Solemnity

Solemnity
Originally uploaded by punk_rock_baby.

I know I should describe how my Saturday was, but I can’t seem to get into it. The words seem trite. The experience itself was great. Tired, but unwilling to waste my precious free time, I headed towards the Jongno/Anguk area which has several palaces and cultural parks. Not really knowing where I was going I wandered in the direction I hoped would take me to Jongmyo. One minute, I was walking past jewelry shops and food vendors, then I hear the beat of the drums and the clash of the gongs over the sounds of cars. As I enter the park, I see people dancing with the performers who beat out folk songs on drums, gongs, and horns dressed in colorful sashes. All around the park others are dancing to a single singer accompanied with a solo drum player. If you wander into another section the men are seated on the ground playing go and checkers. Sitting on the barren earth, they are making a music of their own as they run their fingers through the white or black pebbles pondering their next move. Next to them is Calligrapher’s Circle, where older man who are dressed like my grandfather are standing around. In their fedoras and caps, these grey men intently watch artists create scrolls and then expound on the merits or demerits of each character. Next to the road a man was getting a hair cut with a view, while others are selling hot beverages. The whole park is crammed with people; people relaxing, dancing, talking, playing, drinking, eating, sleeping, living. All right in front of Jongmyo, the resting place of kings and queens(or the resting place of their spirit tablets). As you enter the long avenues leading to the halls the words “Solemnity” greet you. The paths are full of people taking photographs and “leaf peeping.” On paths where kings and queens tread now tread foreigners trying to glimpse at what Korea is and was. Photographers try to capture the beauty of the season, the setting, or a loved one for all eternity. In a place of the dead, the living rejoice in the beauty of a season of quite and cool reflection. Never one with out the other. Words and pictures fail to capture(especially mine) the experiences I am having here. Moving to another country, forces you to see everything for the first time. Little can be taken for granted and everything can be a new adventure if you want it to be. It’s spring, after winter, after absence.