War Memorial & Jogyesa Temple

As in our previous outings we had seen the commercial side of Korea, we decided to explore its history and religious side the next weekend. When ever we plan of any place to visit I start researching about it the whole week, like the route to reach,places to see nearby,train info etc. And the War Memorial is a 'must see' for any foreigners coming to Korea. And we were very much interested in visiting a Buddhist temple so we zeroed on Jogyesa Temple.

Fist we went to the War Memorial. The journey was smooth. From the station it is about 15 min walk to the memorial. Me and hubby enjoyed the walk,it was bit chilly but pleasurable. We took our gloves and caps which came in use. When we reached the destination we kind of lost the way to entrance. There is a wedding hall in the premises which we came across first. Taking left would have brought us to ticket counter but we took a right and came to the resturant area. But there are maps through out the park to guide visitors. So we again came a full circle to the counter but to our luck it was a free entry day. So we started deciding from where to start. The War Memorial of Korea is divided into indoor and outdoor exhibits and contains about 9,000 artifacts. The Indoor exhibition space, about 110,770㎡, is made up of seven halls:
The Memorial hall, The War History Room, The Korean War Room, The Expeditionary Forces Room, The Armed Forces Room, The Large Equipment Room and The Korean Defense Industries Room. The outdoor exhibition contains the actual equipment used in the Korean War and also the large weaponry of other nation, the Korean War Monument, The Monument of King Kwanggaeto the Great, The Statue of brothers, Peace clock tower, etc. Also at the both side of the memorial is the monument(name stone) of fallen soldiers, police, and Korean war participants. We started from the outdoor exhibits first. It was awesome to see the War monument which was a big bullet type structure with inscriptions on it. The we proceeded towards the weaponry and aircrafts being used.In the Outdoor Exhibition, vehicles, tanks, field artillery, air craft, armored car, guns from warships, submarines, radar, etc. Which were used in World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam War, are displayed. Visitors are allowed inside the displayed equipment.It was an unforgettable experience to see the aircrafts,tankers, missiles from so close. We were busy taking snaps of all which was out for display. Suddenly we see people dressed in colourful attires parading towards an area. When we came close we realised the procession was for a Korean wedding ceremony. They were taking the bride inside a wooden chariot type object which was carried by people. Then they put on a big decorated wig on her head(kind of bridal headgear) . After some time we saw the bride and groom together after being announced married. After this experience we continued our exploration. We finished the tour of outdoor exhibits and took a break. We went to the resturant area where we got some chips to munch on. And then we again went for the Indoor exhibit. It was total of 3 floors and the area was huge. As we had to again catch another train and see the Jogyesa temple we thought of seeing 2 floors of the exhibit. First we came across War history displays which had weapons from mainly the Neolithic and Paleolithic age. Then we came across exhibits from various defense forces as well as the history of Korean War. The rooms had everything from gears they wore, uniforms, swords, guns, canons, miniature scenes from the war. Then there were displays which focused on June 25, 1950, start from the sudden raid of North Korea across South Korea. There were several mini movies being showed about it which was emotional as well as informative. You can get more information about the memorial from this site. Then after spending around 3 hours we decided to move to our next destination.

We got the train to Jonggak station which was on our way back to Suwon. Jonggak it famous for Jogyesa Buddhist temple and Insa-dong souvenir market selling only traditional Korean handicrafts . But since lack of time we thought to skip the market and just visit the temple. We had a feeling of calmness prevailing upon us as we entered it. All were praying, lighting candles, incense sticks and connecting with their God. We also lighted the sticks and went inside after taking a tour around the temple. There is a 500 year old pine tree just next to the temple which was in a dried state due to winter. The temple conducts a lantern festival every year which is quiet famous among the locals where thousands of colourful lamps are lit. Inside the temple people were chanting,reading their prayer books. I saw the bowing style which was bit different from us. They took cushions kept and bowed like we do(Hindus) but then they make a hand movement near their ears while bowing which I interpret 'God I bow from my soul in front of you'.They do like this 3 times. It was very peaceful just sitting there connecting with the Almighty and find your inner self. Very spiritual experience. Many people think Spiritualism is a high sounding word. But for me its when you interact with your inner self. Just sitting there thanking God for all what he gave us made my connection with Him. And praying for wellbeing of all made me feel peace within. When I visit such places I really enjoy the quietness, and sitting just looking at Him make me forget everything else. Just the sense of calm prevails. Me and Hubby enjoyed this spiritual experience. We then came home but this time we didn't feel that tired may be 'coz we were feeling fresh inside.