International Destinations

Exploring old and new in South Korea

By Toni Dabbs

Photo by Toni Dabbs

Once reserved for nobility, today Seoul is home to about one-quarter of South Korea's 46.9 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.

At the centre of Seoul is a mountain called Namsan, on top of which is a tower that on a clear day provides a view of almost the entire city. From here, it is apparent that the modernity of Seoul’s high-rise office towers and neatly aligned apartment blocks masks its antiquity.

Namdaemun, or South Gate, is one of the most imposing of nine city gates that once punctuated the 17-kilometre wall city wall. The 14th century structure now is the centre 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 congest its extensive maze of narrow lanes, which cover an area of several city blocks.

Some real bargains can be found here by shoppers willing to elbow 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, and more.

At the end of Sejong Street on the north side of downtown, separated from city traffic by a high stone wall, is Kyongbokkung, the greatest of the palaces built during the Choson Dynasty (1392-1910).

Although its name means Palace of Shining Happiness, it has a history of intrigue. During the Japanese invasion of 1592, it was burned by slaves who wanted 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 its 500 buildings were destroyed. Among those remaining is Kyonghoeru or Pavilion of Joyous Meeting, which still is used for special functions. Rising on pilings above a man-made pond, it is the largest elevated pavilion in Korea.

The compound also contains many historic stone pagodas and monuments, re-located to the palace grounds from their original sites by the occupying Japanese.

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.

A metal archway on busy Ujongguk Street is the entrance to 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. Founded fairly recently, in 1910, each May the temple is the focal point of a parade commemorating Buddha's birthday. Colourful lanterns carried in the parade are used to decorate the courtyard's buildings and trees.

Traffic congestion is a problem in Seoul, but the public transportation system provides access to most parts of the city and beyond.

A rewarding day trip from Seoul is a visit to the Korean Folk Village at Suwon, 48 kilometres to the south by train and bus. This living museum is a working community in which Choson Dynasty life is recreated. 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 beautifully landscaped grounds.

People wearing customary Korean clothing tend small fields of ginger, ginseng and other dietary staples or practise skills such as papermaking and silk spinning, all as if simply going about their daily business, yet in plain view of the public.

In the village marketplace, visitors may purchase items made on site, sample basic Korean meals and try their hands at traditional games.

Among the entertainment offered at the village is the Farmer's Dance. The oldest surviving dance in Korea, it is traditionally employed when planting crops to exorcize unwanted spirits. To the hastening beat of gong and drums, dancers leap into the air and snap their heads, swirling streamers attached to their hats.

Visitors who want to delve even deeper into Korea's past can take an overnight excursion to Kyongju, 325 kilometres 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 one million.

The capital of the Shilla Dynasty (57 B.C. to 935 A.D.), Kyongju offers reminders of Korea's early cultural achievements at every turn. The town centre is compact and easily negotiated on foot. Its attractions include a seventh century astronomical observatory and dozens of funeral mounds that mark the tombs of Shilla kings and nobles.

Among the tombs clustered in Tumuli Park is Ch’onmach’ong, the Heavenly Horse Tomb, excavated in 1973. It is open to visitors to show how the burial mounds were constructed.

Like the pharaohs of ancient Egypt, Shilla kings were buried with food, clothing and other items they might need in the afterlife. Such artifacts from some of the tombs are exhibited at nearby Kyongju National Museum. About 16 kilometres southeast of town is Pulguksa, a complex of gardens, pagodas and pavilions arranged over a gently sloping hillside. Most of the current structures are 1970s reproductions of original eighth century architecture, but restoration was accomplished using authentic methods and materials. Pulguk Temple houses one of the oldest surviving monasteries in Korea, dating from 535 A.D.

From Pulguksa, a winding road leads up the forested flank of Mount Toham to the Sokkuram Grotto. Embedded in the eastern slope of the mountain, the grotto is an intimate domed chamber built of massive granite blocks. It shelters a finely sculpted three-metre-high statue of Buddha seated on a lotus shaped pedestal, surrounded by relief carvings of bodhisattvas (perfected beings).

For more than 1,100 years, the Sokkuram Buddha has gazed over South Korea’s coastal mountains to the sea, his right hand touching the earth in a gesture signifying firm resolve in the face of adversity. During much of that time, the sense of peace and security the statue was meant to convey has eluded the people of South Korea, who have endured a long history of internal conflicts, social upheavals and repeated invasions.

Today, at Kyongjo and Seoul, South Korea is tapping into a rich vein of national pride.