To get to Beomeosa requires a subway trip
and then a bus ride. When we got off the subway, a
soft-spoken, professional-looking woman asked us if she could
help us find the bus stop since she worked near it. She
walked with us for a block or two until we could see where we
were going. We thanked her and told her we could find our
way now, and she turned around and walked back toward the
station. I think she would have happily walked us all the
way to the bus stop, though it was out of her way.
At the bus stop, the fellow behind us in line confirmed that we
were in the right place and then chatted with us until the bus
arrived.
He described himself as a retired "sheman" initially. I
didn't know what he was talking about., so he repeated "sheman"
several times and then said "on a ship." Finally I caught
on and said, "Ah, a seaman!" He said "No. A
sheman. A sheman!" I just said "Oh, I see, a
sheman! I understand." Ultimately, I learned he was
a retired ship's engineer who spends several days a week as a
volunteer Japanese language guide at the temple. He
learned English in Japan years ago.
Volunteering seems to be a common and respected way to spend
one's retirement. There were also retired volunteers in
the subway helping everyone, not just tourists. The
volunteers I chatted with were universally proud to be "senior
volunteers."
The temple volunteer told us that we should eat the free temple
food and at the end of the bus ride, he led us to the large
dining room pictured here. Not fancy. Everyone else
was Korean.
