Hwagyesa Templestay

Wow! What a weekend I just had at the Hwagyesa International Zen Center just north of Seoul! I was curious about a program called “Templestay” which is designed to help people understand Korean Zen Buddhism. Although I could not get any faculty or students to join me (no one seemed interested in the 3:00 a.m. wake-up call for meditation), I had a very interesting weekend and met people from around the world. I arrived at Hwagyesa on Saturday morning at 10:00 and received my uniform. I was shown to my room which I shared with young women from Kazistan and China. Participants from these countries and Germany, New Zealand, and the US got to take part in all activities with the monks who gave us instruction on Buddhism and its ceremonies. Activities we got to participate in included Jwaseon (sitting meditation – and yes we were up at 3:00 a.m. this morning to do that!), Yebul (chanting), Dahdoh (tea ceremony), traditional Buddhism bowing and eating meals with the monks. I am totally worn out from all of the activities but I’m glad I got to experience this while in Korea!

Korean Traditional Folk Art

Each week Sookmyung Women’s University organizes a Korean cultural activity for all international faculty and students. Last week, we all had a great time making traditional Korean jewelry boxes. Representatives from the National Folk Museum of Korea came to show us how to make these boxes made from rice paper and rice paste. We weren’t sure how they were going to turn out at first but we were all pleasantly surprised with our results!

Gyeongbokgung

Yesterday we visited one of many palaces in Seoul. Gyeongbokgung (which means “palace greatly blessed by heaven”) was originally built in 1395. Although it has suffered much damage over the years due to wars, it has been refurbished to its traditional style over the past 20 years. We were very lucky to arrive at Gyeongbokgung just in time for the ceremony of the changing of the guard. This involved several dozen guards all wearing traditional 15th century, Joseon dynasty uniforms (see photo). The detailed painting of the walls, ceilings and eaves of the buildings was amazing! The National Folk Museum of Korea is also on the grounds of Gyeongbokgung. This museum includes wonderful exhibits about the history of the Korean people and the Korean way of life. The beautiful gardens of the museum contain sculptures of the Korean zodiac animals (I am a dragon!) and totems that scare away evil spirits or converse with those who have died.

DMZ

Although it was a very rainy day (this is the beginning of the monsoon season in Korea!), we had a fascinating visit to the DMZ today! The DMZ (or Demilitarized Zone) is a strip of land that separates North and South Korea. It has served as a buffer zone between the two regions since the signing of the 1953 cease-fire agreement that ended the fighting of the Korean War (although the war has never officially ended). We knew this was going to be a serious tour when the tour agency asked us to bring our passports and to dress conservatively. The tour included going into the Third infiltration tunnel. This is a tunnel that South Korean officials discovered in 1978. It was one of many attempts by North Korea to invade South Korea (they discovered another tunnel as recently as 1990). We also got to see the Mt. Dora Observatory. Here we were able to look out over North Korea but we could only take photos from behind a specific photo line. The Mt. Dora train station is a very modern train station which was restored in hopes of reconnecting the rail service between Seoul and Pyeongyang. North Korea will still not allow this rail service to run but the South Koreans are hopeful that it will run in the future.

Korean Traditional Tea Ceremony

This evening the international students and faculty got to learn about and participate in a Korean Traditional Tea Ceremony. We all got to wear the traditional hangboks and then learned the proper way to bow, serve and drink tea in the Korean tradition. Afterwards, students and faculty had dinner at a great, local Korean restaurant.

North Seoul Tower at Namsan Park

The North Seoul Tower was a Seoul landmark that we all noticed when we first arrived here since we can see it from our residence building. This tower is in Namsang park and offers great views of the city. An interesting thing we noticed while at the tower was the huge number of locks hanging from the tower’s gates. Apparently couples proclaim their love for one another and place their locks together on the gates. Historically, this site was used as a prime post for defending Seoul.

National Museum of Korea

The National Museum of Korea was amazing! Although we did not make it to all of the exhibits, we were able to see many sculptures and artwork including two of Korea’s national treasures. The first (and my favorite) was the “Pensive Bodhisativa” or as some call it, “The Thinking Buddha”. Buddhism is still the most common religion in Korea and Buddhist artwork and architecture can be found everywhere. The other national treasure we saw in the museum was the “Gyeongcheonsa Pagoda” which is a 10-story marble structure originally erected at a Buddhist temple in 1348. This pagoda was taken to Japan during the Japanese occupation of Korea (1910-1945) but was returned safely to Korea in 1960.

Korean Folk Village - Suwon

Today we visited the Korean Folk Village in Suwon, Korea. This village represents houses from the later Joseon Dynasty. We saw performances by a traditional Korean band (see photos), a traditional Korean wedding ceremony and a tightrope walker. Deahnna and I tried the haemul pajeon (seafood flatcake) for lunch and we all found some great gifts for family and friends.

Sookmyung Orientation Part III

The final part of orientation was a trip to a NANTA performance. This is a unique mix of comedy, cooking, rhythm and dancing. Well, you just have to see it to believe it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XQ-hFrhE_Q&hl=ko One international faculty member from Stanford University got to go on stage and participate in the performance. Everyone had a great time!

Sookmyung Orientation Part II

The second part of orientation included a guided tour of the campus. This campus is over 100 years old and has 3 museums! An interesting thing we found out is that students use their cell phones instead of ID cards to check out library materials, get into certain buildings and use some facilities. The artwork and historical relics in the University's museums are beautiful. We even met SMU's version of the C'sters (they call them ambassadors). These students guided us around campus and answered our questions - all in English!

Sookmyung Orientation Part I

The rest of the international students and faculty arrived in Seoul yesterday and this morning for our orientation to the Sookmyung International Summer School (SISS). Tanesha arrived last night and is getting acclimated to the time difference and to Seoul. Unfortunately Kara was unable to make the trip. Orientation included informational sessions for both students and faculty and lunch with traditional Korean foods. We are all still trying to get used to those chopsticks!

Last Day of Korean Culture/Language Classes

Deahnna and I finished our week-long Korean culture and language classes. One of our instructors brought us a rice drink called Shikksey and Deahnna even got to try on a hangbok which is traditional Korean clothing.

Namdaemun Market

Shopping in Namdaemun Market today was great! I have never seen so many vendors and shoppers in one place. This is the largest traditional market in Korea and has been in existence since 1414. In addition to clothing and housewares, one can find any kind of traditional food here including ginseng (middle photo) which is used in many Korean dishes

June 10 - Welcome to Sookmyung Women's University!

Deahnna and I arrived safely in Seoul last weekend and are attending the pre-summer session culture and language classes being offered by Sookmyung Women’s University. I think our jet lag has just about subsided but it is difficult getting used to the 13 hour time difference. In our Korean culture class, we are learning about Korean life including how to get around Seoul and Korea, family structure, customs, favorite leisure activities and superstitions. In our Korean language class we are learning the Hangeul alphabet and how to read, write and speak Korean. It is a very different language from English and we are both diligent about completing our homework every night.

Although we have some basic Korean phrases down, we still seem to be using many gestures and pointing. When we went to lunch at a Korean restaurant one day this week, nothing was written in English so we just pointed to pictures of things on the wall that looked good. I took a take-out menu back to class the next day to ask our instructor what we had eaten (Deahnna had a chicken curry and I had a pumpkin soup). It has been fun exploring the city and trying new foods!

May 26, 2009 - Dinner at Hero

To help familiarize us with Korean cuisine, Jeongha invited us to join her and her boyfriend, Eric, at their favorite Korean restaurant in Columbia, Hero. Dr. Spell's family, Tanesha, Deahnna and Kara joined Dr. Alan Weinberg (a former SISS professor) at the restaurant and tried many traditional Korean dishes.