Ritz-Carlton Magazine - Spring 2013 - (Page 92)
Seoul’S art Scene iS
particularly vibrant —
from edgy new gallerieS
to the maSSive national
muSeum of Korea.
T HE SW EET SCIENCE
From top: At Hap, a
legendary confectionary,
famed for its flavored traditional dduk (rice cake);
the statue of King Sejong,
the creator of Hangul, the
Korean alphabet system,
in Gwanghwamun Square
with Bugaksan Mountain in the background.
92
w w w. r i t z c a r lt o n . c o m
as cities go, Seoul is not the most beautiful. In
a haste to rebuild and develop the country after
the Korean War, ugly, concrete apartments and
office buildings were carelessly erected without any regard to architecture. The city now
makes it a priority to commission architecturally significant buildings — Dongdaemun
Plaza, the massive cultural center by Zaha
Hadid, opening next year, is one example —
but unsightly rectangle structures still dominate the skyline.
Given this, one of the most unexpected sites
to stumble upon in this jungle is Bongeunsa,
a Buddhist temple built in A.D. 794 that sits
next to COEX, South Korea’s biggest underground mall. While nowhere as magnificent as
some of the 900 temples scattered elsewhere
in the lush mountains and villages throughout the country, Bongeunsa illustrates the
yin-yang quality of Seoul, proving it possible
to find complete peace in the middle of one of
the city’s busiest business districts. (A more
tranquil temple is Bongwonsa, on Ahnsan
mountain, featuring impressive murals of the
underworld’s judges and 16 Arahat statues.)
The latter decades of the Joseon Dynasty
marked the beginning of what is perhaps
Korea’s most painful history, the beginning of
overwhelming han, an untranslatable feeling
that combines resentment, sorrow, anger,
bitterness and regret. After avoiding invasion
by its imperialistic neighbors for more than
two centuries, Korea — then known as the
Hermit Kingdom — was forced open for trade
in 1876. The Japanese invaded the Korean
peninsula in 1905, and five years later they
named it a colony. For the next three decades,
the Japanese attempted to eradicate Korean
culture, forcing the adoption of Japanese
names, language and the Shinto religion.
Perhaps the best place to understand these
dark years is the Seodaemun Prison, where
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Ritz-Carlton Magazine - Spring 2013
Ritz-Carlton Magazine - Spring 2013
Contents
Contributors
Editor’s Letter
President’s Letter
Falling in Love With ... Los Angeles
Design
Technology
On the Boulevards
Shopping
Jewelry
Watches
Family
Local Knowledge
Sports
Abu Dhabi
Seoul
Fashion
Culinary
Let Us Stay With You
Heritage
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