'Myeongdong Dak Hanmari(One Chicken)'

Have you been to Dongdaemun Market? Today, I'll tell you a place where you can visit to appease your hunger while you look around Dongdaemun Market. It is 'Myeongdong Dak Hanmari(One Chicken)'.

Isn't the name 'Dak Hanmari' strange? Actually it was known as 'Dak Baeksuk(Chicken boiled in water)'. However, the name changed a long time ago when there was a terminal near the market. The people who had to go quickly for the bus said, "Give me Dak Hanmari(One Chicken)" and the name changed 'Dak Hanmari' from 'Dak Baeksuk(Chicken boiled in water)' since then.

If you order 'Dak Hanmari', a large brass bowl with a chicken, potatoes, green onions, and meat juice will be served. They're all cooked, but we boil it again with some bar rice cakes and chicken's large intestines.

And one of the important points of this restaurant is 'sauce'. Sauce is made when you mix mustard, garlic, grinded red pepper, soy sauce, vinegar and some leek. Remember to mix them by turning them around in one direction. If the bar rice cakes float in the meat juice, you first eat it with the sauce. And if the chicken is cooked(If the potato is cooked so is the chicken), you also eat it with the sauce you made. I've tasted it before, and the sauce is sourish and peppery and the chicken was gooey. They made a great harmony^^ Plus, the sauce was also moreish thanks to leek.

If you ate the whole chicken, you put some noodles in the meat juice and make chopped noodles. You can also put some Kimchi if you like. It also tastes good if you eat the noodles with the sauce. I really ate a lot there, too.

It is also famous just like it is delicious. Last spring, it was introduced in 『Michelin Guide: Korea』(a world-wide restaurant evaluation). Also it was introduced on TV programs like KBS and MBC. The reporter from KBS was interviewing the visitors when I visited there.

Do you want to visit? I'll tell you.

First, take Line 1 or Line 4 Dongdaemun Station and take exit number 8. Then you can find a building named as, 'Dongdaemun Composite Market'. Turn right and if you walk more, you can find an alley with fish smell and smoke. There are a lot of restaurants with 'Dak Hanmari(one chicken)' and baked fish. You should stand the allurement of baked fish to eat 'Dak Hanmari'.

The Four Guardian Animals 5-The Black Turtle+End

Now, today's the last time to learn about the Four Guardian Animals. Today, I'll explain you about the Black Turtle, which we also call it as Hyeonmu. And after that, we'll end the class(?) about the Four Guardian Animals.

 The Black Turtle is on Sinmumun, the North gate, because it guards the North. Sinmu means, 'Numinous Black Turtle'.

 The Black Turtle symbolizes water and winter. It also symbolizes war among the Four Guardian Animals. And normally, it has the name 'Hyeon' because it is the god of death, and has the name 'Mu' because of its hard and thick shell of the turtle and the sharp canines of the snake(It forms the shape of a snake and a turtle) which are really good for defending.

 And, while the Red Phoenix has Yang because it rules fire, the Black Turtle has Yin because it rules water. So, they didn't open this gate, except when there were special occasions like the Ritual for Rain.

 There are not much informations about the Black Turtle-_-;;

 I hope you learned a lot about the Four Guardian Animals this time. And if I recommend a drama which is related to the Four Guardian Animals, I'll recommend you 'Tawangsasingi'. I really liked this drama.

The Four Guardian Animals 4-The White Tiger

Why does time go so fast? Now, today is the third time we learn about the Four Guardian Animals. And today, we're gonna learn about the White Tiger which is among the Four Guardian Animals.

 The White Tiger is drawn on the ceiling of the West gate of Gyeongbok Palace which is called as Yeongchumun. It has a meaning of 'Welcoming Autumn'. The White Tiger symbolizes metal and autumn(fall). It is called Baekho, too.

 The White Tiger is not really an imaginary animal, but it is an animal you can also see in the zoo which our ancestors made it look really special. At first, its neck and its body were really long. But it began to have a mysterious look of an exaggerated mouth, big red eyes, and sharp canines. It looks simmilar with the Blue Dragon bout you can know who is who by looking at the pattern on the body of it.

 The White Tiger is the bravest of all among the Four Guardian Animals. Plus, it could run at the speed of light on the ground and the sky.

 From the past, we thought that tigers could chase the ghosts. So, people hung pictures of Tigers on each of the houses. Also, it is the opposite from the Blue Dragon so, they are called as Jacheongryong or Left- the Blue Dragon and Wubaekho or Right-the White Tiger. And people thought that the good place was formed when they were combined.

 Why don't you also try to find the good place where the Blue Dragon and the White Tiger are combined?

The Blue Dragon

Now, today is the third time.

 Today, why don't we learn about the Blue Dragon which is among the Four Guardian Animals.

 The Blue Dragon is painted on the ceiling of Geonchunmun, which is the East Gate of Gyeongbok Palace.

 The Blue Dragon symbolizes East, trees and Spring. So, the gate has the name meaning, 'Spring Comes'.

 It is also called as Cheongryong. The Blue Dragon is also an animal which has shapes of different kinds of animals, just like the Red Phoenix. Its horns are from the buck, the head is a camel, the eyes are the ghost's, the forehead is a snake, the ears are the cow's the scales of the blue fish, the stomach of a clam, the feet of the tiger and the claws are from the hawk. At first, it looked really strange, however, it turned into a mysterious shape as time went.

 The Blue Dragon is an imaginary animal which is the head of the animals and has a magical power. It was thought as a god from the past, and people prayed for the farming to go well and life to be rich.

 Also, it ruled weather. These days, the weather is really cold, isn't it? Maybe it could be good for us to ask the Blue Dragon to change the weather.

 And it is famous for being the rival of the Red Phoenix.

 Next time, let's learn about the White Tiger~

Today, let's learn about the Red Phoenix which I really like personally.

Now, today is the second time we learn about the Four Guardian Animals. Were you tired because of the long and brief information last time? So, starting from today, I'm gonna tell you an interesting and a little short information about one animal for one day.

Today, let's learn about the Red Phoenix which I really like personally.

The Red Phoenix is a guardian on the South. So, it is painted on the center of the ceiling of Gwanghwamun, the Main and the South Gate of Gyeongbok Palace. You can still see the Red Phoenix if you go and visit Gwanghwamun.

The Red Phoenix is an imaginary bird, which was born from a dragon and a crane. We also call it as Jujak and Firebird. It symbolizes fire and summer.

At first, it really looked like a chicken. However, as the time went, it became a mysterious, dignified and a graceful bird. It has a shape which the front body is Kirin(an imaginary animal from China), the hind body is a deer, the neck is a snake, the tail is a fish, chin is a swallow, the back is a turtle and its beak is a chicken. Isn't it strange?

Also, it eats the fruit of the bamboo which only grows centennially. Plus, it possesses the five virtues, benevolent, righteous, civil, intelligent, and belief which our ancestors valued. So maybe that's why it only flies around when the world is full of peace.

It likes people with talent, and it is also a judge among the Four Guardian Animals.

And we still use it as the symbol of the president, because it is elegant and graceful.

Did you learn a lot about the Red Phoenix? Next time, I'll tell you about the Blue Dragon. See you then^^

This time, I would like to explain about the Four Guardian Animals that are guarding Gyeongbok Palace.

This time, I would like to explain about the Four Guardian Animals that are guarding Gyeongbok Palace.

The 4 Guardian Animals were inspired from the constellations. In the East Asia, we divided the constellations as the 3 Fences and the 28 Constellations. The 3 Fences mean the group of constellations called Jamiwon, Taemiwon and Cheonsiwon. There is the polar star in Jamiwon. People thought that the polar star is the Great Emperor. So, Jamiwon is the sky palace. They believed that the others played roles just like today's administrations. The 28 constellations are classified as feudal lords. They are assigned 7 to each of the 4 Guardian Animals as their directions. They form the shapes of the 4 Guardian Animals. These 4 gods are the Blue Dragon, the Black Turtle, the White Tiger and the Red Phoenix. They means the directions, the seasons, the colors and the Five Elements. They are called as the 5 Guardian Animals, too, including the Gold Dragon.

Gyeongbok Palace is a sky palace which is spread on the ground from the sky. Gyeongbok Palace was the top main palace during the Joseon Dynasty. In the human world, people thought that the King is the polar star. So, they built the buildings in Gyeongbok Palace to be related with astronomy, with Geunjeongjeon, the building for the King's formal ceremonies, as the center.

Then, where do the 4 Guardian Animals protect the King? First, they are protecting Hanyang, the capital from the four directions. Bukak Mountain, Nam Mountain, Nak Mountain and Inwang Mountain each mean the Black Turtle, the Red Phoenix, the Blue Dragon, and the White Tiger.

Not only this, the 4 Guardian Animals are also guarding the 4 gates of Gyeongbok Palace. The gates, Gwanghwamun, Sinmumun, Geonchunmun and Yeongchumun each has the Red Phoenix, the Black Turtle, the Blue Dragon and the White Tiger painted on the ceiling. For the rest of the stories, wait for the following post~^^

Now, we learned about the history of ancient tomb murals.

Korea has history and culture that doesn't fall behind other countries. These history and culture are still remaining in ancient tomb murals. These ancient tomb murals were first created during the Three Kingdoms Period(Goguryeo, Baekje, Silla). And Goguryeo's tomb murals are the best. Goguryeo is a country established by Jumong in 37 B.C., which was a country with the largest territory in Korea. Also, Goguryeo maintained their culture while they also accepted other country's culture.

The value of Goguryeo's ancient tomb murals are recognized and doesn't fall behind other countries.

Now, we learned about the history of ancient tomb murals. So, let's learn about the ancient tomb murals in detail.

Today, let's learn about the two which are familiar to us.

First, this is a tomb mural named as, 'Muyongdo'. It looks very exciting. It's because a lot of people are dancing. We can know that the people of Goguryeo were cheerful and optimistic. And people actually celebrated the start and the end of the year with dance and songs. As a result, there were a lot of types of dances. So, we can see some murals with a lot of people dancing.

And this is named as, 'Suryeopdo'. Hunting was a military drill as well as the most popular sport in Goguryeo. A lot of hunters are aiming their arrows at the animals. But the arrowhead has a strange shape. And this arrowhead makes a strange sound and makes the animals faint. So, it was made to catch the animals alive. And these animals were used for memorial services.

Like this, ancient tomb murals is a great heritage which shows the customs and culture of our ancestors. Thank you for listening.