BEAUTIFUL mind, body & SEOUL

BEAUTIFUL mind ,body & SEOUL

As the aircraft moved towards Korea , the peninsular land mass was beginning to be visible. I always opt for the window seat to get a birds eye view of the approaching land. We moved in closer to Incheon where the airport is situated . Tiny islands scattered in the Yellow sea was visible and the sea around these numerous islands seemed shallow, as though one could wade in the water from one island to the next. In fact Incheon International Airport is situated way into the sea, built on extensively reclaimed tidal land between two islands. The drive to Seoul the capital of South Korea was  fifty minutes by bus. The drive took us along the river Han. The city has grown on either side of the meandering river and like any other   modern city there was an abundance of high rise buildings on either side of the river. There were   a number of bridges along its course with provision for railway tracks as well as roads.

     My work took me to one of the busiest parts of Seoul in the Gangnam area which includes many important offices. The subways were always crowded during the nine to ten o’clock time slot and in the evenings after office hours. All the familiar names that we know in India was around everywhere- Hyundai , Samsung ,LG. My hotel room had an LG television and microwave. I traveled by the subway to Samsung station to reach my work place at the COEX convention centre. I spotted a Hyundai departmental store and somewhere else in the city there was a Hyundai health club and a Samsung hospital. All the tall and fancy modern buildings with glass facades were impressive enough, but I was interested in the older style of architecture with pagodas. So the best way I thought was to visit the palaces of the Confucian kings and the Buddhist temples. It was easy  to get acquainted with the subway network, which takes you to all parts of the city. Armed with a subway map with names of stations printed in English ,  it is easy to travel to any part of the city. Then I the found the citizens to be very helpful and eager to be of assistance, in spite of the language barrier.

          To reach Gyeongbokgung Palace I took the underground train to Gyeongbokgung station. The tour really begins at the station itself, which is  the subway art centre, with sculpted walls and paintings and other artifacts displayed till the exit. The exit opens on to the front entrance gate of the palace. The palace ground is a sprawling area well within the city. The gate was guarded by royal guards with traditional weapons and a fierce look. Just what the tourists admired and they were   game   for  all the photographs with a smile. The two tier or single tier pagoda styled buildings were spread out. The architectural style  was  stone base with completely wooden structure above. The roofs are sloping and upturned at the four corners like a large brimmed hat folded at the edges. Though I do not know the significance of the curled up corners, it does make a pretty picture. The roof is elaborately carved and intricately painted with dragons, flowers, clouds and mythical beasts. The roofs were ornate, but the overall design had a minimalistic approach, where only space is beauty. It reminded me of the scenes from the movie “ The Last Emperor”. The English speaking guide, who was escorting us around the Palace grounds, pointed out that in China the use of the color red is more dominant, while in Korea green is the dominant color. It was then that I realized that many of the structures were painted in shades of green. In general, though other colors were used the overall effect was asthetically subdued and not bright. The kings’ administrative buildings are laid out at the front entrance of the palace, while the kings residential quarters are towards the rear. The queen’s residence and the royal concubines residences are demarked and spaced out and are placed far away from the grand entrance to the palace grounds. An  interesting information that emerged from the guides explanations is that the concubines were not just for pleasure, but it was the politically right thing to do for the ruler at that time, in order to keep in touch with the common people.

     An interesting part of the architecture was the heating system used in the 13^th century. The floor is a cavern with openings in the exterior where coal or heating wood or any other ingredient for fire is   pushed in. The fire heated the floors and the smoke emerged out of chimneys, not on the roof , but near the back door , where structures specially made of brick were constructed for this purpose. So the king and his family and courtiers, were warmed inside during the winter months, without having a smoke cloud in the interior. This technique of floor heating is used even today in the modern apartments. While in the cold European countries pipes carrying hot water or air run along the walls, here in Korea with   smart engineering the floors are heated to keep the apartments warm during winter.

      Within the Gyeongbokum Palace area, is also the National folk museum of Korea. This construction of recent times,  with a five tier pagoda is attractive on the exterior as well as the interior, with cute exhibits, LCD screen displays and a small cafeteria. It features both the traditional folk culture of ordinary people and the aristocracy during the Joseon Dynasty. The miniature models of Korean village, artifacts, fishing equipments clothes and lifestyle of hundreds of years’ Korean history are on display.

      With the desire to see some more of the Pagoda style of architecture I visited the Jogyesa temple the largest Buddhist shrine in Seoul. Here again I took the subway to Anguk station, and walked a few blocks to the temple. The main building housed three very large statues of Buddha in the seated position. I removed my shoes and sat inside , on the wooden floor and got carried away to a different level of consciousness, by the chants of  devotees , repeating after the grey robed monks. The chants with the tone , meter and sound, that seemed to emanate from the bottom of the stomach was soothing and comforting. The ceiling was packed with paper lanterns in the shape of lotuses. I think paper lanterns are a part of their life style in this part of the world. The variety of lanterns in terms of shape size colour and hue, is mind boggling. The temple courtyards are decorated with numerous lanterns during festivities. Many restaurant corners and malls that I visited had these very attractive lanterns as decorative pieces. So I could not help , but carry one back home with me to India.

        Bongeunsa temple complex is also a very important temple in another part of the city. The complex is spread among a forested hillside and has a more quieter  and secluded atmosphere than Jogyesa. The main shrine “ Daewoongjeon” has lattice doors and is ornately decorated inside and outside with Buddhist symbols and the designs that express Buddhist philosophy. There are quite a few smaller shrines in the pagoda style, spread out in this large hill side area. All of them enclose the statue of Buddha. The statues always appear as a trio. It could be Buddha with two disciples or Buddha triad. Again the ceilings are packed with lotus shaped lanterns, and the wall contain paintings on silk, depicting different facets of Buddha’s life, teachings and philosophy. I didn’t miss the swastika sign painted on some of the shrines in this complex.

          The temples are a pool of serenity in a fast moving and industrious city . The old and the new co – exist together right next to each other. Perhaps if you need to recharge your brains a bit you could hop into the temple complex and hop back to work. Actually just across the street (in front of the Bongeunsa temple Gate)  is the ultra modern COEX convention centre. The COEX mall is a huge maze of shops , eateries, movie theatre, business centers and an amazing aquarium. The aquarium showcases various fishes, crabs, jelly fish, sea horse, manta-ray and so many other under water species. The section with under water tunnel, with surround water and shark experience, is awesome, but the breath taking section is the hall that displays living corals. Hundreds of corals with all imaginable shapes and all the colors in a rainbow  were swaying gently in the water, giving a fairy tale like experience. Specially for some one like me who does not know swimming or diving and so would never be able to experience this underwater world otherwise. I felt like a mermaid in my own garden.

       The COEX centre is always full of people. They are either city revelers or people with business . Everybody looked slim, trim and had a porcelain skin. It surely had something to do with the food they eat, I thought. The food court in this complex was huge and had a variety of eatables on display. I was prepared to try all, from sea weeds to prawns and squid to the variety of fish helpings. But honestly the contents of the beautifully presented dishes, are not fulfilling for the average Indian palate. “Kimchi” the more well known Korean dish is like pickle, so this can’t possibly satisfy your hunger. “McDonalds” and “Pizza Hut” food is then the inevitable choice. Therefore keeping my gastronomic desires aside I decided to pursue the traditional architecture again. My quest took me to Namdaemun Gate. This is one of the four gates that enclosed ancient Seoul. The grand gate in the pagoda style was well preserved, but engulfed by the cross roads, and high rise buildings and other recent constructions . It reminds one that the new economically successful Seoul is slowly easing out the old Seoul. Just a few minutes from the ancient gate is the Namdaemun Market. It is a whole sale centre and virtually anything you may want , can be found here. Numerous shops along a maze of gullies offer clothing, shoes, gift items, accessories, tools, food , construction materials, flowers, sporting goods and many  more things. Everything  is available at a low price. This is the place, to shop till you drop. I felt at home here because it looked and felt like many similar markets that we come across in India.

        Before leaving Seoul I had to get an overall impression of the city. I took the subway again and made my way to the North Seoul Tower. It is located in a forested area on a hillock called Mt.Namsan. The surrounding green slopes, is the park that has trek paths for those who would like to climb, but for the lazy and tired like me a bus ride to the top is very pleasant.  I took the bus up to the top of the hillock and then was whisked up to the North Seoul Tower top by a high speed lift. It was Korea’s first communication tower and now it also works as a recreational and cultural complex. The viewing gallery was nice, with  a full uninterrupted 360 degree panoramic view. It is fascinating from this height and one gets a feel of the cityscape and the terrain on which the city has grown. As one moves around the viewing deck ( enclosed with glass windows) each window indicates the direction in which you are looking. One could walk around and look in the direction of New York, or in the direction of New Delhi. New Delhi is 4692.78 km away from Seoul , declared the print on the window, and Riyadh in the same direction is 7553.19 km away. The South Pole if you care to know, is 14143.84 km from Seoul , indicated another window. Though it was difficult to drag myself away from this view, I had to catch the evening flight back to India. So once again I took the road , following the river Han to Incheon Airport. As usual I chose the window seat and gazed out of the window. It was late evening and the airport was lit up and as the flight took off , Incheon looked like an oyster in the dark sea.

                                           Grand entrance gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace.

                                 Royal Guards at the entrance of Gyeongbokgung Palace.

One of the quarters within the Gyeongbokgung Palace premises showing the openings for the under floor heating system.

                                          The bell.

             Within the temple complex there is a  belfry or the place that houses the bell.The swastika sign is near the roof on one side.

The belfry at the Bongeunsa temple houses a drum to summon the earth bound animals, a wooden fish shaped gong to summon the aquatic beings, a metal cloud shaped gong (not in picture) to summon birds, and a large bronze bell to summon underground creatures.

     Jogyesa Temple , the largest Buddhist shrine in Seoul , has the Buddha Trio in the seated position.

The 23 meters high imposing “Mireukdaebul Statue” within the Bongeunsa temple complex dominates the surroundings. It is Maitreya – The Buddha of the future. This statue was built in 1996.

                                            The COEX  convention centre at the Gangnam area.

                                                                  N.Seoul Tower.