Trimming the Tombs of Kings － Gyeongju′s ′Beolcho′ event ′신라 임금 이발하는 날′ － 경주 벌

It′s not every day that you see hundreds of people on their hands and knees cutting grass with scissors However， residents in Korea′s southeastern city of Gyeongju did just that on Saturday， to take part in a ceremony honoring the Silla dynasty royals buried in the city Kwon Jang－Ho has more Gyeongju the ancient capital of the great Silla Kingdom Within these giant mounds of earth lie the final resting place of the Silla royals and noblemen that ruled Korea for over a thousand years And today these tombs are due for a trim Normally professionals are brought in to cut the grass， but this year the city of Gyeongju has invited local residents to come and help， tying it in with a ceremony called Beolcho Beolcho， is a tradition where you honor family members that have passed away by tidying up their graves in the 15 days leading up Chuseok， one of Korea′s biggest holidays ″Gyeongju is a place where the dead and living share the space together While we take the time to honor our families， we also thought it was important to honor our royal ancestry as well ″ Half of the mound will be cut by professionals using electric mowers And for the rest？ Well we′ll using a pair of gloves and a pair of scissors The afternoon sun is beating down and there′s a lot to do， but spirits are high and the people make light work of it ″The kids complained it was hot at first， but once we got going， they started having fun and they said they want to come again next time ″ ″It was a meaningful event I′m so glad my sons were able to experience this It′s a cultural event you can take part in but also one that teaches I wish there were more events like this ″ The Korea Record Institute said that 1，212 people took part in the event The city of Gyeongju is hoping this is the start of a new annual tradition and it will be able to break that record next time Kwon Jang－ho， Arirang News