorea.com / January 2015 52 EVEN THE RIVERS AND MOUNTAINS CHANgE THE SAME RIVER CAN’T BE STEPPED IN TWICE, BUT NOSTALgIA fLOWS LIKE A BURBLINg STREAM ThE REpATRIATION COLumN Column by John M. Rodgers / Illustration by Jason Burnett O ne late autumn evening in 2011, I stood on the roof of my apartment building in eastern Seoul gazing out over the city as dusk slow- ly gave way to neon lights and the city changed into its nocturnal garb for the next shift. My day teaching at a moun- tainside prep school, whose lit windows I could see from my roof, had ended an hour or so before, and I now stood, a cold OB Lager can in hand, contemplat- ing my departure after nearly a decade in Korea. This deliberation had been underway for years, beginning near the end of my first 12 months on the peninsula. During that year, I had lived in the surprisingly sylvan neighborhood of Gaepo-dong, which a stream ran through, mountains rose behind and the 710 bus (now the 143) started and ended its city-cross- ing route. At that time, the Tower Pal- ace complex in Dogok-dong had just opened, heralding the start of the luxury apartment boom, and the nearest sub- way station was Daechi, a 20-minute walk away. I had told myself that I was on a two-year tour, but then two turned to four and then doubled again. Now, here I was, looking out over what I considered to be my city, my gu, my dong, my hakgyo (school). To the southwest, there was the glowing 73-story Tower Palace complex, and to the south the newer 50-floor Star City complex along the northern shore of the Han River; both denoted the time I’d stayed. Among the paramount excuses I had for leaving — family, grad school — the fact that I’d grown complacent and comfortable throughout my years in Korea reminded me that life begins beyond one’s comfort zone. In addition, a voice kept saying, “You won’t know if you can live here the rest of your life un- til you leave.” That night represented the beginning of my departure, one that culminated with leaving my apartment in April 2012 with two duffle bags and a backpack, the very same bags that had accom- panied me on that first long-haul flight Edited by Elaine Ramirez (elaine@groovekorea.com) INSIghT