This past Sunday, I went to see the Korean film “Ode to My Father.”  It was a great way to spend the afternoon with my good friends General Scaparrotti, General Park, and other key members of Combined Forces Command, United States Forces Korea, the U.S. Embassy, and senior executives of CJ Entertainment.  


We went to a local movie theater where we were able to watch the movie with English subtitles.  This is helpful as the dialogue was above my language skills. (I have to study a bit more until I can fully understand the dialogue in Korean -- still watching Korean movies and television is a great way to augment my Korean studies!). 

But, I could understand some of the Korean dialogue and the power of the storyline came through regardless of language.  This stirring movie begins by telling the story of a family separated during the Korean War and includes episodes from modern Korean history.  It tells a very interesting story of the importance and centrality of family in Korea against the backdrop of a rapidly changing and modernizing society.  At the end of the movie, it was obvious the audience was very moved.

By having a group of prominent U.S. and Korean officials from the Embassy and the ROK/U.S. Combined Forces Command and representatives from the Korean film industry, it further strengthened our mutual understanding of each other and made for a fun and interesting cultural outing!