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More Dangsan Namu (당산나무): KTV Documentary in 4 Parts

Since we’ve been on the subject of Dangsan Namu (당산나무) lately, I posting a KTV documentary I found on Youtube about Korean Dangsan Namu.  The documentary is in 4 parts, though unfortunately only the first and second seconds have English subs.  Even so, parts 1 and 2 are enough to a give a sense of the rich variety of legends surrounding the Dangsan Namu in Korean folklore.  Part 2 even includes details on the traditional village ceremonies honoring the Dangsan Namu on Daeboreum (대보름), which I talked about a few weeks ago.   Unfortunately my Korean’s not good enough to make much sense of the Korean narration in parts 3 and 4, but I’m including them below anyways.  If any Korean speakers would like to chime in with a summary in the comments section, I’d definitely appreciate it ;-) read more »

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Gyeongju News

New Goenka Vipassana Meditation Center Open near Gyeongju

Bakdal Vipassana Meditation Center, Gyeongju

Bakdal Vipassana Meditation Center, Gyeongju

Folks who are interested in meditation will want to know that a new center for Vipassana meditation, as taught by S.N. Goenka in the tradition of Sayagyi U Ba Khin, has recently opened in Bakdal Village in the mountains south of Gyeongju.  The center is scheduled to host monthly 10 day silent meditation retreats over the next year, and hopefully longer.  Although based on the teachings of early Buddhism, these meditation courses are nonsectarian and open to anyone of any faith or belief system, or lack thereof.  During the courses the students are instructed in three complementary meditation techniques: Anapana meditation focusing observing one’s breathing, Vispassana meditation which entails observing one’s bodily sensations, and Mettapana, or “loving-kindness” meditation.    The center has already successfully run two 10 day silent meditation courses in December and January and is preparing to run two more, starting next Monday February 27th through March 9th and from March 13th through the 24th .  There are still spaces available for men and women in both courses as well as in the monthly courses to follow.  All courses are run entirely on a donation basis and the funding for each course has already been provided by previous donors and participants.  read more »

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Photos: A Dangsan Tree (당나무) on Daeboreum (대보름)

Dangsan Tree on Daeboreum Holiday in Gyeongju

Dangsan Tree on Daeboreum Holiday in Gyeongju

If you’ve checked your calendar recently, you might have noticed that last Monday night was a full moon.  In fact, it was the first full moon after Seollal (설날), or Lunar New Years , here in Korea, which marks it as the holiday of Daeboreum (대보름).   Daeboreum has been traditionally celebrated with a massive bonfire , music, and dancing, making it one of my favorite Korean holidays.  In fact, I’ve already posted twice on Daeboreum, with both photos and video of the Gyeongju’s Daeboruem bonfire a few years back, so I won’t say too much here about the holiday itself. read more »

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Sites to see tips for tourists Yeongcheon

Yeongcheon National Cemetery (국립영천호국원): Memorial to the Fallen the Korean War

Yeongcheon National Cemetery and Memorial

Yeongcheon National Cemetery and Memorial

Back in the U.S., the Korean War is often referred to as the “Forgotten War.”  It might be said then in S. Korea that it’s a war the people would like to forget, but can’t.  Looking around at all the high rise buildings, cell phone shops and internet cafes, it is difficult to imagine that just a few generations ago this country was torn apart by a devastating civil war that cost millions of lives and left most of the peninsula in smoldering ruins.  Yet the horrendous suffering of the war, along with the rending in half of a nation and people, are buried deep in the Korean national psyche. read more »

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Gyeongju Videos on the Korean Heritage Channel

 

The other day I was rummaging around on Youtube for videos to fill out a playlist on Gyeongjublog’s fledgling Youtube Channel and I stumbled across some amazing videos on something called the Korean Heritage Channel.  I know I use far too many superlatives on this blog already, but this channel features some of the best promotional videos I’ve seen produced on Korea.   Some might say that’s wouldn’t be too difficult considering the schmaltzy overdubbed travel schlock typically broadcast on Arirang.  However these videos are of a different class entirely.  They’re each brief 2 to 3 minute long vignettes of rich HD footage tastefully edited together with traditional music and subtitled commentary.  read more »

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Arts & crafts Buddhist culture Gyeongju history Statues & carvings Stories, legends & people Temples & shrines Wierd Gyeongju

Weird Gyeongju: The Wooden Fish Knocker of Bunhwangsa (분황사) Temple

Wooden Fish Knocker, Bunhwangsa Temple, Gyeongju

Wooden Fish Knocker, Bunhwangsa Temple, Gyeongju

As one of the few architectural structures left standing from the Silla Dynasty, Bunhwangsa (분황사) Temple is one of the “must see” historical sites in Gyeongju.  Built in 634 C.E. by order of the legendary Queen Seondeok (선덕여왕), Bunhwangsa is most famous for its three-tiered pagoda.  Originally built as seven or nine tiers, the pagoda was badly damaged during both the Mongolian Invasions of the 13th century, when the neighboring Hwangnyeongsa Temple (황룡사) and nine-story pagoda were burned to the ground, and again during the Hideyoshi Invasion of 1592.  Curiously, the pagoda was built in “imitation brick” style, meaning that Silla workmen actually took the time to carve stones into the shapes of bricks to imitate the brick pagodas then fashionable in China.  Seems to me like it would’ve been a lot easier to make it out of actual bricks, but I’ll leave the debate over that minor detail up to the historians. read more »

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Gyeongju restaurants Seonggeon-dong tips for tourists

Restaurant Review # 21: Fine Dining at 11 Chesterfield Way

11 Chesterfield Way, Fine Dining in Gyeongju

11 Chesterfield Way, Fine Dining in Gyeongju

This is perhaps my first ever official retraction here on Gyeongjublog.  In my last post I was complaining about the terrible selection of western restaurants here in Gyeongju.  Although my criticisms regarding “craptapulous fast-food joints” and “so-called Italian restaurants downtown” still stand, I made these comments before being introduced to the fine dining of 11 Chesterfield Way.  We had the pleasure of joining friends at 11 Chesterfield Way for dinner on New Year’s Eve and I dare say that it was the best western food I’ve had in Gyeongju, if not the whole of Korea.  read more »

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Bomun Resort Gyeongju holidays restaurants tips for tourists

Restaurant Review #20: Hyundai Hotel Christmas Lunch Buffet

Christmas at the Hyundai Hotel, Gyeongju

Christmas at the Hyundai Hotel, Gyeongju

“Christmas” and “Gyeongju” are probably mentioned in the same sentence about as often as “Nascar” and “feta cheese.”  However, like any tourist destination with a thriving resort industry, Christmas does indeed come to Gyeongju, and it does so with its own unique style.    Over the last decade Christmas in Korea has gone from being observed only by devout Christians to a holiday much heralded by shop keepers and romantic couples alike.  The resulting Christmas festivities I’ve heard one sour Scrooge describe as being “just not quite right.”  Indeed, the florescent cross-cultural fusion with which Koreans celebrate Christmas probably has both Christmas and Korean traditionalists spinning in their graves.  However, as an aficionado of international kitsch, I can only applaud in glee.  For what two things on earth are kitschier than Christmas and Korea?  It’s truly a match made in Heaven, or Hell depending who you ask. read more »

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“The Bridge” Traditional Korean Music Concert This Friday at 7:00 pm

"The Bridge" Traditional Korean Music Concert Friday 7:00 pm

"The Bridge" Traditional Korean Music Concert Friday 7:00 pm

It’s been a while, or should I say long while, since I last posted. My apologies. I’ve been swamped with writing papers for my Masters degree, so I haven’t had much time for blogging I’m afraid. Still, this is something worth positing about, so I’m hoping to get the word out in time. My friend Dongyoon from Dongguk just emailed me that the second annual “Bridge” concert is being held this coming Friday at 7:00pm. “The Bridge” is a special concert organized by the Dongguk University Traditional Korean Music majors to help introduce traditional Korean music to foreign residents and visitors. read more »

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Slideshow: Autumn in Namsan-dong (남산동) Village

Muryangsa Temple, Namsan-dong, Gyeognju

Muryangsa Temple, Namsan-dong, Gyeognju

To be honest the Korean urban lifestyle doesn’t really do much for me.  Sure, I sometimes miss the art and culture, the night clubs and the convenience.  But after living in London, Berlin and Barcelona, there’s really not anything new that I get out of big cities in Korea.  All it takes is a walk through one of the many quaint and quiet farm villages near Gyeongju to remind me why I like living with the Korean countryside so close at hand.   One of my favorite places to visit is Namsan-dong (남산동);  a string of farming villages just 15 minutes outside of town tucked in the shadow of Gyeongju’s historic Mt. Namsan (남산). read more »

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