These photos are a small fraction of the images from our visit to Seoul and Cheanon, Korea in March, 2016. They are not thought of as a representation of Korea, but are simply some of the places we visited.
The goal of the trip was to spend a bit more than a week with the dance communities of Cheanon and Seoul, involving at least four universities that had dance programs. The time for actual touring and photographing was compressed and often done along the way to another commitment.
The dance photos will be the subject of another blog, but this is just a survey of some images from:
The “welcoming/farewell committee” for tourists at Incheon Airport
Scenes of the region’s urban density
A few peaceful places (a lovely lake, a reonstructed 17th century folklore village)
The Gakwonsa Buddhist temple complex near Cheanon
The imperial castle complex of the Joseon Empire, in the middle of Seoul (Gyeongbokgung Palace, established in the 14th century)
But first, to get this out of the way: The Koreans are not above entertaining visitors with costume melodrama at the Incheon Airport. We happened to be leaving Seoul when this procession came by.
They were actually a bit in the way as we struggled along with our luggage, but both western and Asian travelers lined up to take this picture. So did I, I’m afraid.
In the region around Seoul there are cities, mountains, and very little “country.” There is agriculture in tiny plots all around the highways and urban spaces, but this is not the place for farms.
It is a place or urban high-tech consumption with shopping only hindered by the need for the newcomer to figure out what is behind the brilliant signs and lights.
This is along the main street of Cheanon, just at the entrance of a network of smaller commercial streets.
This area seems to have a 24-hour culture, with even Korean saunas staying up all night in some areas. You can spend the night there eating squid and baking under hot rocks or on beds of Himalayan salt.
This is a pizza shop along one of the smaller commercial streets, with plastic sheeting against the March damp and chill.
The photo below is from the apartment in Cheanon where we stayed. The traffic is nearly constant, reminding me of the 24-hour traffic jams in São Paulo, except that here they (sometimes) move faster.
The lake at the right is dotted with several universities and schools, along with small agricultural plots in virtually every unbuilt space.
A reconstructed historic village. Asan Village seems to have its origins in the 14th century with a major expansion in the 16th and 17th centuries. It is preserved and open to visitors.
It is meant to give a flavor of the diversity of class and status in the village. In mid-March we were there just as the buds began to open on the flowering trees.
Because of the concentration of population in the Seoul region and because of the density of mountains here, the building go up. Wide open spaces are rare and far from the city. There are peaceful places in the mountains, though, and the Temple of Gak Won Sa (below) is one example.
The lake below is in Cheanon and was visible in the traffic photo. It is oddly peaceful in the morning and between classes of the surrounding universities.
The Independence Museum is also in the region of Cheanon. It chronicles and dramatizes the struggle for independence of Korea — from the Chinese and, most of all, the Japanese.
Displays and dioramas are deeply patriotic and dramatic about the rigors of war and occupation.
The Gyeongbokgung Palace is in the center of modern Seoul. It is the site of the Joseon emperors who united the three major kingdoms of Korea and fought back the Chinese and Japanese. Their territory actually extended into parts of current China and still provide for historical arguments about territory (as do Korea’s relations with Japan).
This is one of the imperial buildings with blossoms opening. The trees have an enormous symbolic and esthetic value and are usually surrounded by visitors photographing themselves in front of the trees.
In fact, the blossoming of the trees at times turns into a plague of selfies. The young women here posed for visitors, and when there was nobody posing with them they posed themselves.
This is not the place for authenticity (see welcoming committee in the opening photograph), but it is pretty nevertheless. For “authenticity,” they will put away their cell phones and pose with visitors.
The Gak Won Sa temple and grounds represent a large temple complex in the mountains near Cheanon. It is said that in the 1970’s it was dedicated to prayers for the unification of North and South Korea. It is nestled near Mt. Taejosan
The statue of the Buddha is some 15 meters high (about 45 feet). A common observance is to walk clockwise around the buddha and bowing in front of him on every circle. The person below is doing just that, and her figure gives a sense of the immensity of the statue. Mt Taejosal is in the background.
There are many other buildings of the temple complex. In some the smaller temples are open for visitors to meditate. This is one of them where I spent the afternonn.
