South Korea

Buddhist Lantern Parade, Seoul


Koreans carry colorful lanterns to celebrate the birthday of Buddha, the “awakened one.” No one knows the exact date or even the year of his birth, though tradition says it was some 2,500 years ago. Today, about a quarter of South Koreans identify themselves as Buddhists.


Gyeongbokgung Palace, Seoul


The guards at Gyeongbokgung Palace change frequently, as has much else since 1395, when a palace was first built on this central Seoul site during the Joseon Dynasty. The “palace greatly blessed by heaven” was destroyed by the Japanese at the end of the 16th century and again during World War II. Over the past two decades Koreans have been restoring Gyeongbokgung to its former grandeur.


Tea-Leaf Pickers


Adrift in a sea of green, workers pick tea leaves. Koreans typically drink green tea, traditionally the focus of an elaborate social and sometimes spiritual ritual. This ancient ceremony is becoming increasingly popular as a way to relax in the sometimes hectic world of modern South Korea.


Korean Calligrapher


Hangul has been Korea’s official script alphabet since the mid-15th century. But China and Confucianism had such a strong influence on the peninsula that many in Korea’s upper classes preferred Chinese characters until after World War II.


Namdaemun Market, Seoul


Namdaemun Market, in the center of Seoul, is home to purveyors of pork products from whole hog heads to jokbal, a pigs’ feet specialty.


Anapji Pond


In 674 King Munmu created Anapji Pond within the walls of Wolseong, the royal palace during the Silla kingdom. Surrounded by magnificent gardens, the artificial pond was made to look like a small sea, complete with islands and sailing ships; modern treasure hunters have retrieved some 30,000 Silla artifacts from its waters.


Cheonggyecheon, Seoul


Seoul’s Cheonggyecheon was once a creek that flowed into the Han River, but after the Korean War it was buried under an elevated roadway. A project to rip out the road and restore the creek was finished in 2005, and water now flows through a protected corridor 3.6 miles (5.8 kilometers) long, forming an urban oasis.


Buddhist Scripture Tablets


Hoping the word would prove mightier than the sword, King Gojong sought divine aid against a Mongol invasion by ordering his subjects to carve the entire Buddhist canon into wooden blocks. The task took 16 years (1236-1251). Today the 81,258 woodblocks, the Tripitaka Koreana, are in remarkable condition. They’re stored in special buildings at Haeinsa, or “temple of a vast sea of meditation,” which is perched on the flanks of Mount Gayasan.


Demilitarized Zone


Soldiers patrol the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), which has divided the two Koreas since the 1953 armistice that ended the Korean War. Around two million troops are stationed along the 2.5-mile-wide (4-kilometer-wide) DMZ, but the zone is off limits to nearly all humans and remains largely untouched. Conservationists say it may be Korea’s greatest wildlife preserve.


Buddhas


Rows of golden Buddhas silently welcome visitors to a Korean temple.