Rural View

This photo shows that a cattle pen is located on either side of the house in a country village near 탑리 Tap-ri. The rural view like this in South Korea is not common in countrysides anymore. 한우, Hanwoo, Korean native cattle are the traditional native breed which was in the past usually bred to plow fields, make manure and pull carts. It has a coat color ranging from yellowish brown to dark brown.

Most farmers used to raise a very small numbers of the cattle. For some children living in country villages, grazing cattle on grass used to be their daily round after school.

Sesame Oil Shop

탑리, Tap-ri is a small farming village located somewhere in the eastern inland of the peninsular. 탑 Tap means stupa or pagoda in buddhism. In the center of the village, 5 story pagoda which is over 1000 years old stands on a small hill. looking down on the village.

An edible oil shop can be found in nearby traditional market. Something is written on the windows of the front door as follows : 참기름 Sesame, 들기름 perilla, 식용유 edible vegetable oil and 간장 soy sauce. Many shops around it were renovated and rebuilt, but it seems like that this oil shop has not been changed since being opened first. The signboard says Tap-ri sesame oil shop. Two machines in front of the shop are expeller on the left and roaster. Two wooden chairs on the left look like the same ones that have been used by primary school students about 30 years before.

Evergreen Coffee Shop

A rustic coffee shop named 상록수 Sangroksoo meaning evergreen is on the roadside in 청하 Cheongha area near 보경사 Bogyung buddhist temple. The notice on the door says that it is open for business and the room is air conditioned. Some plants and flowers can be seen on the little garden in front of the shop. 다방 Dabang in Korean means a room for tea or coffee.

The room on the left side of the building was used as a pub named 상록수 Sangroksoo, now closed, and is available for rent.

Two Aromatic Trees

Dalsung 달성 in Daegu valley had been a mud and stone-reinforced fortress since Silla 신라 dynasty(BC 57 ∼ AD 935). It had been a strategic hub in the valley. But its strategic importance had been diminished since Daegu fortress was built on the plain nearby, which was aimed to defend the valley people from Japanese invasion. In 1970, Dalsung was renovated to become a park and zoo.

In the late 19th and early 20th century, Japan had a deliberate intention to colonize Chosun 조선 and proceeded to occupy her. In Jan 12, 1909, Sunjong 순종, the last King of the Chosun Dynasty and Ito Hirobumi 伊藤博文, the resident-General of Chosun together visited Dalsung in Daegu. They planted two aromatic trees in memory that were brought from Japan. When they planted the trees, the ages of the trees were 33 and 66 years old respectively, which were the same as those of King Sunjong and Ito Hirobumi. The trees have grown bigger over 100 years and still stand side by side in the middle of the park, without any signs that indicate the event 100 years ago. A Chinese proverb says "Same bed, different dreams." Looks like their wishes regarding the future of the country were totally different. The tree planted by the King is on the right in the view from the park gate of Dalsung.

About 9 months later after their visit to Daegu, Ito Hirobumi was assassinated in north China by a Korean independence activist. King Sunjong's reign also ended when Japan annexed Chosun as a colony in 1910.

On the Way Home

A group of marathoners taking part in 2009 Daegu International Marathon race is running on the street of downtown Daegu. You can see a strangely dressed runner among them. The marathoner is a Korean buddhist monk. He puts on the monk robe instead of a marathon wear, unlike other marathoners, even when running.

Online news reports said that he resolved to start out in the marathon to spread buddhism and has participated in marathon races including ultramarathon several times. He is now an abbot monk of a buddhist temple somewhere in the southern region.