4th of July!

I'm at an internet cafe, without my camera to post any pictures. I can't believe this trip is coming to a close. I just wanted to say hello, and I'll post again after I'm back in the U.S. tomorrow evening. I'll have several more pictures and stories to share then. Until then, M

Korean War memorial

Here is a famous statue at the Korean War Memorial. A South Korean soldier embraces a North Korean soldier (depicted as smaller and weaker) as brothers, while the land splits beneath them, depicting the split between N. and S. Korea.



So yes, this morning I went to the Korean War Memorial in Seoul. It made a big impression on me - I found myself incredibly moved by the experience. We've been talking a lot about the danger of forgetting about atrocities in our world by future generations. For example, some of the older participants on this trip were worrying about when the WWII generation dies, will younger generations make similar mistakes? Well, this museum is a big step in the direction of not forgetting past wars. It really pays homage to the gravity, trauma, and sacrifice of wars while uplifting peaceful relations as the answer.

The first thing you see upon entering are these sculptures. Two are sculptures of Korean soldiers, and behind them all the people they are protecting (young children, invalids, everyday folk). There is this sense of momentum in these statues, like they are playing tug of war. They are quite emotional to look at.






Then, in the center is this huge pillar, which is split down the middle. I think it represents North and South Korea. On the sides of these pillars is a carving of "the masses" raising their arms, in protest of injustice and/or in solidarity for South Korea.





Behind these statues, the entrance to the memorial looks like this, with all of the United Nations flags flying out front, and a huge plaza of concrete.



There was a display of children's artwork about war in Korea and the split between North and South Korea. I really enjoyed this exhibit. Do you recognize the two soldiers from the first picture?



The water from the vase at the grave transforms into a vision of a city (?). I still think it is pretty:



I like how the soldiers are coming out of a lotus flower here, though I'm not sure what it means. Is it about reunification?

national treasures

Another temple site... This one is called Mireuksaji. It is the largest scale Buddhist temple built during the Samguk Age. One of the pagodas here is designated National Treasure No.11. One thing that I thought was great was how the Koreans designate and number "National Treasures," "National Relics" and "National Human Cultural Assets". The last of these -- the human cultural assets -- are people!!! (People who know a lot about a particular aspect of Korean history, philosophy, craft, or tradition). I think we should designate human cultural assets in our country!

village with lotus flowers

Looking down from a mountain side onto the Andong Hahoe Village, which has preserved the housing architecture and the village structure of the Joseon Dynasty. It is a reconstruction, but there are people who actually live there (in the reconstructions) today.






Pictures of rice fields, which I've never seen in the U.S.



Pictures of fields of lotus flowers, rising from the mud:

Shilla Dynasty temple

This is the location of the Sinin-sa Temple of the Shilla Dynasty. Remains of wooden structures are on the large rocks at the south and pieces of stone pagodas are scattered here and there. The Buddhist statue to the south was the principal image of worship and a temple facing south was managed there. Several Buddhist statues were portrayed pictorially in the large square rocks as well.



Shown in the picture are the Buddhist triad and then there's a separate Bodhisattva image on the southern face of the rock.

Seokguram Grotto

Here is a pictures of the Seokguram Grotto. There was a huge statue of Buddha (that we couldn't take pictures of). It was incredibly beautiful here...

Korean home from the 1400's

We visited a traditional Korean home from the 1400's while we were in the Gyeongju Region. Here are some pictures. There were the husband's quarters in the front, a large courtyard, and then the wife's and children's quarters in the back.






Here's what it would have looked like from inside the wife's quarters out onto the courtyard and the street:




Here are the kimchi pots!