Seoul: Myeongdong Cathedral

I think this may just be my last post for the April 2012 trip to Seoul. Then I am going to do some housekeeping on this blog, starting with indexing all my travel posts on a separate page. 🙂 I have no clue how long this is going to take. I will probably be an old woman by the time this is all done.

I am not a Catholic but I spent a part of my childhood in a Catholic church – two years in a Catholic kindergarten and I followed my Catholic neighbours to mass on Saturdays.  Growing up, I have always liked visiting cathedrals on my trips to look at the architecture – the dramatic curved ceilings, the mesmerizing patterns on the ceiling and the gorgeous stained glass paintings.

I visited numerous cathedrals on my trip aroud England more than 10 years ago. People ask me – “Don’t you ever get sick of looking at drafty cathedrals? See one, and you see them all ‘cos they all look the same.” Nope.

Whenever I step into a cathedral, a huge sense of peace and calmness washes over me almost immediately. I feel that I am in a different world the minute I push open the doors and step into the worship hall. It’s a lovely feeling, really, which makes me wonder why I don’t visit a cathedral more often at home.

When we were in Seoul over Easter, we attended Easter Sunday morning mass at Myeongdong Cathedral. This is the second time I am attending mass in the cathedral. As the mass was conducted in Korean, I had no idea what was going on. But it was fine with me. I liked the experience of attending mass. There is something comforting in the Catholic ritual, watching the ceremony taking place at the altar, listening to the organ play and choir sing, hearing the priest and worshippers reciting the epistles, knowing that Catholics around the world will all go through the same ritual on Easter Sunday.

There was a fair held at the grounds of the cathedral, with stalls selling beautifully designed Easter eggs creatively wrapped in wrapping, cloth pouches, porcelain bowls and cute cages. I couldn’t resist buying one for a friend even though I wasn’t sure I could transport it back home in one piece.