Goyang Koifarm 고양 코이 농장

08/03/2026

On International Women’s Day, I published a new long read on Mantifang about the women of the Joseon palace.

Behind the walls of Seoul’s royal palaces lived queens, consorts, court ladies, servants, and sometimes enslaved women. Their lives were shaped by strict rules of hierarchy and seclusion. Yet within this closed world they also influenced succession, ritual life, and the daily rhythm of the court.

This essay looks beyond the official chronicles and tries to understand the layered reality of women in the Inner Court — power, silence, duty, and survival.

Read the full story here:
https://mantifang.com/en/joseon-women/

22/02/2026

Seoul is more than a city. It is a sequence.

Today I published a new longread on Mantifang:

The Joseon Palace Hierarchy

Not as a history lesson.
Not as spectacle.

But as a way of walking.

Through outer and inner courts.
Through corridors of distance and proximity.
Through the quiet role of the Naesi — the court eunuchs who stood close to power, yet never fully belonged to it.

This story reads Seoul through thresholds, rhythm, repetition, and return.
It asks how hierarchy once shaped movement — and how that movement can still be felt today.

If you are curious about how architecture becomes order,
how silence becomes structure,
and how Seoul remains readable without explanation —

You are warmly invited to walk through it.

Let me know what you notice.

17/02/2026

Seollal - Year of the Horse

Seollal as a threshold in time — a contemplative reflection on the Year of the Horse. Explore how lunar rhythm shapes continuity, ritual, and landscape.

Seollal as a threshold in time — a contemplative reflection on the Year of the Horse. Explore how lunar rhythm shapes continuity, ritual, and landscape.

12/02/2026

We all know the phrase Hallyu — the Korean Wave.
K-pop, K-drama, cinema, fashion.

But what is actually moving beneath that wave?

On Mantifang I’ve published a new page that looks at Hallyu not only as global entertainment, but as a cultural current shaped by history, technology, language, and identity.

How did South Korea move from post-war recovery to global cultural influence?
Why does Korean storytelling resonate so strongly worldwide?
And how does this “wave” connect to deeper layers of Korean society?

If you’re interested in Korea beyond the headlines — this might speak to you.

👉 https://mantifang.com/en/hallyu-the-korean-wave/

I’d love to hear what you think.

— Hugo

06/02/2026

Zeker — hier is een **enthousiasmerende maar Mantifang-eigen Facebooktekst**. Warm, uitnodigend, geen marketingtaal, geen hashtags-overkill.

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**Goyang — five annual moments**

Some cities introduce themselves loudly.
Goyang doesn’t.

I just published a longread on Mantifang that looks at Goyang not through landmarks or headlines, but through return: seasonal rhythms, everyday movement, and places that continue to be used year after year.

It’s a story about a threshold city — close to Seoul, yet grounded in its own pace.
About parks, paths, festivals, pauses.
About how public life gathers, disperses, and quietly comes back again.

If you’re interested in Korea beyond spectacle — in places shaped by use rather than image — this essay might resonate.

You can read it here:
👉 [https://mantifang.com/en/goyang/](https://mantifang.com/en/goyang/)

As always, I’d love to hear how this place reads to you.

02/02/2026

This small box holds no explanation.
Only traces — of what was kept, what was hidden, what was once considered worth protecting.

For me, it is not an object of nostalgia, but of attention.
A reminder that meaning is often carried quietly, without display, without certainty.

Some things are not meant to be opened quickly.
They ask for time, for patience, for a willingness to sit with what does not immediately speak.

This, too, belongs to Mantifang.

A philosophical letter about guilt, emptiness, compassion—from Dostoevsky and Tolstoy to Jijang, the small box, and The Mantifang as, the world is silent space.

01/02/2026

Over the past period, I’ve quietly been working on Mantifang.
The site has gone through a major renewal — not just visually, but in structure and direction as well.

Mantifang keeps evolving as a place for stories, reflection, and connection, and I’d truly value your perspective.
If you feel like it, take a look and leave a comment. What resonates? What feels different? What could be better?

Thank you for being here, for reading, and for following this journey.

Mantifang has a new look! ✨ Dive into Korea in stories, art & nature — from temple essays and koi reflections to Mickey’s fine art and cultural insights. Our site is now mobile-first, easier to explore, and ready for your journey.

16/01/2026

The World Is Silent Space
A reflective text about silence, responsibility, and compassion — written from within the space where words fall short.
Not an answer. Not a doctrine.
An invitation to pause, and to notice what remains when meaning loosens its grip.

🔗 https://mantifang.com/ko/the-world-is-silent-space/

16/09/2025

🌿 Discover Baedagol in Wondanggol — a place where koi heritage, healing gardens, and the scent of fresh bread come together.
A gentle space where Korea’s Silver Wave finds peace. 👉

Discover Baedagol in Wondanggol: koi heritage, healing gardens, and fresh bakery moments. A gentle space where Korea’s Silver Wave finds peace. 👉 Mantifang.com/baedagol

18/07/2025

A story that is hard for me to share, but one I can’t keep to myself.

What do Jung, Sartre, Wonhyo and Jijang Bosal have in common? In this essay-letter, I explore Korean Buddhism through the lens of the fractal — where karma becomes pattern, and compassion becomes presence.

22/04/2025

What do a thousand hands, a mountain spirit, and a bowl of tea have in common? Join Hugo J. Smal at Bogwangsa Temple Korea, where Buddhist symbolism and the spiritual heritage of Asia converge in a story shaped by dreams and silence. ✨ Read the full journey on Mantifang.

12/04/2025

🪷 New on Mantifang: Bogwangsa, Five Icons and the Fractal of Compassion In the heart of a Korean temple, five figures sit in silence—Shakyamuni’s grounding touch, Amitabha’s light, Yaksa Yeorae’s healing, Gwanseum’s listening grace, and Daeseji’s quiet power. This is not a story of do...