SOUTH KOREASeoul Is Its Cultural Heartby Toni DabbsOnce reserved for nobility, today Seoul is home to about one quarter of South Korea's 44.8 million citizens, making it the fifth largest city in the world. The country's capital, it is the diplomatic, political, commercial, financial and cultural heart of the nation. The modernity of its high-rise office towers and neatly aligned apartment blocks masks its antiquity. Namdaemun, or South Gate, was one of nine city gates punctuating the 17-kilometer wall that once encircled the city. The imposing 14th century structure now is the center of a traffic circle surrounded by 20th century skyscrapers. Fanning southeastward from Namdaemun is the market that bears its name. Pushcarts, open-air stalls and indoor shops crowd its maze of narrow lanes covering an area of several city blocks. Some real bargains can be found here by shoppers willing to elbow through the masses and sort through the rows, racks and piles of all manner of merchandise — silk shirts, linen jackets, straw hats, sports shoes, children's toys, lacquer boxes, celadon pottery, ginseng, etc.
Although its name means Palace of Shining Happiness, its history has a darker side. During the Japanese invasion of 1592, the palace was burned by slaves to destroy the records of their serfdom, and in 1895, it was the scene of the murder of Queen Min. During the Japanese occupation (1910-1945), all but 10 of the palace's 500 buildings were destroyed. Among those remaining is Kyonghoeru or Pavilion of Joyous Meeting, which is still used for special functions. Rising on pilings above a man-made pond, it is the largest elevated pavilion in Korea.
Adjacent to the complex are two important museums. The National Museum, a 1926 Romanesque building used for government offices during the Japanese occupation, houses a collection of 15,000 artifacts, ranging from wicked looking weapons to beautiful Buddha figures. The National Folklore Museum, a pagoda style building set atop a modern structure, displays dioramas of everyday life in Korea from the prehistoric era through the Choson Dynasty. Also on the north side of downtown is Chogyesa, temple headquarters of the largest Buddhist sect in Korea and regional office of the World Fellowship of Buddhism.
Founded fairly recently, in 1910, the temple is the focal point of a parade commemorating Buddha's birthday each May. Colorful lanterns carried in the parade are used to decorate the courtyard's buildings and trees. A rewarding day trip from Seoul is a visit to the Korean Folk Village at Suwon, 48 kilometers to the south. A living museum, the village is a working community recreating Choson Dynasty life. An information officer at the village appropriately describes it as "Korea's Williamsburg." Authentic replicas of a provincial governor's office, a nobleman's mansion, farmhouses, a potter's kiln, a blacksmith's workshop and other structures — more than 200 in all — are arranged around the 65 hectares of naturally landscaped grounds. People wearing customary Korean clothing tend small fields of ginger, ginseng and other dietary staples or practice skills such as paper making and silk spinning, all as if going about their daily business yet in plain view of the public. In the marketplace, visitors can purchase items made on site, enjoy simple Korean meals, and try their hands at traditional games.
Visitors who want to delve even deeper into Korea's past can take an overnight excursion to Kyongju, 325 kilometers southeast of Seoul near the country's eastern coast. Today a country town with 120,000 inhabitants, Kyongju was one of the world's most important cities in ancient times, with an estimated population of 1 million. The capital of the Shilla Dynasty (57 BCE - 935 CE), Kyongju offers reminders of Korea's early cultural achievements at every turn. Within the town are a seventh century astronomical observatory and numerous royal tombs, and scattered throughout surrounding hillsides are temples of complex design and exquisite stone carvings.
Contact Korea National Tourism Corporation Korea National Tourism Corporation Telephone toll-free in North America 800-868-7567. by Toni Dabbs |
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TM
On the north side of downtown, separated from city traffic by a high stone wall, is Kyongbokkung, the greatest of the Choson Dynasty (1392-1910) palaces.
The compound also contains many historic stone pagodas and monuments, relocated to the palace grounds from their original sites by the occupying Japanese.
A metal archway on busy Ujongguk street marks the entrance of an alleyway leading to the quiet, tree-shaded courtyard where the temple stands. Monks in soft gray robes chant prayers in the temple's ornate main hall, the largest of any in Korea.
Among the entertainment offered within the village is the Farmer's Dance, the oldest surviving dance in Korea, traditionally employed when planting crops to exorcize unwanted spirits. To the hastening beat of gong and drums, the dancers leap into the air and snap their heads, swirling streamers attached to their hats.
Mount Toham is the site of two important Buddhist structures. At its base is the attractively terraced Pulguk Temple, one of the oldest surviving monasteries in Korea, originally constructed in 535 CE. Near its top is the Sokkuram Grotto, built about the same time, with a domed chamber encasing a large, finely sculpted Buddha.