August 2010, Gyeongju, South Korea
While we were in the British Council funded education abroad programme in South Korea, our team spent nearly a week outside Seoul in the ancient capital Gyeongju and stayed at the Dongguk University's sister campus. Because of a friendship developed with Dr. Deegalle, Mr. Truman Kim, a professional tourist guide, guided us through beautiful spots in Gyeongju and surrounding areas for a few days.
Mr. Kim showed us many great places in the coastal areas of Gyeongju. On one of our short trips we went to visit the beautiful traditional temple of Shilla on Ham Wol Mountain called Ki Rim Sa. The drive up to the temple was long serpentine road curving through the beautiful, rugged forest hills. Once we had finally reached the top we were up for another climb by foot. Finally we reached the top and a beautiful area unfolded in front of us. We walked around admiring the architecture of the area, its beautiful gardens and ancient buildings. The temple there grows vegetables and tea. We were offered tea that was prepared and served in traditional Korean way.
After the visit to the temple Mr. Kim took us to a beach by the sea of Japan. This beach was rather quiet. We witnessed Shamanist women performing Shamanist rituals. That beach is known for such Shamanist practices. Some of them were very close to the shore line sitting on a blanket and others a bit further away on an elevated platform. They were all facing towards the sea, in pairs or alone with plenty of different kind of offerings (fruits, sweets, fish, etc.) scattered around them. They were playing drums and chanting continuously. It was fascinating to watch their trance like state into which they seemed to have got in successfully.
Commentary and Photos by Maija Rautemaa
3rd Year Media Communications and Creative Writing
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