Photos 2011

This Page Is Under Construction

Trip to An Mountain, Seoul Special City, Korea

November 04, 2011

I was able to end my year on a healthy note by hiking up An Mountain (안산) with my friends as one of my final activities for the year. This mountain is right behind Yonsei University, and hiking up to the top had been on my to-do list for quite some time.

The history behind An Mountain for me begins with the geomancer who advised the Chosŏn King to move the capital to Hanseong (한성), present day Seoul (서울), which is now the location of Yonsei University. The claim was that the study of trigrams and hexagrams in conjunction with the study of the land and its topography showed that construction of a national capitol here would give strength to the nation in much the same way feng shui utilizes and gains strength for the subject from its surroundings.

The land on which Yonsei University campus now stands was considered ideal as the 'S' shaped Han River brought energy which then flowed up the short and fertile floodplain into a natural valley capped by the large An Mountain. This energy was imagined as pooling in this seat of natural strength giving any leader seated there the power to rule. While this land was considered ideal in this sense, it was nevertheless passed up for a secondary location situated where Gyeongbok Palace now stands. While the secondary site was considered an unfavorable location by geomancers due to the presence of Nam Mountain to the south blocking the flow of energy from the Han River, it was chosen due the prior existence of a town on the site as well as for military and defensive reasons. An Mountain itself was left just outside the fortress walls of Seoul and relegated to being a signal post for relaying smoke messages between the capital and other locations around the kingdom.

From the top of An Mountain, one can see a number of sights that recalls the visitor to a troubled past and a brighter future. At the top, where the signal station was once located, the old fortress walls of the old city can easily be seen snaking their way across mountain wood and bare rock. Between the old city wall and the observer is a large gate called Dongni[b] [Independence] Gate (동닙문) which looks like a miniature replica of the Arc de Triomphe of France. This fourteen meter tall granite structure was built by the Independence Club in 1897 at the beginning of the Korean Empire at the same location where the king of the Chosŏn Dynasty, a vassal state of the Chinese Empire, had formally received the Chinese envoy at a special gate built called Yeongeun Gate (영은문) outside the fortress walls. Tribute caravans including the king's children would also be sent off from this point on their way to the Chinese emperor where they would be kept ransom.

The Sino-Japanese war in 1896 between China and Japan led to an end to this suzerian-vassal state relationship as China was forced to renounce claims of influence over Chosŏn Korea. Thus, the Chosŏn kingdom was transformed into the 'independent' Korean Empire. This 'independence' was in name only, however, as the Chinese garrison just outside the walls of the capitol in current day Yongsan was just replaced with Russian and later Japanese occupation troops. From here, troops could enter the capitol, murder commoners and royals alike, and retreat back to their headquarters of dominating, dark oppression from which they would scheme to overthrow and conquer the nation in their own interests. Today, and for the past seventy-five years, Americans have taken residence in this same location... and wonder why their presence there of all places brings such emotion from Korean nationalists.

It was at the conclusion of the Sino-Japanese War in 1897 that a group of reform minded Korean individuals built Dongni[b] [Independence] Gate (동닙문) as a banner to unite behind in the futile attempt to build a truly independent and lasting state. Empress Myeongseoung of the Korean Empire, the strength and voice of the royal family against Japanese imperialism was assassinated, and it was only a few years before Japanese Empire's annexed the so called empire in 1910. Ironically, it was in the shadow of this Independence Gate, at the very base of Ansan, that the Japanese would build their main prison called Seodaemun Prison (서대문 형무소) for the torture and execution of any Korean who objected to Japanese occupation of the Korean people over the next thirty-five years. Following Japanese rule, the grounds surrounding Dongni[b] Gate was further defiled by Korean dictators who tortured and killed Korean democracy activists for a further forty years (1987) at the same prison until finally independence was finally realized. It was only then that the Independence Gate and the dreams behind it became a reality and not just a dream.

An Mountain, a mountain once identified by Buddhist and Taoist geomancers as being the central location on the Korean peninsula for strength and power, has witnessed much of Korea's most shameful moments. But this ground is also in many ways the most hallowed battleground for Korean independence. The base of this mountain was where the blood of thousands upon thousands of Koreans has been spilled in the name of a free and independent Korean people. It has seen the staging point of the Silk Letter in 1801 where the persecuted Catholics called on the French Bishop of Beijing to call on the France to wage a holy war against the king, the imprisoning and torture of the independence fighters of the Japanese occupation, battles during the Korean War, and use as a political 'hole' during the Korea's dictatorial period. Upon this blood, a new nation and a new republic has been born. Today, the view from An Mountain gives a historic and panoramic view of an independent and vibrant city and slowly democratising nation that all of us so often take for naught.

Further information can be found at: Dongnib Gate / Seodaemun Prison History Hall / Bongwon Temple

Back to Top

Trip to Jeju Island, Korea

September 16-17, 2011

It was the last few days of summer before the next installment of my Korean Language Courses at Yonsei University's Korean Language Institute. My mother had flown in from the United States and was itching to get out of Seoul and go somewhere she had not been to in a long time. I honestly didn't know what to do or where to go, but a quick Google search brought up Jejueco, a tour company run by a Russian expat couple on the island of Jeju. My mother was also intrigued to no end with the thought of having a Russian tour guide show her around her own nation.

We took off from Gimpo Airport, Seoul, from a nearly deserted terminal. I believe almost everyone I met there was on their way to one of the several different budget airlines servicing the same route to Jeju Island. Our flight was on a T'way Airline Boeing 737-800. The flight was actually very nice and the atmosphere was much like that I would get from a Southwest Airlines crew. I can easily think of worse ways to travel by air in the United States. Accommodation on the island was at the Jeju Isleinn Hotel.

The actual time spent on the island was very nice, as the pictures in the slideshow above sufficiently portrays. Our tour guide, Victor, gave us what was essentially a personal tour by first taking us to go eat a nice snack of shellfish brought up by Haenyo, or Jeju's famous 'sea women'. From there, is was on to one of the obvious highlights of the trip, Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak (성산일출봉). This site is listed on the UNESCO World Heritage Registry and is a beautiful place to go. While it is a good hike to the top, the trek is nothing like I had ever experienced. The peak is actually an old volcano that forms an outcrop of the island jutting out into the sea. A refreshing wind is always blowing encouraging the climber upwards to the caldera. A relative lack of trees on the rocky peak allows for those resting on the trail to enjoy a wonderful view of the surrounding ocean, beach, and inland rice paddies. It is picturesque and worth enjoying one slow step at a time. The crater itself is about six hundred meters in diameter and slopes to a depth of ninety meters. It looks like a flowering meadow where one would have a dream picnic, but, alas, a fence keeps onlookers confined to the rim.

Our next stop for the day was the Jeju roe deer observation center at the Goechin Oreum. It was fun to meet and feed the deer at the park. The roe deer is the representative animal of the island as is the symbol of the national university and local soccer teams. The animal keepers even opened the gates to the pen and allowed the deer to freely roam around us and the other students who were also there at the observation center. While I enjoyed the animals, the oreum itself was also a delightful treat for the senses. A nature trail wrapped around for several kilometers and allowed us to enjoy the peace and quiet of nature. I think it was even more pleasant because the air quality was so distinctively better than what I had become accustomed to in Seoul. Every breath seemed so pure and life-giving.

--

After a good nights rest at our hotel, we were roused early in the morning to cross the island to visit the Jongbang Waterfall. The 23 meter seaside waterfall isn't so impressive to someone who was raised just a few miles from a waterfall nearly nine times larger (Multnomah Falls), but the uniqueness of seeing such a feature on an island with no rivers or lakes did inspire some awe in me. More interesting was how the waterfall flowed almost straight into the sea. Just a few miles away, we were also pleased to see a lava estuary which has also been recognized by UNESCO as a biosphere reserve. The rock formations are bizarre, and the water was so clear. I really wish I had been able to rent a clear-bottomed kayak for a lazy afternoon of floating out on the water. At the end of the estuary was a lighthouse and a beach where people set up prayer / meditation stones as they enjoyed the sound of the waterfall, trickling water, and the gently crashing surf.

Finally, we drove through a large wind farm to visit the islet bridge connecting Jeju with an island called Saesom and took a hike to see a large 'Lonely Standing Rock' that, if I remember correctly, inspired fear in the minds of Japanese pirates in the late 1500's due of the rock's likeness to a famous and deadly Chosŏn admiral (Yi Sun-sin). Our final destination was a visit to an absolutely gorgeous Green Tea Plantation. The fields, view of mountain and sea, the on-site cafe, and the taste of the tea were perfect. I'd make a trip to Jeju just to make it to this wonderful place.

All in all, this was probably one of the best planned trips I've ever made in my life. While I was able to see a lot and visit locations all over the island, I felt that I had both accomplished a lot and had the chance to revive my tired and polluted body. I hope that I can visit Jeju again... Next time I plan on just staying in one spot, relaxing with deep breaths, and sipping a cup of freshly brewed hot tea.

Further information can be found at: Jejueco / Sunrise Peak / Jeju Green Tea Farm

Back to Top

Trip to the National Museum of Korea, Seoul Special City, Korea

September 10-21, 2011

I have heard that the National Museum of Korea (국립중앙박물관) is the sixth largest museum in terms of display space in the world and may be the largest in Asia. I personally enjoyed going to this museum because of the authenticity that it now has compared to the contents that were previously displayed in years past.

In 2006, when I was last in Korea, the National Museum of Korea was actually located on the grounds of the Gyeongbok Palace just inside the Gwangwha Gate to the left. This building that used to house the national museum is now the National Palace Museum of Korea. Even though it had been nice to visit, and its location inside the main palace grounds made the visit somewhat seem more special, I had heard back then that all of the artifacts in the museum were actually copies of the originals which had been sealed in vaults for safekeeping in the advent of war. It seems, due to the care taken in creating a space as meticulously constructed as it is, that all of the artifacts at the new National Museum of Korea are actually originals.

The new National Museum of Korea is built on a former golf course on what was land belonging to the Yongsan Garrison of the United States Forces in Korea. Negotiations took years as the base configuration, including base helipad relocation and flight paths, had to be adjusted to complete the handover of land back to Korea. I personally believe that the decision to locate the new museum here, especially considering its importance as the flagship museum of Korea, was a very big mistake. The museum is nowhere close to anything of particular significance for Korean culture or history. All of the palaces, museums, and cultural venues are all located about twenty-five minutes north, and Seoul's transportation network was purposefully made not to service this area that had been the back gate of the U.S. military base. Furthermore, its proximity to an old, narrow bridge crossing the Han river causes the immediate area to be a traffic nightmare for most would-be visitors. Finally, I don't believe that the location will be built up as many Koreans had envisioned at the turn of the century when initial plans were being made. There had been plans to turn the entire Yonsan area into a city park with many new cultural venues or least a vast apartment complex that could make the country perhaps billions in profits. It seems that new plans, however, call for a continued (Korean) military presence in the area. This doesn't bode well for the atmosphere of the national museum and the appropriateness of its location here.

While the location of the national museum is, in my opinion, a major detraction from the overall experience, the contents, layout, and sheer magnitude of the museum makes it worth visiting. I have spent the better part of four days wandering through its exhibition galleries: Prehistory and Ancient History Gallery, Medieval and Early Modern History Gallery, Donation Gallery, Calligraphy and Painting Gallery, Asian Art Gallery, and Sculpture and Crafts Gallery. Each gallery contains an overwhelming number of artifacts allowing me to gain a depth of understanding into Korean history, art, and culture. There are beautiful paintings on huge fabric tapestries, paintings on ancient pottery, and royal furnishings and national treasures of past kings and kingdoms. There is an entire wing devoted to massive stone carved Buddha sculptures and a pagoda park inside and outside featuring tall ten story pagodas. Even more astounding is that the four days that it took to quickly walk around the national museum only exposed me to roughly 15,000 of 310,000 artifacts in the rotating collection.

I will have to make many more trips to the National Museum of Korea in the coming months if I want to gain a further understanding of this wonderful land. While I do think that the location makes it rather difficult to get to, the facility is in itself a wonderful building with an astounding number of artifacts displayed in a clean, fluid, and educational manner. Finally, the best part of the museum is that it costs nothing to get into. I can take multiple trips as often as I have time to see what I had missed on previous trips. Perhaps I will be able to post more about Korea and its history soon!

Further information can be found at: National Museum of Korea (국립중앙박물관)

Back to Top

Trip to Korean Folk Village (한국민속촌), Yongin City, Korea

July 30, 2011

It was an absolute pleasure to go to the famous Korean Folk Village (한국민속촌) in Yongin City, Korea. Many people had previously told me that I should go and visit, but I had put it off for months due to a mixture of laziness and the misguided desire to visit places closer to my home in Seoul. In the end, I found that the other little folk villages that dot Seoul and the surrounding cities do not even come close to the beauty that I was able to find in Yongin. For example, Seoul's Namsangol Hanok Village (남산골 한옥마을) seems much too clean, is built of primarily of perfect white bricks, and seems just like another one of the palaces that the Koreans feel have to be rebuilt every couple of years. Honestly, I don't think they understand that the reason we go to see these sights is to see something with history. Seeing a traditional Korean village or a palace of a dynasty that the Koreans have abandoned shouldn't look like it was built or within the past three months, in my opinion. Honestly, I think the reason Koreans destroy the historical authenticity of these places is so they can film Korean drama's on site rather than on sets. It is sad that Korea has sacrificed their historical sites for filming dramas. Another of these traditional villages that I visited in Jeju was much too small to enjoy in any real capacity. Being able to walk through the whole setup in less than five minutes left me feeling frustrated that I had not had an immersion experience.

The Korean Folk Village in Yongin, however, is a place that is an all around immersive and naturalistic experience. Built on 243 acres of forestland, it is nothing like the concrete imprisoned 'parks' in Seoul or elsewhere. The river that runs through this village in Yongin is not bounded by concrete levees, pedestrian and biking trails, or exercise equipment. Furthermore, none of the trees were tied down in a four point chokehold. Rather, plants and trees grow everywhere. Everything seems to be shrouded in natural glory. It finally feels like I've found a place where I can finally find that long sought after Asian Tao / Zen atmosphere.

The village offered over two hundred and sixty traditional houses to visit all modeled after residences of lords and peasants of the Chosŏn Kingdom and late Korean Empire (1392~1910). For the most part, I found that the location was not as foreigner-centric as the tourist locations in Seoul. I believe that on the day that I visited, I was the only foreigner in attendance among a great number of Korean families and school groups. The trip took the better part of a whole day, and I would gladly have stayed another if just to sit and enjoy the peace and quiet of the (secret) gardens hidden away inside the village. Furthermore, the traditional houses in the village seem kept up to the point that they are clean and approachable yet 'dirty' enough to seem at least reasonably authentic. I also liked that the paths were crushed rock on dirt or mud. It wasn't the crushed rock on concrete that is found in so many other places. The paths in Yongin were soft, and the occasional mud reminded me that I was in an 'old' town embracing its in a beautiful location in the forest.

Finally, those that are Korean Drama fans will be happy to know that this place was also the filming location for Scandal and Daejanggeum. They even have some areas where Drama fans can stand behind cutouts of their favorite actor/actress so that they can become the part of the story. Have fun!

Further information can be found at: Korean Folk Village (한국민속촌) / Namsangol Hanok Village (남산골 한옥마을) / Scandal / Daejanggeum

Back to Top

Trip to Boseong Tea Plantation, Boseong, Korea

Korea Trip Day 4

June 19, 2011

The last day of our four day trip around the Korean peninsula took us to the famous tea plantation Boseong Green Tea Plantation (보성녹차밭 대한다원). We took an intercity bus from Jinju City and took a country ride through a number of small towns, villages, and rice paddies. The few hours that the ride took, as well as the meandering path and utter lack of tourists on our bus left me feeling repeatedly worried that I had taken the wrong bus, but eventually we rolled into a three room bus terminal. Our next transfer onto a village bus to take us the last 25 minutes out to the actual plantation was a little time in coming, so I wandered around until I met the village drunk who was collapsed outside the terminal on a log. The drunk, actually an American English teacher who had unfortunately end up so far from the vestiges of civilization, was glad to see someone with whom he could speak some non-elementary English. It was obvious that he was in distress due to his placement and was drinking away every penny he was earning for his stay.

Despite what must be a large number of tourists to the Boseong Green Tea Plantation (보성녹차밭 대한다원), there were no tourists at the intercity bus terminal and very little development in the town as a whole. The street to the actual plantation had been recently paved, the village bus new, and the farms we passed looked neater than would otherwise be expected, but most if not all of the factories along the road looked to be in disrepair and abandoned. It wasn't until we arrived at the plantation itself that we found a number of tourists. It seemed by the number of cars in the parking lot that most had opted for private over public transportation. I guess it saves a lot of time...

Further information can be found at: Boseong Green Tea Plantation (보성녹차밭 대한다원)

Back to Top

Trip to Jinju City Fortress, Jinju, Korea

Korea Trip Day 4

June 19, 2011

It

Further information can be found at: National Museum of Korea (국립중앙박물관)

Back to Top

Trip to Seokguram Grotto (석구람), Gyungju, Korea

Korea Trip Day 3

June 18, 2011

It

Further information can be found at: National Museum of Korea (국립중앙박물관)

Back to Top

Trip to Bulguksa Temple (불국사), Gyungju, Korea

Korea Trip Day 3

June 18, 2011

It

Further information can be found at: National Museum of Korea (국립중앙박물관)

Back to Top

Trip to Shilla Era Tombs & Cheomseogdae, Gyungju, Korea

Korea Trip Day 2

June 17, 2011

It

Further information can be found at: National Museum of Korea (국립중앙박물관)

Back to Top

Trip to Icheon Hot Springs, Icheon, Korea

Korea Trip Day 2

June 16, 2011

It is finally the end of the semester and time for a trip around the country! My first stop is meant to relax my mind and body from a semester of Korean language study, and there is only one place that I know of that will meet my needs. I got up early and headed over to the East Seoul Express Bus Terminal at Gangbyeun Station. From there, it takes ₩4,300 and fifty minutes to travel to the town of Icheon, Korea. I first came here in 2006 on the recommendation from my mother that a trip to a natural hot spring might alleviate some of my skin sensitivity problems. The name Icheon sounded like it might be related to a hot spring, oncheon, so I had decided to try it out and visit. My skin greatly improved after a few visits, and visiting this place has become part of the reason I now visit Korea.

The spring semester has begun on the Seoul Campus of Yonsei University, and there is excitement in the air. As opposed to an academic school year that begins in the fall and ends in the spring as in the United States, the Korean academic year begins in the spring and ends at the end of the calendar year. Another interesting tidbit is that university students identify their class based on the year of entrance rather than the academic year that they would be expected to graduate. I believe this is partially due to the fact that men oftentimes must take a 18~26 month hiatus from their studies to fulfill their military service requirements. Those that do not, specifically women, also usually take a leave of absence lasting up to two years to take a working holiday in a foreign country. It is therefore rather uncommon for a university student to graduate in what would otherwise be the expected four year time frame. I get somewhat confused because when dates come up in conversations with Korean students, both my age and my college year both need to be adjusted. Even though I am twenty-five years old, suddenly I am twenty-seven, and my undergraduate year becomes 2003 rather than 2007 so long as I remain in this country. I am already feeling the headache that will come when I return back to the States and someone asks my age...and I keep having to subtract two from whatever my first answer is.

Back on topic, the first few weeks on campus during the first semester is full of energy. Although I am not a 'regular' undergraduate student, I still enjoy the atmosphere that is created when those thousands of young new first years triumphantly walk on campus to be greeted by their professors and upperclassmen mentors. Every evening, thousands of students separated by major sit in hundreds of circles on the grass lawns on campus to share stories with one another, practice (by performing in front of one another) the school fight songs, and waiting for dark so that they can all move out to the bars in Shinchon, the drinking district that connects Yonsei University, a top-three ranked 'Christian' mission college, with Ewha Women's University, the top ranked women's college which is a Methodist mission school; Sogang University, a well-respected Jesuit university; and Hong-ik University, one of the top arts colleges. The professors join the students on these nightly excursions helping (usually forcing) one and all in drunken chorus to sing their praise to their new home.

During this week, the campus erects huge stages in front of almost every individual college of the campus so that each can have their own amateur bands play and allow for bonding time between the students of each different major study. The music is usually fairly poor quality covers of English or American heavy metal or rock artists, and, as the night wears on, more alcohol means that clothing becomes more and more optional at a lot of these venues. Personally, I'm disappointed in seeing a so called Christian campus sanctioning such events and don't attend.

The finale of sorts to the spring edition of mandatory nightly drunkenness for Yonsei students comes during Yonsei's pride week called AKARAKA. My guess is that the name is derived from the sound of a screeching [or puking] eagle, the university mascot, but I might be mistaken. What I do attend, if given the opportunity is the finale which is held at the campus's classical outdoor amphitheater. Famous musicians, often graduates of the university itself, come to perform. I personally don't know most of them except for Psy, but the music is much more professional and cleaner than the music that has been playing on the campus for the previous week. Furthermore, with a focus on school pride and a ban on alcohol, the debauchery that usually permeates the campus is more masked than evident. It actually becomes nice to see the students gather together this one time.

Further information can be found at: Yonsei University / Yonsei University KLI

Back to Top

Trip to Yonsei University Campus, Seoul Special City, Korea

May 05, 2011

It is nice to finally be considered a student at Yonsei University. I am not an official student on the main campus, but I am a student at the Korean Language Institute (KLI) for a few months at least until I gain a level of fluency in the Korean Language. It was difficult making the decision to return to Korea, and my fellow coworkers at International Medical Corps influenced me greatly in coming back to get a language and additional studies under my belt to eventually further my career.

My classes in the regular program are difficult. I tested into Level 3, a testament to the benefit of taking the $80 Korean classes at the King Sejong Institute at the Korean Cultural Center in Los Angeles. Honestly, the food and other gifts they gave us made this program better than free. A couple of courses there saved me about $3,000 and six months of classes in Korea. The regular program at the Yonsei KLI is great for those that want to really learn Korean very quickly and don't worry too much about their grades. Most of the students here are Chinese, and they are really quick at learning Korean, which many of them simply see as a Chinese dialect. They still tend to study about twelve hours daily, however, putting a great deal of stress on non-Chinese or Japanese foreigners who do not have such advantages. Anyway, I am glad to be here and look forward to not just learning the language but also learning about this school and country. I hope that I will be able to post some pictures of my adventures up in the coming months.

While not really considered a trip, I decided to spend one afternoon walking around the 'One Hundred Poplar Tree Road' on the Yonsei University Seoul Campus. At this time, the campus is about to undergo a major remodel, and the first step has been to do a complete remodel of the Main Library and gymnasium. I also wanted to take a few pictures of the main street and the trees, sculptures there before it is torn up to make way for the new street. More pictures will be uploaded of the remodel in coming months.

Further information can be found at: Yonsei University / Yonsei University KLI / King Sejong Institute (Korean Cultural Center, Los Angeles)

Back to Top

Photos 2013 - Photos 2011 - Photos 2010