Deoksugung Palace

This past week has been a pretty typical week of classes. I-chats (which is an English conversation partner program that pairs international students with Korean students) began this week. I have eight different Korean students that I will meet with weekly. The students have very good English, but their confidence in speaking is something we as partners hope to improve.

My brushpainting class has been quite interesting as well. This past week we began working on elements for our midterm painting. Bamboo was the focus of the lesson. Let's just say that bamboo is more difficult to replicate to the teachers standards than what the class previously believed. We worked on painting the perfect bamboo stalks, confidently presented it to the teacher, only to have our hopes shattered one by one as she marked it with the infamous blue sharpie with areas that needed the be improved. My first bamboo was more blue than black by the time she was done with it. Hopefully the class will gradually improve so that the blue marker can be set aside.

This weekend I visited Deoksugung Palace with Jinyoung. We arrived at the palace and because of the lack of people interested in listening to an expert on the palace, we went on a private tour of the palace grounds. It was interesting to hear what our tourguide had to say about this palace and to learn the significance of it in Korean history.

Deoksugung was always a temporary palace. It was appointed the main palace after the destruction of Gyeonbukgung and Changdeokgung after war with Japan in the late 1500's. It was then made the capital palace again in the late 1880's when Korea's King Gojong appointed himself as Emperor, more about that later.

One reason Deoksugung could be a temporary palace is that it is located away from the other palaces, right outside of historic Seoul, but it is still close to the heart of the city. It is not in the center of the city seeing that Seoul has expanded far beyond any previous city limits. It is also built in the traditional format which means that it is not built with nails, but with perfectly set pieces. This made it very easy for the Kings to move their temporary palace elsewhere if they did not like the original location right outside of the city.

This palace is also special because it was the last Kings palace before the Japanese occupation. He chose to live here following a fire at Gyeonbukgung. It was here that he decided to try to transition the Hermit Kingdom into another East Asian force. He changed his title from King, which is symbolic of a power limited to one specific country, to Emperor, which carries an understanding in the region that the state is equal to the other powers. This transition also led to the construction of a Korean Temple of Heaven, because the change in title resulted in additional spiritual and ancestral rites that must be conducted by the Emperor.

This title change also changed the relationship between Korea and its neighbors. Korea's partnership with China concerning mutual protection was eradicated with this change in title. This was a change in relations in East Asia that opened the door for Japan to colonize Korea. With the rise of the Meiji in Japan and its opening to the West before Korea, Japan was more influential in the region and on the world stage. This advantage consequentially led to unequal treaties between Korea and Western powers (including the USA) that slowly gave influence in Korea to Japan.

The desire of Korea to open itself to the world is evident in this palace as well. It is the only palace that has Western style buildings. The first is a building in European style that was used to host foreign ministers. It is eerie to see these buildings and realize this is where many of the unequal treaties were signed that crippled Korea's attempt to modernize through globalization into a world power. There is also a terrace designed with a fusion of Russian and Korean architecture. You can see it in the deer and bats decorating the terrace with the typical colors of Korean palaces. This is where the Emperor entertained guests. It also displays the close relationship Korea had with Russia at the time. Following the assassination of the queen by the Japanese, the Emperor Gojung fled to the Russian legation in Seoul to protect himself from an assassination attempt. His royal chamber in this palace is located next to a shrine chamber for his deceased queen.

Following the Japanese occupation, the Western delegation building was converted to an art museum, with an additional building built. Another change to this palace by the Japanese during the occupation was the elimination of the traditional garden and modified into a Western style. To Koreans, gardens must be fashioned in a certain way to promote harmony. By changing it to a foreign style, the harmony was destroyed, symbolizing to the Koreans the end of the harmony they knew having a Korean monarch.

While so much has been lost, the palace has been restored to one third of its prior design. It serves as a page to a chapter in Korean history that was initially filled with hope with the transition of globalization, only to be crushed by its cold consequences of being abused by powers who do not view you as equal and colonized by a power that shares a complicated relationship of conflict. The old Korea meets the transitioning Korea in this palace, marking the end of Joseon and opening a painful chapter that is not yet complete with the separation of the Koreas.

After visiting the palace, we went back to the Hwangs new house in Sungkyungkwan, about ten minutes from Anyang. While we waited for the rest of the family to arrive, Jinyoung gave me a tour of their new spacious apartment. We then had some dinner and watched Harry Potter, a movie that we watched for the first time together two years ago. When the rest of the family arrived, we played a few games while catching up. I challenged Eujin to a game of battleship and won in a very close game. The family then played a round of Phase Ten, which was also very exciting and a great way to enjoy our time together.

Spring is starting to make its way to Korea. The Yellow Dust is back from the Gobi desert bringing lots of allergies for people. But spring making its way means that the blossoms will be coming soon!

North Korea's Latest Threats

Once again, this post is a bit overdue, but nevertheless, it is one I wanted to share:

Last Monday, North Korea announced that it will no longer follow the guidelines of the ceasefire with South Korea. This followed a severance of communication between Pyeongyang and Seoul. These actions were done in retaliation to the increased sanctions and culminated in the joint military drills between the ROK (Republic of Korea = South Korea) and USA. 

The rhetoric coming from the North has also been very critical of President Park, the first woman president of the South, using rhetoric referring to her inferiority compared to a male leader. It is the first few weeks of her presidency: the woman who took the role of first lady after her mother was assassinated during her father's administration. It is quite an interesting contrast of leaders. On one side you have a young third generation Kim leader who is still trying to prove himself to his fathers generals. On the other side you have Ms. Park, who has grown up in politics yet has much to prove to her people as the first woman president of South Korea.

While these actions are very hostile for relations between the Koreas, this is not the first time that the North has severed communication or treaties with the South. There is a continuous trend of the DPRK (Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea = North Korea) developing contrived "hostility" in order to maintain its presence in the international news and to maintain some level of control over the behaviors of its neighbors.

For the North, global attention is its only way to continue to have some relevance in the world. Without the economic or political influence to shape global events, they revert to developing threatening rhetoric to keep the spotlight on themselves. It makes sense as an impoverished nation surrounded by three of the worlds largest economies to strive for attention in order to maintain some control over these three superpowers actions.

Another reason for establishing these hostilities is a direct reaction to the continued military presence of the US in the ROK. The military drills conducted by the joint army every spring angers the North annually. The Cheonan sinking three years ago followed one of these joint drills. Again, threats and minor provocations are used by the North to maintain a presence in the dialogue in the region.

So what does South Korea think? Is there a feeling of fear of an eminent attack?

The answer is a resounding no.

While the rhetoric is present, no one is really concerned about the latest threats. Everyone sees it as propaganda to internally unite the North and to keep a presence on the world stage. The Korean sentiment and reaction to the latest from the North can be summed up by the ROK defense minister:

'Seoul’s Defense Ministry dismissed the threats, saying it is not detecting any signs of a new nuclear test or missile launch.

“North Korea is seen to be uniting its people internally through a series of political and military activities and externally pressing South Korea and the U.S. through threats to shift their North Korea policy in the face of Key Resolve and Foal Eagle exercises and U.N. sanctions,” ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said in a briefing. (Korea herald)'

For South Korea, as long as North Korea is a political state, there will always be a possible threat. It is a part of day to day life here: an awareness of what is to the north, but an understanding that as long as South Korea is economically and politically dominant on the world stage, it would be impossible for the North to lead a campaign against the South. This is one quality I appreciate about South Korea: There is a graceful acceptance of the neighbor to the North, but there is also a strength to not allow this hostile neighbor to inhibit life in the South.

Orientation, Cheonan, and the first week of classes

Last Thursday was the orientation for the international students at Anyang. In contrast to the two day epic orientation at SCH, this orientation was two hours long followed by a dinner at one of the nicest buffet restaurants in town. We were provided with a review of our "survival guide" and opened bank accounts in the orientation. After a very stress free orientation, we feasted on sushi, galbi, kebabs, and other fusion food. 

Last weekend I met with two old friends from SCH in Cheonan. I took the 2 hour subway ride from Anyang to Cheonan. There I met with Maya, my good friend who recently graduate from SCH in English education. I also met with Craig, who was an exchange student at SCH during my last semester and is back at SCH for a second time to study. It was great to see them again and see all the familiar places around Cheonan. While so much has changed since I last visited this rural metropolis, the markets and shopping malls have a comforting familiarity. 

On Tuesday, I had my first days of classes. I don't have any class on Monday, providing for me something I have never had: a four day school week. Very happy about that!

Here is a list (and a brief description) of my classes this semester:

Korean speaking and listening - pretty self explanatory. My teacher is a very energetic guy who asked us to call him "flower man." In our first day of class, he asked us to introduce ourselves with all the important things one must know about a person: name, age, home country, marital status, and number of kids. It led to quite an interesting conversation as each person introduced themselves!

Korean reading and writing - Again, pretty clear. This teacher was the teacher for the beginning class last semester, so it will be interesting being the only new student in the class. 

Cross cultural communication - This is a class that includes "I-chat" which is similar to the exchanges I had while at SCH. In class, we will talk about culture focusing on differences between East and West. We will also have two hours a week of meeting with different Korean students and engaging them in English conversation. 

Korean society - This is by far the class I have enjoyed and most excited about thus far. While I have taken other classes in modern Korean history, this class will integrate history with how it has shaped elements of the culture. 

Ari Leadership - This class is a combination of Korean and international students that focuses on discovering one's identity and purpose. It is taught by the head of the exchange program here, which will bring an interesting dynamic to the class. 

Traditional painting - This is an art class taught entirely in Korean. We will learn some calligraphy as well as methods to paint many iconic images in Korean art (bamboo, flowers, etc). 

I also joined the English journalism club at Anyang. At the first meeting, we discussed our game plan for writing the one full campus newspaper for the semester (because the club must pay for the printing, it is too expensive to publish multiple newspapers each semester). We divided into subjects for the paper with one international with five Koreans. My team will be writing three articles about international issues. I am excited to be more involved on campus and to work with fellow students in improving their ability to write formal articles. I am also excited to meet more Korean students on campus, since so many of my classes and my dorm is composed of only non-Koreans. 

Gyeongbukgung

Alright, I'm back to blogging after a bit of a intermission. The craziness of the first week of classes prevented me from posting these last few entries. Hopefully once the groove the semester begins, I will be able to post on a consistent basis. Bear with me!

The Anyang group

March 1st marked the national holiday March 1st Movement Day. It is a government holiday that remembers the Korean freedom fighters who protested the occupation of Japan in 1919. It marked the beginning of more widespread discontent of the Japanese occupation, which set into motion both nationalistic sentiment internally in Korea as well as gave hope to the Korean government in exile in Shanghai. While it would be almost 25 more years before Korea would be free, the sacrifices of these Koreans in this movement installed the notion of a free Korea and increased the amount of protest within the colonized state. 

The main hall where the king conducted governmental affairs.

Initially for this holiday, a group of international students from Anyang were planning to visit Dongdaemun prison, which was a place where many of these freedom fighters were tortured and killed. But because of the crowds at the prison, we decided to postpone our tour of the prison and visit Gyeongbukgung Palace, which has relevance in both ancient and colonial Korean history.

The elaborate design of regal Korean architecture. 

Gyeongbukgung was built in 1395 during the Joseon dynasty. It was the largest and most elaborate palace during the Josean period. It was the main palace for the Kings of Joseon and was the location of all legislative dealings. 

Traditional floor heaters

It was destroyed first during the Japanese invasion of the 1500's and restored in 1867. It was then partially destroyed and converted into the main government hall for the Imperial Japanese government in Colonial Korea. It has been partially restored progressively since the end of the Korean war, but the scars of the past in the absent buildings on the palace grounds are evidence of its tragic past. However, restored Gyeongbukgung is a testament to the reclaiming of the history and cultural heritage of the past by Koreans today. The buildings have been restored through the detailed guides written and preserved from the original architects of the palace. While nothing can replace the original buildings that were destroyed, it is commendable that Koreans choose not to forget their history and celebrate their heritage through restoration. 

The palace gardens

One of the most interesting facets of Asian palaces is the fact that it was the only places where the king was allowed to dwell. In Korean culture much like ancient culture in many other Asian countries, the king was forbidden to be seen by commoners. As a result of this sacred nature of the king, he was never allowed outside the palace walls. The Korea he perceived was the artificial environment he was exposed to in his various palaces. He was a prisoner in a way to the system of protecting the integrity of the king by not allowing him to make his own decisions for his life. While he ruled a country, he had no control over his personal life. When you walk through the palaces, you see Korea through the eyes of the kings of the past. 

The front gate overlooks the rapidly changing skyline

Another cool thing about this palace is that it is located in the middle of the ancient part of Seoul. This area also is the center of many governmental centers and businesses. It is amazing to see the old meet the new and the graceful integration of modern Korea with ancient Josean. 

The front gate and the continuous pace of modern Korea