It has been about 6 weeks now that I adopted the Greenpeace camp as my new home in Ulsan and Greenpeace as my family. One of the things I have really enjoyed from my stay here is meeting Korean environmentalists. When I first moved to Korea, 11 months ago, I tried to find Korean environmentalists, but because of language barriers, I had difficulty making contacts. While being at the whale embassy, I have had the opportunity to make friends with many KFEM members.

The relationship between KFEM and Greenpeace at the camp has really been a blessing. Aside from our joint campaign, they have been very helpful in giving us insights into Korean culture, helping set us up with various things we need around camp and making connections. They have also brought a lot of energy into the camp when showing up with gifts, cooking traditional Korean food, and providing musical entertainment (the children's traditional group.)

I have felt a particular warm welcome from the KFEM members, as they have invited me to join them in different events that they have hosted. A group of students have started giving me regular drumming lessons :) Yesterday, I joined them for a KFEM picnic to celebrate a traditional Korean event of making rice cakes. What impresses me about KFEM is how it is truly family oriented. The children are very much a part of the group and are well educated in environmental issues. Yesterday, after the picnic, the kids eagerly ran to check on their organic gardens growing at the KFEM office. They excitedly told me about how they were growing it all without pesticides and what vegetables each of them were growing. I found this KFEM outing really inspiring. It was really wonderful to see the families of KFEM raising a generation of environmentalists.

I am now eagerly awaiting for the drumming group, who plan to arrive later this afternoon, where I will get my next drumming lesson :)

Jodie