Gyeonggijeon - Jeonju, Part 3

Our tour guide in September, 2003 was most anxious that we didn't miss this site during our stop-over in Jeonju.  At that time I wasn't in the right frame of mind to appreciate why he was willing to pass up on Pungnammun. Instead he was determined  that we spent a good part of an hour listening attentively to the local guide explain, not very coherently or clearly, the significance of this place. After all, most tourists come to the country without the benefit of Korean History 101 so a crash course in the various dynasties is likely to give the average person mental indigestion. Which comes before which -  Baekje or Joseon or Shilla?

Gyeonggijeon Shrine -a stone's throw away from Jeondong Cathedral

So very often, visits to sites of historical importance end up being clashes between the desire and pride of the patriotic and earnest Koreans who want to share their past and the befuddled foreigners  in packaged tours who can barely recall which city they were in the day before. Ironically TV dramas may help boost interest especially if one can relate the 3D reality of a building or temple to an exciting dramatic moment featuring some dashing general or unenlightened monarch with some ambitious concubine or vengeful lady-in-waiting.

To be honest, what mildly impressed me about Gyeonggijeon when we went there was its general atmosphere of peace and quiet. We had just emerged from  the noise of traffic and crowds in the city centre to find ourselves in this unexpected haven of tranquillity.

Though the shrine was enclosed within low walls, there was still a sense of space with long paths leading up to the main buildings.

The fact that the place was built to hold important artefacts like the portrait of the founder of the Joseon Dynasty, the mortuary tablets for a royal couple, palanquins ( see pic below) and a stupa housing some royal's placenta ( or is it umbilical cord?  See pic above) barely registered.

It was only after watching the TV drama, Painter of the Wind  a few years after that tour, that I had a better appreciation and stronger interest in royal portraits. Sometimes one can be in the right place at the wrong time. We were also probably too late to see the local seniors have their daily meetings here to play Korean chess or simply chit-chat. So we had to make do with the silent company of these figures mounted on the walls.

sources:

http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=264419

http://www.orientalarchitecture.com/koreasouth/jeonju/gyeonggijeon_gallery.php?p=gyeonggijeon01.jpg

http://www.ocp.go.kr:9000/ne_dasencgi/full.cgi?v_kw_str=&v_db_query=A4%3A35&v_db=2&v_doc_no=00002437&v_dblist=2&v_start_num=131&v_disp_type=4
http://jikimi.cha.go.kr/english/search_plaza_new/EMapResultView.jsp?VdkVgwKey=13,03390000,35&queryText=(v_esidocode=35%3Cand%3E%20v_elcto=11)&strGuCode=11&strSidoCode=35&requery=
http://koreana.kf.or.kr/pdf_file/2006/2006_SPRING_E048.pdf
http://www.worknplay.co.kr/entertain/travel_view.php?num=497