You see that road staring at you?
It's gonna be runing on
Long after you run out of time.

It's just a hot, dry road
baking under the desert sun
forever it will run
long after you give up the race

Every road leads to a dead end
where the race begins again
but every now and then
it becomes the place you call home

So what are you running from
and where do you think you're going?
When are you gonna cut to the chase
and let the rain fall on your face?

Her big brown eyes
slashed my soul in half
for I didn't have an answer
I still don't know what to say

There is a fear in every man
that he just doesn't understand
He will brood his life away
running from the words
he's too scared to say

maybe its "I love you"
maybe its "I'm sorry"
might be a lot of things

he carries them in his heart
'cause he's afraid to wear them on his sleeve
so he hides it under a tough exterior
or he runs

he cuts to the chase and runs

and I'm still runnin'
still runnin'
still runnin'

on and on...

I only know the legend, based on what I read a long time ago.

A
young man accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. Based on his
conversion experience, he decides to return to Jesus a gift, and seeks
to share the gift with his church family. The musician enters the
church, takes out his instument and begins playing. Outrage ensues.

The
young man is wearing denim jeans and jacket, the only clothes he has.
His instrument is a guitar. The song he sings is not found in the
church hymnal.

It was the beginning of an uproar in the
Christian church that has never subsided. Larry Norman became the
father of the Christian rock, which grew out of the Jesus people
movement of the late 1960s as flower children and hippies came around
to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Conservatives didn't like this "new threat."

And Norman wasn't comfortable with the people associated with the Jesus Movement. According to Barry Alfonso, Larry Norman Biography Musicianguide.com retrieved 2007-12-27

His
goal was simple. "I wanted to push aside the traditional gospel quartet
music, break down the church doors and let the hippies and the
prostitutes and other unwashed rabble into the sanctuary...I wanted to
talk about feeding the poor, going into the world....[I felt that] most
of the modern music was anemic and needed a transfusion." (cited
wikipedia.com)

A few years ago I read an interview with the late Carl
Perkins in Guitar World magazine. Perkins explained the origins of
rockabilly. He stated that rockabilly combined three musical
influences: black man's blues, white man's country music, and black
gospel. It reinforced my opinion that I developed while watching a
program set in the 1960s. As a song by Bob Dylan was playing in the
background, a man spoke against rock music and it's jungle sound. I
became convinced that some of the accusations against rock music had a
racist foundation to it. As unfortunate as it is, racism is still found
in many of today's churches.

Now a man has crossed the line
and wrote a rock song and put the name of Jesus in it. The scandal was
greater than Bob Dylan plugging in an electric guitar at the Newport
Folk Festival. It just didn't get the press coverage.

I grew up in the Baptist church. I'd heard of Larry
Norman, Don Francisco, and Bill Gaither, Mahalia Jackson, and others. I
knew a lot of musicians playing rock music got their start in church
choirs. The only Christian music I was familiar with was found in the
Baptist hymnal, and 90 percent of the song were written before 1900 and
a lot of them listed Fanny Crosby as the writer. I got turned onto
contemporary Chirstian music in the very late 1970s through the music
of Dallas Holm and The Imperials. Resurrection Band, however, was not
looked upon favorably by strict conservative Christians. Except for
"I'd Wish We'd All Been Ready," Larry Norman was very much the outlaw,
and no one spoke of him. Most of what I learned about him came through
magazines and the Internet back in 1997.

Today I found out that Larry Norman died this past Sunday.

Mark Heard

Rich Mullins

Larry Norman

The
men and their music are at peace with God. Their legacies still point
to Jesus Christ. The controversy over Christian muic, unfortunately,
will continue.

I
spent New Year's Eve in 2005 walking the streets of Seoul packing a
Canon A85 camera. It got the job done, and has since been given away
after I replaced it with a newer camera that I also, gave away. 

Walking
the streets of an unfamiliar city gives one the chance to take
possession of the city. The subway was my primary mode of
transportation, so I missed a lot of what there was to see at street
level. As I walked through City Hall station, I stopped to look at the
map of the surrounding area, and took ownership of the streets above me.

My first destination was Namdaemun, the South Gate of the ancient Seoul.

I
walked the three blocks south toward the anachronistic structure,
looking so out of place among the towers of 21st century business and
industry. Yet, it had a quiet dignity to it. I could imagine the
history that passed through this gate.

The lights came on.

As
I took pictures of this structure, I imaged the history it bore witness
to. Kings passed through this gate. Battles were fought here. Times
changed. What would the guards who once stood watch from the tower
think if they could watch 600 years of history rush by them in the
blink of an eye?

I also wished that I had a camera with a
wider lens and a telephoto lens to capture more of the detail the
craftsmen put into the building of the South Gate.

History
is a poetic dance through time filled with beauty, glory, triumph,
tribulation, war. It's colorful garments are stained red and black, for
the blood and fire and smoke and ash. For every step, there is a
mistep. Man-made attempts to build heaven on earth lead many people
into one more hell on earth. Heaven is never achieved. In the tears of
the innocents, the colorful garments fail to come clean.

In
2006 and 2007 I returned to Namdaemun, where my New Year's Eve journey
begin. I take pictures of the gate and reflect on the year that has
passed me by. I remember my students, then wonder how they are getting
along in their university studies, or with their careers and families.
I look forward, wondering where I will go in the coming year, knowing
that my path will come this way again in time.

A witness sees someone climb the steps to the tower. A moment later he sees sparks, and a fire is born.

Against
the Manchu and the Japanese and the brothers from the North the gate
stood tall and firm as history unfolded. The act of one selfish man
turned Namdaemun into a pile of timber and ashes.

The headlines
speak of national disaster. The psychological shock some are
experiencing now will be overcome. I've read Korean history and see
their resilience, finding a way to bounce back from invaders and war
and famine. The Namdaemun that will be rebuilt will be a testament to
this resilience.

The gate was closed in 1907 by the Japanese.
In 2006 it was reopened by the Korean government. At the time I didn't
understand the significance of the event when I walked through the gate
in March of that year.

I'm looking at new cameras to replace
the Canon A620 I currently carry with me most places that I go. I'm
walking new streets, taking ownership of a new city with an ancient
name. As I go, I make plans to be there when Namdaemun is open again,
not only as a witness to the past, but to the spirit of the Korean
people who will overcome the shock at the loss of this national
treasure. The new Namdaemun will be a gate for the ages. We can only
imagine the history that it will bear witness to in the future.

Namdaemun (Sungnyemun) Dec. 31, 2006 - James Heald

Arson Suspected in Namdaemun Fire

By Lee Hyo-sik
Staff Reporter

Namdaemun, the oldest wooden structure in Seoul, was originally built
in 1398 and then renovated in 1962, following its destruction during
the Korean War. It was given the status of National Treasure No. 1.

http://www.seoulnews.net/

Fire Demolishes National Treasure No. 1

By Lee Hyo-shik
Staff Reporter

http://www.seoulnews.net/

Fire Destroys South Korean Landmark

By KWANG-TAE KIM, Associated Press Writer

SEOUL, South Korea - An overnight fire destroyed a 610-year-old
landmark that was considered the top national treasure, officials said
Monday. Police said the cause of the blaze was unclear but one official
said arson was suspected.

The fire broke out Sunday night and burned down the wooden structure at the top of the Namdaemun gate that once formed part of a wall that encircled the capital.

Some 360 firefighters fought to bring the blaze under control,
according to Lee Sang-joon, an official with the National Emergency
Management Agency. No one was injured, he said.

Lee said that arson was suspected in the blaze. However, Kim
Young-soo, the head of a police station in central Seoul handling the
case, told a televised news conference said it was too early to make
that conclusion.

President-elect Lee Myung-bak visited the scene and deplored the destruction of Namdaemun, the namesake of Seoul's central district and a major tourist attraction.

"People's hearts will ache," he told officials as he received a briefing.

The South Korean government opened the landmark gate, officially named Sungnyemun, to public in 2006 for first time in nearly a century.

The gate had been off-limits to the public since Japanese colonial authorities built an electric tramway nearby in 1907. Japan ruled the Korean Peninsula in 1910-45.

The gate was renovated in the 1960s and again in 2005.

The Cultural Heritage Administration said it would take at least
three years to fully restore the gate and it would cost some $21
million.

동짓달 기나긴 밤을 한 허리를 버혀 내어

춘풍 니불 아래 서리서리 넣었다가

어론님 오신 날 밤이어든 굽이굽이 펴리라

Oh that I might capture the essence of this deep midwinter night

And fold it softly into the waft of a spring-moon quilt,

Then fondly uncoil it the night my beloved returns.

Hwang Jin-yi, 16th Century gisaeng

Life for the gisaeng was hard. While they were trained in poetry,
prose, the fine arts, music, needlecraft, cooking, and had some medical
training, they were still scorned by the aristocrats of the Joseon
Dynasty of Korea. Gisaeng were little more than slaves who had little
or no chance of surviving under strict Confucian society. A woman had
to have a husband or a son to take care of her. If she did not have
either one to look after her, then she had few options.

Of the gisaeng I have read about, Hwang Jin-yi is the most famous. It
is believed that she lived from 1520 to 1560, so the life of a gisaeng
was short. Books, television and movies have been made about this
woman, believed to have been the most beautiful woman to have ever
lived in Korea. Six of her poems still exist, which is extremely rare
for a woman writer of her time. Most women writers adapted male pen
names.

Hwang Jin-yi (2006 television program) starring Ha Ji-won

Since 2005, two tellings on the story of Hwang Jin-yi have been told.
The first was a television series produced by KBS starring Ha Ji-won in
the title role. It goes into detail about what life as a gisaeng was
like, including the bitter rivalries among the women for the affections
of their yangban lovers. (Yangban is the Korean word for the
aristocracy, the ruling elite.) I have a copy of the television program
on DVD, but there are no English subtitles.

Hwang Jin-yi (2007 movie) starring Song Hye-Gyo

The second is a movie starring Song Hye-gyo and is based on a North
Korean novel, which is the only North Korean book to win a South Korean
award in literature.

Hwang Jin-yi tells the story of her betrayal by a childhood friend,
resulting in her being expelled from the yangban family that adopted
her and her turn to the life as a gisaeng to survive. Her friend
betrayed her in the hopes that he could marry her. He pleads with her,
begging her to never forgive her for his betrayal, for it cost her the
life spent married to an aristocrat. Her mother, it was revealed by her
adopted mother, was gisaeng, so Jin-yi will follow the same path.

She asks her lover to become her bodyguard, to watch over her and
protect her from aristocrats who put her physically in danger when they
are too drunk to control themselves. It pains him to watch the woman he
loves give into the yangban desires. A drunken yangban causes offense
to Jin-yi, who slaps his face. He in turn slaps her so hard that she
falls unconscious to the floor. Her protector comes in and takes her
home. Later, the yangban is awakened from a his stupor and is painfully
killed by her lover, who can take no more and runs away. In time he
becomes a bandit leader, causing problems for the local magistrate who
has attached his eye to the beautiful gisaeng who's reputation is being
spread throughout the country.

When I first began watching Korean period drama, I found the acting to
be somewhat stiff. The more I understand how Confucianism worked in the
past, I no longer saw the acting as stiff, but sometimes I feel like I
am watching Vulcan opera and I'm waiting for Mr. Spock's cameo. One
misstep in protocol during the Joseon Dynasty could result in very
serious penalties, including death. This was evident to me in dramas
like Damo, among others.

Many historical locations associated with Hwang Jin-yi were used to
film this movie, and the North Korean government opened its doors to
allow the conclusion to be filmed in the Kumgang (Diamond) Mountains.

music video from the 2007 movie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMdt_zAlW94

official movie trailer for 2007 movie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxnkeReRgds

opening theme for 2006 television program

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUvipYD6OIA

music video from OST (not 100% sure, but it might be Ha Ji-won singing)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQL-eMshM1M&feature=related

Seokjojeon - Seoul, Dec. 2007
James Heald
Canon Digital Kiss X

On the grounds of Doeksugung is Seokjojeon, the only Western-influenced building built for royalty. Taking ten years to build at the turn of the century, the building would become the home for King Gojong (1852-1919), the 26th king of the Joseon Dynasty, and the first emperor of the Korean Empire (1897-1907).

Front steps to Seokjojeon

The final years of the Joseon Dynasty were turbulent, to say the least. China, Russia, and Japan were fighting for influence in and control of the peninsula, and the "Hermit Kingdom" was fighting to survive. Korea had been a battleground with invaders for hundreds of years. Jurchens, Manchus, the horrifying invasion by the Japanese in 1592 that devastated the economy as hundreds of artists and craftsmen were captured and taken back to Japan. There was interference from China, as well as one-sided treaties signed with European powers and the United States that opened markets in Korea.

As China declined into anarchy, and losing the Sino-Japanese War (1894-95), Japanese influence increased. King Gojong's wife, Queen Min, was a stumbling block to the Japanese. She fought battles with Koreans who sided with the Japanese, as well as the Japanese, frustrating their every effort. Queen Min improved Korean society by opening schools, inviting foreign missionaries into the country to educate students in Western culture. She commissioned the founding of a newspaper to be printed in the language of the Korean people. Missionaries were also given government positions, allowing them to spread Christianity across the country. This also allowed improvements in medicine and health care. She influenced Gojong to update the military, and modern weapons were imported from Japan and United States. Many of Queen Min's reforms were too little and too late.

The Eulmi Incident occurred in October 1895. Queen Min was assassinated by Japanese swordsmen. Fifty-eight men were accused of the crime, but all were acquitted by lack of evidence.

East Wing of Seokjojeon

Construction of Jeokjojeon began in 1900. It features a Neoclassical architecture, with Ionian columns. The interior, which is closed to the public, is said to be of the rococo style. The bottom floor is a half-basement where servants waited upon the king. The first floor is where the king met foreign officials, while the top floor was used as living quarters.

Russian influence in Korean ended with the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05). King Gojong was forced to sign a Protectorate Treaty in 1905 that stripped Korea its independence. He sent representatives to Hague Peace Convention in 1907 in trying to get international support for Korean independence, but Japanese representatives blocked them. However, the representatives did talk to newspaper reporters about the situation.

The United States does not realize what Japan's policy in the Far East

is and what it portends for the American people. The Japanese adopted a

policy that in the end will give her complete control over commerce and

industry in the Far East. Japan is bitter against the United States and

against Great Britain. If the United States does not watch Japan

closely she will force the Americans and the English out of the Far

East.

Korean Representative, 1907

The Meiji Emperor was outraged by this comment and forced King Gojong to abdicate the throne to his son, King Sunjong (1907-1910). Korea became a Japanese colony in 1910. Liberation would come with the defeat of the Japanese at the hands of the United States in 1945.

During the Japanese occupation, Seokjojeon was used as an art museum. In 1945 American and Russian representatives met to discuss the future of Korea, which was divided during this time along the 38th parallel. After the Korean war, it was the National Museum, and now serves as the Royal Museum, displaying artifacts from the Joseon royal family.

-----

While I have visited Doeksugung several times in the past two years, I don't know all of the stories these buildings could tell if they could talk. I used Wikipedia and other sources to gather some of the information I have shared here, which reinforces what I learned on earlier visits. If I got any details wrong, I am open to correction.

Bongeuisan - Chuncheon, RoK - October, 2007

I've been in Chuncheon for over a year. Strange being in one place that long. I thought I would get a call from the Academic Office with news of a new assignment.

Chuncheon is the capital of Gangwon Province, and is 95 kilometers northeast of Seoul. By bus, one can be in Seoul in one hour. By train, the trip takes nearly two hours. It is often refered to as the "beautiful lakeside city of Chuncheon," for the city is nestled nicely on the banks of the Bukhan River and the Soyang River. Popular places to visit incluce Soyang Lake and Euam Dam, which forms Euam Lake.

The centerpiece of Chuncheon is Mount Bongeui, or in the Korean, Bongeuisan. I've heard it pronounced "Bong-lee-san" but have been told that "Bong-u-ee-san" is correct. This past August we had good enough weather for a change and I took a hike up this beautiful, 301 meter tall mountain. One of the highlights of the trip is the remains of a wall that formed part of the defenses of Bongeuisanseong, or Bongeuisan Fortress. Some parts of the wall are still in their original condition, and other parts have been restored.

Bongeuisanseong Fortress Wall - August, 2007

It is thought that the fortress was built during the Silla Kingdom, around the 7th Century AD. During the time of Goguryeo, two battle were fought here. One was in 1219, and the other was in 1253, during the Mongol invasion. The people took refuge behind the walls, and the Mongols laid seige. It is said that when the people ran out of water, they drank the blood of cows and horses. Eventually the Mongols captured the fortress, killing many people, government officials and soldiers.

During the Japanese invasion, General Won Ho had his camp here, and it was a hard-fought battlefield during the Korean War (1950-1953).

At the base of the mountain you can see Hallym University, established in 1982. It's a very nice campus.

The original image of Bongeuisan is 100 inches long and 34.333 inches wide. It was taken with a Canon Digital Kiss X from the top of my apartment building about a kilometer east of the mountain. I used a 75-300mm telephoto lens and took three images of the mountain, then built the panorama you see above.

A cursed sword that sings... if it does not pierce your heart, it will break it.

From the 2005 movie, Hyeong-sa (Duelist) starring Ha Ji-won, Ahn Seong-gi, and Kang Dong Won

This is the best scene in the whole movie.

I was called to fight a battle
that I had no stomach for
A sabre I was forced to rattle
I was forced to fight in the war
I am a slave born to die on the front line
for a cause not mine for the choosing

I have marched through the sands of time
leaving my companions behind to sleep
the sabre I am forced to rattle
into history's pages cuts deep
it calls me a hero... but why did I fight
and bleed for a cause not mine for the choosing