Spiral motifs, eternal lifecycles and Buddha

Weathered temple door
The motif of circle, of yin and yang, spirals, beginning and end in eternal repeated cycles are somehow very reassuring to me in an age where everything seems to have a cold, hard expiry date. Although I couldn't really lay claim to calling myself a practicing Buddhist, the underlying philosophy of Eastern Buddhism is very consoling for someone brought up on a steady diet of Christian notions such as sin, guilt and redemption.
I was at my local dentist just last week, bracing against the pain and the realization that the dentist's assistant was trying most vehemently to get me to reconvert back to Christianity. I guess the wads of cotton in my mouth were a convenient time for her to launch into her spiel because I could hardly come up with a counterargument under those conditions. I certainly got an ear full, and paid for the privilege!
Fascinating to think that a once profoundly Buddhist nation of people could within thirty or fourty years switch to Christianity, to the extent that around 35% of Koreans are now practicing Christians. Seoul's nightscape is alive with the neon glow of church crosses, while the remote Buddhist temples hidden away in the mountain retreats barely rate a mention in public life.

Buddha and Enlightenment

Shamanism

Shamanist 'Changsung' poles
Changsung are usually a pair of wooden poles traditionally erected at the entrance of Korean villages, and their role is that of guardian deity of the villagers. Inscribed on the male poles are the Chinese ideographs, Ch'onha Taejanggun (great general under heaven), and their role is to protect all people passing on the roadways in and out of the village. The female Changsung is indicated by the five Chinese ideographs meaning "female general underground". She is the female deity who governs the conception and birth of children. Her vigilant care of children put villager parents at ease and this is why she was worshiped with attention, and still is in remote villages around the peninsula.

Stone Guardian 'Dolharubang' from Chejudo Island

Who needs Picasso?

Not just another bad hair day for the writer of this blogspot

Kim's dating some pretty scary looking GIs these days - good luck to her!

Recent summer trip to Osaka in Japan

A quintessentially Japanese face
Last summer I had yet another chance to head across the sea to Japan, since it is only a one hour flight from Korea. I caught up with my friend Jun, there, and had a chance to experience all over again the old haunts from the time I lived here in '98. There's a lot I miss about Japan - the food, the politeness, the beautiful attention to detail and art, the language, but ultimately the ritualized behaviour, shyness of the people, and general expense of everything gets a bit overwhelming on a longterm basis. Koreans seem so much more pragmatic and straightforward by comparison, yet a yearning for something undefinable always lures me back to Japan.

Who'd have known that an earthquake ripped through this part of Kobe just seven years ago.

Koya mountain is a Buddhist mountain retreat with amazing lodgings such as the above. The tatami mat gets a bit hard midway through the night, though...

One of my Kansai area favorites, Okonomiyaki - a mixture of egg, cabbage, sweet savoury sauce and batter. Delectable!

The adventure story of Steamboy?

The amazing floating island of the Umeda Sky Building

Kawaiii! - a way overused word in Japanese for 'cute!'

Modern takes on the traditional kimono

Political Demonstrations in Chongno

Falun Gong member being tortured with an iron!
Chongno street, and especially the area directly in front of Pagoda Park (Tapgolkongwon) always seems to be the main venue for frequent anti-government protests. Strolling past today, however, was an anti-Chinese government protest, in which Falun Gong claims that more than 25,000 of their meditation practitioners have been sent to labor camps and over 1,000 to mental hospitals across China. The Chinese government claims, on the other hand, that this is a dangerous religious cult, but the Falun Gong brochures look very similar to that of several Korean meditation groups, who don't face any persecution here.
The scene of women being beaten inside cages, and irons being liberally applied to various body parts was very surreal. Korean couples licking ice creams and with shopping trips in mind, watched the unfolding torture in progress for a minute or two, before then continuing on their merry ways elsewhere. The gravity of all this seemed to be lost on them, although Falun Gong has been widely publicizing their persecution here for some time on many Korean campuses. I guess it was time to take it literally to the streets.

The venerable entrance to the main hall
The Kyoungbok Palace in central Seoul has recently been renovated, and now better reflects its former glory.

Footbridge to a small island
This old, fragile looking bridge spanning a large garden pond has symbolic value for me. It could be a transition point, a bridge to the unknown - potentially foolhardy to cross, but unseen treasures may await beyond.

Some intricate tiling patterns on the palace walls

Traditional reenactment from the Choson Dynasty

Day trip to Bukhan Mountain

Intrepid climbers scale Mt Bukhan

Bukhan Mountain is a famous retreat for jaded Seoulites to escape from the rat race and do some bush bashing for a few hours. It's a steep, but easy climb, and the views from the peak were fantastic. We had makkoli (fermented rice wine) and pachon 파전(seafood pancake) half way down the mountain when returning from the peak, which made the rest of the climb down 'interesting' to say the least. Anyway, we made it back to civilization minus a few bruises and near sprains.

Like worker ants slowly making their way to the incredible views of the summit.

On the way up to a local temple we rode the "Lotus Bus". Who needs those old hippie buses from the sixties when you've got this!