Time

Time is such a fascinating thing.

I really like how, for the first time in a long while, my time isn't dictated by schedules or deadlines. Sure, I have a rough timeline to follow in regards to how long I'm gonna stay at a place, but other than that, hey! I can do whatever I want!

Today was one of those days that I decided to let time lead me to places.

After staying in Seoul for 3 days, (Oh right, I left Taiwan for Korea already btw!) I didn't particularly like the hustle and bustle of the city life, therefore made the decision to head to another city where I've never been.

Aaandddd after much dilemma, because there's so many places I wanna spend time in, I decided on GyeongJu, the ancient capital of the Silla Empire.

I'm a huge fan of the korean drama "Queen Seondeok", and although the story from the drama is partly fictional and exaggerated to entice viewers, I was still very attracted to the fact that this person, this Queen (the first Queen of the Korean Monarchy), or this Princess Deokman, actually existed during a certain time in history. She was portrayed as exceptionally intelligent, who pioneered the belief in korea that astronomical events, like eclipse and position of stars, were scientifically and mathematically calculable, rather than relying on ancient beliefs that those were controlled by celestial beings. 

And the drama also brought us through actual events that happened during the Silla era, as well as portraying characters well known in history. So I was really intrigued by all these.

Today I decided to go visit the Tomb of Queen Seondeok, to say hello.

Boarding the bus at the first stop, I asked the bus driver if this was the right route to the tomb, IN KOREAN OK, DONT PLAY PLAY HAHAHA then he was so impressed by my anyhow-whack-korean, he asked where I was from and how I got here etc. He told me not to go to the Tomb as there is really nothing there but trees and soil, but I told him I really like this Queen and want to see it for myself. Then I was asked to sit beside him so he could let me know when we were reaching. 

Journeying halfway, the bus started to get crowded with ahjummas and ahjussis, so I gave up my seat and moved to the back. But suddenly, the bus driver shouted "EH? Where's the singaporean girl going to see the Queen?" and the entire bus turned and looked towards me HAHAHA and I'm like whuuttt? whatt?? huh??

Then the bus driver announced to the entire bus that I'm going to see the Queen, and everyone broke into chatter and the ongoing commotion was "it's a boring place, there's nothing there", but the bus driver defended me and said "she's a fan, she likes the Queen". So I was asked to sit in front again, and some ahjumma was so fascinated that she gave up her seat for me, basically it felt like I suddenly had alot of old grannies and grandpas taking care to make sure I get to my destination. So cute. 

And when we arrived, I thanked everybody with a 90 degree bow and waved them goodbye as the bus continued its journey. 

The tomb was located in the middle of a forest, felt really surreal as the whole scene feels straight out of a Korean movie. Sun was high up, wind was cold, birds were chirping in the tall green trees that shadowed over me. As I reached the end of the path, a very simple yet eye catching mound rested peacefully. In front was a stone engraved with the chinese characters and korean words "Silla Queen Seondeok".

And I'm not gonna lie, I felt emotional. HAHAHHA I ALSO DONT KNOW WHY.

But at that moment, when I stood in front of that heap of earth, it felt so weird.

A thousand years ago, people were grieving at this spot, over the loss of their first Queen. Below this heap of soil, a thousand years ago, her body would've still been flesh and bones. And now a thousand years later, Silla no longer exists. Even though the old Three Kingdoms (Silla, Baekje, Goryeo) were once unified as Korea, we're now once again separated by politics of the North and South. Really makes you wonder, what's all these fighting and disagreements for. And a thousand years later, will this spot still exists? Who will be standing where I'm standing now?

You know what I mean? Time is such a fragile yet precious thing. What we see and know now will change over time.

I actually stood there for awhile just looking and thinking. Felt like a good spot to picnic too, definitely a place I want to return to if I ever come back to Gyeongju. 

As I continued my journey through Gyeongju to see all these existing historical sites that withstood the test of time, can't help but feel like I've time travelled. Especially that moment when there's no one else around, just listening to the birds, feeling the cold air, looking at the architecture, it felt like I went back to a thousand years ago. Except. I can take out my brand new iphone 7 to snap a photo of this moment to show my mother via whatsapp.

If time travel becomes possible in future, I'm gonna go back to become BFFs with Queen Seondeok. And I'll drag Tammy with me.

Loves,
Marilyn