Like James Bond? Most Likely.

Waiting outside the subway station one day, an elderly gentleman approached me. He spoke English with wry wit and great ease and we soon struck up a vibrant conversation. Shortly thereafter, my friends Jen and Krysta arrived and he decided to accompany us on our way to the Seoul Museum of Art. As we walked, he regaled us with tales of his long life, from time served in the Korean Special Forces to his many loves and current life labors. We were quickly enamored of him. When we paused at the museum to part ways, he announced "I have free time, I will come with you". How could we refuse such a bold declaration? However, we soon found out that the Museum was closed for an art installation. Seeing our crestfallen faces, our new friend promptly invited us to attend a wedding with him. At first, we were apprehensive as we didn't want to impose and certainly didn't want to offend anyone. But, after some thought, a reckless spirit overtook us and we decided that crashing a wedding with this 80-year old darling was the best thing we could do. Hallelujah.

The service was beautiful and the bride was stunning. However, after about 5 minutes, our host beckoned to us and led us to the wedding feast where his friends had convened. At his insistence, we sampled the buffet, all while maintaining our lively banter. As seems to invariably happen at social functions in Korea, beer and soju appeared and we began to drink with a group of 80-year old Korean men. It was a priceless experience. In the course of our conversation, we learned that our host had been a spy for the Korean army. This quite naturally prompted Jen to ask, "You mean like James Bond?" to which he replied "Like James Bond? Most likely" with utter calm and a straight face. It was a perfectly ludicrous comment to top off a perfectly outrageous day.