Replanting Our Roots

Reflecting back on our modern society there has been so much new history being written that there is a part of our history that is also being erased. Urbanization and modernization has led us to electronics, advanced medicine, and much more, but it has also led us to forget some of our key roots: culture, heritage, and traditions. Family is a huge factor that links up our roots however people are taking family requirements as a lower priority. Society has changed from a communal lifestyle to an isolated individualistic lifestyle.

[June 5, 2017. Darsil, Bonghwa. Pine Tree over shadows the village of Darsil © Jaeyoung Lee]

In the midst of the problem is Darsil Village. Darsil Village is the hometown of my grandmother and mom and it was the village that helped me to appreciate my roots. How often is it to see a village with a history of over 500 years still being kept in perfect conditions? Darsil Village is one of the few traditional villages in Korea where villagers are actually residing in them. There is so much layer of history to unfold that it is essential to think of it as my root.

[July 2, 2017. Darsil, Bonghwa. The wooden sign that welcomes people to Darsil Village. © Jaeyoung Lee]

The idea of this documentation started three years ago when my family and I got permission from my great uncle to live in his house for a year.

[April 8, 2017. Darsil, Bonghwa. Taken right before first entering the wooden gate of my great grandparent’s house. Spring flowers are blooming and this is the start of the bloom for our roots. © Jaeyoung Lee]

By staying in his house for a little over a year it made me see how much people are being left behind in the simplicity of life and how much of a written culture we were ignoring.

[September 2, 2017. Darsil, Bonghwa. Grandmother Kyung Sook pointing to herself in the picture with her extended family, explaining what was going on. This photo was taken about 40 years ago in front of the original Darsil Village. © Jaeyoung Lee]

[May 20, 2017. Darsil, Bonghwa. Grandmother Kyung Sook sits and reflects in front of the room where my mother was born in 1968. © Jaeyoung Lee]

[May 9, 2017. Darsil, Bonghwa. Seokcheon Jeongja was a private boarding school made by the eldest son of the Confuscian founder of Darsil Village. The school first opened in 1526 and closed after around 30 years.© Jaeyoung Lee]

[Family archived picture (early 1970s). Darsil, Bonghwa. My grandparents and aunts are sitting on a rock in Seokcheon displaying the Seokcheon Jeongsa in the back. © Jaeyoung Lee]

But despite this rich heritage we are left behind, the new generations are not being attentive, let alone caring about our deep implanted roots.

[June 6, 2017. Darsil, Bonghwa. A young kid and his family are planting something in their front yard. This is the only young family who currently resides in Darsil Village. © Jaeyoung Lee]

Of the few tourists who visit Darsil once or twice a year, they are mostly of the older age.

[June 24, 2017. Darsil, Bonghwa. Group of tourists standing in front of my great uncle’s house. Reading and taking pictures of the place that still contains life. © Jaeyoung Lee]

Urbanization and modernization has caused the young generations to neglect the countryside and it is time to rewrite our history. I have used the media to help connect the stories of the older generations so that they are easily accessible for the younger generation. This is a critical turning point since now, modernization isn’t used to prevent interaction between youth, but to extend it to a wider audience.

[May 20, 2017. Darsil Bonghwa. Granddaughter Jaeeun teaches her grandmother Kyung Sook on how to use the internet. © Jaeyoung Lee]

[July 1, 2017. Darsil Bonghwa. Anonymous grandmother leans against the walls of an house. © Jaeyoung Lee]

[October 5, 2017. Darsil. Bonghwa. An old, abandoned home. © Jaeyoung Lee]

[April 13, 2019. Bonghwa. My mom translating the writing grandma Kwon Sook wrote so that I could make Grandma’s book. The book was a compilation of my grandmother’s poetry with her drawing compiled to summarize her 80 years of life. The book was the first project to connect generations through media. © Jaeyoung Lee]

[October 9, 2019. Darsil, Bonghwa. My grandma and her sister and brothers standing in front of the house they grew up in after all these years. This house is the same house I stayed in during 2017. This scene was taken when I was filming for ‘I Am Grandma’, a youtube channel that empowers the stories of grandmothers. In that episode my great uncles and aunts explain how they were able to sustain a long, close family relationship. © Jaeyoung Lee]

I am no Malala, nor Greta Thunberg, but I still hope that my small changes will make a big impact on our changing society. Change should always come naturally and the intention of change should come from a moved heart. Anyone who has the heart to connect our generations and our world can make a difference.

[March 31, 2018. Darsil, Bonghwa. I am riding my bike around the village of Darsil. The lamppost where I am staring at is a significant symbol to the village as it has a rooster on top (Darsil means rooster in Korean) ©Jaeyoung Lee]