Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(Insa-dong; 9am-6pm; Line 3 to Anguk, Exit 6)
Designed by a Japanese architect and construc-
ted in 1921, this is a handsome baroque-style, red-brick and stone temple with a tower. In-
side, the wood panelling, lines of chairs and plain decoration create an impression of a
lecture theatre, although there are stained-glass windows.
Cheondogyo is a home-grown Korean religion containing Buddhist, Confucian and
Christian elements that gathered momentum in the 1860s. Its members were key figures in
the Donghak rebellion and the independence movements opposed to Japanese rule. The
founder, Great Master Suun (1824-64), was executed for being a radical reformer. Fol-
lowers believe that God is within everyone. Services (featuring lots of bowing) are held
every Sunday at 11am. Men sit on the left and women on the right.
BOSINGAK
BELL TOWER
(Jung-ro, Insa-dong; Line 1 to Jonggak, Exit 4)
This ornate pavilion, which contrasts with the
modern Jogno Tower opposite, houses a recent copy of the city bell - the original, forged
in 1468, is in the garden of the National Museum of Korea. Costumed guardsmen patrol
around the bell and ring it 12 times at noon (ceremony runs from 11am to 12.20pm Tues-
day to Sunday) but in the past the great bell was struck 28 times every night at 10pm to
ask the heavens for a peaceful night and to signal the closure of the gates and the start of
the nightly curfew. To signal the start of the new day it was struck 33 times for the 33
Buddhist heavens at 4am, after which the gates were reopened. It also sounded when fire
broke out, as often happened with so many wooden and thatched buildings.
MOKIN MUSEUM
MUSEUM
(
www.mokinmuseum.com
;
Insa-dong 11-gil, Insa-dong; adult/child ₩5000/3000; 10am-7pm; Line 3 to An-
guk, Exit 6)
Mokin
are carved and painted wooden figures and decorative motifs that were
used to decorate
sangyeo
(funeral carriages). Carved by humble village craftsmen, they
are a unique folk art drenched in Buddhist and shamanist beliefs, and this small private
museum includes some prime examples of the craft. Carved flowers represent wealth and
yearning for a perfect world, while birds represent messengers from this world to the next,
fish symbolise life and learning (as they never close their eyes), and tigers and goblins
scare evil spirits away.
WORLD JEWELLERY MUSEUM
MUSEUM
