So Long, Hak-dong (Part 2)

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It feels like an eternity since I wrote a blog! Lately, I’ve been busy moving and settling into a new apartment. It has taken longer than I hoped, but I now have a proper desk set up, and I’m excited to see what I can accomplish in 2021. I composed my previous post entirely on my iPad, which was detrimental to my back and neck—cheers to having an ergonomic office again. As I mentioned in my review of 2020, I hope to publish more issues of The Bulldozed Future out in 2021 and explore more that leads to blog posts.

Today, I wish to show you more scenes from Hak-dong in Gwangju from last October. In the previous post, I showed you The Photographer’s House, gave an update on the Calligraphy School, and presented a shaman’s house that was a treasure trove for bujeok/shaman enthusiasts such as myself. This post will cover the rest of the day in late October, exploring the neighborhood, which was eerily quiet and still. The only people we encountered were people passing through to get to their point B. This time was the perfect time to visit, no high fences to scale, no tarp to go under. Every building was easy to access.

Bujeoks protect every area of the house, including the toilet.
A video game console becomes a mask recepticle.
Dusty floral arrangement.
The owner kept a watchful eye on us as we explored their domain.

We found a couple of houses with altar spaces, most likely practicing shamans, but possibly Buddhists, maybe somewhere in between. This history of Buddhism and Korean Shamanism is centuries old tangled knot.

I found an unused bujeok. Perhaps someone kept waiting for the opportune time to use it.
A floral shower area.
These plaques are for costly Buddhist certifications for dead family members/ancestors. The cost of these things ranges from $1000-USD 3000.
An old water pump I found in a house Hak-dong. It was the second I came across, and I’m sure there were more to be found.

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