The floor turns red. More and more alcohol flowed from the broken wine bottle. On June 26th, I was standing in line at the Jakarta Airport in Indonesia for immigration procedures. A group member who came to Indonesia together dropped a shopping bag containing a wine bottle on the floor. As I was looking at the broken wine bottle and the alcohol soaking the floor, a male airport employee approached me.
Photo = Jeong Deok-young
“This could be a problem.”
He points to a surveillance camera on the wall and is almost threatening.
‘Is dropping a bottle on the floor a problem?’
Even before the bottle incident, the employee had been giving off the nuance of wanting something, such as asking the reporter why he didn’t apply for a visa in advance. (Like many foreign arrivals, the reporter was scheduled to receive an arrival visa at the arrival hall.)
miss the flight
At that time, a female employee wearing a hijab appeared holding a broom and a bucket. She cleaned up the accident scene with surprising speed. As if the steam had disappeared, the employee also returned to his seat. In fact, breaking a wine bottle is considered a negative omen in many cultures. Of course, there is no scientific basis. Believe it or not.
After completing the formalities, we moved to the hotel inside the airport. The plan is to stay overnight at the hotel and head to Bau-Bau early the next day. First, we plan to board a domestic flight to Makassar, and then transfer to a flight from there to Baubau, Buton Island. The Cia-Cia people live in Bau-Bau. Principal Jeong Deok-yeong and Bau-Bau Korean Language School, which teaches them Hangul and the Korean language, are located there.
The next morning, the reporter stood mesmerized in front of the check-in counter. He missed his flight. Could it be a dream?
The east-west length is 5150 km.
Of course, the direct reason for missing the flight was that the reporter did not arrive at the check-in counter in time. If I were to point out detailed reasons, there are three.
First, domestic flights departing from Jakarta are almost international flights, not domestic flights. This means that you need to check in with the mindset of taking an international flight. In Korea, it is sufficient to arrive 1 hour before boarding for a domestic flight. Indonesia is different. First of all, the airport entry process is complicated. Soekarno Hatta Airport consists of Terminal 1, Terminal 2, and Terminal 3. Terminal 1 is a domestic terminal, and Terminals 2 and 3 are shared terminals for domestic and international flights. Since it is shared between international and domestic flights, the security screening process to enter the airport takes time. One thing to note is that for domestic flights, the boarding terminal and gate change frequently. You must continue to check before boarding. When I checked the day before boarding, it was Terminal 2, but when I went on the day, it was often Terminal 3. Moving between terminals also takes a lot of time. It should take 30 minutes.
Later, I asked the staff at the hotel front desk.
“How many hours before do Indonesians usually go to the airport to catch a domestic flight?” “It was two hours ago,” he said in a firm tone. “That way it is safe,” came the reply.
In fact, it is natural that the situation is different from Korea. Indonesia’s territory is so large that it is difficult to compare it to Korea. It is located long and wide on the equator in Southeast Asia. The straight line distance between Seoul and Jakarta is 5,283 km (flight time about 7 hours), and the east-west length of Indonesia is 5,150 km. It takes 20 hours of domestic flight time to get from Sabang, in the western end, to Merauke, in the eastern end, via Medan, Jakarta, and Jayapura.
Indonesian airlines lack sense of time
Second, there is a problem with Indonesian airlines. Airlines operating domestic flights in Indonesia include Lion Air, Batik Air, Garuda, and City Link. Indonesian airlines’ timing is famous among travelers. Garuda, the national flag carrier, and City Link operated by Garuda are at least better. Ryanair is notorious. It is common for departure times to be pushed back an hour or two. It is also common for flights to be suddenly canceled on the same day. How absurd it is that they even leave early. Even express buses don’t do that. The flight the reporter missed was also Ryan Air.
Later, when I came back to Jakarta from Buton Island, Ryan Air always made memories. He suddenly canceled his booked flight. They were not even informed that the flight was canceled until the day of departure. Subsequently, I was unable to board any of the flights I had booked.
World’s largest Islamic country
Third, the last week of June suddenly became Indonesia’s golden holiday. What this means is that June 29th (Thursday) is originally an Indonesian holiday. It is the Islamic religious day of sacrifice, ‘Idul Adha’. But the weekdays before and after suddenly became holidays.
Indonesia is the world’s largest Islamic country. However, it is different from Islamic countries such as Saudi Arabia or Iran. It advocates a secular nation. Along with Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Catholicism, Protestantism, and Confucianism were designated as state religions. We rest on holidays of each religion.
As of 2016, 87% of the total population is Muslim. Due to the large population, there are over 20 million people who believe in Christianity. As of 2021, there are 272 million people. You must indicate your religion on your resident registration card. Atheists were regarded as communists and were ostracized by society. Although things have changed a bit recently, it is still difficult to openly say that one is an atheist.
The Indonesian government suddenly announced that people should rest on the days before and after the Islamic Sacrifice Festival. June 28th (Wednesday) and 30th (Friday) became ‘recommended public holidays (Cuti Bersama)’, making it a holiday period where you can rest for all 5 days. It was reported in major Indonesian media on June 20th, so it was announced a week before the holiday.
For some reason, there were too many people at the airport. I missed my flight and was devastated, so I searched for the next flight. What was even more scary was that all the airplane seats were being sold out in real time. I wondered why people would want to go somewhere even during the golden holidays. I learned part of the reason later while studying Indonesian history.
In the 1980s, oil dollars began pouring into the Indonesian government. The Suharto government pursued a policy of relocating residents from densely populated areas to underdeveloped areas. So it was understandable that domestic flights became chaotic during the sudden holiday. In fact, most of the family travelers I met on planes and ships later seemed to be visiting their hometowns.
‘India’ means Indonesia
Anyway, we had to get to Bau Bau by the next day. We contacted the Ciatia Cultural Exchange Association, which arrived in Bau Bau City first, to find a way. The best option in that situation was to fly to Kendari and then take a boat. Kendari is the capital of Southeast Sulawesi. Of course, the plane tickets to Kendari were sold out, but I placed a waitlist and miraculously got them. I wonder if there were people like the reporter who missed their flight because they were unable to arrive at Jakarta Airport.
As we arrived in Kendari and left the airport, the sun was already setting. The street scene is strange. The shops are clearly open for business and quite a few people are walking along the streets. Still, the street is dark. There are almost no street lights. It is only found on the road median. Does this mean that there should be no car accidents? It seems like the entire street is having a festival in the dark.
After looking closely, I realized why. Although there were no street lights, the overall lighting intensity was low. The inside of the store that is open is not very bright. This was because the electrical voltage was low. For some reason, the supermarket chain ‘Indo Mart’ was very bright. It turns out that you can increase the pressure by spending money separately. ‘India’ in ‘India Mart’ is an abbreviation for Indonesia. In Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries, ‘Indo’ means Indonesia.
A food stall that doesn’t sell alcohol
Arrived at the hotel. I couldn’t sleep soundly. I went to a sort of lounge in the lobby. As expected, this is a hotel well-known in Kendari, and there are quite a lot of tall men wearing quite flashy outfits, including chain-shaped necklaces, sitting together. What is different from the Korean scene is that there is no alcohol at all. They are drinking cola or tea. Can you imagine? These are the gangsters (people who look like gangsters) who are stretched out on chairs in bad poses with cake and tea in the middle. I thought about asking to take a commemorative photo together, but I gave up.
Tired of the scenery inside the hotel, I decided to go to a street restaurant across the street. It is an outdoor food stall. The seats are almost full. Perhaps because the holidays are approaching, young people are sitting together. Street singers carrying guitars sang to each street restaurant. This is to receive tips from customers. Suddenly, a little boy who looks to be 8 or 9 years old approaches the reporter. He sings while strumming the ukulele. He spoke so quietly that I didn’t even know what he was doing. He thought he was joking and smiled. Then the child becomes sullen and turns around and walks somewhere. It turned out that he was the youngest busking singer. He didn’t give me any money and only gave me a smile, so I left feeling discouraged.
As expected, there is no alcohol anywhere. They sold cigarettes, but not alcohol. Grumpy-looking men are drinking bottled water and talking intently. Without alcohol, it seemed idyllic. If Korean food stalls are cartoons for adults, Indonesian ones feel like cartoons for children.
‘Withdrawal from Heungnam’
At 6:30 a.m. the next day, we headed to the port. This is the way to take a boat to Buton Island. Bau Bau Korean Language School provided tickets through a local person through their knowledge.
Did you know that you can laugh when you’re really embarrassed? When I arrived at the port, I burst out laughing without realizing it. If you exaggerate it about three times, a scene like the withdrawal from Heungnam unfolded before your eyes. Hundreds of people are clamoring to board a small boat. People were seen recklessly climbing onto the second floor of the ship, and hundreds of people were crowded in and out of the narrow entrance into the ship like bubbles. Everyone was holding tickets, but I had doubts about whether I would be able to join that group and get on the boat. As I stood there in bewilderment, the local man who had booked the boat quickly grabbed a crew member and said something. Then the sailor forced a path. If it weren’t for them, I’m sure I wouldn’t have been able to get on even if I had 100 tickets.
When I finally got to my seat, I saw that people were sitting or standing on the floor, on shelves, and anywhere they could put their butts. Seeing people standing there with babies on their backs makes me feel bad about sitting down. The boat departs at 8 o’clock. Is it because I’m going home? There was something like anticipation floating in the cabin. As the boat rocked, people shouted ‘Woo-woo’ as if it was fun. At that moment, a thought crossed the reporter’s mind. If this ship sank, there was a 100% chance that I would die. Moreover, because of the holiday, this ship has more than twice the original number of people on board. In fact, ship sinking accidents occur frequently in Indonesia. On July 24, after the reporter returned home, a boat traveling between Buton Island and a nearby island capsized. 15 people died and 19 went missing.
The Ciatia people became famous
I chatted with the women sitting in the front. Of course, I used a translation app. They asked the reporter, “Where are you going?” “Buton! When I said, “Chia chia,” he immediately nodded, saying, “Ah.” When I asked the Indonesians I met along the way, “Do you know the Cia Chia people who adopted Hangul?” many people answered that they knew. It was found that the Chiachia people had a significant promotional effect by adopting Hangul. There was once a ‘Korean Village’ in Bau Bau. It is a kind of small Korean street where you can wear Hanbok and take commemorative photos. It is said that quite a few Indonesians who are interested in Korea visited there. It is not currently in operation.
Arrived at Buton Island. They said it would take 5 hours, but it took almost 7 hours. She was grateful that the ship did not sink. The passengers quickly left the ship. It was like a miracle that my luggage didn’t disappear. The scent of durian floats in the air. I saw Cia Chia children coming out to meet us holding pickets written in Korean.
The area of Buton Island is 4727km², which is about 2.5 times the area of Jeju Island (1846km²). It is the same as the combined area of Inje, Pyeongchang, and Hongcheon in Gangwon-do. It is mostly tropical rainforest. The population of Bau Bau City is 160,000 people and is made up of 13 ethnic groups, of which the Ciatia people are the largest. The Ciatia people number approximately 91,000. Most believe in Islam.
Deokyoung Jeong, who has taught Korean since 2010
Elementary school children from the Ciatia tribe. Elementary school students learn Hangul, and middle and high school students study Korean. /Photo = Jeong Deok-young
The Ciatia people have their own language, Ciatia, but it is in danger of extinction. Young people communicate in Indonesian. Losing a language means disappearing the stories it contains. Because the Ciatia language does not have its own script, there was no suitable way to record its disappearing traditions and memories. This is why Hangul was accepted.
The first encounter between the Chiachia people and Hangul dates back 18 years. In 2005, Professor Jeon Tae-hyun of the Department of Malay-Indonesian Interpretation and Translation at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies visited Bau Bau City to attend an international academic conference. At this time, he first became acquainted with the Tria Chia people, who do not have their own written language. The Hunminjeongeum Society, which heard this story from Professor Jeon, proposed the use of Hangul for the Cia Chia tribe. The Ciatia tribe held a meeting of tribal leaders. It was decided to introduce Hangul as the tribal script. It happened 14 years ago, in 2009.
Deokyoung Jeong was selected as the local teacher to teach Hangul. The following year, 2010, he left for Bau Bausi.
Korea Chia Chia Cultural Exchange Association
Government support was cut off in 2011. King Sejong Institute and Mr. Jeong had to return to Korea. The Chiachia children even raised money and published an advertisement in the local newspaper saying, “Please bring back the teacher.”
After hearing Mr. Deokyoung Jeong’s appeal, several meaningful people gathered. They used their own money to raise donations. We created the Korea Chiatia Cultural Exchange Association and continue to provide support to this day. These are people like Baek Sun-jin, chairman of the Together Music Authors Association (April and May leader), who accompanied the reporter on this journey. Thanks to this, Korean education has continued to this day.
Last August, a school was established in Baubau. The Korean language school is located in a two-story building with a total floor area of 465 m2 on a site of 1,311 m2. Kyobo Life Insurance contributed to the construction cost.
Cia Chia people who use archaic Korean words
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Korea and Indonesia. To commemorate the 50th anniversary, Korean companies and organizations joined forces in Bau Bau City. This is ‘Team Korea’.
The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) planned this event together with local companies. Arasoft (CEO Kang Jeong-hyeon), a company that produces e-learning content, created and donated a customized document authoring program that the Tsia Chia tribe can use. There is a reason why a customized program is needed.
Due to the pronunciation characteristics of the Chiachia language, archaic Korean words are used in writing. It is the sound of pure gyeong-eum (脣輕音). It was used at the time of the creation of Hunminjeongeum, but has since been discontinued. It is presumed to have a sound value similar to the English pronunciation of v. The Tja-Chia language uses the su-gyeong consonant B-eup, but there was no digital document writing program that could transcribe this. When making a book, it was written and produced by hand. Arasoft created a program that can use Sungyeongeum Bieup and donated the license.
KB Kookmin Bank donated about 60 laptops and smart tablets to Bau Bau Korean Language Institute. KB Kookmin Bank is actively conducting business in Indonesia. It acquired Bukopin Bank, a local bank, and is now operating as KB Bukopin (CEO Lee Woo-yeol).
An event commemorating local cooperation with Bau Bau was held in the front yard of the Korean Language Institute on June 28. After literally crossing mountains and waters, I was finally able to see this event with my own eyes. Korean Ambassador to Indonesia Lee Sang-deok personally attended and donated a plaque to the Korean Language Institute. It was said that it was the first time since the establishment of diplomatic relations that a Korean ambassador visited Bau Bau City.
Yang Chil-seong and Vanity
In his congratulatory speech, Ambassador Lee Sang-deok introduced the long-standing relationship between Indonesia and Korea. Unfamiliar names such as Yang Chil-seong and Heo Young were heard. Their names are intertwined with the history of Indonesia, Joseon, and Japan.
In March 1942, the Japanese army won the Battle of Java and began military rule over Indonesia. Yang Chil-seong, from Wanju, Jeollabuk-do, came to Indonesia in February 1942 as a military official for the Japanese army. He worked as a prisoner guard on the island of Java. Japan was defeated in 1945. Dutch troops returned to Indonesia. Yang Chil-seong did not return to Joseon but remained in Indonesia. He played an active part in the Indonesian independence army along with his Korean and Japanese colleagues who broke away from the Japanese army. He fought against the Dutch army until November 1948. He was executed on August 10, 1949 after his arrest.
Heo Young was a film director who worked under the name Eitaro Hinatsu (日夏英太郎) during the Japanese colonial period. <그대와 나(君と僕)>(1941). Heo Young went to Indonesia in 1942 as a member of the army press team. After Japan’s defeat, he neither returned to Japan, where his wife and daughter lived, nor to his native country, Joseon. He remained in Indonesia and worked as a filmmaker. He is said to be called the ‘father of Indonesian cinema’ for his contribution to the development of Indonesian cinema in the early days.
Children from the Chiachia tribe, who must have been elementary school students, appeared wearing hanbok and sang Arirang. As I listen to the Arirang song echoing in the sea breeze and see the children’s bright smiles, I feel like I missed my flight and the amazing memories of the 7-hour boat ride are slowly vaporizing.
Local teachers are also born.
Deokyoung Jeong, principal of Bau Bau Korean Language Institute, is looking at the children with a happy expression. /Photo = Jeong Deok-young
Principal Jeong Deok-yeong, who was watching the ceremony, had a calm face. It seemed like he was trying hard to hide his joy. From 2010 until now, if it weren’t for him, who has been teaching Korean while living alone in a foreign country without his family, there would not have been a Korean language school or today’s commemorative ceremony. he asked him.
– Was there ever a time when you wanted to quit everything and go to Korea?
“There was. There was a time when the immigration office came and said they would arrest me while I was teaching children in a classroom. It was because of visa issues. I thought, ‘I can’t go on any longer.’ It was like that even when I was sick. When you have a simple illness that cannot be cured here. When I first came, I got typhus. I collapsed and was hospitalized for 10 days. “If I were to call it treatment, it was just a matter of recuperating and coming out.”
– But why didn’t you return to Korea? You’ve been living away from her family for over 10 years. Don’t you miss it?
“I didn’t know I would stay this long. My family and I thought we would return home after 2-3 years. Just one more year, just one more year and we’ve come this far. This is a society of personal connections. You got to know a lot of people. At some point, like cutting a radish with a knife, I left everything behind and couldn’t come back. At first I taught at two schools, but now the number has increased to ten. “We also hired three local teachers.”
– It’s become difficult to throw everything away and come back.
“The children I taught have grown up and I am now an assistant teacher. I advised the children that teaching Korean was a good job, even though it only paid a little. So how do I return home? “Through me, these children developed a relationship with Hangul and the Korean language.”
At the Korean language school, not only Hangul but also Korean is taught to children in Chia Chia. People from other ethnic groups other than the Tsia Chia also learn Korean from him. The Chiachia children I met locally spoke Korean surprisingly well. His pronunciation was good, and he was familiar with idols, dramas, and Korean culture, so there was no problem in conversation. If I closed my eyes and listened, it felt like I was talking to any other high school student in Korea. It wasn’t just one or two people, it was many people.
Joko Widodo government seeks to ease regulations
He said that when he misses Korea, he goes to a port where passenger ships come and go.
“When I look at people and say, ‘They’re going home now, they’re going to meet their families,’ it makes me feel a little better. When I go into the classroom to teach children, I feel energized again. Korean teachers and children now trust me and follow me. “I’ve known government officials for over ten years already.”
Indonesia has been exclusive to the outside world for a long time. I’m not saying that people are like that, but the government was cautious about foreign investment or expansion. Although they said they hoped for investment from foreign companies, issuing visas for foreigners was difficult. The current Joko Widodo government says it will simplify regulations, but the regulatory wall is still formidable. It may be a bit better in cities like Jakarta, but the closed practices are serious in the region.
At the commemoration ceremony on this day, the immigration office came out and asked Principal Jeong Deok-young who the reporter was. When you check in at a local hotel, a copy of your passport is automatically delivered to the immigration office, but the reporter missed his flight and checked in at the local hotel late, so his passport was not delivered yet.
“Either you become a Bodhisattva or you become a crazy person.”
After visiting the site, I was able to see that Principal Jeong had persevered all this time and was able to form a good relationship with the locals, which was quite a feat. And that too at the private level without government support.
Principal Jeong said while looking out to the distant sea.
“If you live here for more than 10 years, you will either become a Bodhisattva or a crazy person.”
The reality was that even though the reporter had only stayed there for a few days, it felt like he was suffering from anger management disorder. The people are friendly and not exclusive to foreigners, but social infrastructure and systems such as roads and transportation systems are still lacking.
‘The house called Hangeul’ is expanding
Before coming to Buton Island, I had this doubt in my mind. What does the introduction of Hangul by the Chiachia people mean to them and to us? I thought that it could have some meaning as I saw the people of Cia Chia and other Koreans I met in the front yard of the Korean language school thanks to the Korean alphabet.
Language is the home of thoughts. When I learn another country’s language, I lose some parts of myself and fill other parts. At the same time, the house of thoughts expands. I sat on the steps of the Korean language school and had a short but serious discussion with the Tia Chia girls about which idol singer was the best, and then I thought about this.
‘The horizons of the Ciatia people and Koreans are gradually expanding on Buton Island on one side of Indonesia. ‘The family called Hangeul is expanding.’
From now on, I think it would be good for us to be more curious about the Cia Chia people and Indonesia, who have come to share the same roof called Hangul. Wasn’t this the purpose of King Sejong and the scholars of Jiphyeonjeon who created and promulgated Hangul?⊙
※ More articles <월간조선 홈페이지>You can see it here.
2023-09-30 21:59:00
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