By Nick Gourdoux
One of the first things I did when I arrived in South Korea, aside from taking a shot of soju, was visit the Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul. I like history – enough so that I made it my minor at UW-Eau Claire – and palaces are always fun places to visit. I have been to Versailles in France, walked around Buckingham Palace in London, and even toured a few chateaus and castles in France and Italy.
Gyeongbokgung Palace, as you would assume any palace would be, was beautiful, sprawling, and ornate. The grounds were true to the original designs and they even offered a free tour in English. The palace had originally been constructed in the late 15th century but suffered extensive damages in the 17th century. The emperor ordered the palace to be rebuilt, but a Japanese invasion later that decade once again left the palace complex in ruins. The palace wasn’t again rebuilt until the mid-19th century. In the 1990s the restoration process was continued, and is still being worked on to this day.
When I originally thought about writing about Gyeongbokgung Palace I thought I would use it as a metaphor for South Korea as a whole. Being the history buff that (I think) I am, I knew that most of the country was leveled during the Korean War in the 1950s. After all, the northern armies had pushed their was through most of the peninsula and it took several years of fighting to force them back to where the current borders stand. After the cease fire South Korea rebuilt itself and today it features many large cities with modern skylines and modern amenities. I thought I’d write about how the Korean culture, much like Gyeongbokgung Palace, persevered. But, in reality, all I knew about Korean culture was that they had good food (Side note: Everything I’ve tried so far has been phenomenal) and their Kpop music is becoming an international sensation.
As descendants of the Socratic Method we’re well versed in Western history, but Eastern history is nothing more than a footnote to most of us. In school I had to write essays about Louis XIV and Henry VIII, but I literally couldn’t name one famous SOUTH Korean. Recorded human history on the Korean peninsula dates back thousands of years, but the tiny bits I know are extremely America-centric – we saved their asses in the 50s and now some of their music gets air time on some pop radio stations.
In light of this revelation, I set out to learn more about Korea. And, unsurprisingly, it took me no time at all to find a compelling figure. I didn’t even have to go back very far at all. My friend John told me the tragic story of Roh Moo-hyun. Roh was President of South Korea who reached his term limit in February, 2008, and was replaced by the rival party. Following his term, the members of the rival party scrutinized everything Roh had done and tried to tarnish all of his accomplishments. They brought up bribery charges, and there were debates surrounding the motives and validity of the charges. Devastated, Roh took his own life in May, 2009, just 14 months after leaving office. His legacy is still divided along party lines, but when he died his party received a boost in the polls and millions of people descended on his home town and mourned for days.
Politics aside, the story of Roh is at the very least compelling and I want to learn more about him, as well as the culture that produced him.
*Note, I’m doing my best to stay out of political arguments, so the comments section will be strictly monitored*
Nick's Korea Blog 
Thanks for sharing the history….keep the lessons coming!
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