The Ssangyong Spirit: Pure Quality and 100010 Reliability
The purity of a gold bar is guaranteed by the 999. 9 mark. There are no figures, however, to indicate the pureness, or reliability of a corporation·. Yet reliability is the most important criterion used in evaluating a corporation. For over half a century, the Ssangyong business group and its affiliates have tried their utmost-to ensure that this intangible yet invaluable quality is never compromised. We strive constantly to guarantee that our products are 100% reliable. This dedication to pure quality extends throughout the entire corporation. We are: A dependable trading company with an annual trade volume of U.S.$2 billion. A leading cement producer with an annual capacity of 11.5 million tons. A highly versatile construction and engineering company renowned internationally for building the 73-story Raffles Complex in Singapore. A refining firm that produces pollutant-free oil products and a wide range of lube-base oils. A manufacturer of four-wheel-drive and special vehicles. A rapidly expanding investment and securities company. Our many achievements in the fields of data processing, diesel engine manufacturing, paper making, leisure/resort development, etc.,were based on .our unfledging dedication to quality. This is because we at the Ssangyong group realize the priceless value of 100% reliability.
((((SSANGYONG •Head 011,ce· 24-1. 2-ga, Jeo-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul 100, Korea •Central PO. Box 409 •Telex: TWINDAA K23258, K24270 •Phone: 274-2741 •Fax: 273-0981 . 274-2896
KOREANA Vol.1/No.2 KOREANA is published quarterly by INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL SOCIETY OF KOREA. 526, 5-ga, Namdaemunno, Chung-gu, Seoul 100, C.P.O. Box 2147, Seoul, Korea Telex: INCULKO K27738 Tel: 752-6170, 753-3463/7 KOREANA was registered as a quarterly magazine with the Ministry of Culture and Information, Republic of Korea, on August 8, 1987 Registration No. Ma-1033
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A SO-day Festival of Culture and Arts for the Seoul Olympics
PHOTO ESSAY
By Lee Kyong-hee
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Text by Hahn Man-young Photos by Kim Soo-nam
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LITERATURE
SPOTLIGHT
Myths, Crises and Heroes
Pan Music Festival Leads Contemporary Music in Korea
By Kim y61-kyu
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FEATURE
Skills of Yesteryear Fill Lingering Aesthetic Need
5,000 Years of Korean Art By Peter Hyun
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PEOPLE
Chang Uc-chin and a Return to Nature
FOLK CULTURE
Housing By Edward B. Adams
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HERITAGE
Traditional Gardens of Korea
Sung Kyun Kwan, Sanctuary of Confucianism in Korea
By Shin Young-hun
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By An Byung-ju
REVIEWS
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ART I DANCE/DRAMA
DIALOGUE
ART IS A VESSEL FOR THE ARTIST'S DREAMS
A Conversation between Kim Chung-up and Kim Bee-ham
COVER: The interior of the National Museum of Contemporary Art
Pc5mp'ae, Buddhist Chant
80 ART NEWS
PUBLISHER/PRESIDE NT: Kim Seong-jin EDITOR IN CHIEF: Peter Hyun EDITORIAL BOARD: Choe Chungho Hahn Man-young Rhee Sang-woo Yoo Young-ik ART DIRECTOR: Park Seung-u TEXT EDITORS: Suzanne Crowder Han Elizabeth K. Lee PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR: Kim Soo-nam ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Kim Young-uk (text) /Kim In (graphics) Yang Eun-hwan (photos)
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A50-day Festival of Culture and Arts for the Seoul Olympics By Lee Kyong-hee
he Seoul Olympic Organizing Committee (SLOOC) has announced a 50-day program of exhibitions, stage performances, folk arts presentations, and special gala events that will take place in Seoul and other locations across Korea from August 17 to October 5, 1988, complimenting the Games of the 24th Olympiad. According to the SLOOC announcement, individual artists and performing groups from 80 countries around the world will participate in the Seoul Olympic Arts Festival. They will represent various trends and styles from the most ancient and classical to the most up-to-date and avant-garde, to make the Seoul event one of the most fascinating arts festivals in Olympic history. "In ancient Greece," a SLOOC spokesman said, "the regular gatherings at Olympia celebrated not only the athletic skills of its citizens; but also their intellectual and artistic achievements. When Pierre de Coubertin established the Modern Games, he wished that the
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Olympics again include not only sports competitions, but also art programs. We are preparing the festival in this great spirit and Olympic tradition." For the festival organizers, it also is a rare opportunity to promote a better world understanding and appreciation of Korea's culture and arts, that are as old and versatile and as carefully preserved as those of Greece. The festival includes a number of events highlighting Korea's unique heritage which has enriched the overall East Asian traditions over thousands of years.
The activities are divided largely into 24 exhibitions, five performing arts festivals, and seven gala shows and outdoor folk festivals. But these are only those for which preparations have been completed in detail, and there are more events in the making, according to the organizing committee. "For some events, negotiations are still going on," they said. "Particularly, various logistical problems remain to be resolved with the countries with which Korea does not have formal relations. But things are proceeding well. A few real surprises may be bared at the last moment." The Seoul Olympic Arts Festival will raise its curtain in a gala featuring an exciting mixture of modern and traditional Korean performing arts depicting the nation's cultural and historical legacy, which is slated for August 17 to 19 at the National Theater. A large number of individual artists and performing groups will appear in this colorful program, dubbed "The Han River: Its Dreams for the Future."
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An international contemporary painting exhibition will be held in the National Museum of Contemporary Art from August 17 through Ociober 5, 1988.
Prior to this opening gala, the World Invitational Open-air Sculpture Exhibition will start on August 15 at the Olympic Park, a main venue of the Seoul Games, which is located near the Olympic Main Stadium on the southeastern outskirts of the capital city. The exhibition will feature 165 works by leading sculptors from 81 member nations of the International Olympic Committee. The Olympic Park, by this time, will have already turned into a fine outdoor museum of sculpture,
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showcasing 35 monumental pieces created on the scene by well-known artists from 32 countries, mostly dedicated to the Olympic spirit and universal harmony and peace. The SLOOC invited 17 of these artists to the first part of its International Open-air Sculpture Symposium from July 3 to August 20, 1987. The remaining 18 artists are invited to the second part, slated for March l to April 30, 1988. The symposium was planned as a preOlympic arts program . The sponsoring committee provides all neces-
sary materials, tools and equipment, plus all expenses, under the condition that the artists donate their creations for permanent display on the scene as monuments to the Seoul Olympics. The International Contemporary Painting Exhibition, scheduled for August 17 through October 5 at the National Museum of Contemporary Art, is of a similar nature and dimension. More than 100 leading painters from 58 countries will present their works in this exhibition. On August 31 , the Inter-
national Modern Calligraphy Exhibition featuring some 150 works by noted calligraphers from 10 countries will open at the newly erected Calligraphy Hall in the Seoul Art Center. The East-West Contemporary Ceramic Exhibition. including works by 60 foreign artists and 20 Korean will run from September 9 through October 9 at the gallery of the Korean Culture and Arts Foundation. The exhibitions introducing Korea's cultural and historical legacy are: a special exhibition of Kaya
pottery at the Chinju National Museum, featuring pottery and metalcraft objects dated to the ancient league of kingdoms which ruled part of the present Kyongsang-do provinces from 42 to 562; an exhibition of relics from the site of Hwangnyongsa Temple in Kyongju, the ancient capital of the Shilla Kingdom (57 B.C.-A.D. 935), at the Kyongj u National Museum, featuring some 350 objects including Buddhist images, metal artifacts and roof tiles; an exhibition of relics from the early
Paekche period (18 B.C.-A.D. 660) at the Puyo National Museum, featuring some 1,000 pieces of pottery, roof tiles and other objects; a special exhibition of Paekche roof tiles at the Kongju National Museum; and a special exhibition of ancient Korean printing at the Ch'ongju National Museum, featuring ancient epitaphs, woodblock prints, wood and metal type, books and documents attesting to the advanced printing skills of ancient Koreans. All of them 7
will run simultaneously from August 17 through October 5. Other exhibitions spotlighting Korean culture and traditions include a Korean costume exhibition at the National Museum of Korea, from August 17¡ to October 5, featuring dress~ and ornaments of the Three Kingdoms period (57 B.C.-A.D. 668) to the Choson period (1392-1910); Tigers in Korean Folk Art at the National Folklore Museum, from August 17 to October 5, featuring ancient paintings, ceramics, wood carvings, embroidery and other art objects with tiger designs; an exhibition of Korean traditional handicrafts at the S6kchoj6n Hall in Kyongbokkung Palace, from September 1 to October 5; an exhibition of traditional
Korean musical instruments at the National Classical Music Institute,
Postal stamps on sports themes
of Seoul Citizens at the Sejong Cultural Center Exhibition Hall, from September 15 to October 7. Three exhibitions of special interest are scheduled at the Korea Exhibition Center from September 5 to October 5. They are the World Sports Philatelic Exhibition showing approximately 3(')0,000 sports-related postal stamps from
140 countries; the World Children's Art Exhibition showing 600 paintings, prints and collages by children ages 6 to 12 from around the world; and Sports through Artists' Eyes showing 80 paintings, prints and sculptures on sports themes by Korean artists. Picturesque Views of Seoul and Photographic Images of Korea are two exhibitions slated for September 15 through October 31 at the Olympic Main Stadium Exhibition Site. , The Korean Daily Life Exhibition, designed to provide foreigners visiting Seoul for the Olympic Games with a glimpse into the daily life Koreans, will take place from September 15 through October 15 at several different spots around the city. Folk costumes and accessories, food , drinks, teas, traditional style houses, rooms and pavilions will be exhibited. Various folk games, plays and sports will also be demonstrated.
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The National Museum of Korea will hold an exhibition of 300 Korean costumes and accessories from August 17 through October 5, 1988.
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Festivals within a festival characterize the performing arts events. Myriad concerts, operas, dramas, musicals, classical ballets, modern creative dance performances, folk arts presentations and movies will take place at major theaters in Seoul and other cities across Korea during the festival period. An international forum on the role of drama in promoting world peace at Seoul's Mun-ye Theater on August 18, sponsored by the Korean Drama Association, will open a three-month theater fiesta featuring outstanding drama companies from various countries. The Comedie Francaise of Paris and a kabuki troupe from Japan are among the first groups to confirm their participation. Korean presentations have been selected so as to represent the best achievements in both the traditional and modern styles.
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Traditional Music Festival
Major Korean productions on the program include "An Eight-Panel Screen" by the National Drama Company, which combines indigenous elements of ancient Korean myths and legends to form an epic tale of universal appeal; "Ch'unhyangga," based on a popular legend of love and suffering, by the National Traditional Opera Company; "A Singing Shim Ch'ong," adapted from another famous tale about a filial daughter by the Seoul Metropolitan Dance Theater; and "A Love Song on the Subway," a musical with a modern theme, by a company specially organized for the festival.
The opera "Turandot;' staged by a 300-rnember company with its own orchestra and chorus from Milan's La Scala opera house at the Sejong Cultural Center on August 18 to 22, will open a 52-day international music extravaganza. Korean presentations will include "A Burning Pagoda," an opera composed by Chang 11-nam, based on a legendary episode involving a common man who loved a queen of Shilla; "The Passion and Dawning," a symphony by Na In-yong which borrows elements of traditional Korean music to depict the sufferings of the Korean people through their long history that eventually led to an era of hope; and "The Hymn for the Olympiad," a cantata by Pak Yong-gun. The Vienna Chamber Orchestra is among the foreign groups which will participate.
Dance Festival
Top class dance companies and individual dancers from Korea and abroad will perform at Seoul's National Theater and Mun-ye Theater during a 35-day international dance festival from August 22 to October 5, sponsored by the Korean Dance Association. The program will include "A Portrait in White Robe," a dramatic piece inspired by a sixthcentury Buddhist martyr, by the National Dance Company; "Prince Hodong and the Princess of Lolang," based on an ancient tale about love between a Korean prince and a Chinese princess, by the National Ballet Company; and "Crest of the Wave," adapted from Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid, by the Korean Modern Dance Company. The Seoul City Dance Company, the University Ballet Company, the Lucky Creative Dance Company and a number of masters of Korean traditional dance, including those designated "living cultural treasures," will also perform.
Folk Arts Festival
Colorful programs of Korean traditional music and dance will be presented during the six-week period from September 1 to October 15 at the National Classical Music Institute, the Seoul Norimadang (Open-air Theater), Ch'anggy6nggung Palace and the Chongmyo Shrine. On September 16, outstanding folk arts troupes from 12 different countries will participate in the Seoul International Folklore Festival at the National Theater. They will join Korean artists in staging the festivals to greet the torch for the Olympic Flame in various provincial cities across Korea from September 12 to 15.
Among other events of special note are the Korean Film Festival Week from September 15 through 21 at the Sejong Cultural Center Small Hall, featuring a selection of outstanding feature and cultural films; the Han River Festival presenting rock concerts, band parades, fashion shows, circuses and folk entertainments of various countries along the banks of the Han-gang from September 13 to 16; and the Street Festival putting on mock royal processions, masked parades, band parades and road games along Chongno and Ulchiro streets in downtown Seoul from September 22 to 25. In the Olympic Village, various cultural programs including movies, concerts, Korean folk plays and tourist exhibitions will take place from September 3 through October 2. In the evening of September 16, a colorful performing art program will celebrate the eve of the Games at the Sejong Cultural Center, with the attendance of some 4,000 invited guests. The presentation is intended to be a joyful event for the entire global village. At the same time, it is to convey a vital message from the Land of the Morning Calm to the world; that is, a message of peace, harmony, unity and progress. + 11
LITERATURE
Myths, Crises and Heroes by Kim Yol-kyu
Culture Heroes in Korean History orean history is the story of innumerable crises and how they were overcome, often with the help of "culture heroes." The term "culture hero" is an anthropological concept referring to mythological characters who brought political and social systems to earth. An example of a Korean culture hero can be found in the foundirig myth of Ko-choson or Ancient Choson. According to legend, Hwan-
K
ung was a god who came down to earth and founded Ko-choson becoming its first king. He is described as both god and man. He possessed the power to control nature, and the ability to create and destroy social systems and to keep social order. In short, he had the power to rule. This is only one of the many culture heroes in ancient Korean myth. There is a similar story concerning the Kingdom of Karak, which is believed to have been formed a little later than Ko-choson.
A long, long, time ago, on the Day of Purgation (a day when people ritualistically purged themselves of evil influences) in the third month, there was a strange voice calling out from the Turtle Shaped Mountain which was situated in the north. A crowd of two or three hundred gathered there, and heard a human-like voice, though there was nobody there. It asked, "Is anybody there?" To this, the nine leaders answered politely, "Yes, sir, we are all here." The voice continued, "Where am I?" They replied, "You are in the Turtle Shaped Mountain, sir." The voice went on, "Heavenly god ordered me to rule this country and found a new nation and become its gracious sovereign. I am about to descend. It is imperative that you bob your heads up and down and sing like this: Turtle, turtle, Stick your neck out. If you don't We will eat you baked. You must sing this song, and dance. You must jump with joy when you welcome your king." This account of greeting god with singing, dancing and jumping with joy is the first concrete historic record of shinbaram, meaning an excited and intoxicated state during which people feel as though they have received god's power and have actually become one with god. Its nearest meaning is an "orgiastic state," "ecstacy," "trance" or "enthusiasm." The origin of the word "enthusiasm" is the Greek word "enHwan- ung, who came down from heaven to earth and founded Ko-choson becoming its first king.
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thousiasmos." "Enthos" means "god" in Greek and hence "enthusiasm" means, "a state in which people are possessed by god." The Korean word shinbaram also means "a state of being possessed by a god or a spirit" and describes a particularly excited and intoxicated state of mind. The god, who descended from heaven, founded the Kingdom of Karak and gave the people a social system and culture. His name was Suro, the meaning of which is not clear but might be "an outstanding being." His story is The Karakkuk Chronicle which is reflected in shaman rituals even today. Such rituals include singing, dancing and jumping with joy-in other words, shinbaram. King Suro and Hwan-ung of Kochos6n were both culture heroes who bestowed light and order on primitive, ignorant peoples lost in darkness and chaos. The concept of shinbaram holds the key to Korean feelings and emotions. Therefore it is helpful to analyze the shamanistic ritual of the Karakkuk Chronicle. The story behind it is interesting because the appearance of King Suro was accompanied by an experience of shinbaram.
disorder." Shinbaram provides the background for the birth of such culture heroes and exercises a powerful decisive influence on history and society. Since King Suro, there have been culture heroes right down through history, including Kim Yu-shin who unified the Three Kingdoms, Kung-ye, a hero toward the end of the Shilla period, Choe Che-u, who led the Tonghak Peasant Rebellion and Kang Cheun-san, the head of a modern re-
Shinbaram and Culture Heroes
ligious sect. This tradition is also carried on in literature. Culture heroes appear in many modern literary works such as Changsuhaniilso (Longliving Heavenly Cow) by Yi Oe-su, Padaiiippul (The Sea Horn) by Han Sung-won and Hwangjeliilwihay6 (For the Emperor) by Yi Mun-y61. The culture heroes brought gifts of order, light and culture. They carried out cultural, political, social and moral reforms, and at times even reformed nature itself. These are the same attributes of the gods who appear in creation mythology. "The Story of The Emperor of Heaven and Earth," the creation myth of Cheju Island, is an important shamanistic myth . It tells the story of the creation of the world, the natural order and the social system. In this myth, the Emperor of Heaven and Earth and his two sons concretely manifest themselves as culture heroes. Originally, the world was not divided. It was surrounded by pitchblack darkness. Gradually heaven and earth became separated and light dawned, but it was overdone; there
In the aforementioned Karak myth, a man-god culture hero called "Suro," makes the people of Karak sing and dance and experience a sort of shinbaram. In Korean shamanism, shinbaram r.efers to the actual appearance of gods or spirits, which make people sing and dance and become profoundly excited and intoxicated. Shinbaram is also experienced by people who are in darkness and chaos at the moment a culture hero makes his appearance. In this case, the culture hero can be called "a sacred culture hero." It is worth repeating here that the man-god culture hero, known as King Suro, appeared while the people were experiencing shinbaram, and that he beat off the darkness and disorder and created a new culture and social order. This is significant, because even after the mythological age was over sacred culture heroes who might be called the "Suros of the historic age" have emerged whenever there has been a cultural or social crisis which can be symbolized as "darkness and
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came to be two suns and two moons. The languages of man, ¡animals and ghosts all got confused and indistinguishable. Nasty, greedy people bullied good people, but there was no way to deal with them. The two sons of the Emperor of Heaven and Earth ruled this world of disorder and unlawfulness in turn, and established religion and the social system, as well as righteousness and reason. They also made clear divisions between life and death, and differentiated the languages of man, ghosts and animals. These two sons of the Emperor of Heaven and Earth are typical culture heroes.
Darkness, Confusion and Culture Heroes
Ch'oe Che-u, founder of Tonghak
Originally culture heroes came to the world through mythology. To be more exact, his appearance and life became myth. Nevertheless, having made an appearance, a culture hero does not just disappear forever. As myths reappear in history, the culture hero keeps appearing. If it is possible to identify historical culture heroes, as opposed to mythological culture heroes, many can be found in Korean history. Whenever there was darkness and confusion, a culture hero was born. He overcame disorder and darkness, which can be interpreted as the reappearance of the prehistoric cosmic chaos, and reopened history by Logos. If mythological culture heroes opened up the human experience, historical culture heroes developed the history of any particular age. Each and every one of these culture heroes managed and overcame the particular crisis of his age. They were usually born in a transitional period. They did not only light the darkness; they brought order to confusion, unification to division, and rest to anxiety. They brought the beginning of a new age, and were the central figure of the era. They tend to become more and more like mythological culture heroes. ¡ Darkness and confusion at the end of an age give birth to culture heroes who become the pioneers of the new age. When a historical culture hero, who was born as a child of darkness and confusion, walks towards light and order, he experiences shinbaram. It enables him to experience god, or
become a catalyst for such an experience. A mystic experience is a difficult concept because it varies in different cultural traditions and religions. However, it is possible to summarize some generalizatioris. A mystic experience can be said to be a direct and individual encounter between a god or spirits and a person. For example, Christian~ say they have witnessed God and received His word when they have a specific religious experience. In shamanism, this mystic experience is called possession. They say "the shaman has received god," "He has contracted god" or "God has descended into him." The most generally used expression, which is also the most appropriate, is shinjipim, meaning "inspired by god." This shows a state in which the god or spirits and man have become one. More specifically, it is a state in which man has been overwhelmed by god, or god has ensnared man, or god has appr9ached man and rules him. In other words, a state in which man physically experiences god's existence. This shinjipim in Korean shamanism is accompanied by outward symptoms of trembling. The violent shaking of the body, or the stick held in a hand, is a mark of this shinjipim. It is a mystic experience which is unique in Korean shamanism, and is the purest experience of god.
recluse. He could almost be said to be exclusive. On the other hand, the tosa was legendary. Culture heroes, however, were dynamic and positive. They were active on the historical front as warriors. Towards the end of the Yi Dynasty of the Chason Kingdom, when the people were faced with a national crisis, Ch'oe Che-u (Suun) founded the Tonghak sect and led the Tonghak Peasant Rebellion. He took on the role of crisis manager, as a perfect father figure for the poor downtrodden people of the age. Suun was very well aware of the darkness and confusion of his time. He knew of the political and economic crisis threatening the livelihood of the people, and also of a general ideological and cultural crisis. He himself chose to be the manager of the crises. He was motivated by this choice to retire to Naewonsa Temple near T'ongdosa Temple in Yangsan. His first period of asceticism in the mountains was temporarily interrupted by his uncle's death which he learned of by spiritual intuition. He thus went back to the world of his own accord.
The main Ch'Ondogyo church in Seoul; Ch'Ondogyo is the religion that grew out of Tonghak.
Three Korean Father-Figure Types The most recent culture hero in Korean history is, without doubt, Ch'oe Che-u (pen name Suun), who was the founder of the Tonghak sect, a revolutionary religion which led a peasant revolt at the end of the 19th century. He was a typical culture hero who emerged out of the violence of the times. He followed in the tradition of Hwan-ung and Suro. In times of crisis, men seek a perfect father figure. In Korea, such a figure was represented as a shinson (a Taoist hermit with supernatural powers and a tosa (a Taoist master or a spiritually enlightened person). Culture heroes may well be added to these two categories. In other words, the shinson, tosa and culture hero may be referred to as the three Korean fatherfigure types. The shinson was an individualistic
The house of Chon Pong-jun, a Tonghak leader, before restoration.
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The trembling of the body, the feeling of contact with god, and the message from the other side are the three typical phenomena of a shinjipim, mystic experience in shamanism.
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After the funeral, Suun returned to the same valley. There he had an opportunity to achieve his aim. The moment of hi~ achievement is very similar to a mystic experience. If there was a difference, it would be the existence of neurosis and physical pain in the case of shamans, and its absence in the case of Suun. These symptoms of neurosis and physical pain are the foreboding of a mystic experience. Suun described his mystic experience as follows: 1) For no reason, his mind chilled and his body trembled. 2) He heard the voice of heavenly god inside him. 3) Outside he felt the presence of a spirit. 4) That spirit handed him a charm and told him to use it to help the poor people and save the world on behalf of the spirit. Thus he experienced 1) trembling of the body, 2) the feeling of contact with god, and 3) a revelation. This revelation can be expressed as "a message from the other side," which is frequently used in Korean shamanism. The trembling of the body, the feeling of contact with god, and the message from the other side are the three typical phenomena of a mystic experience in shamanism, a shinjipim. A shinjipim is often described in the following way: "It was like a disease, but it is difficult to describe the symptoms in words." "I felt as though I was dreaming and awake at the same time." If these comments are considered, Suun's experience met the three conditions of general religious mystic experience. Thus he went back to the world to revive Oriental philosophy and to pursue his ideal of helping and saving the suffering multitude. He put his religious mystic experience to use in society. He was born out of darkness and tranformed into a father of light, opening up a new age. Right at the root of the Tonghak Movement, which brought about the most significant political and cultural renovations in recent times in Korea, lay this mystic experience. Suun's teachings and deeds had the purpose of infecting his followers and disciples with his own mystic experience. He shared the effects of the incantations and charms, which he had received from the heavenly spirit, with his be-
lievers, to infect them with the mystic experience. He was the personification of a perfect father figure which Koreans seek in times of crisis. He made his appearance in history as a culture hero, as a shinson does in folk tales and a tosa in legend. This father figure type of culture hero has always been a part of the unconscious mind of Koreans in crisis. In that sense, it can be called the archetype of the Korean unconscious mind, or the archetype of the ideal crisis manager. The archetype crisis manager can be traced back to the mythological culture heroes such as Hwan-ung and King Suro. In the historical age, Kim Yu-shin was a typical example. The hero of the unification of the Three Kingdoms, General Kim Yu-shin was highly conscious of being a son of a dark age. The frequent foreign invasions by the Kitans (a Tungustic people in Manchuria) and the Japanese, as well as the friction with the neighboring kingdoms of Kogury6 and Paekche, created a sense of chaos. When he was merely seventeen, he chose to retire to a mountain to lead an ascetic life in a stone cave. Like Ch'oe Suun, he came down to the world and went back into seclusion. During his period of asceticism in a mountain, he met an old man radiating five different colored rays, who taught him secret military skills. Then, he saw a spirit descend from heaven onto his precious sword and felt it tremble. Though the appearance of an old man, who is faintly reminiscent of a shinson, gives this legend a Taoistic flavor , basically the mystic experience was no different from shaman mystic
experiences.
Crisis Managers Who Conquered the Darkness and Chaos To witness a resplendent light descending from heaven is often described as a "vision quest." Needless to say, this is the most important outward sign of mystic experience. Considering the trembling of the sword and the trembling of the body of the person holding the sword, there is a great similarity between the mystic experience of Ch'oe Suun and that of General Kim Yu-shin. Kim Yu-shin's experience paved the way for him to establish himself as a military commander. After that, he gathered together the Hwarangdo (the Flower of Youth Corps, a sort of military academy during the Shilla period) and achieved the great task of the unification of the three kingdoms. Kim Yu-shin was not only a son of the darkness, but also a great father-figure for the nation and thus a historic culture hero. These ideal father-figures together with ideal mother- figures, such as a sonyo (a nymph or a fairy), the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy and the Goddess of the Mountain, formed the Korean image of ideal parents. On high they were cosmic beings who came to an understanding with heaven and the universe. Down below, they were perfect protectors of the nation and people, and earthly leaders who managed the crises of their times. Such ideal father-figures included Kim Yu-shin and Ch'oe Che-u. In literature, this ideal has ap-
peared throughout the generations, from military and biographical novels to modem novels. During the Choson Kingdom, biographical novels were most numerous. All of them describe the lives of heroes, who were, without exception, sons of darkness and chaos. These novels recount how the heroes encountered god and established themselves as a new light of their ages. This tradition has been carried on most faithfully in works like The Long-living Heavenly Cow and For the Emperor. The former concerns the "vision quest," as experienced by Kim Yu-shin, and the latter, a contact with god, which was rather similar to the experience of Ch'oe Che-u, but also contained elements of a shamanistic trance. The heroes in these stories overcome the darkness and chaos of their times because of their experiences with god. This is an age without mythology, an age of the twilight of mythology. However, even today there are works which describe culture heroes and make us yearn for an ideal father. The Long-living Heavenly Cow exposes the crisis of modern industrial society and For the Emperor deals with the historic crisis facing the nation. These two works are not practical and direct prescriptions for society but their allegorical and symbolic meanings cannot be ignored. As long as Koreans are faced with a crisis and dream of an ideal father-figure, the undercurrent of a desire for a culture hero will remain ¡a part of the Korean psyche. + • The writer teaches Korean literature at Sogang University. Translated by H yun Key Horgarth
The term "culture hero" is an anthropological concept referring to mythological characters who brought political and social systems to earth.
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FEATURE
5,000 Years
of Korean Art By Peter Hyun
n the mid-fifth century, when Europe was plunged into the Dark Ages . and Korea was enjoying the Golden Age of Art and Culture, a magnificently bejeweled Korean queen of the Shilla Kingdom ( 57 B.C.-A.D. 935) was laid to rest under a mound of earth and rock rising 60 feet into the air. A millennium and a half later, a team of Korean archeologists started excavating the 150-foot-wide grasscovered mound. When they finally reached the burial cham her, they were amazed to find the evidence of past royal splendor virtually undisturbed. While the queen's flesh, bones and hair had long turned to dust, glittering ornaments still lay exactly where they were placed more than 15 centuries before. In the traditional royal fashion, her head had been placed toward the east as evidenced by a solid gold crown sparkling in the bright sunlight, moon-shaped gold spangles and comma-shaped jade pieces dangling from its bough-like uprights. A pair of gold necklaces and beads peeped from the earth at the
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spot where her neck and shoulders had been . At her waist was an elaborate gold belt gleaming with a dozen dangling ornaments representing such symbolic objets d'art as a dagger (chastity) and a fish (fertility). Five plain gold bracelets were where they obviously adorned her right arm, while finger rings lay where her left hand had been. At her feet, strangely enough, were what looked like earrings; the archeologists could not decide whether they were misplaced or ankle decorations. The excavation of the queen's tumulus was part of a government plan to revive and preserve the best and the finest of the country's traditional art and culture, which had been brutally suppressed by the Japanese during their colonial rule of Korea (1910-1945). Under the plan-initiated by the late President Park Chung Hee in the early 1970s at the height of the nation's economic miracle-a handful of the hundreds of royal tumuli dotting the area in and around Ky6ngju, the capital of the ancient Shilla Kingdom, were selected for excavation , despite the centuries-old taboo against disturbing ¡
the remains of ancestors. "I, too, am a son of Shilla," said President Par , "and we have the right and the obligation to show some remnants of our past glory to our children and posterity. How else can we and future generations ¡regain a proper sense of pride in our past. . . the great legacies left behind by our ancestors?" The subsequent digging of Tumulus 155-identified as the tomb of King Chijiing (r. 500-514)-unearthed "a large gold crown with gold and jade trimmings, a finely worked gold cup and many other priceless treasures .... Among the burial gifts in a chest near the head of the coffin were four saddles from royal horses and a pair of birchbark mudguards, which miraculously had been preserved by conditions in the long-collapsed chambers." The gold crown and other treasures were returned to the original coffin site and the mound rebuilt for the benefit of the public. Treasures found in other tumuli were removed to th~ National Museum in Seoul and to the local museums in the ancient capitals where they were orginally unearthed. ¡ Until the "5,000 Years of Korean Art" show toured several American cities from 1979 through 1981 and the "Treasures from Korea" show toured several European cities in 19814, Korean art was little known to Westerners. While the art of China and Japan was relatively well-known,
that of Korea was virtually over- Volga River valley. The Bronze Age looked, largely in view of Japan's dolmen of Korea are virtually no rather successful propaganda blitz different from the prehistoric stone aimed at the Western world in the monuments of Western Europe, parfirst half of this century purporting ticularly those of Britain and France. that its Korean colony was a backAs was the case in the West, art and ward society, devoid of art and cul- religion were closely linked in early ture, and desperately needing their Korea. If Christianity served as the tutelage and administrative skills. Few major inspiration and influence in the were aware that Korean art is the growth of Western culture, shamanmissing link between that of China ism formed a unique pattern and and Japan. There was hardly any structure in the consciousness of the direct contact between the two until Korean people, thus affecting the the 19th century. Before then, Ko- country's art and literature, music and reans acted, in a way, as catalytic dance. agents for Chinese and Japanese Traces of sha!'fianism can be found cultures. in many parts of the world, from the Koreans are believed to be descen - British Isles, Ireland and Scandinavia, dants of several nomadic Mongolian across Central Asia, Russia, China, tribes which migrated from Central Japan, Southeast Asia to the AmeriAsia in prehistoric times. Although can continent. However, it was in some scholars maintain that a people Northeast Asia that shamanism beof proto-Caucasian origin may have came a dominating spiritual force. reached the Korean peninsula still Shamanism, originating among earlier, the Mongolian strain predomi- prehistoric Russo-Tungus tribes, is nated the early Korean population. based on the belief that the visible Interestingly enough, the Korean lan- world is pervaded by invisible spirits guage belongs to the Ural-Altaic that affect the lives of the living. It is group, together with such agglutina- up to the shaman-priest to cure the tive tongues as Mongolian, Turkish, sick and chase away evil through comHungarian and Finnish. munication with the spirits, and thereSuch fascinating cross-cultural by control the everyday events of the phenomena are evident in Korea's faithful. Even when such organized prehistoric art works as well. The religions as Buddhism, Confucianism Neolithic conical pots with comb- and Christianity spread to Korea, they pattern designs in .the National Muse- grew in a cultural climate dominated um in Seoul greatly resemble the ear- by shamanism . ly pottery found in Siberia and the A Bronze Age rattle with eight jin- ~til"~
Gold girdle with pendants from the Shilla period, Kyongju National Museum.
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gles and a finial with two bells from the same period shown in the National Museum derive their leitmotifs from shamanistic rites. They are decorated with geometric designs and a spiralthe kind of spiral incised on the stones of dolmen in China and Europe. The mind boggles, considering shamanism is the spice and flavor of Korea's cultural legacy-the stuff of which the country's indigenous taste and style are made. The Chinese first came down into the northwestern part of Korea as early as 400 B.C. They were driven from the country in 313 A.D., but they had left a lasting cultural imprint upon the natives and continued to influence them because of their proximity. Despite the strong impact of Chinese culture, however, Korean art always managed to maintain a peculiarly Korean quality, a kind of tranquil and relaxed attitude, in contrast to the elaborate and massive forms of China or the highly delicate, if not somewhat nervous, style of Japanese art. Or, to coin the offhanded remark of the late Choi Sun-u, who was the director of the Korean National Museum: "Chinese artwork is like an acThis bronze implement is believed to dale lo the Late Bronze or the Early Iron Age.
tress, dramatic and showy. Japanese art is like a geisha girl, delicate and colorful. Korean art is like a wife and mother, earthy, warm and rarefied." From the first century B.C. until the seventh century A.D ., Korea was divided into three kingdoms, each with its own distinctive form of art. Kogury6 in the north, whose territory extended far into Manchuria, was the largest of the three and, because of its accessibility to Chinese influence, was the first to mature. The cavetomb murals uncovered there are startling in their forceful and even abstract expression. It is a pity that most of these rare frescoes are now in North Korea. ¡ Paekche, in the southwest, with its more temperate climate, produced works of a more refined character. It is known, among other things, for its Buddhist-inspired architecture, but as almost all of this was destroyed during successive invasions, only a slight idea of its beauty can be discerned from tiles depicting lotus flowers. Paekche kings, like their Kogury6 counterparts, maintained close ties with Chinese emperors, ¡ and King Mury6ng (r. 501-523) was no excep-
tion. As nearly all the royal tombs of Paekche were robbed of their contents years ago, particularly during Japan's rule of the country, the discovery of his tumulus intact in 1971 signaled a major archeological event. There is an interesting real~life episode related to this unusual find. "The scary wild pig-like creature-flying with two sets of flaming wings, thrusting his curvy iron horn before mepursued me up and down, and finally cornered me in my bedroom," said Dr. Han Byong-sam, who was then in charge of the Paekche archeological research team. "I woke up all shaken up with many misgivings about that day's work at an archeological site where water was seeping into the excavation." Dr. Han bravely went out to the site, and no sooner had work got under way than he heard a strange sound. "The shovels had hit brick, a patterned brick, indicating an important tomb," he said. "When I pushed through the last barrier, there stood the scary creature of my dream, identical from his wings to his scalloped horn, grinning his Tm going to eat you up' smile. It was the royal tomb
guardian, made of painted hornblende and iron, that had protected the tomb of King Mury6ng since the early sixth century A.D." "Stone plaques marked it as the tomb of the king and queen who reigned from 501 to 523," he added. "The main chamber and south passageway were built of bricks with lotus patterns. The tomb verified the record of the Samguksagi (History of the Three Kingdoms), which said the king was as brave and peaceful as his burial name, Mury6ng, implied. His tomb guardian is like many in the medieval mythological menagerie of China called t'ien Ju (heavenly deer)." The National Museum features many objects from the Mury6ng tomb , including gold earrings, silver bracelets and comma-shaped jades. Some of the jades are older than the oldest relics of their kind in Japan, where scholars have for centuries asserted that such jades, historically associated with the founding of the natiqn, could only be found. Actually, it is from the Kingdom of Paekche that Korean artists and Buddhist monks first travelled to Japan, taking with them a tradition which subsequently became what is characteristic of Japanese art and culture. Shilla, in the southeast, cut off from the mainstream of Chinese influence, developed quite independently and produced objects of great originality. For centuries, its royal tombs lay hidden among the gentle hills and pine trees of Ky6ngju. First brought to light by archeologists at the turn of the century, they have yielded a great number of magnificent treasures.
A king's gold diadem ornament.
A gold cap, found in Ch'onmach'ong (Heavenly Horse) Tomb, made of several openwork sections of thin gold sheet linked together with gold wire.
Among the treasures are several royal crowns made of thin sheets of gold. From their bough-shaped uprights dangle bluish jade jewels and gold spangles. Gold wire attaches them to the main stem of the crown and allows them to swing freely. The slightest movement would cause all the tiny ornaments to glitter in the sunlight and create an effect of dazzling splendor. The antler- and tree-like motifs of the crowns are said to be shamanistic in origin, like their counterparts found in Manchuria and in the steppes of
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Russia, symbolizing power and glory. art. The gilt-bronze Buddhist statues Their closest equivalent in the West from this era are little masterpieces of today is perhaps the mobiles of Alex- symmetry. French art historian and ander Calder. From the base of the writer Andre Malraux was so moved crowns, two pendants fall freely and by Shilla's "Maitreya in Meditation" hang down like braids. Clusters of that he called it "one of the most beauleaf-shaped gold spangles hanging tiful sculpture pieces ever produced by from chains would brush against each the human race." other and make a dignified, yet That the early Koreans were masters of form and line, while the delightful, tinkling sound. Shilla grew in power until in the Chinese excelled in texture and the seventh century she was able to sub- Japanese in color, is evident in such due the two other kingdoms to create intricately executed earthernware as the Unified Shilla Kingdom , thus in- . "Figure of a Warrior on Horseback" augurating a golden age of Korean and "Duck-shaped Vessels" from a
little-known sub-kingdom called Kaya, which was eventually absorbed by its might}'neighbor, the Kingdom of Shilla. In its heyday, Shilla's capital of Ky6ngju, with a population of one million, was the undisputed center of art and culture in Northeast Asia. Historical relics that survive in and around Ky6ngju reveal the surpassing qualities of Shilla's architecture, sculpture, painting, ceramics, astronomy and literature. Popularly known today as "a museum without walls," Ky6ngju is still the site of temples and pagodas, of royal tombs and gardens, set against the backdrop of beautiful mountains encircling a green valley cut by two rivers. In addition to hundreds of royal tumuli that have yet to be identi-
fied, Kyongju's archeological importance is shown by the fact that on just one out of five sacred mountains ringing this ancient city a total of 55 temple sites have been discovered in recent years. The beauty of the celadon of the Kory6 period (918-1392) has always been admired. The Chinese themselves praised its unique shape and color. This incomparably refined bluegreen often served as a background for incised decoration filled with white and grey slip. Chrysanthemums, cranes and clouds were among the favorite subjects. Koryo celadon is always harmonious in form and discreet in design. Besides making vases and wine jars of subtle simplicity, the potters also produced such technically intricate
objects as incense burners, cosmetic boxes, pots and bowls. The richness and elegance of the Kory6 period is further accented by the silver inlays on bronze figurines and the opulence of gold- and silver-painted Buddhist scriptures. If the Kory6 period is famous for its rarefied celadon, the Chos6n period (1392-1910)-better known in the West as the Yi Dynasty-is of interest not only because of the functional beauty of its ceramic output but also because of its painting. With the replacement of Buddhism by Confucianism as a state religion, the early Chos6n paintings reflect the formalism of the new religion by drawing their inspiration from Chinese models. It was not until the 18th century
Stoneware vessel in the form of a mounted warrior, National Museum of Korea.
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that Koreans managed to take the painting of China to the next stage of artistic evolution, even before the Chinese did. Many of the later Choson painters, for instance, adopted Chinese Sung period ink painting and then immediately switched to a more relaxed and individualistically stylized technique, a technique found later in the Yuan period in China. Chong Son (1676-1759) pioneered a new movement in landscape painting known as chin-gyongsansu, or "real scenes of mountains and rivers," depicting all the unique features of famous Korean scenic wonders instead of strictly painting traditional Chinese landscapes. It led eventually to the development of genre painting. Thanks to Chong Son's liberating influence and his followers' uninhibited and spontaneous approach to art, genre paintings showing everyday scenes of the ordinary people and the slightly risque world of the upper class blossomed like "a hundred flowers ." While Kirn Hong-do (1745-after 1814) concentrated on the daily lives of the common folks, Shin Yun-bok (1758-?) depicted the foibles of the mighty and the powerful, many of whom often abused their power and position: For example, one of his erotic genre scenes in which young women are bathing half-nude in a small stream, oblivious of a couple of lewd-looking monks leering at them from behind some rocks. The artist, despite his genius and fame, was eventually expelled from the conservative Academy of Painting for his unorthodox be-
Duck-shaped celadon water dropper
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Small celadon bowl inlaid with arabesque design
havior and for his insistence on painting what he pleased. Another painter who was active in the liberation of Korean art from Chinese influence was Kang Sehwang (1713-91) whose album "Scenic Spots of Songdo" was greatly ad-
mired in his lifetime. Surprisingly, the album is noted for its bold abstract strokes, deftly graded ink tones and ingenious spatial arrangements-qualities evident in some of the great abstract painting in the West today. As ¡a whole, Choson paintings are almost monochrome, relying for effect on subtle shading and a few subdued touches of color. The general impression is of serenity, earthiness and a profound sense of oneness with nature. This is in contrast to the more flamboyant Japanese paintings in which form and composition are often sacrificed in favor of exuberant expression. The Choson period is also noted for the folk-style stoneware known as punch'ong: The Japanese admired this lively art so much that, when Japanese warlord Hideyoshi Toyotorni invaded Korea in the 16th century, his troops hunted down native¡ potters, exactly the way the U.S. and Russian troops picked up German scientists after World War II, and took them back to Japan and elevated the folk pottery into the ritualistic asceticism of their
tea ceremony. In terms of both content and technique, folk painting is undoubtedly the most indigenous and unique Korean art form. This long-neglected genre of the Chos6n period, remarkable for its highly stylized or abstract expression, has recently been rediscovered, thanks to Zo Zayong, an architect-turned-folk art authority. In 1947 Zo went to the United States to pursue his architectural studies. He received a B.S. in civil engineering from Vanderbilt University and an M.S. in structural engineering from Harvard. He then worked for a couple of leading architectural firms in Boston before he returned to South Korea in 1954. Back in his war-ravaged homeland, Zo immediately threw himself into the difficult work of reconstructing the buildings and homes destroyed during the Korean War. In the process he invented bamboo-reinforced concrete construction, precast concrete and other structural systems. Interestingly eriough, some of his structural patents were later adopted by the South Vietnamese for housing projects during the Vietnam War.
Koreans, as a wealth of tiger art indicates, have long considered the tiger to be a gentle, humorous and handsome creature to be revered rather than feared.
Long an enthusiast for all antiquated things, he spent his weekends and holidays combing the countryside, temples, antique shops and often trash cans in search of the remnants of his country's architectural tradition. He eventually came upon the long-forgotten folk paintings. He used what little savings he and his wife had accumulated over the years to build a small museum to preserve the art
treasures he so devotedly collected. Since the creation of the Emilleh Museum, Zo has embarked upon a one-man crusade for the diffusion of Korean folk painting at home and abroad through exhibitions, lectures and seminars in Korea, Europe and th~ United States. He has also written and published a number of books on various aspects of Korean folk art, such as Korean
Clearing after Rain in Mt. lnwangsan by Chong Son, Choscin period, ink and colors on paper, Hoam Art Hall.
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Tiger, Diamond Mountain and Introduction to Korean Folk Painting. Zo, who readily gave up his highly lucrative architectural and structural engineering profession upon his discovery of Korea's indigenous art form, says: "Korean folk paintings have been bypassed to the point of hardly being mentioned in the past histories of Korean art." A major reason is that "such works of art were held or hidden within each household as its family treasure. Thus they've never been collected systematically, nor have they been opened up for modern study until recently. Legend has it that the family's good luck would move away if such heirlooms were shown to outsiders." Another reason is the Confucian establishment's "scorn of art that was colorful and contained folksy motifs or did not directly reflect Confucian ethics. This same attitude has been followed by modern scholars, connoisseurs and art dealers who have made a habit of evaluating works of art according to the name of well-known artists and all folk paintings are unsigned, ~r in accordance with the standards of class ical Oriental painting." Still another reason is that "for centuries Korea's native artistic expressions were ignored or discriminated against while literati works with a heavy Chinese overlay were collected and displayed as the mainstream of artistic history." Actually, however, folk paintings were commissioned by kings and aristocrats, the literati and the common people, by Buddhist monks and shaman sorcerers, for ceremonial, educational, decorative or exorcising purposes. Today the paintings serve as a lively and colorful record of some five hundred years of the Yi Dynasty. Willy-nilly, this art form, deeply rooted in the native traditions, sustained the brilliant artistic development of the period. In their sparsely but tastefully furnished private libraries, the learned gentlemen-and often some orthodox court painters, too-indulged in freestyle paintings, irrespective of the Chinese-oriented conventional aesthetics of the times. One of their favorite subjects was the so-called "four gentlemen" -bamboo, pine, chrysanthemum and orchid. Another popular subject was the
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"ten symbols of longevity," consisting this Tana Day was quite merry and joyous with ethnic games such as of the sun, clouds, water, rocks, torKorean-style wrestling matches for toises, cranes, deer, pines, bamboo men and swinging contests for womand pulloch'o, the "immortal herb." Variations on the theme of flowers or en. Reliable ancient records describe trees with a pair of birds or animals the event, with the court again playing a leading role by distributing were also in evidence, as were books, writing materials and other stationery gratis Tana type folk art in the form of bamboo fans paintedwith the 12 objects. Since people from every walk of life thousand peaks of Kumgangsan enjoyed folk painting, its themes were Mountain, since this theme was asdrawn from every aspect of life, re- sociated with long life and good vealing their dreams and beliefs, their fortune." wit and humor. If a pregnant womFolk painting also played an inan dreamt of a carp, for example, it dispensable role in weddings, birthwas a sure sign that she would deliver days, funerals, ancestral rituals and a son,forthe carp was a symbol of fer- many other ceremonies, as it did in tility and of the filial piety of a good the centuries-old mudang, or shaman, son. To dream of a whale meant that exorcism ritual and kisaeng (trained the expected son would have a distinfemale entertainer) parties. "In old Korea," Zo points out, "there was no guished career. "One good way to explore Korean such thing as an art museum or folk painting is to review the various gallery. In fact daily life surroundings ways in which these works of art were formed a sort of art gallery. In those actually used in everyday life," says days, the chongja, or picnic pavilion, and kisaeng house were the generatZo. For the lunar New Year every family, regardless of their wealth or so- ing plants of folk art, where talented cial status, would want a scr-een or a men gathered for tea or wine parties, painting depicting the ten longevity catalyzed by the service of kisaeng symbols or evil-repelling symbols such girls." as the "demon-queller," tiger, rooster "What was really exchanged at and hawk. Such works were execut- such a party involved not only wine ed by court painters and nan:ieless and food but also poetry, music, . dance, calligraphy, painting, off-color roaming artists alike. Next came the calligraphic scrolls or jokes and romance. Contrary to paintings celebrating Ipch'un, or the modern misconceptions, kisaeng girls beginning of spring. On the eve of Ip- were the most educated women in the ch'un, well-to-do families would invite country. They were trained in the perroaming artists as "honored house forming arts from childhood, and furguests" and request them to create ther refined by their association with new works to replace the old ones for the most splendid playboy-dilettheir own homes as well as for their tantes." Kisaeng houses were, and still less fortunate neighbors. "Thus," says are, superbly equipped with furniture, Zo, "the lower class had a chance to paintings and calligraphy. "The four appreciate calligraphy as their excite- friends of scholars"-paper, brush, ink ment grew with the seeing with their stone and ink stick-were there just in own eyes the secret of magic-creating case a guest or two felt inspired to inscriptions." On the eighth day of the paint or write to enliven the mood of the party. The art thus created tendfourth month of the lunar calendar, which usually falls in the first part of ed to be fancy-free and humorous, and often ended up as "wine money" May, the birthday of 'Buddha was when the merrymakers drank beyond celebrated. The highlight of this imtheir means and could not pay their portant annual festival was a traditional lantern parade, with colorfully bills. painted candlelit lanterns illuminating ¡ The history of Korean folk painting the blessings and enlightenment of is filled with interesting anecdotes and escapades of "drunken masters." Buddha. Another annual festivity "which Owon (nee Chang Sung-op, 18431879) , the last of the great court (offistimulated the creation of folk painting," according to Zo, "coincided cially) and folk (privately) painters, with the fifth day of the fifth month was celebrated as much for the qualof the lunar calendar. The mood of ity of his art as for the quantity of
wine he consumed. Like many of his predecessors, he could not produce great works unless he was under the influence of alcohol. It was therefore no surprise to anyone in the palace that once when the king wanted a new screen, he was confined to a room guarded by armed soldiers and allowed only three cups of wine a day. Unable to stand such a strict regimen, he escaped from the palace. He was caught drinking in a kisaeng house and brought back to the palace but escaped again. After he made several escape attempts, the king finally gave up and imprisoned him. Prime Minister Min, who knew the drunken master intimately, suggested to the king that he would take him home to finish the screen. Owon did try to work on the royal commission, but he soon became restless because there was no kisaeng girl to pour him wine, nor was there enough of it. So he escaped from the house of the Prime Minister, who realized then that it was no use, and ~he project was cancelled. Although the court painters created their commissioned works in the classical style, they were often asked to create patterns for pillows and quilts, and ceramic designs. Their functional works, often incorporating folksy motifs and symbols, were later imitated by gentlemanly "Sunday painters" and ordinary artisans, thus bridging the gap between the court and the ordinary folk-at least in the creation of folk painting. + • The writer is a columnist.
This gilt bronze seated Maitreya Buddha in a meditative pose is one of Korea's finest gilt bronze Buddhist images. The beauty of the torso and the blissful expression are its most noteworthy features.
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PEOPLE
Chang Uc¡chin and a Retum to Nature By Yi Kyong-song rtists are born, not made. An innate sense of art, a natural gift, is indispensable for the creation of art. Kant more than adequately elaborated on this point in his famous essay, "On Genius." According to him, art cannot be taught systematically; it can only be created through the activities of geniuses. That is a traditional German conception of art, and is also reflected in what Johann Winckelmann once said, "Art is a mystery." Art cannot be created through instruction, following certain rules and regulations. Teaching can produce capable people, but never geniuses. Teaching makes scholars, genius artists. Works of art created by geniuses have no traces of conscious effort. Real art appears to be completely natural, second .nature. Like Mother Nature, a genius creates while being totally oblivious of rules and regulations. A genius is someone with great creativity, transcending intellect, rules and even consciousness. A work by a genius is characterized by a certain fire or spirit. When it is kindled, an idea emerges. Accordingly, a genius is someone who expresses this idea in a work of art. Therefore, artists are born, and great art just happens, it is not made. Artists can be largely divided into two groups: technicians who have acquired their skills through relentless efforts , and naturally gifted artists who follow their creative instincts transcending mere techniques. In other words, the creation of art requires hoth techniques and inner spirit. If one or the other is missing, it is im-
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possible to create art, and moreover, if one dominate.s, artistic harmony is lost. Just as the wild flowers in the fields bloom according to the laws of nature, not to show off their beauty, a real artist does not paint for a certain purpose, for example money or fame, but does so because he cannot help painting. On the contrary, if he does not feel like painting, he does not paint at all, no matter how tempted he may be by materialistic rewards or fame . If those are the qualities of a true artist, painter Chang Uc-chin must surely be one of Korea's most naturally gifted artists. All naturally gifted artists are alike in that they know neither how to survive in the world, nor how to socialize. Therefore, they are very selfcentered . When they are absorbed in painting, they are completely immersed in it, and the rest of the world does not exist for them . Therefore, they have no compunction to behave in a way that is generally considered normal and thus appear quite eccentric. They are so attached to their work that they use up their bodies, minds and even their lives. They merely listen to the mysterious voices inside them and unconsciously follow. Chang Uc-chin was born in Yonji, Ch'ungch'ongnam-do, in 1917. Like most geniuses, he had an uneventful childhood. He acted and thought differently from the other boys, and was always very quiet. In 1939, he went to Tokyo, and enrolled in the Imperial Art School. Few took much notice of the strange young man with great potential. He had very few acquaintances.
Kim Hwan-ki was one of the first to recognize his genius. Not many people were prepared to accept the intense, stubborn, unsociable young man. As a result, he was lonely, as is the case with most geniuses. He found it difficult t:o communicate with people, and turned to nature for inspiration. Wind, the sun, the moon, stars, silently standing trees, birds and innocent children were his only friends and they never let him down. His mysterious reverence for nature is based on that. A transcendental desire for life, penetrating into the world of unconsciousness permeate his works. Just as in Klee's art, the poetic hieroglyphs are the mainfestation of a deep faith in life. His spiritual outlook on life and the universe, which transcends life and death, can be discerned in his paintings. His world of dream and fantasy is similar to that of Miro. However, the way he converses with his soul through fables can be compared with Klee. His naivety has a parallel in Henri Rousseau. His favorite magpies, trees, houses, little boys, fish, half-moons, puppies, circles and squares, are the essence of his childhood dreams. It is this temporal quality that makes his art so strangely attractive. His childhood memories are simplified and symbolized, so that they take on a profound meaning, and his idea of life is fixed into a faith . This fixed idea of life is automatically expressed through graphics. The similarity of his paintings to those by Klee lies in the fact that the paintings derived from their natural talent. They succeed in
making dreams and fantasy visible, instead of being locked into an ideological approach to art. A glaring animism is evident in their paintings. Perspective, which was discovered at great pains by great artists, is totally ignored and a magical two dimensional world is created. The color scheme is bright and clear, harmonizing well with the whole form. Chang appears to awaken nature and make inner life visible through symbolism, as well as colors and forms. If his paintings are reminiscent of those by Rousseau, it is
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because, like Rousseau, he is not a professional painter but a simple artist whose works are based on his soul. Their dreams and realities have one dimension, and their fantasies and realities also co-exist on the same level, representing the reality of life. In their world, vulgarity and nobility exist side by side as good friends. Chang's world is one of symbols and signs. This is very significant for through them a playfulness of a higher dimension is manifested. Chang Uc-chin is a simple man, who takes pleasure in converting past
memories into dreams and depicting them in his works. Therefore, his reality is shown as memories, and is expressed in psychological perspective to live forever playfully but maturely in space. This playful spirit is one of the characteristics of his art, and is directly linked with the essence of art. This playful spirit, as Freud pointed out, is the purest form of the primitive mind, which can only be found in children and primitive man, and which they lose as they get older and more civilized. Chang Uc-chin returns to the care-¡ free world of children, and offers a gift of dreams and fantasy to mankind, through fables. It was one day in 1946, immediately after Korea's liberation from Japan that the writer met Chang Uc-chin for the first time. It was at Chagy6ngj6n inside Kyongbokkung Palace, which was used as the offices of the National Museum at the time. He was working there as an art designer. Dr. Kim Chae-won, then curator of the Museum, employed him on the recommendation of his father-in-law . However, he was a
Wind, the sun, the moon, stars, silently standing trees, birds and innocent children were his only friends and they never let him down. His mysterious reverence of nature is based on that. Oriental ink on Korean paper, 90x60cm, 1979, T6kso Period (1963-1979)
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Oil on canvas, 31 x 43cm, 1969, T<ikso Period (1963-1979)
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born artist and totally unsuited to the job, which must have been more apparent to the people around him than to him. Sure enough, when I visited the Museum the following year, he was nowhere to be seen. I heard that he became a professor at Seoul National University in 1954. While teaching there, be showed his students what an artist was made of through his works. However, even that life was too much for his free spirit. Before long, he gave it up. He was truly a bohemian of the Ecole de Paris type. He was accustomed to a free and unrestrained lifestyle. During the Japanese occupation of Korea, he turned to liquor. When he was drunk, he left himself to complete abandon, totally oblivious of everything. He occasionally submitted works to exhibitions, such as the one held by the Paeguhoe, an association of artists. To him, time meant nothing, having no desire to become famous in a hurry as some others did. His breed 6f artist is characteristically laconic and not very prolific. Worldly matters are of no interest to them. It sounds like a great paradox, but real artists are afraid to express themselves. Therefore, according to Oriental philosophy, the best artists usually just fade away without expressing themselves. Only the inferior ones are in a hurry to express themselves. So it was with Chang, and a long period of inactivity ensued. Long before this, Kim Hwan-ki recognized his true value. Kim was also a born artist; it would appear it takes a natural talent to recognize talent in others. Together they formed a group called, the "Neo-realists" in 1947, and held a joint exhibition once a year. The members of this group were: Kim Hwan-ki, Chang Uc-chin, Yu Yong-kuk, Yi Kye-sang and Paek Yong-ju. They had nothing in common, other than being individualistic and temperamental artists. During this "Neo-realist" period, Chang developed in his own way. His dreams acquired forms, and materialized as trees, birds and half-moons, creating lyrical expressions. The writer next met the artist in 1953, after the National Museum was moved from Pusan (where it had been moved during the war) to the Folk Museum on Mt.Namsan, Seoul. There 34
was a school for young children attached to the museum at the time, and Chang was helping the children paint. The job seemed to suit his temperament, and he was very enthusiastic. During this period, he painted numerous pictures of children on bikes, based on a famous children's song, "Ring, ring... . Get out of my way. Here I come on rriy bike." This carefree children's world is reflected in his art. His paintings from this period could be said to be his most representative. In 1961, Chang delighted the art world with jewels of paintings at the joint exhibition by a group called the "2.9 Associates," which was formed by alumni of Kyongbok High School. From the late '60s, however, he slumped into a period of little artistic
activity. During that period, not a day passed that he did not drink himself into oblivion, painting was of course out of the question. Even his life was threatened. He got out of it thanks to the love and care of his good wife, who kept him from destroying himself with liquor and resurrected him as an artist. She early recognized his genius, and lovingly put up with his eccentric behavior. She was never disapointed with her husband, who had no regular income, and who did not even bother to paint because of drinking all the time. She always treated him with love and respect, and finally succeeded in helping him overcome his drinking problem and restore his belief in his religion, painting. About this time, to start life afresh, Chang had a studio built at Tokso, and moved there. He has been living a pastoral life there ever since. It was a very fitting move, not only for Chang Uc-chin, the free man, but also for Chang Uc-chin the artist. His studio at Tokso, situated on a hill overlooking the blue Han-gang River, is full of his paintings. The surrounding country is ideal for Chang, a man of nature, to live and work. His early morning walks to the accompaniment of choruses of birds are a source of inspiration: magpies and other birds playing freely in the garden, mysterious trees standing by the roadside, carefree village children, and here and there faithful puppies running around with them. The children play in the trees, but at night a half-moon hangs there. In these peaceful pastoral scenes, nostalgia for the big city floats to the surface fleetingly like a mirage. Above his favorite themes, such as trees, boys, magpies, puppies, and thatched-roofed cottages, like in a picture taken with a wide-angle lens, a horizon is drawn, on which high-rise buildings of a fantasy city appear. The art of Chang Uc-chin, created through an assimilation with nature, also reflects a pantheistic attitude. Nature seen through his eyes is full of life. Chang Uc-chin is fundamentally a wild man. He lives a life of total freedom these days. The days of restriction of the museum and the university stunted his growth as a man and an artist. He can only live in unlimited freedom. He owes everything to three people who understand or understood
_.,. _______
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Chang Uc-chin at his exhibition in the Duson Gallery in 1987.
him totally. They are Kim Hwan-ki, the late Choe Sun-u and his long suffering wife. Kim Hwan-ki is a fellow artist, who spotted his talent early on and has always supported him. Kim is an associate of the Neo-realists, and contributed greatly to Chang's artistic development. Choe Sun-u was an art historian who discovered Chang's genius and appreciated his true value. Mr. Choe valued his genius more than anyone else; he offered him friendly support and helped him develop his artistic talent. His life partner is a wise understanding woman who not only looks after him, but is also prepared to sacrifice herself for his art. Therefore, it must not be forgotten that Chang's development as an artist has been founded on the love and friendship of his family and friends . Chang's works are reminiscent of those by modem simple artists, in particular, Rousseau, Miro and Klee. He possesses the natural artistry of these temperamental West European gen-
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Chang and his wife. His development as an artist has been founded on the love and friendship of his family and friends.
iuses, i.e. familiarity,simplicity,symbolism and psychological representation. Here one has to be careful. His similarity to those W estem artists is not due to any plagiarism; it is simply coincidental, the result of a genius thinking and working along the same lines as other geniuses.
In other words, Chang's art is similar but not the same as the art of the abovementioned artists. A genius of simple naive nature like him inevitably produces such individualistic and creative works, whenever and wherever he happens to be. These artists do not reproduce nature as their eyes see it, but shape it as their minds feel it and make it visible for others. Thus, they reach into the depths of human psychology and restore that which is lost to the minds of others who are afflicted with mechanical civilization. Chang Uc-chin, therefore, is one of the three greatest painters of natural genius in modem Korea, the other two being Yi Chung-sop and the late Park Su-kun. Despite his troubled life and difficult artistic career, he is one of the three brightest talents on the comparatively dull modern Korean art scene. + â&#x20AC;˘ The writer is an art critic and the director of the National Museum of Contemporary Art. Translated by H yun Key Hogarth
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HERITAGE
Songgyun-gwan, Sanctuary of Confucianism in Korea By An Byung-ju
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-
ome Western scholars may say that Confucianism is dead, that it vanished with the fall of the old aristocratic society. However, they are mistaken. Confucianism still enjoys popularity among a sizeable minority of Koreans. The 1985 census revealed that 2.8 percent of Korea's religious population is Confucian. Twice every year in the second and eighth lunar months a ceremony called S6kch6n is held at a shrine on the premises of Sung Kyun Kwan University to honor Confucius and some of his greatest Chinese and Korean disciples. Korea is the only place where the Sochan ritual is preserved in the original form. When you enter the gate to the university in downtown Seoul, you will find a cluster of ancient buildings to the right side. They were called Munmyo from early times. One of the buildings is the shrine called "Taes6ngj6n" where the sacred tablets of Confucius and other sages are housed. The S6kch6n ritual takes place in the courtyard of the shrine. When all the participating officers, musicians, and dancers take their positions, the ceremony starts. Confucian rituals put more emphasis on the ceremony than on music and dance. Every time an officer takes his turn to make offerings, eight rows of eight students dance rhythmically bowing left, right and center. In the first part they hold a flute in one hand and a dragon-headed stick in the other. In the second half they beat wooden hammers on wooden shields. Musicians play extraordinary antique musical instruments like graded rows of jadeite stone gongs, and bronze bells to provide an accompaniment for the reverent slow motion bowing, the ritualized incantation of poems and the libations of "divine wine." The Munmyo Confucian academy and shrine, designated a national
S
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A ceremony called " SOkchOn" is held at SOnggun-gwan to honor Confucius and some of his greatest Chinese and Korean disciples.
The Chonggyongdang library
treasure, was constructed in 1398, the seventh year of King T'aejo, (r. 1392-1398) of the Chos6n Kingdom (1392-1910). It was renamed Songgyun-gwan* in the early 14th century. The name was borrowed from the Book of Decorum, one of 13 Confucian Classics. The origin of the Confucian academy can be traced back to the early days of the Shilla King dom (57 B.C .-A.D.935) and the Kogury6 Kingdom (37 B.C.-A.D. 608) but Sung Kyun Kwan University claims 1398 as the year of its official founding.
Despite various ups and downs , Songgyun-gwan basically taught Confucian teachings to students between 1398 and 1894. From 1895 it was transformed into a modern university teaching a wide range of subjects. The major buildings located on the grounds of Munmyo are Taes6ngj6n (main hall), Tongmu (east hall), Samu (west hall), Myongnyundang (lecture hall), Tongjae (east dormitory) , Sojae (west dormitory) , Ch6nggy6ngdang (library) , and Chinsashiktang (dining hall).
â&#x20AC;˘ S6nggyun-gwan is the correct McCune-Reischauer Romanization of the name of the Confucian academy, but the university spells its name Sung Kyun Kwan. They are both the same Korean word.
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The MyOngnyundang lecture hall
When Confucianism was at its prime, the sacred tablets of Confucius and 132 Chinese and Korean disciples were housed in the main hall, east hall and west hall, but later 94 of them were withdrawn. Today the tablets of Confucius and 38 Chinese and Korean disciples are enshrined in the main hall. The east and west halls are empty. After the collapse of the Choson Kingdom, S6nggyun-gwan which had played a vital role in national education and culture was degraded into a private institute under the Japanese colonial policy of obliterating Korean culture. When Korea was liberated from Japanese rule in 1945, Confu-
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cians all over the country consolidated the properties of 231 hyanggyo (local Confucian academies) and established the present Sung Kyun Kwan University to carry on the educational tradition of the S6nggyungwan. Confucianism is deeply rooted in the Korean psyche. It is very difficult to tell what in life is truly Confucian and what is not. People do not think of themselves as Confucians, though the natural Korean way of doing things is largely Confucian. This is reflected in social life, in the relations between family members, between seniors and juniors, between men and women, and between friends, in the
respect for the elderly, in the desire for education, and much more. Critics say Confucianism is a system of subordinations: of the son to the father, of the younger brother to the elder, of the wife to the husband, and of the subject to the throne. They claim the concept has failed to keep pace with the modernization of Korea. Confucianism, however, embraces a moral and ethical system, a philosophy of life and interpersonal relations, a code of conduct, and a method of government, all viable enough to have taken the place of more orthodox religious beliefs in China for thousands of years, and the same held true in Korea.
Confucianism entered Korea at nearly the same time as Buddhism, and had a strong influence on social and government institutions. It was not until the establishment of the Choson Kingdom and its ousting of Buddhism from political influence in the late 14th century that Confucianism was elevated to the status of a state cult, a position left vacant by the disestablishment of Buddhism. Education in the Chinese Classics, and particularly the ethical and philosophical books of Confucius, became the sole basis of education; and erudition was the only path to social and political success. State examinations, which many failed and took over and over again for years while their families supported them, determined the criteria for advancement of the scholar-official, the only career which a man of talent and breeding could honorably pursue. Confucianism at best insured stability and security within the system, but was deplorably inadequate to meet challenges from outside, whether military, political or social. Korea thus became the "Hermit Kingdom" and remained so until the painful period late in the 19th century when the old system was eroded by overwhelming incursions from Japan and the Western powers. It is quite encouraging to note that some Western scholars are studying the Confucian values still alive in the Chinese Classics and seriously considering the introduction of Confucian philosophy to the modern world whose ethics and morals have been shattered by individualism. At the same time, Korean Confucians are studying ways to ma,ke Confucian values more relevant to modern life, emphasizing harmony and discarding the system of subordination. + Eight lines of eight dancers perform civi l and military dances during the SOkchon ceremony.
â&#x20AC;˘ The writer is a professor at Sung Kyun Kwan University
Translated by Seo In-kyo
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Art is a Vessel for the Artist's
DIALOGUE
Dreams
Kim Chung-op
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How have you been, Prof. Kim? I've been worried since I heard you've not been so well recently. But you look fine today. When did we meet last time? Maybe it was at my exhibition at Axis in Tokyo in 1984. I guess so. It's been quite long. I was impressed to see so many people at your show. Axis is a highbrow cultural center. Yes, many famous Korean and foreign artists came. I remember the late architect Kim Soo-geun was there, and many Korean artists and journalists in Tokyo came, too. But for me, the greatest pleasure was seeing you there. I know that not a few people came that day, even from Europe, because they knew you were coming. I should say that I could see once again that you are a real celebrity. Several of us had a great time that night walking the streets of Tokyo until the wee hours of the morning. We parted well past 4 o'clock in the morning. It seems you're better known abroad than in Korea. I've had marvelous responses in Tokyo since my first show there in 1981, which has led me to continue to give shows there. I have had six shows in Tokyo so far. I'm so pleased to see you again after such a long time. I feel such an affinity with you as an artist. It was in 1960 that we first met. You were giving a show of accessories at the Bando Hotel Gallery at that time and I just happened to drop in the gallery to see it. That was the beginning of our long friendship. I was stunned by that show. The fact that I was stunned means your show had considerable value. Thank you for the compliment.
I travel a lot around the world. And wherever I go, I never miss the important museums and galleries. I have seen most of the socalled masterpieces of art history. And your works impressed me. I wondered who the woman could be who made them. Then we were fascinated by each other. I was enchanted to see the French Embassy building that you designed. It was in 1960, too, that the construction of that building started. It was completed the next year. The French Embassy building is recognized as a masterpiece of modern Korean architecture. Personally, I was excited that we at last had a building in Korea which was valued for its artistic worth rather than its function. At that time, all our buildings looked just like matchboxes. Most of all, I was surprised to get on the rooftop. My common sense told me you can store things under a roof, if you ever want to use the space. But on the rooftop of that building, I found a swimming pool and a beautiful garden. I liked the shaft that ran from the first floor up to the rooftop, too. The building looked like an ancient Korean palace when viewed from a distance. They say that in pictures by Mondrain, meticulous harmony is achieved with primary colors though each color strongly asserts itself. The interior of that building is in perfect harmony, just like Mondrian's space, while successfully manifesting the unique Korean sense of aesthetics. I believe it was the first structure in Korea that achieved an ideal combination of art, function and natural beauty just like the buildings we see in foreign interior art magazines.
A Conversation between Kim Chung-op and Kim Bee-ham In the building, I tried hard to contain the essence of the Korean spirit and express the elegance of the image of France. Working on the building set the course for my art in a way. And I can even say that the architect, Kim Chung-op, took his first step with the project. I visited the construction site once. How did you get the job? The French Embassy Project started shortly after I returned home from France. The idea was first raised in 1959, I think, after Ambassador Chanbard, who was the biggest big shot of all the French ambassadors to Seoul, arrived to take office. I happened to be certified as a public architect by the French government. I submitted my design with a strong recommendation from Ambassador Chanbard. I finished a draft plan in a Madison Hotel room on Broadway in New York during a visit to the States at the invitation of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and worked day and night to complete it right up to the time I came back to Seoul. The plan was sent to Paris in the summer, but there was no reply until December. Ambassador Chanbard consoled me saying, ''You should understand what the French people are like since you lived there for many years. H you are competing against French architects, I believe the chance of your winning is very slim." Then, on the day before Christmas, he received a letter from President De Gaulle. The letter said that my plan had been selected and that the project was to be launched in accordance with it. Ambassador Chanbard threw a big party for Korean artists that
night. He was so excited to have received a long four page letter from President De Gaulle that the party continued until 3 o'clock. As there still was curfew at that time, I had to drive home in his car. Mr. Chanbard was as happy as if he had made it himself. In 1965, with a recommendation from the French Embassy, I received the French government's Order of National Merit along with the title chevalier, which is equivalent to the English knight. It was my greatest Christmas present ever. I received the decoration and the title from President De Gaulle. Andre Malreaux, the world-famous author of Man's Fate, was cited on the same day. Both of us were so excited that we embraced each other and kissed. That's really a great story. I know the French government seldom gives the order to foreigners. Of course, I was the first Korean, and maybe the first Oriental to receive it ... You are truly great. The architect is an artist who ... who burns up all his dreams everytime he designs something. Architecture by nature is risky for once a mistake is made, it is irrevocable. There's no use regretting mistakes already made. So I always work under stress. It helps me create works that are truly my own. They say that the French Embassy building is fantastic and noble. The New York Times praised it as a work of art that left nothing to be desired. Even those French people who know little about Korea spare no compliments on this building. I heard some of them commenting that it beautifully harmonizes an Oriental theme and French characteristics.
Kim Bee-ham
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The architect is an artist who burns up all his dreams everytime he designs something Architecture by nature is risky for once a mistake is made, it is irrevocable. There's no use regretting mistakes already made. So I aways work under stress. It helps me create works that are truly my own.
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I take pride in the fact that I put all my heart into it. The soul of an artist well embedded in a work gives it a freshness. The. French Embassy building impresses people as a rare architectural monument which transcends time. Maybe it is because your artistic passion is crystallized in it. Critics in other countries comment that my works are poetic. I did write many poems when I was young, and I painted a lot, too. Well, of course, I'm considered unconventional anyway and so are my works, whether it's my intent or not. You possess a distinct aesthetic sensibility that is uniquely Korean. You've been working very actively in many fields including accessories, fashion design and painting and in all these, there's always a kind of passion on the verge of exploding. I believe this passion comes from Korea's shamanistic traditions. The passion is sometimes expressed in a very refined manner, but at other times, it comes out as a less refined, even blunt expression. The refined works ¡are very neat and impressive, but the less refined ones are no less impressive, being dynamic in their own way. We are very good friends, but I must say that you are hard to understand as an artist because of your strong individuality. . Whenever I work, I think first of all of what I can take out from inside of myself. It was a mere coincidence that I started to work with paper. In the '50s, it was very hard to obtain good materials _to work with in Korea. It was not easy to come by good colors and even if you were lucky enough to find them, they were too expensive for poor artists. Then one day, there was a violin concert at the Taehan Theater. The hall was very warm without any airconditioning, so that even the musician had to change his clothes. He finished playing in a shirt, but it didn't matter a bit and his music was very beautiful. It struck me at that moment that in artistic creation, the environment or working conditions does not matter much. So I chose to work
with paper in the belief that I could even work with old newspaper. My exhibition of mulberry paper works in 1959 was the first of its kind in Korea. The show was held at the Shinsegae Department Store Gallery. Many people said that my works were pure and graceful. I continued to experiment with paper. Above all, I took advantage of the physical properties of paper: you can tear it, crumple it, burn it, soak it in water ... Mulberry paper is especially sensitive to ink and colors spread on it very delicately. Now I feel quite familiar with paper. I put all my energy into working with this interesting material. I understand that your paper works drew great compliments in Japan. When I gave my first show in Tokyo in 1981 , I had had little experience in giving a show in a foreign country. I presented monochromatic works of minimalistic tendencies in which I attempted to make the most of the unique texture of mulberry paper. Some artists came to see my show on the first day. You could never imagine what they did. They asked all the other visitors to join in shouting "Hurrah, Bee-ham!" I was flattered but embarrassed. On the second day, a critic named Ichio Hario .dropped in and wrote in the visitors' book that it was the most memorable show of that autumn season. The gallery staff were so excited that I asked them who he was. They said he was a very famous critic in Japan, and it was an unusual compliment that he had given me. I gave my second show in Tokyo the next year and Mr. Hario wrote a critique for the catalogue. The show lasted a week and more than 300 people caQ1e each day. I was almost moved to tears to realize that at last I had found sympathizers in the world of art. I had wanted to discover and experience that so much. The Asahi Shimbun makes it a tradition to mention several foreign artists in its year-end review. I was included in 1983, along with Mr. Kim Ch'ang-yol, Mr. Lee
U-hwan ... Your art changes continuously but every work is spell-binding. Sometimes, I feel you might have been a shaman in a previous life ... (laughter) I believe an artist should never stop working until death. I am struggling to create fresh works containing my dre.ams until the very last day of my life. My art is continuously changing as I am always trying to convey fresh dreams and pursue new ideas and methods. Maybe that means you are mellowing. You become discontent with your past when you look at yourself with a harsh, critical eye. When you seek perfection, you don't want to show any work that doesn't satisfy yourself. I believe this is true with painters and architects alike. When I regard any outstanding literary or artistic work, I compare it to an architectural work. Architecture is something very detailed and three dimensional but even a one-dimensional art work can give the feeling of a cubic form if the artist's idea is clearly presented. I want to achieve such an effect in my works. In a sense, both you and I are leading a religious life. Our religion is the plastic arts, which we chose to believe in and pursue by ourselves. While staying in France, I had a chance to see Gaudi's works in Barcelona. I was completely intoxicated, or I should say electrified, by the magic power exuded by each of his works. I don't believe anybody in a normal frame of mind could ever dare to design such buildings. Only a fanatic could reach such a stage of originality. I was so enchanted by Gaudi that I couldn't leave Barcelona. I stayed there for 10 days, changing my original two-day schedule. Picasso and Matisse also worked during the same period. When you look at Picasso's The Women of Avignon, you can feel a certain sense of crisis emanating from the painting. Picasso was inspired mainly by African sculpture at that time. I stayed in Africa for several months myself, traveling extensively to Nigeria and many other places.
One is simply struck with awe when first confronted with African art. But you quickly become completely immersed in it. It emits a lively magic power born of a rich inner experience. I felt the same way when confronted with Islamic art. Even though the architectural monuments were made by men, you don't dare try to fathom them. After a great deal of refinement, Romanesque architecture of medieval Europe was reduced to simple forms, but it still emanates magical attraction. It was what impressed me the most in Europe. The architects of -this period retained only the most minimal essentials, which resulted in a powerful aestheticism, just like you have done. That's too much praise. But to be honest, I am flattered to hear you say that. Artists of all nations possess unique qualities, but I believe those qualities achieve proper expression only when the artists have a good understanding of their traditions and assimilate them. As for that kind of magical power, Korea stands out in the world. I cannot help getting an eerie feeling when I come upon an old changsiing (shamanistic village guardian posts) standing by a village pass, even though I know it's nothing to be feared. Still, I can't help feeling intimidated with the thing appearing to grow larger and larger. That's a kind of shamanism. Each time I have such an experience, I realize the amazing life force inherent in Korean shamanism. An infinite energy could be a more correct expression. Isn't that the unlimited possibility of man's mental power? Shamanism is a world that can show this power. When you travel around the United States and Canada, you will notice that the native Indian traditions encompass a mysterious sensation of fear which is very similar to what we feel in Korean shamanism. The monuments of the ancient Inca also attest to a similar primeval force. In the Incan region, I once had a chance to hear a singer perform a native
I believe an artist should not stop working until death. I am struggling to create fresh works containing my dreams until the very last day of my life. My art is continuously changing as I am always trying to convey fresh dreams and pursue new ideas and methods.
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U.N. Tower in Pusan by Kim Chung-op
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spiritual. She appeared to sing with her entire body, as if to absorb your soul, just like the Korean shamans create a feeling of crisis during their rites. As I said before, I like traveling and wherever I go, I visit museums first. I spend a lot of time in museums, talking with the art works created by the people of various nations. While visiting numerous museums in western Europe, America and Africa, I experienced some significant messages coming from the native arts. These messages combine with my experiences with Korean things to penetrate into my art. I believe -a unique art of our own is born when all these experiences are assimilated. I have lived abroad for m;my years, eight years in France and five years in the United States. And I have also traveled around the world several times. From these experiences, I have gained the conviction that "you can learn truly well only by leaving home." You can look on your own country with an objective eye while away from it, and after returning home, can review the different nature, arts and cultures that you have experienced in comparison with your own. My art is an accumulation of these experiences. It must be the same with people in all other professions, but for an artist, it is also extremely inportant how he was brought up as a child, and what he saw and did. For all artists and writers, it is crucial to remember the vivid childhood experiences and use them as a source of inspiration. It's probably my blood as a native Korean that makes me feel even more acutely a certain primal, spiritual power erupting from our culture. In a sense, Korean culture is characterized by primary colors. I personally do not agree with the popular definition that we are a "nation in white dress." Look at tanch'ong (decorative painting on classical wooden architecture), for instance. Its colors are terribly strong. Now after centuries they are quite subdued, but the idea of using primary colors on a building is quite daring. To speak a little
more about tanch'ong, Korean tanch'ong is clearly distinguishable from that of China. Ours is more cosmopolitan and more closely related with nature, though originating from the same Oriental traditions. Our artistic sensibility is often said to have originated from nature. Few other countries have mountains spreading endlessly like Korea. The streams never flow straight, but meander through plains and valleys making many curves into the West and the South Seas. People formed villages along these streams and after death they were buried in mounded tombs beautifully suiting the surrounding terrain. The tombs are very unique. Concealed in mountains, they look quite comfortable. The tombs are completely assimilated with nature. Korean temples also are situated in deep mountains, never completely visible at first glance. The temples usually become exposed little by little as you walk along a narrow wooded path for quite a while. The structures are so arranged as to give the impression that they are embraced by nature, by taking full advantage of the sloped contour of the land instead of geometrically reshaping it. Harmony with nature is the basic guiding spirit in Korean traditional architecture. Most Buddhist temples in Korea have ¡separate shrines for spirits worshiped in the native religions like the Ch'ilsongdang (Seven Star Hall). This indicates that we Koreans have developed a unique temple culture by incorporating Buddhism with the native folk beliefs. This eventually influenced Korean culture and arts in general to a considerable degree. Culture may be interpreted as the spice of life. What was most tasteful about the life of our ancestors in my opinion was the zelkova yard which was in every village. The zelkova trees were usually hundreds of years old and various village festivities and events took place around them. That these zelkova yards are disappearing means that Korean culture is receding. There is usually a big pile of
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stones called sonangdang at these yards, where women threw stones while praying that they would be blessed with a son. You can never find anything like this throughout the world. This is a root of Korean culture. I believe tliat artists should value these cultural roots and should strive to express his own artistic sensibility which derives from these roots There have been too many happenings without roots in our history. A superficial cultural syndrome like a reflection on a mirror cannot be considered genuine culture ... You know we have an old, familiar expression, osundosun, which means friendship and harmony among friends and relatives. I think this word well expresses the atmosphere in which Korea's traditional culture was formed. Our ancestors treasured what was fresh and clean. But at the same time they placed no less value on what was _worn by loving use. They harmonized both in a very natural manner. With nature, they also maintained an intimate and harmonious relationship. Traveling, in a sense, is cultivating such a friendly and harmonious relationship with people, art and nature in other lands. We can also rediscover ourselves through such encounters. Traveling always means new encounters. I feel the same way, Because if I happen to make a good friend at a certain place while on a trip, that place always is remembered most clearly, I visited Helsinki in 1953 to meet a professor named Aihara. I couldn't meet the professor, but instead, I came across the exotic and vital Finnish culture. I was driving on a scooter, as I usually do while traveling abroad, to see the northern lights. But in Oulu, my scooter broke down and I was at a loss what to do. Then some local people volunteered to repair it. While staying there for three days until they finished the repairs, I found to my surprise that I was the first Oriental they had ever seen. We had to communicate with drawings and gestures, but they were very nice to me and even gave a party
for me. When the villagers held one another and danced happily around a bonfire in a forest which I guessed was well over a thousand years old, I thought they looked just like shamans. I was moved beyond words when they sang in chorus "Kalevara," which they said was their national epic. You must have felt like a Finn yourself. That's right. Holding them in my arms and dancing together, I was Finnish for the moment. Such is one of the most instinctive experiences man can have, and it was very meaningful for me. Norway has mysteries of its own. In one place there is a steep rock cliff by the sea, which has peaks some 70 to 100 meters, and the waves. reach to the top. The sea, when viewed from atop the cliff, is so clean and blue that it almost looks green. Looking at the green waves breaking in white foam against the cliff, I felt a strong impulse to write. I always get poetic inspiration from your work And I also find dense humanity, Would you tell me about your latest projects? I have just finished working on the buildings for the Thai Embassy in Seoul and the Medium and Small Industries Bank Headquarters. The International Broadcasting Center for the Seoul Olympics next year and the Mokp'o and the Kwangju MBC buildings are now under construction. Besides, the French Embassy compound is being repaired. But I have more projects going on abroad than in Korea. You, too, have plans for many exhibitions, don't you? My Tokyo exhibition is opening on the 21st of this month, I am invited to give a show at the Hyundai Gallery in Seoul in January, and two simultaneous shows are planned in New York and Paris next autumn. It's almost lunch time. We seem to have lost track of time. Now, let's see how good you are at cooking. You will see I am an excellent cook I prepared steak for you,+
'83 work by Kim Bee-ham
Translated by Lee Kyong-hee.
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Cf
KOREA ELECTRICITY CENTENNIAL
FIRST ELECTRICITY IN KOREAREJOICES KING KOJONG, AMAZES THE PEOPLE
Electricity the light of the people, the power of the nation, to warm up the rooms of the elderly to lighten the minds of the young. 100 Years ago the first electric light blub illuminated Kunchun ggun g Palace The Kin g stood in pleasure the people in awe. Looking back over the past 100 years reveals the many ups and downs coloring the history of Korea's electrification. On May 14th , 1948, North Korea abruptly cut off electric supply. The Korean War followed in 1950, impairing the peninsul a's resources for electricity. Not succumbing to these trials, and rising like a phoenix from the ash of the war, electricity has become the artery of the country,
spuring and stringing up the industry and the eco nomy. The bright electric lights repl aced th e kerosene lamps used for several thousands of years and became a driving force for brilliant economic growth. The second century of Korea's electrifi cation dawns to a new era of advanced nuclea r technology. A new future of energy independence - Enertopia - is within our grasp. th e wish of 30,000 KEPCO employees for Enertopia is melted with the dreams of the nation for a prosperous 21st century. For a better future through energy independence, electricity in Korea may continue to enlighten the people and strengthen the nation. ¡
100 Years of Enlightenment -
GI ICCnlEA ELECT,uc ?OWE~ co~?OrlATION h
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Nabi-ch 'um, or Butterfly Dance .
P
6mp'ae, a ceremonious Buddhist chant, resembles the sound of a temple bell. In the pre-dawn darkness, when most of the world is still fast asleep, soft beats of mokt'ak, a hollow woodblock instrument, stir the quiet of the star-lit garden of the main prayer hall to announce the morning service. A more crisp sound of the unp'an,a flat cloud-shaped iron gong, follows and a clear voiced monk makes the invocation that "the sound of the bell may cover the world." Then after some titillating moments of hesitation, the large temple bell sends its first sonorous sound over the quiet valleys. At the first gong the rocks of the deep mountain shake out of sleep, at the second gong the trees shudder to full awakeness and at the third gong the birds soar from their nests in a chorus of praises for the coming of another day. The sounds of the temple bell are like the waves of the sea that surge in a great heave and then roll down smoothly as they lap the shore. And like the waves, they wash away the 108 passions Buddhists say a man is subject to in this world as they recede into vacuous space. P6mp'ae, which is the combination of all these things, the mokt'ak, the gong, the drum , and the chant and a cymbal dance in praise of Buddha, originates from p6m um, or the "Song of India." It is known as Fanbai in China and Shomyo in Japan. It is one of the three great vocal genres of Korean music, the other two being kagok (classical songs) and p'ansori (dramatic, narrative songs). A monody without rhythmic cycle, pattern or harmony, it is sung only at Buddhist temples during certain established rites. There are five kinds of rites in which pomp'ae is featured: an ordinary rite for a dead person, a bigger rite for ancestors dedicated to the ten kings who are believed to reign over the underworld, a rite for a person who will soon die, a rite for a drowned person and a large rite for a village or a certain area. It is of interest to note that all these rites have counterparts in shaman rituals called kut. By musical style, p6mp'ae is divided into anch'aebi and k6tch 'aebi chants. Anch'aebi, commonly called
yombul, is an invocation or a recitation of Buddhist sutras to the accompaniment of' little hand bells. Kotch 'aebi is sung by monks who are especially trained in P6mp'ae and thus are invited to ceremonies held at other temples as well as their own. P6mp'ae in a narrow sense refers to this kotch'aebi which comprises a solo vocal music hossori and a chorus-like chissori. The chant used at the five aforementioned rites usually consists of anch'aebi and hossori. The verses set to the chant are mostly in Chinese and are praises of the Buddha. Chissori, which is always sung in unison, is the more elaborate and takes about 30-40 minutes while the simpler hossori requires only 4-5 minutes to sing. Because of the length and difficulty in mastering, the singing of chissori has gradually declined as the rites have been simplified. Thus, the chissori repertoire, which once included 72 pieces , has diminished to only 13 and are sung by only a handful of p6mp'ae monks because of the difficulty of their melismatic passages and dynamic range. A singer, who is always a monk, starts training in chissori only after he is thoroughly familiarized with the chant of the more regularly patterned hossori. Since they are sung in chorus, a leader is necessary to conduct with his hands or to lead the music with exaggerated movement of his lips. Because of the elaborate melody delivered in a long, drawn-out vocalization and the dynamic range from the barely audible to the very loud, chissori is often described as "long, large scaled, and magnificent." Chissori does have some solo parts, coming usually as a prelude or as an interlude. They are called h6j6lp'uri. Buddhism often resorted to music for an easier approach to the general populace to propagate its doctrines. The text of simplified sutra were set to melodies similar to folk songs. Hwach'6ng and hoeshimgok are two such examples. Hwach'6ng is sung by p6mp'ae monks at the end of a temple ritual. The melody is similar to yombul, a much simpler style of chant marked with long passages of recitation, and has a rhythmic pattern of 6nmori, a fast, irregular 10:8 pattern. Buddhist rites are often accompanied by three time-honored dances of
PCpkoch'um, or Drum Dance, is an intensely thrilling solo for a dancer using two sticks. The drum is considerably smaller than the largest Buddhist drum .
purely Buddhist origin: the butterfly dance (nabich'um), the cymbal dance (parach 'um), and the drum dance (p6pkoch 'um). The butteryfly dance is performed by two or four nuns, each holding a peony in one hand and wearing a butterfly decorated monk's hat and robe. There are 15 varieties, each for a different kind of rite. The cymbal dance is also danced by two or four monks and in the same attire as those of the butterfly dancers except that they wear no hats. It requires considerable strength and agility on the part of the dancers as they have to swing large cymbols rhythmically up and behind the head. There are six varieties of this dance. The drum dance, which has two varieties, is a solo number that in-
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Parach'um, or Cymbal Dance, is performed by two or four monks who swing large brass cymbals rhythmically up and behind their head.
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volves playing a large temple drum. Again, the dancer wears the regular monk's robe. All three dances are accompanied by the conical oboe, the gong, the drum and the wood-block. Incidentally, the well-known "monk's dance" (siingmu) or the popular folk dances are stage versions and have nothing to do with Buddhist rituals. Historically, pomp'ae is commonly believed to have been introduced to Korea by Chingam-sonsa (774-850), a revered monk of the Unified Shilla Kingdom (668-935). According to an epitaph on a monument at Ssanggyesa Temple in Hadong erected to honor the monk, Chingam-sonsa became familiar with the pomp'ae chant when he was posted in T'ang China in 804
as an official emissary. Upon returning to Korea in 830, he taught the music to many of his disciples at Ssanggyesa. However, an entry in Samgukyusa (Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms) indicates that pomp'ae was already here before the time of Chingamsonsa. Relating a peculiar event that happened in 760 in which two suns rose in the sky taking turns so that days continued without nights, the entry describes how the royal meteorologist advised the agitated king to invite a pomp'ae monk to the court to sing a chant to the Buddha. The king set up an altar and awaited the arrival of a pomp'ae monk. He saw a monk named Wolmyong coming his way and asked him to chant but the monk refused saying that he knew no pomp'ae but only Korean folk songs. The story not only shows that the p6mp'ae chant existed at the time but also that there were monks who specialized in it. A Japanese monk named Ennin, who was a contemporary of Chingam-sonsa, describes in his Record of a Pilgrimage to T'ang China in Search of the Law a ritualistic lecture on sutra held at a Shilla temple called Choksanwon in the Shantung peninsula of China. According to his record, there were three types of pomp'ae employed in the ceremony: pomp'ae of T'ang style, of native Shilla style and of an old style similar to that which was transmitted to Japan through Korea from China before the T'ang Dynasty. Chingam-sonsa's pomp'ae obviously fell in the category of the T'ang style. Hossori as it is known today has the same mode as that of the folk songs prevalent in Kyongsang-do and Kangwon-do regions, the old territory of the Shilla Kingdom. This leads to the conclusion that the Shilla style was the same as the hossori of today. The so-called old style pomp'ae, quite different from either T'ang style or Shilla styl(;), is believed to have come to Korea through Central Asia and Mongolia and has much to do with today's chissori. It is very similar to the pomp'ae of Mongolia and Tibet. The T'ang style pomp'ae is believed to have been Koreanized and assimilated into the existing hossori over the years. This assumption is quite justifi~ able considering even the Chinese tzu
music that was introduced to Korea during the Koryo period (918-1392), much later than the pomp'ae, was ¡ also very much Koreanized over a prolonged period of time. It is easily construed that the pom.p 'ae flourished in Koryo which embraced Buddhism as a national religion, but there is no specific documents to verify it. Since Korea had close contact with the northern Chinese dynasties of Liao (907 -1125), Chin (1115-1234) and Ylian (12061368) both militarily and culturally, pomp'ae of this period is believed to have been exposed to considerable influences from those three countries, and through them the influence of the Tibetan chant. The text setting of the Korean pi5mp 'ae is noted for nominal vocables intersperesed between the text syllables. This is a characteristic found neither in Chinese nor Japanese chants but in Tibetan only, where they are referred to as tshing ihad. The logarhythrnic struc;ture of the hossori and chissori rhythm is also quite reminiscent of a Tibetan chant called Gad. Some of the traditional notation of pomp'ae scores of the Chason period (1392-1910) are still available but much of the music underwent a drastic decline after 1911 when the Japanese colonialists instituted a law governing Buddhist temples in Korea and banned the performances of hwach'ong music and Buddhist dances at the temples. They were saved from complete extinction, however, mainly because the Buddhist faithfuls refused to have ritual services without pomp'ae and dances. What with the current trend of simplification, Buddhist rites that once took days have been reduced to less than an hour. The simple yombul chants are popularly employed for ordinai-y rites and both hossori and chisari are all but completely abandoned. They are barely perpetuated under the protection of the government which designated pomp'ae an Intangible Cultural Asset in 1969. Monks Pak Song-am (1915- ), Chang Pyok-ung (1909- ) and Kim Kyong-gong (1902- ) were also designated Living Treasures for their expertise in performing the pomp'ae. Aesthetically speaking, the pomp 'ae, being a chant that accompanies a religious ritual, is not descriptive
or program music with a narrative text. As mentioned before, it is like the sounds of a temple bell that reverberate in sequestered valleys. Its long sustained sounds followed by multiple melodic ornamentations are profoundly pure and clear and never secular. The sounds of the temple bells, in contrast to the sounds of the chime bells of the West, are more nature oriented than manmade, simple and earthy but not at the expense of subtle elegance. Pomp'ae exerted considerable influence on secular music. Yongsan hoesang, a representative piece of chongak, the "proper music" of the aristocratic class of Choson society, is suggestive of the Buddhist influence from its title, which means "Buddha Preaching at Yongsan." Kagok, the long lyrical songs of chongak, also evinces influences of pomp'ae in its vocal technique involving the long sweeps of melodic lines and sustained sound followed by multiple melodic ornamentation, which are the very characteristics of the pomp'ae. Wh~e the upright, regulated Confucianism wrought its influence on the court music of a -ak and tangak and the boisterous shaman music worked its way into the folk music, the artistic concept of Buddhism which is "subdued but not sorrowful, joyous but not carnal" left its lasting marks on chongak. +
Nabich'um, or Butterfly Dance, is a beautiful dance performed by Buddhist nuns.
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Pan Music Festival Leads Contemporary Music in Korea n its first year, the Korean Pan Music Festival organizers could find no pianist who was willing to perform an avant-garde piece specially written for the festival by video artist Paik Nam-june. It required a duo of male and female players to lie down on a grand piano. So they had to get two more liberal minded artists to perform the piece. In the second year, a trombonist walked off the stage instead of falling down as he had promised the composer he would. Probably he considered committing such an act in public beneath his dignity. These are only two of the many early episodes which illustrate the difficulties faced by the organizers of the Pan Music Festival, the principal contemporary music event in Korea. Such a .lack of understanding of the new forms of music was universal, not only in Korea,among both the musicians and the audience. The conservatism of concert organizers as well as audiences moved Arnold Schoenberg, the Austrian composer who revolutionized modern music, to form in Vienna in 1917 an organization with the interesting name of the Society for Private Musical Performances. This society contributed to introducing the works by Mahler, Debussy, Webern and Schoenberg himself, all of these familiar names to today's music lovers. "Once we were so embarrassed when our sponsor up and left us at the last moment. The reason was that the festival would not be profitable for them," recalls Kang Suk-hi, a leading composer and professor at Seoul National University's College of Music,
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Kang Suk-hi, a leading composer and professor at Seoul National University
whose personal enthusiasm and leadership gave birth to the festival and has enabled it to survive lukewarm public interest. The festival was started in 1969 right after Kang returned from West Germany, where he studied composition and electronic music. Its original name of The Seoul Biennale of Contemporary Music was changed to Pan Music Festival to suit its ever widening scope of interest. Kang has been the chief organizer of all of the past 15 festivals including the most recent one, which was held from October 5 through 11. Lamenting the lack of interest on the part of general music lovers, he insisted that the festival has played an unmatchable role in introducing up-to-date trends in modern Western music as well as new works by living Korean composers. "At least 1,000 pieces have been performed, many of them for the first time in the world, at our festival," he noted. "They include a great number of excellent pieces of computer and electronic music that, for commercial and other reasons,are seldom
played at other concerts here. The festival also has contributed greatly to international exchanges in the field of contemporary music. Many world-renowned musicians have been invited to participate, and the Korean music world has had a taste of the latest musical theories of the West. No less significant is the fact that Korean composers have been encouraged to explore the spirit and motifs of traditional Korean music as a source of inspiration and thereby to elevate them as universal idioms of musical expression. The recent festival included works by Georgy Ligeti, Franco Donatoni, Luciano Berio, Guido Baggiani and John Cage, among other noted foreign composers. Korean composers featured during the week-long festival included Kang Suk-hi, Chung Hoe-gap and Paik Byung-dong as well as some promising younger composers. Among the notable performers were American cellist Frances-Marie Uitti, the Artus String Quartet from West Germany, the Het Trio and the Korea Festival Ensemble. Cellist Uitti, in particular, offered Korean concertgoers a refreshing experience by performing works by Johann S. Bach and Giacinta Scelsi in the beautiful surroundings of the National Museum of Contemporary Art. ¡ The festival was jointly sponsored by the International Society for Contemporary Music, the International Cultural Society of Korea and the Goethe-Institut. The 16th festival, which will deal with the theme "Music and Language," is scheduled for October 16 to 22, 1988. +
hile the attention of most Koreans is on where the nation is going in the 21st century, there are those who are concentrating on making sure the past is not forgotten. One evidence of this is the Annual Traditional Handicraft Exhibition which was held for the 12th time from September 25 through October 30. This year's event was held at Toksugung Palace, providing an appropriate environment for a look back into a time when skill and craftsmanship were still a necessity. The exhibition featured 624 items in 10 categories. These were the best of 1,263 items submitted by 266 persons. Han Sun-ja won the presidential award for her lotus-shaped mat with a design of a snapping turtle surrounded by fish, ducks and a crab. Such mats, called yonhwasok, were used in Buddhist services. The prime minister's award went to Choi Yu Hyun for an eight-panel screen embroidered with thread colored with natural plant dyes. The exquisite screen depicted eight Chinese characters for as many virtues plus books and writing brushes. Other entries in the exhibition included ramie and hemp cloth colored with natural dyes made from such things as indigo, gardenia seeds and persimmon, a tortoise-shell arrow case and a bronze mirror inlaid with silver. The following describes some of Korea's traditional crafts. One of the exhibits was a kat, the hat worn by upper-class scholar-officials of the Choson Kingdom (13921910). The complex kat-making process included weaving the brim from hair-like strands of bamboo, stiffening it with a mixture of glue and
W
Skills of Yesteryear Fill Ungering Aesthetic Need This lotus-shaped mat with a design of a snapping turtle surrounded by a crab, fish, and ducks won the presidential award for Han Sun-ja.
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KOmun-go, a 6-string zither
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black ink and then ironing it to give it its characteristic inward curve. The crown, also, was sometimes made of thin strands of bamboo but more often of horsehair. It was shaped over a wooden form and then boiled before it was removed from the form . It was then given several layers of glue-andlacquer to make it stiff. The kat was very distinctive and once symbolized the Korean gentlemen but is seldom worn today. Hemp cloth was made in Korea from prehistoric times. It is somewhat coarse but durable and light. Unlike silk which was used by the upper classes, hemp was used by the common people. To make hemp, the hemp plant is steamed and then the skin is peeled off and split into thin strands which are then spun into yarn. The yarn is first boiled in caustic soda water and then soaked for several days in plain water. It is then dried and woven on looms. Another popular traditional cloth is ramie which is light arid absorbent and thus ideal for.hot summer days. The Hansan area of Ch'ungch'ongnam-do Province has long been famous not only for ramie but also for a blended fabric of ramie and silk. It is made from the bark of the ramie plant, a perennial of the nettle family. After
harvesting, the bark is removed, soaked in water to remove the resin and then bleached in the sun. It is then split into hair-like strands and twisted into lengths. These are then ¡boiled in a mixture of raw soybean powder and water. The weaving is done in humid semi-underground mud huts because the dry outside air causes the threads to become brittle and break. Fine top-quality ramie can only be made by hand weaving. The color ¡ ranges from yellow to pure white depending on the bleaching and steaming. Lacquered objects have been made in Korea since the Bronze Age but the lacquerware inlaid with mother-ofpearl that Korea is so famous for was probably not made until the late Unified Shilla (668-935) or early Koryo (918-1392) periods. Exquisitely inlaid lacquerware from the Koryo period includes bowls and Buddhist rosaries and sutra cases. Lacquer inlay is a complicated process which includes the finishing of the wood, the application of lacquer and a layer of'hemp or cotton cloth, the gluing on of mother-of-pearl designs intricately cut from paper-thin sheets of shell and then the application of numerous layers of lacquer to fill in the spaces between the designs. Each layer of lac-
Maegubuk
Chest with mother-of-pearl inlay
quer is smoothed and polished to bring the finished obj'ect ¡to a high sheen. A single inlaid lacquer piece of high quality can take many years to complete. Embroidery dates back to time immemorial and was considered an appropriate pastime for all women. It thus gives a good reflection of the aesthetic tastes of Korean women over the ages. It was used on clothing, religious artifacts, folding screens, wrapping cloths and all sorts of other objects. Cqurt embroidery was done with two threads by professionals who created elaborate works of art even on the simplest of objects. In contrast, the embroidery of ordinary people was done with a single thread and tended to be more modest. The embroidered insignias on the front and back of the clothes of officials during the Chason Kingdom were probably the only embroidery worn by men except for the ceremonial robes of monks. Brass was used extensively in Korean homes. While white porcelain was favored for dinnerware in summertime, brass was considered essential for winter. There are two kinds of brass: an alloy of copper and zinc and an alloy of copper and tin. The latter was used for tableware and percussion instruments for folk music and the former, which was of inferior
quality, was used for other objects. Tanch'{mg was a technique of painting palace buildings, government offices and Buddhist temples and paintings of landscapes, animals, flowers and birds with five natural dyes symbolizing the points of the compass: blue (east), white (west), red (south) , black (north) and yellow (center). The colors are also symbolic of the five primary elements: metal, wood, water, fire and earth. Besides its symbolic and decorative value, tanch'ong painting on buildings also served to preserve the wood. Many tanch'ong painters were Buddhist monks who also painted religious murals. Private buildings were not allowed to be decorated with tanch 'ong designs. Another category of crafts featured in the exhibition are bows and arrows. Traditionally bows and arrows were each made by different artisans who were accorded special treatment and respect. In a list of artisans of all trades prepared during the Chason period, the makers of bows and arrows were entered as "bowman" and "arrowman" respectively. It requires four months to make a Korean bow. The grip is reinforced with a kind of oak (Quercus serrata) and both tips with mulberry. Bamboo, bull horn and
cow tendon are glued to the bow to maximize the elasticity. Bull horn bows have a far greater range than wooden or bamboo bows and the horn of water buffalo, which has to be imported, sends the arrow even further than those made of the horn of Korean bulls. A special feature of this year's exhibition was step-by-step demonstrations by living cultural treasures and their apprentices of how the various handicrafts are made. Even though the practical necessity for such items has long gone, they still fulfill a lingering aesthetic need which is not satisfied by machine-made objects.+
Tools for making traditional handicrafts
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FOLK CULTURE
he Korean housewife holds the economic reins of the household and traditionally lives in the inner room. Simple Korean private rural homes can be divided into four styles. The humblest is the simple single line arrangement of rooms under one ridge beam. Private space was somewhat limited as these were houses for slaves and peasants. Another style was the double line arrangement of rooms (back and front) under one ridge beam. Self-employed farmers tended to enlarge their houses in this manner. However, more wealthy farmers lived in L-shaped or U-shaped homes. This style of home was more common in the central regions of the country.
T
I (
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Inside view of an old style kitchen.
The fast style was a combination of single-line and double-line structures which often were developed into an enclosed courtyard with rooms surrounding it completely. This last style could have developed from a double L structure. A house size is measured by kan (equal to about 36 sq. ft.) . Houses of the single line arrangement were usually only 2-3 kan, while aristocratic homes could be as large as 99 kan. (Buildings today use the term p'yong which is almost the same as a kan.) As modern apartments developed, the inner rooms were placed in front where lighting was best, while the kitchen and bathroom were relegated to smaller areas to the rear of the house with few windows.
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By Edward B. Adams
L-or U-shaped homes were common in the central regions of the country.
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Anbang (main room of the women's quarters) The anbang is also called the big room and was the first room to be built when the underfloor heating system was first invented. This room is the center of the home and the rest of the house is positioned around it. The principle function of the anbang is for sleeping at night but during the day it becomes the room from where the mistress of the house runs her
The anbang, the main living room, is the center offamily life.
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household. In a larger home there is often a loft called tarak which was built over the kitchen with an access only to the anbang. The household valuables were usually kept here so that nobody could reach them without going through the anbang. Thus, the lady who occupied .the anbang had the status and power to fully control the household.
The interior decoration of the anbang is bright and luxurious compared to the modest and more stern decor of the sarangbang (the men's quarters). Often the sliding doors of this room are decorated with beautiful paintings and various styles of wooden chests are placed along the walls. Instruments for sewing are also kept in this room.
Sarangbang (men's quarters)
~
--x-
This is a living room that was reserved only for entertaining the male guests of the house. This room developed around the men's lifestyle and was indicative of the social and economic status of the head of the family. A poor family could not have maintained a sarangbang. However, among the rich and distinguished families, the sarangbang was detached from the inner quarters and usually had an elevated wooden floor with wooden railings called numaru, where the cool breezes of summer were especially appreciated. The sarangbang is a good example of the strict lifestyles that developed under the influence of Confucianism, which prohibited the socialization of men and women. Thus, the sarangbang became the daily living quarters for the master of the house, where he entertained and met his male guests. In this aristocratic society it was also used as a study room and the furnishings were mostly stationery articles that were rather simple and plain. Nowadays, children often play and study in the sarangbang.
The sarangbang, the living quarters for the master of the house.
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Maru (open wooden porch) The more affluent families would have a wooden floor space under a roof, which generally opened to the gardens. The maru floor could not be heated and was used more during hot summer weather for entertaining guests. Smaller houses will only have a verandah type wooden porch in front of the rooms. Also the maru would be used for sleeping during the hot months. The maru is usually located between the ondol rooms and the kitchen, providing a multipurpose area for resting, receiving guests and doing the house work. It could also be used for storing grains and household utensils. Unless the home has a separate shrine for the ancestral tablets, often the family's ancestral tablets are enshrined in the maru and ceremonial rites are performed here. The maru was used during hot summer weather.
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Fans, Dippers and Smoking Utensils
Winter and Summer Comfort
There were various kinds of personal articles, which the aristocratic families of Korea considered special for people of high rank. They were often made from rare materials and with the finest craftsmanship. Many of these were women's toilette articles and men's smoking utensils used from the mid-17th century until modern cigarettes came into common use. Small personal water dippers made from gourds were elaborately carved and designed. Fans of many different shapes were all made with exquisite and artistic' craftsmanship. Often they were made in a style which would harmonize with the other furniture in the room and were displayed in a prominent place for daily use.
The rooms of Korean homes are heated by ducts under the floor. This is called an ondol central heating system which was invented in the fourth century B.C. The floors are made of stone, usually slate, and baked clay, covered with varnished paper. Flues carry the heat from the kitchen fires through the house and out through the chimney on the opposite side. The stones in the floors held the heat well and were also cooler in the summer when no heat was used. The use of smaller doors and windows as well as outer doors were effective in maintaining the heat within the rooms. · Another heating apparatus was the brazier and its use was versatile. In it could be kept live coals for heating the iron for ironing clothes. The shapes and materials used for the braziers varied greatly and they were often covered with decorative designs. Wealthy families also used draperies and folding screens to insulate the rooms but these were not common household items. During the summer, efforts were made to maintain good ventilation. Various bamboo and wood products were ideal. Bamboo blinds, rattan shirts, bamboo pillows (a kind of Dutch or summer wife) and wooden or bamboo beds were some of the more popular items.
q-
i
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b'.'
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Under-the-floor flues carry the heat from the kitchen fires through the house and out through the chimney on the opposite side.
·~·
Lamps and Oil Cups The first lighting systems may have been the ground stove which served both for light and heat. Traces of such a system can still be found in some mountainous regions. In the corner of these houses there was a kogul, where the fire was lit with pine knots. It was connected to the earthenware chimney in the kitchen. The only lighting items used were oil cups and candles until the late Chos6n period (1392-1910) when kerosene lamps were introduced. It appears that oil cups using animal fat or fish oil were already in common use during the Three Kingdoms period (57 B.C.A.D. 668). From the early Kory6 period (11th century), candles made with cow fat or beeswax were used in the palaces and among the aristocratic families. These light fixtures, used mostly within the house, were made with fine materials and detailed craftsmanship. However, there were also outdoor lanterns like "hanging" lanterns, small lanterns (used by households in mourning) and a rare type of foot lamp called the chojoktiing. +
Bamboo pipes
??E U e=.:.--
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· Traditional Gardens of Korea
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Look at Shim Ch'ong, trudging yonder a step behind the minister's servant. Around a bend, over a hill, she comes to the minister's house and steps past the gate. To her left stands a green pine tree, to her right a lush bamboo grove, and to this side of the garden a low, creeping pine. Inside the inner gate ... from Shim ch '{mgga
uch was the scene that greeted Shim Ch'6ng, the heroine of legendary filial piety in the well-known ancient tale , when she was summoned to the house of a wealthy minister. Koreans traditionally were not very keen about the idea of planting trees or flowering shrubs in the front yard or in the courtyard of houses. They would plant one or two shade trees in the gardens of the sarangch'ae, or the men's quarters, and the anch'ae, or the women's quarters, and even those were carefully tamed not to grow too high by lodging large stones between the roots. The practice was called "marrying the tree."
Large trees were considered unsuitable for a garden because they might scare weak-hearted girls and pregnant women on rainy days. Their limbs were diligently snipped off to a size barely large enough to provide shade from the summer heat. The well groomed trees of the Y6ngy6ngdang House in Ch' angd6kkung Palace in Seoul are good examples of such efforts. The kind of trees that could be planted in a garden were limited according to the social class of the home owner. For instance, pine trees were limited to the residences of privileged aristocrats and very high officials . In fact, pine trees were considered so highly that they were awarded official titles. The handsome pine tree on the way to P6pchusa Temple on Mt. Songnisan, for example, is said to have been honored with a Grade 2 government rank, which was equivalent to that of a cabinet minister, for supposedly having lifted its boughs to make room for a royal procession during the Chos6n Kingdom (1392-1910). Thus Shim Ch'6ng's sighting of a crawling pine at the minister's house was quite appropriate but the exist ence of the lush green bamboo grove
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The back garden, located at the innermost part of the house, close to the women's quarters and off-limits to men other than family, was the most quiet and peaceful place in a traditional residence.
is rather doubtful, for normally bamboo was not planted in the courtyard. Perhaps the writer counterposed bamboo against pine trees for the cadence of the verse or perhaps he used them for they were often featured together in traditional literature and painting. Sometimes a rockery was made in the front garden with handsome pine trees adorning the top. The ancient residence of Chong Y6-ch'ang (14501504), a renowned scholar of Chos6n, in Hamyang, Ky6ngsangbuk-do Province and the ancestral house of the Mun clan in Tals6ng, Ky6ngsangbuk-
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do are good examples. The rockeries, however, seem to have been added around 1920. Much care was taken to landscape a back garden behind the inner buildings rather than the courtyard or the garden in front of the house. The back garden, located at the innermost part of the house, close to the women's quarters and off-limits to men other than family was the most quiet and peaceful place. It is here that a dainty cottage was built to house a young bride brought into the family, or for the matriarch of the house to retire in
her old age. Being the domain of women the back garden was exquisitely groomed with flower beds, fruit trees and sculptured stone boxes for plants or fantastically shaped rocks, and stone troughs for lotus and water lilies. In some luxurious gardens, stuffed cranes or antlers were placed between the trees or in the flower beds to give an illusion of the much idealized garden of the legendary Taoist hermits and sometimes there were sundials. As upper-class residences were almost always located at the foot of a
low hill facing a stream in the south, the back gardens were invariably extended up the slope of the hill with the farthest side finished with flower terraces of three or five steps. Being an extension of the hill, the garden was believed to be the ¡ place where the energy of the mountain and the energy of the water in the front of the house converge. Thus children were encouraged to play here in the hope that their innate energy would be reinforced by that of nature. Sometimes in the houses of literati, conscious efforts were made to leave the back garden as natural as possible so that it remained as an extension of the hill. If necessary, minimum alterations were made to redress what were defects according to geomancy; they were made with the sense of completing what nature had left undone. As a result the gardens appeared to be unlandscaped and uncared for at first glance, but then that was the aim of Korean gardening-to make the garden look as natural as if it were made by nature. Geomantic beliefs, deeply ingrained in the Korean psyche, played a decisive role in locating a house and landscaping its environs. A propitious spot was zealously sought after and utmost care was exerted not to mar the natural topography once such a place was located. A geomantically propitious place generally required a hill with ridges shooting from the sides to embrace the house at the base. The house of course should face the south. If a stream flowed down from the west ridge, it was thought to be propitious water which would bring luck to the house. If the stream turned to the east past the house, one could ask for nothing better. The stream was often channeled to a lotus pond made in front of the house outside the wall. A small island, planted with the much loved pine trees, was made at the center of the pond in the belief that it guaranteed financial success for the sons of the house. However, its more practical function was to cause the water to swirl so it would not stagnate. Building the pond and the waterway involved a good deal of masonry. If the channel passed in front of the house, a stone bridge had to be constructed for the approach to the house.
Soswaewon, an example of a Choson period garden
KyOnghoeru Pavilion, KyOngbokkung Palace
An arched brige in a palace garden
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Once the house was built and the environs were neatly landscaped, it was time to work on the gardens, which were compartmented by the inner walls that separated the buildings comprising the residence. Korean gardens were nono stroll in but to enjoy by viewing through windows. A garden was in a sense a framed picture viewed from the master's study, a pavilion or an elevated veranda. The flower terraces, the stone boxes and other garden fixtures were all arranged with a framed picture in mind. The garden was thus made to look its best at the eye level of a viewer comfortably seated. In this case, the master of the house was the painter entirely responsible for the picture, and his taste was predominantly re-¡ fleeted in the garden. The center step of the five-stepped flower terraces in the back garden of the Naksonjae House in Ch'angdokkung Palace, for instance, is about 2.5 meters high, about eye level of a person seated in the house. The NaksOnjae House in ChangdOkkung Palace
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In any event, as the flower terraces were a way of rearranging the extension of the hill, their height and slant rather than their distance from the house was of primary concern in the making of the back garden. At the top of the terraces was always a wall separating the house from the hill. It was usually called a flower wall because it was adorned with floral patterns and Chinese ideographs charged with wishes for good fortune, wealth, health and long life. On some walls all figures of the shipchangsaeng, that is the ten longevity symbols of the sun, clouds, mountains, water, pine trees, rocks, turtles, cranes, deer and the fungus of immortality, were graphically illustrated. The gate that led to the area beyond the flower wall was itself a decorative feature of the garden, and a great deal of thought went into the design and choice of material to best enhance the environs. In most cases it was a small wooden structure topped with a tiled roof, but sometimes bricks
of varying colors were employed to adorn the door frame. Handrails along the length of the veranda or the elevated wooden hall were also an important element enhancing the exquisiteness of a garden scene. Always made of wood, they were of varying designs and patterns and sometimes had openwork carving at the bottom and floral newel caps. The last but certainly not the least of the decorative features of a garden were chimneys. The chimneys of large houses and palatial structures were erected some distance from the house rather than right next to it under the eaves. Though most were clay and stone structures, occasionally reinforced with pieces of broken rooftiles, some were built with bricks. As much architectural attention went into them as went into the building of houses. They were topped with tiled roofs fashioned exactly the same way as the roofs of houses and the surface was even more ornately decorated. In Kyongbokkung Palace in Seoul,
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To undergo an inordinate amount of time and trouble to make manmade things look natural is a tendency of Koreans found not only in landscaping but also in all other forms of arts and crafts.
two brick chimneys stand on Amisan, once the back garden of Kyot'aej6n, the royal bed chamber. Embellished with decorative tiles and floral reliefs and topped with very ornately crafted roofs, these hexagonal chimneys are so imposing that the whole garden seems to have been created for their sake. The chimneys in the back garden of Chagy6ngj6n, once the quarters of retired queens in the same palace, are also noteworthy for their beautiful shipchangsaeng decorations. Koreans were very keen on making chimneys look the best they could.
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Even in thatch roofed farmhouses, not to say anything about Buddhist temples, chimneys invariably got some decorative attention, even if they were made out of a rough tree trunk. When the back garden was spacious enough, a simple pavilion was added for the men of the house to read poetry, discuss scholarly ideas and enjoy the serenity of the garden. Ideally, there was a crystal spring near the pavilion with some stonework to hold water and a gourd to dip with. Such pavilions were usually small four-pillar structures. Though small in
size, garden pavilions were often very exquisitely fashioned. Of the many pavilions in the gardens of Ch' anggy6nggung Palace and its neighboring Ch' angd6kkung Palace, no two are of the same style and one is even shaped like a fan. . In one of the palace gardens is a lotus pond containing a large flat boulder. The boulder is carved with a shallow water channel so that the water can flow along at an even speed. The place was much favored for royal banquets. A waterway more suitable for roy-
al banquets remains in the garden of a long lost Shilla period (57 B.C.-A.D. 935) pavilion called P'os6kch6ng. The stone channel, curving in the shape of an abalone as its name P'os6k (Abalone Stone) indicates, was designed to carry water at an even speed so that wine cups could be floated to guests seated around it. Representative of the extant gardens of the Chos6n literati is Soswaewon in Tamyang, Chollanam-do. Designed by a 16th century Confucian scholar, Yang San-bo, the garden in a valley has many pavilions. It is said to have
boasted a long list of scenic spots in its day. There still remains a wooden plaque with the inscription of a verse praising no less than 48 points of interest that charmed the poets who visited the garden. What makes Soswaewon the best example of traditional gardens is that the idea behind its design was to make it look more natural than nature itself. What appears to be the work of nature turns out, at a closer look, to be the result of the very consciencious efforts of men. To undergo an inordinate amount
of time and trouble to make manmade things look natural is a tendency of Koreans found not only in landscaping but also in all other forms of arts and crafts. It is an aesthetic value that has pervaded every aspect of Korean life . â&#x20AC;˘ ¡ The w riter is an expert advisor of the Cultural Properties Maintenance Office.
Translated by Kim Mi-za
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ART A Welcome Impetus for the Development of Art
Both as a critic and one of the former administrators of the National Museum of Contemporary Art, it is most pleasing to note that the museum which moved into a new building in Kwach'on, south of Seoul, last year, is exploring a role truly commensurate with its name. A series of exhibitions organized by the museum since its relocation fully attest to its ever increasing role as a leader of contemporary art in the country as well as a major promoter of international exchanges. To list some of the most successful ones, the museum held an exhibition of contemporary German sculpture, a Franco-Korean architecture exhibition and an exhibition of contemporary Chinese painting. The Black and White Exhibition, which was held to celebrate the first anniversary of the museum's relocation, turned out to be an event of unmatched dimension and caliber. In addition, the museum will soon sponsor an exhibition of contemporary American ceramics. Along with these exhibitions, the museum is also carrying out a comprehensive public education program, including not only lectures and art appreciation classes, but also concerts, dramas and dance perform ances. In spite of its inconvenient location, these events are drawing a continuous flow of people. The museum has about 2,000 to 3,000 visitors each day. Most of them appear to find great pleasure in the museum. Also showing hopeful signs are the activities of private galleries. Generally speaking, art galleries in Korea have short histories. Their financial resources are too limited to carry out the role of a wholesome channel for the distribution of art works or of pa-
7<6
tron of the arts. To overcome these limitations, the Korean Galleries Association inaugurated an annual membership exhibition last year. The second exhibition this year showed that its members maintain a remarkable standard in recommending artists. It may also be noteworthy to mention here a few notable activities launched by private galleries during this season. First of all, the "Ecole de Seoul" show at the Kwa:nhun Gallery was a significant event revealing the current status of contemporary art in Korea. The "Geometric Abstract Art" exhibition at the Gallery of the Korean Culture and Arts Foundation:, which was organized by the Korean Art Critics Association, conveyed a clear message. A Marcel Duchamp show at the Gallerie de Seoul was another event which contributed to the animated mood of
Seoul's art community during the fall season. The biggest topic among the art circles during the season, however, was the International Open-air Sculpture Symposium which was sponsored by the Seoul Olympic Organizing Committee (SLOOC) as part of the pre-Olympic art program . Seventeen sculptors from 16 countries, including two from Korea, were invited to create monumental pieces dedicated to the Seoul Olympic Games during July and August at the Olympic Park. ¡The sponsoring committee provided all necessary materials, tools and equipment, plus all expenses, under the condition that the artists donate their works for permanent display in the park as monuments to the Seoul Olympics. This symposium, which was the most expensive single art project ever launched in Korea, aroused criticism among certain sectors of the domestic art community regarding the procedures for selecting artists and the possibility that the historic monuments in the Olympic Park might be damaged. The work sites of artists were rearranged so as to prevent the feared harm to the adjacent historic monuments, and the symposium, in spite of such criticisms, helped the Korean art world gain a certain international perspective. The symposium proved that Korea can successfully organize international exchanges in art. The second part of the symposium is much anticipated. Another similar group of artists will be working in the same park from March to April next year, contributing their artistic ingenuity to the universal festival of sports and arts which will unfold in Seoul six months later. +
DANCE Rare Artistic Accomplishment Seen in Kim Mae-ja's A Dance Pattern
The question of whether to confine themselves to the revival of ancient expressions or to create new dance forms on the basis of traditional spirit and themes has been an obsession for most dancers in the field of Korean traditional dance. Artists with an innovative penchant have attempted to create new forms, but few have been successful. Ch 'umbon (A Dance Pattern) pres~nted by Kim Mae-ja and her company, Ch'angmuhoe, at the Hoam Art Hall on September 18-19 was a rare success. Miss Kim attained an unprecedented level of artistic accomplishment and a clear method of her own. The remarkable piece deserves to be regarded as a creative dance work in its own right rather than as a model for future efforts as she had apparently intended. What was most noteworthy about the dance, based on the Siingmu (Monk's Dance) and using motifs from Korean traditional dance in general, was that it led the audience to a refined artistic and profound spiritual experience. It didn't matter much whether the movements were fast or slow because even the slowest movement had a powerful, dynamic image. Dynamism was not created by the movement of the body, but the emotions it conveyed. The costumes by Yi Shin-u effectively enlivened this feeling, while the music failed to express its depth. A Dance Pattern could be considered a solo performance by Kim because the other four dancers who appeared in the final scene were no more than a simple diversion. She seemed to have made a serious study of the dancer's body and to have drawn the conclusion that the chest is the center, from which the energy
comes out with the breath. Her movements focused on the chest and breath control gave them a spiritual magnetism. In the pamphlet for the performance, Miss Kim noted, "This dance was not made to depict or express something. Instead, it was intended to represent the basic framework for my dance ... I just wanted to present the nature and a pattern for study and training, or more broadly for the art called dance in general." But in fact , she succeeded in presenting a marvelous work of modern Korean dance. Though Miss Kim successfully manifested herself as a daring artist with firm conviction in her own direction, it is doubtful whether the scientific analysis she made of the movements in Korean traditional dance was actually intended to create the rich emotional experience actually felt by her audience. In other words, her artistic perception appears yet to have reached the maturity
necessary to regard traditional Korean dance as a source of inspiration and motif rather than as a historical prototype. She said that Siingmu represents the quintessence of Korean dance and also its artistic sublimation. This leads me to suspect that like most other students of Korean dance, she may be suffering from a "Siingmu complex," that is, she may believe that Siingmu as danced by Han Y6ng-suk and Yi Mae-bang is an insurmountable artistic challenge. Miss Kirris A Dance Pattern deserves compliments for presenting a successful method of dealing with tradition as the basis for artistic accomplishment. But we hope that she will work with conviction as a creative artist to express the ideals of her own time rather than trying to be a reliable successor to tradition. This is because we hope that she will establish herself as an artist representative of her own time.+
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DRAMA
The Seoul Theater Festival and the Expansion of Drama
The 11th Seoul Theater Festival took place this autumn as in other years at the Big and Small theaters of the Korean Culture and Arts Foundation in Tongsung-dong in Seoul. Korea's largest drama festival, it was launched in the autumn of 1977 to discover outstanding new creations. To participate in it, a drama company must submit a newly-written play to a judging committee which then decides whether it can take part or not. Eight to ten companies are selected each year. They are paid for the play and are provided part of the production cost. Prize-winning companies and individuals receive prize money as well as the privilege to go on a performing tour all over Korea, or study abroad. It is a good opportunity to learn more about dramatic art. Until its tenth anniversary last year, the festival was called the Republic of Korea Drama Festival. The tenth llnniversary evaluation session agreed that the festival had contributed to the creation of quality dramas. To put it concretely, as there had been about 25 newly-created plays submitted each year, it had contributed to the creation of 250 new plays by Korean playwrights. Of them, about eight were presented each year, making the total of newly-presented plays about 80. Each year saw the production of two or three truly remarkable works. In other words, about 20 really outstanding plays were created. Apart from the numerical achievements, many performers, as well as playwrights, producers, stage crews, costume designers, lighting technicians, props designers, and background music composers, worked together and contributed to expanding the dramatic arts.
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Of course there have been problems with the administration of the festival . For example, in administration, only limited assistance has been provided drama companies. As for improving the quality of works, the one-sided emphasis on orthodox plays stinted the growth of experimental plays and there were few attempts made to create a new dramatic form to accommodate traditional modes. It is a problem that should be solved in the near future. This year, the festival changed its name to the Seoul Theater Festival. It started on August 25 with a presentation of the National Theatrical Company. Two Korean drama companies and one foreign were invited to perform, while eight Korean drama companies chosen through the screening process participated. The festival ended on October 8 with the National Dramatists Assembly. ¡ "The Dreamy Sky;' written by Cha Bom-sok, produced by Kim Sok-man, and presented by the National Theatrical Company, describes the life and thoughts of Shin Chae-ho (Tanchae), who was a journalist, scholar and patriot during the Japanese occupation of Korea, the darkest days in Korean history. A mature stage was presented thanks to the experienced playwright, the production team and the performers. The Pusan Art Theatrical Company was invited to present "The Old Man Flies As A Bird," written by Shin Tae-bom, and produced by Kim Kyong-hwa, for which it had won the grand prize in the National Provincial Drama Festival, an annual spring event. It successfully dramatizes a folk subject matter with current topicality and was received very well by the audience.
"Chik'imi," written by Chong Pokgeun, produced by Son Chin-chaek and presented by the Michu Theater Company, boldy condenses the long history of the Korean people. Chik'imi, the spirit of tenacity which has been the spiritual backbone of the country, is personified in the ordinary man in the street, and the ethos of the nation is felt in the folk dancing, military arts, popular movements, peddlers' philosophy of life, etc. It criticizes sharply modern capitalism and the political power struggle. "The Strangers' Sky," written by No Kyong-shik, produced by Ha Tae-jin, and presented by the Experimental Theatrical Company, deals with the pain of national division and the sorrow of the divided families . It uses the technique of abstract realism, which made the stage audio-visually imaginative. "The Free Spirit, "written by Yun Chong-son, produced by Kang Yuchong and presented by the Yoin Theatrical Company reinterprets the life of Hwang Chin-i as one of selfliberation. Hwang Chin-i was a famous kisaeng (geisha type entertainer) during the Chos6n period (13921910) who wrote many beautiful songs and poetry. The play, which has much singing and dancing successfully deals with the question of human liberation. "Romeo 20. "written and produced by Kim Sang-yol and presented by the Hyundai Theater Company vividly depicts the 1983 shooting down of the Korean airliner by the Russians. Based on the actual facts as well as the author's imagination, it was written as a sort of requiem for the 269 people who perished in the disaster. "What Family Tree Can Be More Brilliant?" written by Cho W on-sok,
A scene from the Mokhwa Theater Group's Affection between Father and Son, the grand prize winner in the 11th Seoul Theater Festival.
produced by Lee Wan-ho and presented by ffie Production Drama Society, dramatizes the story of Cho Pyong-kap, the governor of Kobu, whose tyranny and exploitation of the poor was one of the causes of the Tonghak Revolt in 1894. It interprets the historic event from an unusual viewpoint, . and thus will probably arouse some controversy. "Sleeping after Eating Utopia," written by Lee Kang-baek, produced by Yim Young-ung and presented by the Sanulim Theatrical Company, is a tragicomedy about a pathetic petit bourgeois. The solid performance and production of the company succeeded in presenting a witty stage. "Affection between Father and Son," written and produced by Oh Tae-sok and presented by the Mokhwa Theater Group, dramatizes the distorted love and hate relationship between Choson's King Yongjo (r. 1724-76) and his Crown Prince Sado, and the resulting family feud. The production is typical of Producer Oh. "Wrong, Wrong," written by Lee Hyun-hwa, produced by Chae Yunil and presented by the Cecil Theater
Group, deals with an unexpected accident during a rehearsal of a play. A new actor who plays the role of a famous Korean general kills his senior with a sword, a stage prop, during a rehearsal. An investigation into the cause of the incident leads to historical truths. There is harmony between the author's changeable structure and the producer's stark stage setting. "Peau D'Ane," written by Charles Perrault, dramatized and produced by Roland Jullien, and presented by a French theatrical company, Le Theatre Du Nombre D'Or, is based on a classic fairy tale. The stage was poetic and dreamy with exquisite curtains, beautiful music, splendid costumes and elegant dancing. It was particularly amazing to watch the nine clowns change in and out of 50-odd costumes and play 40 different roles effortlessly. Their speed, accuracy and transformation ability was truly astounding. Korean drama, which has been influenced heavily by Western drama, is now at the point where the contents and the form must be systematized for the incorporation of traditional sounds
and gestures. Several of the abovementioned drama companies and a few drama companies which did not participate in the festival have been engaged in the task for some time now. The recent works tended to be short and as a result the stage was less impressive. However, "The Dreamy Sky," presented by the National Theatrical Company, and Chi.Kimi," presented by the Michu Theater Company, showed great potential for overcoming such problems. Freedom of expression must be encouraged more. Subjects should be broadened and interpreted more freely so that dramas that impress and entertain the audience can be created. Next year, in commemoration of the Seoul Olympic Games, the Seoul Olympic Cultural and Art Festival will take place. The 12th Seoul Thea ter Festival will be included and thus will take on another meaning. +
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ART NEWS Kim Hyon-ja Dance
Academy Set-Up to Promote Creative Dance Kim Hyon-j a, perm anent choreographer of the Lucky Creative Dance Company and a professor at Pusan University, has established a private dance academy aimed at providing advanced education to prominent young dancers and choreographers and giving them a chance to perform. The Kim Hyon-j a Dance Academy, defining its role as an intermediary between school and the professional stages, plans to hold a regular dance festival to discover prominent dancers and choreographers. The artists thus discovered will be invited to work with the Lucky Creative Dance Company to improve their expertise and gain experience. "We will support and encourage young artists with outstanding potential, regardless of their school or major," Miss Kim says. "This is essential for Korean dance in general, and will ultimately contribute to its universalization." The academy jointly sponsored a seminar on "Issues in the Modernization of Korean Dance" with the Korean Dance Critics Society at Yongp'yong on October 31 to November l .
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Korean Dancer Presents Kathakali
Traditional-style Opera Chejudo Folk Arts Im Kkok-jong Staged Company Gives Inaugural Performance
Miss Kang Mi-na performed India's classical folk dance drama Kathakali at the Space TheaLcf on October 20 and 21 , during a visit home from India where she has been studying traditional dance for the last 10 years. She explained the choreography and the meaning of movements to help her audience understand the ancient Hindu dance drama indigenous to southwestern India.
A Korean traditional-style opera Im Kkok-jong, based on the life story of a famous 16th-century bandit leader, was performed by the National Traditional Opera Company on October 12 at the Sejong Cultural Center Main Hall. The opera was composed by Chong Ch'ol-ho in the traditional p'ansori (narrative folk song) style to the script by Ch'oe In-sok. Noted singer Cho Sang-hyon appeared as the hero, who steals from corrupt officials to help the poor and oppressed commoners. Master singers Pak Tong-jin and Mme. Oh Chong-suk appeared as narrators. The opera was the 14th p'ansori concert annually sponsored by the Dong-A Ilbo, a leading daily newspaper, to help preserve native Korean folk music. It was directed by Son Chin-ch'aek.
The Chejudo Folk Arts Company performed a selection of folk dances, games and songs originating in the southern island province in its inaugural presentation on August 15 at the Cheju Citizens Hall. The program included Haenyi5ch 'um (Women Divers Dance), Si5Jchanggo (Hourglass Drum Dance), Siingmu (Monk's Dance), and folk songs Pongj-ga and Sanch 'on Ch'omok (The Trees and Grasses in the Mountains and Fields) that are indigenous to the subtropical island which has a rich folk heritage. The 12-member company was reorganized from the Cheju City Folk Arts Troupe with a view to exploring the folk arts handed down in the island, contributing to their artistic enhancement, and developing them as a major tourist resource. The inaugural presentation was directed by Kim T'aekkun . Dances were arranged by Kim Hui-suk.
ART NEWS Sculpture Park Opens on Chejudo
Concert Celebrates the Fund-raising Concert ~ezzo-soprano Paek for the Seoul Olympics Nam-ok Gives Recitals 70th Birthday of Mme. Kim Cha-kyung in Los Angeles in Washington D.C., Toronto
The Cheju Sculpture Park opened in early October on a 429,000 square meter wasteland in Toksu-ri, Andong-myon, Nam Cheju-gun County, some 20 minutes from the southern port city of Sogwip'o, with about 140 sculptures by various leading artists displayed outdoors. "Our idea is to harmonize Cheju's beautiful nature with the best collection of sculptural pieces we can collect," said Kim Yong-jung, a noted sculptor himself and the chief architect of the park. He added that the park will be developed into one of the finest sculpture gardens in the world and a popular tourist spot. The park currently includes several sculpture grounds, artificial ponds, souvenir shops, restaurants and an observation tower. A modern glass structure stands at the entrance. The second-phase construction will incluee a camping site, a large workshop for sculptors and a handicrafts store.
The Masterpiece Symphony Orchestra, organized with Los Angeles-based Korean musicians, will give a fund-raising concert for the Seoul Olympic Games on April 18, 1988, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion Hall in the Los Angeles Music Center. The concert will be sponsored by the Korean Residents Association for the Seoul Olympics in America. The entire proceeds, expected to amount to US$30,000, will be donated to help the Seoul Games. The orchestra will perform under the baton of its conductor Yang ln-bok. The sponsoring association, led by Yi Min-hiii, plans more activities to support the Seoul Games such as a fund-raising party and a Korean traditional music concert. It also plans to launch active publicity for the Games across the United States.
Mezzo-soprano Paek Nam-ok ¡ gave recitals at George Washington University auditorium in Washington D.C. and the St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Toronto in August. Her program included classical favorites by Martini and Tosti as well as popular Korean art songs like "Elegy," "Our Beloved Mt. Diamond" and ''I'll Live in a Blue Mountain." On July 24, Miss Paek appeared along with a few other Korean singers like Pak Song-won, Kim Kwan-dong and Pak Chong-won in a concert at the Willshre Bell Theater in Los Angeles. The Seoul Academy Orchestra led by conductor Chang 11-nam performed with them.
A concert celebrating the 70th birthday of Mme. Kim Chakyung, a foremost singer, retired professor and founder of the Kim Cha-kyung Opera Company, was held on October 9 at the Sejong, Cultural Center Main Hall. An outstanding array of singers including a number of Kim's former students performed opera arias as scenes from the major productions of the 19-year-old Kim Cha-kyung Opera Company were projected. Kim, in white Korean traditional costume, sang a Rossini's choral piece leading a 42-member female chorus of her students named The Tumblers. The nation's first operatic heroine and a popular soprano for many years, Mme. Kim founded her private opera company 19 years ago and has produced 37 operas including Western classical favorites and original Korean works. She also taught at her alma mater, Ewha Womans University, for many years until her recent retirement. The Kim Cha-kyung Opera Company, recognized as Korea's best private opera company, put on Mozart's The Magic Flute in November. For the 1987 Christmas season, it staged Menotti's Amahl and the Night Visitor.
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ART NEWS Drama on National Foundation Myth Staged in Japan
Freie Buhne Celebrates Its 20th Anniversary
Mezzo-soprano Kim Ch'ong-ja Gives Recital
Daewoo Choir Takes Part in World Chorus Symposium
The Mirae Drama Troupe presented Open, The Heaven, adapted from a legend about Korea's national forefather Tangun, in four Japanese cities, Tokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya and Shiga, from October 1 to 15. It was invited by Japan's Shirakaba Drama Troupe. The drama, written by Yi Sanghwa and directed by Kim Tongjung, incorporated rich elements of Korean traditional music and dance while using a minimum amount of dialogue.
The Freie Buhne (Freedom Theater) , organized with students majoring in German literature at various colleges and universities in Seoul, celebrated the 20th anniversary of its founding with a colorful program in September. The amateur theatrical group gave a seminar on the "Characteristics and Potential of Children's Drama" on September 5 at the auditorium of the GoetheInstitut in SeouL The scripts, pictures, posters and pamphlets of the dramas presented by the group since 1967 were displayed at the institute's exhibition room.
Munich-based Korean mezzosoprano Kim Ch'ong-ja gave a recital at the Sejong Cultural Center Main Hall on November 10. Her repertoire included Brams' To the Cuckoo and Secret, Mahler's song cycle, Songs of a Wayfarer, Kim Song-t'ae's Lullaby and Kim Y6n-jun's I'll Live in a Blue Mountain. Pianist Shin Soo-jung accompanied her.
The Daewoo Choir participated in the First World Chorus Symposium held in Vienna from August 11 to 17, as one of the Asian representatives. The choir sang church music and Korean folk songs in a demonstration concert on August 14, drawing a standing ovation and three encores. On August 13, its conductor Yun Hak-won gave a workshop on Korean music for about 500 participants from around the world. The choir gave concerts in Augsburg and Munich on its way back home.
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