Only a few desks and chairs are left in the large classroom. After all, the children must sit far apart. This is what classrooms look like as COVID-19 rampages and social distancing makes separation the new normal.
© Ahn Hong-beom
Thirty-odd years ago, Korean schools appeared entirely different. Swollen enrollments forced shoulder-to-shoulder seating in so-called “bean sprout classrooms.” The way we sat so close together conjured up the way bean sprouts are grown – tightly jammed in a jar. In the warmth of those overstuffed rooms, we found comfort in being together.
Soybean sprouts, or kongnamul, are a favorite vegetable in Korea. Over the ages, soybeans have been grown in large quantities in Northeast Asia. At home, the beans are first soaked in water and then placed in a large pottery jar with holes in the bottom. The jar is kept in a shady spot and watered several times a day. Within a week, long sprouts with yellow heads and white stems fill the jar.
When the beans begin to sprout, they produce a pleasant aroma. Although their protein level drops slightly, the sprouts grow rich in fiber and amino acids, as well as vitamin C, which is completely lacking in the beans themselves. One hundred grams of soybean sprouts is packed with three times as much vitamin C as the same amount of apple. And the fine, hairy ends of the sprouts contain asparagine, which relieves hangovers, so the sprouts are used in soups commonly eaten after overdrinking.
Easily available and inexpensive, soybean sprouts are eaten in various ways: blanched and seasoned to make a side dish, cooked in soup, or steamed with rice. I grew up in the countryside at a time when rural families were self-sufficient. For me, the sound of water running through the bean sprout jar sitting in a dark corner of my room was like the footsteps of time carrying away my childhood. Every day after school, I would lift the hemp cloth off the jar and recycle the water that had gathered in a basin underneath, using a split gourd, just as my grandmother did. The water drained instantly. How can the sprouts grow if the water drains so fast? And yet they shoot up so quickly.
“Spiritual practice is about habit. Your words and behaviors repeated over time become a part of you and cannot be hidden. It is like gathering light to ignite a lamp for the path to awakening. The same is true of life. Although water wets them only briefly, soybean sprouts grow if watered repeatedly. Likewise, your everyday words and behaviors become habits, which will ultimately change your destiny.” These are the words of Abbot Dongeun at Cheoneun Temple.
한국국제교류재단
