South Korea- Part 2

Seoul- A City That Pulsates With Love

If you were thinking of visiting a country that embodies “love” as its theme, would South Korea pop in your mind? If you’re like me, your first thought would not be South Korea. Maybe Paris, Hawaii or Bali, but South Korea? However, what I felt when I landed on this beautiful peninsula and continued feeling during my days there is an undercurrent, pulsating feeling of Love everywhere. It is something that is felt deep inside of yourself.

Cathedral of Immaculate Conception in Myendong

There were moments during my trip when the feeling of Love was more profound -alive in the air with the rhythm of the heartbeats that surrounded me everywhere I turned. The beauty of free days when you travel is you have no place special to go- only where spirit is calling you to see. So I started wandering, safe in Spirits hands.

On my first full day alone, a light misty rain filled the gray sky with clouds that hung low over Seoul city. Walking the streets I found couples bundled under their one umbrella, each leaning into each other for protection. Always the man holding the umbrella and the small figures of the female encased in their chest, to make sure the rain never touched them.

I found myself enthralled by how tightly packed but vibrant the back streets of Seoul were. I used my map for vague references but when I got to the foot of a hill that a cathedral sat on, the love seemed to emanate from the building. I was being called to go up. I meandered my way slowly up the narrow road to the Cathedral of Myendong. Upon entering the large Cathedral I bore witness to the people in prayerful reverence during their service. This pulse of love continued as I meandered down to the dark cave like crypt with low ceilings and thick stone work that seemed to be straining to keep the floor below it. The crypt could be found under the Cathedral, and was surrounded by the love of the people in prayerful contemplation to a reliquary that held the bones of the martyrs that had given their lives for their faith.

The above marble bust is of St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon who was martyred for his faith along with 10,000 other koreans. Most of these 10,000 were lay people, as Christianity was not tolerated in Korea in 1884. To die for what one believes in is a noble courageous cause, and I felt honored I could share in this energy.

As I left these sacred grounds, and found my way back to the streets, I knew I would just follow where my heart would be guided. As the street was on a slope, I turned to the left and saw a Starbucks. I decided what my body needed was time to process all the energy I had just been surrounded by, so knowing how much a hot Chai Tea latte comforts my body and soul, I decided to stop.

I found myself going to a Starbucks on any of my free days, as a way to stop and process and enjoy what I had just experienced or about to experience. Always, with a banana and a hot Chai Tea Latte looking out at the windows to see the people walking by. How grateful I was that I also found Jade, my tour guide in Busan, also fond of stopping at Starbucks. This will always be a happy memory for me.

I felt a peacefulness as I held my map in my hands, and was searching for places to visit, when a lovely older Korean woman saw me in what must have been a puzzled state and asked if she could help me. As I was laughingly explaining to her that I did not know if I was really lost or just overwhelmed by Seoul as I told her I felt such love. She then pointed upward to a hill and said “Ah, then you want to go to Seoul Tower”. She was kind enough to be my guide, literally taking hold of my arm and pulling me with her through the maze of streets to a major intersection where she stopped, pointed toward the hills where trams were visible overhead and said, “this is what you seek”. Her unconditional love of being willing to stop her travels, go in the opposite direction of where she had been heading, to help get me to this destination further filled my heart with love.

Seoul Tower

I looked up to where she pointed and saw this was going to be a little pilgrimage. The trams were sitting at the top of this tall hill, and to get to the ticket booth I would need to make almost a direct ascent up this hill. So onward I pushed to the increasing pulse of love I felt. As I finally boarded the tram, I was soon traversing over the valley below me as we soared even higher, a feeling of rising to heaven filled me, and when I looked around, my tram was filled with young lovers and families all quietly in awe of what they were seeing. I had to walk a path to the top of the entrance to this tower that was lined with thousands upon thousands of locks in various ages of erosion.

On these mementos left by the lovers were their thoughts, hopes and dreams as tangible evidence of this love. The locks and hearts could be purchased at stands and kiosks around the park. Those who could not afford these locks, used their I phone cases or anything that could be written on as notes, poems and testaments of their united love.

Outside ,there were love chairs for couples to sit in and get their pictures taken in, the word love in Korean on the windows of the towers, emoji’s representing love and a big heart that had cut out writing of what appeared to be the word love everywhere my eyes read.

The locks were lovingly being taken care of by caretakers of the tower who were hosing and scrubbing the locks down as the days and months of grime and algae were removed. It was amazing and humbling to see all the locks and statements of true love left up on the hill awaiting heaven’s blessings.

Inside the Seoul tower, were places where couples could sit- always tables for two- and look out over the skyline and share a beautiful moment together. I did not sit at any table as they were all filled, plus it felt well....sacrilegious to sit at a table as this area vibrated with the energy of loving couples. Instead, I stole a picture of myself and a peek at what's behind me.

As i left the tower and continued to walk around the streets, I was amazed at how they even managed to make the police station look like a fun place that even kids might wish to visit.

As my day came to a close, I could not help but think how amazing this trip had already started out and what might await me in the coming days!

Korean Folk Village

On day three of my trip, I was now on a guided tour. At the UNESCO site Folk Village there is an area where people place prayer bells or wishes on a line and it creates almost a tunnel of wishes, hopes and dreams given to the divine. When I walked into it, I felt all the love, hopes and dreams yet to be manifested in this archway.

This represented to me a walkway of hope…and hope brings love. The village embodies working as a family unit, as one, to perform the daily chores that needs to be done.

Mr. Brian Lee, my tour guide in Seoul sat down on a wall and told me a story. He said he had lived in a farmhouse exactly like this one. He was poor and this was the typical look of a country village and the houses he grew up around. The focus of daily living was all around an outside large table where all facets of there lives took place. When he was a young boy, a similar table was found on his porch and on it they would prepare their meals, eat their meals on it, then after, the adults would carry on conversations around it. When the adults had finished, it became a giant board for his brothers and sisters to play games on. Occasional, there would be a rare visitor to the house who would participate in their games. When the table was once again left on its own, and the nights were too warm to sleep inside their rooms, adults and children alike would lay out their blankets to sleep on top of the table. He remembers looking up at many a starry night, and with a silent slow motion his head turned upward, and I could see a smile on his lips. Oh what sweet memories he must have of these small moments of joy after a hard days work on the farm. To be cradled by the sky and stars and dream of far away places in the heavens.

You could feel the love coming as waves from Mr. Lee and I felt honored to be in the path of these waves as they surrounded me and I looked up and could almost see what he was seeing. I felt a loving connection to this experience with him and I realized how important an object can become in our lives. This table created a bond in his life with all that made him happy. I know we can all relate to something, an object that even now as we remember it, stirs our heart and provokes remembrances that brings a smile to our faces. What is yours?

Bulguksa Temple in city of Gyeongju

One last tourist place where love was prominent for me was at Bulguksa Temple. Inside the main sanctuary are two pagodas. The one I want to talk to has a sad but beautiful love story attached to it. It is known as the pagoda without a reflection or shadow. Jade, my tour guide related this folk story to me...….. there was a stonemason named Asadal in Baekje. He was recruited to build the two pagodas at this temple because of his extraordinary stonemason skills. He had finished the first pagoda Dabatap and was starting to build the Seokgatap. However, his faithful wife who stayed behind in their hometown was waiting for him. It took many years to make these pagodas, and she was missing her beloved husband and wondered what happened to him as he did not return home as she anticipated. In her heart was her desire to see and be with her husband. She started the long trek to see him and arrived at the temple where he was building at.

When she arrived, Asanyeo discovered that women were not allowed into the temple site because of its continued construction. This meant she would have to wait until the temple was finished before she could be with him. So great was her need to see her husband, she hovered around the temple hoping for a glance of him. A monk took pity on her and told her to wait at the pond near the temple until he finished the pagoda where it would then cast its appearance on the water top. She vigilantly stood at the pond daily waiting for the day she would see its reflection, but after many months of not seeing it, she lost hope and faith in ever seeing her husband. In her grief-stricken mind, she threw herself in the pond where she drowned.

Asadal did eventually finish the pagoda and was then told his wife had been waiting for him at the pond and went running to find her, only to find it empty of her presence. After being told of her act of desperation, he was heartbroken. In his brokenness he wandered around the pond and could see a smiling Asanyeo appearing on a rock in the above mountain. To him, the smiling female looked like the generous and benevolent Buddha. He set to carve into a rock this illusory image of his wife. This was to be the last work of art the stonemason was to produce as he then fell into such great pain from despair, he too jumped in the same pond as his wife and drowned. He poured his love with every cut of the stone.

For you see in his mind, the image he cut into the stone was Asanyeo, but what stood in that place he had just cut was a statue of the smiling Buddha.

A Kind Soul

My last experience is one that I want to highlight because it involved a young man, I never got the chance to really talk to or ask his name. Some of you may see this story as a negative experience, but I ask you to see if from the perspective I chose to see it as. A true gift of compassion and a part of a lesson I was asked to be a participant in for this young man. There are no coincidences.

I had returned from an amazing 2 days in Buson. The train coming into Seoul station had arrived late at night. Although I was tired from the long day and the trip, when I stepped outside, I was witness to a “show” going on against a high rise window. I don’t know what else to call this…maybe a visual moving art play that you couldn’t help but stand and watch…it was mesmerizing.

Transportation back to the hotel was my own to find, so like most people there, I headed to the taxi stand. There was a long line of tired people, waiting with their suitcases, backpacks or bags to also get to their final destination. For me that destination was a nice warm hotel bed! The line moved fairly quickly as the taxi’s were waiting in line and pulled up three at a time. I found myself quickly in the front of the line waiting for the first taxi to pull up.

As the cab approached, I walked towards it, but when the older gentleman saw me, he shook his head, and moved his cab forward. I followed the cab back to the waiting line, thinking he wanted me to wait for him there, but when he got out of the cab, he again shook his head and this time wagged his finger in a sweeping "no" motion.

I stopped and realized what he was saying, and then he grabbed the young man’s suitcase who was behind me, and moved it towards the trunk of his cab. The young man put his hands out and said “No, she is next”, which the taxi cab driver again proceeded to now fiercely wag his head "no". This went on 3 more times based on the young mans insistence I be next, before the taxi cab driver turned to me and said “No, I am sorry, but no”.

The young man was obviously upset and refused to go into the cab even after the cab driver placed his suitcase in the trunk. I realized this man was upset and embarrassed and he looked at me. I went up to him and touched his arm and said “I want to thank you for being so kind, and refusing to go into the cab because of his refusal, but I want you to go into the cab now. It is okay. I will be taken care of. You are blessed for you kindness. So, I give you permission to go.”

The young man looked at me, didn’t say a word and walked slowly towards the cab, but continued to stare at me as he slipped into the back of the cab.

Although there were murmurings in the group, nobody said anything. Would you believe the second cab also refused me as well, but the second person went into the cab easily and again I was left standing, waiting for the next cab.

The third cab driver saw me, hesitated and then motioned me forward to his trunk, at which point I said a prayer of thanksgiving. Although tipping is not done in Korea, I did give the man a tip and told him thank you for picking me up. As the cab pulled away from the station and I settled into the cab seat looking at slowly drifting water droplets down my cab window, my mind went back to the young man who stood up for me and refused to move forward seeing the injustice that was being done. I asked God to bless him in a special way and I fell into a peaceful rest looking at the city, hopeful in the compassion that was evident in this young man. Although our paths will not cross again, I am certain that justice will be a part of his mission in this life.

My Last Day.....

I woke up rested, happy and secure in the feelings last night escapade had left me. I believe this was my first ever, if memory serves me well, of feeling discriminated against because of who I was. I will never really know why the taxi drivers decided not to serve me. I may have reminded them of a bad experience with a tourist, or a woman tourist or a woman tourist with blonde hair, but in the end, it really didn't matter. It was their issues that were being presented to me. I was just bearing witness to them. This left me with no ill will to anybody, but a genuine hope in our younger generation to bring love into situations. This love crossed countries, nationalities and stereotypes to shine forth like a beacon from a lighthouse. Forever, love showing the way to safer shores.

This was my last day in this beautiful city that had shown me so much love. I decided to do one more round of just letting my feet walk me through the narrow streets of Seoul to stores and visual reminders of this amazing city, before waiting for the cab to take me back home.

The time had come for me to get back to the hotel and wait for my cab. As the cab arrived, I wondered, just briefly, if I would see a shake of a head "no", but he picked up my bags and proceeded to place them in the trunk and away we went.

I was sad to leave this beautiful city, this country and all of its wonders.

As I watched the rain move slowly down my side window, I reflected how amazing the sites and people I had met were here.

My connections with all the Buddhist temples and energy I knew had somehow blessed me in ways I would never really understand. .

I only knew this would not be the first trip abroad I was going to be called to make, and that when Spirit called again, my heart would say yes.