The month started with a long weekend, as it was Children's Day on May 5 and Buddha's Birthday on May 6.

1. I headed to Jogyesa, the main Buddhist temple of the country, to have a look at the festivities from a nearby rooftop.


2. I'd been spending too much time here lately. So I was surprised when I looked across the street and saw this:


3. And it turned out there were a number of other abandoned buildings behind it as well.


4. Oh, and no, I wasn't joking about the Eye of Sauron. It's my nickname for this building. A few days earlier, I'd convinced my friend's young sons that this really was the Eye of Sauron.


5. A few days later, I returned with Rudolf Simek, an expert on medieval culture, who was in Korea to give a presentation on the Germanic influences in Lord of the Rings. I bet he didn't expect to ever see the Eye of Sauron in real life.


6. Anyway, back to the abandonments. We got a little creative with entry in order to evade some workers centered around the building in image 2.


7. Oh look, an abandoned pool hall.


8. Playing pool in the crater lake on Baekdusan.



9. We only ever found one ball and two cues in the whole place.


10. One foot on the floor.


11. Here's another look at the area from the other side.


12. A street scene.


13. Another street scene.



14. From the top floor, I had this good view of this one building.


15. There's also a comfortable place to sleep.


16.


17. The roof provides a good view of downtown Seoul.


18.


19. Eye of Sauron, bitches!


20. Anyway, time to check out.


21. One final picture from last year. Here's the area while active, a few days after a fire burned down a small cluster of buildings. Everyone cared so much about the threat to the area then. Nobody cares now.

As always, a great set! What an amazing area.

Forget the cue stick and ball in #9, the clock is amazing. I'm a bit of a clock nerd especially the older "winders". Anything with a pendulum gets me going. Must be the OCD...

Abby

Posted by Jason click to view

Awesome and surprised it doesnt involve a mask.

Love the selfies!

Odd, that a "Children's Day" is celebrated the day prior to Hanamatsuri (my experience of that holiday is that children are celebrated, and often encouraged to participate by laying flowers at the feet of "baby Buddha".

Posted by Tenebrae Love the selfies! Odd, that a "Children's Day" is celebrated the day prior to Hanamatsuri (my experience of that holiday is that children are celebrated, and often encouraged to participate by laying flowers at the feet of "baby Buddha".

It's a complete coincidence, as Children's Day is on the solar calendar and Buddha's Birthday is on the lunar calendar, so it would fall on a different day of the month each year. From what I understand it's a far more important holiday in Korea than the rest of Asia for some reason, which is a good thing considering how Christian this country has become.

I did not think about cultural differences prescribing different dates (I'd thought Hanamatsuri was on a fixed date - April 8th - for everyone).

Odd, that Christianity should have spread so readily to Asian countries; I hadn't realized it was that widespread.

Awesome set Steed..
Next time you're there.. maybe take a pic with a gold ring.. a little title that says "My Precious" hahaha..

Posted by Tenebrae I did not think about cultural differences prescribing different dates (I'd thought Hanamatsuri was on a fixed date - April 8th - for everyone).

Well, it's celebrated on the April 8 of the lunar calendar in Korea, as well as Hong Kong and Macao.

Posted by Tenebrae Odd, that Christianity should have spread so readily to Asian countries; I hadn't realized it was that widespread.

I can't say much for the rest of Asia, but Catholicism is huge in the Philippines, and both Catholicism and Christianity are present in South Korea, the latter with a very vocal minority.

Catholicism entered the picture in the late 18th century, There was a lot of persecution. Currently there are 103 recognised Korean saints, the fourth highest in the Catholic church. Catholics were present in pretty well all of Korea's struggles for freedom, and the church is widely respected for their contributions. Catholics and Buddhists enjoy a close relationship, with Catholic leaders attending major Buddhist ceremonies and vice versa to show their support.

Protestant Christianity arrived in Korea in the late 19th century through missionaries who helped modernise the country, building early hospitals and universities. However, over the years, it's become the religion of materialism and greed. Some of the largest churches grew by going after the wives of businessmen and threatening that if they didn't join the church and donate generously, their husbands' businesses would fail. Christians go to church to pray for material wealth and academic achievement of their children ("Dear God, please let my son get into Seoul National University. And please give my husband a raise so he can buy me that new car. Amen."). It's an aggressive model that is pushing aside the older religions. The previous president of Korea, Lee Myung-bak, was quoted declaring "Let the Buddhist temples of the country crumble to the ground" during his presidential campaign. Even Catholics can't stand them: it's common to hear a Catholic say "I'm not Christian; I'm Catholic."

Posted by Abby Normal As always, a great set! What an amazing area. Forget the cue stick and ball in #9, the clock is amazing. I'm a bit of a clock nerd especially the older "winders". Anything with a pendulum gets me going. Must be the OCD... Abby

agreed- that clock is sweet!

Posted by Steed Well, it's celebrated on the April 8 of the lunar calendar in Korea, as well as Hong Kong and Macao. I can't say much for the rest of Asia, but Catholicism is huge in the Philippines, and both Catholicism and Christianity are present in South Korea, the latter with a very vocal minority. Catholicism entered the picture in the late 18th century, There was a lot of persecution. Currently there are 103 recognised Korean saints, the fourth highest in the Catholic church. Catholics were present in pretty well all of Korea's struggles for freedom, and the church is widely respected for their contributions. Catholics and Buddhists enjoy a close relationship, with Catholic leaders attending major Buddhist ceremonies and vice versa to show their support. Protestant Christianity arrived in Korea in the late 19th century through missionaries who helped modernise the country, building early hospitals and universities. However, over the years, it's become the religion of materialism and greed. Some of the largest churches grew by going after the wives of businessmen and threatening that if they didn't join the church and donate generously, their husbands' businesses would fail. Christians go to church to pray for material wealth and academic achievement of their children ("Dear God, please let my son get into Seoul National University. And please give my husband a raise so he can buy me that new car. Amen."). It's an aggressive model that is pushing aside the older religions. The previous president of Korea, Lee Myung-bak, was quoted declaring "Let the Buddhist temples of the country crumble to the ground" during his presidential campaign. Even Catholics can't stand them: it's common to hear a Catholic say "I'm not Christian; I'm Catholic."

Mutual support (Catholics and Buddhists) reveals a deeper understanding and application of underlying precepts.

I suppose I'm naive to be as shocked by this last paragraph as I am; history (current included) is riddled with examples of the misuse of religion.

Part of the Eye Os Sauron reminds me of the Hong Kong Bank of China building, that was designed with white diamonds on a black background as it was considered the best design to inspire prosperary.

Posted by Tenebrae Mutual support (Catholics and Buddhists) reveals a deeper understanding and application of underlying precepts. I suppose I'm naive to be as shocked by this last paragraph as I am; history (current included) is riddled with examples of the misuse of religion.

Well, if you want to see a good example of misuse of religion, check this out:
http://edition.cnn...-ship-sinking-yoo/
TL;DR: a rich, corrupt guy starts his own church so he can receive various religious protection benefits. His church is quickly called out as a cult by larger churches. He starts more companies and staffs them with his followers, who will work for virtually nothing. One of his holdings (indirectly through his sons) runs a ferry transportation company. I think you can guess what happens next.