Changdeokgung was originally built in 1405 as a secondary palace, but when Gyeongbokgung (Seoul’s principal palace) was destroyed during the Japanese invasion in the 1590s, it became the primary royal residence until 1872. It remained in use well into the 20th century. Like all Joseon palaces, it has a mountain behind it and a small streamContinue reading “Changdeokgung “
Author Archives: Krista Marson
Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty
The Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty form a collection of 40 tombs scattered over 18 locations. Built over five centuries, from 1408 to 1966, the tombs honoured the memory of ancestors, showed respect for their achievements, asserted royal authority, and protected ancestral spirits from evil. By being entombed in the nation’s dynastic capital, itContinue reading “Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty”
Living Too Close to North Korea
In many large Seoul subway stations, there are cabinets that say “relief goods storage” that contain gas masks and other emergency-preparedness equipment. Many of these stations also serve as bomb shelters to protect the population from North Korean attacks. How prepared are we for nuclear war? Read this article to find out. Spoiler alert: the results areContinue reading “Living Too Close to North Korea”
Hieronymus Bosch Notes
Many of his works depict sin and human moral failings. Bosch used images of demons, half-human animals and machines to evoke fear and confusion to portray the evils of man. What the heck is going on in his paintings? For a man that lived before the age of dropping acid, he sure was trippy. TheContinue reading “Hieronymus Bosch Notes”
La Brea Tar Pits Notes
La Brea Tar Pits dates from the Pleistocene era. La Brea tar pits, containing one of the richest, best preserved, and best studied assemblages of Pleistocenevertebrates, including at least 59 species of mammal and over 135 species of bird. The tar pit fossils bear eloquent witness to life in southern California from 40,000 to 8,000 years ago; aside fromContinue reading “La Brea Tar Pits Notes”
Van Gogh Notes
Died, suicide 37 Bouts of melancholy, profound disillusionment Cerebral, lonely He wanted to give something of himself to this world. Wasn’t afraid to try and persevere. He was only idle when he had to be. A victim of circumstance – Felt imprisoned by poverty. Uncompromising, difficult – he knew that people didn’t like him and found himContinue reading “Van Gogh Notes”
The Scream
Munch’s The Scream is an icon of modern art, the Mona Lisa for our time. As Leonardo da Vinci evoked a Renaissance ideal of serenity and self-control, Munch defined how we see our own age – wracked with anxiety and uncertainty. Essentially The Scream is autobiographical, an expressionistic construction based on Munch’s actual experience of a scream piercing through nature while on aContinue reading “The Scream”
I Admit That I’m Not an Adventurous Eater
I don’t remember where we bought the box of chocolates for Ryan’s little half-sister that had her favorite K-pop band “Big Bang” emblazoned on the cover, but I’m pretty sure that we didn’t buy it from any store inside the Gwangjang Market. Indeed, Gwangjang Market was not where one went searching for items depicting KoreanContinue reading “I Admit That I’m Not an Adventurous Eater”
The perfect place to start a Viking journey
A Stockholm Story We started our trip in Stockholm on a street corner where we puzzled over the mystery of how a metal barrier post thing, which, to our eyes, looked every bit like the front end of a sawed-off cannon, got so knocked off kilter in an area of town where supposedly no motorContinue reading “The perfect place to start a Viking journey”
Emerson
A champion of individualism and a prescient critic of the countervailing pressures of society. Attacked materialism, opportunism, complacency, parochialism, and conformity. Emerson : “Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.” Emerson believed intuition should have precedence over intellect. TRUST THYSELF. Emerson: using common sense, a love of nature, and his own particular genius,Continue reading “Emerson”
Krista Marson 