On the 5th of May we visited various Buddhist, historical and Confucian sites in Seoul. It was Children’s Day so the entire city was more active than usual.
Our first stop was a Buddhist temple in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the city. They had TONS of lanterns strung up and various activities for children (including a Korean clown and different kinds of arts and crafts). While standing outside the temple, Dr. Peterson explained the three treasures of Buddhism. They are: the Buddha (relics), the Dharma (scriptures), and the monastic order of the monks (상하). These treasures would come up again when we later visited Buddhist temples in southern Korea.
Nearby the temple was located a historical landmark – a post office actually – called the “central post office” or 우정총국. It was the first “modern” post office in Korea: “modern” meaning it dealt with domestic AND international mail. Korea had an established domestic postal system (aka Pony Express) long before Western civilizations or the U.S. Dr. Peterson went on to lament the poor description given on the plaque next to the post office. He explained that it failed to grasp the greater historical significance on top of presenting a biased account of the coup that was staged in the building during its inception ceremony dinner. Here’s the story (please forgive the brevity of this account as I am not nearly as knowledgeable or as good a story teller as Dr. P): The coup that took place was in 1884 and is known as Gamshinjeungyeon (감신정연). The Korean progressives wanted remove the reigning Min family, who were conservatives. The Progressives noticed the example of the Japanese Westernization movement and desired the same change for Korea. The goal was to kill the Min brothers who would be at the dinner held within the post office. Their strategy was to create a distraction by setting fire to a nearby thatched-roof house (which would pose a serious hazard to the whole neighborhood of thatched-roof homes) and in the ensuing commotion to put out the fire/escape, assassins would kill the Min brothers. On the night of the dinner, the Progressives worked to set fire to their targeted house, but because of straws high ignition temperature they were unable to light a successful fire. Eventually they set fire to a tile-roof house causing the dinner to end in a hubbub. In the end, only one Min brother was wounded but not fatally. The failed coup meant that Korea would not jump on the Westernization bandwagon with Japan. While the wounded brother’s injury was not initially fatal, subsequent medical treatment failed to successfully heal him – I’m not sure but I think the wound was probably infected. Anyways, King Kojong (코종) (his brother) worried his brother wouldn’t live and sought the professional help of the American physician Horace Allen. Allen was a surgeon as well as the chaplain at the U.S. embassy. After healing the wounded brother, Allen was asked by the king what he wanted for a reward. Allen asked that Western medicine be practiced in modern hospitals, which meant establishing a more modern school system for educating new Western doctors – and he added in churches on top of that (because he was a chaplain). This explains the prevalence of Protestant Christianity in Korea compared to other East Asian countries.
At the end of our day, Dr. Peterson took us to the Sun-gyun-gwang (선균관), the headquarters of Confucianism in Korea (at least that’s what I understood it to be). It was interesting to hear him talk about the importance of the gingko tree, which symbolizes the unity of opposites. Gingko trees are coniferous (like pine and fir trees) but unlike other conifers they are not evergreen. They are deciduous and lose their leaves each year. Dr. P also described the 3 bonds and 5 relationships of Confucianism. The 3 bonds are between:
- King and Subject
- Father and Son
- Husband and Wife
- Older and Younger
- Friend and Friend
- King – Subject = righteousness
- Father – Son = intimacy
- Husband – Wife = distinction
- Older – Younger = order
- Friend – Friend = trust
Much love from Korea XO
Rachael, It sounds like you are having a wonderful experience in Korea! It's fun to read about your adventures. I'm glad you've been able to experience the temple and church members there, too. Your family must be so excited to have you there, also. Good luck and happy trails!!
ReplyDeleteLove, Beth