Jogyesa Temple, Comfort Women Memorial, Bukchon Hanok Village

Day 10 of the Mosaic Tour

Saturday, 6.30

This was another touristy day (thank heavens) and the landmarks we visited were near Insadong, so we traveled by foot.

The first stop was Jogyesa Temple.

As we walked to Jogyesa Temple, we passed several walled-off construction sites with this sign. I can confidently report that I saw no evidence of scribbles.

As you enter the temple grounds, a lovely garden, replete with koi and flowers, welcomes you. Plus this guy. I really enjoyed the juxtaposition of peace coupled with the "I dare you," attitude emanating from the entryway.

This piece was to the other statue's right as you enter the temple grounds.

On the ground in the entryway. Again, just another part of the "We may be monks, but don't ____ with us," kind of sentiment.

Beautiful temple door. Like many old things in Seoul, the original temple, built in the late 14th century, was destroyed, but lovingly recreated in the early 20th century. It remains the center of Korean Buddhism, and inside the temple, a service was taking place while we wandered the grounds.

I was tickled to see that, in our group chat, several other people had also taken a picture of this gentle warning. Thankfully, nobody wanted my worn out flip flops.

Jogyesa Temple. Many pictured here are fellow Tour participants.

I had read about this temple some prior to the trip. This is a particularly important tree - I believe it is Baeksong, a "500 year old Lacebark Pine tree that is located at Jogyesa Temple. It features a distinctive and beautiful brown bark. These types of trees grow and reproduce slowly making them very rare and important to the history of Korea." (http://www.theseoulguide.com/sights/temples/jogyesa-temple/)

I was a little conflicted about documenting the sights without disturbing worshipers.

Tour Gals.

To increase peace and harmony, walk around this structure three times, bowing at each marker.

Not far from the temple was the Comfort Women memorial, strategically placed in full view of the Japanese Embassy. Protesters holding vigil were busying themselves by working on a K-pop routine while we educated ourselves around them.
Comfort women were essentially Korean (and some Chinese) girls who were kidnapped into sexual slavery by the Japanese military in the early 20th century. Read more about them here. 

Several of these markers stand vigil in front of the statue, each with a girl's name.

The roundness of her cheeks. The bird perched on her straight shoulders. Her resolute expression.

We explored onward to Bukchon Hanok Village, an historic Seoul neighborhood. One of the first homes I noticed was this one. Bukchon means "northern village" and hanok are traditional Korean homes. Some of the hanok in Bukchon are around 600 years old. This is the place you want to go to see Korea in its imperial days. It was pretty hot on this particular day, so I didn't get to explore it as much as I would've liked, but it was beautiful nonetheless. The neighborhood is a mixture of single-family homes, cultural centers, shops, and restaurants.

This is, clearly, not a traditional Korean home, but I liked its architecture and the sign in front, which essentially read, "We live here, so please don't disturb us. Thanks!"

Another lovely hanok. It would be lovely to stay in one.

The hanok were restored with modern materials.

Part of the charm of hanok are the courtyards, which structurally, reminded me of those in New Orleans. When I peeked into this one, I liked this silver tabby's squishy face. It made me miss my own kitties.

Pretty sure I took this to document a meeting spot, but the mix of old and new is interesting.

Marketing guy: "Hey, I've got a super great idea."

Investor: "Ok, let's hear it."

Marketing guy: "What if we opened a coffee shop, but it won't be like a regular coffee shop. Ours will have cats."

Investor: "So, people will pay money to do exactly what they could do for free at their spinster aunt's house?"

Marketing guy: "Yeah, but here, it would look cute to drink coffee with cats, not desperate and sad."

Investor: (gets out checkbook) "How much do you need?"

Sadly, I didn't get to visit the Cat Cafè, but I imagine the pitch to get this piece of incredibly pricey real estate went something like the conversation above.

You, too, could take super cute selfies with amazing cats while enjoying a lattè.

Pretty hanbok. I liked that this grouping featured children's hanbok, too. I wonder, if in another life, if I would've worn one something like this with my omma for special occasions.

Donglim Knot Workshop. Entering the shop was like stepping back in time. You walk into a small, tidy, pebbly courtyard, take off your shoes at the wood and sliding rice paper (I think? at least it definitely looked like rice paper) door, and into the teeny shop you go. The five or so of us were all very quiet (somewhat uncharacteristic of our lot) as our reverence for this traditional craft outweighed our need to crack wise.

This is the sort of traditional craft that comes to mind for most people (well, me, at least) when they think of Korea. These ornate knots of thin, silken rope are just so. . . oriental. (I can say that, but you probably can't.)  This display showcases some of the various and specific types of knots used for royalty. In my brain, this display created a tangible connection between tacky tourist souvenirs and authentic cultural significance. "So this is why people sell those keychains. . . "

Inside the shop was (I assume) a knot-maker, crouching on the floor next to dozens of colorful spools of thread.

I didn't see the "Don't take pictures" sign until after the fact. . .

The Donglim Knot Workshop door.

Originally, I had very little interest in coming here, but like many things on the Tour, my increased appreciation for the art of knot-making became yet another surprise.

Not my peeps, just some Koreans enjoying Bukchon like us.

Most of the streets were pretty slopey, not surprising, since Korea is a mountainous country.

A girl in hanbok calls to her friends in Bukchon.

These two sweeties were all, "Take a picture of us? Hee hee, okaaaay!"