After years of searching for home, taking action on a whim leads us to the quiet shores of Tongyeong, where we find a traditional 1940s hanok that is astonishingly within our tiny budget. Is this the moment to pick up and start over?
This story is a little gem and brings me back to all the places I've been with you two and yes, especially Megijima! I'm so happy you found a place you feel at home. :)
I always felt that building or rebuilding a house was a feat I couldn't dare to achieve, let alone even think that it's possible for someone who doesn't have any experience with construction... But maybe where there's a will, there's a way. I was actually thinking about it today, how I could start going down that path, and thought maybe I could start by taking small actions like learning how a house works (like how the pipes work), or framing my artworks and hanging them, or fixing and changing things at home that I always imagined doing but just in my head haha, and seeing where that goes!
Those are familiar thoughts, Heeyoung! I feel the same before starting a big project, especially when I don't yet understand how everything comes together. But starting is half the work, mentally at least. I make a lot of mistakes, but if I can go slowly and appreciate the chances to learn, then at some point things start to make sense as they go along. Suhee did plumbing work by herself at the last shop, and she thought she could never do it before she started! Putting stuff together is simple. Mostly it just takes time and patience. You probably have more patience training than I do 😂
Wow! Congratulations! Sooo exciting! This story reveals what a boss Suhee is! To your question, a step I’m hesitant to take but dreaming of is to move into the country. It seems like if one moves away more than one hour, it might as well be six….with regard to seeing friends and family. Also, aging parents and being around for them close by. But someday! A view of the Sun and Moon not obstructed by power lines! A lil brook flowing over rounded stones…and bonus if edible mushrooms are to be found.
Thanks Rachel! It's funny and true, the thing about an hour might as well be six. Hey I also like the description of your ideal setting, especially the clear view of sun and moon. It used to be a common thing to have a 'moon viewing' room in ones house in Japan, a space and window set up specifically so that you could have tea with a clear unobstructed view of the harvest moon. When I visited one of those rooms for the first time I couldn't get over how beautiful the idea was, that a people would think so highly of gazing at the moon, as to make that part of your house building plan. Well. That's still hanging around in my mind, so maybe we have to make it happen here!
Woah! Moon room!? Ok, so that confuses me because I noticed that in Japan that folk keep their blinds and curtains closed to the view. My friend said that in that culture, they separate indoor experience from outdoor experience..and none of this ‘blending the boundaries’ business with views of nature.
Ah, yes! There is truth to this, and it seems the general theme is that you can have a view to the outside, but only so long as no one can see in to where you are. Not easy to do in a city! But they have come up with many ingenious ways to accomplish this, and one of them is the tsuboniwa gardens that often fit into the tiniest outdoor spaces no one would think to plant a garden in!
Moon viewing rooms though, I guess are probably more of an old daimyo "aristoratic" feature of homes? The ones I've seen were all in big old homes. But that's not going to stop me from trying, 😂
This story is a little gem and brings me back to all the places I've been with you two and yes, especially Megijima! I'm so happy you found a place you feel at home. :)
I always felt that building or rebuilding a house was a feat I couldn't dare to achieve, let alone even think that it's possible for someone who doesn't have any experience with construction... But maybe where there's a will, there's a way. I was actually thinking about it today, how I could start going down that path, and thought maybe I could start by taking small actions like learning how a house works (like how the pipes work), or framing my artworks and hanging them, or fixing and changing things at home that I always imagined doing but just in my head haha, and seeing where that goes!
Those are familiar thoughts, Heeyoung! I feel the same before starting a big project, especially when I don't yet understand how everything comes together. But starting is half the work, mentally at least. I make a lot of mistakes, but if I can go slowly and appreciate the chances to learn, then at some point things start to make sense as they go along. Suhee did plumbing work by herself at the last shop, and she thought she could never do it before she started! Putting stuff together is simple. Mostly it just takes time and patience. You probably have more patience training than I do 😂
Wow! Congratulations! Sooo exciting! This story reveals what a boss Suhee is! To your question, a step I’m hesitant to take but dreaming of is to move into the country. It seems like if one moves away more than one hour, it might as well be six….with regard to seeing friends and family. Also, aging parents and being around for them close by. But someday! A view of the Sun and Moon not obstructed by power lines! A lil brook flowing over rounded stones…and bonus if edible mushrooms are to be found.
Thanks Rachel! It's funny and true, the thing about an hour might as well be six. Hey I also like the description of your ideal setting, especially the clear view of sun and moon. It used to be a common thing to have a 'moon viewing' room in ones house in Japan, a space and window set up specifically so that you could have tea with a clear unobstructed view of the harvest moon. When I visited one of those rooms for the first time I couldn't get over how beautiful the idea was, that a people would think so highly of gazing at the moon, as to make that part of your house building plan. Well. That's still hanging around in my mind, so maybe we have to make it happen here!
Woah! Moon room!? Ok, so that confuses me because I noticed that in Japan that folk keep their blinds and curtains closed to the view. My friend said that in that culture, they separate indoor experience from outdoor experience..and none of this ‘blending the boundaries’ business with views of nature.
Ah, yes! There is truth to this, and it seems the general theme is that you can have a view to the outside, but only so long as no one can see in to where you are. Not easy to do in a city! But they have come up with many ingenious ways to accomplish this, and one of them is the tsuboniwa gardens that often fit into the tiniest outdoor spaces no one would think to plant a garden in!
Moon viewing rooms though, I guess are probably more of an old daimyo "aristoratic" feature of homes? The ones I've seen were all in big old homes. But that's not going to stop me from trying, 😂