Browsing the archives for the Korean culture category

A Korean obsession

Koreans who take up wood carving often seem to develop an obsession with certain parts of the body, particularly the penis.

0 Comments

Restaurant Review #11: Kalguksu (칼국수) on Mt. Namsan

Along with temples, ancient Buddhas, and funny-shaped boulders, Mt. Namsan (남산) has also been blessed with a fair number of kalguksu (칼국수) restaurants. If you’ve not tried it before, Kalguksu is a hot and hearty noodle soup; perfect after a hike. Kalguksu literally means “knife noodles” as the noodles are cut by hand and quite [...]

0 Comments

The Korean Way of Tea (다례) Part 1: The History

By Don Baumhart
If you want a glimpse into the soul of traditional Korean culture, you should try to experience grace and charm of the Korean tea ceremony. Like its Japanese counterpart, the Korean tea ceremony is meditation in motion. Each slow and mindful movement is carefully choreographed from start to finish. As in meditation, the [...]

1 Comment

Dang-namu (당나무): Sacred Trees of the Village

If you’ve spent any time touring the Korean countryside, you might have noticed a single gnarly old tree standing nearby a farm village here or there. These trees are actually called Dang-namu (당나무) and according to Korean folk religion (a form of Korean Shamanism) they are actually one of the village’s Dong-shin (동신), [...]

3 Comments

Dongguk University Lantern Lighting: 2010 Highlights

I mentioned a few weeks ago Dongguk University held it’s lantern-lighting ceremony in honor of Buddha’s Birthday on April 29th.  As it turned out, the 29th was also declared a National Day or Mourning in honor of the 46 sailors who died in the sinking of the “Cheonan” on March 26th. Unfortunately this meant all [...]

0 Comments

Pear Flowers (배 꽃) & Bokwonsa Temple (복원사)

The other Sunday the sun was finally shining after a solid week of rain.  My wife and I hopped in the car and took off to explore the countryside determined to enjoy some of the hard-earned Spring weather.   As luck would have it, we drifted back some country roads going west out of town, and [...]

0 Comments

Special Events for Buddha’s Birthday (석가탄신일): Friday, May 21st

Coming up in about a week and a half is my absolute favorite holiday in Korea: Seokga Tanshinil (석가탄신일), or Buddha’s Birthday.   Every temple in Korea celebrates Buddha’s Birthday one way or another.  Most hang lanterns, have special ceremonies and serve a special group lunch or dinner for parishioners.  A few of the larger or [...]

2 Comments

Top 10 Ancient Stone Buddhas (석불) of Gyeongju: Part 2 of 2

Continued from Part 1:
5.  The Buddha Boulder (부처바위) of Tapgol Valley (탑골): Tucked behind the quaint beauty of Oknyeongam Hermitage (옥룡암) in Tapgol (pagoda) Valley is a large rock outcropping covered with Buddhist carvings.  There are dozens of cryptic images including meditating Buddhas, flying Devas, pagodas, and even winged lions!  The quiet magic of [...]

2 Comments

Seogyeongsa (서경사) Japanese Zen Temple

The other week my wife and I were walking through an older neighborhood of Gyeongju on our way downtown to grab a burger at McDonalds (Yeah, yeah. I know, but she’s pregnant.  I’m not going to argue.)  About a block from the courthouse, we turned the corner and stumbled on something we’d not seen since [...]

0 Comments

Top 10 Ancient Stone Buddhas (석불) of Gyeongju: Part 1 of 2

One of the cool things about Gyeongu is that it’s literally covered with ancient stone Buddhas from the Unified Shilla Dynasty (통일 신라), most dating back to around the 7th or 8th centuries C.E.  Very little is generally known about the sculptors who chiseled out these masterpieces way back when, though they were probably carved [...]

1 Comment