Browsing the archives for the Shamanism category
There are many times in this country when I’ve wished I had a better grasp of the Korean language. Standing in Mr. Seo Seung-am’s workshop at the foot of Mt. Namsan (남산) was definitely one of those times. On display all over the shop are literally hundreds of hand-carved wooden penises. There are big ones, [...]
The other week I posted on an upcoming concert at the Gyeongju Cultural Center (경주문화원) in honor of the changing leaves of the 500 year old ginkgo tree (은행 나무) on the premises. As it’s just a short stroll from my house, I manage to pop down there for about half an hour before running [...]
If you’ve been to a Buddhist temple in Korea before, you might‘ve noticed a little shrine to the back of the temple that’s home to the image of a bearded old man with an odd-looking tiger laying at his feet. This wise and aged being is not some kind of Buddha or Bodhisattva, but rather [...]
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), or guardian [...]
Like a lot of posts on this blog, I’d meant to get something up on San-shin.org ages ago. If you’re at all interested in traditional Korean culture, this site’s an awesome resource. It’s a treasure trove of info on everything from Korean Shamanism and Buddhist culture to folk art, feng shui, hiking and green tea.
My wife and I went out for a short hike yesterday on Mt. Geumgansan (금강산) to get some exercise and enjoy a bit of the Spring weather. As I’d just posted on the legend of of Ichadon (이차돈), I figured we’d take walk up to Baegyulsa Temple (배귤사), which was built on the spot where [...]
If you visit enough Buddhist temples here in Korea, you might come across some pretty gnarly scenes painted on the sides of these hollowed halls, such as the gothic tortures of the Hell Realms or the gruesome image of the 2nd Patriarch of Zen, or Seon (선) Buddhism, chopping off his left arm (but more [...]
With friends visiting for the New Year, we decided to make use of our new set of wheels and go exploring a bit. On New Year’s day we made the 45 min. trek over the mountains to Bonggil Beach (봉길해수욕장) on the East Sea, though were a bit too late to catch the sunrise, as [...]
