One historical site in Gyeongju you probably won’t find in the tourist literature is Gyeongju Jinja, located in an alley behind Daegu Bank in Seobu-dong.
Built in 1928, it’s one of the few remaining examples of Japanese Shinto shrine architecture in Korea.
During the colonial period, Shinto shrines could be found throughout Korea [Naver blog, Korean]. Through June 1945, there were two jingu (large shrines attached to the Imperial House of Japan), 77 jinja and 1062 smaller shrines.
Most, of course, were destroyed after Liberation, including the massive imperial jingu on Mt. Namsan in Seoul [Naver blog, Korean]. Nevertheless, a few shrine buildings are still hanging around, including the one in Gyeongju, which is now being used as an office of the ROK Marine Corps Veterans Association.
The shrine currently seems to be undergoing some restoration work. The ROK Marine Corps Veterans Association did most of their work at the small annex building—also clearly Japanese—next to the shrine. The posters on the door, coincidentally, draw our attention to another forgotten and often underappreciated (at least by Americans) part of Korean history—Korea’s Vietnam War veterans.
One Korean Vietnam vet has a blog with a lot of stories and photos from the Korean side of the war—if you read Korean, be sure to check it out.
24 Comments
did you try any of the gjeongju 빵 while you were down there?
the link to the vet’s site doesnt work
Seungyup—Link fixed. Thanks for the head’s up.
seoulmilk—Can’t avoid ‘em. They’re literally everywhere. Seriously, everywhere you turn your head there’s a place selling Gyeongju Bread or Barley Bread.
They are yummy, though.
Helluva roof!
When I was a Peace Corps volunteer stationed in Kunsan in the mid-1970s there were a lot of Japanese-style buildings in the older part of town, including a rather nice (and large) former- Shinto shrine. I always thought that those buildings made the place more interesting and exotic. I wonder if any of them are still there?
Kunsanpcv—
http://www.rjkoehler.com/2006/.....al-gunsan/
http://www.rjkoehler.com/2006/.....n-part-ii/
http://www.rjkoehler.com/2006/.....s-instead/
Robert, I really admire your ability to find and record the last vestiges of Japanese-style architecture in Korea. As you said, you won’t find many of these in guidebooks.
Have you considered putting together a guidebook of your own?
Reference the Vietnam posters. I note that the hangul spelling gives the Vietnamese word of the period for Korea and Koreans (Dai Han, as in “die han), as opposed to “Daehan”). It’s good to see that despite the left’s continuing campaign to slander Korean troops in Vietnam as baby killers, which they were not, many Korean vets remain proud of their Vietnam service.
It is something I’m considering.
‘Reference the Vietnam posters. I note that the hangul spelling gives the Vietnamese word of the period for Korea and Koreans (Dai Han, as in “die han), as opposed to “Daehan”). It’s good to see that despite the left’s continuing campaign to slander Korean troops in Vietnam as baby killers, which they were not, many Korean vets remain proud of their Vietnam service.’ lirelou
i read a thread in which you and another debated the issue of alleged korean atrocities in vietnam. thanks for the info you provided. i got it on file for the next guy who wants to talk about ‘korean atrocities’ in vietnam.
as for japanese buildings in korea, the oes with traditional japanese architecture should be destroyed. they don’t belong in korea and are not part of korea’s heritage. burn them to the ground.
I’m sorry to say that head of Korea’s Cultural Properties Administration disagrees with both your suggestion (to burn ‘em down) and your reasons for suggesting so, as do most of the local governments where such buildings exist (and, for that matter, most experts and non-experts on the matter that I’ve talked to). In fact, the national and local governments are now sinking a lot of money into protecting and restoring a lot of these structures, with the ward office of Jung-gu in Incheon going so far as to remodel (not very well, apparently) in Japanese style the fronts of buildings in the old Japanese concession area, to say nothing of all the money the city is pumping into restoring the area around Manguk Park (Jayu Park) by 2013.
“Burn ‘em down” is so 1990s…
Yeah baby! Tear out all the cherry trees too and, while you’re at it, send back all the machine tools that make Korea Inc. spin. That’ll show ‘em.
robert, do you know what the japanese style building behind 운현궁 is? i heard it’s an elementary school. i’ve always appreciated its architecture. i’m just curious behind the history.
Nulji, I don’t think Koreans would appreciate an American telling them they should burn down buildings their own government are trying to protect and restore.
That smacks of American imperialism.
Seoulmilk—assuming you’re talking about the Unhyeongung Yanggwan, it was built as a home for Heungseon Daewongun’s grandson, Yi Jun-yong. It’s now an office for Duksung Women’s University’s continuing education program.
Interestingly, after Yi Jun-yong died in 1917, it became the property of Prince Yi Wu, who kept it until he was killed in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima (where he was stationed as an officer in the Japanese Imperial Army). In 1946, it became the main building of Duksung Women’s University.
After we wipe out the bad Japanese buildings should we purify the sainted blood and eradicate anyone with a tincture Mongolian, Manchu, and Japanese blood?
PS: Jjambbong is good. Pure means crooked teeth and banjo virtuosity.
thanks!
seoulmilk—You’re welcome. And I added a bit to my comment above.
there’s nothing japanese about a widget. that’s not true with regards to these buildings with traditional japanese architecture. as soon i saw the picture, i thought it was japanese. these kinds of buildings do not belong in korea as they are not part of korea’s heritage. they’re part of japan’s heritage. hey, ok, don’t burn them to the ground; dismantle them and send them to japan.
and so what if some koreans are restoring the buildings. they’re wrong. just like many of you.
man, why you guys get so angry?
Thanks to Japan’s presence in Korea, they _are_ part of Korea’s heritage, like it or not.
You’re the one who’s wrong.
Me? Angry? Hey, I’m not the one who just called for precious cultural properties to be burnt down out of historical enmity imported from the Old Country and a ridiculously purist view of what constitutes “Korea’s heritage.” I mean, what next? Tear down Myeongdong Cathedral and ship it back to France because it’s not part of “Korea’s heritage?”
Back to Olduvai for the whole damn human race (except for the Hindus, who can hitch a ride on a giant turtle, should they find one so accommodating). It’s all been trespassing ever since.
“i read a thread in which you and another debated the issue of alleged korean atrocities in vietnam. thanks for the info you provided. i got it on file for the next guy who wants to talk about ‘korean atrocities’ in vietnam.”
What thread would that be? That would be interesting read.
‘What thread would that be? That would be interesting read.’ ymmanchun
i’ll post about it in the next open thread.