Temple, temple

I went out to the beautiful Jogye Temple for a freelance story for Newsday about Koreans' reaction to the Virginia Tech shooting. Basically, I went up to about 80 people and said "Yong-euh haseo?" Which means, do you speak English? Hardly anyone did. I got my best interview, finally, when I talked to a guy I knew who lives in our building. I guess Koreans aren't crazy about some strange-looking foreigner asking them a bunch of personal questions :) Hmm, maybe that would apply to Americans, too?

Anyway, here are a few photos. The temple hung white lanterns to remember the dead, and from the lanterns were the names (in Korean) on yellow cards of the people who had been identified as of last Saturday. Inside, a monk chanted and banged on a drum in front of three giant Buddha statues. It was quite beautiful. The woman in the photo is bowing before a shrine dedicated to the Va. Teach victims. There was a big banner that said in English "We pray them peace."

Also, here's a link to the story

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/ny-wokore042