Sarah in Korea & Cambodia (Sarah Altier) : CHEONJU

We’re staying in the beautiful town of Cheonju, which was the capital of the Silla dynasty. The whole town is on the Korean National Register of historic places, and it is very picturesque. The Silla dynasty united Korea, and Cheonju is the burial place of the first Silla king, Park Hyuk Geose. It was pouring down rain, but that didn’t keep us from visiting the sites next to a well where the king was born from an egg laid by a horse (yes, this is the creation myth of the Silla) and his queen was hatched from an egg, complete with beak, but turned into a girl. After hatching, they founded the dynasty. We visited the five mounds of his tomb. Why five mounds, you ask? Well, as the king fell down dead his body was divided into five parts. His followers tried to put the body back together, but a serpent kept them from doing it so they buried him in five parts. (see photo of a cartoon version of this story below)

We were actually allowed to enter the “Ceon-Ma-Chong tomb" because they haven’t been able to figure out who was buried there. Since they don’t know who it was, evidently they’re not offending anyone by letting people enter. It’s called the “heavenly horse tomb” because of a painting found within. We were happy we were able to enter because the rain was still coming down in torrents. But eventually we had to leave our ghoulish shelter and face the weather again.

By the time we reached Gyeong Ju National Museum we were on information overload. A very knowledgeable expert took us through three buildings at the museum, but unfortunately most of what she told us was not absorbed as it was all becoming a bit overwhelming. Ooops, one very important thing that actually made quite an impression on me and all of our group: Many artifacts in the museum are evidence that Korea was the last stop on the Silk Road. Of particular note was the Roman glass found in the area and now housed in the museum. For example, a necklace of glass beads, one of which has four faces and other images crafted into the glass. The faces on this bead are not Korean faces – they look western. Some glass water vessels and other items are further evidence. Also of note is the Divine Bell of King Seongdeok, which is the largest in Asia. It weighs 25 tons and, though the bell is never rung anymore, it is said that the resonance of its sound reaches ears 3 kilometers away.

On another note, as we venture out of Seoul in more rural areas to the south we find that sitting on the floor is more and more common at restaurants. Various aches and pains felt by members of the group have been exacerbated by our extended floor sitting. I can do it, but if I can’t move my legs they go to sleep pretty quickly – and it is almost impossible to move your legs when they’re under the low Korean tables. We ate at one interesting restaurant where you sit on the floor and two servers brought our tables – fully set out with dishes. Korean style dining consists of little saucer-like dishes filled with small “side dishes” that everyone shares. No one seems to mind the fact that we’re using our chopsticks both as serving utensils and eating utensils (shared saliva – ew). Anyway, there’s always a few different kinds of kimchi – pickled cabbage, pickled radishes, etc. Eggplant is a frequent offering – but if you are sitting at a table for four there will only be four pieces of eggplant (or whatever is in the side dish) served. But there will probably be about 10 different side dishes on each table. Trouble with this “side dish” style of eating that often it’s hard to tell if there is a main dish! It all tastes good and there’s always plenty of rice but it gets a bit redundant.

Traditional Korean restaurant - waiting for the tables to arrive

Because Cheonju is such an historic place it is a major tourist destination, so there are plenty of amenities there. We are staying at a beautiful Hilton Hotel on a lake, and there is a pretty impressive amusement park right across the lake from my balcony. Speaking of my balcony, that’s a misnomer, because it’s actually a beautifully landscaped terrace. I don’t know how I rated the “garden floor” but my room is gigantic and the terrace is just lovely – though we’re so busy I haven’t had time to just sit out on it and relax. From my terrace I can also see the Cheonju tower, which is made with a pagoda shape cut out from the center of the building. It’s quite spectacular.