in London at last!

My flight arrived about an hour late this morning. We were stuck flying around the airport for ages before we could land. Then we had to wait for our gate... nothing more annoying when you're on a flight than to sit for forty minutes staring at the airport out the window!! Oh well. I got in a cab (yes the fancy black ones, though mine was blue) and a half hour into the journey I realized that I should have tried to navigate the train with my luggage... another "oh well."

I wasn't too keen on taking a cab into the city, but there was a time constraint with Lisa having to get to work and we just thought it would be faster and easier. It wasn't. That's all I have to say about that.

Lisa's house

I arrived after Lisa left for work, but her flatmate Kate was here to greet me with a coffee. I wandered around the house in a daze for a while then decided to take a nap. I couldn't sleep, so I managed to log on to the wireless internet (!) here and check my mail and facecrack. Then I did take a nap - for about two and a half hours, which will hopefully get me through until it's bedtime.

Warning!

After I woke I went for a walk in the area. It's a very pretty neighbourhood just west of the city center... I believe it's called Kilburn, anyway, the nearest Tube station is Queen's Park, which is on the Bakerloo Line.

Around the neighbourhood... old trees have all been chopped like this

A neat entryway...

No drinking!!!

My walk took me to Queen's Park, which was part of the 1879 Royal Kilburn Agricultural Show, attended by none other than Queen Victoria. After the show the 30 acre site was given up for "free use and enjoyment by the public", and so, in 1886, the City of London acquired the land. The park was originally named Kilburn Recreation Ground, until the Queen gave her permission to rename it in honour of her Golden Jubilee. Queen's Park was officially opened on November 5th 1887 - exactly 120 years and one month ago.

In the park

So here I sit in Lisa's lovely living room. I'm going to take a shower and get ready for a couple of Lisa's friends who are coming round for dinner - Thai green curry!!! mmmmm... So, until we meet again, which should be soon... coming up: looking for a job and a flat.

the Bonghwang-dong

no, i'm not writing about dirty things... this post is about the area in gimhae known as bonghwang-dong (dong being akin to 'hood). this is a historically significant area that has recently been renovated to increase it's importance. basically gimhae has been home to people since the bronze age and this particular area housed the ruling class of the Geumgwan Gaya period. it is also the site of the first archeological excavation in korea (in 1920).

really it's a nifty little park now. i'd never visited it though it's been in the back of my mind since fall. i pass by it all the time and today i was walking by and decided to finally check it out.

a map of the whole area. i basically walked around the whole thing in about 30 minutes.

at the front entrance (bottom left of the map) there is a big field where kids play and families picnic. to the right of the field there's a little 'lake' (more of a dirty pond...) which is sort of neat because it has a traditional boat sitting in the middle. on the shore there are raised houses in the style that would have been here hundreds of years ago.

see the boat? and the house? there's a walkway that goes out over the water.

here's a better shot of the boat. (it's actually filled with water.)

i veered into the wooded area to walk around the whole area. when i got to the top i found the Hwangse Rock. i'm lucky the area was renovated in the last few years because that meant signs in korean, english, and japanese, so i could actually learn about the area.

the hwangse rock.

the rock is significant because the son of the prime minister of the Garak period hung out here with his girlfriend, before he knew she was a chick. they played the "urinating game" (whatever that is) here, of course, she couldn't pee standing up and had to trick him using a peice of bamboo. i know, it sounds really weird. here's what the actual sign says:

Hwangse was the prime minister Hwang’s son at the time when the King Gyeomji (Suk King), the ninth king of Garak, governed the country. The prime minister Hwang and Chul were friends and made the promise that if they had a son each, they would be sworn brothers and if they had a son and a daughter respectively, they would be married. The prime minister Chul told Hwang the lie that Yeoeui was a man when the Hwang’s family was ruined.
Hwangse and Yeoeui was brought up together. One day Hwangse suggested the urinating game to Yeoeui. Yeoeui evaded the crisis by using hemp stalk. This game happened at the place call the Hwangse Rock now.
Yeoeui became feminine as she was growing up. Hwangse doubted her sexual identity so he suggested her that they went to the Geobuknae for a bath. Yeoeui was at a loss for the suggestion and confessed the fact that she was a woman. Finally they made a promise to be married.
Afterward, Hwangse got married to the princess Yumin according to the order of the King in compensation for winning the war with Shilla. Yeoeui missed the general Hwangse and was dead. Hwangse also missed Yeoeui, became sick and died at the year when Yeoeui was dead. And the sad legend that the princess Yumin left home to the mountain Yumin and became a Buddhist nun has been handed down.

uh, ya, ok. sorry for making you read that... but it's kind of funny isn't it? (on a side note i wonder about the translations of historic sites in canada and if they sound as bad in other languages as the korean ones do in english...)

the bonghwang-dong is also home to the Yeoeuigak. a shrine to Yeoeui.

up the stairs to the shrine.

and a little further there is another area with raised houses and other traditional buildings.

raised houses and semi-underground buildings were typical in the Gaya period.

this was a neat little area. you can't get in any of the buildings, but they're neat to look at. i'm going to put up some more pictures on my flickr account if you're interested. that's pretty much the bonghwang-dong. it was a nice walk on a beautiful day with a little history lesson to boot!

Samil

(or korean independence movement day)

today was a national holiday. all that really means for us waegooks is that we get a day off work, but i was curious to know why we got to party until the wee hours of the morn... so i looked into it.

on march 1, 1919, the korean independence movement began. 'samil' which translates literally to three one (month/day) was inspired by then US president Woodrow Wilson's 14 point proclamation and the 1919 Paris Peace Conference. he declared and end to colonial rule in countries that were ruled by the victors of WW1. many koreans, under japanese rule, thought they too would be released from their oppressors.

with Wilson's proclamation in mind, korea sent a delegation to the conference in February 1919, but they were refused the right to vote. there was a secret pact between the US, Japan, and France to exclude Korea and Indochina from the treaty. this, obviously, did not sit well with the koreans who thought they would be gaining their independence. so, on march 1, students and christians from around the country led the samil anti-japanese march.

women protesting the japanese colonial rule of korea.

a declaration of independence was read throughout the country:

“Today marks the declaration of Korean independence. There will be peaceful demonstrations all over Korea. If our meetings are orderly and peaceful, we shall receive the help of President Wilson and the great powers at Versailles, and Korea will be a free nation.”

nearly two million people joined the march in thousands of villages across Korea. a peaceful protest took place, with christians singing hymns, and students chanting 'independence'.

the christian leaders were crucified.

the protests were brought to a brutal end by the japanese who fired into the nonviolent crowds. some of the christian organizers were crucified, school children were beheaded, and churches were burned down. korean history counts over 7,500 people killed, 15,000 injured, and upwards of 45,000 arrested. (the japanese numbers are much lower.)

many koreans were brutally murdered by the japanese.

as a side note - some say that the samil was (partly) triggered by the death of King Kojong, who was beleived to have been poisoned by the japanese for trying to send a secret message to the paris conference. march 1, was the day of mourning for his death.

*information and pictures courtesy of Lee Wha Rang. click the link for more on samil.