Browsing the archives for the people tag
As part of another project I’ve got in the works at the moment, I put together a brief timeline of the history of Gyeongju which I’m posting it here with some photos. I hope that clearly and concisely portrays the dramatic thousand year rise and fall of the Shilla Dynasty and is subsequent rediscovery and [...]
The 19th century was a dark time for Korea (and sadly just a prelude to the horrors to come in the 20th century to come). Korea was still a feudal agrarian society and the nobility of the Joseon Dynasty had become bloated and corrupt, exacting heavy taxes and conscripting forced labor from the peasantry. Foreign [...]
Taking advantage of a break in the cold weather, the other weekend I piled into the car with some friends and took off to explore the mountains south of Gyeongju (not to mention my wife was putting the finishing touches on her Master’s thesis and needed me out of the house). I’d managed to score [...]
Continued from part 1… Usually built in the mountains, a lot of folks enjoy visiting Korea’s Buddhist Temples for their relaxing atmosphere and serene architecture. Appropriately, most temple buildings are decorated with mystical portraits of Bodhisattvas, pastoral images of the Ox Hearder Parable, or scenes from the life of the Buddha. Occasionally though temple visitors [...]
In Korean Seon (선) Buddhism (Ch. “Chan”, Jap. “Zen”) practitioners often meditate on paradoxical or nonsensical riddles known as koans (공안 or “ kong-an” in Korean) to gain insight into the nature of thought, perception and reality. One of the most famous of these riddles is “Why did the Bodhidharma (Kr. “Dalma” or달마) come from [...]
If you’re visiting the Gyeongju National Museum and happen to look east over the highway you might notice the outline of a hill on the far side of the train tracks. From the looks of it you wouldn’t guess this low ridge (often describe as looking like a silkworm) was in fact considered one of [...]
Yup, you read that right. About 17 km west of Gyeongju on the north face of Mt. Obongsan (오봉산) is a little valley that goes by the name of Yeogeungok (여근곡). This literally means “Jade Gate” Valley which, you might not have known, is actually a euphemism for female genitalia. Just why the ancient Koreans [...]
Downtown Gyeongju can sometimes seem a mess of cars, cluttered streets and concrete buildings. Yet tucked behind the Police Station, is the quiet oasis of the Gyeongju Cultural Center (경주문화원) with its lovely traditional architecture and serene gardens. It has a relaxed, unassuming sort of beauty and, although it’s not quite Bulguksa, it’s home to [...]
Bomun Resort G20 Summit This weekend is going to be a bit crazy around Gyeongju. There’s a lot of stuff going on, and some of it sounds pretty cool (and some of it not really). For starters, we’ve all heard about the G20 kicking off in Seoul, but you might not know that there’s [...]
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 [...]
