North and South Korea Together Again
Okhwan with his bike
Many of us have watched as North Koreans mourned the death of their ruler Kim Jong Il. Groomed to take his place was his son, Kim Jong Un, who few know anything about. Since the North Korean press is merely a puppet of the government, the information we were shown was highly suspect. In what seemed an unrelated event at the time, my son noticed a biker near our local market. He called me to asked me if I wanted to check on him to see if he needed a place to stay. I jumped into the car and drove up to the market where I saw a lonely biker standing in the dark looking quite forlorn. I quickly notice he was Oriental and then saw that he had no seat on his bike. I introduced myself; he introduced himself as Okhwan; we chatted for a short time, and then feeling comfortable with him, I asked if he needed a place to stay. He quickly answered ‘yes,’ and then I instructed him to head down the road as I would followed with my lights since it was dark. Soon we arrived at our home. Okhwan parked his bike and soon became a guest in our home. I suggested that he shower and clean up a little while we found something for him to eat. After a short time we were sitting in the living room, asking questions and getting to know our guest.
The seatless bike
We quickly learned the he is from South Korea and on a very long bike trek for the ‘unification of the Koreas.’ He has been riding his bike for almost TEN YEARS in over 190 countries, covering almost 300,000 miles! Many of those miles were done without the advantage of a SEAT! It seems that Okhwan decided early in his ride that removing the seat and increasing his discomfort would convey the pain and misery the splitting of his mother country has endured for over 50 years. He explained that many families were divided by this split, never to see their relatives again. When I asked him about the crying and sobbing that was shown on TV when Kim Jong iL died, he said it was all staged for the international media, and that most North Koreans were happy that he was dead and very fearful of his son!
Many people ask me why I let strangers into my home. I cannot count the incredibly enriching evenings we have had with bikers who have stayed with us through the decades. We have had bikers from all across our country and many parts of the world. They have blessed us with numerous great stories and infinite wisdom. We feel that our lives are better because of the exposure to so many different people, their adventures and cultures. Okhwan is a wonderful person who genuinely believes in peace and that ordinary people can bring about real changes in the world. The only bad thing about Okhwan’s visit is that he left too soon to be able to meet many of our friends. He says he will be back some day. He is currently biking across the mid-west in route to San Francisco where he will board a plane and return to his home in South Korea where he plans to run for Congress. I wish him all the luck in the world! He has in his unique way devoted his life to PEACE.
Sue and our Okhwan as he gets ready to continue on his journey
If you wish to read more about Okhwan I have several links you can use.
A recent article after he left our house.
http://www.todaysthv.com/news/article/188198/2/Korean-cyclist-rides-for-peace
His blog.
http://www.okhwanstory.blogspot.com/
