With Spring having sprung and the weather becoming more palatable, barring the Yellow Dust, I’ve spent more time going on and about taking photos of some of the scenery nearby my apartment in ‘old’ downtown Suncheon. My apartment is located in and around the traditional settlement of Suncheon, right by the old city walls – which have now completely disappeared beside some markers here and there – and as such has hundreds of interesting nooks and crannies which thankfully haven’t all been destroyed just yet despite the local council’s (my employer’s) best efforts!
Being Spring I also took the opportunity to take pictures of the blooming flowers, in particular the Cherry Blossom (or 벚꽃, さくら、桜), one of the few pleasant legacies of Japan’s colonisation of the Korean peninsula.
As you’ll see from these photographs below the area is full of life, character and history. Unfortunately, this very character is being torn up bit by bit to make way for wide, modern roads and generic apartment complexes. Even more depressing is that seemingly no one begrudges this march towards modernity and destruction of the past. Granted the ancient schools and Confucian academies will remain but little of the soul and character surrounding these sites will remain as rustic street after rustic street is torn up to make way for progress. Unfortunately, to many locals’ eyes, rustic shacks and old alleyways are merely eyesores and painful reminders of when Korea wasn’t as prosperous as it is today. It’s very understandable really. But, I just hope that at least some of it will remain so that future generations can fully appreciate where they came from and how their forefathers’ lived.
The whole collection is located at: Suncheon’s Old Core (Part I and Part II).
Enjoy!
Suncheon Jeojeon-dong Catholic Cathedral
Suncheon Jeojeon-dong Catholic Cathedral, the oldest cathedral in town
Cherry Blossom trees on the cathedral grounds
Okcheon seowon Confucian school (옥천서원 |玉川書院)
500 year old tree nearby Okcheon Seowon Confucian school
Entrance to Okcheon seowon - former Confucian school
Flowers by the river
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Suncheon’s soul
Plaque and pavilion inside memorial site
Pavilion containing beautiful calligraphy and paintings
Old alleyway full of character, unfortunately will most likely be lost in the next few years to make way for a road and/or apartment complex
Main gate to Suncheon Hyang-gyo, former Buddhist school
Posted by elcanguro76 
