Chang-Hong Cheong from Korea Dae Jon is the city in South Korea, where I was born and grew up. There was a public park there called Du Pu Ri at Mt. Shick Jang, which was close to my house. It was a very popular place, and I have tons of precious memories from times spent there. Every year, our teachers decided to take us to that park for a spring or fall picnic. When I learned marshal arts—Tae Kwon Do, my master usually took us there to train us. Mt. Shick Jang was not high, so I could reach the peak within forty minutes even though I was very young. From the peak, I could see a lot of places if it was a sunny day. There was a huge rock on the top which people called Eagle Rock because the shape of the rock looked like the head of an eagle. There was nothing to do, but we spent lots of fun days there. We played hide and seek within the limited area, and we sometimes caught frogs and fish in the pond. When we felt thirsty, we enjoyed drinking cold spring water inside the Buddhist temple. When I was a ten-year old boy, I usually went to the park with my father to exercise early in the morning. It was quite dark, so I sometimes felt afraid, but after I got used to going there, I enjoyed breathing the fresh air and hearing the birds sing. Recently,
I went back to Mt. Shick Jang to remember my
good times there. When I arrived at the entrance, I
was surprised because it didn't seem to be the same
as I remembered it. Everything had changed in the
thirteen years since I had last seen it, but the
good memories soon came back. I could almost
imagine a boy playing there with a slight smile and
shaking hands with me.
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