Happy Independence Day, South Korea!

March 1st marks South Korea's Independence Day , also called Samiljeol. The national holiday commemorates the March 1st Independence Movement in 1919, when the Korean people rose up peacefully against the Japanese Imperial colonialism. Korea had maintained a flourishing culture and independent state for thousands of years, until it succumbed to Japan in 1910 in the backdrop of worldwide colonialism. The movement led to the establishment of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in April 13, 1919, which was later continued to a fully empowered government after the end of World War II.

RCP has the day off from work today, but unlike in the U.S. where we love to extend the weekend as far as we can when a holiday falls on a Thursday or a Monday, here the holiday's really are just one day, with no Friday off from work. However, RCP continues to follow the American tradition for holiday weekends if he can get away with it and booked a last minute trip to Taipei, Taiwan, leaving tomorrow, after some week-long prodding from our friend Larry who was looking for a travel companion. Besides not really being invited on this impromptu "boys weekend", I can't join in anyway as I have tickets to the ballet. Taipei over the ballet?....I don't think so.

Many older South Korean's to this day, 

still speak ill of and really just detest the Japanese for the years of colonial rule.