|
|
 |
 Korea Culture |
|
|
|
 |
KOREA INTRODUCTION
Korea, South, country in northeastern Asia that occupies
the southern portion of the Korea Peninsula; officially known as the Republic
of Korea. South Korea is bounded on the north by North Korea; on the east
by the East Sea; on the southeast and south by the Korea
Strait, which separates it from Japan; and on the west by the West Sea.
The capital and largest city is Seoul.
The nation of South Korea was established in 1948 following the post-World
War II partitioning of Korea between the occupying forces of the United
States in the south and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in
the north. After the Korean War (1950-1953), South Korea rose from devastation
to become one of the world’s largest economies in the 1990s.
South Korea is a mountainous country. Lowlands, located primarily in the
west and southeast, constitute only 30 percent of the total land area. South
Korea can be divided into three general regions |
Climate
South Korea has a temperate climate, with four distinct seasons. Winters
are cold and windy, and snow falls in all but the southernmost regions.
Summers are hot, humid, and rainy. The weather in South Korea is affected
by the Asian continent and the surrounding seas. The Asian monsoon (large-scale
wind systems that reverse direction seasonally) brings frigid air from the
Arctic in winter and warm, moisture-laden air from the South China Sea in
summer. In Seoul the average January temperature
range is -7° to 1°C (19° to 33°F), and the average July temperature range
is 22° to 29°C (71° to 83°F). Winter temperatures are higher along the
southern coast and considerably lower in the mountainous interior.
The average annual precipitation in Seoul is 1,370 mm (54
in), and in Pusan it is 1,470 mm (58 in). Rainfall is concentrated in
the summer months (June to September). The southern coast is subject to
late summer typhoons that bring strong winds and heavy rains. |
Principal Cities
The country’s largest city, national capital, and chief industrial center
is Seoul, located in the northwest. Other major cities include Pusan, the
country’s principal seaport, in the southeast; Taegu, the principal commercial
and manufacturing center of the south; Inch’?n, the major port on the Yellow
Sea, near Seoul; Kwangju, the principal transportation and commercial center
of the southwest; and Taejeon, a transportation hub for the west-central
agricultural area and a center of science and technology. Also significant
is the southeastern city of Kyeongju, which was the capital of the Silla
kingdom that established unified rule of the Korea Peninsula in ad 668. |
Environmental Issues
South Korea’s rapid industrialization during the second half of the 20th
century dramatically increased pollution levels in the country. Heavy industries
became the primary contributors to air and water pollution. Industrial development
entailed massive land-reclamation projects, drainage of wetlands, and damming
of rivers. Population densities increased rapidly in cities where industries
were located, creating urban congestion and demand for additional development.
All of these factors put enormous pressures on the natural environment.
In South Korea, as in many other newly industrialized
nations, environmental regulations and monitoring lagged behind the pace
of development. A grassroots environmental movement emerged in South Korea
in the 1980s to respond to growing public concern over health issues related
to industrial pollution. In the 1990s the government became more responsive
to public health concerns and began to enforce higher environmental standards.
The country’s waterways became highly polluted in the 1970s
from industrial effluents, untreated sewage, and widespread soil erosion.
Deforested mountainsides eroded at an alarming rate, silting rivers and
streams. The health of many waterways improved dramatically by the mid-1990s,
mainly due to the construction of modern sewage-treatment plants and an
intensive reforestation effort. The Han River, which flows through Seoul,
was once extremely polluted but is now a symbol of successful environmental
cleanup and a popular recreational site.
In the 1990s automobiles outpaced industrial complexes as
the principle source of urban air pollution. The country ranked as the
world’s tenth largest emitter of carbon dioxide in 1999. Smog, a mixture
of airborne pollutants and fog, is a chronic problem in Seoul and other
large cities. To help improve air quality in urban areas, the government
has promoted the replacement of diesel-fueled buses with those that burn
natural gas.
At the regional level, South Korea faces issues arising
from environmental degradation throughout East Asia. South Korea and many
of its regional neighbors suffer from acid rain, a type of air pollution
that can occur hundreds of miles away from its source. The impact of increasing
desertification and industrialization in China is of growing concern in
South Korea. In recent years, huge dust storms from China’s expanding
Gobi and Takla Makan deserts blew through China’s rapidly industrializing
cities, mixing with toxic pollutants, and into South Korea, causing severe
air-quality problems. Since the 1990s the countries of the region, including
South Korea, China, Japan, Mongolia, and Russia, have worked to coordinate
efforts addressing environmental issues that go beyond national boundaries.
South Korea has ratified international treaties protecting
biodiversity, endangered species, wetlands, and the ozone layer. The country
has also signed treaties limiting hazardous waste and marine pollution. |
POPULATION
The population of South Korea is 48,289,037 (2003 estimate). The country’s
population density of 486 persons per sq km (1,260 per sq mi) is one of
the highest in the world. The majority of the population lives in the southern
and western parts of the country. The annual rate
of population increase in South Korea has dropped steadily from more than
3 percent in the late 1950s to 0.66 percent in 2003. Urbanization of the
country has proceeded rapidly since the 1960s, with substantial migration
from rural to urban areas; 82 percent of the population is now classified
as urban.
Following the official division of the Korea Peninsula
in 1948, about 4 million people from North Korea crossed the border to
South Korea. This sudden population increase was partly offset over the
next 40 years by emigration from South Korea, especially to Japan and
the United States. However, South Korea’s burgeoning economy and improved
political climate in the early and mid-1990s slowed the high emigration
rates typical of the late 1980s. Many of those who emigrated chose to
return to South Korea.
|
KOREA CULTURE INTRODUCTION
Korean Art and Architecture, the art and architecture
of Korea since the New Stone Age (Neolithic period). Korea is noted for
its unsurpassed traditions in pottery. Korean art is often a synthesis of
Chinese influences and native artistic traditions?such as the use of bold
color, natural forms, and lively surface decoration?which produced styles
that, in turn, were transmitted to Japan. |
 |
Architecture
Korean architecture incorporates Eastern philosophical principles
that emphasize harmony with nature and the universe. It is believed that
architecture based in these principles can foster social and political harmony
as well. Temple architecture followed forms introduced from China. One of
South Korea’s renowned Buddhist temples, Pulgak-sa, was built in the 8th
century under the royal patronage of the Silla kingdom, which formally adopted
Buddhism in the 6th century.
They were built of wood, with stone foundations and tile-covered rooftops
that extended beyond the main structure to form broad eaves. The undersides
of the eaves were colorfully painted in intricate designs.
|
Music and Dance
South Korea has a rich oral tradition consisting
of lyric folk songs, shaman chants, myths, legends, and folktales. Korean
folk songs are diverse and numerous. They include ceremonial and work songs
as well as popular songs about everyday life. “Arirang,” one of South Korea’s
best-known folk songs, has numerous variations.
Lyrical or narrative, folk songs are accompanied by lively and emotive
music played by percussion instruments such as drums, cymbals, and gongs,
and the oboe (a double-reed wind instrument). One type of traditional song,
the p’ansori, is a lengthy narrative that runs through several episodes
and can continue for several hours. Accompanied by the beat of an hourglass
drum, p’ansori is both spoken and sung. |
 |
Literature
 Korean
literature can be classified chronologically into classical and modern periods.
Korean classical literature combined indigenous folk traditions with the
religious and philosophical principles of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism.
A male-dominated educated elite developed the classical body of literature
from earliest times to the end of the Chosun dynasty in 1910. They wrote
in the Chinese script. The Korean script, Hangul, was introduced in 1446
but did not gain widespread acceptance as a literary language until the
20th century. The accessibility of Hangul to all classes expanded the social
base of Korean literature during the modern period.
- Three Kingdoms and Unified Silla
The earliest surviving examples of literature appearing in Korean sources
are the hyangga (native songs), which arose out of an ancient oral literary
tradition and have both religious and folk overtones. Only 25 hyangga, some
originally composed as early as the 6th century, are known to survive; 14
are preserved in an early historical text, Samguk-yusa (Memorabilia of the
Three Kingdoms, 1285).
Buddhism became the dominant system of thought during the Unified Silla
period and exercised great influence over literature and art. At the same
time, the rise of Confucianism stimulated the use of Chinese as a literary
language and promoted study of the Chinese classics. Hanshi?poetry composed
in classical Chinese and following Chinese principles of poetry, but written
by Koreans?became widespread among the literary elite of the Unified Silla.
- Koryo and Chosun
Buddhism remained a major influence in the literary
development of the Koryo period. In 1236 King Kojong of the Koryo dynasty
ordered Buddhist monks to record the entire Mahayana Buddhist canon (a
collection of sutras, treatises, and commentaries known as the Tripitaka)
to provide divine protection against Mongol invasions from the north (see
Mongol Empire). Utilizing traditional block-printing methods, monks carved
the text in the Chinese script in relief on more than 81,000 wood blocks,
totaling 6,791 volumes. Today the original collection, considered to be
the most complete rendering of the Mahayana Tripitaka in the world, is
preserved at the Haeinsa Buddhist temple in southern South Korea, and
the wood blocks continue to be used for printing the sacred texts.
Literature assumed increasing importance during the Koryo
and Chosun periods, when educated civil servants called yangban replaced
the hereditary ruling elite. In the tradition of Confucianism, the yangban
were selected by a national examination that required mastery of literature,
among other subjects. Their works constitute the majority of recorded
Korean literature from the Koryo and Chosun periods.
The sijo, a lyrical poem with simple yet sophisticated three-stanza
construction, emerged in the early 13th century, during the Koryo period,
and subsequently flourished in the Chosun period. Early sijo expressed
Confucian ideals using themes from nature, while later examples incorporated
elements of satire and humor. Renowned sijo poets include Hwang Chin-i,
an educated courtesan of the 16th century who is considered the foremost
female Korean poet, and Yun S?n-do, a master of the form who lived from
1587 to 1671. The writing of sijo has endured into the 21st century and,
much like Japanese haiku, has gained international popularity.
-Modern Period
In the modern period, dating from the early 20th century, Korean
writers adapted many different Western literary influences?notably realism,
existentialism, and surrealism?in their efforts to express a series of
difficult national experiences: Japanese colonial rule, the partition
of Korea and ensuing Korean War, and a period of authoritarian rule. One
of the most important achievements of modern Korean literature is the
16-volume epic novel T’oji (The Land), written by Park Ky?ng-ni over a
period of 25 years (1969 to 1994). The work presents a vivid panorama
of Korea from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century.
|
Korean Language
Korean Language, language spoken by 48 million people in South Korea and
22 million people in North Korea. In addition, more than 5 million Korean
emigrants and their descendants speak Korean, primarily in China, Japan,
North America, and the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).
Scholars have not firmly established a genetic relationship between Korean
and any language family. Korean does not belong to the same language family
as Chinese and also differs from Chinese in structural characteristics.
In grammatical structure, Korean is closest to the Japanese language. The
most widely accepted hypothesis is that Korean, like Japanese, is related
to the Altaic language group, which includes Mongolian, Turkish, and other
languages of Asia. Within that group scholars consider Korean closest to
the Tungusic branch, which consists chiefly of languages spoken in Siberia
and Mongolia.
Korean is written in Han’g?l, a simple yet sophisticated alphabet developed
in Korea in the mid-1400s. (North Koreans call this alphabet Chos?n’g?l.)
To convert Korean characters into the Latin alphabet used for English and
other Western languages, this article uses a system known as the McCune-Reischauer
system of romanization, which represents Han’g?l forms in a way that enables
English-speaking readers to approximate Korean pronunciation. |
 |
SEOUL INTRODUCTION
Lotus
Lantern Festival
Last year 150,000 visitors made Buddha’s birthday
celebration the largest festival in Korea. The Lantern Festival
Eve Celebration, which acts as a prelude to the main event, offers
a parade and traditional dance performances in front of the Chogye-se
Temple. On May 12, more than 50 events will be held. Highlights
include a lotus lantern-making contest, plays, and traditional songs
and dances. At dusk, 100,000 Korean Buddhists march through downtown
during the lotus lantern-parade. The celebration culminates with
a fireworks finale. Held in downtown Seoul. |
|
Dano Festival
May 5th by the lunar calendar is one of the most celebrated
holidays in Korea. Traditionally, such folk games as ssireum(Korea wrestling),
swings and seesaws are held on this day. A unique custom of this holiday
is to wash your hair with iris water. In 2004 , the festival is scheduled
for June 22th at Namsangol, a traditonal Korea village.
|
Wedding
Ceremony of King Gojong and Queen Myeongseong
The wedding ceremony of King Gojong
and Queen Myeongseong is reenacted at Unhyeongung(Palace)
in April and October. In 2003, the ceremony will be staged only once,
on october 18. The event is a showcase for "Garye", the wedding
ceremony of the Joseon royal family. |
Royal Guards Changing
Ceremony
During the Chosun Dynasty, guards were responsible
for the opening/closing, security and patrol of the palace gates.
Since 1996, the city of Seoul has held re-enactments of gate guards
changing shifts.
This event has been staged since 1996 with the guidance and assistance
of specialists.
The Royal guard changing ceremony is a magnificent and graceful
re-enactment of traditional Korean royal culture, comparable to
the Changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace in London. |
 |
|
Gyeongdong Herbal Medicine
Market Festival
This is interesting event is desingned to inherit the humanitarian
sprit of acient doctors who providede free treatment and accommodation
for th needy during th Joseon Dynasty and to promote the natual healing
power of herb medicines. The festival is held at the Gyeongdong Herbal
Medicine Market and main features include medical herb exhibitions and
a hreb-chopping contest.
|
Insadong Festival
The famous Insadong Festival is held every year in Insadong.
Among th events are antique art exhibitions, masquerades and a pottery
making competition. Queen Elizabeth II of th United Kingdom enjoyed th
festival during state visit in 1999. |
 |
Seoul
Drum Festival
Although it only started in1999,
the Seoul Drum Festival is now one of the most popular international
culture and art evnets in the city. It includes both Korean and
internatinal percussion performances as well as exhibitions and
drum competitions. This festival usually takes place in October,
butin 2003, it will open on Oct 8 for a 4-day run at the outdoor
stage of the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts and local stages |
|
Seoul World Fireworks Festival
The 2002 event was originally designed to celebrate th co-hosting
of the 2002 FIFA World Cup by Korea and Japan. This year thousands of
fireworks shot from the barges in fornt of Yeouido Riverside Park will
fill the night sky again with dazzling colors every Saturday from September
27 to October 11. Japan, China and Italy, including Korea, will participate
in th gala. |
Daehangno
Street Performance
If you're young at heart and in th mood for street festivals,
Daehangno is the place. Amateur performances of various types are held
at the Marronnier Park on weekends. |
BUSAN INTRODUCTION
them Busan National University (1946). Local points of interest include Kyongbok Palace, built in the 12th century by the first ruler of the Yi dynasty, and Toksu Palace, site of the National Museum and Art Gallery. Metropolitan Busan is administered directly at the level of a province by the central government of South Korea.
Human habitation in the Busan area dates from at least early Neolithic times?between 4000 and 5000 bc. By the time of the Koryo dynasty, which spanned the 10th to 14th centuries ad, Busan had developed into an important regional seaport. The fortunes of Busan have long been linked to its proximity to Japan; the city was invaded by the Japanese in 1592. The port was opened to Japanese trade in 1876 and to general foreign commerce in 1883. During the Japanese occupation of Korea from 1910 to 1945, Busan flourished as the main conduit of transportation and commerce between Korea and Japan. During the Korean War (1950-1953), Busan was a major port of entry and supply depot for United Nations (UN) forces. Busan served as temporary capital of the Republic of Korea during the war, and millions of refugees swelled the city’s population. Although UN forces prevented Busan from falling into Communist hands during the war, the city sustained extensive damage and was later rebuilt. Population 3,662,884 (2000)
|
Sea Festival
The Busan Sea Festival which is held simultaneously at the six beaches of
Busan, is composed of a wide range of artistic performances, beach concerts,
and beach dance festival. It is the biggest sea festival in Korea in which
visitors and local visitors participate and enjoy together.
Period : Beginning of August every year
For more information, please contact : The Organizing Committee for the
Busan Culture and Tourism Festival.
The Busan International Film Festival
The Festival was started in 1999 under the name of The 1st Asian Pop Festival
for youngsters from all around the world. It enables youngsters of the world
to get to know each other better and promote harmony among them through
the international language of music. It will be held annually to promote
pop culture, starting from 2000. Famous rock stars alongside amateur singers
from home and abroad are invited to visit Busan and perform their music
with a backdrop of the summer sea throughout July and August every year.
Period : Beginning of August every year
For more
information, please contact : The Organizing Committee for the Busan Culture
and Tourism Festival.
Jagalchi Culture & Tourism Festival
As one of the 10 major designated festivals in Korea, the
Busan Jagalchi Culture and Tourism Festival is held at the largest aquatic
products distribution center in Korea every October.
It lasts about four days and offers a perfect opportunity for visitors
to deepen their understanding of the sea and the people of Busan.
Period: Middle of October every year.
The Busan Jagalchi Culture & Tourism Festival Committee
Folk Kite-flying Contest
Since it began in 1971, the Contest has been held in around (the 15th
of the New Year according to the lunar calendar) every year. At the first,
Busan Folk Kite-flying Contest was a concentrated effort to succeed tradition
and promote original kite as domestic contest, but now Japan, China and
other countries are expandingly participating in competition. There are
fighting-kite, height-kite, miraculous-kite and original kite, in main
event.Period : Early February every year Inquiry : The Busan Folk Kite
Preservation AssociationFor more information, please contact : The Organizing
Committee for the Busan Culture and Tourism Festival
Polar Bear Swimming Contest
This event takes place at the Haeundae Beach every January.
Participants are required to swim 80 meters hoping out and returning in
the cold water. A large number of foreigners participate in this event.
A reception and awards ceremony are held after the event.
Period : January
For more information, please contact : The Westin Chosun Beach Hotel
Gijang Anchovy Festival
The Festival is held at Daebyeon harbor area of Gijang every
spring to promote the delicious taste of raw anchovy. Held at Daebyeon
seaside, there is a feeling of vitality and energy. Aquatic products sell
for low prices at the regional bazaar. This festival is composed of many
events, including the complimentary raw and grilled anchovies tasting.
Period : April every year
For more information, please contact: The Gijang Anchovy Festival Promotion
Committee, Gijang-gun Office
Busan Biennale
It is held under the slogan Make Busan an international
city of Arts. It was combined with the Busan International Art Festival,
Busan Youth Biennale, Sea Art Festival and Symposium of Open Air Sculpture
and International Academic Seminar for the development of Busan arts and
became the Korea¡?s largest integrated art festival. The Busan International
Art Festival contains a variety of displays, public performances, and
events including Busan Pops Orchestra, singers and Pop song, Dongnae Crane
Dance, etc. in harmony with the beautiful scenery.
Period : October ~ November
Inquiry : The Busan Biennale Organizing Committee
Chungyeol Festival
Combining the past and the present, this festival was held
in Dongnae area of Busan. It includes an ancient tug-of-war, a reenactment
of the activities of the Magistrate, and performances which are the registered
natural cultural assets.
Period : The 3rd week in October every year
For more information, please contact : Culture and Public Information
Division, Dongnae-gu Office
Haeundae Dalmaji Festival
It is one of the typical festivals in Haeundae. In order
to enhance love for their hometown and preservating and development of
our cultural heritage, it has been held since 1983. When you go up to
Dalmaji hill and see the full moon, it looks much bigger than usual and
the beautiful scene around sea is beyond description. Haeundae Dalmaji
where is one of the eight best scenes in Korea is known as the spot of
welcoming the first full moon of the 15th of the New Year according to
the lunar calendar. Every year about this time (Lunar 15th of the January)
two or three hundred thousand Busan citizens and tourists visit here and
pray their wishes to the full moon. The contents of the festival are praying
their wishes to the full moon ceremony, burning off Daljib(straw heap),
playing yut, seesawing, playing of the farmers folk band and dancing festival
of Busan Metropolitan Ballet Group.
The host area: Haeundae-gu, Busan
The date: Lunar January 15
Personality: Traditional cultural festival
Busanpo Festival
To celebrate the Busan Citizen's Day, it has been
held every year to inspire the pride and love for their hometown as a
Busan citizen since the 1980s. This festival that is held by each ward
office, starts right after the ringing of the Citizen's Bell. The
citizens from several parts of the city participate and it hosts an exhibition,
a folk play and various public performances.
|
JEJU INTRODUCTION
The Population of Jeju Island is 528,360 Currently and the component ratio
Which is Between male and female in Jeju is 49,4% to 50,6%(female)
The ratio of Jeju Population to the nation is 13% and the average population
per household is 3.3. Jeju has a subtropical, oceanic climate,
and four distinct seasons;spring,summer,fall and winter.
The
average temperature of Jeju is 16 degrees celsius,
It is 1,530mm in the record annual average plecipitation.
The amount of annual rainfall in Jeju is the highest in korea.
Jeju Island is also well known for a lava cave zone throughout the world.
There are more than 100 lava caves in Jeju,
But only 60 caves have been discovered in public,
Not only polar ani- mals but also tropcal animals inhabit here.
Out of land animals, 3,315 species of insects, a species
of amphimians,
11 sorts of reptiles 281 kinds of birds,and 16 mammal species live in
on Jeju Island.
There are also 2001 species of various plants,I,e, 9 endangered plant
species, 12 species on the decrease.
10 endemic species, 32 species of rare plants. |
FESTIVALS
- cultural festival in February
Tamra`s onset of spring exorcism festival
Jeongwol dae boreum fire festival
- cultural festival in April
Jeju rape flower festival
seogwipo chisipni internaltion workathon
gosari(fernbrake) picking contest
Jeju international marathon
- cultural festival in May
Lee joong sub`s arts festival
- cultural festival in June
The festival of seven nynphs
- cultural festival in July
Jeju leisure and sports festival
mid-summer night beach festival
- cultural festival in August
Jeju international wind instrument festival
seogwipo chilsipni internation beach festival
- cultural festival in October
Halla cultural festival
Jeju eulalia festival
- cultural festival in November
Jeju tangerine festival
- cultural festival in December
Seongsan sunrise festival |
Shopping Information
There are many kinds of convenient markets such as shopping center, E-mart,
marine product market and Jeju traditional market open every five days.
Tourist can find various special products there.
-Tangerine
tea and honey are made out of eat and they are so popular as presents.
-Pyogo mushroom, Yeongji mushroo
Tey are appreciated for their aroma and flavor. They are also gaining popularity
as gift items
-Mr. Halla omija tea
It is good for asthma and respiratory systems
-Dangyuja tea
This locally grown yuja tea is effective for curing colds
-Kkwong-yeot(pheasant taffy)
It contains such a large proportion of protein that it keeps you youthful
and effectively
relieve back pain. This traditional food only found in Jeju.
-Jeju Okdom
It is a highly nutritious and flavorful fish
-Native Jeju Honey
There are citrus honey and rape flower honey extracted from the flowers
of citrus tree and rape flower
-Jeju wine
Local spirits such as the Omegiwine, millet wine, Heobeok wine, baeklok-dam,
Hallasan are commercially sold in Jeju
-Jeju pork
the meat of Jeju pig is superb in quality. Because they are grown in the
unpolluted Mt. Halla feeding on wild grass
- Cactus
It is used as medicine since its leaf and led fruit has been proven to
prevent cancer and aging. |
|
|
|
|
