SUMMERTIME
DAY IN DAEGU - outing #1
Sunny wanted to take us to Daegu, the third largest city in South Korea. We hopped on the fast train from Busan Station (below).
Busan Station has interesting sculpture, which are lit up at night. The flower pots are gorgeous! The fast train to Daegu, usually a 1.5 to 2 hour drive, took about 35 minutes.
Sunny and I are standing in front of the Yangnyeongski Museum of Oriental Medicine! Welcome to the street that is devoted entirely to the world of oriental medicine. Farmers, sellers, and buyers roam the street, which has over 100 stores or markets selling medicinal herbs. There are over 85 doctors working in many clinics. Over twenty stores specialize in selling ginseng alone. You can guess what it smells like...weird herbs and roots used to make all kinds of tea brewing in every store! The Oriental Medicine Museum was quite interesting - a whole exhibit was devoted to ginseng root, and there was a room where you could put certain herbal remedies in water and soak your feet for whatever ails you.
Daegu Jeil Church was established in 1898, one of the earliest Christian Churches in the province. Its traditional and Western architectural designs were at the forefront of the nation's architectural modernization. The church contributed to the expansion of Christianity in the region. As Christianity blossomed, the church introduced modern medicine and education to the citizens of Daegu and stimulated social development in the region.
Next we walked up "Independence Street" with its 90 steps. Along one side there are historical photographs and mural paintings, and along the other side is a display of Korean flags.
We were lucky enough to run into this group of children on a field trip, who sang a song for us! The little boy in the long sleeved shirt is not happy.
At the top of the hill is another Protestant Church - this one made from granite. It has some Gothic components, such as two spires, pointed arches, and eighteen stained glass windows.
A stone path led up the hill farther where there were missionary's houses from the late 1800s. Many Christian missionaries came to Korea in the 1800's. Many were martyred, killed because Joseon dynasty leaders saw Christianity as a threat.
When the government tore down the old city wall, the Church asked for this portion to remain, so the wall with the old church bell still stands today.
Walking past an old rock wall, we could see the missionary's garden, and the clay pots used for storing food outside for long periods of time.
Walking further, we came to some old traditional Korean houses. While visiting, it's possible to dress up in hanbok for that authentic look. I was the only one who wanted to.
The houses belonged to these two famous men from Daegu: Left: Lee Sang-Hwa, and Right: Seo Sang-Don.
Lee Sang Hwa was a nationalist poet active in the resistance. He participated in the 'Samil Independence Movement' of March 1, 1919 in Daegu to seek the restoration of Korean sovereignty against colonial rule. Any Korean knows the poem that begins, "Does spring come to this land no more our own, to these stripped fields? " One of the most famous Korean poems, it captures the misery of an oppressed nation by illustrating the sorrow of Korea's gloomy colonial situation.
Seo Sang-Don was a nationalist activist in 1898, working with the Independence Association against Russia's political interference and promoting political rights. He proposed and began the Foreign Debt Repayment Movement, and in the year 1907, started a movement to get people to stop smoking.
Both traditional houses, in the center of Daegu, were saved from destruction and are now open for tourists and school groups.
This mural is painted along one street. It reads from right to left, top to bottom, and is one of Lee Sang Hwa's poems.
Sunny and I stand by another mural showing Lee Sang Hwa in the center of Daegu.
Fortunately, an important event was taking place in a nearby park. We stopped to take a picture and wondered what the celebration could be. We found out it was a celebration for the poet Lee Sang Hwa's birthday! These women all belonged to a special "Lee Sang Hwa Society".
The women, dressed in their finest hanbok, asked us to join them and motioned for us to sit on the elegant mats, embellished with tiny wooden "tables", tea sets of all varieties, centerpieces, flowers, punch bowls, and the fanciest little (unknown) foods!
The woman sitting by me was an expert wood worker, and she made the trivets by cutting through a tree trunk, sanding it smooth, and putting one small vase on top with a simple sprig of a summer wildflower.
The covered bowl had three little balls (Chinese date, and some kind of doek rice cake) eaten with toothpicks, which the woman had made from a certain tree. She sanded the sticks and painted them with a special paint. The "toothpick" is sitting on a little wooden duck. I loved it so much that she gave me the duck and two sticks!
We became good buddies, and she gave me a book of
poetry with some parts in English.
Generosity...
The last stop was the Gyesan Catholic Church, also an important building for historical and architectural reasons. It was built by Priest Robert (1853 - 1922) who came to Daegu as a missionary. This church played an important role in the dissemination of Catholicism throughout the region. A memorial hall has the remains of 65 Catholic martyrs.
The brick, the pinnacles, and the stained glass outside, and the pointed arches inside are like the Gothic churches in Europe, and were very unusual for the time.
Another street mosaic showing the Gyesan Catholic Church - and we head back to the train station! Great day in Daegu.
