photos taken and words written intermittently on iphone because: smart phone, lazy human. i won’t post my touristy photos, only photos of family’s home province in korea. (just snatches of life for the curious) |
we passed this healing temple on our hike up the mountain to pick edible plants. kind of strange site with buddhist and shamanist motifs. i wanted to see a shaman perform “kut” but lacked time. my grandmother accepted my curiosity because, after all, exorcisms are sometimes necessary, but she warned me not to be seduced by mysticism. later she wanted to know if the eclipse was a bad omen…  
next is the soldiers’ temple by our house. (there are many soldiers in yanggu, because it is close to the border, and as my uncle said, “let this be a reminder that we are still a country at war.”) the first time i wandered there, it seemed abandoned. the second time, i saw only one soldier playing with a puppy in the distance, and heard a monk chanting inside the temple. he started in the morning, and when i left before dusk, he was still chanting. i sat in the shade of the temple beneath the fish-shaped bell, sketched the buddha on the hill overlooking the district, and listened to the monk’s voice. then i heard screeching and the beating of enormous wings in the forest behind me. a few moments later, i witnessed the flight of an eagle; i will never forget the rush of air i felt and heard as it beat its wings and dove past the hill.
this is the sound of korean monk chanting sutra, just as i heard for hours. 15 minutes into the video you can hear the heart sutra…. …. my oldest uncle gave me a fan printed with this sutra in hangul. my uncles gave me amazing gifts: two other painted fans, an old ink-stone and water-well for traveling scholars, a traditional lacquerware box which i have ALWAYS desired, a mirror with samjogo motif, and a letter opener with norigae.
here are photos of the neighborhood in which my grandparents still reside. at dusk this rice paddy across the road becomes a concert hall for frogs. frogs raise a deafening chorus at night, leave thousands of swarming tadpoles in nearby mountain streams, and during the day, sneak into our outdoor laundry space for sneaky hands to catch.
my neighbor warned me as i petted her two dogs (so vigorously that clouds of yellow dust rose from their soft backs), “these… are dirty dogs.” most dogs in the country are raised outdoors. my family’s ill-tempered dog is a mix of two native korean breeds, jindo and poongsan; she is a kimchi dog. i also met an amazing outdoor cat. after an introductory meow, she leaped onto my lap to cuddle and to decorate me with her yellow paw prints and mats of allergy-inducing cat hairs.
next to our place is the park soo keun museum. on the climb up to his grave dandelion seeds filled the air like tiny sprites, and i saw numerous korean magpies, their backs glimmering blue in the hazy light. the grounds of the museum yielded lovely views of the country.
just some photos taken of home. gigantic traditional jars kept outside for storing condiments and such. grandparents’ house is typical one-story building with ondol floors… no chairs or beds… photo of light supper, indoor decorations…
I JUST LOVE THESE TWO SO MUCH:
the end. |
8 Comments
So beautiful! Thank you for the little snapshots.
I visited Seoul in December but only spent one day outside the metropolis, further south, in Jeongeup. I hope to go back some day.
john, i’m glad you liked it enough to want to return. i think seoul is a really tourist-friendly city (especially the metro) though i can’t remember if you speak korean or not!
i think you would like this moon bear sculpture i had almost included in the post:
This post makes me miss Korea a lot. It’s only been a year since I came back home, but it feels like a lifetime ago.
Did you end up getting that Dark Tower book for the flight?
i miss it, too! annual visit has become top priority.
i did finish the book… my least fave of the series, but still a fun story.
Such a lovely, lovely place
Fabulous photos, looks so dreamlike…and it makes me feel so nostalgic, even if I have never been to the Korean countryside.
I love the frog! So pretty!! And the incredible landscape (the trees are so green!). I wonder what kind of eagle you saw?
i love petting friendly dogs and cats from the street too..
that’s my kind of neighborhood to explore as well, but i’ve nver been to s. korea. in ecuador you can also find isolated neighborhoods with surrounding ponds and nature and unpaved streets in between highways. they can be so fantasy like.
Moon Bear! Perfect. 감사합니다.
I can phonetically read and write Hangul but I only know half a dozen spoken phrases. Being able to read the alphabet was useful more than a few times for things I needed to sound out, though!
And Seoul was very well-designed, yes, even to a non-speaker. I picked up a metro card my first day and never got lost. The Jihachul app for iPhone was superb! Even in a country with rose-colored glasses for all things Samsung/Android.
erika- i want to identify it! it was huge and… brown. i also saw egrets, hawks, and some kinds of warbler.
maureen: ecuador + peru are in my top five to visit. i like exploring markets and backroads in small town the most, and i remember seeing your snapshots of street scenes. wish you’d update more your livejournal.
j the worsley: ah that’s cool you learned to read hangul. and YES i am a slave to my apple products and a ny-er so i don’t understand my people’s taste in electronic toys…