Gaijinphoto Magazine

Seoul Black and White

Changgyeonggung Palace complex spread before Seoul Tower.

Palace Greatly Blessed by Heaven

Changing of the Guard ceremony at Gyeongbokgung.

Korea has had a traumatic history. Over the centuries it has suffered greatly at the hands of its neighbors, especially, as every Korean and Korean monument will remind you, at the hands of the Japanese. What Koreans will not as readily admit to, is that for much of its history, the Korean people suffered greatly at the hands of their own government – as is still the case in North Korea. But as the South continues to get comfortable with its now strong and dynamic democracy, an extraordinary effort is underway to reclaim their culture and traditional treasures.

 One of the many urns in one of the restored buildings on the palace grounds

Japan is noted for mixing its reverence for the past with an insatiable reliance on the most modern technology. The cliché of the Blade Runner world that is a mélange of Kabuki, Manga-esque characters and ultra high technology comes to mind when one roams the streets of Shibuya, bathed in the ubiquitous neon light, passing young girls in Kimono in search of the freshest sushi. And although Tokyo was devastated during the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 and the US Air Force firebombing in 1945, Tokyo still feels less war-torn than does much of Seoul.

 Qing Dynasty (China) influenced design of Jibokjae, a building on the grounds of Gyeongbokgung

Seoul was completely devastated during the Korean War (1950 – 1953) having changed hands between the forces of the North Koreans with their Chinese allies, and the allied forces of the United Nations, several times. This left Seoul ground in to the very soil, chewed up by tank treads, artillery shells, and the bombs that ravaged this small expanse of land for the better part of three years. Moreover, during the Japanese occupation, which began during the Sino – Japanese War of 1894-95, becoming more formal with Japan’s annexation of Korea in 1905 in the wake of the Russo – Japanese War - an occupation ended with the American victory over Japan in WWII - Japan conducted a deliberate campaign to eradicate Korean culture. This included the removal of the Korean royal family, the banning of the Korean language in favor of Japanese, the ascendancy of the Japanese bureaucracy, and the destruction of Korean palaces and public buildings.

 Spring flowers behind a small gate within the palace grounds

There is an extensive move afoot to restore Korean cultural treasures to their formal glory, and in the process make Seoul a more interesting destination for visitors. Gyeongbokgung palace in central Seoul is emblematic of this effort as it rises from the ashes of its historical challenges. The use of “palace” in the last sentence is actually redundant since Gyeongbokgung means (Palace Greatly Blessed by Heaven). Built in 1395 at the beginning of the Joseon Dynasty in front of the powerful edifice of Mount Bugaksan, the palace was once an architectural wonder, which at its most glorious rivaled Beijing’s Forbidden City. Its 300-plus buildings once stood as the epicenter of Korean culture and power until they were completely destroyed by the Japanese during the invasion of Korea in 1592. Completely rebuilt by Prince Regent Heungseon Daewongun in 1867, Gyeongbokgung was again destroyed by the Japanese in 1915 during the annexation of Korea, leaving less than 10% of the structures standing.

 One of the traditionally-dressed guards who perform ceremonies in front of Gyeongbokgung

Today, many of the structures have been rebuilt as part of a program culminating in 2020 to restore much of the splendor that this palace once evoked. Nestled in a part of Seoul that contains much natural beauty, time here, after being in the bustle of Seoul’s urban sprawl, is time well spent. In the Springtime, flowers in bloom of various types accessorize Gyeongbokgung like the elaborate Hanbok used to adorn the Korean royalty that once walked these grounds. In autumn, maples seem to catch fire and glow on the surrounding buildings evoking the danger of the past in their benign resemblance to the destructive force that once reduced rather than enhanced Gyeongbokgung. Every time I return here I see a new addition to the great project that continues to make this erstwhile luckless treasure emerge from its weeping, earthly realm to once again claim the mantle of a Palace Greatly Blessed by Heaven.

 

Admission : 3,000 won adults, 1,500 won children

Hours of Operation 09:00~17:00, 18:00, Closed Tuesdays

Gyeongbokgung Station, Subway Line 3, Exit 5

Buddha in the Air

Seoul prepares to celebrate Buddha's Birthday (May 2nd this year) with the mounting of paper lanterns and the practicing of traditional dances, at Jogyesa Temple. Hopefully there will be more to report from the Lotus Lantern Festival on 26 April. Gaijinphoto magazine will have correspondents on the scene. 

Photo of the Week

Visitors admire the cherry blossoms at Changgyeonggung Palace in Seoul, Republic of Korea.

Stolen Moments

We set out with the best of intentions to find the things we seek, and often find something we weren’t looking for at all. More often, what was once the object of our affection, molded by some preconceived notion of a norm, never actually existed anywhere but in our imagination, and we are doomed to walk the earth in search of this myth - that always will evade us, will always be one step ahead.

On a recent trip to Tokyo, my best efforts were once again foiled as I traveled the streets, with plan and purpose, camera in hand, ready to capture the perfect shot of cherry blossoms (sakura) in bloom. For someone travelling from afar to do this there are ample challenges to overcome: timing, weather, and finding the right location - at the right time. To have all these things conspire in favor of the seeker is against the odds at best, and no fool in Vegas would take them. But I was in Japan during peak sakura time, with the right weather, and remembered the best locations in Tokyo to go to. As usual, being at the right location at the right time eluded me, and fool that I am, I was happy to discover the unintended.

Tokyo is a town, well a very big town – the biggest city in the world, that rewards the observant and punishes the unprepared. It is best to go with the flow and not become stuck on what one “ought to do,” as many Japanese indeed spend much of their time doing. This is what produces the maddeningly huge, although well-behaved crowds that Westerners drown in amongst their more buoyant Japanese counterparts.  Tokyoites seem to go a place not only because it is convenient, or the weather is nice, or it is a nice thing to do - but because they “ought” to do it; it is right and proper and customary and very Japanese to do so.

If you are not Japanese, however, you are not burdened by this idea and are free to seek and explore like Dr. Livingston, lost among the natives. So when we hatch the perfect plan, that no one has ever thought of, to just go out to where the sakura are, and there will be amidst the perfect blossoms and ethereal light, a well-attired Geisha, in glorious silken kimono and obi, who we will snap in all her splendor, to adorn the cover of National Geographic - we are bound to be disappointed. Life is not like this; at least it isn’t for me.

But what we do find in the great eastern capital, amongst the memories of old Edo, are those stolen moments, that hide as if to avoid us - that only our eye can see, our mind can recognize, and our camera can capture - for eternity.

It may be as simple as realizing that when you go to the temple to shoot the temple, what you may come away with is a stolen moment with a temple cat.

Cool Dog

Walking around Seoul on a beautiful day, in search of the elusive, perfect shot of cherry blossoms in the city, I came across one cool dog.