On the long walk to the temple from the metro station, I grabbed a quick bite from a street vendor and found that the Koreans have one-uped us on unhealthy food. They took a perfectly unhealthy all American corn dog, fried it, then covered it in a second layer of batter and fried it again! You got to love ingenuity, haha!!
The entrance to the Yongju-sa is guarded by simply magnificent wooden statues of the "Four Heavenly Kings." These are about eight feet in height while seated, giving a very imposing impression, while the ferociousness in thier visages made me think twice about taking their picture...but I found the courage in the end. This tidbit of their mythology is humourous, and it makes me wonder what they would have to report in today's climate; "On the 8th, 14th and 15th days of each lunar month, the Four Heavenly Kings either send out messengers or go themselves to see how virtue and morality are faring in the world of men." (from wikipedia). And here they are: The North
The South
The East
The West
They are all stomping on these gremlins which I suppose would symbolize the opposing notions of greed, violence and suffering among others, perhaps.
This is one of the lager temple complexes in the area, with over a dozen seperate buildings, all of which have specific purposes.
All of the exterior woodwork of the temple buildings are painted in remarkable detail. I found the work on the beams and rafters of the bell house to be truly exceptional.
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Within a park in the city of Hwaseong, about a ten minute train ride and 40 min walk from my place, lay Crown Prince Sado (the father of Jeongjo) and Princess Hyegyeong (posthumously named Emperor Sangjo and Empress Heongyeong), and King Jeongjo and Queen Hyoui. There is a very sad story as to why the son King went to such great lengths to pay tribute to his deceased father. It seems that the good intentions of the crown prince were subverted by a power hungry consort to the reigning king. In seeking to have her progeny raised to the throne she had to get rid of Prince Sado, and so with the help of other court officials had him accused of treason. Now, the current king thought of Prince Sado as a friend and trusted advisor, but in the face of stiff political opposition, and an emotional ploy, he was convinced enough to have prince Sado punished. The choice of punishment was confinement to a rice box. These were wooden chests measuring about 2.5x3x3 feet. In such a confining space, and without any nutrition, Prince Sado died and was buried in the city of Seoul. To the great displeasure of the treacherous consort, Prince Sado's son Jeonjo was crowned the King's successor several years later. In order to exonerate his murdered father, King Jeongjo decided to relocate his tomb to an area south of Seoul, in a grand arrangment. In addition to the physical tomb structure, King Jeongjo made yearly trips to the tomb to pay homage, and we all know that a king does not travel alone. In fact, in order to accomodate these journeys the great fortress of Hwaseong, which I visited the week before, was built to house his 6,000 retainers. And we gripe about the cost of a plane for the president, imagine what would happen if he had to take 6,000 people and a fortress with him, every time he wanted to leave the capital!!!! As his final act of filial piety, King Jeongjo decreed that he would be buried beside his father. Over the past centuries, the tombs have changed location twice and been through numerous renovations, but remain true to the achitecure of the early 18th century, and currently are surrounded by a wooded park in the outskirts of Hwaseong City (about 20 min south of the fortress of the same name).
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After about five solid hours of walking and touring I was ready to sit down and have a hearty meal before the hour long walk back to the metro station. Fortunately, just a block from the tombs are two heavily trafficed korean restaraunts, so I followed a group of folks into one and settled in for an authentic meal. Now although this city is not that far from base, in fact much closer than most places the other Americans visit, it is a little off the beaten path and does not see many non-koreans. To that end, there was a distinct lack of picture menus, which are my best help in ordering. So, feeling confidant in my choice in restaraunt, I courageously took the menu, point to the third thing on the list, and said I will have that please. With a smile and nod, my server dissapered to bring the onipresent kim-chi to tide me over till my meal waqs ready. Well, as it hit the table, it was not all that apparent how much I had erred, as it appeared like many of my other meals; a steaming bowl of hearty broth with vegatables and muchrooms, rice, and a bowl of, of...what is that stuff I am supposed to eat in my soup??? As I pondered the deep purple blobs in the metal bowl, I took a few sips of the broth, and up sprouted an ARTERY! Well, now my brain was racing, and the answers my highly analytic mind were delivering were not at all comforting. What else do I know that has the color of the bobs? Blood sausage and pudding, obviously. What do arteries do? Transmit bllod through the body. What is this soup? Congealed blood and artery soup, you nin-kum-poop! Never on to baulk from a culinary challege, I put on my most gracious face for my doting hosts, plopped the blood in the soup and went to task. Aided by a generous addition of chile paste, I managed to chew every rubery bit and bloody bite. In truth the congealed blood had very little flavor and was of a semi-hard texture reminicent of softer aspic jelly, without any chewiness. The artery bitson the other hand were excessively chewy, with a very gamey aftertaste that I did not truly enjoy. Laughing together at my my expense a the counter, I thanked them for my meal and their hospitality, and with a look of true curiousity they asked me literally if it was "deliciousy." Well, I would hate to be called a liar, but I couldn't be the guy to steal the sparkle from their eyes in witnessing some unwitting bloke down such a bizarre meal...so I say yes, emphatically, haha.
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