Oil Tank Culture Park

Located on the slopes of Maebongsan in Mapo-gu, Seoul, the Oil Tank Culture Park was created by transforming the former Mapo Oil Depot, an abandoned industrial facility, into a cultural park that preserves its historical significance while serving as a hub for civic cultural activities. Covering an area the size of 22 soccer fields, the site’s six massive tanks have been fully repurposed into performance halls, lecture rooms, and exhibition spaces that document both past and future stories. Now firmly established as one of Seoul’s landmark urban regeneration projects, why not take a moment this autumn to experience the unique atmosphere of the Oil Tank Culture Park?

The Golden Axe and the Silver Axe

The Golden Axe and the Silver Axe is one of Aesop’s fables, and it is also known by the title Hermes and the Dishonest Woodcutter . This tale is often staged as a scene in which a mountain spirit appears and presents a golden axe and a silver axe. Long ago, in a remote village deep in the mountains, there lived a kind woodcutter. One day, while chopping wood, his hand slipped and his axe fell into a pond. As he stood there, troubled and distressed, a mountain spirit appeared and asked what had happened. After hearing the story, the spirit rewarded the honest woodcutter by giving him both a golden axe and a silver axe as gifts. When a wicked woodcutter heard the news, he came to the same pond and deliberately dropped his own axe into the water. When the mountain spirit appeared again, the wicked woodcutter lied. In the end, he could not even get back his iron axe.

Baekje’s Government System and Attire

Baekje was a kingdom founded in 18 BCE by King Onjo. Building its foundation on the fertile natural environment of the Han River basin, the kingdom grew and flourished, reaching its peak under King Geunchogo. Baekje cultivated a refined and elegant culture, but it fell in 660 CE to the allied forces of Silla and Tang. According to legend, Onjo, the son of Jumong, moved south and established the capital at Wiryeseong in the Han River region, first naming the state Sipje . After the death of his brother Biryu, Onjo united the people under his rule, and the name was changed to Baekje , meaning “a hundred joys,” symbolizing the people’s contentment in following him. Baekje’s governmental system developed into the office of the Sangjwa-pyeong (chief minister), the Six Jwapyeong, a 16-rank hierarchy, 22 Dammno (local administrative districts), Bangnyeong, and 22 central ministries. As depicted in Goguryeo murals, attire consisted of jackets reaching down to the waist paired with trousers, a...

The Fairy Maiden and the Woodcutter

he Fairy Maiden and the Woodcutter is a traditional Korean folktale whose origins are believed to be quite ancient, as it bears a close relationship to Taoist thought and folk beliefs and has long been widely shared among the people. This work was staged around the poignant scene of the fairy maiden departing while holding her child in her arms. Long, long ago, there lived a woodcutter in a village who cared devotedly for his elderly mother. One day, while cutting wood in the mountains, he happened to hide a deer that was being hunted. In gratitude, the deer revealed a secret: a pond where heavenly fairy maidens descended to bathe. The woodcutter stole the fairy maiden’s winged robe, married her, and built a life of seeming happiness, eventually having two children together. However, when the woodcutter later took out the hidden winged robe and returned it to her, the fairy maiden put it on and ascended back to the heavens, taking the two children with her. Desperate to follow, the ...

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