These pictures are among my favorite items, bought in Korea. I’ve been looking at them in my glass case for a long time. I admire their craftsmanship and always protect them. A few years back, a two-year-old nephew actually tossed one of these precious Korean sculptures and her shoe cracked off. Oh my, I was inwardly roiling with fury! How could he have done that? I know: he was two … but I’d been so careful, transporting them all the way home from Korea and in a single offhand, impulsive toss my beloved figure cracked; maimed! Yes. I was a grown woman, and I was upset. So fine, I was able to repair the shoe with glue, and life went on, and no one would have ever known about it if I hadn’t just written these words but it’s all part of the story, as many beloved things do have a story, a little more history. So now, you know, whoever inherits the girl in hanbok. Be careful of her foot!
One day, oh, in about forty or fifty years – all of which will be healthy and happy and prosperous, creating a wonderful legacy for generations to come (!) – the kids will inherit these pieces. I hope these pieces (and there are more than the snippets you see here) will grace a special place in their home as they do in mine. They’ve grown up looking at them, but probably never really seeing them. I think that’s just the way it is. Some of the favorite items that I inherited from my mom after she left for Heaven were the small things, the objects that were just always there, in the house, and now, they are in mine. Every time I look at one of them it evokes home. I never expected that these little things would be imbued with such meaning for me, but they are. Who’s to say what will mean something to my kids, down the road? But two of them are Korean-born and today, the images are Korean.
I love Korea and will go back there as soon as I can. The shopping is fab, Seoul is a vibrant and fashionable city, alive 24/7, and in the countryside it’s so historical, so beautiful. Koreans cherish their distinct culture. They ache because of their separation from the North. It was one country until the powers that be slashed it into two in 1945. Families are still separated, and so there is still very much the longing for reunification of the peninsula and the people who live there.
The copper colored item with the gold crescent moon and etched wildflowers is a sort of planter. It’s heavy and handmade and I’d no more think of putting anything damp like soil or a plant into it (and do love soil and plants!) than… well, I just wouldn’t do it! It’s such a lovely piece of handmade art and I love metal and texture and the clean lines in its design. Picked it up in Insadong. The minute I spotted it, I knew.
I hope to see Korea again, and this time, visit the lovely Cheju Island, off the tip of the southernmost part of Korean. It’s known as the Korean Hawaii. Cheju Beachlife: what do you think?
(Photo borrowed from a Korean tourism website. Kamsahamnida!)
Love your new place Jeannie! I need to spend some more time looking over all your new stuff! I am so glad you stopped by today! It has been SO cold in Florida this year…we were hoping to come nd visit in March…not sure yet. Love all of your beautiful Korean artifacts!