Thursday, May 15, 2014

Sinking of the Sewol

Sinking of the Sewol and the Mourning of a Nation:
Untangling the grief, blame and facts of a national disaster

At 9pm on April 15, 2014 the ferry, MV Sewol, departed from Incheon bound for Cheju Island with 475 passengers and 14 crew members. The majority of the passengers, 325, were 16- and 17-year-old students of Danwon high school in Ansan City on their 4-day class trip to Cheju Island before they began their final cram year at the high school in prep for high scholastic scores for entering the more prestigious universities.

What should have been an exciting class trip chaperoned by 14 teachers turned into a national disaster hours shy of their final destination—a loud noise, a sharp jolt and 45° direction change followed by a noticeable list to the ferry raised terror but obedience. Passengers noted the definite list to the ferry but Captain Lee Joon-seok told passengers to stay in their rooms. With Confucian values of obedience to one’s elders highly regarded in Korea, the students remained in their rooms. Apparently with little top-down communication other than the order to remain put, one frightened boy, surname Choi, called the emergency 119 number which put him through to the fire service, which in turn forwarded him to the coast guard. He was the first to make a report of the Sewol in imminent danger of capsizing. His call was rapidly repeated by about 20 more emergency calls from other children. The captain made his emergency call soon after Choi, but crew members with walkie-talkies stationed specifically on the third level did not receive updated directions to take their charges on deck, put on life jackets, or abandon ship despite the rapidly increasing list and taking on of water. Therefore, according to the emergency manual, third-level crew members continued to tell students to stay in their rooms.


At some point the captain issued the order to put on life jackets; however, this order was not heard via public communication systems so crew members and self-appointed teachers who had rooms on the highest level endeavored to make sure their students on the lower levels had the jackets to wear. Teacher Nam Yun-cheol (36), after taking life jackets to all of his students, died while throwing life jackets to students in other classes. His body was found floating near the Sewol the next day. Another teacher Yoo Ni-na (28) went to the fourth level to ensure her students had on their life jackets, and then hearing that more of her students were following orders to stay in their rooms on the third level, went down to help them out. She was later found on the third level without a life jacket. Of the 75 students who escaped the Sewol, 19 were from her homeroom.

And while Captain Lee Joon-seok and his operations crew removed their uniforms, dressed in civilian clothes and were the first ones rescued, four crew members in charge of passenger care died saving their charges. Confucian-thinking or not, as the ship further floundered, Park Jee-young (25), a cafeteria worker, ordered terrified students to ignore orders to stay put and to go to the fourth level and jump ship. She said she would be the last out, but there were so many more to leave, and she stayed to direct others. She was later found still life jacketless and still on the third level.


Among the crew and 475 passengers, only a total of 174 survived the disaster. Out of the 325 students who boarded the ferry, a mere 75 were rescued, and only 3 of the 14 teachers survived. And although the vice-principal of Danwon high school was in the rescued number, two days later he was found hanging from a tree with a suicide note saying it was “so hard to stay alive” while so many of the students under his care had perished. He was the first to emotionally collapse from the stress. His students still are dealing with their trauma of losing so many of their friends and teachers as well as their emotional shock related to the event itself.

In a days-old Hallyu (Korean Wave) blog entry updating readers on the high-school survivors, stress and trauma of what the youth experienced seems to be getting worse. Of the 75 students two still remain in hospital care, 70 are living and taking lessons together at another institution in Ansan while only three have returned to Danwon high school. Though the students seem to be moving forward in academics and hanging with friends to discuss shopping and celebrities, about 20% of the students are receiving treatment for severe anxiety and the majority avoid trigger words that might evoke further post-traumatic stress. They even refrain from wearing their uniforms out of school in efforts to disassociate themselves from questions or sympathies about the tragic event. One father reported that the children do not see themselves as “lucky” survivors but as victims and sinners, who he described as carrying an overbearing sense of guilt. With only 75 survivors and 13 classmates who did not go on the trip—nearly an entire grade wiped from the school—reminders of their “lucky” survivorship are all around, especially as they walk past the ghostly classrooms of vanished teachers and classmates.


Blame, anger and a nation in tears has been the result of the disaster of epic proportion. For three weeks following the ferry sinking programs were interrupted on television and both local and international news stations were dominated by updates on the recovery of bodies and the social and political repercussions throughout the nation. For at least three weeks express buses tuned their in-vehicle programming to the Sewol news updates. For nearly a month numerous petitions demanding careful investigation into the Sewol sinking were drawn up and made widely available in public places like at university gates and on popular street corners. Large candlelight ceremonies were held around the country with a particularly large one held on May 17 with an estimated 50,000 in attendance; the candle-bearing protesters demanded that a clear investigation and transparency on the disaster findings be conducted as well as for the resignation of President Park Guen-Hye. According to one of my students arrested in the candlelight vigil turned protest, 150 individuals were arrested on May 17 and an additional 97 on the 18th. He and those arrested with him spent two nights in jail before being released without charges. According to him and the others who were arrested, they were never clearly sure why they were detained; his classmates all agreed it was an “irony of the government”. Meanwhile, throughout Korea in public places long-streamered yellow ribbons in huge numbers are tied to trees and gates, many with prayers written upon them, to commemorate the deceased.

Blame is placed on the government and most particularly President Park Guen-Hye as head of the nation for not leading a proper and timely search-and-rescue, for the corrupt regulatory system allowing the Sewol to function despite laws set in place to institute safety, for failure to apprehend Yoo Byung-eun, a thought-to-be fanatic religious leader and owner of the vessel’s operator, the Chonghaejin Company, and who at present has a bounty of KRW500 million (approximately $490,000) on his head but still remains at large. On May 9 parents staged a sit-in protest at the Blue House while holding pictures of their deceased children. They demanded a meeting with the President but only an unknown woman unrelated to the incident got the President’s ear and participated in a photo shoot. The victims’ families say the President lacks a display of sincerity; her ratings as a leader have dropped to 40%, the lowest since her election one year ago.

Blame is on the principal of the high school, who in the past week was fired due to Sewol sinking related reasons. Blame is on Captain Lee Joon-seok and his crew for abandoning ship in violation of the seafarer’s law, which stipulates that crew members must assist their passengers of wrecked ships to safety before seeing to their own safety. The captain and three of his officers are charged with “homicide through willful negligence,” an indictment that comes with the death penalty if found guilty.  

Contributing causes for the sinking of the ferry are numerous. The one perhaps most commonly offered is the excessive and habitual overloading of the ferry to maximize monetary returns for the owner, more specifically that cargo tonnage replaced ballast water which jeopardized the ferry’s stability. This instability is suggested to have been further impacted by the recent renovations and additional construction of fourth and fifth level cabins weighing in at an increased 187 tons to accommodate a further 956 passengers, but displacing the ferry’s center of gravity by 51 centimeters (20 inches) and creating a top-heavy transport. The original captain, Shin, who was on vacation, was aware of the instability of the ship and cautioned his mates not to make a veer of more than 5 degrees. At the time of the sinking, Lee Joon-seok was captain and away from the helm while a novice to the route was navigating the ship. As the novice entered the treacherous Maenggol Waterway, a most dangerous sea route with strong currents, a 15 degree turn instead of a gentle 5 degree turn resulted in a gravity shift and displacement of cargo allegedly stacked perilously and not to guidelines. The consequent sudden displacement of cargo at 8:48am caused the ferry to list violently, take on water and completely overturning by 10:17am on April 16.

The nation once again mourns a large-scale national disaster. The sinking of the Sewol has been most frequently likened to the collapse of the Sampoong Department Store in Seoul occurring on June 29, 1995, in which 501 people lost their lives. The department store collapse brought the nation to tears and raised questions on integrity, proper management and accountability in the construction of that particular building and how future buildings were to be built. Again the nation mourns but this time with the loss of principally its children, the future of its nation. Repercussions of the disaster are already radiating out, and expected safety standards and changes in politics are already evident.



REFERENCES





The factual reporting of numbers has been a huge problem throughout the entire coverage of the entire Sewol disaster. The reports on the number of crew members have ranged from 14 to 29. Yet the first and most crushing numerical error reported was immediately after the Sewol was known to be floundering—parents were told through text messaging that all students had been reported rescued and were safe, but that number rapidly dropped to less than 40%. No wonder parents were so grief stricken after hope was offered and then snatched away. The number of passengers reportedly on board has changed continually, fluctuating between 462 and 477, as did the reported vehicles listed as ferry cargo, 150 to finally 180, and tonnage, 657 to finally 1157. Getting the “final numbers” even now, two months after the disaster, is still difficult as the latest numbers are being publicized.



Cheryl Magnant, MA, MA, Assistant Professor at Korea University, writes from South Korea where she has lived off and on since 1991.

[Published in Korean Quarterly, Vol 17, No 04, Summer 2014, p 8.]

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Korea, a Nirvana Treasure

Professor David Mason, 30 years an expat of Korea and currently working at Korean Cultural Tourism at Nam-Seoul University and as a researcher on religious characteristics of Korea's mountains, presented on "Korea as a Silent Nirvana Treasure Palace: The Legacy of Great Master Jajang-yulsa".

The abstract of his presentation reads:

"Early 7th-century Master Jajang (one of the most important revered Buddhist masters in Korea but not much known outside of Korea) can be credited with much of the foundation and early organization of the Silla Kingdom's Buddhism, and therefore what later became of Korean Buddhism. Yet, he remains notably under-appreciated in most reviews of that history. He remains the only monk honored with the title "yulsa" [Master of the Vinaya/Sangha; Benevolent Concealment Yulsa; Vinaya teacher, a master of how a temple functions, its rules, rituals and details] although it was attached to his posthumous name. Perhaps the most interesting part of his legacy, however, has been his implementation of the concept of Korea as a holy Buddhist nation on an equal footing with China and India, in his consecration of some of its major mountains and establishment of jeokmyeol-bogung [silent-nirvana treasure-palace] shrines within them. This presentation will detail what we know of his biography and accomplishments from the various available sources, and show dozens of photos of the spectacular sites that he founded, which are still among Korea's top pilgrimage destinations."

Master Jajang was born in 590 to an important aristocratic Kim family. His birth was supposed to be from the blessing from his father's 1000 prayers to Gwanse-eum-bosal and his mother dreaming of a star. He was born on the illustrious birthday of Buddha. By 12 years of age, he was known as diligent and brilliant, and by that young age he became a Buddhist student and practitioner.

It is important to note here that Buddhism started in the Silla Kingdom in 527 and he was born in 590, so Buddhism was "young". It was not well-organized and temples were not really established as yet.

After the death of his parents around 620, he renounced all worldly attachments, donated his estate as a temple, left home and retreated to the mountains where he meditated focused on a skeleton in a tiny hut he lined with thorny brambles to keep himself from dozing off. Over time, the meditations and ministrations of Jajang became known.

Because of his origins and growing reputation, he was called several times to serve as a high palace official by King Jinpyeong (r. 579-632), but he always decline the offer, finally writing to the king, "I would rather die keeping the precepts for one more day than five hundred years breaking them." The king relented in his persuasions and allowed the determined Jajang to become a bigu (Buddhist monk). Jajang was granted the five precepts, the criteria for becoming a monk (he had received the 5 Precepts by a "heavenly being" in a dream and that was considered sufficient).  

636 C.E. - 642 C.E. - in Tang, China

Monk Jajang lamented the lack of Buddhist knowledge in his "remote" nation, and so attained royal permission to leave Silla in 636, at the age of 46, and with 10 dongja ("youthful disciples") he went to seek advanced Buddhist education in Tang China. They first made pilgrimage to Wutai-shan to pay homage and pray to a clay statue of Munsu-bosal, the boddhavista for wisdom. The importance of Wutai-shan is that it is a Five Platform Mountain, the five platforms are earthly mounts for the celestial Buddhas. It was so famous for Buddhism that at the time the peaks were populated with no less than 250 temples for the boddhavista of wisdom (although only about 35 temples remain today). (The pattern and concept of the 5 Platforms at Wutai-shan, now a holy mountain for Buddhism in North Korea, was later brought back to Korea and Odae-san also having a uniquely similar 5 peaked platforms was rendered a Korean Buddhism pilgrimage site.)

Essentially, Buddha is from India and boddhavistas are from China, and so China, a more advanced country could accept religious concepts from another country by incorporating their own religious images. Likewise, Jajang was to establish temples in Korea on already recognized shamanic mountains and combine shamanic practices with the new Buddhism, and so the new religion were more palatable to the Korean commoners because of already known and established Korean traditions.

During his pilgrimage years (636-637) at Wutai-shan Monk Jajang had a series of revelatory mystical visions of Munsu-bosal and a dragon-king of Taihe Pond. In the dreams Jajang was advised to build a nine-storey pagoda, find similar mountains, and given precious gifts, the holy relics of Sokgamoni-bul or Sakyamuni Buddha. Those relics were 100 of the Buddha's sari/sarira, a fragment of his skull, his monastic robe (or a piece of it), and his wooden begging bowl (or a piece of it). With these relics he was to find other sites for temples to Buddha and there revere the relics given and gather others to do so too.

Monk Jajang then continued on to Tang, China where from 638 to 643 he received advanced Buddhist education in Zhongnan (now Chang-an, the Tang capital city), and where he built his own hut in the mountains outside of it. His studies included Consciousness-only (유식종), Vinaya (계울종), and Avatamsaka (화음종). In 643 he felt his studies were complete and received many gifts from the emperor who favored him before his departure.

Queen Seondeok has so captured the Korean's imagination that a very popular TV drama has been created portraying the woman who became a titular queen. Actually little is known about her except that she was very instrumental in establishing Buddhism in Silla, had a reputation as a wise ruler, and even the Chinese viewed her favorably.
Upon his return to Silla in 643 C.E. he was summoned to the court by Queen Seondeok (queen from 632-647 C.E.), who then authorized him to be a Buddhist monk and use the holy relics to establish new temples throughout her realm in order to consecrate its territory and spiritually inspire its citizens with the intention of expanding the authority of the empire. She also appointed him as Supreme Buddhist Overseer (antecedent to the title Guksa), granting him authority to impose structure and discipline on all Silla Buddhism. 

In result, he established the first Royal Office of Buddhism. He also founded the Korean Yul-jong (Vinaya School), which established regulations for registering temples and practicing Buddhist monasticism, and established exams for becoming and remaining a bigu or bigu-ni. He mandated Chinese-style robes and headgear. And these are the actions that accorded him the posthumous title of Master Jajang-yulsa, the only Korean monk with the formal yulsa title posthumously attached to his name.

Performing in the offices under Queen Seondeok, Master Jajang established six jeokmyeol-bogung [silent-nirvana treasure-palace], or rather six special holy sites in Korea which still stand today. The concept of 적멸 meaning "silent nirvana" or "sublime equanimity" and 보궁 meaning "treasure palace" was in total a shrine of higher status than a palace, a hall ( 전) or a pavilion (각). Together, jeokmyeol-bogung  means a shrine containing sari/sarira relics of Sakyamuni Buddha, and therefore was to be an especially holy site of Korean Buddhism and an object of pilgrimage and intensive veneration practices. [Origin was Geumgang-jwa [Diamond Throne] stupa under the Bodhi Tree.] 

To establish these venerable places, the sari/sarira which Master Jajang had brought from Tang were enshrined in a stone pagoda or budo reliquary monument in three cases, and in an earthen mound in two cases. All five extent ones are at sacred and scenic mountain sites -- two down in valleys, one at mid-altitude, and two up high near peaks. The vanished one had been buried under the central pillar of the Nine-storey Pagoda of Hwangryong-sa Temple in the old center of Gyeongju City in 645, but when the great tower was destroyed by Mongol invaders in the 1200s, the sari were never recovered. This one is the only one within a UNESCO World Heritage Site. (Any connection to UNESCO that South Korea can make, they do so.)

Source: Plans to rebuild one of Korea's oldest temple, Hwangryong-sa
The building of Hwangryong-sa was an amazing feat at that time for it was the tallest religious structure known to be erected in Asia at that time. China and Japan, due to geologic features, could not build such a tall structure. Each tier on the 9-storey pagoda was an incredible 9 meters tall!
The 6 jeokmyeol-bogung temples created by Master Jajang:

  • 2 are now in national parks
  • 2 are in provincial parks
  • 2 are in protected areas
  • Interestingly, all six have different monument styles, various pagoda and mounds

To establish temples with good ki (energy), commanding views, natural springs, and mountain vegetables to name a few, Master Jajang scoped out the mountain range that is the spine of the Korean peninsula. On his first trip he went north and granted the major mountains Buddhist names, to sacralize them and the entire region.

Duta-san
Odae-san
Seorak-san
Geumgang-san


On a subsequent trip, he went south and identified other major mountains for dedication to Buddhist temples -- but these did not house sari or sarira, although some make later claim to do so.

Taebaek-san
Songni-san
Deokyu-san
Youngchi-san
Jiri-san


Mt. Odae-san, Korea's Wutai-shan, and literally meaning Five (Platform) Mountain was the site for Woljeong-sa or "Moon-Vitality Temple" and was founded in 643 C.E.





In Seorak-san, Bongjeong-am Jeokmyeol-bogung was established in 643 C.E.




Also in 643 C.E. Beopheung-sa was built on Saja-san.



The 5th special holy site housing the jeokmyeol-gogung temples created by Master Jajang was established in 646 C.E. Yang-san Yeongchwi-san, otherwise known as "Vulture Peak" (named after a revered mountain in India, the home of Buddhism) houses one of Korea's grandest Buddhist Temples, is designated as a national treasure of Korea, is considered the "capital" of Korean Buddhism, and is proposed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.




The Geumgang Gyedan (National Treasure #290) is a Jeokmyeol-bogung Budo still used as a main ordination alter for the Jogye Order, for Gujokgye Ceremonies; and it remains a major pilgrimage destination.  
Korea has a unique system of Sambo Sachal (Temples of the Three Treasures). The Three Treasures comprise Buddha (Yeongchwi-san Tongdo-sa), Dharma (Gaya-san Haein-sa), and Sangha (Jogye-san Songgwang-sa)




The death of Master Jajang

Jajang-yulsa passed into Nirvana in 658 C.E. at 68 years of age, just a decade before Silla Unification.  He was living in retirement at Suda-sa in Gangneung, had a dream of a spirit who told him to meet at Daesong-deong. He went there and met Munsu-boal, who told him to meet again at Taebaek-san. He climbed the mountain and found a galbanji snake. He waited at jeongam-sa, then a strange shabby monk came by and bluntly asked to see him, but monks or followers or others drove him off as a rude madman, but he turned out to be Munsu-bosal. Jajang chased his light until he died at the southern pass. He was cremated and enshrined in a cave.

The legacy of Master Jajang

By establishing the six original Jeokmyeol-bogung temples, and sacralizing Munsu-bong of holy Taebaek-san, and granting Buddhist names to major mountains, establishing shrines within them, Jajang consecrated the mountains of Silla's East Coast, and sacralized all of Korea as a "Holy Land", equivalent in Buddhist sacredness to China and India, but stamping his development of Buddhism with a unique Korean flavor.

Master Jajang founded the Korean Yul-jong (Vinaya School), becoming the first, primary and possibly only "yulsa". He advised the building of the great 71-meter Pagoda at Hwangryong-sa and made it his headquarters.

Master Jajang sacralized only six Jeokmyeol-bogung, but other temples with their own historic tales make claim that they too have Jeokmyeol-bogung status.

Mt. Moak-san, Geumsan-sa
Mt. Biseul-san, Yongyeon-sa
Mt. Seorak-san, Baekdam-sa
Mt. Jiri-san, Ssanggye-sa
Mt. Songni-san, Beopju-sa
Mt. Bangjang-san, Dasol-sa
and the 10-storey pagoda at Seoul's Jogye-sa

Other famous temples claim that Master Jajang founded them, a total of 34, including the popular cluster at Mt. Seorak-san:

Sinheung-sa
Baedam-sa
Ose-am
Gyejo-am
Naewon-am
Bongjeong-am


Other famous temples that claim that he founded them are:

Mt. Palgong-san, Sudo-sa
Cheonan Gwangdeok-san, Gwangdeok-sa
Jeonbuk Gochang Munsu-am, Munsu-sa
Yeongdeok Chilbo-san, Yugeum-sa
Jajang-am Hermitages at Tongdo-sa, Oeo-sa and etc.
Several temples in Gangneung city and Ulsan City

And for further information about Master Jajang-yulsa, go to www.san-shin.org.

Thursday, May 8, 2014

The Wafting Scent of Acacia (Locust) Trees

Common Name: Black Locust, Yellow Locust, Locust Tree, Robinia, False Acacia - The name locust tree is attributed to the religious sects that immigrated to North America in the 17th Century. According to the Bible, John the Baptist ate locusts and wild honey (Matthew 3:4). The "locusts" are believed to have been pods of the Carob tree, a member of the legume or pea family indigenous to the Middle East. Since the Locust tree resembles the Carob tree, its name reflects the biblical reference. The Carob tree is also called Saint John's Bread, and, ironically, Locust tree.

In Korea, the fragrant tree grows prolifically in steep mountainous areas in and around cities. For two weeks in the spring the surrounding area is permeated with a glorious scent. In the past even the scent was introduced to gums and toothpaste, as mint was not deemed a clean flavor but the flavor of acacia was. [I have to say I found the flavor nauseating as a mouth freshener ... but then as a westerner I like minty freshness when I brushed my teeth. In recent years I haven't seen acacia flavor in either gum or acacia, and now mint is being popularized.]

Scientific Name: Robinia pseudoacacia - The genus is named for Jean Robin, the herbalist of the King Henri IV of France who introduced the tree to the Jardin des Plantes in Paris. The species name means "false acacia" which also reflects the similarity in the appearance with the Acacia tree, also a member of the legume or pea family.

The black locust is indigenous to the lower slopes of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. It has hard, strong, handsome dark brown wood that is virtually impervious to fungal decay. The longevity of locust wood is an article of faith in the lore and legend of agrarian society; locust fence posts reportedly lasting for over one hundred years and pioneer homes with locust corner posts still standing. It was used in virtually any application calling for high strength and durability, notably tool handles, dowels and pins to fasten the planks to the ribs of wooden ships, hubs for wagon wheels, and gates. Due to its resistance to decay, it was also used as an alternative to teakwood for ship decking, paneling and floorboards. The aesthetic appearance of the wood led to its use in furniture, notably tabletops and music cabinets. However, the quality of Locust tree wood is dependent on a number of environmental conditions. When grown in poor soils, the wood is harder and denser due the slower growth relative to faster growing trees in fertile soils, which tend to be brittle. Forest grown Locust trees produce straight, limbless trunks; those grown in the open tend to be crooked and forked.

Since Black Locust is a legume, it has specialized bacteria living in swellings called root nodules. These bacteria reduce free nitrogen from the air to produce ammonia, which is "fixed" in the soil, and which can then be used by other crops to improve their yield. The robust root structure rapidly spreads from an original parent tree to produce groves of clones through the process of root suckering. This led to its promotion by state and federal agencies as a means of erosion control, particularly in areas of coal strip mine reclamation. It is considered a threat to vegetation outside its native range due to its aggressive, rapid growth. It is difficult to control because trying to eradicate it by plowing or digging so as to damage the roots only serves to further accelerate the growth.

Because of its many attributes, the Locust tree has been spread by the conscious actions of good-intentioned arborists throughout the world. It was one of the first New World trees to be exported to Europe, entering England in the 1630's. Ebenezer Jessup proposed that ten thousand acres of Locust trees be planted for the British Navy in 1791. In the early 1800's William Corbett, the author of The English Gardener, promoted the Locust tree, predicting that it would eventually replace all hardwoods in Britain. He established nurseries that sold the trees at inflated prices. However, the zeal abated when the resultant trees were found to be excessively brittle and forked, probably due to the environmental factors of soil condition and tree density. The Locust tree has been a great success as an introduced tree in Israel, China, the Himalayas and New Zealand. In Korea, it is used as a biomass source in fuel-wood plantations due to its rapid growth. A fifth of Hungary's forests are planted with the Locust tree, predominantly a cultivar named "Shipmast Locust" that originated in New York.

The resistance of the Locust tree to decay is due to chemicals that it produces that are toxic to some forms of life, particularly insects and fungi. Some testing has been done to try to isolate these chemicals, for potential use as natural wood preservatives. High concentrations of a flavenoid called robinetin and a fungal growth inhibitor called taxifolin are thought to play a role. Ironically, parts of the locust tree are consumed as food by both humans and animals. Honey produced by bees from Locust tree nectar is considered among the finest in the world; the Robinia or Acacia Honey from the Danube River basin is of worldwide renown The seed pods are edible when cooked, and the flowers are used to make fritters and are added as a flavoring to pancake batter.. Locust leaves are used for animal fodder in the Himalayas and Bulgaria.

Behind Korea University are thick stands of acacia trees. A honey-making group came in during the two weeks in spring when the acacia were gloriously in blossom and temporarily planted 45 beehives amongst the blossoming acacia. A makeshift tented area was also set up beside and honey was jarred in it. People passing could purchase large near-gallon-sized jars filled with the light flowing honey. Acacia honey is highly prized in Korea!
45 beehives lined up as organized as possible on the uneven slopes.
45 beehives ... transported around. They were in this spot for slightly less than 2 weeks.

The toxicity of the Locust tree is also responsible for its historic use as a treatment for disease. The Cherokee Indians chewed the root bark to induce vomiting and to ameliorate the pain of a toothache. The flowers contain the glycoside robinin, which has been shown experimentally to act as a diuretic. A tea made from the flowers was used to treat everything from headache to nausea. Juice from the leaves purportedly inhibited viruses.


Above info (pictures excluded) from The Hiker's Notebook
The Hiker has other fantastically rich nature resources at The Hiker's Notebook.net.

Friday, May 2, 2014

Other Lantern Festival Creations

The prelude days of the lantern festival for Buddha's birthday and for several days after paper lantern images and lanterns of more durable material are aesthetically placed around the Chogyesa temple where the lantern festival culminates. Other lantern imagery are in the Cheongyecheon Stream, the recently uncovered stream of cool flowing water that now, in an act of urban renewal, adds a touch of peace and relaxation to the Seoul megapolis as it flows through it. Eight kilometers of the river were originally uncovered and made into a culture park. The work continues in an on-going highly successful urban beautification process. Since this stream is located within easy walking distance and is a site for lovers, office workers, classmates, bookworms and more to wander and congregate, and because it is also a site for art displays, every year now in the center of the stream are more lantern festival displays. 

In front of the Chogyesa Temple:

The displays in front of the Chogyesa Temple make sense here considering that the representative flower for Buddhism is the water lily, the flower that grows out of the mud and emerges in perfection, just as a human emerges from the mud of humanity and yet can reach the perfection of enlightenment.





Shops marketing Buddhist relics:

Just outside of the main gate of the Chogyesa are a series of shops marketing prayer beads, monk robes, musical instruments used in meditation, and paper water lily lanterns. As it is a Buddhist festival season, many paper lanterns are hung to advertise the event and market their wares.



In the flowing Cheongyecheon:

In the Cheongyecheon stream are an on-going display of figures of more durable material than the paper lanterns that would be quickly damaged by splashing water. Many underlying themes appear in the festival but some of the most common are themes of Buddhism, on historical figures, referencing filial piety, fairy tales and themes of myths and legends.








Other areas where some of the large paper lanterns used during the festival are near the famous Kyungbokkung, another site within quick walking distance of the Chogyesa. Seoul's streets often feature artwork or displays honoring some event or festival and the while the Cheongyecheon stream and near Kyunbokkung palace host the most frequent street entertainment displays, around Buddhist holidays the Chogyesa temple is right in the middle of the entertainment foray.