Assorted Art from Busan

I am relaxing back in Seoul, after two exciting nights in Busan, the nation's No. 2 city and its premier port, 260 miles to the southeast and connected by French TGV bullet trains.

I have more photos from Busan than I can count, but here are some worth sharing here.

Here's a stone Buddha decorating the entrance to a golf practice range, on a narrow escalator/stairway leading to Busan's observatory tower. Behind me, across the stairway: a small Buddhist temple, though it's not all that scenic.

Not pictured: in front of this Buddha, a pair of feet are drawn on the asphalt, to mark where I am supposed to stand and bow.

Yesterday, I did a mad dash around major sights of the city, including the United Nations Memorial Cemetery, the only one in existence in the world. It houses the remains of various UN alliance nations' soldiers who died in the Korean War, though some of the participant nations, notably the US, have taken their remains home, and instead have buried those who survived the war, but wanted to be buried here after death.

This is the British Commonwealth (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and the UK) monument at the cemetery, honoring those soldiers from the five nations who do not have any known graves.

A plain, undecorated soldier is befriending two Korean children at this monument, Canada's national monument at this cemetery.

For kangaroo and woz. This is rather plain, but is Australia's national monument built here in 2000.

Also for kangaroo and woz. The Daunt Waterway is named after, and honors, a 17-year-old Australian private who was killed in action in 1951, and is the youngest person to be buried here. Such a short life, wasted on a senseless war that killed millions and destroyed almost all families on this land - and none of the war's goals (unification of Korea, in one form or another) were ever accomplished.

The South Korean right-wingers continue to show great Confucian deference to the Americans. Yes, the US led the multinational effort to defend South Korea, American commanders led these nations' troops, and more Americans died here than anyone else (except the South Koreans themselves, as well as the North Koreans and the Chinese on the enemy side). But the effort was truly multinational; sixteen nations sent combat troops, five more sent non-combat personnel, and all deserve South Korea's thanks.

Just outside the cemetery lies a sculpture park, consisting of artwork from the participating UN nations as well as South Korea (which was unable to join the UN itself until 1991). This is "The Bridge of Love," by Bo Karberg of Denmark.

This is "Like a River Flows," by Alain Vaugier of Canada.

This one is aptly named "Conflicts Toward Unification," and is by Antonis Myrodias of Greece.

I then took a lengthy subway ride to the far north of the city, to the fine Buddhist temple of Beomeosa. At the entrance, I could find these wooden Maitreya Buddhas for sale. Christy, I know you love these - the Chinese Happy Buddha!

Meanwhile, DiAnne will certainly appreciate these turtle tombstones, though I couldn't tell what the significance of these - just two of dozens at the entrance - were.

After a long climb up from the main entrance, I came to the main courtyard. The stone pagoda to the right is very typical of Korean Buddhist temples.

In the middle, above the staircase, is Daeungjeon (大雄殿), or "Hall of Great Hero," always the main hall of any Korean Buddhist temple. In it can be found the Amidabha Buddha, the Sakyamuni Buddha, and the Medicine Buddha, from left to right.

Here is the Maitreya Buddha, in a side hall. I wasn't supposed to take photos of any interior elements, but as I didn't know - and nobody was praying inside - I got away with this one. Unfortunately, he's not the Chinese Happy Buddha in this application.

Lining the walls of this Maitreya room: thousands of little lighted Maitreya Buddhas!

Gwaneumjeon (觀音殿) is another common hall in Korean Buddhist temples, and as the name gives away, is dedicated to Kwan Yin, our beloved transgender matron saint. Inside this faded building can be seen a golden statue of Kwan Yin. To the sides, covering the walls, are thousands of little lighted Kwan Yins, like the Maitreyas of the previous photo. Quite a sight - though I had to keep my distance, out of respect for the dozen or so people inside in prayer.

Beomeosa has a code of conduct for visitors, much like those found at Italian cathedrals. First, no "revealing clothes" are allowed; that includes my trademark Ally McLesbian miniskirts. Second, the temple owns many grottos, monasteries, and other retreat facilities in the surrounding mountains; while it's perfectly okay to go hiking on temple grounds, cooking and alcohol are not permitted.

Statue of Brothers

Here's a statue only a few subway stops away from where I am staying right now.

It's called "Statue of Brothers," located at Seoul's War Memorial (a museum on the site of former headquarters of the South Korean military, next to the former US Army base). It stands 11 meters tall.

It's based on a true Korean War-era story, where a South Korean Army officer (the tall guy in a helmet) faces his younger brother, a North Korean private, on the battlefield, and instead of killing each other as ordered, the two run up and embrace each other. The moral of the story: blood and family trump ideology.

The cracked dome below the brothers symbolizes the division of Korea, and the two halves are linked by chains to emphasize the inseparable bond between the people of the two Koreas.

Wikipedia article

I had mentioned that I was not going to visit the War Memorial due to its McCarthyist propaganda, but actually I was going to visit its courtyard, just to look at this statue, soak in its message, and take a few detail photos. But I scratched even that, as of today - the reason why I am mentioning this statue now.

I have just learned that South Korea's Ministry of National Defence is asking textbook publishers to stamp out "leftist bias" in the nation's history textbooks, and replace that with its own version of history. Specifically, 18-year unitary executive Park Chung-hee (Masao Takaki) would no longer be described as "being above the Constitution," but only as "the architect of industrialization." The first President, Syngman Rhee, would likewise change from "a dictator who used the division and the war as an excuse to consolidate power" to "the founder of Korean democracy and a patriotic anticommunist fighter." North Korea would change from "Kim Il-sung's one-man autocracy succeeded by his son Kim Jong-il" to "an unprecedented evil regime beyond the normal evilness of communism." I am all for unbiased factual history, and all against revisionist history of any kind; therefore, South Korea's military doesn't deserve any respect or support from me, and I won't even go close to the War Memorial.

South Korea's military also maintains a list of "subversive" books banned at military facilities. Currently there are 23 books, divided into "pro-North," "anti-government and anti-American," and "anti-capitalist." The "anti-American" books include American books by Noam Chomsky; no Korean Confucian bastard will ever tell me, or any other American, that we hate our own country. In the civilian world, however, being deemed "subversive" boosts a book's sales significantly.

(The worst part is that every South Korean man is required to spend 2 years in this evil institution and soak up its McCarthyist propaganda. No conscientious objector exemptions are available; refusal to serve is punishable by jail and a permanent criminal record - and rampant discrimination in the job market.)

Speaking of Japanese invasion of Korea...

A Chinese-Korean alliance drove the Japanese invaders out of Korea in 1598, as I mentioned in the last post (and leading to Chinese shrines being built all over Korea at the request of the Chinese emperor). And above is one key component of that warfare. (It's only a replica, as no originals exist today.)

DiAnne will be happy to know that this ship is called the Turtle Ship. Many consider it to be the first ironclad ship ever built, though it's not a full ironclad unlike the Civil War-era ironclads in 19th Century US. It's oar- and sail-powered, boasts many cannons and a ram, and the spikes on the roof prevented the Japanese sailors from boarding. It is credited with destroying the Japanese navy and ending the horrible warfare that reduced Korea's arable land to one-third of what it was before.

Note the face drawn at the bottom of the bow - it is one of the several artwork options that adorned the actual Turtle Ships in service.

The above replica is at Seoul's War Memorial, which I will not visit during my stay. I am staying away as it glorifies the McCarthyist mentality of South Korea's military, in particular the Marines whose first major accomplishment is touted as "destroying the Communist insurgency along the southern coast and Jeju Island." The so-called insurgency was actually peasants with no knowledge of Communism, rebelling against the government of President Syngman Rhee (a Korean-American favored by the US due to his anti-communism, above more qualified but left-leaning leaders who actually did more for the Korean independence) and its coddling of collaborators of the Japanese colonial rule. Rhee's war crimes rival that of Kim Il-Sung and the North Koreans during the Korean War, and I do not wish to legitimize any of that. As a result, I will not have any more pictures of this Turtle Ship.

More on the Japanese collaborators: while South Korea's government declared itself as the successor to a Shanghai-based anti-Japanese group named the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, and even took over its title (大韓民國), for much of its history it was run by Japanese collaborators, including 18-year unitary executive Park Chung-Hee (AKA Masao Takaki), rather than members of the Provisional Government.

More on the Turtle Ship: Word has it that when Hyundai's CEO went to the UK to seek financing to start a shipbuilding business, he won British lenders over by showing a 500-won banknote, which depicts the Turtle Ship. He was quoted as saying "my country once built this ship. I have no problem building ships." Hyundai is one of the largest shipbuilders in the world today - and went on to also do construction and automobiles.