http://www.ept.ms/roBjuT
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/world/hong-younghee-traditional-korean-living-59266.html
Hong Younghee lives in a famous, historic house in the South Korean countryside. She opens her house to the public as a historical site and a tea-house and every day of the year people from all over the world come to visit. Mrs Hong is also a practitioner of Falun Gong and a passionate advocate of human rights in China. She informs everyone who visits her house about the persecution of Falun Gong in China and encourages them to step forward and add their voices to the call for an end to the brutality.
Hong Younghee is used to the quiet life. She has lived in traditional Korean houses called Hanok all her life. Hanok are made of wood, mud and stone. The toilet is outside and the doors and windows are made of paper. Despite living in the "most wired" country in the world, where many homes have robot vacuum cleaners and internet-connected fridges, bees and butterflies flit through her house on sunny days and a small bat sometimes roosts in her main room. She wears the traditional Korean dress known as Hanbok all day while she works and grows her own vegetables. Never in her life has she called a modern house or apartment home. While she loves the lifestyle, she hasn't always found it easy.
"My sister lives in a modern apartment." She laughs, "The first time I visited her apartment, I really loved having the toilet and bathroom inside and so close to hand. Everything was so convenient."
Hong Younghee's house is not only traditional, beautiful and old, but it also historically significant. It is recognized by the South Korean government as "Important Folklore Material No. 134". It was built in the 1920s by Seon Byeongguk, her husband's grandfather. At the time he was one of the richest and most powerful men in Korea.
The most striking feature of the house is the pair of massive horizontal beams that support the roof from the inside. They are made of single, massive un-straightened tree trunks which were simply debarked, cured and then polished to reveal their innate beauty. There is no ceiling so these beams are visible, snaking above the main room like oriental dragons.
Many other details of the house's design are unusual. The stone foundation is particularly high and prominent, the wooden pillars that support the roof on the exterior of the house are unusually thick and round; double beams run down the interior of the house where usually there would be only one. All of these details are unique—the only other houses that have them were built for the Korean royal family.
Hong Younghee's day starts at 4am with Falun Gong excercises and meditation on the village school-ground. In the past she suffered from food allergies, nausea, and stomach problems. She would often feel weak and lethargic and she frequently fainted. All of her hair turned white and she looked far older than her actual age. After taking up the practice of Falun Gong her symptoms improved and eventually disappeared. She now has no problems with her stomach, has not fainted in years and will even run easily if she is in a rush. Remarkably, her hair even started to turn dark again and is now mostly black once more.
Because of the benefits she has gained through her practice of Falun Gong, Hong Younghee says she feels a responsibility to tell people about the persecution of Falun Gong in China. She speaks to all her customers about it and gives them flyers with information about the Chinese regime’s human rights abuses. She collects signatures for petitions and she will teach the Falun Gong excercises to anyone who wishes to learn.
"I want everyone to know the truth and to join the campaign to stop the persecution of Falun Gong. Too many people have had their organs stolen and their bodies burned," she says, "I hope this violence will stop and will not occur ever again...If people cannot believe in truthfulness, compassion and tolerance, what is there to believe in?"
No comments:
Post a Comment