To begin where I left off, after my friends and I retraced our steps down the mountain home to the Buddhist monk and sanctuary, we explored the surrounding national park, including a life-size replica of a Korean town circa Choson Dynasty that had been previously used in several famous Korean movies. I found this town to be very telling about the priorities of the Korean people during that time period, especially in the layout of the town. The impoverished and poor were located at the front edges of the city right near the wall, so if an invasion ever occurred, the Royal and elite class of that town would be the last to be attacked. As we traveled further into the town that was purposely wedged in between the meeting place of two mountain ranges, the houses became more stable and livable. Once we got to the Palace, it was a beautiful sight with the Buddhist temple, Confucian scholar studying area, the war planning room, and so forth.
To keep the theme of experiencing ancient Korean tradition and culture, our group then headed to the oldest Confucian Scholar Institute in Korea, which is now a historical landmark and is used as a museum of sorts and various activities that the scholars in the making would take part in. We learned how to tie die with natural organic material, including the main ingredient being a flower native to Korea. Once again, everything had a communal aspect to it, especially the traditional drum lessons.
While drumming the beginner-level traditional beats used in various instances, if one drum were off, the beat would noticeably lack in cohesion. If one drummer had stopped playing, the beat would lack an important pitch you couldn’t quite put your finger on, but you would know something was off. From the gongs and symbols, to the three different types of drums, everyone was needed to make the beat sound, as it should. It was challenging, but fun for the people leading the drum session had relieving self of humor and the most patience I had seen out of anyone here in Korea. They were more than willing to help and once we got the beat right, they immediately jumped up, invigorated by the beat, and started a traditional step while still drumming in unison with the rest of the foreigners they were challenged to teach.
At the end of that session, we left for a Confucian scholar styled hostile in which the buildings were styled as they would have been back during the dynastic eras. It was a unique experience which was somewhat muddled by my mistake of thinking the floor heater as an A/C panel in the mid august night. Nonetheless, it was a refreshing experience to sleep the traditional way Koreans do: with floor mats, a light blanket and a pillow. Compared to the lavish beds that American’s strive for, the floor bed mats that is traditionally used is Korea gets the job done all the same. Once we woke, we were on the road again attempting to hit as many cultural sights as we could fit into a busy 3-day weekend.
The next stop was one of the most magnificent sites I have ever witnessed. The Buseok-sa (Floating Rock) Buddhist Sanctuary in the Sobaek-san National Park is one of the most important and equally beautiful places in Korea in regards to the history of Buddhism. This trip was a very enchanting-like experience, with the Buddhist monks silently making their way to perform there daily drum ceremony at 7 p.m., marking the sunset, and ending it with ringing a massive bronze bell which you could hear from miles away. Surrounded by nothing but trees and rigid outcrops of jagged rock, this place of isolation held a heavenly aura, which I will never forget. We were able to explore the multiple sections of the sanctuary, with the separate temples dedicated to various monks and scholars spread all throughout the enclave on the side of the mountain. The monks have meticulously taken care of these dozen or so temples for thousands of years, and the condition in which all of these national landmarks are in was astounding. It was one of the most supernatural experiences I have ever had, for once the drum ceremony began while the sun was setting behind the massive green mountain ranges in the distance everything seemed to fall into place and there was a complete harmony and order in what the monks were performing and how the natural world around them was working.
This temple was one of my experiences that kept my mind at peace where I could forget about the rest of the world and focus solely on the place and time in which I was experiencing. One experience in which held somewhat opposite characteristics was the trip I took to the Demilitarized Zone on the 38th parallel, or the border of North Korea, whom had just successfully tested their 5th nuclear bomb launch and detonation, and South Korea. As this trip proved to be one of the most sobering experiences I’ve had so far this trip, it was extremely informative and allowed me to gain a more in depth understanding as to how Korean society works as a whole and where this issue hold influence and weight in the daily routine of South Koreans, and I will explain this in my next blog post. Stay tuned!
