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 http://WWW.RITZCARLTON.COM

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

Ritz-Carlton Magazine - Spring 2013

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