Nature VS Society, Tradition VS Modern

 In this beautiful autumn, as the tender wind blows, we set foot on the soil of South Korea and enjoy the culture of this country where natural scenery and modern society, tradition and modernity integrate together.

The first impression it gave me is green, the whole island was totally green. It’s really cool and pleasant! The effort made by South Korea in greening and environment conservation had influenced each corner of the social life. In the following trip, we could always see lots of green plant.  

Our trip began from the Ilchubog of the Cheju Island. At the foot of it, we enjoyed the pleasant morning sunlight and began to climb towards the top. The boundless sea surrounded the silent crater. When we reached the top of the Ilchubog, such wonderful view made us forget the existence of ourselves and the secular world.

The house there was made of grass and its gate is wooden fence. “Leng Bali”(married women) carry water with their back. The traditional life 500 years ago folded before our eyes.

Han River flows through Seoul. It’s a modern city where you can experience the collision of tradition and modernity. The royal palace, the traditional royal food, etc. 

all reflected that the culture of South Korea had been passed from generation to generation and that it had developed. Today’s Seoul, Today’s life in the country, this tidy, effective and colorful Seoul, we came to become one part of it. Standing on steps of Changdeokgung Palace and looking upon the city, you counld find the harmony of the traditional and the modern which promote each other. That reflected the past, present and future of this country.

Cheong Wa Dae:

Cheong Wa Dae---the official residence of South Korea’s President. It locates at 1 Cheongwadae-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul. After the Korea Dynasty made Seoul its capital in 1426, Cheong Wa Dae was used as the back garden of Changdeokgung Palace. Cheong Wa Dae is the political center of South Korea. As blue tiles are its feature, it’s also called the blue House. At the back of Cheong Wa Dae is Bei Yue Mountain. The blue tiles and the curve roof contrast finely with each other and are very beautiful. Just like Cheong Wa Dae stands for South Korea, blue tiles and the curve roof stand for Cheong Wa Dae.

The square in front of Cheong Wa Dae symbolizes peace, benevolence and family love.

There are mountains at the back of the official residence, and there is water in front of the mountain. The geomantic omen (feng shui in pinyin) here is not bad! Are the Korean are superstitious, too? Aha!

 The Seoul Tower is situated at Yongsan-gu, Seoul, South Korea. It’s 236.7 m in height and was built in 1975. In the tower, lighting equipment that is suitable for different seasons and could meet requirements of different events is equipped. The body of the tower is painted. From 19:00 pm to 24:00 pm, light from six searchlights throw into the sky and form a beautiful flower--- “the Flower of Seoul”

The 38th Parallel

 There are barbed wires on both sides of the demilitarized zone of the 38th Parallel which is an Oriental “Berlin Wall”. In addition to free-flying birds and the wind, who can get across the demarcation line as he likes? The sculpture showing many people try to put together the two halves of the split ball reflects the North and South Korean people’s fervent hope to work together and early achieve a peaceful and united country. Numerous tourists have been touched by stories concerning the 38th Parallel. Though families are separated by the line, their love can’t be separated. War Monuments and the locomotive covered with bullet holes show the cruelty of wars. The dark, damp Third Tunnel and the cold, hard Iron Gate demonstrate the evil of countries that provoked wars.

This line has brought people too much sadness and suffering. Lots of family broke up because of it. Although they are not far away from each other, they can’t get together. “We are both born of the same root, why torment each other so cruelly?” This sentence reflects the feelings of the North and South Korean. We hope every country in the world could live with each other peacefully.

In the course of history, too much past reflected the cruelty of wars. War era is a suffering era. We value today’s peace and today’s calm life. However, Japan tries to occupy our Diaoyu Island for many times and intends to provoke a war. We hope the world is peaceful, but it doesn’t mean we are weak. We defeated Japan for one time, and we can do it again. The Chinese people unite together and safeguard our territory.  

 At the Seoul airport, hydraulic dampers are applied to its steel structure. Through the relative deformation and the relative velocity of the dampers, additional damping is provided. In this way, the seismic energy of the input structure is consumed, and the desired vibration damping effect is achieved. Moreover, ribbed plates are used in the roof, which could not only save concrete and steel and lower the cost, but also increase the effective space and meet the decoration requirements.