School of ROK: Jongmyo and Changgyeonggung

I promise this won't be as bloated as the last photo post, or at least I'll do my best! But Nana and I spent yesterday gadding about town (which for two dorks like us usually includes at least one UNESCO World Heritage Site) . . . and I thought that y'all might be interested. So here goes.

We started by taking the Metro to Jongo and entering the Jongmyo-Changgyeongung complex from the park side (you can also enter through the palace gate). Apparently, the park outside Jongmyo is the place for old Korean men (exclusively men) to hang out on a hot Saturday afternoon . . . and do nothing. Absolutely nothing. We found quite a few clusters of old men scattered around the Jongmyo grounds, too. They were apparently undeterred by the whopping 1000W ($1) admission fee. (Edit by Nana: I believe there is no fee for the over-65)

So, Jongmyo, yes. Jongmyo (aka "Chongmyo") is the ancestral shrine of the Joseon (aka "Choson") dynasty--i.e., the guys who ruled Korea for a really long time, ending in 1915 with the Japanese occupation. (These were the same folks responsible for Gyeongbokgung, and for those turtle boats, too.)

At Jongmyo, the ruling king and (the men of) his royal family would gather for elaborate ceremonies honoring the family's deceased kings and queens--which not only included actual kings and queens, but often also any non-royal grandparents of any kings, who were made kings and queens posthumously. As you might have guessed, then, the place is huge. In fact, my sourced tell me (read: I found it on Wikipedia), the main hall at Jongmyo is the longest traditional building in Korea. (Edit by Nana: While he was taking these pictures, I was reading the signs, and the sign said that it's the longest)

And it's pretty big, in a way that these photos can't quite capture. The top photo at left is about 1/2 of the hall, and those kids are about 1/2 of the distance between the camera and the hall. In the bottom photo, I'm standing about at about 1/2 of the way to about 1/5 of the hall.

The rites, as described by a small exhibit and a video (thankfully) subtitled in English, are pretty complicated affairs, and are still performed once yearly by the descendants of the Joseon royal clan. They basically involve offering a full feast, including booze, to the spirit tablets of the deceased, which reside in the hall year-round. (Two other halls--an annex for posthumous royals and another for distinguished retainers--also house spirit-tablet shrines.) Unclear what happens to the food after the ceremony--though during the ceremony, some of it is burned. At right are just a few of the 40-odd ritual utensils laid out before each of the 100-some shrines at Jongmyo for the ceremonies each year. (These are the jars for the booze.)

After Jongmyo, then, we crossed over a footbridge into Changgyeonggung, the adjacent palace used as a summer home by Goryeo and Joseon kings. (Though why anyone would want to spend their summers in such a brightly-lit palace is beyond me.) On the way, though, we had a moment of confusion. Hills, ravines, out-of-control vegetation . . . wait, how did we get back to Pittsburgh? Witness my confusion. This will not be the last time you see this look on my face.

And, yes, Changgyeonggung. Itself sort of a humdrum palace (we wanted to cross into Changdeokgung, another UNESCO World Heritage Site, but it appeared to be closed), Changgyeonggung does offer some signature views of Seoul, such as at right, with the palace rooftops in the foreground and N'Seoul Tower in the back. (N'Seoul Tower = project for another day.) Alternately, you've got more palace rooftops fronting cityscape at left.

Finally, last but not least, the signature Seoul experience--turning your back on a bunch of skyscrapers and being suddenly reminded that you're surrounded by mountains. Yes, Seoul sits on just about the biggest stretch of flat land in the entire country, with maybe one exception in the southeast. The rest is all jagged peaks, not terribly high, but terribly steep. Can't wait to get up to some of them and hike around a bit. (Nana can wait, though.)