“新作宮室 儉而不陋 華而不侈 sinjaggungsil geom-ibullu hwaibulchi”
Kim Bu-sik, a civil officer and scholar from the Goryeo Dynasty, mentioned the Baekje palace architecture in <Samguksagi>, a historical record of the Three Kingdoms of Korea during medieval times. He wrote, "The new palace was built — frugal but not shabby, glamorous but not luxurious." I aspire for my pictures and myself to be as such.
This is the first book published from my "Korean cultural heritage" photo series from 2014 to 2021. In this book, I focused on the various aspects of Jongmyo Shrine and Changdeokgung Palace.
Both places are pleasant to visit at any time of the year, but there are particularly beautiful days that stand out and show each season's charm. Unfortunately, it has become more and more challenging to catch these moments as the indicators for the seasons gradually fade, and air pollution intensifies. Still, after visiting the same place regularly for years, I was able to face and record some decisive moments of breathtaking beauty.
People often ask if I photoshopped the pedestrians out, but none of the photos in this book were modified. I am not sure if it was because the time was early or there was rain, but there were many times where there was no one around except me while I was taking pictures of the scenery, which was too beautiful to be seen by just me. I decided to publish this book because I wanted to share these moments with others, which I had collected quietly, one by one, by myself.
A printed picture cannot ever completely reproduce the touching moment, when the light came through the lens, that is imprinted on my heart. Still, this book is meaningful because there are many pictures of trees and flowers with buildings. In Korean architecture, beauty is complete only when it mingles with the surrounding nature. The concept of "chagyeong," which means "borrowing scenery from the outside," is very important. Although the buildings can be replaced with sturdy wood and shiny roof tiles, time-withholding nature can never be replaced.
For example, next to the Geumcheongyo Bridge in Changdeokgung Palace, a Zelkova tree has stood for over 670 years. When I started taking pictures in 2014, the tree was still healthy and magnificent. However, in 2019, the bark began to peel off as the inside of the tree started to rot. Despite all the attention it got, it has lost its charm. Compared to the time the tree was in its prime, recorded in the Changdeokgung Palace brochure published in 1975, the tree looks scrawny today, and even the scenery around Geumcheongyo Bridge has become hollow. Like this, old trees, flowers, and dense forests covering an area are just as crucial as buildings themselves in regards to palace architecture. Therefore, I treated them as the main characters rather than the supporting roles, and I recorded them as much as possible. Each picture is marked with the year taken, so later, when someone becomes interested in Jongmyo Shrine or Changdeokgung Palace and opens this book, I hope they can find the differences in sceneries between now and then, as I did with the brochure.
In a way, even though the photos in this book are of the past, they are also in the future. The moment you press the camera’s shutter, the scenery becomes the past, yet after many seasons, someone will stand there and see a similar landscape in the future. I believe the cold winter will go, and spring will eventually come to us. Therefore, this book is also arranged in the order of summer, autumn, winter, and spring. Rather than closing the last chapter with a cold winter landscape, I thought it would be better to bid farewell with a warmer scene.
In the first chapter of each season, I wrote down the music I listened to while I was taking pictures, hoping that my experience would be fully conveyed. I also translated my writings in both English and Japanese because I wanted to share Korea's world heritage and beautiful four seasons with people abroad. Although this is an individual project, I tried to refer to the proper names, markings, and expressions to deliver accurate information, with help from the Cultural Heritage Administration website, various related publications, and some out-of-print books. I received assistance with English translation from Hong Hye-bin, studying at Boston University, and my wife helped me with Japanese. I express my sincerest gratitude and infinite love to my wife, who took care of me while I was going out to take pictures. I dedicate this book to my beloved Jae-hee and Eun-jae, who crossed the distant universe and taught us the true happiness of life.
When I first started taking pictures, I focused on something special and intense, but now I am more drawn to see an unknown tree standing in the background or a flower blooming and falling. Sometimes I wonder how they are doing. It won't necessarily be because I have aged. It would be just because the relationship has deepened a little. Through this book, I hope the relationship between you, the reader, and the two places, Jongmyo Shrine and Changdeokgung Palace, will also deepen a little. I also hope that one relaxing spring day we can accidentally pass by in the same space with a little smile.
Lee, Dong-Wook