36°43'37.36"N 128°50'35.51"E
 |
| (from Wikipedia) |
When you think of South Korea, you'll associate it to K-Pop, to heavy technological industrialization or even to the tensions it has with the "other" Korea. However, besides this stuff, South Korea has also a traditional side where the most representative place is the Andong Hahoe Village. This hamlet is said to be the capital of Korea's traditional culture as it stuns in architecture and festivals and was even chosen as a highlight during the Korean visit of Queen Elisabeth II. But maybe the most impacting fact is that the inhabitants are stuck in the past: the houses are made of mud, they cook with firewood instead of ovens and a simple television would look otherworldly here.
The story tells that the founders of Hahoe were a group of intellectual Confucian scholars, although, they weren't very original at choosing a name. That's almost a fact because Hahoe literally means "Where the river turns around", as it is built next to a river meander (a meander is precisely where a river turns around). On the other hand, they thought too much while planning the village. Hahoe has supposedly the shape of a sailboat (I can't see it though) with a central 600-year old tree acting as a sail. This tree has interesting facts to tell, but firstly I end up saying that the residences of the nobles are in the middle, surrounded by the peasants' houses which are built looking at all directions (something unusual in South Korea, as here, most houses look to the south).
 |
| Samsindang Tree (from Wikimapia) |
Now, in what concerns the tree, it has its own name which is Samsindang and it is said to be the residence of the goddess Samsin. Additionally, the tree is very important since it hosts one of the highlights of the Andong Mask Dance Festival (this highlight is a dramatic theater show dedicated to Samsin where performers act with the traditional masks we're going to comment right now).
 |
| A great variety of Hahoetal (from Wikipedia) |
These masks receive the name of Hahoetal and their legend is the following: once upon a time, a craftsman called Heo was ordered by a spirit to do 12 of this masks to save Andong Hahoe Village from a famine, with the requirement that nobody had to see him crafting them. Well, guess what? A girl who was in love with him did, therefore the spirit killed Heo; the girl would later die of sadness. After this tragic end, the other villagers honor Heo every year with these traditional dances and a big parade. Another detail that can't be missed are the particular fireworks of Andong; which consist in setting fire to some bags filled with charcoal that hang from a rope. This rope is hung from one side of the river to the other, making it all look more epic.
So after all this unique culture at Andong Hahoe Village, no wonder they are an UNESCO World Heritage Site. As a matter of fact, its one of the two places in the Andong Region which has this denomination, so, which is the other one? The answer is Dosan Seowon, pictured on top of this blog entry.
As an introduction to this building complex, you have to know that a seowon is basically a traditional Confucian academy which dates from the Middle Ages, and that is native from South Korea. This particular case of Dosan Seowon was one of the most important at a time, deserving not only being an UNESCO World Heritage Site, but also appearing on the 1000 ₩ banknote.
 |
| 1000₩ banknote with a picture of Dosan Seowon (from Wikipedia) |
The construction was started in the 16th century by a Confucian scholar called Yi Hwang who spent 4 years of his life in this mount, building the main part of Dosan Seowon. This made him lose contact with the world and regard an apricot tree as his best friend (in other words, he got a bit crazy for us westerners; but is a sort of an idol for Confucians as the apricot tree symbolizes the three Confucian virtues and living in contact with nature is a form of harmony).
 |
| Yi Hwang (from Wikimedia Commons) |
No comments:
Post a Comment