OF WIND AND WATER / a question of site

CONCENTRIC CIRCLES / Geomantic Map of Seoul

According to the Ts’ang-shu, which is known as Kuo P’u’s writing, when the spirit of Yin-Yang flows under the ground, it becomes a vital energy. An auspicious place is located where a vital energy stays, and people believed that if a man was buried in such a place, his descendants would recieve good fortune from the grave. The reason for this is explained in Ts’angshu. Parents are the main bodies of their children (like the trunk of a tree with branches) and when they die and are then influenced by a vital energy, their remaining bodies in the living world (their descendants) are also influenced by this energy. So when parents are laid to rest in an auspicious place, their descendants enjoy the benefits of such a place because they are the branches of the dead parents.

The basic principles of geomancy are simple enough. As put forward in Ts’ang-shu, they are first, the acquisition of water and the the storing of wind. This means that an auspicious place is mainly determined by the location of surrounding mountains which store the wind and by nearby watercourses.

The above text is an extract from ‘An Analysis of Korean Geomancy Tales’ by Hong-Key Yoon, and gives an excellent introduction into the basic themes of Korean grave geomancy. Though Professor Yoon postulates that geomancy originated in the placement of habitation for the living, over time it was the placement of habitation for the deceased that became heavily associated with Korean geomancy. Such importance was placed on finding an auspicious site to bury one’s relatives that fights would break out, the dead would be illegally removed, and the offending bereaved, severely punished.

However, whether Koreans today rigorously follow the principles of geomancy is not the issue. Instead it is the fact that consideration of site was such an importance to the culture throughout history. This cultural geography is entirely based on a following of geomantic principles. Though  one may not need to consider the azure dragon to the east or the white tiger to the west, but the place of burial should be comfortable, sunny, and have a nice calm view - not for the bereaved, but for the buried.

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SPEAKING WITH AHN

In a conversation with Jonghwan Ahn, it was suggested that a potential site for the 6 Feet Up project could be here - a carpark above the new subway station for Seoul National Cemetery. 

SUGGESTED SITE
map via local.daum.net

A new structure would act as an anchor along the link through Seoul National, across the river and on to Mt Namsan on the other side. This would localise relavence to the contemporary bereaved, bringing a new attachment to the site and perhaps lift the National Cemetery, behind it, out of its state of forlornment. By constructing a new urban mountain in this prominent site with all the auspiciousness of the geomantic location, a focus for a new model of memorial could be created in an appropriate manner.

However, auspicious though the site may be, it would suffer from the same issues of separation that the existing cemetery has. Now both memorials would be cut off from the day to day by hill, river and highway. The new memorial may be closer physically, but is it likely that it would be any closer mentally? Perhaps after the initial shock of the new it would simply fade away into the background, ignored save for Memorial Day once each year - or worse, begin to loom!

In any case, these are issues that may be applicable to any eventual resolution so it is important to not discount the suggested site just yet. Instead I will weigh up any benefits against the original ideas and promises I made at the start of the project, taking into account the ebb and flow of the themes within.

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