Shamanism

Musim, the indigenous shamanistic belief system/practice, has permeated Christianity and Buddhism in Korea, and is considered the third largest spiritual practice in the country. Generally women are the shamans, or mudang, who perform the kut (gut) ceremonies. Photo shot in Yongin, outside of Seoul in Gyeonggi Province.

Museum

Pensive Bodhisattva Maitreya from the Three Kingdoms Period.
Joseon period Buddhist bronze gong with beautifully carved wooden hanger, carried on the back of a smiling creature. This piece is from the 19C, the Joseon Dynasty existed from 1392 - 1910 C.E. the year the Japanese occupation began.
Stone Buddha with vajra mudra gesture from the Silla Period (57 BCE - 935 CE).
Man smiling, watching movies on iPhone.

Tourist

DMZ Guard and a European tourist in a conference room at the MDL (Military Demarcation Line) of the Demilitarized Zone.

DMZ

Detail of strange sunken garden at the Advance Camp of the DMZ.

What would Coyote Do? sticker at the Freedom Bridge (for Erika), with messages and prayers tied onto fence.
Because the DMZ has been mainly off limits to humans for the past 50+ years, numerous endangered species have returned, and it is studied widely by biologists and environmental scientists.
Tourists with security mirror.
The DMZ Panmunjeom is difficult to describe, as it is so complex and surreal. There were many stops on the tour to various places of historic significance that melded into a perception of the “place” as tragic but also hyper-real simulation of war and peace being held in a state of suspended animation. The series of stops we made were at places with names like Advance Camp, Freedom Bridge, Look-out Complex, Amusement Park, Joint Security Area, Briefing Room, Freedom Village, Bridge of No Return, while seeing from a distance what is called Propaganda Village. These are simultaneously military installations, political symbols, tourist spectacles and sacred spaces for contemplating the losses of the past and desires for the future.

Everland

Two of the Korean University of the Arts students, Su-kyung is a video artist doing work about architecture and dreams; Kang is a graffiti artist doing large scale works in public places in relation to recent socio-political events in Korea.
Kaycie is making an animation about the history of the KNUA site (it used to be the headquarters of the South Korean CIA), and Kate is working on a video (for which she collaborated with Hye-kyung) and a handmade book.
Ji-hyun is making paintings and drawings about being a suspect in a crime he did not commit. Ji-hyun, Su-kyung and Kang often collaborate on projects together.

Blinky Lights

A little iMovie I made of a lighting store in the industrial area near the Bangsan Market in the Chungyo-dong district.

Hardware

Above: Lovely Hardware Store. Below: The Street of Alchemy.

After landing at 4:00 am, arrived bleary-eyed at the hotel to find that they had no record of the reservation, nor confirmation, or credit card receipt, nor any record of my name or the institute's. There were no rooms available, and so went to the hotel next door (no rooms there either), but there was free wireless in the lobby. The desk clerk kindly assisted in finding a hotel, which by good chance, is in the vast and amazing hardware/materials district of Seoul, my favorite neighborhood! Last year I had purchased some cable connectors at an excellent hardware store, and from there explored a side street of steel fabricators and blacksmiths. Somehow I had a sense there is an older history there. The hotel where I ended up is across the street from where the "street of alchemists" begins at Euljiro 4-ga.

Wonder

Directly across from my hotel, at the beginning of the "street of alchemy" is the big KT sign, the landmark I use as a navigational device.