Sunmudo: Meditation in Martial Arts

As a part of our temple stay in Bulgulsa temple in Gyeongju we had the opportunity to experience a traditional Korean martial art called Sunmudo. Sunmudo is a training method that Buddhist monks used throughout Korean history as early as the Shilla dynasty in 57 BCE-935 CE (http://www.sunmudo.com/). This martial art combines yoga style postures and and dynamic and powerful movements of the body. Sunmudo literally means “the way of doing meditative martial arts” (http://www.sunmudo.com/). Let me gloss this Korean word. The word ‘sun’ has its origins in Sanskrit and derives from the word “dhyana” (meditation). The term ‘mu’ means martial art. The word ‘do’ means the way.
Hundreds of years ago, monks used to practise Sunmudo when they were soldiers. This ancient Martial Art was revived in 20th century. In the late 1980s Grandmaster Jeog Un Sunim introduced Sunmudo to the public. In the 1990s he established Bulgulsa as the headquarters for Sunmudo. Now people who visit the temple have an opportunity to take part in the Sunmudo practice.
I enjoyed the Sunmudo practice very much because it combined dynamic exercises with postures and movements that help us build up strength as well as flexibility. Some of the exercises reminded me of Ashtanga yoga. At the end of the practice, however, we all gathered into a circle and performed controlled, slow meditative movements that were completely new to me. After we returned to England, I tried to find a Sunmudo community in Bath so that I could incorporate Sunmudo into my personal life. Unfortunately I could not find any Sunmudo communities in UK. According to the website “Sunmudo.com” there are Sunmudo centers outside Korea in France, Austria and United States. I hope one day Sunmudo would become more widely known so that it benefits others as much as it benefitted me.

Commentary by Maija Rautemaa
Link of the Photograph: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Korea-Gyeongju-Golgulsa-Sunmudo-06.jpg

Women, Honour and Korean Patriarchy

In Gyeongju, we had several healthy and delicious vegetarian meals. In our meals together, our guide, Mr. Truman Kim, told us about Korean culture, history and beliefs. In Korea even numbers are considered feminine and odd numbers masculine. According to Mr. Kim because we are living now in an even numbered century—century of women—in which more and more women are getting into high ranking positions in politics and leadership.

At one time, Mr. Kim told us about the Silla dynasty and honour. According to Mr. Kim, during the Silla Dynasty women carried daggers close to their chest in case of an attack by a man from invading forces. I thought that it was meant for self-defence but Mr. Kim clarified that it was for the women to maintain their honour by committing suicide if they were raped. This led us to a long discussion about the whole concept of honour, shame and equality between men and women. There emerged the cultural differences between traditional Korean thinking and Western way of life. Even though I got the impression that things are coming closer to a western way of thinking in Korea the so called traditional divide between men and women is still there. Women are considered to be the experts on domestic life and men in charge of life outside the home. Korea seems still very patriarchal: women are expected first and foremost to be wives and mothers who take care of the home while men go out to the world to earn a living for the family.

Commentary by Maija Rautemaa

Korean Popular Music K-pop

When in Korea, one thing that one cannot avoid is Korean popular music widely known as K-pop. Most of the time, the songs are sung in Korean but surprisingly artists sometimes sing in English, too. The music takes inspiration from the western genre of RnB and Hiphop. Koreans have added their own style to make the songs their own. Songs are heard in train stations, supermarkets, shops, bus stations and buses. No doubt the Koreans certainly love their music. One of the most popular songs at the time of our travel was ‘Good Girl, Bad Girl’ of the Korean girl band known as ‘Miss A.’ A popular artist in Korea today is Rain. He is a renowned actor, having appeared in a couple of Hollywood films including ‘Speed Racer’ (2008). His popular songs include ‘I’m Coming’ and ‘Rainism.’

Commentary by Zaina Budaly