Back to the Old Routine

It feels strange posting this when I have only just started the previous one.

Events this week:

• Rob left early Tuesday morning, which was strange, as I had only just got used to him being around. However, I adjusted to his absence quite quickly.
• It is the end of the month, thus I had around 200 reports to write, even though the chances are the parents will not understand a word of what I write, it just makes my hagwon look good. My colleagues have a habit of giving me 50 or so reports to do, and expecting them the next day, despite me having no free periods in my timetable. I always have to do them at home, and it takes up a lot of my free time.
• I have not done Gomdo at all this week, I have been far too tired from entertaining my guest and writing my reports
• However, I managed to have a social life... Wednesday evening I joined KNC hagwon boss and his colleagues (from his High School) at an eating house, and watched the Korean football team qualify for the World Cup
• Thursday I met with with Frank (as he likes to be called)/Chooyoung who took me out to dinner (not a date!!!).
• Friday I met up with everybody at The Hospital, and yet again the Blue Flaming Penis was the highlight of the evening.
• Today Frank and I went to Booyeo and went for a walk round a fortress and some tombs...yet more photos to add!!! Afterwards we went to his brother-in-laws birthday party at his sisters house, where there were 4 couples (family members) and associated kiddies, causing quite a riot. The parents accosted me as they wanted their children to try out their English with me...afterall, they don't spend their hard-earned cash on hagwon education for nothing. Following this we went onto shinae Wa-bar (and then back to The Hospital) to meet up with Foreigner friends.

Photos from Booyeo

Booyeo was the last capital of the Baekje kingdom, before the Chinese destroyed it once and for all (AD 660). Here Frank and I visited Mt Busosan and the Baekje Royal Maulsoleum Tombs.

During the time of Baekje, the Booyeo region was economically productive due to its low-lying hills and expansive plains. Being downstream of the Guemgang river alllowed exchanges with Chin and Japan.

During the Sabi period, Baekjue boosted the Kings power by promoting Buddhism (training the people spiritually) and improving the government system. The main religion at the time was Taoism, an amalgumation of Buddhism and local traditional beliefs

This is the presumed site of the Royal palace (Historic site no.428). During the Goryeo and Josoen Periods this was used as government offices. Frequent exchanges with China and absorbing Chinese culture allowed Baekje to experience the full blooming of its own culture. Despite efforts by the Baekje kings to intergrate ideas and expand terriority to strengthen national power, frequent wars with the Silla kingdom sapped away Baekje's strength, eventually bringing Baekje to its downfall.

The royal palace was situated south of Mt Busosan, and the capital had defensive walls surrounding it. The capital was divided into 5 Bu, and these each into 5 hang to facilitate administration.

The presumed site of the Royal Palace

Below is Samchungsa, a shrine built 50 years ago in memory of 3 loyal officals of Baekje: Seong Chung, Heung su, and Gye Baek. When the last king of Baekje (Uijawang) governed his kingdom so badly, Seong Chung frequently adviced the king in the vain attempt to change his ways. Angered by the advice, he threw Seong Chung in prison, where he refused to eat, and died there. Heung su desperately advised the king on military tactics, to keep the strategic point of Tanhyeon, when Silla-Tang's unifed miltary forces invaded the Baekje territory. When General Kim Yu-sin of Shilla comanded an army of 50,000 attacked at Hwangsanbeol Field, Gye Baek and his army of 5,000 fought heroically against them and died.

Frank outside a restoration of a hut used by the Baekje soldiers.

Below is Yeongilnu Pavilion, and is situated on the eastern peak of the "mountain". There used to be an observatory here to watch the sun rise from the Yeongcheongbong peak of Mt Gyeryonsan. Here the king and nobles would pray for the welfare of the country and its people. The pavillion itself used to be a gate of a local government office in the Joseon period, and was moved to this spot in 1964.

This hexagonal pavillion was built in 1929 in memory of the 3000 or so women who jumped from the cliff and into the Baengmagang river below. These women would rather preserved their chasity by committing suicide than fall to ruin at the hands on Chinese soldiers. Old records state that the name of the rock is "Tasaam" or "Rock of People who Fell to their Death". However it has been subsequently renamed to "Nakhwaam" or "Rock of Falling Flowers". The rock still looks red from the Baekje women.

The cliff and river where the women fell to their doom.

Frank standing where the women fell.

Later that day Frank and I made a short visit to the Baeje Royal tombs and associated museum.

These tombs of Neunsang-ri (Historic site no. 14) are located just outside the defensive walls of Sabi. These tombs have the largest mounds of stone chamber tombs built in the Sabi Period, and have protective stones to prevent the mud from sliding down. These tombs were either of the tunnel type (tomb no 2) or the flat type depending on the kind of ceiling. The flat type were further divided into a hexagonal cross section (tombs 3-7) or a rectangular cross section (tomb 1).

The royal tombs face south with Neungmyoe Mountain as a background. The tombs on the front row are older, the middle one being the oldest. The second row is younger than the first row, and the third row is younger than the second row. The position of the tombs of the royal household by the road one has to pass to go to the capital from the east leads archeologist to believe that there is a reliance of its ancestors for Baekje's strength, status and security.

Unfortunately robberies left few relics in the tombs. The relics that have been excavated so far include gilt bronze crown ornaments and coffin ornaments. gold ornaments and thread, gold plated coffin nails and iron wedges. The fact that these materials are either gold or gilt bronze is decisive evidence that these tombs are indeed royal.

All 16 tombs can be divided into 3 groups: central, east and west (located on the east and west hills respectively). They were made my digging horizontally into the hill. During the Sabi period, Large jars made for daily use contain the cremated remains of Royal Baekje members and Buddhist monks(unlike earlier times, when jars were specifically made for this purpose). This method of burial ie tombs to house the jarred cremated remains is the Buddhist system of burial.

This guilt bronze Baekje incense burner was discovered in 1993 (National Treasure 287). The pedestal in the shape of a dragon, which holds up the main body of the burner (where the incense is burned) and its lid is deocrated with the legendary bonghwang bird. It is thought to have been used in Royal Household rituals. This incense burner is a fine example of the advanced metal casting technique and thus embodies the brillance of Baekje art, science and culture.

Just outside the museum there once stood a Baekje temple. After extensive archeological research, this is what the temple is believed to have looked like.

Below is Tonghach'ong, or rather a life-size mock of the original. The original was open to the public but the murials faded to almost invisablity, so now it is closed to the public to preserve them. The murials of the four directional deities (dragon, turtle, phoenix and tiger), lotus flowers and clouds, see below:

Lotus flower and clouds

The tiger murial:

The seven tombs described above.

Photos from the night out:

(A snap back to the reality of modern times)

Sandra (from Germany, on the right) and Dana (from Romania).

Frank on the left (looks exactly like my cousin Andrew), and Maria, the coolest university professor in the world.

Maria with kim stuck to her teeth a la toothless pirate, and Gary, looking every inch the Time Team archeoligist. His voice is so Time Team too, and I couldn't help but comment...as it turns it out he is a archeology professor, and he goes drinking with the Geophysicists from Time Team. No, he wasn't pulling my leg. He knew far too much about DNA forensics to be lying about it.

One of Sandra's German undergraduates.

Frank and another student, not sure which professor she belongs to.

Another student, who actually owns a hair salon, and will be cutting my hair first thing monday morning.

• Tomorrow I promised KNC boss accompaniment in Wolmyeong Park, but I really don't up to it...I have a sore throat and have nearly lost my voice, which really isn't very helpful in the classroom. No doubt he has been calling me non-stop today to find my mobile phone battery dead (it gave up the ghost while I was walking around the fortress). I will have to phone him in the morning. Meanwhile Frank wants to take me to Sushi bar for lunch...far more relaxing.

But when can I find the time to do the things I SHOULD be doing, ie clean apartment, study, update blog etc??? I have procrastination down to a fine art.

At hagwon this week my Middle School students were relatively well-behaved. My arms-in-the-air technique is slowing taking effect. In one of my classes some of the boys at the back of the classroom started talking, and the next thing I knew arms shot in the air automatically "sorry teacher" without me breathing a word. I stood there and laughed. In my other classes I counted 1-2-3...and on '2' there was absolute hush in the classroom. (However, at one point they made it to '3', thus all arms were in the air again).

Also this week I asked my 5th grade students some difficult questions about the story they are currently studying. They answered my questions correctly everytime, with no need for translation. I was shocked. They did a better job than my middle school students; some of my middle school students don't understand "how are you", but unfortunately the Boss has designed the English department (just before I arrived) so that I am not to teach them anything except pronunciation. I am considering going against this with my Middle School students. Them not understanding "how are you" is ridiculous; I have been studying Korean for 2 months without a teacher, and my Korean conversation is far better than their English conversation, despite them having studied English for 4 or 5 years.

I despair at the standard of education at my hagwon; my students learn things by rote but don't get to practice real conversation. They don't know how to take a word from one sentence, another word from a different sentence, and put them together to make a new one. I have expressed my opinion to the Boss, but unfortunately he is too money-hungry to care.

Another 5 months and it will all be over, at this particular hagwon at least.

See later for todays photos and relevent information.