From tree burials to "Guisin-dong"?

There are basically three topics worth writing about: love, life, and death. And when it comes to fiction, since I am (as I write these lines - knock on wood) lucky enough to be both in love and alive, I tend to stick, by superstition, to death.

Next year, if I keep being lucky*, I might release a new collection of short stories dedicated to Seoul, an eternal source of inspiration, and already a recurring character in my miserable 'dragedies'.

Earlier this year, I wrote "Guisin-dong", a piece about a fictional ghost neighborhood of Seoul**, and I was recently reminded of it when I heard about a potential change in the law which would allow you, under certain conditions, to bury your beloved ones at home.

Even in the dead (yet alive) middle of the city.

Well. Don't imagine tumuli suddenly popping up all over Seoul like goosebumps on a chilly night. I'm not talking Royal-Joseon-Tomb material either (except maybe if Chaebol owners decide to prolong their ego wars post mortem). In any case, don't expect this kind of "danji" to replace your apartment block:

In case you forgot (see "Ghost Month"), I took this picture in Yongmiri Cemetery, a final resting place for Seoulites, up in Paju. And just like in any neighborhood in Korea, each time I pass by Yongmiri, the 'cityscape' has evolved, at the same time growing new tentacles and letting forsaken ones go derelict. Forests are progressively erased to make room for a silent necropolis that requires every year more maintenance - terrace fields of tombs must be tended as well as if they were holding rice paddies, and torrential rains can cause a lot of damage on deforested hills.

Korea's rich funeral traditions are as much a curse as a blessing: more than one percent of the land is already devoted to the dead, and demographic trends announce for a near future massive funeral migrations from late Babyboomers.

Fortunately, Seoul Metropolitan Government and Korea Forest Service are working hand in hand to avoid that terminal real estate bubble. And they came up with a simple concept: promoting tree burial services. The idea is to bury the ashes of the deceased in a natural setting, generally at the foot of a tree. So instead of cutting plants, you feed them.

Literally, the ultimate tree-hugger experience.

Since Koreans have now overwhelmingly replaced traditional burial with cremation, it can really make a difference. Last year, SMG and KFS dedicated a special section of forest, also in Paju. With the new law Seoul city wants to make the phenomenon go "grassroot" - if not viral. That's somehow consistent with the promotion of vegetable gardens across the capital.

Now what's interesting to me is the consequences at a less rational level. Combine for instance Korea's ancient shamanist traditions with its more recent real-estate-speculation addictions: will there be an impact on land value? will some people use the services of their friendly neighborhood mudang, have a "gut" be performed before moving in or out?

Can whole neighborhoods catch the virus? Say Seochon, at the feet of the shamanic magnet of Inwangsan - will it turn into the equivalent of Tokyo's shinto-funeral-crazy Yanaka?

I don't know if I'd prefer my Guisin-dong...

Stephane

PS: if you can't wait, go visit Seoul cemeteries. For instance Seoul National Cemetery in Dongjak-gu (NB: that's not where they bury SNU alumnis, well... not officially), Yanghwajin Foreigners' Cemetery in Mapo-gu, Manguri Park in Jungnang-gu, or the many Royal Joseon Tombs (see "Royal Joseon Tombs Become UNESCO World Heritage Properties"). And don't forget to say hello to "Jongmyo ghosts".

Seoul Village 2012
Welcome to our Korean Errlines! Follow Seoul Village on Facebook and Twitter

* and if I start kicking my own behind to devote more time to fiction and less time to this excuse for a blog (not to mention the half dozen even more inept ones I've been publishing for eons) - I'm running out of alibis at the end of this mother of all election years (US, Korea, France, Russia, Younameitstan).
** a (happy?) few among you - fellow members of Seoul Writers Workshop, to start with - might have already read it in avant-premiere

Ghost Month

A "danji" ("단지") is a block of estates which, for most Seoulites, usually brings to mind the image of a pack of concrete, overpopulated, high rise buildings. But here, that's just the opposite: low-rise, quiet, and green.

Yes, here too, real estate is claiming more land each time I visit, but that's life. And death.

Welcome back to the cemetery of Yongmiri*.

It's always a special moment when you pay homage to ancestors, share time, thoughts, a drink, and a bite with them. You also do a bit of gardening for them, like yesterday, between two rainy days. Of course, you can hire pros to maintain the grave site, but contributing is important, and I actually cherish these moments of earthly intimacy. If most Western tombs are made of stone, these tumuli are very much alive. And again, yesterday, the pheasants cleared their throats.

So much for the crow cliche.

Seoul Village 2012
NEW : follow Seoul Village on Facebook and Twitter

* see "Ray Banned". Note that: - this time, I skipped the fermented skate before coming, and opted for an excellent doeji kalbi - Yongmiri is located in Paju (Gwantan-myeon), but belongs to the city of Seoul (and full disclosure: this block 2 / "2단지" / "2 danji" is not our neighborhood)

Ray Banned

It had to happen.

For the first time, I tasted some Korean food that I really disliked. I was warned before, but gave it a shot nonetheless.

Fermented skate (홍어) has a tough reputation, but each bite is supposed to pass more peacefully with a bit of pork, gimchi, and gochujang, wrapped in the traditional lettuce leaf. 

Ever the tastebud daredevil, I tried it bare to enjoy its flavor to the fullest (foulest ?).

Big mistake.

I simply can't describe the experience, and as I try to recall it, I can see my fingers trembling over the keyboard - an early sign of severe PTSD if I ever saw one.

Nothing weird about the look or the texture, but the smell could come from an over-expired if not maggot-infested camembert cheese, and as the thing explodes into your mouth, you almost wish you had ordered rotten skunk sashimi instead. The pungent aftertaste wouldn't be silenced by three coffees, and I bet even beondegi toothpaste wouldn't have succeeded.

A perfect near-death experience before visiting Yongmiri Cemetery, as peaceful as ever (see above picture - that's in Yongmi-ri, Gwangtan-myeon, Paju).

Seoul Village 2011http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
NEW : follow Seoul Village on Facebook and Twitter

PS: fellow Korean food lovers, pass this dish and go straight to the nearest Korean restaurant to enjoy this overwhelmingly fantastic cuisine.

Eunpyeong New Town, Old Tombs

Eunpyeong New Town is spreading its wings along Bukhansan, welcoming thousands of households in brand new apartment buildings.

How about former inhabitants ? The living ones have long been compensated, and the dead ones have eventually their time to shine starting this week in Seoul Museum of History*.

The dead ones ? 5,000 tombs have already been excavated in the area. Some remnants and artifacts stretching over centuries will be exposed, including bones revealing widespread scoliosis among the older generations, porcelain, earrings, or mudang (shaman) material.

Why did this site become a huge cemetery for nobles as well as for commoners ? Feng shui has something to do with it, but so did the Joseon law, which imposed a minimum distance between the royal palace and burial sites : 10 li, or about 4 km depending on which "li" you're talking.

The Royal Ten Li can be translated as 왕 십 리 or wang shib li. To get an idea, check on a map the distance between Gyeongbokgung and Wanghimni (왕십리).

Q.E.D.

Eunpyeong Excavation: The Exceptional Story
2009-11-04 ~ 2009-12-13
Seoul Museum of History - (02)724-0114

Seoul Village 2009

* and until Nov. 8, "Three Foreigners' Reminiscence of Seoul" (Albert W. Taylor in the 1920s, Fred W. Dykes in the late 1940s, Nomura Motoyuki between 1968 and 1985).

Royal Joseon Tombs Become UNESCO World Heritage Properties

For its 33rd session (to be finalized tomorrow, June 30), UNESCO added 13 sites to its prestigious World Heritage List*, but put 3 on the Danger list and even removed one, the Dresden Elbe Valley, because a bridge had been built in the middle of the heritage zone in spite of strong warnings issued in 2006.

A clear message to all countries boasting such prestigious properties : big responsibilities come with the honor, so take good care of them or else...

Typically, preserving Korea's newly listed property (its ninth**) will require some organization : it stretches over 1756.9 ha (4251.7 ha including buffer zones), and 18 locations scattered across Seoul, Gyeonggi-do (most notably the Donggureung complex in Guri), and Gangwon-do (1 site).

After Goguryeo Tombs, Gyeongju Tumuli, Jongmyo, and even certain Dolmens, the UNESCO is once more celebrating Korean funeral traditions and rites : an ensemble of over 50 tombs of either Kings and Queens (generally ending in "neung" / 릉), or other members of royal family ("won" / 원), including a royal concubine and a 9 month boy. Some tomb names end in "myo" / 묘, the more generic term for cemeteries and graves.

The obligation to preserve buffer areas beyond the sites is excellent news for the environment and the quality of life around the dead : as the UNESCO pointed out, Joseon Tombs are "typically protected by a hill facing south toward water and layers of mountain ridges in the distance"**. One more argument in favor of the protection of Seoul mountains !

Excellent news also for certain Districts which struggled to build an identity or to draw tourists (ie Unpyeong-gu, Dobong-gu, Nowon-gu, Seongbuk-gu). Tombs are generally well specified in maps and signs, but most of the people leaving nearby didn't care much about those cultural assets (when there's a really nice park or an elaborate complex, that's a different story). For sure, associations which pushed for the UNESCO recognition will feel less lonely now.

Main Royal Joseon Tombs :

In Gangwon-do (1 site, 1 tomb) :

. 1 in Yeongweol (Yeongwol-gun, Yeongwol-eup, Yeongheung-ri) : one more reason to visit Jangneung King Danjong's Tomb (see "King Danjong and Korea's curse") !

In Seoul (6 sites, 11 tombs) :

. Dobong-gu (1 site, 1 tomb) : Yonsangunmyo in Banghak-dong
. Dongdaemun-gu (0 site, 2 tombs) : Sunginwon and Yeonghwiwon are located on Hongneung-gil in Cheongnyangni-2-dong, but associated with Uireung site in Seongbuk-gu. In the former lies the young Yi Jin (1921-1922), son of King Yeongchin, Korea's last Crown Prince. In the latter, King Gojong's first royal concubine Sunheon - 1854-1911).
. Gangnam-gu (1 site, 2 tombs) : Seonjeongneung in Samseong-dong regroups Jeongneung (King Jeongjong - 1488-1544), and Seollung (Queen Gonghye - 1456-1474).
. Nowon-gu (1 site, 2 tombs) : Taegangneung (Taereung and Gangneung) in Gongneung-dong.
. Seocho-gu (1 site, 2 tombs) : Heoninneung (Heonneung and Inneung) in Naegok-dong.
. Seongbuk-gu (2 sites, 2 tombs) : Uireung includes Uireung itself, the tomb of King Gyeongjong (1688-1724) in Seokgwan-dong, and two tombs located in Dongdaemun-gu. Uireung used to be managed (and not so poorly preserved) by the KCIA. I wonder how the other site, Jeongneung (in Jeongneung-dong), ever managed to get the nod from the UNESCO : it now lies at the feet of Naebu expressway before the Bugak Tunnel leading to Pyeongchang-dong, and this poor place often comes up when I think of peaceful areas ruined by development. Unless... could it be a plot to remove the Naebu overpass ?

In Gyeonggi-do (15 sites, 45 tombs) :

. Gaeseong (2 sites, 2 tombs) : Huneung and Joeneung, respectively in Ryeongjeong-ri and in Sangdo-ri, two villages located in Panmun-gun (Panmun county).
. Gimpo (1 site, 1 tomb) : Jangneung in Gimpo-eup, Pungmu-ri (site different from Paju's Jangneung)
. Goyang (2 sites, 16 tombs, including one in the city of Gwangmyeong) : Seosamreung or the "3 Western graves" (Hwireung, Hyoneung, and Yoeneung, plus Sogyeongwon, Uiryeongwon, Hyochangon and Hwimyo) are all located in Wondang-dong, Deokyang-gu. Seooreung or the "5 Western graves" (Changneung, Gyeongneung, Heungneung, Ikneung, and Myeongneung) are in Yongdu-dong, but the "site" also includes tombs in Wondang-dong (Daebinmyo, Sugyeongwon, and Sunchangwon), and Yeonghoewon in Noonsa-dong, Gwangmyeong... a city on the other side of Seoul.
. Guri (1 site, 9 tombs) : the Donggureung complex in Toegyewon-myeon, Inchang-dong clearly stands out for its shape and significance. It hosts Geonwolleung, the tomb of King Taejo (1335-1408), founder of the Joseon Dynasty, and 8 others (Hyeonneung, Mokneung, Huineung, Sungneung, Hyeneung, Wonneung, Suneung, Gyeongneung).
. Hwaseong (1 site, 2 tombs) : Yoonggeonneung (Yoongneung and Geonneung) in Annyeong-dong.
. Namyangju (4 sites, 8 tombs) : Saneung (in Jingeon-eup, Saneung-ri) owes its name to the "four graves" ("sa neun") it boasts : Saneung itself (tomb of Queen Jeongsun, 1440-1521), Gwanghaegunmyo, Anbinmyo, and Seongmyo. Hongyuneung (Hongneung and Yuneung) is in Gumgeok-dong and Hongseondaewongunmyo in Hwado-eup, Changhyeon-ri. Gwangneung hosts the "bad" King Sejo in Jinjeon-eup, Bupyeong-ri.
. Paju (2 sites, 4 tombs) : Jangneung (different from Gimpo's - this one is in Tanhyeon-myeon, Galhyeon-ri) and Samreung (in Jori-eup, Bongilcheon-ri). As the name suggests, Samreung boasts three tombs : Gongneung, Seunneung, and Yeongneung.
. Yangju (1 site, 1 tomb) : Onneung in Yeoju-gun, Jangheung-myeon, Ilyeong-ri.
. Yeoju (1 site, 2 tombs) : Yeongneung in Neunseo-myeon, Hwangdae-ri consists of Joseon Sejongdaewangneung Yeongneung, tomb of the Great King Sejong (1397-1450) and his wife Queen Soheon, and Joseon Hyojong Yeongneung, tomb of the bellicose King Hyojong (1619-1659).

The Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea are working on the best way to cope with this wonderful honor and harmonize the visits. They just opened a specific website (not in English yet but it's a matter of days I guess) : royaltombs.cha.go.kr.

And of course, don't restrict your visits to UNESCO stars and Joseon royalty. There are tombs all over Seoul, for example in the National Cemetery, or Hyochang Park, and even almost anonymous ones in bits of land clinging to mountains. I even saw one in Sanggye right at the feet of an appartment building. To me, the epitomy of the Seoul tombstone appateu.

SM 2009

* see "13 new sites have been added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List which lost one site while three were placed on the Danger List" (UNESCO 20090628)

** Korea now owns 9 of the list's 890 properties (8 cultural properties and 1 natural property) :
. 3 since 1995 : Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon, depositories for the Tripitaka Koreana Woodblocks (see Seoul Village focus), Jongmyo Shrine, and Seokguram Grotto + Bulguksa Temple
. 2 were added in 1997 :Changdeokgung Palace Complex and Hwaseong Fortress
. 2 in 2000 : Gyeongju Historic Areas and the Dolmen Sites in Gochang, Hwasung and Ganghwa
. 1 in 2007 : Korea's only natural property, Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes
. 1 in 2009 : Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty

*** UNESCO's description of the property :

The Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty (Republic of Korea) form a collection of 40 tombs scattered over 18 locations. Built over five centuries, from 1408 to 1966, the tombs honoured the memory of ancestors, showed respect for their achievements, asserted royal authority, protected ancestral spirits from evil and provided protection from vandalism. Spots of outstanding natural beauty were chosen for the tombs which typically have their back protected by a hill as they face south toward water and, ideally, layers of mountain ridges in the distance. Alongside the burial area, the royal tombs feature a ceremonial area and an entrance. In addition to the burial mounds, associated buildings that are an integral part of the tombs include a T-shaped wooden shrine, a shed for stele, a royal kitchen and a guards’ house, a red-spiked gate and the tomb keeper’s house. The grounds are adorned on the outside with a range of stone objects including figures of people and animals. The inscription of the Joseon Tombs completes the two earlier series of Korean Peninsula royal tombs inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List: the Gyeongju Historic Areas, Republic of Korea, and Complex of Koguryo Tombs, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Jongmyo ghosts

A warm mid-may afternoon in Jongmyo. Just a few visitors, but nowhere to be seen in this deserted Jeongjeon (the main ceremonial hall).

A slight breeze, the intense smell of snowbell tree flowers, and only natural sounds : birds (magpies, sparrows, and today even a blue jay), wind in the old and tall trees that mask the city beyond. From here, the corner of your eye can only notice the brown tip of Boryung building emerging timidly from the biomass, now fully active.

Much smaller and less "urban" than its Northern neighbor Changdeokgung, devoted to the dead (Joseon royal shrine, a UNESCO World Heritage), Jongmyo provides a perfect spot for meditation.
There's even a quiet library with 20 seats (square mats on the floor), in a small hanok. Like most traditional houses in this part of the World, this one offers a broadband connection to the web. No one there today, except the clerk. From a hole torn through the paper window, I can see three adjumas sitting on the lawn, picking up the bad weeds.

I expected to meet a few elderlies, but as usual they are all outside in Jongmyo Citizens' Park, chatting or playing Xiangqi (Chinese chess) under phantom cigarette clouds. Their mass looks compact from a distance, and many lips are moving, but you can't hear those ghosts as you walk through the crowd. Just chess pieces clacking on boards.

You can follow Jongmyo's Western wall up to a recently created small triangular garden, Yulgokno, and Donhwamun... but beware : Seosulla-gil (서순라 길) is haunted.

"West Patrol Way" owes its name to the policemen who walked along it. All houses used to turn their backs on this cemetery wall, and residents would only leave their garbage there. Nearby Myo-dong owes its name to the same Myo (묘) you find in Jongmyo (종묘) : it means "grave", and by metonymy "cemetery". But the only two dongs covering Seosulla-gil are Bongik-dong (South) and Gwonnong-dong (North).

Bongik-dong remains a messy pack of cheap old restaurants feeding (upon ?) Jongmyo's chess playing ghosts.

Gwonnong-dong keeps proceeding on the way to gentrification, workshops giving way to brand new, two-story- private houses, galleries or shops opening themselves to Seosulla-gil, betting on the Donhwamun-ro extension of Insadong all the way to this charming winding road with its trees, its wall, and its phantoms.

Right now, gentrification doesn't seem that obvious : trash keep piling up against the wall, the path doesn't smell of snowbell tree flowers, and more often than not, you will come across one or two hirsute winos.

Keep your distance : to spare your nostrils, but also to show some respect for Jongmyo's third millenium ghosts.

King Danjong and Korea's Curse

It's festival season again, and every year, the end of April - beginning of May period is getting more crowded. Beware : all events cannot be as exciting as advertised, and you must brace yourselves for a collection of kitsch decors, not so cute mascots, or noisy and colorful "eebents".

What to think of those corny lantern-sculptures on Cheonggyecheon, for instance ? The Danjong Culture Festival is making a big splash in Seoul for its 43th edition, inviting tourists to the real party : not here, but in front of Jangneung.

That's King Danjong's tomb in Yeongwol-gun, Gangwon-do.

Doesn't sound as "exciting" as the "Ddeokbokki Festival" or Incheon's "Jjajangmyeon Festival" ? Not an easy sales pitch, granted. But beyond the festival and the show, this King's story deserves to be narrated.

To tell you the truth, I didn't know the story until a few days ago. But it struck me as a turning point in Korea's history, the reason why Joseon Dynasty failed lamentably in spite of the glorious heritage of King Sejong. Instead of continuing its spectacular and positive mutation, the country stalled and shut itself down in front of any form of progress. For the benefit of its neighbors.

I guess Danjong, the king who never was, somehow symbolizes this country which didn't happen.

To be fair, Danjong once became a King, but he was stripped of his title soon afterwards, and recovered it only two and a half centuries later (in 1698, under King Sunjong). Proper funerals were eventually performed, along with a yearly day of mourning, which became much later the Danjong Culture Festival.

Danjong didn't die as a King but as a kid : crowned at 11, overruled at 13, wed and overthrowned at 14... and murdered at the tender age of 16 (1441–1457).

Sad ending for a beloved kid whose grandfather believed could eventually become his true successor. This granpa was none other than Sejong. And the great king worried a lot for Danjong because his own successor was too weak. So he built protective walls around his apt pupil : members of his own dream team (the Hall of Worthies), people of trust and sound judgement, who could help him rule the country as well as he did.

Poor Danjong never knew his mother, who died giving birth (he was raised by his grandmother, Sejong's wife), and as feared, he lost his father (Sejong's first son King Munjong), way too soon.

The bad guy in this sad familial saga is Sejong's second son, Prince Suyang (Suyang Daegun) : Danjong's evil uncle became King Sejo in 1455 after forcing his nefew into exile to Gangwon-do.

But don't picture Suyang as just an ambitious man fooling a kid with a one way ticket to a nice resort area : this criminal has a lot of blood on his hands.

In 1453, he destroyed Sejong's first protective shield, murdering the premier and vice-premier (Hwangbo In and General Kim Jongseo), who actually ruled the country. After that, the young king was directly under his spell. He simply kicked him out once he controlled everything.

But loyalists tempted a coup. The new king poisoned Sejong's brother, and in 1456, decapited at the same time 6 leaders and Korea's future. For good measure, he killed about 70 male members of their families, and even Kim Jil, the Judas who betrayed them. Their wives were forced into slavery and prostitution. One newborn was saved... but at a tragic price : traded with a servant's baby.

The 6 leaders were Sejong's second protective shield around his grandson, 6 prestigious ministers who actually carried out most of his outstanding reforms, starting with the creation of Hangeul. Ha Wi-ji, Pak Paeng-nyeon, Seong Sam-mun, Yi Gae, Yu Eung-bu, and Yu Seong-won are referred as the "Sayuksin" or the "six martyred ministers", or even "six bodies who became gods", according to a more lyrical yet unorthodox translation using similar Chinese characters. They were beheaded at "Saenamto", a place in Noryangjin where centuries later, Catholics martyrs would meet the same fate...

Danjong's murder was a little more subtle : because King Sejo wanted his death to look accidental or suicidal, he had him trapped home and pushed ondol heating to a quasi fire. The young heir died of suffocation... and the whole country fell into lethargy.A noble man wrote a beautiful poem about his trip to Gangwon-do : he came to see the king, but met his ghost. No poem was ever written for the country that never was, and no one ever met its ghost. The closest thing we have could be the expression "The Hermit Kingdom".


* Danjong Culture Festival : April 24-26th (same dates as the 2009 Lotus Lantern Festival)