What’s in a Name? Hoam Faculty House

Hoam Faculty House, in Gwanak, south Seoul (Hoam, pronounced Ho-am)

As I posted earlier, we visited Korea and Japan again in August/early September and had a wonderful time. The main reason for the visit was a conference Rod attended in Pyeong-chang at the SNU (Seoul National University) agricultural campus there. But we spent our first 4 days in Seoul on the main SNU campus, and then our last night, after Pyeong-chang, back in Seoul on the SNU campus again.

Hoam motto, “Truth is my light”

Rod’s contact at SNU, Dr. Myunggi Baik, booked us into the Hoam Faculty House on the edge of the Gwanak SNU campus, the main campus in south Seoul. We had stayed there for almost a month in spring 2016, when Rod conducted a special workshop at SNU, and we enjoyed it a lot. Here’s a link to my blog post at that time: 

https://vivskoreanadventures.wordpress.com/tag/hoam-faculty-house-snu/

So, we were happy to be back in the Hoam Faculty House, a great place for international visitors to the university to stay. The guest rooms in the building next to the main building are comfortable, there are two restaurants, various conference rooms and a convention hall for international conferences and seminars. We enjoyed a number of very good meals in the restaurant there.

Lunch one day

It is also the final stop for bus 6017 that goes to and from Incheon Airport, which is very convenient. In addition, a 20-minute walk takes you to a shopping area (with convenience stores, coffee shops, noodle restaurants etc) and the Nakseongdae Subway stop—Green line—part of the extensive subway system in Seoul.

This visit, we found out more about the history of SNU and the origin of the name “Hoam”. Seoul National University originated from various educational institutions established by King Gojong of the Joseon dynasty in the late 1800s. SNU of that name was founded in August 1946 as the premier national university by merging these 10 institutions of higher education around the Seoul area. During the Korean War some classes were held at Busan Wartime Nations University, and after the Korean War there was reconstruction and expansion, 1954-1960. 

Going into the subway

At that time, SNU had multiple campuses in different parts of Seoul. In the 1970s the president of Korea was Park Chung Lee, the army general who ruled the country until his assassination in 1979. There were many student protests during his time in office. President Park disliked student protests to such an extent that he requested a new SNU campus be built with all the downtown campuses moved to one place far removed from the downtown. In March 1970 Gwanak Mountainwas selected as the site of the new SNU campus, and in April 1971 construction of the newly integrated campus in Gwanak started. Apparently, the Gwanak mountain site originally belonged to Samsung CEO Lee Byung-chul and part of it was a golf course. President Park ordered Lee Byung-chul to donate the land. 

View from our guest house room

Starting in February 1975, most colleges of the university relocated to the new Gwanak campus and campus integration was complete when the College of Engineering moved to Gwanak campus in January 1980. Gwanak is the main campus, but SNU also had Yeongeon medical campus, and Suwon agricultural campus about 40 km (24 miles) south of Seoul. The Suwon campus has now been mostly replaced by a new agricultural campus in Pyeongchang in Gangwon Province.

Hoam Faculty House opened in 1990 and is named after the Samsung CEO Lee Byung-chul, whose nickname was Hoam.

https://www.hoam.ac.kr/eng/

Petrified Wood at SNU

Looks like logs, but is actually fossilized wood

SNU Museum

KORE Limited: Keepin’ Our Roots Eternal (see information at end of post). Well, here are some very ancient roots.

SNU Museum and very early Roots of Korean history

When we were staying at Seoul National University (SNU), the Faculty House was not far from the SNU Museum, so we breezed through a couple of times. It is well-known for the artefacts collected from many excavations of archeological sites around Korea. It was interesting, but for a really great Korean museum we preferred the National Museum of Korea in the city.

But what was fascinating here was a huge piece of fossilized wood fenced off just outside the museum.

The sign has an English title “Silicified Wood” so we had a general idea of what it was. The dictionary definition of silicified wood is wood that has been changed into quartz/silica by a replacement of the cellular structure of the wood by siliceous waters. This type of petrified wood often preserves even the microscopic details of the replaced wood. Rod loves fossils, so we quite often stopped to look at this.

Thanks to my Korean friends Jinhee and Jun-ui (June) who translated the sign, and to June for the map of the area.

“When a tree dies and is exposed to the air, it is decomposed and decayed by microbes. However, when trees are buried quickly in the soil around swamps or mud, the wood component slowly is changed to contents that are dissolved in underground water. If this continues for a long time, the wood components will be removed, but the structure or shape will be preserved and became a fossil. Most wood fossils are filled with silicon dioxide. In Korea, they are mainly found in Gyeongsang-do (also written Kyungsangdo).” This includes numbers 2,3,7,14,15 areas in the map.

See more about the museum here:

https://museum.snu.ac.kr/eng/about/construct/

The back of my blue SeoulAngeles Tee

I’d like to give Jinhee and June one of my KORE Tee-shirts, but they have both returned to Korea for a few months, so that will have to wait. KORE is an urban streetwear clothing brand in Los Angeles that began in 2013, which is dedicated to spreading awareness of Korean culture, heritage and lifestyle. KORE stands for “Keeping’ Our Roots Eternal”, which I find to be a very clever name. They are trying to promote understanding of Korean roots, and that would also include the very early history of Korea, so this museum at SNC and the fossilized wood are an example of that.

See what KORE has to offer here: https://korelimited.com

 

 

 

 

 

The Hills are Alive with….Cherry Blossoms

On the campus of Seoul National University (SNU)

(All the photos were taken around SNU campus)

Rod and I

We were staying at the Hoam Guest House on the campus of Seoul National University for a month in April, and it was wonderful to see all the gorgeous spring flowers on and around campus. A few days after we arrived, the cherry blossoms were at their peak, interspersed with bright yellow forsythia, and a few weeks later came the abundant and striking azaleas, plus many others. We really loved all the color at that time.

We’d walk around and see a splash of vivid white color on the dark background of the hills, or lining the streets. It made such a contrast, especially if near the yellow forsythia. You don’t see just individual flowers, but a big patch that’s totally white. They look illuminated, especially when looking out on the hills, and away from streets. Petals drift down slowly, like the first soft snow flakes of winter. There were many trees in the city parks too, so we realized that cherry blossoms are a big part of Korean culture too. They are a metaphor for the ephemeral nature of life—the transience of the blossoms, their exquisite beauty and volatility, is often associated with mortality.

Cherry blossoms are beloved around the world. Besides being beautiful and attracting visitors, cherry blossoms have special meaning and significance in Korea, China, and especially Japan. There are also famous cherry blossom trees in Washington D.C.

In 1912, Japan gave more than 3,000 cherry-blossom trees to the United States as a gift honoring the growing bond between the two countries. Now, the annual National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C., commemorates this century-old offering of goodwill when the trees bloom each spring. The flowering trees in Washington, D.C., “symbolize friendship between nations, the renewal of spring and the ephemeral nature of life,” according to the U.S. National Park Service.

We even have some lovely cherry trees at our Japan House in our town, which I’ve written about before. For example https://viviennemackie.wordpress.com/2017/04/08/the-magic-of-nature-a-hint-of-japan-in-urbana/

Rod and I—a wonderful mix of cherry blossoms and azaleas

Many students were also taking photos

There is a wide variety of cherry trees but the most common is Somei Yoshino (Prunus Yedoensis), named after its place of origin—Yedo, current day Tokyo. Somei village (current day Toshima) is a ward in the northern area of Tokyo. Their flowers are nearly pure white tinged with the palest pink, especially near the stem. They bloom and usually fall within a week.

In Korea

In Korea, since 1963 the cherry blossoms have been called wangbeojnamu, meaning King Cherry Tree. Before that they were called sakulanam, from the Japanese sakura (cherry blossom).

The origins of cherry blossoms in South Korea are contentious on two counts. First, the Japanese planted Yoshino cherry trees at Seoul’s Changgyeonggung Palace and the viewing of cherry blossoms was introduced to Korea during Japanese rule. The festivals continued even after the Japanese surrendered at the end of WWII but have been controversial, and many cherry  trees were cut down to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Japanese surrender because they were seen as symbols of the occupation.

Yet Koreans continued to plant Yoshino cherry trees, and festivals, including Yeouido and Jinhae, began attracting a wide range of tourists. As of 2017, most of the cherry trees planted in South Korea are Yoshino cherry trees known to have come from Japan or have been grafted from trees planted during the Japanese colonial period.

Second, many Korean researchers assert that the Yoshino cherry is the same species as a Korean indigenous species called “King cherry”, a Korean native cherry tree from Jeju Island that’s listed as an endangered species. However, it’s a distinct species. Nowadays, there are efforts to propagate three varieties of King cherry trees in the hopes that these can replace the Yoshino cherry trees.

Good luck! More cherry trees can only be a good thing.

 

 

Staying at Seoul National University

Hoam Faculty House

Conference sign on campus

Me at the entrance to the building we stayed in

Hoam Faculty House at SNU

A great place to stay in the spring (and through the year), as it’s surrounded by lovely trees and plants and is really well located.

When we were in Seoul for the month of April for Rod to help run the International Rumen Microbiology Workshop, we stayed at the Hoam Faculty House on campus. This was arranged by Dr. Baik, and it was very convenient and comfortable. There’s the main building, with the restaurants/breakfast room and rooms, plus another wing, where our room was. We were able to have a very nice buffet breakfast most days, and a couple of nights we had supper there too.

Beautiful azaleas outside Hoam

Vibrant red azaleas at Hoam

Arriving from Incheon Airport was remarkably easy: Bus 6017 leaves from the airport and goes directly to Seoul National University. The end stop is the Faculty House. Very convenient. Ditto to get back to the airport.

Bus 6017

Gorgeous trees on campus

Hoam

From the Faculty House it’s also very easy to catch bus #2 down to the Nakseongdae subway station (green line, from which you can connect to any other line closer to the center of Seoul). I wrote earlier about the wonderful metro system in the city—see here https://vivskoreanadventures.wordpress.com/2017/07/28/seouls-superb-subway-system/

When we arrived at the beginning of the month the cherry blossoms on campus were glorious, and later in the month the azalea bushes at the front of Hoam were a blaze of color. Very pretty to see and experience.

Seoul National University Celebrates 70 Years

The banner reads “Embrace the World. Pioneer the Future”

Seoul National University celebrates 70 years this year

Motto is “Truth is My Light”.

The university was founded in August 1946 when 10 institutions of higher education around the Seoul area were merged. So, it is 70 years old this year.

Seoul National University (SNU) is considered to be “the best” in Korea and is much sought after by students and parents, even though entrance is very competitive. It’s a national research university and has 3 campuses, the main one at Gwanak, which was constructed in February 1975. It has 16 colleges, one graduate school and 9 professional schools, with a total of 17,000 undergraduate and 11,000 graduate students.

It has a memorandum of understanding with over 700 academic institutions in 40 countries and with the World Bank, notably in Business and Management, Law, Political Science, Life Sciences and Engineering. The medical, nursing and dental schools are at the Yongon campus, and the Science and Technology campus is at Suwon.

We are staying on the main Gwanak campus, in the south of Seoul. It’s roughly a Y shape on its side with the smaller north arm divided from the larger south arm (with the main gate) by a mountain. We are staying at the Hoam Faculty Guest House, right at the end of the small north arm, where other faculty housing and many dorms also are. To get to the main part of campus it’s a long trek uphill to the split in the Y, and then down. As I mentioned in the earlier post, we are here for the International Rumen Microbiology Workshop, run by Rod (look closely at the banner and you will see Professor R. Mackie) and organized by Dr. Baik and SNU.

It’s a sprawling campus, built up and down hilly slopes and the almost-valley between them. There are steep roads and paths and many staircases linking various buildings and different parts of campus. The setting is very pretty with lots of trees and green spaces, a small stream and waterfall flowing into a pond, and views of mountains in all directions. It’s especially lovely in spring with hundreds of (many white) cherry trees, making lacy splashes against the green of pine trees. There are also many azaleas and long banks or hedges of huge bright yellow forsythia bushes. We feel very fortunate to be here in the spring and to experience the cherry blossoms at their peak.

Some of the older buildings from just after WW2 are showing signs of deterioration sadly—chipped paint/concrete, broken paving stones, sunken paths etc. One day, when I was sitting at a café on campus, a uniformed man came by taking photos of crumbling steps on a long outdoor stairway.

But, like any big campus, it feels lively and dynamic when school is in session. Students stride around in the (seemingly) universal student garb of jeans, T-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies of jackets, sneakers and backpacks. Some of the girls wear shorts or skirts over tights but, when I sat and watched the student world pass by, that female elegance often associated with Korean young women was noticeably absent—at least in the day time.

A number of cafes and cafeterias are dotted around campus, all very reasonably priced. At one, I saw 2 set-meals for 4,000 won each (less than US$4!). Very affordable for a student.

 

Return to Korea

Well, we are very lucky to be back in Korea after less than a year. We arrived late Saturday night and will stay 3 weeks at Seoul National University, where Rod will lead a special International Rumen Microbiology Workshop, with help from 2 post-docs from his lab (one from Korea and one from Spain) and from his Korean friends and colleagues, Prof Jongsoo Chang and Prof Chang Kim. The Workshop is hosted by Dr. Myunggi Baik of the Department of Agricultural Biotechnology.

It’s April and spring season is a lovely season to visit most places. It’s especially beautiful here in Korea and on campus, as it’s full cherry blossom time. More pics coming soon.

Pretty Poles, and Conference at Sunchon National University

One part of the campus 

Traditional entertainment at the conference

Sunchon National University: the Conference Venue

The special conference we were attending in Korea was the 10^th Joint Symposium on Rumen Metabolism and Physiology (JRS), held at the Sunchon National University in Suncheon. Rod was a main speaker and one of the special judges of talks and papers by young scientists.

Suncheon is a city right in the south of Korea in South Jeolla Province. It’s an agricultural and industrial city, on the edge of Suncheon Bay, and they bill the city as “Korea’s Ecological Capital”. We didn’t spend any time in Suncheon itself, but did visit the Bay (see later).

A ‘pretty pole’

“Follow Your Dreams” found on a random sidewalk

Note the baseball rabbit, just on the right!

While Rod was busy at the conference I wandered around the streets near the university campus and was impressed by how clean and pretty it was. There are a number of coffee shops and small restaurants or bars, and lots of public art—statues, sculptures on the streets or plazas. I also saw many street poles attractively wrapped or decorated, and a long stretch of sidewalk brightly painted—partly advertising, but partly just for fun. It certainly makes what can be urban sprawl and ugliness much more attractive.

 

 

Book coffee shop on campus

It seemed like a very nice campus-town area, not too busy and crowded but with everything a student or a staff member might need.

Statue in a civic building’s plaza