Gasil Catholic Church

There is an old gothic building in brick in Gasil  가실 village along the bank of Nakdong river around Waegwan 왜관 to the north of Daegu 대구. The building is Gasil Catholic church in which a typical rural village is surrounded.  It was established in 1895, and the present church and rectory were built during the years 1922-1924 by a French Catholic missionary. Later, Benedictine Abbey in Waegwan was assigned to pastor the church.

During the Korean War, this church was used as a hospital by the North Korean army, so the building was not damaged even if the nearby village was all destroyed. The church on the hill is beautiful enough to draw attention to Catholic as well as non-Catholic. Some years ago a movie was shot here. Father Bartholomaeus Henneken from Germany who has been in Korea over 40 years serves as pastor. Visitors are welcome to look around the church and previous rectory.

A window latch shaped in the female torso to keep the window open is installed close to the each wood window sash on the wall of the previous rectory. A couple of the original window latches were worn out and got broken, so they have been replaced by exactly the same style and materials as the original purchased in Germany. Every effort was made to retain the original form of the building. Gasil Catholic church possesses a lovely warm and peaceful atmosphere.

winter preparation

 

Autumn has nearly gone. Winter has come again. Clay jar used to be a traditional container for ages. In the late autumn, people dig a hole in the ground large enough to bury the jar, which is useful to keep the fermented food as Gimchi 김치 made of radish and cabbage fresh during the cold weather.

Some Buddhist monks also prepared winter in their temple close to Goryeong 고령. The upper parts of three jars are seen. A brick is put on the top of the middle one, which is intended to stop the strong wind from blowing away the top. Recently most Korean people prefer to residing in apartments, so clay jars in the front garden are unusual scene. Instead, they use the electric refrigerator to keep Gimchi for all seasons. This view reminds middle aged Koreans of old things that have been forgotten along the way.

encounter

Taken in a farm village around Daegu. A dog was watching!

Gaya

Gaya is the name of a small town in northern India, and Bodh Gaya in which Gautama Siddhartha was enlightened about 2500 years ago is nearby. Also, there used to be an ancient country whose name was the same as Gaya 가야 in southern Korea. Gaya was the confederacy of chiefdoms that existed from 1st century BC to 562 AD in the lower Nakdong river valley. Daegaya meaning Great Gaya was a chiefdom of the Confederacy, located in the present region of Goryeong 고령. Daegaya had advanced steel making craft so that it had played a major role in the Confederacy. The nearby village, Yaro, 야로, 冶爐 was the place where steel mine was found and developed in the early century. Yaro had been one of the biggest steel mines in the peninsula for a long time. Daegaya collapsed after being defeated in the battle by Shilla in 562 AD.

The ancient tombs during Daegaya Kingdom are lined along the ridge of the mountain just behind Goryeong. Historians agree that Daegaya traded with Japan 1500 years ago. Some burial accessory exported from Japan was found when one of the tombs was excavated.

winter view

Last Friday the snow-covered mountains around Daegu reminded us that we had a heavy snow during the night. As the sun rose, the snow on the ground started melting out because of the difference in the temperature between ground and mountains. People viewed the white mountains after a long absence and it felt more like winter.

We had much snow in those winter days. As the earth is getting warmer, the typical cold winter is the thing of the past. But compared to the previous years, this winter is colder and much snow has fallen in Daegu.

tomb

This hill-like tomb named Bonghwangdae 봉황대 is one of the ancient relics in Gyeongju 경주, which used to be the capital of Shilla Kingdom. The unknown ancestor buried within is silent, but only some old trees growing on it reminds passersby of the forgotten time.

The left one shows a view of Bonghwangdae in 1950's. The below one the recent view. Bonghwang means a mythical and fabulous bird, and Dae a base. It has been said that the ancient people living in Gyeongju enjoyed the panoramic view from the top of this tomb, the beautiful scenery was compared to the mythical bird and the tomb was given the name, Bonghwangdae by them.

monk's residence

Winter has also come to monk's residence in 고운사 Gounsa Buddhist temple. Gounsa was set up in 681, located in Uiseong-gun(county), the center of Gyeongsangbukdo province.

바람 없이 물결이 일지 않으면

삼라만상보다 더 많은 것이 비치네

어찌 많은 말이 필요하랴

바라보면 이미 뜻이 통하네

No wind, no swell; a world so various opens before my eyes.

No need for a lot of words; to look is to see.

(Entitled "Small Lotus Pond(작은 연못),” this is Father Kevin O'Rourke's translation of a poem by the Buddhist monk 혜심 Hyeshim (1178-1234))