The abstract makes no mention of the nearby bars where "men's hang-out culture" takes place, and certainly makes no mention this aspect of later life.
Fun tidbit: This photo reveals that there were still lots of houses in front of Jongmyo in 1945, though a small open area can be seen. It's likely the result of a fire break built (or demolished, really) by the Japanese in preparation for US firebombing during World War II.
More on aerial photos, and a list (and a photo) of the fire breaks can be found here. I don't know when the park in front of Jongmyo was built, but it may be a part of the legacy of the fire breaks, much like the Seun Sangga.
This is completely besides the point of the post or the Korea Times article, but is it just me, or does the phrasing "Korean-style chess" just sound non-PC? The "-style" just irks me for some reason even if it isn't meant to imply that janggi is any less of a game than chess.
ReplyDeleteThis feeling is separate from the fact that the game (as far as I know) wasn't even invented in Korea. If anything I guess I would expect "Korean chess" or even "Korean-style Chinese chess" to be a more appropriate way to describe the game to an audience that is more likely to be familiar with (Western) chess.
Very interesting. I did not know about the fire breaks.
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