Trip to Ganghwa Island

I spent Memorial Day on a company outing to nearby Ganghwa Island.

This, of course, is the signpost in front of Seoul Selection Bookshop in Gwanghwamun. Seems to have been a good addition — you occasionally see tourists (both domestic and foreign) taking photos of it (or in front of it, as the case may be)

The main courtyard of Jeondeungsa Temple, one of my favorite temples in Korea (and I’ve been to many) and a place you’ll find a number of outstanding examples of mid-Joseon era Buddhist architecture.  I’m not going to bore you with tedious descriptions — just enjoy the photos:

The photo above, however, does warrant an explanation. At each corner of the roof of the Main Hall, you’ll find statues of a (mostly) naked woman like this. Legend has it the carpenter who built the structure did this to enact revenge on a local barmaid with whom he’d fallen in love. The carpenter made the mistake of giving the woman all his money, and the woman repaid his affection by taking his money and running off with another man. Now she gets to hold up the temple roof for all eternity.

OK, now this might not seem like much, but the bell was actually crafted in Sung Dynasty China and hung in a temple in southern China until it was, ahem, borrowed by invading Japanese troops during WW II. As luck would have it, the bell was discovered sitting in storage in Korea when Japan surrendered. Rather than return it, however, the Koreans decided it would be best to keep the bell safe for the Chinese by hanging it at Jeondeungsa Temple. I’d always thought the temple should print a T-shirt to commemorate it — “We were colonized by Japan for 35 years and all we got was this stupid bell.”

Oddly enough, it’s been designated a Treasure, the only Chinese-made bell in Korea (there are more, apparently) to be so designated.

Readers will probably remember this church from last year — it’s Ganghwa Anglican Church, consecrated as Korea’s first Anglican church in 1900.  Aside from the doors and the latin cross on the roof, you’d be forgiven for thinking you’re visiting a Buddhist temple. It’s even got a Buddhist-style bell pavilion that you pass as you make your way to the church (from the front gate, which I’ve never seen open). The church’s construction was overseen by the same master carpenter who oversaw the reconstruction of the Gyeongbokgung Palace in the 1860s, and Bishop Mark Trollope went all the way to Shinuiju to bring back the wood, which was procured from Mt. Baekdusan’s virgin forests.

You want photos? OK:

The last photo, of course, is the interior of the church. They say it’s done in Western basilica-style, but to me, it feels more like a big hanok. It’s probably the roof.  For real Korean architecture nerds, here’s a piece (in Korean) on the architectural significance of the church by Danguk University architecture professor Kim Jeong-sin — enjoy.

Yep, it’s the Dongsipjagak in Gwanghwamun. For those who care, it used to be the southeastern watch tower of the Gyeongbokgung Palace before road development turned it into a traffic island.