Korea Day 2: National Museum of Korea, Cheonggyecheon Stream, Myeongdong

Second Day: March 27, 2013

We visited the National Museum of Korea in the morning.  Because we had a walking tour scheduled at 2pm, we only gave ourselves an hour to roam around the museum.  Given the limitation in time, we decided to part ways and each headed to the section of one's interest.

Picture outside National Museum of Korea

Picture outside National Museum of Korea

Picture Outside National Museum of Korea

I went to the painting section.  I immediately noticed the similarity between Korean painting and Chinese painting, both in subject and in technique.

Paintings of the four gentlemen (bamboo, plum blossom, orchid, chrysanthemum), a very common subject in Chinese painting, can be found in the painting collection.

Plum Blossom Painting by Jo Huiryong

Bamboo Painting by Yi Jeong

A wooden plaque enumerating the different brush strokes used in landscape painting, exactly the same as those used in Chinese landscape painting, hung on one wall.

Different Brush Strokes in Joseon Landscape Painting.  Short-Linear Texture Strokes.

Different Brush Strokes in Joseon Landscape Painting.  Hemp-Fiber Texture Strokes.

Different Brush Strokes in Joseon Landscape Painting.  Ox-Tail Texture Strokes.

Different Brush Strokes in Joseon Landscape Painting.  Mi Dots.

Different Brush Strokes in Joseon Landscape Painting.    Vertical Texture Strokes.

Different Brush Strokes in Joseon Landscape Painting.  Ax-Cut Texture Strokes.

Makes me wonder how the two cultures came to develop the same art form and in what ways one differs from the other, if there are any.

We grabbed some gimbap at 711 on our way to Cheonggyecheon Stream; there was no time for lunch.  Still, we arrived late at 230pm and our tour guide was nowhere to be seen.  We had no idea whether he left out of impatience or he had not come at all as suggested by the unanswered phone after numerous calls by my brother; thus, we walked along the stretch of Cheonggyecheon Stream on our own.

Starting point of Cheonggyecheon Stream

History of Cheonggyecheon Stream*:
>  The stream used to be a site where women would do their laundry.
>  In 1958, the water became so polluted that it was covered with concrete.
>  In 1971, an elevated highway was constructed over the stream bed.
>  In 2003, the Cheonggyecheon Restoration Project was started, which would remove the elevated highway and restore the stream.
>  In 2005, the Cheonggyecheon Restoration Project was completed.  The stream was restored to its form today.

*For more information, visit cheonggyecheon.or.kr 

Cheonggyecheon Stream is the place to go for relaxation.  One can just walk along the path as long as one wants, and stop at any point whenever one wishes to.

Various art works can be found along the stream.  Shown here is the  Banchado of King Jeongjo's Royal Parade.  This is a mural painting of King Jeongjo visiting his father's tomb on his mother's 60th birthday in 1795.

We stopped at Jangtonggyo Bridge, the 3rd of the 22 bridges over the stream, and proceeded to Myeongdong for shopping.

Myeongdong Catholic Cathedral

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Directions to National Museum of Korea: Line 4, Ichon Station, Exit 2

Directions to Cheonggyecheon Stream: Line 5, Gwanghwamun Station, Exit 5