Legacy Beneath the Bell: Stillness, Strength, and a Walk Toward Peace| The Korean Friendship Bell
A Bell That Speaks Without Words
There are places you visit because you’re curious. There are places you return to because they call something up in you. The Korean Friendship Bell in San Pedro is both.
The Korean Bell of Friendship, San Pedro, CA
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The Korean Bell of Friendship, set high above the Pacific, it looks out over the ocean like it’s keeping watch. It was gifted to the United States by South Korea in 1976 as a symbol of peace and alliance. But it’s not just a monument, it’s a presence.
The Walk to the Bell
We arrived on a breezy day, shoes steady on the grass, sun warm on my shoulders. I walked slowly toward the bell, feeling the wind and silence wrap around me.
The bell sits beneath a stone pavilion, ornate and graceful, a wonder to see. It’s the largest bell cast in Korean history and the second largest in the world. Coach Formie reminded us it will be rung again on July 4th, like it is every Independence Day.
You don’t expect stillness to feel so powerful. But it does.
A Personal Legacy
For me, standing beneath this bell brought up something much deeper. Our Korean Kung Fu Great Grandmaster passed away a few years ago. He wasn’t just a teacher, he shaped how I walk through the world. His family is the reason we lived in Koreatown for a time. Those years gave me discipline, friendship, and a sense of rootedness I’ll always carry. Standing there, I felt it all come full circle. This wasn’t just a walk. It was a tribute. A thank you. A return.
Symbols in the Wind
The Korean and American flags waved side by side above the cliffs. Two nations. One breath of wind.
At the base of the bell, I noticed figures carved in front, one looked like a general, the other a protector. Nearby, a city sign told part of the bell’s story, but some things you only understand by being there.
I snapped a photo in my FormaFit hat and heart-shaped red sunglasses, bell in the background, breeze in my face.
I don’t always show my face. But today, I showed up.
Final Reflection: Peace Has Weight
This isn’t the kind of peace you whisper about. It’s carved in bronze. It echoes across oceans. We talk about strength as action. But sometimes strength is stillness. Sometimes it’s standing under a bell built for unity and letting yourself feel everything. Grief. Gratitude. History. Legacy. Hope.
It’s not lost on me that this whole journey for me began with loss. I’ve experienced more than one in my life, some loud, some quiet, some expected, others that knocked the breath right out of me.
Grief has shaped so much of this path. It stripped things away. But it also revealed what still mattered. FormaFit, these walks, this voice I’m using now, they all began as a way to survive. And slowly, they’ve become a way to live.
Standing beneath the Korean Friendship Bell, honoring my Great Grandmaster, I felt the weight of all those steps. Not heavy. Just honest. Loss shaped this road. But so did love. So does presence. So does showing up.
Walk With Me: The Korean Friendship Bell
Sometimes, the camera says what words can’t. Here’s a slow walk through stillness, strength, and silence, a moment beneath the bell, a moment to breathe.
Let this view hold whatever you're carrying today.
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