The most memorable moment of my recent mother-daughter beauty indulgence trip to South Korea was when we unexpectedly found ourselves facing these otherworldly tombs, shimmering against the dark skyline during a night walk in Gyeongju. This ancient city, which was the capital of Korea over a thousand years ago, held a profound and quiet majesty that took us both by surprise.
It was a moment of serendipity.
These tombs stood tall, majestic yet humble, echoing the wisdom of ancient times and their eternal connection to the nature that surrounded them. Their simplicity was captivating, and we were drawn to them, returning for three long walks — both in daylight and at night — to fully admire how they blended seamlessly into the mountainous backdrop, exuding a mystical superiority and greatness.
Time in Gyeongju flew by, and before long, we were in a taxi heading to the KTX train station, bound for Seoul.
As we passed through a valley patched with maturing rice fields and surrounded by verdant mountains, my thoughts kept drifting back to the Silla Royal tombs we had left behind. Gyeongju was one of those rare places that you fall in love with, knowing you may never return. It was also a precious moment of bonding with my adult daughter, a time stolen from our busy lives, knowing that our next trip like this may be many years away — likely after her own children have grown and gone off to college.
I couldn’t help but feel a deep melancholy at that thought, and my eyes began to well up with tears.
It was in that very moment that a melody from the taxi driver’s radio caught my ear. The music was soft, almost muffled, but the tune was distinctly melancholic, and it drew me in completely.
Halfway through, I realized the song was sung in German, not Korean. The haunting sound of the German language often evokes a sense of nostalgia and sentimentality, and this song was no exception. I quickly Shazammed it, and wasn’t surprised to find that it was “Goodbye My Love, Goodbye,” sung by Dorina Santers. It was the perfect song, arriving at the perfect time, to express the deep melancholy I was feeling in that moment.
My life has been a beautiful journey, and in that moment, those thousand-year-old tombs, along with a song from Germany, became the witnesses and bookmarks of a special chapter in that journey.
