A Museum Without Walls

Korean Gardens

Korea has two faces. The first is the modern, westernized, urban side where couples walk, hand-in-hand, wearing matching t-shirts, kids spend hours cloistered away in ‘bangs’ (Korean for ‘room’) containing PCs, video games, karaoke, DVD players, and more, and the streets are crammed with buses, cars, businesses (cell phone stores by the block full), bars, coffee shops and just about everything else you’d expect to find in a major city anywhere in the developed world.

A View of rural Korea

It’s other face however, is a more ancient, rural, pastoral, solemn, and honored one. This historic side of Korea can be found in the small villages that dot the countryside where farmers painstakingly plant ride paddys  – by hand – live in huts with thatched roofs, and generally enjoy a very filling yet slow-placed lifestyle hearkening back thousands of years. The culture here is rich. This past weekend, I visited a place where Korea’s two sides meet face to face in the middle.

Gyeongju is a small city near the east coast, just north of Busan. They call it the museum without walls because the entire area is one history lesson after another, from the temples and statues, to the tombs of kings, and even further to the villages, fields, and homes (where people still live and work) that are reminiscent of a lost world without the conveniences of modern technology – or is it the technology of modern conveniences. I’m not sure.

Gyeongju, whose name literally translates to “Congratulatory District,” was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Silla (57 BC – 935 AD) which ruled about two-thirds of the peninsula between the 7th and 9th centuries. The Silla Kingdom was part of an era known in Korea as the Three Kingdoms; the other two kingdoms that make up the triad were Baekje and Goguryeo. Allied with China under theTang Dynasty, Silla conquered Goguryeo in 668, after having already conquered Gaya in 562 and Baekje in 660 to end this Era of Korean history. The Silla remained in control for another few hundred years as the prevailing power on the peninsula.

Bulguksa Temple

The starting point for my excursion was the mountainside temple called Bulguksa, the head temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism. This temple, built in 528, is considered to be the masterpiece of the golden age of Buddhism in the Silla Kingdom. It’s most notable feature are the twin pagodas in the main courtyard: Seokgatap and Dabotap. The two pagodas reflect a story in the Lotus sutra:

Dabo, a Buddha who had already achieved enlightenment, riding the Tower of Many Treasures, appeared to attest to the validity of Sakyamuni’s sermons at Vulture Peak. Dabo and Sakyamuni then sat side by side within the tower. This pagoda represents the Dabo Buddha, while the other pagoda represents Sakyamuni. Dabo represents the objective truth, while Sakyamuni represents the subjective wisdom to realize it. Dabotap is highly decorative and looks feminine, whereas Seokgatap is highly simplified and looks more masculine. The sophisticated Dabotap symbolizes the complexity of the world; the simple Seokgatap represents the brevity of spiritual ascent.

My next stop was the Seokguram Grotto – a 2 mile hike up the Mt. Tohamsan from the temple. Construction of the grotto itself began in the 8th century and took over 30 years to complete. The grotto is symbolic of a spiritual journey into Nirvana. Pilgrims were to start at the foot of the holy mountain to the Silla and make their way up to the shrine’s entrance where there was a fountain for refreshment. Inside the grotto, the antechamber and corridor represented the earth while the rotunda represented heaven. Within the rotunda are various representations of symbols but the main Buddha is over 4 meters tall (including the pedestal) and made of granite. Unfortunately, no photos were allowed inside the antechamber so if you want to see it, you’ll have to visit Gyeongju yourself (or google it).

Bag-End?

When I returned to the downtown area for a late lunch, I found myself aimlessly meandering around until the buildings broke into a fast field of massive bright green hills. I was blown away by the site and had no idea what I had stumbled on to. One of the hills had oak trees growing out sideways! It looked like Middle Earth and I was praying that Bilbo would emerge and welcome me into his cozy hobbit hole for a spot of tea and second breakfast! In truth, what I had discovered were some of the Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty – a series of 40 tombs scattered all over South Korea. They were built to honour and respect the ancestors and their achievements, and assert their royal authority. It was nothing like I’d ever seen before. During the part of my journey that transitioned between the hills and into Gyerim Forest, I wondered if Dr. Seuss visited Korea and based some of his illustrations on the local sights (maybe who-ville should’ve been hyu-ville).

The final quest of the day waited until nightfall; the man-made pond called Anapji which was part of the Banwolseong Palace complex. This place is a beautiful, national park lit up every night to create a very romantic experience for Gyeongjuans and tourists alike. I was surrounded by couples, young and old, holding hands and soaking in the ambiance. The center of the largest structure housed a diorama of  the original layout of buildings from hundreds of years ago and I was saddened to learn that of the original two dozen structures, only three remained standing. But the three still there were exquisite at night with the lights reflecting off the pond. My photos don’t do it justice – I have yet to master the night shooting (I think I need a tripod).

Anapji Pond at Night

I spent the night in a hostel called Nahbi Guesthouse and it was the best hostel experience I’ve ever had. For less than $20 bucks, I got a private room, a spacious common area for relaxing, wifi, and a free breakfast in the morning. Additionally, the proprietor (a young guy named T.J.) called me up while I was out traipsing around the downtown area and informed me he was having some friends over for a BYOB and invited me to join them. I made a dozen new Korean friends; we laughed and had a great time. One girl was from Busan and another from Seoul but the majority (I was shocked to find out) was from Daegu! It is a small world, after all. That night was by far (and so far) one of the highlights of my time in Korea.

Until Next Time…

-Justin

The Motorcycle Diaries

One of the American stereotypes with which I associate myself has always been the, ‘boy and his car’. Americans love our cars. We love to drive. We love the highways. We love to go fast (almost as much as the Germans). But what we value above all else is what our cars represent. To a red-blooded American, his car (or truck or motorcycle) means no less to him than the stars and stripes themselves. Cars are symbolic of our freedom and independence.

Some Antique Bikes

Since I’ve been in Korea, I haven’t had my own wheels. You can imagine how hard this would be for someone who’s had his own transportation since he got his learners permit at 16. I’ve own a car for half as long as I’ve been alive. Losing that freedom coming to Korea has been a much bigger shock to my system than I would’ve imagined. So what can I do about it? One of my goals is saving money. So I’m not going to go out and drop thousands of dollars on a car – completely out of the question. I’m not even sure how long I’m going to be here. It might be less than a year. It may be as many as three or four. Ideally I’d like to find something that would be inexpensive now and yet retain its value so that whenever I go to resell it again, I’d make my money back.

Standard Bus in Daegu

I have managed to save quite a bit of money since I’ve been here and will continue to do so, since the bulk of my expenses are food. But another big part of my expenditure comes from what I pay taxis to cart my ass around Korea whenever I need to get anywhere. A ride downtown ranges from $6.00-$10.00 depending on traffic and the kind of driver you have. So going to the main part of the city even once a week will add up at that rate. I don’t want the cabs to nickel and dime my income away one ride at a time. There are buses available but they’re so confusing. There’s no map anywhere and everything’s written in Korean. They do only cost $1.00 each way but there’s so much headache involved in trying to decode the routes, it’s barely worth the effort.

There is an advantage to not driving though. I maintain a relatively low carbon footprint here. And I haven’t been spending money on gas, tolls, insurance, registration, or vehicle upkeep (not that there are many tolls here). Public transit does have its merits and if our campus and apartments were anywhere near a subway line, this conversation would be completely moot. But we don’t. So what I decided was to look into buying a motorcycle. These two wheeled machinations of independence range from the very tiny vespa style scooters you may see driving around (engine sizes around 50cc – that’s cubic centimeters) all the way up to the super bikes (or ‘crotch rockets’) that fly by you at 150mph on the highways (engine sizes starting at 750cc). I’m hoping to find something in the middle, perhaps around 150-200cc. The problem is where to look. And I also don’t speak Korean.

Otobai Alley

I enlisted the help of my friend Jungjae who speaks basic English and is getting better every day. He’s also one of the most thoughtful and generous people I’ve ever met. He offered, without me even asking, to not only help me find a motorcycle but to also haggle with the seller to drive the cost down. What a guy! So our first stop was Otobai Alley – or Motorcycle Street. The really neat thing about Daegu shopping (not sure if other cities are laid out in the same way) is that individual goods and services are organized on entire streets. For instance there’s a car repair street, a makeup street, an electronics street, a shoe street (line up ladies), and even a motorcycle street. The problem is when we went to Otobai Alley, we discovered that they didn’t sell any used bikes – only brand new ones that cost upwards of $1,000 usd. Drawing board here we come.

For this to be cost effective for me, I need to spend less than $500 total including the bike, registration, insurance, helmet, and everything else. I did the math. With the potentially limited time I have left in Korea, spending over that amount on a bike would be insane – unless of course, I can simply resell it at the end of my contract (but that’s a bet I’m not willing to make just yet. So we’d have to go somewhere else to find a motorcycle. The Internet!

The Korean version of ebay motors is called Passo and the entire site is in Korean, which I can’t read. Well I can, but I have no idea what I’m reading when I do. So Jungjae decoded the site and we began searching for a bike. We spent a few hours searching but everything in my range was a piece of crap and everything that I liked was twice as much (or more) than I was willing to spend. The drawing board and I have become very close. We kept looking but many of the bikes looked like throwbacks to 1985 – ever seen The Dirt Bike Kid starring Peter Billingsley (of A Christmas Story fame)? My saving grace would have to be someone I already knew, leaving Korea and selling his bike on the cheap just to avoid the hassles.

So I patiently waited… and waited… and waited…

And waited…

Daylim Daystar 125

Until at last, Eureka! It happened! I fished what I wished! One of the other teachers I know has a contract ending in November and he’s preparing to get the heck outta dodge. He sold me his 175cc Daylim Daystar motorcycle for the rock bottom price of $350! The only problem NOW is that I have no idea how to ride – never done it before. So I’ll have to learn. Insert Tom – my gruff Scottish friend who’s been riding for years (and been in Korea for over 4). He promised to show me the ropes, teach me the tricks, and help me get the hang of riding for the mere price of a Philly Cheesesteak (see my entry: American Wit).

So with the beautiful autumn weather approaching, I’ll be out there learning to ride. Photos will come sooner or later but I’m just excited to try something new and get some of my freedom back. It won’t be quite the same as my trusty ole’ Mazda, but who knows what the future holds. Maybe I’ll be on two wheels for the indefinite future. You just never know.

Until Next Time…

-Justin

The Festival Circuit – Part I: The Summer Festivals

In 2007, when I had finished making Eclipse, I applied to a couple dozen film festivals that took place between January and October of 2008. If we had been accepted to a handful, or more, I would have, along with some of the crew and cast, taken the film on what is idiomatically known in ‘the industry’ as the Festival Circuit. Unfortunately we only got accepted into two local film festivals so there was no circuit to be had. But Korea has its own festival circuit and you wouldn’t believe the kind of stuff you’d find here!

To be clear there are two types of festivals in Korea. The Traditional (or holiday) festivals which include momentous, nationwide celebrations are centered around major events such as Lunar New Year, the Harvest, and Buddha’s Birthday.  And the other type are (for lack of a better term) Non-Traditional festivals which range from every subject imaginable. The traditional festivals are celebrated much like our holidays in the western world so I won’t go into much detail here in this entry as I will most likely devote entire entries to each one at the appropriate time. What this article will be about are the random and often crazy non-traditional festivals.

 

Mud Wrestling

• Boryeong Mud Festival – Celebrates the ‘high-quality’ mud from Boryeong by traveling to the beach and having a huge 2 weekend mud fight with other foreigners and Koreans alike. Don’t ask me what constitutes ‘high-quality’ mud but I can tell you than in the past few years that this festival has grown in popularity, so many people show up there isn’t enough mud so the sponsors actually have to ship in additional mud for the party. (No one knows what quality the shipped in mud is and there’s no Korean FDA to give it a rating)

 

 

 

Bombs Bursting in Air

• Pohang International Fireworks  Festival – On the opposite coast from Boryeong is the city of Pohang which faces the East Sea (or if you ask someone from Japan, the Japan Sea). Essentially it is three days of spectacular fireworks displays that put our Independence Day to shame. After all, Asians invented the stuff. During the day you can also participate in water sports and other fun beach style activities and August is one damn fine month to be outdoors.

 

 

 

 

Catching Some Fish

• Bonghwa Sweet Fish Festival – Visitors to this festival can fish for smelts! Or they can swim with smelts! Or they can learn all about the smelt fishing industry via slideshows, digital presentations, and a mock-theme park based completely on smelt fishing! (Seriously folks, I’m not making this stuff up.)

 

 

 

 

 

Ready for the Re-enactment

• The Great Battle of Hansan Festival – This is all about the Pop music group from America… is what I would’ve said if that were true, which it isn’t. The festival (and many re-enactments) actually celebrates Joseon Admiral Yi Sun-Sin’s great victory at the naval battle of Hansando that took place in 1592. This festival is held in August on the anniversary of the victory and visitors can learn all about the battle while enjoying the beautiful scenery of the region.

 

 

 

 

I Think these are Fireflies… Joss?

• Muju Firefly Festival – This is taken directly from the website, “When night falls in Muju the fireflies come out! Don’t miss this magical experience!” Wow. It is a fact that the fireflies of Muju are supposedly so special, Korea has named them a national monument… not built a monument for them; the fireflies themselves are actually the monument. I don’t know how an entire species of insect can be a monument but apparently the Koreans do.

 

 

 

 

 

No Vamps Allowed! Edward, This Means YOU!

• Uiseong Garlic International Kite Festival – Yes, I said international. You’d think that an international festival surrounding garlic would be in Sicily but nope! The Koreans have it. This festival hasn’t reached the popularity of some of the others. I guess Koreans don’t care so much about garlic as they do mud – although they must care about garlic enough to have a festival about it. So maybe they love their garlic more than we Italians do. Visitors at this festival get to tour another fake theme-park all about Korea’s garlic industry and witness performances on a stage by actresses dressed as whole cloves!

 

 

 

Rare Moment Captured

• Daegu International Bodypainting Festival – Artists from all over the world (I didn’t see any Americans) converge on Daegu once a year to paint the mostly naked bodies of models who then don feather headdresses and strut around stage wearing virtually nothing. The impressive display happens amid the majestic mountains surrounding Daegu in an area called Duryu Park which also boasts a football (soccer) stadium, a cultural arts center, and a performing arts venue. I’m not sure how this festival is views from other countries but there was a write up in the Washington Post about it so it must carry some weight.

 

 

 

So that’s the first set of festivals in Korea. Trust me there are hundreds more. This is just a small taste. There will be three more parts to finish this entry: Autumn, Winter, and Spring. I hope that you’ll still be following these when Spring rolls around. Until next time…

-Justin