There is a river that makes glad the city of Seoul

20120925-231622.jpg

It's just past ten o'clock in the evening. we've changed hotel and moved right into the heart of Seoul. Martha and myself have just had an amazing walk through this city. Tomorrow morning we head off to the DMZ. Where I know it will be quite different. It's quite amazing to be walking through the streets of Seoul. It's a vibrant creative city with amazing public architecture. The city has an amazing architectural water installation running through one of the busiest streets. I couldn't help thinking of Psalm 46 wherein reads, "There is a river whose streams that makes Glad the city of God, the holy place where the most high dwells" Yet only a few yards form our hotel there is a large public display calling the citizen's of the city to keep in their memory those who lost their lives so that they could have freedom. It also reminds them that the war is not over. They are reminded that there is simply a ceasefire. All this made me aware of the amazing resilience of the Korean people. On display are photographs of the city when it was nothing more than a shanty town in 1960 after the war. The next picture depicts the city in 2006 with its network of motorways and sophisticated cars. This is an amazing transformation in less than 60 years. what is even more amazing what has been achieved since the dictatorship ended less than 20 years ago. It is this resilience that reflects something of the longing of the people here to be re-united with the people of the north. The thing is it is what I saw tonight is such a powerful interpretation of Psalm 46. We walked past literally hundreds of young people sitting by the stream in the middle of a busy hi-tech neon light city. Not a drop of alcohol was in sight. A young guy was busking singing a Dire Straits song very convincingly. An amazing light show was dazzling an audience as images were projected onto a sheet of water Which was being sustained by a constant spray of water from the stream flowing down the centre of the city. I thought these people are grateful for their freedom. They live 40 miles from the DMZ and what they have achieved is indeed a miracle. For those who remember the days of the war this must be truly like living in heaven. No wonder they openly put the pictures of the past on te street to remind the public what life was like in the 1950s

20120925-231654.jpg
2 Comments
avatar

Posted By: Helmut   On: 29 Sep 2012   At: 1:18pm

I sem to remember being told that in the not to distant past this river was a rather sorry sight to say the least. Asians are always good for surprising surprises!

avatar

Posted By: Iain Cunningham   On: 26 Sep 2012   At: 1:47pm

A very special place. Glad you have had chance to experience it. I am sure you will want to return one day.

Leave a reply