Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
> #172 of 175: The new prince of Well absurdity (sdhale) Thu 13 Jun
> Perhaps this a dumb question and/or the wrong place to ask it, but

No, it's fine...

> is Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church of any influance in Korea?

The Short Answer:  used to be, due to his strong anti-communism and
emphasis on the re-unification of Korea.  The military governments
tolerated him, used him, were used by him.  He used to play golf 
regularly with Kim Jong-pil -- "the brains behind" the 1961 coup and
18-year Park Cheong-hee reign.  For awhile he was one of the few S
Koreans that northern dictator Kim Il-sung would deal with.

The Moonies still own a lot of businesses and real-estate here, have
some Professors on their side, etc.  But his drive to have the U C
accepted as a Christian church has mostly failed, as all the other
Christian churches reject them.  Anti-communism doesn't get you even
a cup of coffee anymore.  Lots of businessmen and religious leaders 
are talking to Pyeongyang, trying to make deals.  Kim Jong-pil is 
FINALLY all washed up (as of just *yesterday*) after *40 years* at 
the top of the S Korean political snakepit.  And, most of all, Moon
is real old now, and his "church" empire will probably fall apart
after him -- looks like a one-generation cult, tho a remarkably 
succesful one...

One social-impact thing the U C is still active in is matching up &
marrying cross-race couples, mostly poor desperate Korean men with 
poor desperate Chinese & SE-Asian women.  Most of them are not U C
believers, tho, but just go along to get a spouse.  When the girls
discover the ugly reality here in Korea, they get pretty angry, some
run...  Many other churches are doing this lucrative business now 
too, not just the Moonies.  My (Filipina) wife knows quite a few of
these cases by now, involving Filipinas.  Not one of the unions is 
happy or stable   :-(
  

    
Finally, my question "Why are so many Koreans Christian?" has been answered.
  

    
Yeah, the perversions of Confucianism are quite terrible.  To a large extent
that's what attracts me to Buddhism --- there aren't many religions that
have in their most revered records statements like "don't believe things
just because they're traditionally believed, or because some old monk said
it was the case" (the Kalama Sutra, quoting the founder, Shakyamuni), or
"there is no ignorance, no end of ignorance, no old age and death, no end of
old age and death; no suffering, no origin of suffering, no cessation of
suffering, no path, no wisdom, no attainment, and no non-attainment" (Heart
Sutra).  On the other hand, even Buddhism gets distorted and misused, despite
these sorts of admonitions --- it's obviously very difficult to avoid.  Seems
to be just a general problem (the distortion and misuse of almost every sort
of thought system and religion).

In 17 years things have changed somewhat here; what was once fringe
is now pretty mainstream, etc.  Some intellectuals in America have long been
interested/influenced by Eastern thought and religions, going back to the
Transcendentalists, but now that you can find big sections on Eastern
philosophy in every Borders, Waldenbooks, and Barnes and Noble, it's
diffused pretty broadly in the intellectual classes now.

>middle America

Well, what I am talking about is the class that corresponds to the elites
in Korea who were attracted to Christianity.  Fundamentalism might be
a major political force here in the states, but it's generally speaking
coming from rural populations, the less educated, etc.  Well-educated
people, even if they might be Christian, are much less likely to be
fundamentalists, against other religions, consider shamanism to be
something to be suppressed, etc.  Those sorts of notions are pretty
solidly associated here with a more backward attitude.

This does seem different from the situation as you describe it in Korea,
inasmuch as there seem to be powerful people in the intellectual class
who actually appear to favor those sorts of suppressive attitudes that we
here in America would tend to associate with the less well-educated.

So those Koreans who are worried that they ought to suppress shamanism
in order to impress America will certainly be giving people the exact
opposite impression.  Perhaps they'd find allies among our less educated
people, but is that who they really want to be impressing?
  

    
No, it isn't.  But the determining thing is, they're not really 
thinking about us and what we'd like to see -- instead they're self-
oriented, thinking about what they want to show us.  People like me
are trying to change that, but...  the opinions of non-powerful non-
Koreans just don't carry much weight.  And then there are the Korean
Protestants...

I'm not so sure that the USA is as different as Mitsu thinks, outside
of northern California anyway.  Jeeez-us, look at the administration
now in power, Mr. Ashcroft out front.  I'd say that the USA now has
a "Protestant Christian government" which is doing all it can to 
impose its values on the nation and even the rest of the world, as 
far as the current interpreters of the Constitution will let them 
get away with.  

There was just an article in the IHT today about how the Bush Admin 
is woring in strong alliance at the UN & etc with the Vatican and 
conservative / fundamentalist Muslims (like Iran, Sudan, Saudis) to
enact a monotheist-religion-based social-reactionary agenda (anti- 
gay's, women's and children's rights).  Powerful Korean Protestants
may be supressing exposure of native Shamanism, but overall the S.
Korean gov is far more socially liberal that the current American 
gov, less religiously biased and *better protective of civil rights*.
I'm sad to say...
  

    
But Mitsu is quite right about the widespread acceptance of/ respect
for Eastern religions & philosophies & teachers throughout the US (and
European) highly-educated classes.  I was a part of that in the
70's and early 80's...

In Korea there are now many *highly* educated people, but very few 
of them are *well*-educated.  The style of most all schools is still
authoritarian and memorization-oriented; few are taught to "think for
themselves" at all.  This leaves young adults wide-open vulnerable
to cult-leaders of all sorts (incl the Moonies and fundamentalist
Christians and, 15 years ago, Marxists); they make good followers &
true-believers.  And, they make very strict/sincere/dilligent Zen
monks, if they end up following that better path...
  

    
It's 11:30 PM here, and the entire nation is in pandemonium once 
again (for the 4th time in 2 weeks!).  Maybe 3 million people out
on the streets, screaming & crying & chanting & celebrating -- it's
awesome to witness.  30 min ago, Korea beat Italy 2-1 in the second
round!  They defeated Portugal last Friday; Portugal and Italy are
two of the six best teams in the world, now they're both going home
while lowly Korea (ranked #40) goes to the top 8.  Didn't get it by
luck, either, but tough, relentless, skillful play.  Winning their 
first World Cup game ever on June 4th was wonderful, but this is 
getting beyond belief...!!!   I'd like to think that the spiritual
power of their mountains is behind these victories...   :-)
  

    
Yeah, I got up early (4 AM) and watched the Korea-Portugal game last
week on Univisión.  The Korean team looks very, very good.  Great team
play, and a lot of heart and soul.
  

    
I am LOVING watching Japan and Korea rejoice.
  

    
Well, Japan stopped rejoicing yesterday, i do believe.
Brought down by the Turks, who are very friendly with the
(south) Koreans ever since they participated in UN Forces
in the Korean War (leaving 800 dead).  I suppose that many
Koreans feel that Turkey has done them yet anther favor :-)
But they're too polite to say so...  Japan's loss must make
the Korean team's Upset Victory twice as sweet, but nobody
has said/written any such thing out loud that i've heard or
read... yet.

Ah, the World Cup Finals are truly the great intersection 
of global political passions and sports!  Tho they don't 
eally resolve any issues...
  

    
>Ashcroft

Yeah, but social conservatives' power base is rural areas, as it is in most
countries.  If you look at an electoral map Republicans won the rural states
and Democrats won the urban ones.  And even among Republicans, true
social conservatives represent only about a third to a half of them ---
for example, 70% of Republicans believe in preserving a woman's right to
choose.

>soccer

What a rousing victory --- I saw clips of it on the sports news here.
  

    
I agree that most Americans do not share the radical-Christian-right
views of the Bush Admn, not fully, not if they give it some thought.
What's amazing to me is how they're passively letting them impose 
those views on America and the world...

Of course, Korean democracy is even worse -- most people here vote 
for the guy who comes from their same area (province, etc), without 
any regard for his background or ideology.  Militarist, socialist,
hey, who cares? as long as he's mah Hometown-boy.  And, Korea has
the LOWEST % of women in elected office out of all 25 OECD nations.
  

    
Hey, bet that you didn't even know that Korea has it's own "Temple 
of Heaven".  Few do.  It does, but hidden on the grounds of a 5-star
hotel in the center of downtown Seoul.  They're holding a formal 
dinner next to it tonight, with ceremony, and i have to dash off to
that now with my wife.  Here, if you're interested, is part of a speech
i just wrote for my boss to give there:

This very place where we are dining tonight is actually a highly
meaningful and historical site.  As you probably know, the Japanese
imperialists took over Korea in a step-by-step fashion over a 15-year
stretch, from 1895 to 1910.  Back in 1897, just a hundred and five
years ago, they forced the Korean government to declare itself
independent from its feudal semi-subordinate relationship with China,
as a first major step towards absorbing Korea themselves. 

The name of our country was changed from the Joseon Dynasty Kingdom to
Daehan-jeguk, or the "Great Korean Empire".  King Gojong was enthroned
as an "Emperor" instead of a mere "King", putting him on an equal
status with the Chinese and Japanese Emperors, in theory.  You see,
there is this difference in rank between king and emperor – a king only
worships the Earth and the Grain Spirit, as was done for 500 years at
the Sajik Shrine to the northwest of here.  An emperor is authorized to
conduct worship of Heaven itself, as he was regarded as Heaven's
progeny.

Therefore this Wongu-dan or "Temple of Heaven" was constructed here,
so that Emperor Gojong could act as "the son of Heaven", performing the
Spring and Autumn ceremonies praying for good harvests for all of
Korea. The actual stone altar for animal sacrifices was just over
there, where the Ninth Gate Restaurant and hotel lobby now are. This
building here, reconstructed after our Liberation, is called the
Hwang-gung-gu and was the site of Emperor Gojong's prayers to Heaven
itself, which was regarded as his ultimate royal ancestor.

It is loosely modeled after the very famous "Temple of Heaven" in
Beijing, although that one is round and this one is eight-sided and
smaller.  The entire shrine-complex was designed to symbolize the
various natural elements of the Universe, such as mountains, rivers,
the sun and moon, and so on.  This site right between Bugak-san and
Nam-san mountains was chosen by the royal geomancers as highly
auspicious by the ancient principles of Korean Geomancy [pung-su jiri].
 They determined that this small hilltop was shaped like a ceremonial
table piled high with offertory foods for exactly this kind of ritual,
and was thus a place of Good Fortune.

The Japanese authorities tore down the entire Temple of Heaven in
1913, after their conquest was completed.  The Chosun Bando Hotel,
which was Korea’s first modern-style public accommodations, was built
over its ruins, right where this Westin Chosun Hotel now proudly
stands.  Since this site is still an auspicious one according to
geomancy, any guests who eat, drink and sleep here will receive the
blessings of Heaven.  So, that’s the real reason we invited you for
dinner here this evening, to give you a dose of Good Fortune :-)

Tonight, we have arranged for you to watch a re-creation of the 
"Go-cheon-je", the profound ceremony praying to Heaven, in the hope
that our co-hosting of the 2002 World Cup Finals will be a success, and
that this traditional ceremony will be taken over and developed into
one of Korea’s living Cultural Heritage performances.  Mr. Jang
Gyeon-jak, the President of Westin Chosun Hotel and Mr. Jo Hong-gyu,
the President of KNTO and I have agreed that the "Go-cheon-je" should
be revived in regular Spring and Autumn performances, to let foreign
visitors and even our own citizens know more of our unique and
excellent traditional culture.

The role of Je-ju or leading official of this ceremony, which would
have been the Emperor of Korea, will be performed by Mr. Yi Seok, who
happens to be the actual oldest surviving heir to the Joseon-Dynasty
throne.  20 men will be making the offerings, and they will be
supported by the traditional teams of 22 musicians & 36 dancers.

So, this ceremony employs a total of 80 participants.  It will proceed
in several stages according to our ancient Confucian traditions, and
you will be informed of the actions and their meanings as they are
performed.  It’s really the same kind of ritual that we Koreans perform
for our own ancestors on Lunar New Year’s Day & Juseok.
  

    
Allow me to blather just a bit more....I had an interesting day on
this last Saturday.

Permit me to explain the background:  The Rooster-Dragon Mountain has
been one of Korea's most sacred for all its history.  Esp the southern
slope, a sheer drop below an 850-m peak.  The legendaery geomancer-monk
who set up Seoul as the capital of the Joseon Dynasty in 1400
predicted that the NEXT dynasty would be established 500-600 years
later with its palace on that slope. So, it attracted many
Mountain-Spirit-worshipping monks & shamans over the last five
centuries, hoping to spiritually kick-start the foundation of a new,
stronger kingdom.

Twenty years ago, the Military Government of South Korea decided to
move their official Army HQ base out of Seoul, and chose THAT site
(just a coincidence, i'm sure! ;-).  It's said they kicked 15,000
shamans & monks & others off the land, destroying hundreds of shrines &
temples.  Pity that i didn't get to visit there in 1983 (but who
knew?).  High-security top-secret HQ base now, called Kye-ryong-dae
[Rooster-Dragon Platform]; no public access, no photos.

Since i found out about all this 14 years or so ago,  I've waited for
a chance to go there, and finally the chance came.  My friend Ryu,
professor of "Cultural Geography", got a connection with a General, and
we made an appointment for a tour to see the Sacred San-shin Sites
there.  A sergeant in charge of the base's security, real Rambo sort,
escorted and guided us for 5 hours in his jeep and on foot.  
We saw the famous "Male Dragon Pool" & "Female Dragon Pool" (with
waterfalls) and the sites of some major shrines & temples (with only
foundation-stones remaining).  He let me take all the photos i wished. 
He insisted that all Mountain-worship activity there had been stopped
for 20 years --- but then i found a fresh candle in a 
stone niche next to the Male Dragon Pool -- oooops.  He said a soldier
must have left it there...  :-)

We had to quit by 2, as THE BIG GAME was on at 3:30 and even Military
Security had to be in front of a TV (North Korea could've invaded at
5pm, their tanks rolling down thru the capital, and nobody would've 
paid any attention unless the electricity was cut).  Prof Ryu went
home to cheer with his family and we drove around to the west side of
the mountain, near "Spirit Garden" Temple, where my new friend 
"Charlie" lives.  He's a 50-yr-old Korean guy with long white hair who
lives in a hermitage there, performing "Ki (spirit-energy) Healing"
with his hands.  There are lots of Shamans like him living all around
Rooster-Dragon Mountain, practicing the powers they gain from years of
San-shin devotions, but Charlie is unique among them because he can
speak English well (lived in San Diego for a few yrs).

So we sat with him and girlfriend in his shack, with a good view of
the holy peaks out the door, sipping rice-wine & watching Korea upset
Spain on his small TV.  We chanted to the Kye-ryong San-shin when
things looked rough, whooped it up loudly when Korea did well. 
Celebrated over BBQ pork after the Korean team achieved its hard-fought
Victory, then headed home to Seoul on unusualy light-traffic highways
-- everybody else still dancin' in the streets.

Yeah, my life here is not such a common one.  Kinda strange...  :-)


BTW, on this subject: I have finally posted some photos from the 2001
Mt. Rooster-Dragon Mountain-Spirit Ceremonial Festival [Kye-ryong-san
San-shin-je], my favorite annual event here and Korea's biggest, most
religiously-diverse Mountain-worshipping event.
See:  http://www.san-shin.org/kyeryong1.html
  

    
Cool story!

Are there photos of Rooster-Dragon Mountain online? What is its name in
Korean?
  

    
Excellent photos!
  

    
I second that.

David, I've been thinking a lot on the question of what role San-shin
can play in Korea's future, especially on the matter of reunification. 
My thoughts are still incubating....

Meanwhile, I'm figuring out how to get up about seven hours from now
to watch Korea vs. Germany, and the hard part is deciding for whom to
cheer.  I'm naturally biased toward Germany, given my background.  But
at the same time, I'm very fond of Koreans.  Now that I think of it,
I've always sided with the underdog.  A win for Korea would be much
more significant than a win for Germany, so I'm going to cheer for
Korea (much to the chagrin of my German relatives).

Anyway, I'll be back...
  

    
> I'm very fond of Koreans.  
> Now that I think of it, I've always sided with the underdog.
> A win for Korea would be much more significant than a win for 
> Germany, so I'm going to cheer for Korea 

these are all the reasons that i've been cheering for the Korean 
team all along  :-)      Thanks, Gerry. 

I'm wearing my red shirt again today.  THE BIG GAME starts in just
3 1/2 hours.  From the window of my 8th-floor office, i've watched
more than half a million red-clad people gather to the City Hall 
Plaza / Kwanghwa Gate area!   Before 8pm there'll be more than a 
million there.  The weather today is PERFECT, sunny blue sky but a
crisp cool breeze.  Seven million expected on the streets & in parks
nationwide -- that surely must set some kinda global record!

And quite orderly too, not a bit of hooligan violence so far; the 
cheering crowds even pick up the trash when they leave.  Amazing;
i'm proud of the Koreans this month.  And i'm confident that the 
good mood will continue even if "we" lose.... Koreans are thrilled
just to have gotten this far! I doubt their team can beat the mighty
Germans... but then again, this is the Season of Underdog Miracles...
  

    
Go for the Koreans. The German team is deeply involved with the
conservative party here, and roundly disliked even by maniac football
fans who lean towards the left. I seriously believe that if Germany
doesn't win the Cup, the assholes won't be elected in September. 
  

    
Well i've been following the nationalist/political swirl around these
World Cup games, but i'd never heard THAT...

But unfortuately, the German team just did win, 1-0, in a rough match
of many attempted fouls, where their superior height proved decisive.
The "miracle" is over, the Good Fortune and Spirit-Power has run out.
Oh well, Korea can still play their Turkish friends for 3rd Place on
Saturday...  it was a better run than anyone expected.
  

    
> #189 of 194: Andrew Alden (alden) Mon 24 Jun '02 
> Cool story!
> Are there photos of Rooster-Dragon Mountain online? 

Not many, it seems.  Couldn't find any good ones on the Tour2Korea 
website (official site of KNTO).  So, i just put some from Sat up at:
 http://www.san-shin.org/kyeryong1.html
including one of Charlie & me, & one of my wife on a secondary peak.
The photos from the Buddhist Ceremony of the 2001 Mt. Rooster-Dragon
Mountain-Spirit Ceremonial Festival [Kye-ryong-san San-shin-je] have
been moved to the next page, kyeryong2.html  Pages 3, 4 & 5 with the
Neo-Confucian & Shamanist Rituals will go up as soon as i have time.

> What is its name in Korean?

Kye-ryong-san.  Now one of the 20 National Parks, just west of Daejeon
City in South Chung-cheong Province.
  

    
It was a tough match, alright.  Too bad for Korea.  But still, they've
proven much and undoubtedly learned much, as well.  The Korean team
will certainly be stronger and more confident in the future.
  

    
Thanks! There are some small images if you search Google images with
"kyeryong," but "kye-ryong-san" comes up empty.
  

    
David, in my Tae Kwon Do training, I learned that even more important
than the art itself is the *spirit* of Tae Kwon Do, which (as I was
taught) is:

  1. Modesty

  2. Perseverance

  3. Self-Control

  4. Indomitable Spirit


It seems to me that the Korean football players exhibit that spirit
also.  That led me to wonder, are these values limited to martial arts,
or are they promoted in other sports and in society at large? 
  

    
On the prospects for the future of Korea, the first questions that
come to my mind are about the relative homogeneity - or lack thereof -
of the Korean people.  On the one hand, I get the impression that
Koreans are one of the most homogenious peoples on earth, perhaps even
more so than the Japanese.  On the other hand, I have a vague notion of
there being certain groups within Korea, but I know little about them.

My Korean friend is from Masan (southeast Korean), and proudly
identifies himself as "Kyung-Sang-Do," which he tells me is to Koreans
like what Texas cowboys are to Americans.  I also gathered from him
that there's a bit of a grudge or rivalry of some sort between the
Kyung-Sang-Do people and the "Jah-Lah-Do" people of the southwest
region of Korea.  (I have no idea how these words should be romanized,
so I've just guessed at the spelling.)  And I understand that the
people of central Korea, including Seoul, are of some other ethnic
background, but I forgot the name.

Are there just three, or are there more in the North?  Are these in
fact ethnicities?  If so, what is the basis for them?  If not, what
sorts of divisions are they?

The background of these questions comes from me trying to visualize
Korean reunification.  The only obvious precedent that comes to mind is
Germany.  It's been a bit rough in places, but overall I'd say it's
gone fairly well, and the relative homogeneity of Germans is surely a
factor.  I'm aware of a certain amount of historical animmosity between
the Bavarians of the south and the "Prussian Pigs" of the north, for
example.  But overall, the practical divide seems to have been that of
those who formerly lived under communism versus those of the capitalist
west.  Adjustment has been somewhat more difficult for former East
Germans than it has for former West Germans, and those problems could
have easily been predicted before reunification.  Still, it all seems
to be moving in the right direction.  When I was last in Berlin (three
years ago), it was stunning to look at the glamorous west side and
then, by contrast, to look east and see many hundreds (if not
thousands) of huge construction cranes - almost every block - for as
far as the eye could see.  Infrastructure investment alone in the
former East Germany is mind-boggling.

Anyway, I have this theory about homogeneity and the success of
democracy.  I look at places where crime rates have been relatively
low, and it seems to me that democracy works well where there's a high
degree of homogeneity, say, Japan and Sweeden.  Where the people and
cultures are very diverse - say, Singapore or the former Yugoslavia -
it seems only the rule of an iron fist maintains social order.  I
haven't found many people who agree with me, but there it is, FWIW.
  

    
> #197 of 199: Andrew Alden (alden) Tue 25 Jun '02 
> Thanks! There are some small images if you search Google images 
> with "kyeryong," but "kye-ryong-san" comes up empty.

Well yes, "Kyeryong-san" "Kyeryongsan" or "Kyeryong San" is the way
that most people would write it, and the first is correct to me, tho
the new system uses g instead of k, so "Gyeryong-san" "Gyeryongsan"
or "Gyeryong San" are increasingly likely to turn up.  I insert the
extra dash to make "Kye-ryong-san" when writing for those less
familiar with Korean, so they can easily see where the syllable breaks
are -- it's not "Kyer-yong" or "Kyery-ong" or "Ky-er-yong".
There's no EXACT way to do this at all, and we can't get everybody
to agree on one system...  so, i have to struggle with this stuff
every single day in both my day-job and my hobby.