Photo source: http://visitkorea.or.kr/cms/resource_etc/83/300383_image2_1.jpg
JUSANJI ( GyeongSangBuk-Do; near JUWANGSAN National Park)
Thin morning mists. The smallest of hermitages in a small pond. Reflections of old willow trees. An elderly monk and his young acolyte on a wooden boat.
I stumbled upon this image while surfing on the Net and the impulse to seek it out evolved into a minor obsession. I knew I was chasing an illusion. More clicks on the Net had revealed that this was a construct of film director Kim Ki-duk’s imagination; the tiny shrine had been built specifically for his movie, “
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring” and after shooting, it was transferred to YeongPyeong Resort.
Moreover, this isn’t even a natural pond. It’s actually a man-made reservoir built in 1720 for agriculture and drinking water.
Still, the image is irresistable and I find myself buying a ticket from an automated ticketing machine at the bus depot in Juwangsan for a bus to Ijeon. There’s no direct bus so it’s a long but easy walk along a narrow river and rice fields to Jusanji. Managed to hitch a ride from a young couple when I got tired and impatient. Hitching back to Juwangsan was harder but a kind soul from Seoul came to the rescue.
What happens to a dream realised in the prosaic afternoon light when the mists have long lifted? There’s little solitude here with so many photographers here also in search of something elusive. What did I expect to find in Jusanji? I’m no photographer. I hadn’t even seen the film yet so what am I doing here? I came, I saw but how could I say mission accomplished when I didn’t even know what the mission was?
But it is quiet and soothing here. The trees on the farther side of the pond are in the rich and varied colours of autumn and the reflections of the willow trees emerging like silent sentinels out of the water invite contemplation.
