I went to the season opening game of the Korean baseball league last week. Exciting as always with the full stadium chanting and striking their thundersticks in unison. The home team, Doosan Bears, whose colour is white, released about a thousand white helium-filled balloons during the ceremony. Of course it looked very pretty against the overcast, yellow-dust* filled sky. But as they drifted away, I wondered what next? The balloons sink and land in the mountains or sea somewhere. And then? Just sit there for a thousand years? Or get eaten by a tortoise? Or what? On reflection it seems like a pretty horrible thing to do to the earth and nature for a couple of seconds of mild pleasure on our part, doesn't it? Or am I just thinking too much? And I was also wondering, if we have laws against littering and other types of pollution, and the Doosan Bears (as well as lots of other people like the organizers of the St Patricks Day parade recently) 'litter' live on national TV, shouldn't they be fined?
*yellow-dust (황사-hwangsa) is toxic sand that blows over from China and covers the sky and everything under it here in Korea at this time of year.
*yellow-dust (황사-hwangsa) is toxic sand that blows over from China and covers the sky and everything under it here in Korea at this time of year.
2 comments:
Hey, Mark! Are your bronchi struggling with yellow dust? It's been a long time. :)I figured that you have been here yet in Seoul and you haven't been changed that much. Cherry blossoms reminded me of you. Maybe I and my friend Jinok can see you again before you go back to Ireland. She's teaching kids in junior high as a regular teacher. Hope to see you again! youngyoon
-It's so much complicated to modify this comment. I had to delete one.
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