My original Taekwon-Do school that I opened in 1998 was simply named Potchefstroom Taekwon-Do Club and it kept that name for the 25 years that it ran at the North West University in Potchefstroom, South Africa. However, when the national governing body restructured in 2001, chief instructors who oversaw more than one school had to choose a name for their association of schools, which were called “Kwan”, inspired by the legendary original Kwan in South Korea which were the foundations of what would eventually become Taekwon-Do. (The word “Kwan” 관 actually means building, by implication a training hall. But within the martial arts community back then it suggested a home or family for a particular style. In South Korea there were five original Kwan. The number increased to nine before – with the exception of one Kwan – they all eventually merged into one system: Tae Kwon Do. Within roughly a decade and a half, Tae Kwon Do would become two distinct styles: ITF Taekwon-Do and Kukki/WT Taekwondo. But I digress…)
As one of the chief instructors I had to choose a name for my Kwan. I knew immediately which name it would be: Soo Shim Kwan. I had read the philosophical phrase “Soo Shim” a few years prior, in 1997, in an issue of Tae Kwon Do Times magazine. The concept immediately resonated with me. Soo means water. Shim means heart or mind. The implication is to be like water. Now were you to ask the average Korean what “soo shim” means, they would probably think of various homonyms based on other root words ranging from “water level” to “melancholy”. However, were you to mention the term to either a philosopher or an erudite martial artist, you would get nods of knowing approval. The metaphor of water to describe one’s movements and mental state is a well-known and appreciated symbol within certain martial arts circles and East Asian schools of thought. (I provide a short overview of this here.)
As an intangible philosophical concept, there isn’t really a special place or particular thing one can visit that has relevance to “Soo Shim”. Or so I thought… One day, probably in search of more philosophical information on the concept, I stumbled upon a little article of some ancient calligraphy carved into a rock with the characters for “Soo Shim”. Of course, this made me elated, and I put it on my bucket list to go find this rock. Well, recently on my way back to Seoul from a trip to Jeongju, I noticed that with only about an hour’s detour, I would be able to go see the “Soo Shim”-rock at last.
This little trip would not have been of much interest to most other people, but to me it was very special. The stone carving was nearly imperceptible. The paint that used to emblazon the engraved characters were mostly worn away with time and weathering. Nevertheless, I immediately recognized the letters that had been part of my life and thinking for over two decades. And while my connection with this place was simply one of my own making, it felt nevertheless meaningful.
Confucian scholar and calligrapher Song Si-yeol, known by his penname Uam
The characters were calligraphed by Master Song Si-yeol (1607-1698), penname Uam, an esteemed Confucian scholar who lived during the mid-Joseon Dynasty. The reason for the engravement on that particular rock is twofold. First, it is simply the name of the rock: “Sooshimdae” (Sooshim-rock). The rock is also central to a scattering of villages that were arranged in the pattern of the Chinese character "shim" [心]. Not far from this location is a stream; hence one could sit on the rock in the shade of the pine trees and peacefully observe the water passing by. The implication is that the rock was a place of meditation. Secondly, it was in honour of a famous teacher and patriot Jo Heon (趙憲) (1544-1592), a civil official who devoted himself to learning and teaching in that area. He lived roughly a hundred years before Master Song. Jo Heon was known for frequently visiting this rock and apparently he was the one who named the rock “Sooshimdae”. In some of his writings he referred to the area as both a haven and a place for raising one’s spirits (qi).
Civil servant and teacher turned militia leader, Jo Heong
In 1592 the Japanese invaded Korea; Jo raised about 700 civilian troops as a volunteer militia in the Geumsan region to fight against the invaders. Their initial guerrilla tactics proved successful and there joined attack on the Japanese-occupied Chongju with the warrior monk Yonggyu and his militia freed Chongju. However, in a subsequent battle in Geumsan, Jo and his army were defeated and killed. Jo Heon was posthumously promoted to “minister in charge of public administration” by King Seonjo in 1604 and again to “prime minister” in 1609 by King Gwanghae in recognition of his services to his country. Joheon Sadang, a shrine where memorial services for Jo Heon are held was originally built in 1734 during the reign of King Yengjo. The original shrine building continued to deteriorate so it was rebuilt at the present site, right next to one of Jo Heon’s favourite places, the Sooshim-rock. The shrine building was built with donations from provincial schools, Confucian scholars, and Jo Heon’s descendants. Joheon Sadang has been dedicated as a Tangible Cultural Heritage (Material No. 26) for Chungcheongnam Province, and belongs to the Baecheon Jo-family.
Of course, for many readers of this blog, the Sooshim-rock and the story of Jo Heong is of little value. However, for those of you that consider yourself part of the Soo Shim Kwan family it might be interesting. I found it serendipitous that the “Soo Shim” concept has such a tremendously long history in Korea; I loved that this rock is named after it, as a place for contemplation, a place of meditation on “Soo Shim”; and that one person who meditated on “Soo Shim” also became a militia leader when circumstances required of him to protect his country against an invading army.
