Some things I did in August

Wow, it is October already! I hope I can remember my August highlights.

In August I finished all but one test to get a Korean driver's license. The only thing I still need to do is do a public road driving test. All that is keeping me from doing that is that I don't have a car to practise driving on the right side of the road on. I only to do so for maybe two hours, just to get a feeling for it, since I'm already quite comfortable driving--it is just that I'm comfortable driving on the left side of the road. Sadly I do not have access to a car and since I don't have a license I cannot even rent a car.

A very fun outing in August was when I impulsively decided to go for a hike along the North Han River. I took the train not to far from my house to Daeseong-ri (about an hour away) and then walked along the river to Cheongpyeong. It was very scenic and beautiful. When I get a car I hope to take frequent trips to more rural, natural parts of Korea like this area, which are a little more difficult to get to via public transportation.

On my little excursion I also climbed up the underside of an express way bridge. It is something I've always wanted to do -- go explore the understand of an express way.

That evening I staid over in Chuncheon. The evening started out quite stressful as I accidentally left my mobile phone in a taxi. Luckily I was able to track the phone with Samsung's Find My Phone service by going to an Internet cafe and phoning the phone and connecting with the taxi driver. That evening I slept in a jjimjilbang (Korean sauna) which was not that nice as it is a bit noisy and the floor is rather uncomfortable to sleep on, especially after many hours of hiking. The hot tubs were quite relaxing though.

The following day, before returning back home I went to a restaurant called Peace of Mind Bakery & Book Cafe. What an interesting place. It is basically a museum of sorts, with some exquisite calligraphy, and other oddities.

For me the pair calligraphy inscribed on bamboo was the most unique of the vast collection.

Another trip I did in August was to Taean. Honestly, I don't like Korea's west coast. The beaches are usually muddy and the ocean is grey and ugly. However, I've been eyeing Taean on the map of Korea that I have on my wall for some time now. It is a large national part known for its pine forests. On a whim a friend and I decided to go and we ended up going to Manglipo Beach 만리포 해변. It was great. It is a beautiful beach -- not muddy, but sandy, with a great vacation atmosphere, but without being overly crowded as is the case for the many of the east coast beaches. Also, it is a mere three hours by bus from Seoul. I did some zip lining and just enjoyed the fun atmosphere.

By accident I discovered a sculpture park in Seoul. I went to a driving school to find out if I can rent a car there just for some driving practise, but they only have package deals requiring you to a thirteen hour course, including the written tests, etc. through them. So while I didn't make use of their service, I did enjoy the beautiful sculptures populating the premises. Apparently the property owner is a sculpture collector and just places them all around the property. I plan to go back there soon, once the fall foliage start to change colours. I'm sure it must be gorgeous then.

One evening I decided that I'm going to make a custard. I made it from scratch, without a recipe using coconut milk, and delicately scented with cinnamon, cardamom, and jasmine flowers.It was quite tasty but not as thick as I had hoped for.

Speaking of desserts, a nice place selling mango bingsu opened up close to my Taekwon-Do gym. It is probably the best mango dessert I've had in Korea so far. Sadly, since Korea is not a tropical country, it doesn't really have a tradition of mango desserts as one would find in for instance Hong Kong or Thailand. Nevertheless, the mango bingsu at Roys is very good.

And, here is a picture of me from the Taekwon-Do gym...

Oh, and I went to the Han River one Sabbath afternoon with some friends for a picknick, which was nice.

Well, sadly that's about all of the highlights I can remember.Hopefully I'll get to writing about the things I did in September before October has passed as well.

The Dying Gaul

Possibly my favourite ancient artwork is the “Capotoline Gaul,” better known as the “Dying Gaul.” It was originally cast in bronze during the Hellenistic Classical period (late Classical Greek period), but was copied into marble by the Romans. It is believed to have been commissioned by King Attalus I of Pergamon, probably best known for his involvement in the Macedonian Wars, but also for his victory over the Galatian Celts. It was in celebration of his victory over these Gallic warriors that he commissioned this statue, depicting a fallen Gaul, mortally wounded and dying.

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Yet what we see is not what one would expect—not a defeated, disgraced, barbarian. Instead, the Gaul supports his body with one arm, pushing himself from his reclined position, still in these last moments fighting his inevitable death. But he is not fighting death itself, merely the humiliation of an undignified death. There is nothing undignified about this warrior. He has bravely fought for his people against the Roman onslaught. He had charged into battle naked as the Gauls were known to do—probably only clad with body paint and his Celtic torc, the neck ring. They wore no armour, showing their fearlessness and defiance.

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The historian Polibius wrote: “The Insubres and the Boii wore trousers and light cloaks, but the Gaesatae [Gauls], in their love of glory and defiant spirit, had thrown off their garments and taken up their position in front of the whole army naked and wearing nothing but their arms... The appearance of these naked warriors was a terrifying spectacle, for they were all men of splendid physique and in the prime of life.” In contrast, the Roman soldiers wore iron and leather breastplates and metal helmets. I would venture a guess that had a great Gaulic warrior and a great Roman soldier met each other in battle, naked and weaponless, the Gaul would have won—not because of fighting technique, but purely because of his virile will-power and determination.

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So impressed was Attalus I with his enemy that he commissioned this sculpture. A sculpture that although it depicts a defeated foe doesn't depict a humiliated foe; although it depicts a dying man, it still emphasises his potency, his athletic body and lithe limbs. This sculpture may be a trophy of Attalus's victory over the Galatians, but it is at the same time a tribute to the greatness of the Galatian-warriors.

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I'm still not sure what exactly it is about the sculpture that so resonates with me. When I studied History of Art I often found myself paging through my textbook and stopping at the picture of the “Dying Gual,” just staring at it pensively, admiring the dignity of this dying man. Years later and nothing has changed. The sculpture still speaks to me as it did back then. I guess that is the power of great art.



You can see a beautiful detailed close-up of the sculpture at the Google Art Project.

"Fat Monkey" Sculpture Made of Flip-flops

Pohang: Homigot-Sonsopkomsplein

Op die buitewyke van Pohang ('n hawestad aan die ooskus van Korea) is 'n plein gebou ter ere van die nuwe millenium en die sonlig wat hier eerste aanwal gekom het. As ek dit reg verstaan is die Homigot-kaap die mees Oostelike punt van die Koreaanse skuureiland. Buiten vir die plein is daar verskeie ander strukture, insluitende 'n misterieuse hand wat uit die see uitkom. Die beeld vind sy maat aan land. Die twee bronshande simboliseer harmonie en voorspoed. Onder aan is 'n klompie fotos van die seehand en een van sy maat.

Thailand: Grand Palace / Temple

Some photos I took of the artwork that is part of the temple at the Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand.

Thailand: Grand Palace

Some photos of the Grand Palace and surrounding architecture -- Bangkok, Thailand.

Thailand: Guardian Figures

On the second to last day of my trip in Thailand last month I went to the Grand Palace in Bangkok. The following are some photos of guardian statues I saw there.

Meredith Dittmar

Meredith Dittmar is another sculptor whose work I enjoy. Dittmar’s medium is clay – it looks like children’s clay – with which she creates exquisite fantasy scenes that are a peculiar mixture of steam punk and New Age anthropomorphic critters. I wish an anime feature film was made of her interesting characters and their equally interesting world. There is this little film short, but I mean something more sinister -- more like 9 than like Gummy Bears.