Greetings from Seoul, from Bruce. This is the second time I've been to South Korea with Barbara while she teaches a short (but intensive!) course. I've been enjoying visiting familiar places here, and well as seeing new ones.
In the photo above, we see the changing of the royal guard, at the "primary palace" (there are several). There is no longer a royal family in residence or which ruled the land, but the palaces are a reminder to Koreans and visitors alike about the sweep of history here. And see we both the old and new on display: we see the large gate to the palace at upper left and some of the walls, but now almost dwarfed by the very modern buildings of Seoul today.
It common for some locals (and even some foreigners) to visit the palaces in traditional dress, especially wearing the hanbok for women and girls. At left we see a mom and her daughter. It's also traditional (and still common) for bride to wear a hanbok (rather a western wedding dress) to get married in. There's a traditional dress for men as well, with a special tall hat (less common to see). Daily wear for white-collar men is almost a dark blue or black suit.
At right a guide is telling us about the still respected ritual to honor and remember those who've passed away. For who were royalty, there are shrines (not temples or palaces), where their their virtues are kept alive.
Memories of the past are also kept in museum settings. The Korean Folk Museum is one such place I enjoyed visited, with collections of "folk" culture (more or less pre-industrial Korean ways). This includes cultural customs, but all the ways in which the people made a life outside the cities, especially along the coastal areas. Of interest (to me!) is that the current exhibition was based on the work of anthropologist Cornelius Osgood in the mid-50's.
Life included raising crops, making clothes, repairing tools, building homes, preparing food, and other such necessities of life, but also traditions about the division of labor between women and men, young and old.
In the photo above we see an exhibit devoted to the weaving on cloth, a task which involved care, skills, and much labor, and which the girls in the photos might once had done in generations past. At left is a piece stitched together from scraps, which is said to have a meaning beyond frugality, of the beauty and reminder of our imperfections as we do our best to live our lives with and for each other.
I was going to write about things new as well as old. The city of Seoul is itself the very image of "new," of necessity, as much of the old city was destroyed in the Korea War in the early 1950's. But the "design plaza" I visited takes "new" up a couple of notches!
Note the soaring design of the several huge "pods" (the size of the people walking nearby, make even smaller by the over-sized modern statues). There are various cafes, exhibits, and so forth inside. This is not Minneapolis!
Wherever I wander, I do still find older men gathered to spend their days in games of "go," as much involved as spectators as players. And lovely summer days also help the occasion. Note Barbara passing by to the right.
Speaking of whom, here we see she who dances, heals, and laughs with two other experienced dance educators we spent time with the other day. Barbara much enjoyed the group of almost 40 women she worked with here.
Signing off for now!
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