2025
Mexico City, MX
A field recording in 장전리/Jangjeon-ri, a village in the township of 애월읍/Aewol-eup on the island of 제주도/Jeju-do, South Korea. Recorded in June 2025, the native winter oranges were merely lime-like teases. Lush residential gardens can be gazed at from the street. Birds chirp in the morning sun as the droning swell of an aircraft looms from above. Houses on the island still use a traditional fencing system called 정낭/Jeongnang, which was popularized around the 1970s on the island amidst modernization. Locals can discern whether someone is home based on the position and quantity of wooden poles on the gateposts. If all three poles are placed in parallel, then the owner of the house is far from home. If the poles are hanging from one pillar diagonally, then the owner is at home. If two poles are parallel and one hanging, then the owner is away and will return soon. If the poles signaled that a person was far away, neighbors would look after their animals and homes. 애월/Aewol, in its now obsolete form, is a noun that once meant “loving the Moon; adoring the beauty of the Moon”.