Twisted Beauty

Up on a hill near the Bongjeongsa Temple, I spotted this beautiful twisted trunk. Combined with the contrasting yellow hues, this nature scene possessed grandeur. The twisted tree reminded me of those I saw at the Lazarica Church in Kruševac, Serbia. According to the legend (described further on my blog), the twisting of the plum trees was caused by motion of Prince Lazar's soldiers marching around, praying for victory in Kosovo.

Twisted tree by Lazarica Church, Serbia

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Hanbok Day, SFS Style

Starting on a cool, fall morning, the entire elementary school gathered in the courtyard in front of the Korean Gate, posing in their hanboks (traditional Korean costume) and taekwando uniforms for the annual Hanbok photo. Although there was a sea of colors, pink was one of the more dominant colors, for boys and girls alike. 

 Sponsored by the PTA, each grade level had a chance to play a few traditional instruments, twirl the nongak hat with ribbon, and sample some Korean treats. 

Some students and teachers took their hanboks off after the photos, while others kept them on the entire day. Shifting a few art projects for the day to "less mess" ones enabled me to bravely keep on my hanbok for the entire day. Pictured here is my volunteer assistant Hae Jung next to me. Being a lot taller than the average Korean woman, I had to have my hanbok tailor made. The colors I selected look a lot different than that of the typical one (Hae Jung's is her wedding hanbok and is the pink color normally associated with weddings), but I feel the colors suit me well. Although I wouldn't want to wear it that often, at least I could dress myself - unlike trying to tie a sari :)

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Backpackin' Scarecrow

Like any respectable field or larger garden, this plot of land at the Korean Folk Village in Suwon contains a scarecrow. A more unusual feature on this skinny understuffed figure is the backpack. Perhaps it's in reference to the typical hiker in Korea (young and old alike), all decked out with special hiking pants, shoes, breathable jacket, hat/visor, walking sticks, and a backpack. 

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Haegeum Player

Haegeum Player, originally uploaded by melissaenderle.

I always enjoy attending traditional music concerts. Last May, performers wearing clothing of the period played a few selections in different parts of the Secret Garden located at the Changdeok Palace in Seoul. A pleasure to watch - and later paint!

Watercolor

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His & Her Luggage - Traditional Korean Style

Bringing up the rear to the traditional Korean wedding at the Folk Village in Suwon were two men, each with a large bundle strapped to his back. Matching the colors I saw of the fabric wrapped around the wooden ducks at the wedding ceremony, the wrapped bundles looked like his & her luggage.What was contained within the packages - belongings of the new couple? wedding gifts?

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Hyangwonjeong Pavilion, Spring

Hyangwonjeong Pavilion, Spring, originally uploaded by melissaenderle.

Pastel Painting of the Hyangwonjeong Pavilion at Gyeongbukgung Palace at springtime.
This pavilion, located on a small island within the palace walls of Gyeongbukgung Palace in Seoul, is one of the favorite destinations for visitors, regardless of the seasons. This pastel painting depicts its beauty in springtime.

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Just Married

Following the reenactment of the traditional Korean wedding ceremony at Suwon's Korean Folk Village, the groom proudly pranced away on a tall, white horse. 

Behind him, several males carried his new wife in a palanquin. The bride's female attendants were close beside her. I wonder how much of a display a wedding procession commanded when parading through a village. Were there musicians accompanying the group? People to cheer the newlyweds on?  

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Traditional Korean Wedding, Suwon

On my visit to the Korean Folk Village in Suwon, I attended a reenactment of a traditional Korean wedding ceremony. Similar to the table set at the Chuseok Thanksgiving festival, food (particularly fruits) were carefully arranged in the center of the happenings. Also on the table was a stuffed hen and rooster - a change to the last time my friend came, when live poultry was used. On a low table, a wooden pair of ducks, symbolizing the idea of mates for life, was carefully enveloped in cloth. The groom and other males stood on one side of the table, while the bride and two attendants stood at the other. 

Two cups (I presume rice wine) were poured by a man and offered up by the bride - one in a wooden-looking container (above) and another that appeared to be made out of a gourd. Following the ceremony, the bride was escorted into a palanquin while the groom rode on a horse. 

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Egg Papoose

When visiting the traditional homes inside the Korean Folk Village in Suwon, woven goods of many sorts could be seen - some for sifting rice, storing goods, mats, ropes, etc. This home had something I had never seen before - a papoose-type device especially made for storing and protecting eggs. Clever indeed.

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Suwon Korean Folk Village

Suwon Korean Folk Village, a set on Flickr.

Saturday was a gorgeous day to travel down to Suwon to visit the Korean Folk village there. This is my second time visiting the village and I know there are many more photos just waiting to be taken.

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Worn Signs of Yesteryear

The grocery stores of Korea tend to look much like those found in any Western country. I've visited a few markets in Seoul, but really didn't find the traditional "look" that I'd seen in markets of other places in which I've lived and/or traveled. At the Tongin Market located near Gyeongbukgung Palace, I found this beautiful display which depicted how I envisioned a traditional Korean market might look like. I loved the old wooden signs for each food item. How long had those signs been used, with the price changes now indicated on the smaller attached paper? What stories those signs could tell, with their worn edges, slightly faded calligraphy, and growing cracks? 

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Umbrellas all Above Me

While waiting for the new HomePlus grocery store to open for the day, I walked around the new mall Mecanatpolis. It amazed me at how many American (and other) chain stores were here, both food and clothing. At 8:30 AM, the workers were busy washing the flooring around the large fountain of one several openings in the mall. The only other action happening was at the Krispy Kreme store, a few bakeries, the obligatory coffee shops, Dunkin' Doughnuts, and some young people hanging in front of TGIFridays. Some people emerged from the Hapjeong subway station connected to the mall - very convenient indeed.
Particularly true in Korea, I made it a point to "look up" and wasn't disappointed. Strung like a canopy were neon-colored umbrellas, contrasting with the bright blue morning sky. Tall apartment buildings added a bit of contrast to the curvilinear designs of the mall's curved opening with exposed levels. A cheery scene early on a Saturday.

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Shadow Mask

The slightly more dramatic dance, reinforced by the darker colored hanbok, contrasted with the more graceful slower dance performed by the women. The brushwork of the bamboo leaves on the fan seemed to be repeated in the calligraphic eye makeup. Even the hat shadow across his face seemed to add to the drama, as if it was a translucent eye mask. 

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Traditional Dancer in Red

As part of the Chuseok festivities, traditional dances were performed at Deoksugung Palace in Seoul. In this particular dance, the woman with the red hanbok took the lead, in a slow, but commanding style. I'd love to learn more about the symbolism of the dances and costumes worn - including the multi-striped extension over the hand. 

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Folded Up for the Day

If you enter into many Korean homes, the lack of a mattress/boxspring set you make you wonder where its residents sleep. Particularly in traditional homes and those that still have ondol heated floors, people sleep on a mattress called a yo, which is placed on the floor. A quilt known as an ibul and a wheat hull-stuffed pillow known as a pyogae completed the bedding. Personally, I found the yo mattress experience toasty, but way too hard for my tastes. I do love the idea of carefully folding up the coordinated sleeping sets, thus leaving the room available for other uses. Multi-use rooms were particularly important in the small traditional homes. Here, an entire family might huddle together on a large yo, keeping warm despite the cold Korean winter.

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With Great Care

This Jesasang display at Namsangol Village, like the one I saw at the Lee family residence, had the harvest festival food so neatly and carefully arranged. Many of the foods were the same as I had seen at the residence, including the apples, Korean pears, puffed rice cakes, song-pyeon, and tofu. I was particularly intrigued by the way the other sweets next to the apples were arranged - diagonally by color. Such care to attention and the sheer bounty of food really emphasizes the importance of the event and its harvest focus.

The careful stacking of the food reminded me of the common scenes at markets in India, also emphasizing the bounty and increasing the attractiveness of the produce. I wonder how long it took for the market vendor to arrange those carrots....

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Celebrating Chuseok in Style

As part of the Chuseok celebration, various festivities and celebrations were held in Seoul. Thankfully, many of these events were free and open to the public. These two children, wearing portions of their hanbok traditional outfits, seemed quite engaged in watching the varied dance and singing performances held at Deoksugung Palace. With the afternoon temps, it's not surprising that the girl shed the skirt and blouse. Gotta love the tennies and red shades!

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Chuseok at the Lee Family Residence

Chuseok -the Harvest Festival

Under the full Harvest moon, Koreans this past week celebrated Chuseok. During this 3-day harvest festival, people in Korea travel back on horrendously clogged roads back to their ancestral hometowns to celebrate with friends and family, as well as pay respect for deceased relatives. In preparation for the festival, traditionally people would visit the graves of relatives, carefully cleaning up the area around the tombs and offer food, drinks, and crops to their deceased ancestors. 

Preparing the feast

One of the teachers, a long-time American resident of Seoul married to a Korean, invited me to to see how song-pyeon, a special treat for the harvest festival, was made. To simplify things this year, the dough, made primarily from finely ground new rice, was purchased instead of being made from scratch. The kneaded dough was rolled into a small ball, representing the full moon. They then were filled with either slightly ground sesame seeds or red beans, now taking the shape of a half-moon. The song-pyeon cakes, placed on top of pine needles, were steamed in a large kettle on the stove, with the slight aroma of pine needles filling the air. As one woman of the Lee family attended to the stove, another woman sat on the floor, expertly rolling a ground beef mixture into perfectly round patties the size of a half-dollar. Another woman dunked the patties into a large bowl of eggs, then into flour, and onto an electric skillet. Along with the patties, slabs of tofu were fried. 

The prepared Jesasang ceremonial table

Rice wine - one cup per family member, along with incense

Charye Ceremony

Early the next morning on the day of Chuseok, both male and female members of the Lee family were already busy preparing the Jesasang, a ceremonial table setting for the celebration. Fruit such as a honeydew, apples, oranges, Korean pears, and local dates had already been neatly placed in the front part of the table setting. Just as I had seen in a display the day before at an ethno village, all fruits that contained a peeling or rind had their tops neatly peeled in a circle. Added to the table were peeled chestnuts, dried and grilled pollock fish, other meats, soup, kimchi, the tofu and ground beef patties, song-pyoung treats, puffed rice snack, and a few other sweets. Each item was carefully arranged in a particular place on the table, according to the traditional rules of the ceremony. For the Lee brothers’ grandparents, a framed paper with the names of the parents (they didn’t have any photos) was prominently placed in the back center of the table. Incense was lit. The ceremony included things such as pouring rice wine three times and offering it to the sprits of the deceased; each time the family members bowed down to pay their respect. Later, the process was repeated for the Lee brothers' parents, and then Mrs. Lee’s parents, with a photo of the parents. For Mrs. Lee, bananas were added to the table, signifying something her parents liked (just as the puffed rice snack was a favorite of Mr. Lee’s mother). 

Performing the pouring and rotation of the wine cup

The Thanksgiving Meal

After the charye ceremony was over, some of the foods were removed and prepared for serving. To my surprise and delight, I was invited to stay and join the Lee family for the meal. Fish replaced the American turkey, and kimchi stood in for stuffing. A sweet rice tea was served after the meal. My first Thanksgiving eaten with metal chopsticks, it was a splendid way to experience some more of Korean culture. Many thanks to the Lees for inviting me!

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