Koreana Autumn 1988 (English) by The Korea Foundation

~ Pine Tree Bio-Herb Medicine

Oriental Mystery! The Most Miraculous MedicinePine Tree Woo Hwang Chung Sim Won Have you ever experienced the healthful effects of Pine tree Woo Hwang Chung Sim Won? This most famous of traditional Korean bio-herb medicines has been produced for the past 63 years by Cho Seon Phann. & Trading Co., Ltd., using a secret formulation first developed by our company's researchers. This miraculous Korean remedy is the pride of Cho Seon Phann. & Trading Co., and is based on prescriptions recorded in the Dongeibogam, the bible of Oriental medicinal practices, edited by Huh Jun, the most renowned Korean doctor of the Choseon Dynasty. Pine Tree Woo Hwang Chung Sim Won has proven to be a life-preserving drug in times of emergency. Jts. 27 precious ingredients include Oriental bezoar'Dongeibogam;the bible of oriental medicine.

woo

hwang, ginseng and musks.

Because of its potential important role in preserving your health and the health of your loved ones, Woo Hwang Chung Sim Won should be kept in the home at all times. The efficacy of Woo Hwang Chung Sim Won and confirmation of its values have spread from Korea throughout the Orient over several hundred years. Cho Seon Phann. & Trading Co. now makes this most mysteriously wonderful of all Oriental bio-herb medicines available around the world-in Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia and the U.S.A. INDICATIONS • Apoplexy Diseases • Cerebral Diseases

• Csrdiac Diseases • Nerve Diseases

KOREANA Vol. 2/No. 3/ 1988

KOREANA is published quarterly by INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL SOCIETY OF KOREA. 526, 5-ga, Namdaemunno, Chung-gu, Seoul 100-095, C.P.O. Box 2147, Seoul, Korea Telex: INCULKO K27738 Fax: 757-2049 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

56 PEOPLE

SEOUL OLYMPIC ARTS FESTIVAL 1988

Paik Kun-woo

By Art Space

By Kim Won-koo

HERITAGE

T'oegye Thought and Tosan Confucian Academy By Lee Ki-dong

Olympiad of Art: International Contemporary Painting Exhibition By Art Space

24 LITERATURE

The ShQo Tradition

PEOPLE

Hwang Kyu-baik

By Kevin O'Rourke

By Oh Kwang-su

Yun Son-do &Pogildo Island By Mun Sun-tae

SOCIETY

By Suzanne Crowder Han

Ewha Womans University

Shil/a-KayagtJ m Revival

By Paul Mooney

A New Age of Korean Filmmaking

By Ahn Byong-sup

SAMULNORI

By Suzanna M. Samstag

Traditional and Modern Harmony of The Exquisite

By Michael Engelhard

PEOPLE

Virtuoso Taegam Player Kim Song-jin

By Lee Kyung-hee

ART NEWS PUBLISHER/PRESIDENT Kim Seong-jin EDITOR IN CHIEF: Peter Hyun EDITORIAL BOARD: Choe Chungho Hahn Man-young Rhee Sang-woo Yoo Young-ik

COVER:

A perfonning scene by the National Changguk Company which is participating the Seoul Olympic Arts Festival. Photo by Park Seung-u

ART DIRECTOR: Park Seung-u TEXT EDITORS: Suzanne Crowder Han Eilzabeth K. Lee Paul Mooney ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Kim Young-uk (text) Yang Eun-hwan (photos)

CIRCULATION Overseas : TEL 752-6170, 753-3463, 753-3464 FAX: 757-2049 C.P.O. Box 2147, Seoul, Korea Domestic : 274-5443, 269-2209 C.P.O. Box 7852 ; Seoul, Korea U.S. SUBSCRIBER SERVICE The Korea Herald Inc. P. 0. Box 312 Hartsdale , New York 10530 Tel: (212) 582-5205 Fax: (914) 472-1195 Advertising inquiries should be addressed to AD Seoul, RM 601, Lions Bldg. , 50, 2ga, Chungmuro, Chung-gu, Seoul. Tel: 274-8336, Fax: (02) 274-8337 TYPESETTING: World Compugraphic PRINTING: Samsung Moonwha Printing Co. C.P.O. Box 4323 Seoul, Korea Price per copy: US$3. 75 (3,000 won)

SEOUL OLYMPIC ARTS FESTIVAL 1988 "HARMONY AND PROGRES{,

----

eing a guest in Korea is perhaps one of the most delightful experiences a person could ever have. One feels almost embarrassed at the attention one receives; and there is often the suspicion that the host may have even gone a little bit overboard in his attempts to please. Yet in the Âˇend, in appreciation, one cannot help but conclude that in Korea, there is an artistry to being a gracious host. Another characteristic of the Korean host is that he thinks of what his guests would like, rather than attempting to share what is normally his regular routine. Food, for example, he assumes will be too spicy or the music too loud, too monotonous, too different for anyone but a Korean . to understand. This is not exclusivity, just an honest disbelief that others will be able to enjoy what is most uniquely his. In this way too, the character of the Seoul Olympic Arts Festival has emerged. Korea, in her best host fashion, has tried to think of all the things that might please her 6

guests. There is Russian ballet, a Milanese opera, British modern dance, and Greek tragedy. There is an International Open-Air Sculpture Symposium, an International Contemporary Painting Exhibition as well as World Children's Art Exhibition. In all a truly eclectic range of events that offers something for just about everyone from stamp collectors to calligraphers. Yet when one has passed beyond the point of being regarded as a guest, after all the mild, exotic dishes have been served, one's host might venture to offer a taste of kimchi and a bowl of rice wine. The songs and music follow as no more sweeter dessert. Look for Korea not only in her desire to please, but in her own nori or festival. Find the artistry of her "masters" or more poetically "living cultural treasures." Experience Korean aesthetics and an entire genre of folk art devoted to tigers or the world's oldest book printed with metal type. In a world with thousands of stadiums and gymnasiums there is only one

Kyongbokkung Palace. Officially the festivities began on August 17 with the Gala Opening Arts Festival, even though informal street festivals began at the beginning of August and important ongoing cultural events like the Open-Air Symposium had their genesis in the summer of 1987 when 16 well-known sculptors from 15 countries created sculptures based on the themes of the Olympics and world peace and harmony. That project was resumed in the spring of 1988 as 19 sculptors from 17 nations made their own contributions comprising the second part of the symposium. Finally, athletes and team members participating in the Games will each add a stone from their own country to form a massive sculpture which will remain as a lasting reminder of the Seoul Olympics. Compared to all the other activities which are almost all one-shot events, the International Open-Air Sculpture Symposium will leave the most concrete and clear legacy. As long as the sculpture park and the

sculptors within it remain, people will always remember the 1988 Seoul Olympics, and the special significance of the cultural events which accompany the Games will never be forgotten. From August 23 at 11:00 a.m. until September 17 the Olympic Torch will be making its way from Olympia to Seoul. After its landing on Korea's southernmost island of Chejudo the Torch will travel through every province of South Korea feted by the representative folk arts of each city and province in addition to the special appearances by folk dance troupes from 12 .countries from Poland to Saudi Arabia .. One of the most rewarding aspects of the Torch Relay is that it involves a great number of people who otherwise would not be able to participate directly in the Olympic festivities and it brings foreign folk artists to the less visited provincial areas of Korea . One of the most ambitious events planned for the musical portion of the arts program is the premiere of the opera The Wedding created especially for the Seoul Olympics by the renowned Italian-American composer GianCarlo Menotti. This opera was inspired by a play called A Happy Event for the House of Maeng written by O Yong-jin, which in turn was adapted as a musical called The Wedding by Korean composers. While Menotti was aware that the work had already been adapted as a musical he felt the subject matter was best suited to his purposes and so he put his heart and soul into composing his own opera on that theme. From September 10 to October 5 the banks of the Han River, Seoul's lifeline, will be brimming with life as people from all over the world gather to enjoy rock concerts, parades, circus performances, a fashion show, arts and crafts displays and folk entertainment from a variety of countries. One highlight of the Festival is sure to be the food stands serving indigenous dishes from Korea's eight provinces as well as booths offering an assortment of folk art items. There 8

will also be exhibitions of traditional Korean clothing, a photo exhibition based on an Olympic theme, and an outdoor theater set aside to show the folk customs and different forms of entertainment of Korea and of some of her overseas neighbors. Street festivajs are planned for Chongno and Ulchiro, Seoul's main downtown streets, from August 20 to October 5. Royal processions, costume parades, brass bands and road carnivals will make up the festival. On Taehangno, or University Street (so named because Seoul National University used to be located there until it moved to the suburbs in 1975), roadside galleries in which visitors can view and buy art objects produced on the spot will be set up, adding to the cosmopolitan feel of the neighborhood. The athletes and officials cannot be left out of the cultural side of the 1988 Olympic Village from September 1 through October 2. The programs are aimed at providing both athletes and officials from the participating countries with some much needed leisure and recreation as well as an opportunity to get a closer look at their host's culture and art. The program will include movies, concerts, Korean folk plays, and games, as well as exhibitions. Korea's traditional music and dance will be presented in a variety of settings during the sixweek period from September 1 to October 5. These programs will be held at the National Classical Music Institute, Pongunsa Temple, and the Chongmyo Shrine under the joint sponsorship of the National Classical Music Institute and the Korean Broadcasting System. Some of Korea's top artists in the traditional folk arts field, including many recognized as "living cultural treasures," will contribute to this important part of the Seoul Olympic Arts Festival. Designation as a "living cultural treasure" not only serves to recognize a particular individual for his or her artistry, but also ensures that music, dance or craft

will be carefully preserved and transmitted faithfully to the following generations. For the viewers the announcement that a "living cultural treasure" will perform is an absolute assurance that a most unique evening of high quality entertainment is in store. Within the Korean performing arts tradition the folk music and dance is naturally best enjoyed outside. For that reason the Seoul Nori Madang was constructed adjacent to a lake on the southeastern outskirts of Seoul. The shape of the madang (which means yard or court) is circular. Traditional folk plays were presented in the round and the robust narrative singing, p'ansori, and farmers' band music was fully appreciated with only natural acoustics. Another distinctive characteristic is that the Âˇ performance involves the audience as well as the performers in raucous interplay that is integrated into the structure of the performance. Moving from the Korean to the 10

international, the Seoul International Folklore Festival at the Seoul Olympic Arts Festival will be all that the festival concept denotes; from the creation of an atmosphere suitable for merrymaking, pure and simple, to an important opportunity to extend the boundaries of international friendship and goodwill. Approximately 400 individuals from 12 countries will be participating including Asuka Hoo Gapan), Lous Pastous (France), La Linguere (Senegal) and the Brigham Young University American Folk Dance Ensemble. Another opportunity for contact with various types of dance, each with its own distinct national character, will be at the .Seoul International Dance Festival (August 21 to September 30). Five foreign companies will attend: the Ballet Espanol de Maria Rosa of Spain, the London Contemporary Dance Theater and the Washington Ballet Company. A strong selection of Korea's most talented modern and classical companies will also participate

focusing on Korean subjects, Korean culture, and cultural identity. The dramatic possibilities during the athletic events at the 24th Olympiad in Seoul are almost limitless and the Seoul International Theatre Festival (August 16-0ctober 2) promises to be no less interesting. For the Arts Festival a total of six non-Korean theater groups from six countries will be joined by thirteen Korean groups for a total of nineteen troupes from seven countries. The Grupo de Teatro Macunaima will open the Festival with Xica da Silva , the story of an ex-slave who had an illusory empire built for her in Brazil during the period of Brazil's colonization. Pakkoji will be presented Âˇby the An yang Arts Theatre. The play seeks to show the longing for a distant home by those who exist on the fringes of Seoul struggling to earn a living. From Czechoslovakia Prague's Cvoci bring to Seoul superb technique as well as poignant wit in Crash. From Poland the Gardzienice theater group will

present a brooding, psychological work entitled A wakum, adapted from a 17th century Russian novel. One of Korea's most thought provoking dramas in recent years was Theatre Cecil's Bui Ga Bui Ga presented again for Olympic audiences. The classic tragedy Oedipus Rex will be presented by the National Theater of Greece directed by G. Michailidis. Theater Group Ja-Yu's treatment of Blood Wedding and Yo In Theater's production of Fire in the Valley provide a basis of comparison for Korean theater's handling of the former, a foreign work and the latter a Korean product. The Societe des Comedie Francaise will grace the Olympic Arts Festival with its production of Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, followed by Japanese Kabuki. The drama festival will be rounded out by En Attendant Godot, Hide and Seek, Palgok Pyongpung and the Island of Maternal Bosom, all productions by Korean theater groups. There will also be several musicals, Story of Chun-Hyang, presented by the members of the National Changguk Company, Arirang, Arirang presented by the 88 Seoul Art Troupe, and MBC's Madang Nori The Story of Sim Ch'ung. The 450-member La Scala Opera House of Milan made its Korean debut at Seoul's Sejong Cultural Center August 16. Korean musicians who gained fame in Europe and the United States in the 1970s such as Chung Kyung-wha, Kim Young-uck and Cho Young-chang will return to perform during the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Violinist Kim Younguck will be joined by his friends, pianists lmanuel Ex and cellist Yoyoma for a concert by the socalled Ex-Kim-Ma trio at the Seoul Arts Center. Some of the world's top pop singers will gather in Seoul for the International Song Festival prior to the Olympic Games. The scheduled performers include: Mireille Mathieu (France) Iva Janicch (Italy) and Laura Branigan and Irene Cara (United States). The World Choral Festival will be held at the Seoul Arts Center including the St. Olaf 12

Choir (United States) and the Elm mer Iseler Singers (Canada). The Korean Film Week Festival is scheduled for September 12 to 23 at the Daehan Movie Theater. Ten of Korea's finest feature films as well as ten cultural and scientific movies will be shown. August 17 signaled the beginning of numerous exhibitions which will run through October. The National Museum of Korea is holding the Korean Aesthetics Exhibition featuring approximately 300 Korean costumes and accessories from the Choson period. Included in this comprehensive display are the traditional garments of both royalty and nobility as well as embroidery, headwear and hair ornaments, belts, pendants, shoes, fans and walking sticks. A stroll through the Tigers in Korean Folk Art exhibition at the Korean National Folklore Museum is sure to prove why the tiger was chosen as the official mascot of the Seoul Olympic Games. Tiger designs will grace all of the 150 paintings, ceramic works, wood carvings, embroidered items and other artifacts on display at the 50-day show. An exhibition of pottery and metal artifacts from the Kaya Kingdom, an exhibition of relics from the site of Hwangnyongsa Temple and a special exhibition of Paekche roof tiles as well as the Citizen's Cultural Legacy Exhibition (150 items on loan from Seoul's citizens), an exhibition of Korean traditional handicrafts, 200 Years of Korean Costume, an exhibition of Korean traditional embroidery and ornamental knots and 5000 Years of Korea's Culinary Arts will round out the introduction to Korea's cultural legacy. Artists from eight countries including Korea, the United States, and Japan will contribute a total of 169 ceramic works to the EastWest Comtemporary Ceramics Exhibition to be held September 9 through October 9. A representative group of Korean artists have been invited to submit paintings, sculptures and handicraft works to the Exhibition of Korean Contemporary Art. This 14

Nallonal Museum of contemporary Art

exhibition is aimed at providing a comprehensive overview of Korean art in the post-liberation period. The World Children's Art Exhibition sponsored by the Seoul Olympic Organizing Committee (SLOOC) will display 330 prizewinning entries as well as 300 works recommended specially by the International Olympic Committee. The International Exhibition of Olympic & Sports Philately-OLYMPHILEX '88will be open to philatelists from around the world, regardless of their nationality featuring about 1,200 frames. This exhibition promises to be the biggest philatelic event with a sports theme ever staged in the world. The Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) is sponsoring an exhibition of paintings with the theme of Sports Through Artist's Eyes at the Korea Exhibition Center. Finally the Olympic Main Stadium Exhibition Site will be the location for an exhibition of photographs portraying Korea's unique cultural heritage, rich physical beauty and traditional folk culture from September 17 to October 30. Picturesque Views of Seoul will highlight the capital city as commercial, educational, and cultural hub since it was so designated by King T' aejo who founded the Choson Kingdom in the late 14th century. +

'oegye is the pen name of Yi Hwang (1501-70), who perfected the Neo-Confucian theories which were introduced to Korea from China in the latter part of the Kory6 Kingdom (918-1392). He was born in 1501, the seventh year of the reign of Y6nsan-gun (r. 1494-1506), in On-gye-ri, Tosan-my6n, Andong-gun, Ky6ngsangbuk-do Province. He was the youngest in a family of seven boys and one girl. His father died when he was only seven months old and he was raised by his mother who was very poor. He passed the preliminary provincial civil service examination with top honors at the age of 33 and continued his academic pursuits until his death at 70, even while holding a number of goverment positions. He is credited with the establishment of a system of thought widely known as T'oegyeism.

Yi Hwang is credited with the establishment of a system of thought widely known as T'oegyeism.

T'oegyeism recognizes the relationship among people as essentially interlocked and mutually dependent and sees the individual not as a separate entity but as an inseparable part of the whole. In T'oegyeism, therefore, one is able to overcome all the difficulties arising from one's limitations and relativeness and to love one's fellow man as much as oneself. One of the most important tasks of philosophy is to develop theories by which man can successfully overcome the difficulties and problems of everyday life. It is not a philosophical attitude, for example, for a man to commit suicide or become incapable of leading a normal life because his love for a woman is not requited. A philosophical attitude would be to overcome the misfortune by asking such questions as "What is love?" "Why do I love her?" and "Is there really any reason for loving her?" and thus realizing that love is but one phase of life. The gravest personal shock in life is one's own death and, for society, its own destruction caused by the struggle resulting from complaints and discontent growing out of a lack of fairness and the excessive competitive pursuit of profits. If we can solve these two problems of life, all other problems would be easily taken care of. T'oegye attempted to find a solution to the two most difficult problems of life. T'oegyeism seeks a systematic and logical way to overcome the fear of death as did Chu Hsi's Neo-Confucianism. For example, Yi Hwang said that whereas ordinary people are apt to give up their studies when they hear of the death of a friend and become depressed by the cruelty of time, Chu Hsi studied even harder. This can be understood as a system of . logic by which to overcome the fear of death because sorrow at the death of another must remind one of the sad fact that one, too, is fated to die. If we consider that how to overcome the fear of death is an important objective of learning, then the perfection of learning would bring the greatest 19

ChOn-gyodang lecture hall. In 1575 King SOnjo donated a hanging signboard to the Tosan Sowon written by Han Ho, the greatest calligrapher of that time.

joy. T'oegye, in fact, said that learning is the greatest joy in life. T'oegyeism teaches that the body cannot be equated with our spiritual essence. As a matter of fact, the body has grown from a tiny being endowed by its parents and fed on various nutritional foods. If we could take away from our body what has been given or formed by others, nothing would be left. Yi Hwang seeks the essential being of man not in the body but in the mind, which he calls the master of the body. 20

There are two minds: the constant mind and the changeable mind. The constant mind works the same regardless of time sequences, past, present or future. One example of the constant mind is the wish to see one's parents, and an example of the changeable mind is the desire to have a cup of coffee. The constant mind is shared by all men. In other words, the constant mind is identical with everyone else's constant mind. T'oegye meant the same thing when he pointed out that a man's mind is

the mind of the world and my mind is the mind of ten million people. A life dictated to by the changeable mind will be meaningless and a life dictated to by the constant mind will experience no regret and will transcend personal desires and overcome personal relativity and restrictions. Therefore, if one's life is led by the constant mind, fear of death can be easily overcome. T'oegye's life was a succession of introspections to see if he was led

Tosan Shisandan in Tosan sowon T'oegyeism teaches that the body cannot be equated with spiritual essence.

by the constant mind. What is the teaching of T'oegyeism regarding the problem of struggle and conflict in daily life? Yi Hwang once said: "Because I and my fellow human beings share the same spiritual essence, if I keep expanding my constant mind and reducing my changeable mind until I and my fellow men are integrated Âˇinto one being, I will feel pain as if it were inflicted upon myself whenever somebody else feels pain. " If we can find the spiritual essence shared by all people, as T'oegye taught, and love others as dearly as ourselves, all conflict would vanish. However, in real life, where competition is institutionalized, what can we do? Suppose a friend and I take an examination for a scholarship. T'oegye's logic for this situation would go as follows: If I concede to my friend, I would be sacrificing myself, and if I asked him to give up the scholarship, I would be sacrificing my friend. Both would not be appropriate solutions. The only way out, therefore, is to compete fairly to 22

win the scholarship . And, if I win the scholarship and if my joy over the success could be instantly turned into sorrow of the same intensity because of my friend's failure and if my sadness could be felt by my friend, any possible conflict would be minimized in a rational manner and there would be harmony. Yi Hwang's thought is contained in his major writings which include Chasong nok (Introspections), Chuja-so choryo (A Summary of the Writings of Chu Hsi), Song gye Won Myong Ihak t'ongnok (A Survey of NeoConfucian Theories of the Sung, Yuan and Ming) ,Shimgyong huron (Commentary on Maha prajnaparamita-hrdaya Sutra), Kyemong chomli (An Introduction to the Science of Divination), S6nghak shipto (An Illustrated Introduction to Confucianism), Hwarin shimbang (A Manual for Health), Samgyong sogiii (Annotations on the Three Classics) and Saso sogiii (Annotations on the Four Books). Yi Hwang educated more than

300 disciples who included Yu Song-nyong (1542-1607), Kim Song-il (1538-93), Cho Mok (1542-1607) , Yi Tok-hong (1541-94), Kwon Ho-mun (1532-87) and Chong Ku (1543-1620) . The T'oegye school has continued to exert an influence and few Korean Confucian scholars have been free of it. T'oegyeism was introduced both to China and Japan. In Japan it left such a deep impact that it may be safely said that it virtually started Confucian studies in that country. Kang Hang (1567-1618), a scholar in T' oegyeism who was taken to Japan as a prisoner of war, was the mentor of Seika Fujihara (1561-1619) who founded modern Japanese Confucianism. T'oegyeism continued to exert an influence on Japanese Confucianism down to the Meiji Restoration through such Japanese scholars as Razan Hayashi (1583-1657) and Ansai Yamazaki (1618-82) and greatly contributed to the development of Japanese culture. Liang Chi-chao (1873-1929) of China was so

deeply moved by Yi Hwang's An Illustrated Introduction to Confucianism when it was published in his country that he composed the following poem of praise. You are as lofty as bygone teachers You have shown the way of truth With merely ten paintings You have studied and studied Chu Hsi's teaching to add luster to it You have also added luster to teaching of Yomge All people love and follow your teachings of three hundred years.

There is a growing interest today in T'oegyeism in many countries. Leading foreign scholars of T'oegye thought include Seiichi Uno, professor emeritus of Tokyo University, Takehiko Okada, professor of Kyushu University, Susumu Takahashi, professor of the University of Tsukuba and Hitoshi Sato, professor of Hiroshima University of Japan and Su Wang, professor of University, Jin-Quan Li, professor of Jungsan University, Guan-Jie Xin of the Social Science Academy, XianPang Yang, professor of Inmin University, Lai Chen, professor of Beijing University and Li-wen Chang of the Inmin University of China and E.W. Wagner, professor of Harvard University, Chung-Ying Cheng, professor of the University of Hawaii of the United States and Raina OgarekCzoj, professor of Warsaw University, Helga Picht, professor of Humboldt University and Vladimir Pucek, professor of Charles University of Prague in Europe. Yi Hwang educated his students in Tosan Sowon, an academy in Tosan-myon, Andong-gun, Kyongsangbuk-do Province. It is surrounded by mountains, which he compared to a folding screen, and faces a lake created by the Andong Dam. The main buildings of the academy are the lecture hall where T'oegye personally taught and a shrine dedicated to him.

A display in the memorial hall at Tosan Sowon.

Besides these, there are several other buildings. Entering the outer gate one sees on the right Tosan Sodang Study, which was Yi Hwang's study, where he taught at times, and on the left Nongunjongsa, which was a student dormitory. Yongnakchae Study near Nong-unjongsa was donated by Chong Sa-song's father when Sa-song was admitted to Tosan Sowon Academy. Passing by Nong-onjongsa and on past several plum trees and climbing a few stairs, will take you to Chindomun, the main gate of the academy. To either side of the gate is Kwangmyongshil Library. Beyond the gate, two main dormitories, Pakyakchae and Hong-uijae, stand facing each other. Passing through them, one climbs up a flight of stairs to Chon-gyodang Hall, the main building of the academy. To the east of Chon-gyodang is Changp' an-gak where books by T'oegye and other scholars and woodblocks of T'oegye's calligraphic works are stored. Sangdoksa Shrine where T'oegye's spirit tablet is enshrined is behind Chon-gyodang Hall. By the west wall of Chon-gyodang is Ch6nsach'6ng where offerings for memorial services are prepared.

The storage for the wine and ceremonial paraphernalia is reached through a small gate at the end of the west yard of Chongyodang. Okchin-gak in which Yi Hwang's relics are displayed was built in 1970. Yi Hwang began to build Tosan Sowon in March 1557, the 12th year of the reign of King Myongjong (r.1545-67) and Tosan Sodang Study and Nong-unjongsa were completed in November 1560, when T'oegye was 60 years old. The rest of the buildings was completed in 1573, the seventh year of the reign of King Sonjo (r.1567-1608),five years after Yi's death. King Sonjo awarded the royal signboard. From its founding until the end of the Choson period, Tosan Sowon was the center of the T'oegye School of Thought. In Tosan Sowon memorial services are held twice a year in the second and eighth lunar months and incense is burned in honor of T'oegye on the first and 15th days of every month.+ *The writer is a professor at Sung Kyun Kwan University.

LITERATURE

THE SHUO TRADITION By Kevin O'Rourke

n the English tradition the concept of professional poet in the modern sense of the term probably began with Alexander Pope when he succeeded in becoming a comparatively wealthy man through the royalties accruing from his translations of Homer. The idea of professional poet was never part of the Korean tradition. The shijo poets of old Korea were, for the most part, refined and cultivated gentlemen, who savored the delights of composition in order to pass leisurely, convivial hours in the company of their friends . The composition of shijo was a yangban (nobleman) accomplishment, at least until the eighteenth century when under the influence of Sirhak (Practical Learning), a new generation of nonyangban singers like Kim Su-jang and a host of anonymous singers came to the fore. At any rate, shijo were song;. They were meant to be sung rather than recited. This gives them a particular quality. They are light, very often almost conversational, and always personal. The language is simple, direct, devoid of elaboration or ornamentation. The shijo poet gives a firsthand account of his own personal experience of life and emotion-the rise and fall of dynasties, loyalty to the king, love and parting, the pleasures of wine, the beauty and transience of human existence, the inexorable advance of old age, etc. The first use of the term shijo occurs in a record written by Shin Kwang-su(l 712-1775) which states

that the shijo ch'ang (song) began with Yi Se-ch'un, a well known contemporary singer. This reference is to the music rather than to the lyric and the term itself seems to be a shortened version of shijolgajo, meaning popular seasonal songs. The term shijo, as used today, came into use early in the twentieth century in order to distinguish the traditional verse form from the flood of new poetry, free verse, etc., which had begun to sweep the literary stage from the West. Prior to that time, terms like tan-ga, shinbo,1, and changdan-ga had been in use. Scholars still debate the origin of the shijo form . Theories abound: a development of Shilla hyangga or of Buddhist songs imported from Ming China, a form that developed naturally in the course of translating Chinese poems into Korean, a development of the Koryo tan-ga, or a form that goes back to the shamanistic chants of antiquity. The difficulty of unravelling the history of the shijo is compounded by the fact that hangiil was not invented until 1446, so that shijo written prior to this date were either recorded originally in ÂˇChinese and only later on translated or retranslated into Korean, or recorded orally from the beginning. The problem is further compounded by the fact that the first of the great anthologies, Ch'6nggu yang-cm, was not published until 1728, and texts of individual poets such as Chong Ch'ol are contained in posthumous collections of their writings, many of them produced long after the death of the

poet. The shijo is a three-line poem, fourteen to sixteen syllables in each line, distributed through four distinct breath groups, the total number of syllables not being more than fortyfive . This is the regular or ordinary shijo, called pyong shijo. There are two variations of the basic form: the 6t shijo, in which the first or the second line may be somewhat extended; and the sasol shijo, in which all three lines may be extended, the first two lines without restriction, and the third line within certain limits. The number of extra syllables shows considerable variety. In discussing the mode of the shijo, the word "section" is substituted for "line" in order to avoid the obvious confusion that occurs when a three-line poem is translated into a six-line (or more) format. The first section of a shijo poem presents an image, more often than not in the form of a general statement: In this world medicine is plentiful and sharp knives abound, they say.

or, a second example: Ride a horse through a field of flowers and the scent lingers on the hoof.

Normally, no context is given for this general statement, although this will not hold true as a general norm. When some context is provided or hinted at, the amount of actual detail given obviously varies from poem to poem:

My horse is neighing for the road, but my love won't let me go.

Obviously, two people are involved, the man who feels it is time to go and his lady love who does not want him to go. Sometimes, context is hinted through implication rather than through direct statement: Look at that girl in blouse and patterned skirt, Âˇ her face prettily powdered her hair as yet unpinned.

The general reader immediately realizes that the girl is pretty, that her face is painted, and that she is unmarried (unpinned hair). However, the general reader may not be aware of the implications of "patterned skirt." Korean ladies might wear patterned blouses but not patterned skirts. To wear a patterned skirt was unseemly, something a girl from a good family would not do. Thus, the first section of this poem points at the girl's moral attitude and notes that it leaves something to be desired. The second section of a shijo poem develops the first image. This development can occur in a number

of ways. Firstly, it can occur by providing a context where none has been given: In this world medicine is plentiful and sharp knives abound, they say, but there's no knife to cut off affection, no medicine to forget true love.

Secondly, development can be achieved by introducing a new image: Ride a horse through a field of flowers and the scent lingers on the hoof. Enter a spring-wine tavern and the smell of undrunk wine sticks fast

The two images are always related, that is, they are similar in kind. In poems structured after this pattern, context is usually only hinted at, a full statement being reserved till the final section. Thirdly, development can occur by providing more detail on a particular context: My horse is neighing for the road, but my love won't let me go . The sun is crossing the mountain, and I've a thousand Ji to go.

Additional information is given on the time of day and the length of the

journey facing the speaker. In the second example, Look at that girl in blouse and patterned skirt, her face prettily powdered,her hair as yet unpinned. Yesterday she deceived me and now she's off to deceive another.

Suspicions aroused by the use of the word '.'patterned" are proved correct in the second section. This poem is exceptional in terms of full statement of context given at this stage of the development of the imagery. The final section of a shijo poem is a fusion of image and idea, the catalyst in the fusion very often being a light form of irony, resulting in the presentation of some concrete aspect of the poet's experience. Thus, it is evident that the shijo is really an amalgamation of wit and sensibility, and when one stresses sensibility to the exclusion of wit, something which is absolutely integral to the form has been lost. Some commentators have pointed out that shijo in translation sometimes appear inconclusive. This is quite true. There are two basic reasons why this happens: either the

translation is poor and the translator has not seen all the ironic levels of meaning, or the original poem is not a very good example of the genre. To say that shijo appear inconclusive because they are not witty is to totally misread the facts. Wit is absolutely integral. Indeed it is the fusion of image and idea through wit, most often an ironical wit, that gives theshijo its unique flavor. This is evident in the four poems under discussion. Take the first poem: In this world medicine is plentiful and sharp knives abound, they say, but there's no knife to cut off affection, no medicine to forget true love. So be it. I'll leave my cutting and forgetting till I go to the other world.

Image and idea are fused in an ironical statement which only becomes clear when one remembers that the traditional Confucian gentleman was not noted for his profound belief in the existence of an afterworld. Now the second poem: Ride a horse through a field of flowers and the scent lingers on the hoof. Enter a spring-wine tavern and the smell of undrunk wine sticks fast . All wf3 did was catch each other's eye; whey then all the lies?

The first and second sections only hint at the context of this poem, the full statement of context being withheld until the final section. The speaker comments on the social mores governing the boy-girl relationships in the society of the time and also on the universal tendency of people Âˇeverywhere to engage in gossip. The irony in the poem consists in the fact that the boy and the girl are obviously attracted to each other, indicating that after all there is some fire causing all that smoke. The third poem reads: My horse is neighing for the road, but my love won't let me go. The sun is crossing the mountain and I've a thousand Ji to go . Don't stop me, love; stop the setting sun.

Again, the modus operandi of the poem is a witty ironical comment which serves to unite the imagery in the first two sections. The irony consists in the speaker's knowingly futile attempt to turn a beautiful moment into an eternal moment. At no time is there hint that the speaker has lost

his awareness of reality. In fact, the poem is a laughing comment on the futility of opposing time and fate. Finally: Look at that girl in blouse and patterned skirt, her face prettily powdered , her hair as yet unpinned. Yesterday she deceived me and now she's off to deceive another, 'Fresh cut flowers held firmly in her hand, hips swinging lightly as the sun goes down.

This poem, as already pointed out, is unusual in that the full statement of context is given in the second section. The final section gives the girl's attitude to society in addition to the poet's attitude to the girl. The poet, in spite of his own moral disapproval and his disappointed rueful feelings -this in itself is an irony-cannot hide a grudging admiration for the girl's beauty and her devil-may-care attitude to society at large. It is this complication of experience which gives the poem its attraction. Some English language commentators on the shijo form have been at pains to point out parallels between shijo and the tradition of English poetry. Such parallels are at best irrelevant; at worst they can be very mischievous. An example that comes to mind is using Gerald Manley Hopkins'Âˇ sprung rhythm to explain the rhythm of shijo. To anyone familiar with the Korean language, sprung rhythm as applied to Korean is quite meaningless; the Korean language does not function in this way at all. However, what is truly mischievous about such a parallel is not the truth or untruth of the original statement. The problem lies in the unwitting associations that may arise from enunciating such a parallel. In the present case, the mere mention of Hopkins' name immediately brings associations of a textual density and elaboration that are quite foreign to the shijo form. "Sheer plod makes plough down sillion shine" is light years away from the shijo mode. The basic mode of the shijo is simplicity. In this it resembles all traditional Korean art forms, where the emphasis is not on decoration and elaboration but on simplicity and beauty of execution. There is something in the Korean sensibility which dislikes all unnecessary elaboration and decora-

tion. This is fully reflected in the shijo, which relies very heavily on simple images to achieve its effects. Examples abound: Iced rice water when merry with wine; taking my lover in my arms again when he's about to leave at dawn. What if someone else should discover these two great pleausres in life?

This is an intriguing poem . The sentiment expressed in the first section is something one would expect only a man to say.The sentiment in the second section seems to be spoken by a woman. Admittedly, the original text does not make this clear, but from other parallel situations in which it is invariably the man who leaves at dawn, it seems best to regard the speaker as a woman. If this is so, then the final section would seem to be spoken by both in concert. Of course, when this sijo was sung, presumably it was performed by one singer. The imagery in the poem is very effective. It is simple, direct, compressed, and it achieves its effect chiefly by contrast. The contrast exists not only at the level of different speakers for the different sections, but more importantly between the exquisite coolness of the iced rice water and the heat of passionate love. The poem is pared down to the barest essentials. There is no elaboration, no decoration; it is as if the poet were almost at pains to avoid indirection. The conclusion effectively fuses image and idea through what is really a cliche. Everyone is aware of these great pleasures in life, but many people in their search for sophisticated pleasures tend to ignore the truly simple and beautiful. Obviously the mode here is once again that of ironical wit. The following Chong Ch' 61 poem is another example of the simplicity, directness and compression of shijo imagery: A shadow is reflected in the water; a monk is crossing the bridge. Monk, stay a moment; let me ask you where you're going? Po.inting his stick at the clouds, he passes without a backwoard glance.

A shadow - a monk crossing the bridge - the speaker asks a question - the monk answers with a gesture. On the surface the poem is simplicity itself, but in reality the ex-

perience is complex. The disparate experience of two men, a monk dedicated to attaining elightenment, and a speaker represented as indolent but ready to consider truth, is fused into something which in terms of meaning continues long past the last line of the poem . This is the expression of a personal revellation for the speaker. Ultimately the focus is on the speaker rather than on the monk. It is the speaker who is brought face to face with grinding truth; the monk presumably knows all along where life's path is leading him . Take another example: How could the heart that loved the flower know that one day it would fall , or that love so sweet in candlelight would end in parting? Why is nature so unchanging, while the human heart keeps changing day by day?

Again, the imagery is simple-a flower-the flower falls-lovecandlelight-parting, and the description is absolutely direct. The poem achieves its effect through contrast, or perhaps contradiction would be a better description. In the first

section the speaker refuses to acknowledge process as a part of nature, while in the final section he describes nature as unchanging, the reference being, of course, to seasonal renewal-a favourite shijo themewhich gives nature the appearance of being unchanging. Thus, the irony of the poem becomes apparent. The mode of shijo is so simple and direct that a cursory reading might leave the reader with the impression that there is very little metaphorical language in the form. This would be a misreading. There is plenty of metaphor in shijo, but its appearance can at times be subtle and may require a little digging. The type of metaphor where two objects are explicitly compared is rather rare in shijo: Perhaps I am a magnet and young girls are unthreaded needles. Sit down and they cling to me; stand up and they follow. Lie down and they stick to me; bounce up and they don't fall off. Husbands and wives in marital disharmony,

of magnet and needle compound a broth and drink it twice a day.

The terms of the comparison in this Kim Su-jang poem are perfectly clear; the magnet represents the male, the needles represent unmarried girls, and the force of 'unthreaded' should be quite clear. The second section develops the metaphor in terms of magnet and metal, while the final section employs a conceit to point the witty and ironical conclusion, a broth to creat harmony from discord. The discord is literally that which occurs when the komun'go and pip'a, two kinds of Korean lute, are not in tune. This type of metaphor explicitly identifying the two terms of the comparison is comparatively rare in shijo.One finds, very often, that only one term of the metaphor is explicitly identified. This is particularly true in the earlier shijo: White heron , do not go where crows squabble. Angry crows resent your whiteness .

I fear your body, washed clean in clear water, may be sullied.

This song was supposedly sung by Chong Mong-ju's mother, warning her son against the dangers of Yi Song-gye's faction. General Yi S6nggye was the first king of the Chason dynasty and Chong Mong-ju bitterly opposed the setting up of the new dynasty. When the reader knows the background of the poem , the white heron is obviously Chong Mong-ju and the crows are the partisans of Yi S6ng-gye. Take another example: White heron , do not mock the crow for being black. Though black outside is he black inside, too ? White outside, black inside, isn't that really you?

Commentators note that this poem reflects the pangs of conscience felt by Yi Chik for supporting the newly emergent Chason dynasty. Against this background it becomes obvious that the white heron is a metaphor for the poet himself. In both of these poems, the white heron also has symbolic connotations. The question of symbolism will be treated later. The shijo also employs more subtle forms of metaphor, such as implied metaphor: Candle, burning within th e room, from someone lately parted. why are you unaware that inside you burn while outside you shed tears? Candle, yo u are like me, you don't know your heart is burning up.

The word 'tears' in this Yi Kae poem is an implied metaphor in that the candle is likened to a person. Another form of metaphor found in the shijo is the conceit: Parting turns to fire; it burns my innards up . Tears become rains; perhaps they'll quench that fire. But sighs become the wind; will the fire live or die?

The development of the metaphor in this poem is on a cause-effect basis. Parting begets fire in the poet's heart; the pain of burning causes tears which in turn become floods of rain, calculated whimsically as a possible way to put out the fire. However, tears are followed by sighs which subsequently become the wind and the poem ends with the dramatic 'will the fire live or die?' The choice

of imagery has obvious connotations. Fire, rain, and wind are among the most frightening images in nature, but the presumption is that just as fire, rain, and wind in nature run their course so also the sorrow of parting will run its course. However, the speaker in the poem is at the moment inconsolable and with poetic licence has lost touch with reality. There are a good many examples of shijowhichdevelop a conceit on similar lines to this poem. They are always whimsical and humorous but somehow seem to fall short of the standards of the best shijo writing. However, there are some more deft examples of using the conceit for good poetic effect: I'll cut a piece out of this interminable winter night and wind it in coils beneath these bedcovers , warm and fragrant as the spring breeze, coil by coil to unwind it the night my lover returns .

The effect of this Hwang Chin-i poem is extremely subtle. Winter night is seen as unending, but the coils which are to be cut from it are also seen as unending. The metaphor is paradoxical and ironical, a section cut from interminable winter night so long that it becomes synonymous with unending joy. As so often in the bestshijo,contrast and irony combine to reveal a refined sensibility and a developed sense of wit.This is the shijo at its best, simple, direct, refined, witty. In shijo poetry,metaphor and symbol are very often combined, making it difficult to define the bound between the two. The difficulty is compounded by the fact that traditional commentators were quick to assign allegorical meanings to metaphors which otherwise might be taken as symbols. This occurs, for example, when metaphors like 'the great spreading pine', or 'the sun' are taken as applying to historical personalities. this kind of interpretation results in a narrowing of the scope of shijo poetry. At any rate, symbolism in shijo poetry draws heavily on the Chinese tradition. In terms of general background it may be useful to mention the system of Chinese cosmogony which in Korean is known as the theory of ohaeng. In

this system, water, fire, wood, metal, and earth are the five basic elements. Earth and heaven combine to give birth to water in the north, fire in the south, wood in the east, metal in the west, and earth or clay in the centre.This gives rise to the following relationships: north - water, winter, black, hyonmu (mythical animal) south - fire, summer, red, above, red sparrow east - wood, spring, blue, left, white tie,vi west - metal, autumn, white, right, blue dragon. These relationships and associations, though not always applicable to specific poems, form a sort of general background to the consideration of imagery and symbolism in shijo poetry. Another area of useful background information is the Korean (Chinese?) approach to color.Even a cursory examination of shijoreveals a preponderance of green, blue, and white: green pine and bamboo, green waters, blue mountains, white heron, white gull, etc. These colors seem to be associated with ideal man, or man in an ideal state. Also, colors can have symbolic overtones quite familiar to readers of English poetry, for example, moonlight and whiteness go together to give an impression of isolation and loneliness. The question of color is complex and beyond the scope of this essay. Suffice it to say that color very often has symbolic overtones and the reader should be aware of this in interpreting a particular poem. Shijopoetry makes wide use of the conventional symbols of the Chinese tradition. These symbols are usually taken from nature - trees, flowers, and birds being particularly common. Examples of tree symbols would be pine and bamboo, green all the year around, hence representing nobility of spirit, strength in adversity, and moral rectitude. Another example is the willow branch, which is a traditional symbol of parting. Flowers are symbolic of the passing of time, hence transience, the ephemeral, feminine beauty, etc. Particular flowers are associated with particular qualities. A problem occurs here in crossing the double bridge of

Chinese and Korean into English and finding suitable equivalents. For example, the dictionary, or rather some dictionaries, define the maehwa as the Japanese apricot or ume, but it is usually translated into English as plum. Korean commentators note that neither apricot nor plum is strictly accurate.At any rate the Chinese for maehwa is a traditional symbol for nobility of character. However, maehwa should not be confused with ihwa also translated plum, which has associations of changeableness or fickleness. Maehwa blooms in the frost, ihwa blooms in the spring. Ihwa occurs very often in the company of tohwa or peach, which is associated with ephemeralness, feminine beauty, the frivolous, etc. It should also be noted that Korean switches very easily from tree to flower and vice versa and very often it is difficult to know which is meant. The chrysanthemum is usually associated with loyalty and nobility of spirit, but sometimes, too, it is used as a symbol of the transient, as in the lines:

large, are the animals of the gentleman's garden or animals likely to be seen in its environs. The above is just a sample of the conventional symbols which occur frequently. It is by no means exhaustive; the list could continue at some length. However, what gives these symbols their interest is the way in which the Korean poets took them and shaped them to their own purposes, very often using them in an ironical way. For example, the pine tree is very often threatened by hostile forces, the

Like a hen-pheasant chased by a hawk, without tree, rock, or stone for cover Like a sailor on the high seas, a thousand bags of grain aboard, oars lost, sails lost, rigging torn, mast broken, rudder gone, wind blowing, waves breaking, shrouded in fog, day fading fast, ten thousand Ji to go, darkness falling all around, the world a foaming, seething wave, and now suddenly beset by piratesCan this compare with how I felt when parting from my love two days ago?

One touch of autumn frost and it becomes kindling for the fire.

Birds are also very common conventional symbols: the cuckoo symbolising unhappy love, from the legend of the emperor of Shu who fell in love with the wife of one of his ministers and was metamorphosed into a cuckoo after death; the white gull as the friend of the simple man in nature; the magpie as the bearer of good news; the wildgoose as symbolising variously exile, communication between parted loved ones, undying love, etc.; the cock as a traditional symbol of regularity; white herons as symbolising, usually though not always, upright men or honest officials; and the crow as a symbol of a corrupt official. Apart from birds, the only animals to occur regularlyinshijo as conventional symbols are fish and the dog.The dog is a traditional symbol of faithfulness, while the symbolism of fish varies from oppressed people to the bearers (carp) of good news. Horses and cattle occur from time to time, but it is difficult to assign conventional symbolical meanings to them. It is rather surprising that the tiger occurs so rarely inshijo, but perhaps this is explained by the fact that the animals of shijo,by and

delicate in terms of poetic quality. The shijo is a three-line poem controlled by strict syllable count. This gives the poet enough room to introduce an image, develop it, and present a statement on his own experience. But the very form of the poem seems to militate against elaboration, decoration, and indirection. There simply is not room for it. Even when metaphor is used the shijo seems to retain its simplicity and directness. However, it is interesting to note that when the sasol shijo became popular in the eighteenth century a distinct tendency toward elaboration entered the form. Consider, for example, the following poem:

cock and dog very often keep the lover from coming, the black crow is shown as dutiful to parents, the chrysanthemum is seen as kindling for the fire, the gull becomes black and the crow becomes white, the wildgoose keeps the poet awake, the hunter shoots the wildgoose, the fisherman nets the carp, etc.This sort of irony is at the heart of theshijotradition and it goes a long way toward defining the Korean sensibility. These are some of the ways in which metaphorical language is used in the shijo. The careful reader can discover many other uses of metaphor. However, the point at issue is the mode of the shijo, and what has been said so far would seem to bear out the judgement that the basic mode of the shijo is simplicity. This should not be interpreted as meaning that the form is rustic, crude, or in-

However, the elaboration in this poem is effected by the simple expedient of compounding images. There is no question here of textual complexity or density. In fact if the reader's starting point were not the classical shijo he probably would not think in terms of elaboration or complexity in describing this poem. At the same time it must be admitted that the feeling engendered by this poem is quite different to that engendered by the classical form, and one way of accounting for this difference is in terms of elaboration. To read shijo is to live and breathe the history and culture of Korea, to savor a tradition that is still alive and vibrant, with all the simple graces that have distinguished Korean art down through the centuries. Shijo are poems of the heart, without the artificiality and elaborate decoration that confuses rather than clarifies. Shijo are Korean, and they are Korea.+ ' The writer is a professor at Kyunghee University.

ogildo Island must have been inhabited in the Early Iron Age, judging from the dolmen found on the neighboring island of Nohwado. In historical times, however, the island, which is 18.3 kilometers from W ando Island, was not inhabited until 1667 because of a shortage of potable water and frequent attacks by Japanese pirates. At that time, Yun Son-do (1587-1671) and his family decided to live on the island. They built bowers, dug ponds and named their settlement Puyongdong,or Lotus Village. Pogildo belongs to Nohwamyon, Wando-gun, Chollanam-do Province. It is located at latitude 35Â°06' North and longitude 126Â°37' East. It has an area of 32.8 square meters and a population of over 64,000. A local fishing center, Pogildo has 225 fishing boats. It has an elementary school and a Buddhist temple with about 30 believers. Rice, barley and beans are its main crops. It was through pure accident that Yun Son-do, whose pen name was Kosan, came to live on the then uninhabited Pogildo. According to Kosan yugo (Writings of Kosan), upon learning of the invasion of Korea by Ch'ing Chinese troops and the imminent fall of Seoul, Yun raised a group of volunteer fighters and set sail from Haenam at the southwestern tip of Korea, for Kanghwado, an island in the estuary of the Han~ gang River flowing by Seoul, to join the Korean troops to fight against the enemy. Yun and his troops arrived at Kanghwado only to find that the island had already been occupied by the enemy and the Korean king was in Namhansong Fortress south of Seoul, besieged by enemy troops. They decided to return to Haenam to raise more troops and then return to Kanghwado. Upon his return to Haenam, Yun learned that the king had surrendered to the enemy.

Yun Son-do built bowers, dug ponds and named his settlement Puyongdong, or Lotus Village.

Yun cut away rocks on a hillside to make a grotto and named it Tongch'On SOkshil, or the Eastern Heaven Stone Chamber.

Deeply grieved, Yun made up his mind to go to live on a remote island, leaving behind all worldly matters once and for all. His destination was Chejudo Island. After two days of sailing, Yun's ship dropped anchor at Pogildo to rest ~nd take on potable water. The beauty of the island made Yun decide immediately to stay. Yun and his party went inland about 6 kilometers and settled down. That was the beginning of Puyongdong. Yun built Naksojae (Enjoying Book House), Koksudang and Mumindang house and spent his days reading. He inspected all of the island, giving poetic names to its scenic spots. Misan (Beautiful Mountain), Sounbyong (Little Silver Bottle), Oundae (Five Clouds Hill) , Toktungdae (Lonely Light Hill), Sungryongdae (Dragon Rising Hill), Sangch'undae (Spring Enjoying Hill), and Sokshil (Stone Room) are some of the names he gave. Yun divided Puyongdong into areas for strolling, resting and playing. He built pavilions and

halls and dug ponds in each area. He constructed his residence, Naksoj ae, on the northern foothill of Kyokchabong Mountain. He named the valley to its east Nangumgye (Ravine of Merry Sounds) and, tidying up the area, made it a rest area. He cut away rocks on the hillside l kilometer from the area to make a grotto which he named Tongch'on Sokshil (Eastern Heaven Stone Chamber). He dammed up a stream flowing in front of the village and built a square pond. He built a square island in the pond and a pavilion called Seyonjong beside the pond. Shall we take a closer look at these three areas? The first area has the Naksojae, Nang-umgye, Mumindang and Koksudang houses, which are located on two sides of the valley. A rocky cliff like a folding screen is behind Naksojae and a tortoise;;haped rock is in front of the house. Yun would often come out to this area adjacent to his living quarters to while away the time, viewing lotus blossoms in the pond

from Mumindang house in summer. He would also go to Koksudang to listen to the flowing of the stream and to compose poems. In his poem entitled "Naksojae," Yun said that although he rested his eyes on the blue mountains and his ears on the kayagiim (12-string zither) to get away from everything, he secretly yearned for somebody who would appreciate his magnanimous spirit. The second area includes Tongch'on Sokshil, which is about l kilometer from Naksojae. There is a triangular pond with lotus between the rocky cliffs and an underground stone chamber 4.5 meters long and 4.1 meters wide at a depth of 1.5 meters, which is reached by a flight of ten 60-centimeter stone steps. Except for a semi-artificial pond, the stone stairs and a small house built on the rock, this area was left in its natural state. Yun apparently was totally absorbed in the fairyland-like atmosphere of the place. He spent his time looking at Kyokchabong Mountain to the

south and Naksojae and .Nangumgye to the north on summer days, forgetting all worldly affairs. Yun paid great attention to the third area around Seyonjong. He built a dike across a stream in the Naksojae valley and built an artificial pond. To the northeast side of the pond, he built single and double-tiered square steps with rocks. The stone dike is 11 meters long, 2 meters wide and 1.2 meters high and serves as a walkway. Small and large rocks are in the dam and manmade steps are on its north side. Yun enjoyed boating on the pond. The pond is the highlight of the Seyonjong area. From the pavilion one can enjoy a view of the pond. Or take a walk around the pond or row a boat on it. Yun lived in Naksojae. He would get up as soon as the rooster crowed, have a cup of Kyong-okchu wine and teach his sons. After breakfast he would go to Hoesundae or Sokshil in a fourwheeled carriage and spend hours there, listening to kayagum and flute music. At times, he would go to Nang-umgye carrying a bamboo staff and would sing songs. When the weather was fine, he would go as far as Seyonjong. Whenever he visited Seyonjong, he would have his servants prepare a sufficient amount of liquor and snacks for the day. He would have the others ride on ox carts but he would follow on foot. He would take a rest at Chongsong-am behind Koksudae on his way to Seyonjong. At Seyonjong he would have his children stand by him and have beautiful girls line up by the pond. He would board a small boat from which he enjoyed seeing his children and the girls reflected in the pond. He would recite his own poems, such as Fog clears on the sea And the sunlight falls on mountains behind me Set sail, set sail. Morning tide is washing out evening tide Flowers of the fishing village are even more beautiful when viewed from afar.

It is getting warm and fish jump up above the sea Raise the sail, raise the sail. Gulls hover in pairs or groups of three I am holding the fishing rod in two hands See if a bottle of wine is aboard.

He would have two groups of dancers dance or a single dancer in long sleeves perform on W angsuam Rock as he loved to watch the dancing reflected in the water. He would return home at dusk. His life on Pogildo followed this daily pattern. Not all of Yun's time on Pogildo, which was most of his years between age 51 when he arrived at the island and 85 when he died, was spent in the manner described above. He had trees planted along the seashore to serve as a windbreak and had a 400-meter dike built in Kulp'o-ri, Imhoe-myon, Chindo-gun County to reclaim about 490 acres of land for the impoverished farmers of the nearby islands. He also had a dike constructed to reclaim land in Sokchung-ri, Nohwa-myon. Wando-gun County. Yun was a man of sonbi (scholar) spirit. When he was a student at Songgyun-gwan (National Confucian University), Yi Yi-ch'om and his clique were in power under Kwanghae-gun who misruled the country. As few dared to criticize Yi, Yun made up his mind to visit his father, Yun Yu-gi, who was governor of Kangwon-do Province, to ask for permission to submit a letter to the king criticizing Yi Yi-ch'om. His father forbade him to submit such a letter at first, but in the end, he allowed him to send it. Yun impressed those in power and outside the government by courageously submitting to the king the letter in which he strongly recommended that Yi Yich'om and his followers be ousted at once. Yun's father was immediately dismissed and Yun Son-do himself was banished to a remote comer of the country for eight years. Yun's life in Pogildo Island may

be better understood in the light of his eventful earlier life. His upright, uncompromising sonbi spirit made him stand up and criticize injustice and corruption on a number of occasions and he was demoted, dismissed and exiled several times. His greatest achievement, however, is in the field of Korean literature. He is universally recognized as "the greatest tan-ga (short poem to be sung) poet," "one of the main peaks of shijo poets," "one of the three greatest Korean poets (the other two being Songgang and Nogye)," and "the greatest shijo poet of the Choson period." He wrote "U huyo" (Song After

the Rain) at age 32 and "Sanjung shin-gok" (New Songs from My Mountain Fastness) at 56, "Sanjung sokshin-gok" (Mo1e Songs in the Mountain) and Obusashisa (The Four Seasons of Fishermen) at 65 and Mongch'on-yo (Songs to the King) at 66. Is the long rain finally over? Are the black clouds all gone? You mean the gushing water in the stream is really clean now? If it is truly clean, I will wash kat (horsehair hat) strings with it. ---"U huyo"

Yun Son-do's greatest achievement is in the field of literature. He is recognized as "the greatest tanÂˇga (short poem to be sung) poet," "one of the main peaks of shijo poets," "one of the three greatest Korean poets(the other two being Songgang and Nogye)," and "the greatest shijo poet of the Choson period."

As I gaze at the distant mountain with a cup of wine in hand I feel greater pleasure than I would feel To see my love coming towards me. I feel great pleasure at you mountain Though you never speak or smile. --"Sanjung shin-gok" Beautiful and clear music from Newly stringed kayagiim of long negligence Gladdens my heart I might as well assign it to negligence again For few appreciate its music ---"Sanjung sokshin-gok"

His poetic works, as demonstrated by "The Four Seasons of Fishermen," aptly use Korean words, not words of Chinese origin, to enrich the Korean language. Dr. Cho Yunjae, a noted scholar of Korean literature, said: "Yun Son-do discovered the beauty of the Korean language and experimented with it in his poetic works." Pak Song-iii commented that Yun discovered the beauty of nature as well as the beauty of the Korean language and sublimated the Korean language into a medium of art. Literary critics take note of his scenic descriptions which make the reader identify with the poet in

appreciating nature. They agree that Yun is unique in his wonderful use of the Korean language to describe natural beauty. Well over 300 years haye passed since Yun's death. However, his poems and Pogildo, where he wrote his poetry, are with us. Art and nature are long, but, as ever, life alone is short. + 'The writer is a novelist.

SHILLA-KAYAGUM REVIVAL By Paul Mooney

he kayagiim, a type of Korean zither, related to to the Chinese cheng and the Japanese koto has in recent years become very popular with audiences abroad and among younger people in Korea. This instrument whose history goes back to the 6th century is proving amenable to the development of new compositions as well as preserving Korean classical music. This renewed interest in kayagiim music has led to a deeper interest in the instrument's past. The word "kayagiim" simply means a -stringed instrument from the Kaya Kingdom (42-562) and its origin is attributed to King Kashil, the 6th century Kaya king who ordered the musician Uruk to compose pieces for this instrument. However, various clay figures recovered from Shilla (57 B.C.A.D. 660) tombs indicate that the kayagiim may be somewhat older. The Samguk sagj (History of the Three Kingdoms) relates how the kayagiim was taken over by Shilla on the fall of the Kaya Kingdom. Uriik was summoned to the court of King Chinhung (540-576) of Silla who welcomed the noted musician and encouraged this music form, thus insuring its survival and its place as a permanent part of Korea's musical scene. Uriik then taught the art of playing the kayagiim to Kyego and many other Shilla disciples

Koh Hung-kohn -who has reproduced the Shilla kayagom.

and we are told that a repertoire of 185 melodies existed for the kayagum alone. Unfortunately, none of these melodies survive and it can only be a matter of conjecture as to what they sounded like as no written music scores survive from this period. However, during the Shilla period four kayagiim were sent from Shilla to the Japanese court and are preserved in the Shosoin Palace Museum in Nara, the ancient capital. In Japanese, these instruments are simply called shillaki koto or stringed instruments from the Shilla Kingdom. Viewing these istruments in the Shosoin Palace Museum inspired Koh Hung-kohn, a kayagiim maker based in Seoul, to recreate this type of kayagiim based on these four instruments and the representations played by the clay figures found in the Shilla tombs. This has led to a faithful recreation of 9th century Shilla

kayagiim which is basically the same as the classical form of kayagiim or popgiim , as distinguished from the sanjo kayagiim which is a much later development used in folk music. The kayagum belongs to the zither family and is basically a long zither with 12 strings made of twisted silk fibers; each string is supported by a movable bridge which is used for tuning the instrument. The resonance box or body of the instrument is made of a single piece of paulownia wood, the paulownia tree being very popular in East Asia. This piece of wood is then carved out from the inside with a large sound hole on the bottom of the instrument. At the end. of the instrument is the yang-yi-du or ram's horn, a piece of very hard wood shaped like a pair of ram's horns onto which cords with looped ends are tied and onto which in turn the strings of the instrument are tied. In classical Choson period (1392-1910) kayagiim , this ram's horns piece was made of native Korean rose wood. The Shilla period kayagiim all follow this pattern but are distinguished by the high level of gold filigree or inlaid decoration usually of plants or flowers appearing on the body of the kayagiim and even on the bridge of the instrument. The revived Shilla period kayagiim all preserve this distinctive feature which Koh Hung-kohn has taken special care

A Shill a kayagom , a type of Korean zither.

in reproducing. Koh, 38, learned this art of making classical kayagiim from the now deceased Kim Kwang-Ch'ung, the lmaster musical instrument maker and living national treasure. The classical! instrument differs from folk kayagum in appearance and in the type of sound which it produces, with the classical type producing a deeper, more emotional sound and the folk instrument producing a brighter faster sound. The classical kayagiim or This detafl from a 5-6th century Shilla pottery piece depicts a musician playing an instrument similar to those being reproduced by Koh Hung-kohn.

popgiim is also considerably smaller than the folk kaya-gum or sanjo kayagiim, and while the classical kayagiim boasts an ancient history, the folk version was only developed in the 19th century. Nevertheless, both are of the same family and made of the same material and the distinction between them in terms of appearance and sound has been compared with that of the violin and cello. Kato, the Japanese 13stringed instrument retains the general shape of the kayagiim but

its music, tone color and method of playing are entirely different. Koreans play the kayagiim using their fingertips and also use much more after tone technique with the left hand, while Japanese koto players pluck at the strings with artificial nails. The Chinese cheng is also a similar instrument made of the same wood as the koto and the kayagiim. But, it too has its own distinct sound and cheng players pluck the metal strings with their own nails which they grow long and sharp for this purpose. Professor Hwang Byungki, the celebrated kayagiim performer and composer, regards this revival of the 9th century Shilla kayagiim as a significant development in Korean classial music. For Professor Hwang, Associate Professor of Korean Music at Ewha Womans University whose performances, recordings and compositions of kayagiim music have done so much to revive this art form in Korea and spread its reputation abroad, the sound produced by these instruments is unmatched by any other classical kayagiim available today. The simple beauty of the deep resonating sound of these kayagiim faithfully reproduce that of the 9th century Silla instruments in Professor Hwang's opinion. The recovery of this sound means that Koh Hung-kohn's reproductions go beyond being faithful reproductions of the shape and appearance of the Shilla kayagiim to being fully functional musical instruments in themselves, capable of contributing not only to the preservation and enhancement of classical kayagiim pieces but also a medium for the further development of new kayagiim compositions. Such possibilities lead Professor Hwang to believe that Korean music could be on the verge of a new era when musical instrument makers and composers could both contribute to developments in Korean music rivaling the golden age of Western classical music.+ *The writer is a free-lancer.

Honoring the pursuit of excellence worldwide.

The desire to be the best is a desire common to all the athletes competing in the Games of the 24th Olympiad in Seoul. At Korean Air we not only honor excellence, we actively pursue it. In our service, our convenient schedules, our modern fleet and our gracious hospitality. And our 19 years dedication can be experienced each time you board a Korean Air flight to Seoul from any one of 28 cities worldwide. KSREAN .AIR lliE !\Rf OF JOYR)L A.YING

i1, II

r ~ - -SPOTLIGHTi \

\"I

want to tha,nk you for all your efforts w.'h ich , ~e.lped make ,f orld \9rums . ~6 a great success. Your artistry\ has inspired my ~aginat\d~. Your :h'1manity has captured theart. We are family naw aad the brotherhood of the drum continues grow. We · can all yvork, together to _elp each oth~r_teacH Ot-lt with our ~usic1 linking all the wornderfhl cultures on our ~orious '? larl~t togetheri in a celebra~01! of life. ·. To achiev.e.wl;i.at we' did in,; ose few: days reaffjbb,5 the i:qagtc_ f music, its power/to open o~u~ ~a~ and unify m~y .dh,erse el ments·!· l !The words/of John Wyr , the artistic director of the World Drum ,, F,estival pr9jects, suggest some of the ' tj-io~e intangiblel fruits pf SamulNoris ten years of existence. more tangible re$ults can be smrtm,arized as r follows'.\ The group form.e 9 ill' l:978, I ·bFought'.1 together the forem'Qst musicians of their generation. ·Tlie origins / '{. of their music can be traceqfto ~at\' is now us4ally ieferred to ls "f~ri;ne:'s band m ~ic" (~<:mg-~l 1nd'r~t·-., gious and ceremoma:l ffi4SlC (mlisoK ', In addition, they have ~ bsorbed th influences of six years f.f world traJ.\ . lk and new · ; , el and exposure to the~~ ~ m}18ic of the world and '\".'eir rh~s , have become 1, quite um.·quely · their I I • \I I • ' \ ,o,w n. ' l, I .. , ' '

f . .,\ _· ·_~ ·

l h~

, • '

~ J

t :\

.i it •

)

,V,

-.t '

..... ·· 1;.

r43

}'€I

The Group

They "don't play like we used too" say islanders to the south of the Korean peninsula and "that's not The name "SamulNori" is the group's own, but in the wake of their nearly what I taught them" accordsuccess the term has become generic ing to Kim Pyong-sop, in reference to and many other groups performing a their version of nong-ak. Change has similar · type of mllsic have been/ clearly happened p'angut traditional·1y referred to a type of entertainment formed, both in Korea and aJ:>road. The nouns "sa" and "mul" mean given in a local gathering place, "four things'' and the verb "nori'' ,; either by a local band during a vilmeans "to play." In this context it lage ritual, or by a touring group, refers to the four musicians playing and pinari, a type of prayer, was and dancing with four percussion traditionally given by invited inusicians or shamanistic practitioners to instruments. Kim Duk-soo (b. 1952) is the group's leader and master of the prom6te health and prosperity changgo (hourglass drum). Lee amongst a fafuily, or to ensure spiritual support foi: a building Kwang-soo (b. 1953) performs the project. But'the folk religious world 'lead musical part on the k'kwaenggwari (small gong) but is also respectto which both pan-gut and pinari heed as vocalist. Choi Jong 'Sil (b./ long is' dying: today few villages 1954) mostly plays the puk (barr~ maintain bands, even fewer hold an- · nu~ pa.n-kut and itinerant travelling drum) 9:nd provides acroba~danctroupes have disappeared." ing ,skills. All three won prizes/for Dr. Howard further comments: their skill while still children. Kang The music has moved from the world Min-seok is the youngest member of th'e group, having jQined in 1984, and of ritual to entertainment. Today in Korea, mass entertainment channels plays the ching (large gong) and puk. 1 and "airport art" provided for ;/ The Music . businessmen and tourists present large ) ,.,. , groups of pretty, young dancers who According to t}re ethnomusicalist. / give .simple, repetitive patterns from Keith Howard, 1Ph. :Q, the music of nong-ak in an ever-smiling environSamulNori belongs primarily to the ment. But SamulNori have chosen rather ·.a reinterpretation of the past world of farmers' bands (nong-ak); a folk tradition central to the Korean in a specialized, thoroughly professional present. Complexity has been heritage. It has often been said that nong-ak captures the spirit of"all that added to the simplest /music whicl) leads to a world of rich dramatic COFl,is Korea.' With a documented histo. ry beginning back in the third centrast. Silence gives way to a mesmeric telling of the gong, slow thuds on tury with Chen Suo's "San Kuo Chic" a drum accelerate to shrill pitched (not that we could suggest that the musicJias remainded similiar over , rapid strikes. Climaxes are built and time) and i polysemic history encom- " subside peacefully in waves. Samul- · passing military, farming, ritual and Nori thus provide a blend of old and entertainment elements, nong-ak has , new. I been described variously. It was "pl'.\- / · I gan" to early missionaries, "primeval" On Tour to some social scientists, and the "basis of inpigenous music systems" to In just six years (from SamulNori's one ' or •two enlightened music r. first .overseas performance in l982 unscholars. . til their most recent month-long'tour 1 The group combine traditional of Japan in July and August 1988) the rhythmic constructs deriv~ foom iogroup has compiled 'a record of over I, cal farmers' bands and travelling 350 performances. troupes ',witli shamanistic ceremonies . Beginning with Japan in, the sumand moder~ compositions and thus mer of 1982, SamulNori traveled to ·stand at a musical crossro,ds where the Un'ted St~tes that fall literally 1 rural and urban traditiOFlS and East bursting onto the interl}ational muand West meet in a syn,thesis of music sce"ne with 'Perfoi;,.nfances at the sic and dance. For th~, reason they New York Sound Scage, F.J.T. Au)li'e both -traditional and contemditorium and P.A.S.I~C. '8~ eliciting this response from M 'rris Lange '. porary: /

·I

;

----

:;;

(Ne~ York\ Philharmonic, PAS .Per~sive_.. Arts Sociciy) Board of I Directbrs) f -. . :·.Aftelthe·fantastic performance that'.'the group of just four artist per,cussionists and clancers put on m Dallas I realize that I must lea more / about the culture of.-,Kor:ew.· ·to tell you the truth, I did nt>t know what I I to expect wh enl came \.ipto ,t he ,on; cert hi#l and saw just the · our inst~'· mentl, and a banner on the stage,''but-, \ aftet only .a few rpinutes I knew that ''the whole audience was in for a real treat. .' , I

t~t

.'h ·

•

United. Shilla ·oy_na_ s_·1y. \: 1 q .. J -,, A?\':'. '.' / ..,' " i

'· r}.\

• } I

"t1lj '

1 ",. ·

. 1f-. ·1 • ,

• I·

•(

. 1

:,,{;, ' ' ,

fill

._\

1_ 1 .

{

~y:

t,j

}

r \-~ •

.·

/'J

. . ;,'T

t·.

,, J

V · \ ~ v.:i ,rw·• ,.

. \

/ .. ·•

i• . . 1} • , " •

i/.

µ \o,

'l(P-

, . . r' ·: ,:.t 1

... I am sur~mthat~ - ~- ~n~know .the ,art~· fr~ ,t~)-.-~ _- ·\ perfor~ers the~~~up the standing ovat\on that yo · J / receive9, that the group was the greatest 5 success f'f the conv;ention. . . Evexyone that I ·qave, spoken to was ' ., / •. just impressed with the quality and l dedication of the /group as I was... , " In 19S3 the ' gyoup_continued its tours opapan, pe~orming at Ethnorthythm. Land and Fp Eastern SuIT1mer Dream during t,he summer: The fall saw SamulNori,· on its;! second '.\ major to~rpf t,he Unit~d .state4,~ith an exteilSl:ve to r of Amencan ururer- " I sities incluoing)"Noith tern and tHe ·, University of Illinois, hen onte ilie Asia Society~and;Asfa Jcie{y §ponsoi:ed' toUl's across th~t : ited States,, _ · and the I East!West Cen r Qf the ' , ,;, University ( of\ Hawaii. \ SamulNori participate~i~ thJ first "Supercus-' '> sion" (a;mee 'og of th~ world's fore,. , '1ost percussi niscl) at the -TQronto '·· . g!" Inter_·national i;FesHral in Jur::ie }984' I ,: the Kqol Jazz 'Fdt1v.al and the ~ea · / Plaza in~Los Adgeles for tt).e 10lyJn · "'. \, , pi/;: Arts Fest~)jlil, That fall Jalso~aw 1 th, . first of tl'i . "Big Vibration" con- ;t:·~ ,\'.\v~ c~itts.,featurin~ Samul.Nori ih Japan. j,\\ ....I- 1 Janu~ry J,985, SamulNori toured ,i {pr ~m«i>s~t one \nonth, ·again_. under ' . .the ~usli)ices of the Asia;S(!C~ety. (This ·1 .was a fifst for the Asil.Soeif ty,,since .1' they make it a policy to.. ponsor a ,: '\, ·group £fur only one. tom;.) ';Ene _Los }. , ,,· Angeles T,imes Jamiary 15: lfJ85 fea- i . ·~ tured an, interview with gr~p.: ;_ ·. '. ' . · ... explor.ing aild p~eser'Vi,ng tlie.,a,n- ·:I\ cient traditionspf the Kor-eah cJt~{e 'and sharing them ~ith the,rest ()f·t~e ~.' world 'are an importanl wission (te . \ , '. , Samw.Noi:i)'.... much 9,f .~he art anq_ history of Korea has oeen Jmried by ye~rs of foreign ' occu~ation and byi, 1 .'J··,, ·' "Vesternizatidn," \ , _,. , :r' ; .t L ·· : S J L' ' A_ ' J T._• le ~, :a: ;i t. e"."1~ , eg , .• os, 'tnge es 1me:

'' 'Ii

••

• #,

,. n •

' ,.... . ;

.._

;

'I\. J

1' \ J

•j~

,/•

• J, I

.•'

it .

f;:

, • ''

r, f\

I·

\ I

stage and with a rep~ated ritual ,supdance writer, reviewed their perforstages. plication of an:ns, bowed in front of Before February was out, Samulmance on January 19, 1985: , a small makeshift alter. .. such an ... anyone who has heard the Nori was back at the Sapporo Snow auspicious ,ceremony-to driye out Festival. March began with a monthpounding rhythms of Korean faFmdemons and bring good fo~ne to the long first tour of Great Britain, April ers' band music approaching across a group;s tour-remains cpmmonplace field, a late spring snow crunching in Japan, and a brief stop back home. in the East ... SamulNori presents an under the band's feet, isn't likel?'. to I' ; Summer in that year was spent in the entertaimpent firmly based Ollt tra,dibe satisfied with any indoor petforUnited Sta~es and at Canada's Asia tional rhyfhms from religious ceremomance. But whatever SamulNori Pacific Festival: I nies, village or military rituals, ~nd might have /lacked in scale and- at· \ 1 1 ' four-man Sout h , ' .J• 1ay · farmers' bands-which nevertheless mosp h ere t h 1s ... t he best was a stunmng e11Sp fits well into the Western mt>uld of of..c:lancing and drumming by SamulKorean folk group supplied in intricaconcert giving ... cy and intensity ... SamulNori perNon: .. ~e musicians engaged in joyformed drum music.· and dances ful, rhythmic trade-offs, ~ccasionally 'Tne Guardian lettj,ng- out shouts of ecstasy as they associated with Koreats still thriving reported on February 20, 1987: shamanistic tradition. Indeed all the played ... the rf15ic sounds like an\ . cient Korean jazz. (Aboutp'an-gut) ... members are pri~ts and the exi { perienc they. offered seemed almost. L I have trouble trying. lo master the .. \The sheer enjoyment they lhave mimirr\alist in its uncompromising old pat- your-head-and- rub-yourfor their music is ipimediately infec·. tummy~at-the-smTte-time routine, but rigor and single-minded focus. .. tious. Kim Duk-soo. the grol!lp' leadI I .· / the foursome are masters of doing/ er, seemed .to absorb t~e Fhyth,rns ' ,. I ·I through his whole body as he swayed · In ]February, the group )Fas } n thr~ tlii~gs at once... ' ecstatically spurring his team on/once · / ' .....-/ , New; York where ·new fans -were waiting for them. The N yw York Kore~n residents in Japan, with a the torrent subsided, to build new climaxes ... Tipies reporte<:l on February11, 1985: newly awakened pride in their ethnic heritage, invited Samu}Nori back · The Swedish and German press ... SamulNori amazed au iences at to Jap~ during.August. While there, also covered SamulNorDs perforSamul!fpri also performed at the '85 ' its Ne_w York debut in 198~; ~nd is do1 1 ing so again on its currenJ AmeFican UniverJi~de in Kobe and at "Tokyo ~· • mances extensiyely. .~. .. Meeting' t which introduced ·Samult9ur... Though SamWNori stems , ,.. I frqm a tradition Nirlufilly uajmown / Nori, fre(! jaiz, and reek. \ · \ The tour conclud ~th one per1 formance in the Unit d States at the .outside North +d 1S9uth Korea, its ,, "April 1986'$aw SamulNori back in presentations have had wide appeal. New' York imited especially to perSmithsonian Institute. The Smithson~ form at the Asia Society's 30th anThe way its'musi~.established and deian wanted to1establish a Korean velops patterns of sound may make niversary celebra'qon. That summer, support scholarly Heritage Fund .it comprehensible to admirers of such the group performed at th,e Statue of exchanges between \the Sm!tl1sonian Liberty Centennial's ".§.a1ute to In\ composers as Steve Reich and Philip and Korea. SamulNori p~ry:icipated migl,'ant Cl!lltures" and Expo '86 · .in the founding c~remorv,¢5 jof the Class. And virtuosic dancing is excit· ing in whatever form it may take... (Canllda) World Drum Festival. ~n Friends 9f Kor'e',h Cultl.frct. This , September SamulNori appeared b'n ceremony ( inclu~ed.. examihation. of 1 Anna Kisselgoff, dance critic for • artist Paik Nam June's "Bye-Bye the Smithsonian's collections of tradithe .JYyw York Times, wrot~ on ,) l}ipling,'? November sayv the grdup tional Kbrean .inusical instruments, · back in 'foky0for a week of sold-out ~alks about the instruments, Korean February 3, 985: 1 ' performances-"Dangerous Vibramusic and its place in- other Asian '. musical traditions'. and demonst~a- 1 ... Certainly the mystical patterns · tion'' -at Patcx/III wi~ invited guest tioris of the instruments and m{isjc.by in "Pan-guf' are evident-namely th~ l?jllZ? pianist Ryuske Yamashita. 1987. By April, SamulNori had alcircle \nd four-point .forn,i that SamulNori. All funds raised from shrinks from a square into a duster'. ready performed in Osaka, Great Bricontributprs were to be use'd for schoNot so oddly-if the cosmic concerns tain, Sweden, France, and Germany. . larly research and educational acof such qances are kept in mindti:vities. · . \ . , J .this ancient .Kor_ea9 dance suggests From Great Britaiw, The Indepen-' · The next major ove~~ expeditjon the magic dances o_f 'Eibet ... Th7r~ is dent reported oh February ~' 1987: was something eJtjp{rimerif~, but.part . 1 . also a certain kind of bravura that, is ~ of SamulNorl'sJ0ng held ~esire to ex· ... On a Gong and Prayer ... It is ·8 and their bitse of musical <>P,eration. only too clearly the sour~ of inspi. not often that members of our arts ration t~ cerhi.in American dance exThey formed a Band, called "sXi" I . j tal'IS1ts,,· .. '~ bureaucracies are'lured into the percomposed.of highly acclaimed ni'usi- , penme1'1 forming arena, and so th'ere was ·a cians from ai'o~nd the worlp: Bill - · ·, 1 very partic"ulai!flavmir to the start of' Laswell on bass, Shankar on double-· , Th~t year the Asia Stfuiety was SamlilNon~s Arts Coup.c11 tour, when awarded an "Obie" for 7outstanding violin, Ronald 'Shannon Jackso on , 1 two Contemporary Music Network drums and Aiyb Dieng on percussion , Achievement in the Off-Broadway a-'nd Off-Off-Broadway Theatre" for staff took off their ~hoes, walked and toureq Japan a!}d, Hdmg Kong across the· performer's nfat to centre from JulyJ 5 to August. ~v~ ·1Zart of . , / introducing Sfl11lulNori to New York's 1

/ ·

\ /

(

' ·,r; t .

t('l l

I '

\ i

,\ ;(

"Live Under the Sky." "Live Under. the Sky" included mainly jazz artists and other contemporary musicians such as the Miles Davis Group, the Wayne Shorter Group, Jack DeJoh- · nette's Special Edition, The Gadd Gang, Kazumi Watanabe and Moba, 1 the World Saxophone Quarted and a "Tribute to John Coltrane." As a group, sXi was very well received and praised for their innovative and highly charged performances. The music of sXi was special also: it was based on the rhythms of SarmiJNori which invited an unrestrained interaction between all the musicians. Here the creation of "World Music" was an ongoing event. After the performances of "Live Under the Sky" ended SamulNori began a project of a slightly different cast. At Miasa Mura, a cultural refuge in the Japanese "Alps,:' afive day workshop on the playing and philosophy of SarpulNori as we11 as daily seminars (Korean, Japanese, and Chinese) was held. For the fifty · participants and the members of SamulNori, it was the beginning of a long term research- project to explore the music, how it can be taught, learned and preserved. The final day of the workshop was sparked by a performance which included the music of local musicians, SamulNori, and their students. Fall, 1987 included several brief · trips to Japan and among those, one · which was of special significance. This was a performance, or more accurately, a memorial service, held outside of Osaka. The driving force behind tn"is'project is a group of deeply concerned Japanese, KoreanJapanese, and Korean people who are . now just beginning importan,t research about the relations between Korea and Japan in the twentieth century. This memorial service was for the souls of those Koreans who died from forced labor in Japan from the early twentieth century until Korea's liberation from J anan~ese colonial rule at the end of WorfcfWar Il. Returning to their exploration of "World Music," SamulNori spent most of November and early December in Germany, Austria, and Swit- zerland. This was a tour of the International Ethnic Percussion Project. Its founder and composer, Reinhard Flatischler, had studied in

Kim Duk-soo, the leader,of SamulNori (above), with the members of SamulNori (right).

...(

Korea in tlie early 1980s where he met SamulNori. Combining what he had lea.med in Korea with his percussion studies around the world, Reinhard brought together a saxophonist from Austria, Wolfgan~ Puschnig, a Brazilian percussionist, Dudu Tucci and Aja Addy from Ghana plus, of course, SamulNori. The European audiences proved to be well-informed and highly responsive.During performances which lasted close te> three hours,some members of the audience remained standing for the entire tim~! Late December, 1987 was time for a return engagement at Parco III in \ Tokyo. This time it was SamulNori and three very special guests, "living cultural treasures~· Yi Mae-bang · (dance) and Kim Seok-chul (music) and one of SamulNori contemporaries Ms. Kim Kyong-suk (p'ansori). The combination of these outstanding artists and -SamulNoi:i created a wonderful performance experience aptly entitled "shinmyong" which can be translated as "ecstacy." 1988 began with "a lunar new year's celebration at a 150-year-old

church, St. Ann's Cehter for Resto~ ration and the Arts, in Brooklyn,, New York. In front of the altar SamulNori placed a pig's head, fruits, rice cake and wine~ the candles and incense were lit and the aupence participated in ·a cere;Jony to (velcome the new year' eps\lre goo& forture and long life as f ell as enjoying the music and dance of SamulNori. The next week, in Calgary, Canada the core members of the World Drum Festival including SamulNori met for' a r~union as part of the Olympic~ Festival. Then SamulNori, the'Cana'\ ' dian percussion group Nexus, American drumme~ Steve Gadd and African drummer Abraham Adzihyah traveled to Tol<Y,q to perform together in the 4th To~o Music Joy. The next month, iri March . the group visited Paestu~, 'ltaly (near Naples) to film a commercial for Puma. In April they participated in the Asian / . Music ,F~tival in Yokohama, Japan ~ and in May went to the Moers Jazz .,.~' 'I, •,, Festival not just as SamulNori but as_ what could best be described Korea's best new music or/iazz b1anq Jr. to perform with Wolfgang ai;id Linda Puschnig on saxophone and vocals i

'' 48

ple with over a ~,000 year history. He ,is accompanied by the thre~ other ~ members of 'samuJNori. · Now that the s1tmosphere'·has been created du fotJlf musicians seat themselves behmd, their changgo. With . feet firmly placed to prevent the in/ strument from moving, in one hand ' they grasp a roundheaqed mallet and 1 · in the .other a long flat "drum" stick. The, first portion of t~e composi- 1 ' / tion is a "tuning" process in which the most basic{ sounds develop into the niqst comJ?lex, are brJught to a climax then #top. The fir1st rhythfn or kut-korj. Mil introduce a basi9 pattern in which the musici!lns will tnove freely aHimes jn unison and at times I as soloists. The·next rhythm is a pick-"' up in tempo with 6ne .end of the instrument e<}hoing the other until the \point of exha~stion is reached. StartThe name "SamulNori" is'the group's own, but in the . ing once again the tempq changes wake of their success the t~rm has become generic and into a festive one and is finally . many other groups performing asimilar type of music have been formed, both in Korea and abroad. resolv,ed ' into a blurred, fre,nzy ,' , I ' J \ , The final piece of the first half is · ,, really ·;samulNori" w,ith each member playing a difft)rent .instrument. < I ' f, , Tqe rhythms ~e a se1eption from the;, ~, / three , southern · regions of Korea, ! E 1 '\ ' 1 , ) ' ' _., which each ltave thehi. own distincapd!J am~adeen Ta -uma on bass. , tive'rhythm{ a~d play{ng techniques. mo~t memorable parl is when. the t fwy a'nd Acigust . were spent in Beginning with the rhythms of the ching is pushed aside ·and two , '" While the are played. Japan oa a countryw-iqe tour which ' southwestern or Hom.am regibn which / kwaenggwari and puk provia~a back· changgo co~bluded wi~h SamulNori's second h~ a feminine, dJficaie flavor, fhen r ·x. anhual summer carnp at Miyasa moving east to the Youngnam •region grou~d 1rhythm the kk\aenggwari will alternately echo and initiate a diMiJ.ra in Japan's Alps. At th~ end 0£ we . hear a much . more mJouline August, SamulNori will accompan1 tone. T~e rhythm tends to be much alogue. This\~ortion, called chak-sae, '-~ both a celearation ari,d reco~ition .. l,', ~ore~'s Olympic representatives to'x·· more a~rupt; even brusque and the 1 of opposites. In other words, ea h in·. '<,[_, GrJce for the lighting qf th~ OlyrIJC \ repetition itself adds to the quality of pie Torch. In September 11hey will bluntness. But in the midst of all this strument keeps its own ident'ty bl J'" ,1 1 p·a ~cipate jn Seattl~J}u6tpe,~shoe~ /,\mciv~menj there is a sudden break 1• both filling in empty space and creati. N. Festival, return f0r the OJymp'lc fes.,., and, tne following poem' is chanted: ing, in turn, .its own. \ 1 tivitie.1i and spenol most of 'October ' \ 'After a brief intermission', Samul1 Ndri returns .fo the stage wearing or and e~ly N9-¢'~\_f.ber in the' United , Look a the sky and gath~r sta;s, _,.,., States pn tour fo:r the ~ia Society. In i Look at the earth ,a nd farm the land. c;;irrying their instruments. They are dll also wearing sangmo, with long the last n;ib~ of the yeat SamulNori This year was bo~ntiful.r , white ribbons attached. They will ' will continue to celebrate its 10th an- - Next year will also ~e a fruitful one. now dance p'an-gut as a single non• niversa?' wi~ invitatio4 to f~iends Moon, moon, brighCmoon. .· from a;rou'nd the world t6,join them . "\/ls bright as the day. stop event, where each player will ·show off his skills in solo sections and ' in_To}Ycf and Seoul for \,~tended Iii the darkness a light \ display cohesion and balance indicaGives to us its brightness. 1 · celebrations. ·"" . .,ts~tlli-vOn ' :.,\.r ., '\' . . usu ally coni, repertorre · 1, ~ ' 1 tive of camaraderie and unity. Lee sists of the folldwing four selections: This wonderfully rem)nds its' takes the rqle of leader directing with P.inari, ,~~ind~ ,Solchanggo, Samilo hearers of twhere this music c;une a long flower plume of swan feathers from and its functiqn in a way of life that rotate on his hat. Audiences are . Nong~ak Kfll'ak,t and P'an-gut. Th; close to natm;e. , . 'pro~llili will begin as almost every usually not content to just sit in their seats and often join the performers 9n ,, . ii:nuoJairt1oc@~i?If if.l Korea begins, I£ we move somewhat northward 1 to the or Chungbu region, we stage for a truly Korean finale.+ with- a pr;yer/s6ng ,Pin~i: The artist, Lee Kra~g:soo', re-tells the crea/ind in' ~mp~ion to the. S?1,1thern i . tjon ·st,ory; struggles aga~nst ill and 1,areas 9tat the rhythm features the \ ~. NJisfortur;r and the herita e ?fa p~- r .kkw'tlenggw;;yi, lnythis portion the

l'\

/ "'''\, "'°

J'>08f

centr;tl

'\r·,

Pl· , •

/ \I!

••

ci>/

't,, ,· ,.

.,,

1 '\: \ i_

\',L

Riding the Wave of the Future New dimensions in the field of chemistry The Latest Chemicals

Advanced Materials

The Development of New Resources

Lucky is committed to the development of agricultural and pharmaceutical substances that work hard to enhance our daily lives. With this goal in mind, we have succeeded in producing innovative pesticides for agriculture use that greatly assist the farmer without harming the environment. We are now conducting research on a third generation of antibiotics which, when taken as directed, have no side effects.

Today's most promising materials include the highly-functionalÂˇ group of engineering plastics, which are rapidly replacing metals in a variety of applications including the semiconductor, avionics and space industries. When we claim to have mastered space-age technology, it's no mere boast.

Combining our expertise in chemical technology and in genetic engineering, Lucky has succeeded to develop its own animal-growth hormone. Using this same strategy of synthesizing our various areas of experience, Lucky is now involved in projects for the development of alternative food and energy resources.

Creating a Better Life

U! LUCKY Yoido P.G. Box 672 Seoul , Korea Tel : 787-1114 Tix: LUCKYSL K24235, 28260 Fax: 787-7038-7040

• f

ge certainly isn't the only reason 72~year-old master taegum (large transverse -bamboo flute) player Kirn ~ "" Song-jin has bent shoulders, the left shoulde.rl notably tilts up. and the right 'shoulder d_q~n. When ·. , playing his instrument, he ;,,- ~ . \a invariably raises his left snoulden tp rest his instrument upon it while lowering his right shoulder so that his fingers can move freely ' on the finger holes. When walking, the old musician staggers a little bit, bQt once seated on stage, dressed in his classical ' ' costume and holding his beloved \ t instnmient, he is impressive. Off stage as Kim is a 1:1an ' I of unusual rectitude and austerity, 1 with ,an attitude mctch like that: oy' pre~odem conservatives. r, / Inc¥ d.ible as it may be, he has' never invited his wife;' whom he mai:ried at 25'; to any ·of liis pountless concerts because, 1 as he .,puts it, "playing music is Flot a ' manly job." Neither has lie J I broqght his instruments t'o his • ,t V " hom'e, a humble, ~~loom house 7 1 standing on a hill near , ~ ·/ .€h'angd6kkun!IPaj.a~ near 1 downtown Seoul, which_he and wife built byl),themselves right ., his after the Korean· War (l..950-53) . .He never wanted his two sons to play the taegum: so on~ became a ,salaried man . and 'the other a_.·. . · businessman. However, these days; he is "much worried" about his J: • granddaughter, a higl:{ ,school student~ ause she says that, fhe · ) J ho~ o ·become a taegum player: ../ "TheH, why did I become a · , '/ musician?"_Kim said, his eyes ·twinkling, during a recept : V- ~. interviJw that he granted ' many ' } reluctantly after refusing Io times. "l ,am -asked that questibr( very ·ofteri. I became a musician 'fo~ no spix!ial ~e~qn other than;. my family was too poor to send · me to an ordinary middl~ clr6ol." · At the advice of his teacher, he •. entereq) a t 5a:ining institute_fqr musiciafis affiliated with tlie Yi Royal,/ :::ourt 'Music Depl\~ pient, whicl:i provided free textoooks and , uniforms plus the entire tuition. .. . ' 'Fne institute, which Jas foinded · in l919, offered a 'regular niidclle / school curriculum iH addition·to -/•

:well,

...

·r,

Taegom was called manp'asikchtJk, m~aning the "flute soothing ten thousand waves," and Is highly prized as a national treasure.

·/ .

I,...;,

training in Korean traditionil. the moonlit, autumn sky, a that the large transverse flute was \ i · music played in the royal court, melancholy and plaintive sound. " one of Shilla's most popu!_ar He wept on to say that he thinks called a-alebamboo· instruments., the other the p 'iri is most appropriate for After completing a tw_o-year two being the chunggum general course, the students could playing romantic tunes in a hazy (medium-sized flut~ and the . spring field while the komun-go cho.ose one of five instruments to sogiim (small flute).'/ /· , I -study during the next three years: evokes an exotic mood''like the In ancient-times; taegiirp were · komun-go (a six-string zither) , pattering sound of waterdrops made most often firom oldr; r ellow kayagiim (a 12-string zither), falling from the eaves after a bamboo, called lJlwangjuk1 But haegiim (a two-string fiddle), p 'iri ' shower on a summer day. these days, double-grooved (a cylig~cal oboe) and taegiim (a , , The history of the taegiim goes bamboo lcalled ssanggoljuk, a kind largetransverse bamboo flute). back to the ancient Shilla of mutant with thick flesh , is Kim opted for the taegiim for he· Kingdom (57 B.C.-A.D. 935) , ~ idely used as it produces , was attracted to its "pure and during the days of its 31st king, resonant sounds for all notes. ,The elegant" sound. He displayed . -1' Shinmun-wang (r. 681-692) . , taegiim has six finger holes plus an According t<:d iistoric records, the outstan'ding talent and enthusiasm. extra one which dbes not ifunctiont king ordered a flute to be made "I practiced twice as long as my and is ca:lled "ch'ilsong-gong," or out of a mysterious piece of classmates," he recalled. "I was-"" the "seven-star hole," symbolic of usually the last to leave the · bamboo wood recovered from the a 'guardian spirit. in a t\raditional East Sea. The instrument turned classroom in the evening. " Upon folk story. The reed is ~ ade by · graduation in March 1936, he -Was out to have magical power. 1When steaming the base(of a i:~ stalk named a regular player wi~h.1he it was played, .all enemies . in a kettle and' then allow ing it to \ -J Yi royal court music ore estra. retreated, all diseases were healed, qry naturally. A reed stalk.picked drought was dispelled and rain Ever' since then, the taegiim has three days before' or after Tano, a 'JJ came, clouds were cleared away been {m' ins~parable part of' Kim's traditionaJ. f~tival falling on the "' ' life. 'CWith tfme," he noted, ."I during rainy seasons, and· winds fifth day of the .fift~ lunar IIJOf th, · -r· ' and wa'ves· caliped. Jt was thus bec~me more and more ...r'ascmated is thought to produce the best \ 1 - by the richness of its sound." The. called/ manp'ashikchokf m Janing sound. The instrume~t· Kif plw s j . master musician compared the the "flute soothing ti n thousand these' days was made 40 Y,ears ago ,; sound of his instrument to the waves," and was higlily prized as by one of his ~eniors at\ e Yi I ,/.'soi.rnd of wild geese flying against a national treasure. It is' also said royal insti . te.

.·"v

.J.

I •,

Kim studied at the institute under some of the best ttiegilm players of_the time1 including Pak Ch'ang-gyun an~ Kim Kye-son . It \ was partly due ,to the sudden death o( his-teacher, Kim Kye-son 1 that he became known as a (\. promising yo'i1ng musician faster than most of ;h.is' classmates. ,When Kim Kye-son died in the summer of 1943, he was enjo;ying great popularity .for his solo performances in a radio series. Upon his su~den death, the young ' Kim was picked its· a substitute and quickly gained fame . ."l w ~ 25 at the time. The announcer was Yi Hye-gu who later served a!i 1 1 head of the Seoul National University's Department of K0rean · Traditional Music," Kim sa'id. , "What is most unforgett~ble about those days is that' I had to play what looked like a thick under I . carpet because the studio had no. souna proof facilities. It was 'Jf / b~'.Vable in w inter, but you can imagine how terrible it was in summer. " · · .~ - ./ From tl\e time h~ bega1;1 , 'studying at the tr~irtjng institµte • for inusicians affiliated with the Yi f Royal Court Music ·(Department in 1931 until he r.e tired in 1974, Kim ' had been playing for ~ore than fol!lll' decades. When he retired, he . \ ' w as the acting director of the National Classical Music,Jnstitute. \ · The ilational institute was· · ( \ " \' f established in -19.48 with th~ · ' . of' Korf:ja \ 1' V founding of the\Repub!ic I:'>- { as the hea1quai;ters f~r' .duc~tio\ , in Korean traditfonaf ID1fSiC by __ absorbing the staff of the music " I depart:_ m ent !it llje old ~Yi royal I ,,.... court. Since 1,974, Kim has been 1 teaching at :vari'ous ~chdols recipient of the 'coyetec} title of "living national treasure" in the including4 e National Classic.al \ · \ · Music I,:Iigh School, Chung-ang \ field of traditional taegiim music, -has never played anything but \ · Unive~ ity and Hanyan~ J Upivetsity. In addition, op. jhe ·authentic court music throughout first ancf thiny W ednesday of every fl h~ long career, because the 'I spontaneoNS and caref.ree sty e of · ~onth, qe tf a5nes ,a fraternity of IO, young college instrnctors -the · folk musicJdoes not "suit his taste." ',' autheritic" tae[p}m music that was He also h~ kept a few , selftrans~ tteq by the ancient court ' imposed regulations such as never · musicians, for which he has no drinking or srtloking fpr several p~~s/ amqng ~ _living musicians. pays befor~ ti concert, and not 1'.lie taegilnt,is µsed both in 'eating !-light before playing. . Kim said, "It's hard to make a roy,al couit music and folk music . handed down among the common j pure sound even with a little bit of alco'hol remaining in your body. people. But Kim, .who ~l the •sole

( 1 I

.,.J

·,~.)!(• l, 'l

.r,

• '

'• )

(

/ l 1V ,_ / /

\ I I

Likewise, after smoking, your lips aren't as sensitive as they should be for playing. And your breath becomes short if you eat ; ight · before playing." Then he added that as far as being an artist was concerned, he still feels like "a nine-year-pld'' despite the effo* he has made during his life. ':I have never felt more than 80 percerit satisfied about 'any of my performances," he said. + ' The writer is a free-lancer.

(

)

". 55

I J

PEOPLE

The Spirit of the Piano

PAIK KUNÂˇIOO By Kim Won-Koo

aik Kun-woo is a true artist who has perfected his art to the point that he could be called the "spirit of the piano." He most recently received thunderous applause during a tour of Europe. Indeed, it has been years since he was first dramatically praised with the words: "A miracle occurs every time his hands touch the keyboard." One could say he is a modem Midas, turning everything he touches into beautiful music. It is a joy to listen to the incredible growth he achieves in every performance; he is the embodiment of the words of the philosopher Henri Bergson: " creative evolution" and "a leap of life." Paik Kun-woo is an extraordinary musician, capable of melding great talent and persistent effort. The German sociologist, Georg Simmel, once asserted that, "Art is created only by geniuses." This is because only a genius has the supreme ability to skip the process by which common people learn things and go straight to the heart of the matter. Paik contradicts Simmel's assertion, however, because he has combined unparalleled effort with his inborn talents, supplementing his innate gift with an acquired genius as well. The sculptor,Auguste Rodin,prefaced his masterpiece, "Rodin's Words" with the appeal, "Don't believe in inspiration." Rodin meant that true art is not so much a matter of genius as the product of an artist's hard work. One can sympathize with the plight of poor Sisyphus Âˇevery time one hears Paik perform, perhaps be-

cause he had to struggle through his musical studies under the rriost difficult circumstances. Just as we can sense the hardships of Beethoven through his music, the struggles of Paik penetrate our consciousness with every performance. When Paik comes on stage to sit before the piano, the audience immediately warms to his strapping good looks and elegant manner; but Paik immerses himself in the music, oblivious to the reactions of the audience. His music arouses a sense of ecstasy and calls forth an outpouring of emotion. Regardless of the piece he is performing, Paik always arouses this same sense of joy. I have said that Paik is a musician who unites talent with hard work, but in a sense he has really transcended this, achieving a much higher dimension. He is able to realize the profound harmonization of the intellectual nature of Apollo and the emotion of Dionysus. I mean here Apollo, the handsome god of sun and music, and Dionysus or Bacchus, the god of wine, both heroes of GrecoRoman mythology. These two mythical gods have been used as symbolic metaphors in art theory since the time of Plato, and in the modem period, Nietzche took the two gods as the basis for his theory on art. The dichotomy of the Ar,Jllo and Dionysus types are particularly important in art, and Karl Wemere, the greatest music critic of the 20th century, has developed this theory extensively. Because of the contradictory nature of these two

types, it is easy to categorize a particular artist as either one or the other. Paik harmonizes elements of both with the wisdom of the goddess Minerva. It is for this reason that I say Paik Kun-woo is an extraordinary musician. While Paik harmonizes these two types within himself and in his performances, he responds to the individual character of each piece and purely expresses the Apollon aspects of one work and the Dionysian elements of another. For example, when performing the works of Maurice Ravel which tend to fit into the category of the intellectual Apollo, Paik elicits the elegance of the intellectual elements better than any other pianist in the world. On the other hand, when he sits down to perform the works of Mussorgsky, Paik whips up the maelstrom of fanatic emotion typical of this Dionysian composer. For a time, Paik always made a point of including the works of both Ravel and Mussorgsky in his programs in order to demonstrate the contradictory character of the two composers' works. Paik not only embodies these two conflicting characters, but has successfully reconciled them within himself. He has gone further than this, however, by adding to this combination the esoteric and spiritual world of his Orientalness, something very difficult for musicians from Europe or the United States to achieve. Of course, it is easy to say that as a Korean he naturally possesses the ability to reflect an Eastern sense of

Paik Kun-woo's piano recital at the Sejong Cultural Center in 1988.

contemplation or morality, but if he did not make a special effort to explore this element in himself, he would never be able to express this Eastern world to his listeners on a Western instrument like the piano. Many years ago following a recital in France, a critic said, "Paik permits us to experience the mystery of Oriental. thought." Following the prediction of Oswald Spengler, the cultural philosopher of the early 20th century, that the Western world would soon collapse, Western interest in the East has grown, but while it would be nearly impossible for a Western musician to express the essence of the East, Paik has moved us with his elicitation of the Oriental world. Paik has a very broad repertoire, from baroque to the most modern music. As his interpretation of Maurice Ravel, a late impressionist composer, is particularly distinguished, about ten years ago he was invited to play Ravel's works at the Berlin Festival where he was the first Asian ever to perform. He won rave reviews and was blessed with the honor of a repeat engagement. This

was not simply a matter of curiosity about an Asian pianist, but rather is evidence of the recognition he has received as a world-class musician. Several years ago, America's renowned Columbia Management signed Paik as one of its top musicians. While one cannot help but feel it was a little late, this event marked the beginning of Paik's active performing and recording career. Unfortunately, Paik has not received acclaim proportional to his abilities. This is partly the blame of Koreans. Unlike the people of Israel who have given their wholehearted support, both materially and spiritually, to their native musicians, Koreans have been cool in their support for their own countrymen. Despite the failure of his homeland to support him, Paik has surmounted all barriers confront.ing him and returned to perform in Korea almost every year, sharing with Koreans the great art which he has perfected throughout his career. It is said that Ferruccio Busoni, the Italian pianist-composer of the early 20th century, was often the subject of painters of the Nazarenes School, and portraits of the musician were partic-

ularly treasured by women of the period. Modigliani, the Italian painter of the same era, was famed for his handsome good looks and thrilled the hearts of not only Italian women, but ladies all over the world. Because, however, the face of Busoni had a much deeper artistic dimension, I believe that he is revered as the more spiritual of the two. Paik, not unlike Busoni, possesses a rich humane appearance. Several years ago, a unique painting of a Korean man by the great Flemish painter Rubens was discovered. Mysteriously, it looks as if Rubens used Paik Kun-woo at the piano as the model for this work. And, indeed, one gets the feeling from Paik that he is trying to make us understand that Mesopotamia and the East are the source of all musical instruments including the piano. . As an intellectual pianist, Paik is capable of engaging in logical conversation, but like Schumann or Dvorak, he prefers silence and does not try to impress others with his conversational skills. Rather, through the piano, he becomes an orator and a preacher, expressing himself fluently. When

Paik is a great pianist now, but promises even more in the future. Much like Nietzche's expression, "A love for the future," Paik will give us even greater things in the years ahead.

Paik plays, it is as if the keys of the piano sing with unbridled freedom. Paik shows us that a pianist can only express his fluency, which rivals the eloquence of the great orator Gladstone, through his performance on the piano. This is his great appeal, his unique persuasiveness. This is where his virtuosity becomes obvious. Many say that the pianist Liszt was the greatest virtuoso in the history of music, but if one were to hear Paik play his own works, one could truly say that the Korean pianist is the very embodiment of virtuosity. Paik's work is extraordinary for its combination of a certain delicacy with a grand scale. If his technique were not absolutely perfect or if he lacked the sensitivity to balance the enormity of his scale, it would be difficult to say that he is a virtuoso of Liszt's caliber. While Paik has undoubtedly experienced innumerable unforgettable incidents in the course of his long career, one truly touching scene occurred some 15 years ago in Seoul when he performed Rachmaninov's second piano concerto with the Swiss Romande Orchestra under the baton of Sawallish. Paik was not able to

practice the piece sufficiently with the orchestra and so if there had been lapses in the harmony of the performance, they would naturally have been blamed on Paik's shortcomings rather than on any failure on the part of the conductor. Paik was trapped in the same position as the Polish pianist Paderewski who was branded a novice when he performed under the baton of Hans von Wilou, the greatest conductor of that era. As Chamberlain once said, a human being is merely an actor who goes on stage with no rehearsal. Paik performed without sufficient practice, but was able to follow the directions of the conductor and perform naturally on tempo. The conductor and Paik seemed almost hostile, never looking at each other and seemingly making no effort to stay together, but they were able to achieve a profound harmonization because they were both great musicians. I cannot help but think this incident is worthy of inclusion in the annals of music history. It is a joy to see that Paik adds to his repertoire for every concert. A late bloomer, Paik has mastered the works of all the great composers and has

blessed us with his interpretations of the works of Bach, Ravel, Liszt, Mussorgsky and Brahms. Paik is a great pianist now, but promises even more in the future. Much like Nietzche's expression, "A love for the future," Paik will give us even greater things in the years ahead, almost as if he puts greater stock in the future than in the present. Thus we must keep close watch over his progress and give our full support to this magnificent artist who promises so much glory ahead. There are many legends about the bright stars that grace the world's music history: Bach, Handel, Beethoven and Mozart. Over the years as his name has become well known through the world, there have been many amusing stories about Paik as well. First of all, it seems that Paik was born with a most unusual destiny. As his birth grew nearer, the doctor said that things looked hopeless. Unlike normal deliveries, the baby was positioned upside-down, and so if the child was to be saved, the mother would die, and if the mother was to be spared, the child must be sacrificed. Thanks to the tearful prayers of his parents and the valiant efforts of the doctor, however, both the child and mother survived. Although Paik was a sickly child and his family poor, his parents made up their minds that he should become a musician. His parents were so dedicated to art that they decided his elder sister should become an artist. It was at that time that the Korean War broke out and his family was forced to flee to Pusan. The two children were thus brought up in a thatched cottage in the Tongnae neighborhood of that city. Paik's mother borrowed a piano in the refugee community and gave lessons to children in the neighborhood. Paik, still too young to reach the keyboard. listened carefully to the other childrens' lessons, and when they went home, he scrambled up on the piano stool and ran his tiny hands over the keys. He learned to play the piano by ear, and his parents, recognizing his talent, taught him religiously so that by the time he was eight, he could play Czerny No.30, a piano text, by heart. When, he was young, his parents

woke him at 4 a.m. and made him wash with cold water before sitting him down in front of the piano. There was no electricity in those days, so he played by candlelight, greeting the rising sun with his music. Although he wasÂˇ a very weak child, when he sat before the piano, he knew no bounds, playing all day long and late into the night by the light of a single candle. When he was nine,he won the second prize in the Kyonggam Educational Competition for his performance of a Chopin ballade. The following year, he won first prize in the competition. Not satisfied with this, he practiced even harder, and in the early fall of his tenth year, he gave his first solo recital in the Pusan Citizens' Hall. On the program that night was a Grieg concerto and a Beethoven sonata. The audience responded enthusiastically to the tenyear-old's remarkable talent. Paik's parents recognized their son's potential and moved back to Seoul when he was in the third grade. Their family was very poor and had great difficulty just getting by. As soon as he arrived in Seoul, Paik entered the prestigious music competition for young people at Ehwa Girls High School, but strangely he did not appeal to the judges and went away without a prize. To add insult to injury, his first recital in Seoul was mediocre, quite the opposite of his Pusan recital. Neither Paik nor his parents were willing to give up, however. He redoubled his efforts under the whip of his parents' love. At that time, several young prodigies a few years older than Paik, including the pianist Han Dong-il and the violinist Kim Young-uck, were receiving a great deal of attention. While he was not quite up to their level yet, those around Paik recognized his talent and offered their material and spiritual support. Not long after, his genius became more widely recognized and he began a career as a concert pianist, starting with a recital at a club on the U.S. Eighth Army Base in Seoul. Even at that time, because pianos were both rare and expensive, Paik had to practice at night on a piano at a neighborhood school. He spent his elementary school years like this, and when he entered middle school

as a student gifted in the performing arts, he was able to use his school's piano whenever he wished. In the winter, however, it was a miserable sight to watch the small boy play on and on with his chapped hands shivering in the unheated music room. More than anything else, however, Paik was thankful to have the opportunity to play the piano whenever he liked and so he practiced into the night, oblivious to the cold and the passage of time. What made him happiest was the growing confidence he felt with every day of practice. Finally, in December 1961, Paik had an opportunity to go to the United States. He was invited to perform in an international music festival sponsored by the New York Metropolitan Opera House. At that time, his family was still very poor and thus could not afford to buy him an outfit in which to perform, but when the late President Park Chung Hee heard of Paik's plight, he bought the boy a suit for the occasion. Paik was well received at his performance at Carnegie Hall and was given a chance to study in the United States. He entered the preparatory high school at Juilliard to study under the famous piano mistress, Madame Levine. He was deeply impressed by this new opportunity and dedicated himself to becoming the finest pianist in the world. Perhaps because he studied so hard, Paik became very depressed after several years of living and studying in New York, and even contemplated suicide. He gave up the piano for a time and immersed himself in introspection, aimlessly passing the time painting portraits of great musicians such as Bernstein and others. A number of famous composers, including Gershwin and the Austrian musician Arnold Schonberg, were well known for their skills in the fine arts as well and even gave shows of their paintings. Paik shared this talent. At that time, Paik was going through a series of mental transformations and sometimes even considered giving up the piano for good. But ultimately, he recognized that music was his natural calling and the reason that he had struggled through the many hardships facing him in his

early years. Once again he threw himself into his music. Since then, Paik has become a world famous pianist, criss-crossing the globe to perform for audiences on every continent. Deep in his heart, however, is the poverty of his childhood and the motherland in which he was born. No matter where he goes, he never forgets that' fact and remains proud of his Koreanness. Paik has spent the 1987-88 season performing and recording with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the English Chamber Orchestra, and the Scotland Chamber Orchestra. He also won acclaim for his performances with the Saint Luke Orchestra of New York, the Paris National Symphony Orchestra, and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition, Paik held solo recitals in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Toronto, Bristol and Rotterdam during the 1987-88 season, and he was the subject of a special broadcast on French public radio. He also played at festivals around the world, including the Bath and London Festivals in England, the Claremore Festival in the United States and a number of festivals in Europe. In March 1988, he toured Germany with the Scotland BBC Orchestra under the baton of the Polish conductor. The 1988-89 season will, of course, include performances in England, France, the Netherlands, Italy, the United States and Germany, and three solo recitals are planned for Paris in March 1989. Paik will record both solo and with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of England on the RCA label as well. Paik could be called the true phoenix of the piano. It is clear from his recent activity in Europe and the United States that his talent and ability are growing with age. He has persistently polished and improved the genius he has possessed since childhood and has never allowed himself to fall into a slump. This is truly reason for congratulations. We must spare nothing in our support and praise for this fine musician who has shown the world the great strength and potential of Korea's music. + *The writer is a music critic.

"Cherry" 12 x 27.5cm, '1987. A detail.from a copperpla_ te..

PEOPLE

Daily Objects Presented in Fascinating Poetic Imagery

HWANG KYU-BAIK By Oh Kwang-su

ew people remember the . paintings Hwang Kyubaik made before he left for Paris in 1968, even though he had been quite active since the late 1950s. To be more specific, he took part in the New Formalists Group which was inaugurated in 1957, a year which saw the rejuvenation of the Korean art world by several groups of young artists, mostly in their twenties, who advocated new concepts and methods of expression. The New Formalists Group and the Modern Artists Association were the two most active of these groups. Hwang and the other young artists of these groups sought to imbue fresh life unto the dull post-Korean War art scene. Even though he was quite active in the early 1960s, participating in several groups other than the New Formalists which was disbanded, very few people knew of him and his works. However, he made a fresh start by taking up printmaking shortly after he arrived in Paris,

and by the time he settled in New York two years later in 1970, he had built a new name for himself as a remarkable graphic artist. This does not mean that he completely gave up the brush. In fact, he presented both prints and paintings in exhibitions in Seoul from the mid-1970s to the early 80s. What is of special note about this period is that prints not only outnumbered paintings, but they also manifested his individuality and creative ingenuity much more successfully. He dealt with the same motifs in a number of his copper-plate prints and paintings, but in almost every case, the print was more successful. It was obvious that Hwang delivered his message much more vividly through his prints than his paintings. A visit to Atelier 17, the studio of British master print artist Stanley William Hayter, following his arrival in Paris, was a major turning point in Hwang's career when he was looking for new inspiration. He studied the basic skills of mezzotint

under Hayter at his atelier, during which period he acquired the fundamental techniques for achieving the unique tonal quality that characterizes his prints. Another turning point in his career came when a New York art dealer proposed that he move to New York under very favorable conditions. He accepted the offer mainly out of the hope of securing a livelihood. His life in New York contributed greatly to his mastering of printmaking. This is because he had to compete with the best artists from around the world who were drawn to the large city, a large cultural melting pot. To compete, he had to be innovative and hard working. Hwang's prints are characterized by their distinct motifs and a unique use of intaglio. His favorite motifs are centered around objects that are easily encountered or frequently used in our daily lives, such as handkerchiefs, chessboards, pillows, matchboxes, dice, violins, or sheet music. These objects are presented with shrewd

sensitivity and verisimilitude. With incredible skill these lifeless objects are animated to suggest some invisible motions or to evoke rich poetic images. In many of his early works, objects were presented against a backdrop of grass, such as a wrapping cloth spread on the grass, a pillow on a lawn, an old castle or a solitary house in a green field, or a chessboard in the grass. By juxtaposing these manmade objects with grass, he apparently intended to create fantastic circumstances for dramatic contrast or poetic illusion. Grass, for Hwang, apparently represented Mother Nature, but sometimes it was used simply to stimulate pastoral fancy. What is interesting is that grass repeatedly appears in his prints, while other motifs are not so perpetual. His deep attachment to grass, which, except for an occasional wildflower, bird or butterfly, is practically the only evidence of Nature in his works, is evident by the fact that grass was present in 18 of the 32 works shown in his latest exhibition in Seoul. Of particular interest here is that, these days, he usually presents small patches of grass, sometimes almost unrecognizable as they are placed in a corner or at the bottom of his pictures, while he used it as a conventional background, frequently occupying more than half of entire picture space, during his early years. Regardless of space, the symbolic implication of grass remains as powerful as ever in his pictures. Not a few critics categorize Hwang as a surrealist and for sufficient reasons. Only a surrealist could think of pinning up a handkerchief or a blanket against the summer sky, or floating a pillow in the air over a green grassland. And only a surrealist could express with such amazing keeness of perception the frailty of a nameless little flower and the supple texture of thin-bladed grasses. His pictures, which also show an impressionistic tendency in that they present momentary impressions of objects, are

informed with a fresh quality that constantly charms the viewer. The quality stems mainly from the fantastic, lyrical environments which he creates with everyday objects from around him. A notable tendency in recent years is that he has been including a wider variety of household objects in his designs, such as fruit bowls, teacups, pencils, stationery, eyeglasses, umbrellas and sewing notions. Violins and sheet music continue to appear with increasing frequency, indicating his ever ,

growing love of music. Golf clubs and balls are the latest motifs, suggesting that he recently started to play golf. In his pictures, these objects usually look as if they have just been used or are ready for use, implying the existence of their invisible owner. Much of the pleasure of viewing Hwang's prints, with their delicate tones and shading, comes from the technical perfection that he has achieved through inexhaustible efforts over the last two decades to master ~he process of mezzotint

Hwang Kyu-baik His deep attachment to grass, which except for an occasional wildflower, bird or butterfly, is practically the only evidence of nature in his works. Grass was present in 18 of the 32 works shown in his latest exhibition in Seoul.

"Trees and Chairs"

17.5 x 27.5cm Mezzotint

engraving which requires great perseverance and self-control as well as shrewd perception. Hwang once said that he cannot produce more than one or two works a month on the average even though he devotes all his time except for sleeping and eating every day. Hwang is recognized as one of the world's five best mezzotinters of today. He has obtained such prominence by winning awards in many prestigious international competitions, including the first prize in the 1973 Miami Print

Biennial, the third prize in the 1974 Norwegian Print Biennial, the gold prize in the 1974 Florence Print Biennial, and the first prize in the 1978 Finnish Print Biennial. His prints are in the collections of a number of renowned museums and galleries in various countries, such as the New York Museum of Modern Art, Paris Museum of Modern Art, the British National Gallery, Chicago Art Institute, th(\ Boston Museum of Art and the Norwegian National Museum of Art. He has given one-man

exhibitions in Seoul, Tokyo and many American and European cities over the years.+ â&#x20AC;˘ The writer is an art critic.

) /,

Ewha Haktang students in 1900.

. 69

The original Ewha Haktang, built in 1886-1887. King Kojong and Queen Min gave Mrs. Scranton's school, or haktang, the name "Ewha," or pear blossom, which was the royal symbol.

sure national survival and saw education as the first step toward that goal. To meet the challenges coming from abroad as a result of the opening of the ports, private citizens began to establish Western-style schools for boys. It was at this time that Mrs. Mary F. Scranton, an American Methodist missionary who followed her missionary doctor son to Korea, opened a school on a small plot of land she bought near a royal palace in Chongdong. She prayed for months before her first student came to her door on May 31, 1886. S\le was the concubine of a high-ranking court official who envisioned her learning English so that she could interpret for the queen and thereby facilitate his climb up the ladder of success. A second student came a month later. She was the daughter of an impoverished family who saw the free clothes and room and board provided by the school as a blessing. Mrs. Scranton literally rescued her third pupil from the throes of death. Following an outbreak of cholera, she went to a creek outside the walls of Seoul to help treat ailing people who

had been abandoned. She found the girl crying into the breasts of her dying m-other. It is this girl that Ewha claims as the first student as the other two quit after attending only a short time.

Mrs. Mary F: Scranton.

One may wonder why it would be difficult for a school offering free room and board to attract students. But, despite the movement toward enlightenment and modernization, there was still much prejudice against educating women because of strong Confucian beliefs. Until then, only

boys had received an edueation which, for the most part, focused on the study of Chinese classics of Confucian orientation and calligraphy. For centuries, women received no formal education, not even in reading and writing, although, of course, there were some exceptions. They were required to learn the Confucian virtues of subordination and endurance, while being denied opportunities to participate in social and political functions. Their major role was to produce offspring, preferably male, so that the family line could continue and to maintain the order of the family under the extended family system.Women were inferior to men in social status and hierarchy. Regardless of a woman's social class, social institutions and the custom of avoiding the opposite sex did not allow her to become involved in nonfamily affairs. In fact, a woman had to obey her father, then her husband and finally her son. A man could throw his wife out of the house for seven reasons: disobedience to parents, jealousy, licentiousness, disease, no children, talkativeness and stealing. The only thing that could prevent

,----.....,.,...=-~~- ~·~-----

)

~J '

-A literatijre class in May 1932. All of the class were taught the Korean sc~ipt hangOI \ instead of Chinese characters which were employed in most schools.

• him from doing so were if she had no place to ,go, if he had become rich,after marrying her, or if she had observed the three-year mourning period for her parents-in-law. The fact that foreigners were thought to be barbarians Vl(as another reason Mrs. Scranton had -difficulty/ in attracting students to her schoo1'. With many a student she hi d to sign a note promising n~ t~_.,tlike her ~o the U.S. Nonetheless, as more ' and mor; peopl~ began to correlate national power with m~ernization, more and more people' realized the need for women t<,Y6e educated. At the same time, many parents saw the education of their daughters ~ a way to improve their own lot. Hoping to encourage Western-style education, in 1887 King :&ojemg and Queen Min gitve Mrs. Scranton's school, "Or haktang, tHe name "Ewha," or.pear blossom, which was the royal symbol. Ewha Haktang grew steadily and its cu:driculum came to include history, _geography; politics, law, arithmetic, algebra and English, all of which were taught using the Korean script han-giil instead of Chinese

wis

fact, many graduates of Ewha, both . characters which employed in high school'aµd college~played an acmost schools. By 1908 it comprised an elementary school, a middle schooli tive part in the clandest'ine organizaartd a high school: fo 1910, the sam~ . tions and associations that-.12ropagated nationalist/ tl}ought and SUStaiBed the year that Korea was annexed by will o f Kor\eans to oppose Japan and Japan bringing to an end the 1dynasstrengthen their spirit of resistance. tic monarchy that had ruled the country. since 1392, Miss Lµlu Frey, lf. T~ey also participated in the Samil 1 Undong (March l Independence the school's fourth president, estabMovement) tha'.t began wift'the lished a college for she felt that wom{ en"" n~de>1 higher educij~ion ~ they promulgation of the Declaration of lli).dependence and its public reading were truly to upgrade their social stain1Seoul's Pagoda Park on March -I, tus to that of men. It graduated its 1919. Inspir~d by Woodrow Wilson's first students in 1914. This was quite qoctrine of the self-determination of an accomplishment considering the nations, the representatives of inJapanese suppressed .Kor,ean nationdependence organizations, most of al education from l"908 (Kor:ea was whom had some religious affiliation, made a protectorate of Japan in 1905) proclaimed Korea's independence on . and forced many schools to close. It was at a time of growing anti- · that day to take advantage of the crowds of people converging on Seoul Japanese sentiments and the sproutfor the March 3 funeral of former ing of the roots of an independence King Kojong. After the public leadmovement 1 some of which wkre offI' ing of the declaration, the crowds shoots ot earlier movements for marched in the streets shouting "Long modernization and independence live Korean independence! " ai'id such as the In'depend~nce Club and gradually demonstrations for inthe "righteous armies." At Ewha, as dependence spread to the countryside at other, mi~ionary-run schools, oraand eventually the whole country. torical contests, debates and campaigns of various sorts were' held to 1 ' The Government-General crushed the demonstrations with force, killing fan the patriotic ardor of students. In \<

y /

A gymnastic class with Miss Walter. Miss Walter was the first to alter Korean dress to a more convenient style. ,,..~/

thousands of people in the process. Many of the independence leaders and fighters were arrested and imprisoned. They included Yu Kwan-sun, an Ewha high sehool student who was arrested on March 1, released ,and later arrested again. She was tor. tured to death in prison. She was instrumental in spreading the news of the Samil Undong throughout the country. She built a signal fire high atopa mountain in Ch' onwon-gun, Ch'ungch'ongnam-do to notify the people in the surrounding areas of , the March 1 activities. The message .; was then relayed.via a series of mountain top signal fires to other parts of the country. She also gathered people together in the Aunae Marketplace, distributed banned Korean flags to them, and made a touching sp~h about the need for Korea to be independent and urging thepeople to go out into the streets and demand independence. Han Ran-sa (1875-1919), a graduate 9f Ewha Haktang, also took part in the Samil Undong. The first woll!an to receive a degree in the U.S., a B.A. at Ohio Weslyan University, she / taught English and Bible at Ewha.

After the Samil Undong, she fled to Harbin where she was eventually poisoned for her independence activities. Shin Marcella, one of the first three graduates of Ewha Haktang, also worked for Korea's independence . • Following the Samil U~dong, she escaped to Peking and then to Shanghai, where the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea with a constitution proclaiming equal rights for men and women was established in April 1919. She then went to Washington; D.C. where she setmoney to tled and lectured to support the inclependence activities. Despite the hard times and the suppression of education by the Government-General, Ewha managed to educate increasing numbers of women and to grow. In 1935 the college moved·from the Chohg-dong campus to a 140-acre site iii._Sh'nch'on which Dr. Alice R. Appenzeller, who became Ewha's sixth president in 1922, had procured in 1925. To build the fac.ilities, Dr. Appenzeller ,toured the U".'S. in an extensive'fund-raising campaign. Methodist churches throughout the U.S. ""designated an "Ewha week" once a yearlo pray and (

raise

I 72

•

raise funds for the school and donations from a few dollars to $50,000 poured in. The buildings that were so financed were of a Gothic style built of granite fr@m the ~aesong area (now in North :Korea). Many of them are still used. Duririg Dr. Appenzeller's 17-yeaf tenure, departments of liberal arts, music and home economi~ were 'added. In 1939 Dr. Helen Kim, a graduate of Ewha and the first woman to receive a doctoral degree in the U.S., became the first Korean president of Ewha. She led the-school through a tnily difficult period-the final years of colonial occupation when Japan, at war with the U.S., forbade the use of Korean and Korean names in a desperate attempt at.assimilation and conscripted Koreans for its war industry and to fight in faraway islal'lds. With Japan's defeat by the Allied Forces, Korea ·regained its independence on,August 15, 1945, but was divided into two-the South and the North-by a military demarcation_ line at the 38th parallel to! facilitate· I, · the surrender of the Japanese troops, , with the U.S. overseeing /the South and the Soviet Union, tne North. Just ,

)

' l

b. ',

/ f

t' .•

two months ·1ater, Ewha became a Dr. Chung lj Sook, a 195~ .graduuniversity with three colleges, the ate of Ewha:s English literature College of Liber~-Arts and Sciences, department and a. holder of '"a doctorate in religious education fr0m the College of MJJSic and Fine Arts and the College.bf Healing Arts, and Northwt,;!stern University, has been · opened the Ewha University Hospithe president. of Ewha ·~ince 1979. 1 tal at its present lo<mtion near the Under hei: gµidance, the Speech and I East Gate in ¥OW, A graduate school . Hearing Cerlter, -the Graduate School \ was added in 1950. ", . 1 of Industrial Design, the Computer , 1 In the meantime in the S0t{th,Jhe Research Center, the School of ConConstitution of the Republlc of tinuing Education and the InternaI\ Korea w~.,_promulgated on July 17, /. tional'Education Institute have been ~ 1948. Article 8 of it stated that all established and the Cqllege of LiberKo;rean nati<;mals are equal and not al Arts and Scien.ces lfi.as been sepasufuject to discrimination due to sexr rated into the College ~f Liberal Arts and the Cbll!clge of Natural Sciences. religion or the stiatus in. political, economic, social and cultural realms. The physical plant itself has grown This helped to emancipate womeq:' with the construction' of the-College from suppression they had sufferefl . of Music Building, the Science ' r for years and marked their entJ')"' int9 Center, the Management Hall, the I ( Ewha Centennial Library and the equal participation with pre'n in so_ciety as evident in the fact that worn- · , College of Law. and.Political Science , en raro. in Korea's first National Building. A building modeled after the building.in which Mrs;'' Scranton / Assembly elections in May 1948. The ./. Repbblic of Korea was officially esfiFst opened her school has also1been constructed for use by the College ofl , tabli~hed ~ with Syngman Rhee · as 7/ / pr~~dent on August 15, 1948 and the ' Home Economics for home manageAmerican military-soon left. ment 'training. Home ecohomics 1 Communist North Koreans invad-· mr jors must Hve' h"ere ; for several( ' . ed the South on June 25, 1950 with week5i to learn tradi~ional Korean /' · the beginning of wh~t has becoil}e lifestyles. Thi<! is parti~ arly interestkn,·0wn as the Korean·\yar (1990-53),. . ing ·given th'e fact that for years the , , · ., 1 • h · 1 l d h 1 h d l h The late Dr. Helen Kim who was a chairman of '1' e-nniyersity evacuate to Pusan.a't sc _oo a a Western-sty e ouse · theEwha Foundation (top). .f · the southern tip of the Korean·periinw):iere students would.stay with mis-1 . . . .· sull for the duration of the fighting. sionaries to learn Western manners · Dr. Chung h-sook, the president o ''\ Altp.ough the' war devastated th~ The centennial . o{ the sf hool'~!, "" 'since : :9 0 to~\· , " . \ -~ '\ .c0untry, Ewha managed to grow. founding was celebrated on May 13, 1 1986 at whic}.;i time many of'tpe new ,.. ' , ,,' When -it moved back to ~ ul in Aul gust ,1953 following the signing ·of the.,.,.- facilities wer~ officially .dedicated. ii ~ \ ,. 1 armistice agreement on Jul..,, 27, if\ The school now has 11 eblleges, 5{ r\ -\ -~ t• t , , • t' 1'·. < } V had grown to five colleg~ fJwith 119 ·. departments and three/ graduate · , departments, a 'graduat ·school,t a ~ cn'bols. Over 30 buildings are scat- ~ . ,j,fW 1 hospital ani:l a kindergarten. , :... · ten1a a bcfut its hilly, thicltly wooded, ., ;;. .) . >f . , , f PErofh. Kimb Okgill, ah 1943 ~aduatef " 140-hacre campus in ~~Sin~!}n in the , J"'1 , , i , o w a, ecame t e/ pres1uent o nort western part ,o. '{ eo""'. ! Ewha' in 1961/ upon "the resignation . One of the unjversity's 1most out- , 1 · , , of Dr.! Helen ,Kim, who remained-in- standing facilities' is} he {Centennial { ' · .:,,_J!· \ volved ia~ affairs of Ewha as presiLibrary, which has.won international ·· . · ~ 1 ' dent e~eritus and chai:iman 6£ tl\e · architectural awar~ / '. ~t J hit. five \ ) · Ewha Foundation. Until\f rof. Kim's . , open-stack reading rooms, six gener·.(·. I l resignf tion in 197@,. after \which she ··al reading rooms, rooms. for reference books, periodicals, theses, rari books, became. Korey minister 6( educati~n, the\ 1niy.er~ity grew in leaps and . ~ icrofilms and special,.,,.~llections. Its bounds, Edm.dtional ·facilities -were . collection-\ comprises one \ tr,iillion greatly_1exparicl~d with the co~tru~volumes. ~ he spacious, well-lighted a numijei:. of new buildings building 'Yith seating for 4,0('.)0 is tion ang A.udi?-Yisul;\.l Research tastefully gecoJated'wi~ art works by faculty men;ioeFs and sh1dents. , Ceht~'r, tl)e-~ atioµal HIStOfY Museumi-ltbe.G_erartti6 1Researeh Institute / The,W fi.iyersity has' a very fine '. and the J{orean ~ omen's Jnstitu~e , museuiii\.. lfouse9:t in the Colleg!:l of \ '';): were estapl1shed. 'fhe .Ew·lia Hospi- / Fine Afts.Building. I.t was·e5tablished\.. (,. ; . ,~ /. in 1960 w;ith 'Dr.' Helen Kim's dona- 1 .... ·, · tal was $0 .expanded.''\

' .\

./b

,~ l

•' !

)

-i~r.

\,....;

l i'), . ~ . . . . .,t J: rl, - , :r ·:. • .' .·, : ; :,,/11( . !(Ji .

" ... t ..

. P.

~~,:.

,. , , ". , y·

; '

f',

''\.: '•

~., ·:_ :

. \ -~

.d .

.( -~,

.7 3

The Main Hall of Ewha Womans University (above). The Ewha Alumnae Association Building (right).

tion of her private collection of traditional works of art and folk crafts and has since grown to boast more than 7,000 Korean and Chinese artifacts and relics, a number of which have been designated National Treasures and Treasures. It is famous for its expansive ceramics collection. It is thus only natural that Ewha has an institute dedicated to tracing and reviving the art of traditional Korean ceramics. The Ceramics Institute also serves as a workshop for students majoring in ceramics. More than 11,000 ceramic works a year, both traditional and contemporary, come from its kilns. Most of the items are put on sale in periodic auctions and at the institute's show room. Âˇ Ewha's current enrollment is 13,700.As of 1987,65,000 women had graduated from the university. Ewha graduates account for approximately 20 percent of the entire 300,000 Korean women who have received a college education; an impressive number considering there are 95 coeducational colleges and universities in Korea and eight colleges and universities for women in addition to Ewha.

Ewha graduates have contributed greatly to Korea's development during tlie last hundred years. The founders and leaders of most of the women's organizations including the Association of University Women, the Women's Club and the Korean YWCA were from Ewha and Ewha women also established the Association of Women's Studies to study the women's movement in Korea. Several Ewha women have held Cabinet positions. In fact, Cho Kyung Hee, a 1939 graduate of Ewha's English literature department, is presently the second state minister for political affairs. Of the three female members of the present National Assembly, one, Pak Youngsuk, is an Ewha graduate and of the six female members of the past National Assembly, three were Ewha graduates. Other prominent Ewha graduates include Lee Tai Young, Korea's first woman lawyer who currently heads the Korea Legal Aid Center for Family Relations, poet Mo Yun-suk, whose works have been translated into several foreign languages, opera star Kim Cha-kyong, and ceramicist Hwang Chong-rye.

The first Korean doctor of W ffitem medicinÂˇe was Kim Chom-dong (1876-1910), or Esther Park as she is commonly known in the annals of Ewha, who traveled around the country on a donkey to administer to the sick until she contracted a contagious disease and died. Ironically, she had to attend Ewha Haktang clandestinely. as her parents were against education for women. King Kojong was so impressed with her becoming a physician that he presented her with a medal in 1900 upon her return from Baltimore Medical College. Also at the award ceremony was the previously mentioned Harr Ransa. The first Korean woman to receive a degree in the U.S., she had returned from the U.S. at the same time as Esther Park. She is the only married woman known to have attended Ewha, which has a strict policy of only allowing single women to attend. One of the first students to attend Ewha Haktang, she was at first refused admittance by Mrs. Scranton because she was married. When.Mrs. Scranton told her she could not attend the school, she blew out the candle in t':ie room and said that was

.-•

'·. j

. how Korean women would be ) without education-~ the dark. M~ . ~ ) Scranton was so imgressed -that shV , allowed the married' woman to at.' tend thb. school. Ewha·was ins\rumental in ending . I ' the age-old custo~ of early marriage · for women, that is of girls marrying · in their teens as Han Ran-sa had done. It changetj. the · way women dressed by replacing· the tie-string bodice of the traditional Korean dress, which tiglitly bound the breasts wit h,1str~ps, a11d from. 191_5 1 Ewha student,s complE:J,tely discarded the . ssugaech'jma, l sldrt-sh~ped shawl worn over the head to partly conceal the face .. By i~Jluding folk dancing and sports sucnf as tennis in · its curriculum, it freed ~ men from the strict sodal dictate t,haf omen showd not ,r~n. Moreover , it taught them that unquestjoned submission to ~ adi~on w~ not'1a virtue ane- tha~ The: right to freedom and ind'.~pen?ence. was r{~t li/n,i~~ t9 ~en) vto,-e 1mport~t, perhfclps; 1t proY_\d~ thJ~ ':"{th lofty ide~, a sense of r e- an9 a sense of ~elf. AcademfallY, ~it 1 the,m the necessary up-toprovided date knowledge and skills to take part iii1 and contribute to modern society. Ewha's greatest cqntribution to Korea is, however, without a doubt the emr ncipation of WOIT\en in the ' . traditional, highly-Confucian, male,, dominated society. In the words of its pr~igent Chung H Sook,',.tl}e history[ of Ewha is the •"history ot· socia:f reform which sought a way t9 o_pe~ a closed society and to brlghtep -tlle · darkness. " By challenging age-otd customs, Ewha has 11 helped bring . Korean women out of the "inner \ rooms" to take part in ·society equally°with men. + , · · .

Nl ·

:, ' he writer is a free-taJ cer.

I '

ANEW AGE OF KOREAN FILMMAKING By Ahn Byong-sup t was a great day in the history of Korean cinema when Miss Kang Su-yon was presented with the best actress award at the 1987 Venice International Film Festival for her performance in the Korean film Ssibaji (The Surrogate Mother). As the first actress from East Asia to receive the coveted award from this, the oldest international film festival in the world, Miss Kang has brought new purpose to Korea's film community. This is not simply a personal honor for Kang Su-yon, a 22-yearold beauty born with a gift for acting; it is an honor for all Koreans. Perhaps more significant is the fact that a Korean film actually made it to the finals of the Venice festival and that the film was rated so highly by the judges there. This award has definitely transformed thinking about Korean film, by highlighting the Korean film community's potential for excellence. Greek actress Irene Papas who served as head of the festival's judging committee told Ssibaji director Im Kwon-t'aek: "Whether your work wins an award or not, I really like it." Critics praised Im as "a director of the younger generation worthy of our attention," and as an artist whose "technique rejected mere mannerism." It is clear Ssibaji's success has brought about a new consciousness of Korean cinema, hitherto mostly discounted. Approximately 100 films are produced each year in Korea. The first film was made in 1919 and movies have been cranked out ever since, although there was strict

censorship during the Japanese colonial period (1910-45). Since liberation from Japanese rule, Korean cinema has gone through a number of stages: notably a golden era in the 1960s and a period of struggle to define Korea's national identity in the 1980s. In the latter period, Im Kwon-t'aek's Mandara and Yi Du-yong's Pimak (Death Cottage) as well as a number of films by a slightly younger generation of directors, including Yi Chang-ho and Pae Ch'ang-ho, have gradually made inroads at film festivals around the world. Korean filmmakers have been diligent in their efforts to cultivate world recognition for the artistry of Korean film, reaping awards from a broad range of international competitions. Recognition has not come easily, despite such efforts to internationalize the local film industry through worldwide distribution, but with Miss Kang's award for her work in Ssibaji, there is new hope for Korean film. During the latter part of President Park Chung Bee's rule in the 1970s, Korean filmmakers were hampered by censorship and restrictions on their freedom of expression, but gradually these barriers to artistic expression are being removed. Indeed, the present movement toward democratization of Korean society is paralleled by great changes in the film industry as well. With the revision of the laws governing film production two years ago, broad liberalizations have been enacted. Since July 1, 1987, the Korean market has been open to the import of foreign films, except those from Japan or

the Communist bloc. Thus Korean film has entered a new age in which it must engage to a certain extent in open competition with foreign films in terms of both commercial success and artistic expression. Korean film is, however, still protected from truly free international competition by the so-called "screen quotn'' system which requires theaters to show a set number of Korean films for every foreign film they present and by the restriction preventing foreigners from building their own theaters in Korea. An optimistic note can be found in the positive reviews of foreign critics, praising improvements in Korean filmmaking over the last three or four years. In November 1987, a week-long "Salute to Korean Cinema" was held at the Hawaii International Film Festival. The nine films shown there, all produced in the 1980s, were widely applauded. John Charlot, a festival organizer who came to Korea to select the films, noted that Korean films have shown surprising improvement in the last three or four years. Since Ssibaji, there has been a swirl of activity to produce films to be presented at international film forums. Among these are Uri nun chigtlm Cheneba ro Kanda (We are Now Going to Geneva), a film portraying the aftereffects of the Vietnam War directed by Song Yong-Su; Kamja (potato), directed by Pyon Chang-ho, to be submitted to the Karlo Vary International Film Festival; Y6nsan ilgi (Yonsan-gun's Diary and Adada (Adada, the Idiot)

Kang Su-yon in "Ssibaji," The Surrogate Mother.

directed by Im Kwon-t'aek, and Chopshikkot Tangshin (Darling Hollyhock) directed by Pak Ch'ol-su. Several of these works have been commercially successful despite the popular preference for foreign films in Korea. Indeed, the international award received by in Ssibaji has done much to transform the negative impression of domestic films held by Korean intellectuals and students, thus restoring the prestige of our local filmmakers. In addition, the new optimism that is enveloping the nation in general has awakened Korean filmmakers and given them renewed determination to overcome the industry's financial and artistic inertia and the intense competition from foreign films. On top of this, a new generation of Korean filmmakers is being nurtured in the film departments of five universities and in cinema clubs at universities around the nation. These developments hold great potential for the future of the Korean film industry. Despite the fact that Korean

filmmakers must always be conscious of the bottomline and domestic market Âˇbox office, there are two or three directors who are making great artistic strides. Director Im Kwon-t'aek has pursued his artistic intentions in two films produced since Ssibaji. Yonsan ilgi portrays the tragedy behind the life of the Yi Dynasty tyrant Yonsan-gun who ruled from 1494-1506. Adada explores the difficulties of a young deaf woman in our materialistic age. Yonsan ilgi received the 1987 Grand Bell Award, the highest award of Korea's film industry. Song Yongsu's "Uri nun Chigiim Chenebaro Kanda" was Yonsan ilgi's top competition for the award. This film portraying the psychological aftereffects haunting a young soldier upon his return from Vietnam where he performed a mercy killing of a wounded comrade, has been widely praised by critics and young audiences for its freshness and sensual imagery. Pyon Chang-ho's"Kamja'' depicts the eroticism of a young woman who is forced into prostitution in

order to support herself during the Japanese colonial period. Chopshikkot Tangshin is an intensely melodramatic work derived from the autobiographical writings of a young poet, portraying the relationship between the poet and his wife. A new type of melodrama skillfully staged and well-acted, it is another success for director Pak Ch'ol-su whose Angae kidiing (Pillar of Fog) won the Grand Bell Award in 1986. Despite the difficulties that remain, Kang Su-yon's Venice International Film Festival award for Ssibaji has brought new hope and possibilities to Korea's film industry. It is not simply an honor to be enjoyed now in the present, however, rather it is a sign of a whole new beginning for Korean cinema.+ "The writer is a movie critic and a professor at Seoul Institute of Art.

TRADITIONAL AND MODERN HARMONY OF THE EXQUISITE By Michael Engelhard

was dispatched to Seoul as a young cultural attache in late 1970. My colleagues, when they learned of my new assignment, looked at me with almost sad eyes and wished me good luck "in Vietnam." Both Korea and Vietnam were far-off countries in East Asia, of which most Germans had little knowledge at that time. Many Germans took one for the other, or they even believed that Korea was located somewhere in Latin America. I myself knew nothing about Korea. During the next two and a half years, I lived and worked there with great enthusiasm. And ever since that time, Korea has been in my mind as a matter of major concern, or to be more precise, my interest in this country has been my private spleen for a long time. Today when Koreanmade automobiles run along streets in Germany, however, a growing number of people among us have developed interest in this country and such a trend is increasing rapidly. We can predict with much confidence that the Summer Olympics in Seoul this year will provide a major momentum to further boost such a trend. No doubt we are already well aware that Korea has emerged as a powerful factor in the world economy. We are also watching with a sympathetic eye the positive political developments taking place in the country. But, what do we know about Korean culture? Most of us regard Korean culture at best as a peripheral version of Chinese or Japanese culture. In the chapters for cultural history in our encyclopedias, it is mostly described as an overlooked "appendix'bf Chinese culture. It may probably be the least known of all ad-

vanced cultures on the earth at present, but once this country has placed itself at the center of the world stage, things will certainly change. So, it was a piece of beautiful luck that we could view an exhibition by Korean artist, Yoon Chi-hyun, at the IFA Galerie here earlier this year. Seoul had a population of four million when I first got to know Yoon Chi-hyun. Today, more than 10 million people live in the city. This single fact is sufficient to imply the immense changes which have occurred in the lives of individuals as

Yoon Chi-hyun

well as of society at large. Particularly, the changes must have brought about an intensive tension for artists. The tension is multifarious, such as tension between Western European culture and Asian traditional culture, tension between far and near, tension between the noisy and the quiet, tension between the internal and external, tension between mind and soul, tension between change and preservation, and so on. As these changes take place abruptly in Korea, they ought to be mentally arranged in a new order. I believe creating such an order in his works is the primary duty

of the artist. Neither political programs nor government policies can be of help in this process. Such multifarious tension can be negated only when it is successfully controlled in the creation of art works. Therefore, I put a question to myself while viewing paintings at this exhibition. "Are these typical Asian paintings?" It is not easy to answer this question. Before some of the paintings, we may feel that we can clearly perceive some image reminiscent of Chinese calligraphic patterns. It may be the result of confusion deriving from our ignorance. Or, if a painting actually resembles Chinese calligraphy, it is nothing but an exception. These paintings basically lack all markedly Oriental characteristics. But in all of these paintings, something which is not given to us exists, something which, like a hushed sound from far away, brings back faint me.mories of an experience in Oriental art and painting. It may be something as certain as the method of executing a line in calligraphy. This certainty, however, is not presented prominently as an independent element. It is buried in a new unity. Yoon Chi-hyun studied in Paris, where she could naturally get acquainted with various experiences of contemporary European art. But when we try to place her in relation to contemporary French artists, we can think of no appropriate names. In spite of such a distinct individuality, however, we can notice in all of her paintings a reflection of the admirable, mental and decorative harmony which characterizes the pictures of Henri Matisse. Yoon as an artist possesses an unusually delicate

personality but, at the same time, she defines the position of her painting amidst different cultures with clear and definite energy. She achieves an exquisite harmony of the Oriental and Western elements through exact balance. Oriental elements are never alienated by the modern in her pictures, nor the Western embellished by the Oriental. And such a balance displays more persuasive power because it ignores all cheap effects. We will have the same observation if we examine the direct impression of these paintings to approach the fact from a different side. Just like carpets, these paintings look ornamental at the first glance. An ornament is intended to please the eyes while putting a man's soul at rest or sometimes even deliberately repulsing it. But what is evident from the outset is that these paintings are more than ornaments and are different from ornaments. The more we look into these paintings, the deeper they take us into them. But they never try to forcefully absorb us. Rather, my feeling is that these paintings are possessive of a mixed power to attract and reject the viewer at the same time. The power to attract and reject is so delicately mixed as to achieve an excellent balance in a very quiet manner. These paintings, carrying the simple titles of "Plants," depict lively biological phenomena presented in various abstract patterns including squares and other geometric forms . It is hard to say which of these various patterns more clearly determines the characteristics of these paintings. I believe all these forms also obtain a very delicate and tense balance. This balance is characterized by a deep tranquility like one permeating the lives of plants. Whatever questions we may bring up as to the impression of these paintings, i.e., the relations between rest and motion, line and the face, or even such extremely superficial factors as height and width, I believe we will always perceive the same delicate and exact balance as what we have thus far observed. It is most difficult to find the correct middle of the road position, which, instead of destroying confronting elements such as far and near, internal and external, or rest and motion, negates and preserves

"PLANT," Acrylic on Korean paper

them in a state of tension so as to realize their coexistence. I believe such a perfect middle of the road can be discovered in an act of reflection precisely scaling all weights and that the weights decide the degree of tension. It requires an enormous concentrating power to maintain such a tension in balance. In Yoon's painting, such a power confronts the delicateness of her pictures-but people can-

not recognize it right away because even this power is presented in a subtle manner in a state of complete b;:tlance. Her pictures contain such a power. Maybe, we can approach a little nearer to the secret of the gigantic achievements being made by Koreans through her painting.t 'The writer is an information secretary to the President of the Federal Republic of Germany.

ART NEWS

ARTISTS OF MODERN LIFE

he recently opened Gallery Hyundai in July staged one of the most exciting exhibitions to be seen in Seoul galleries in a long time. Entitled Present Image '88, the show featured the art works of 35 artists who call themselves the Present Image Group. Although they are of a "group," the 35 painters (and sculptors) of modern life, to borrow a phrase from Baudelaire, do not belong to any particular school but are as diverse in their styles and techniques as they are in their number. They are only alike in that they see to stress the importance of life, rather than style. Through their highly personalized styles, the artists present an incisive and allinclusive picture of the turbulent and vigorous life and culture of Korea and her people. Each artist, however, seems to look at the present from a different angle. Take for example, Seo Jeoung-

chan's "Landscape 88-2," a large oil painting on canvas 227.3 x 162.1cm. It is a tractor trail through a newly tilled field that is so realistically depicted one can almost smell the earth and tractor exhaust and see the tired farmer bouncing along after a day of hard work. Men and women struggling to survive the rat race of today's society immediately come to mind with the very gestural forms of Shon Seung-deok's distorted bodies of men and women done in acrylic on canvas. While Jeung Gyuseok's oil renderings of temple doors with scraps of magazines bring to mind the changing value system and the question of national identity with which many of today's young people are struggling. The dehumanization of man in today's society seems to be the subject of Park Kwon-soo's large oil and acrylic depiction of two men in a stark landscape of a red

tree and grass as well as sculptor Lim Young-sun's beautifully sculpted life size, free-standing figures of two riude, headless men carrying a large log. On a lighter note, Lee Suk-joo presents a highly realistic still life of common everyday objects. These are just a few examples of the diversity of the images of the present in the exhibition. The artists all seem to grasp heretofore every scene or object, whether a work of nature, a person or an everyday incidental, in the context of life and modern civilization, something neretofore rare in Korean art. Perhaps the show signals the elipse of an older generation of artists who have long dominated Korea's art world and the rising of a new, more innovative generation of artists who are more concerned with depicting life than with imitating others or pursuing a tradition.+

World Academic Conference Opens in Seoul Sunday August 21, 1988 saw the opening of the World Academic Conference of the Seoul Olympiad '88. The conference which is being held at the Korean Christian Academy in Suyu-ri on the northern outskirts of Seoul, will continue until September 6 and will then culminate in a general congress on September 7-8 to be held at the Seoul Hilton International Hotel. A total of 178 Korean scholars and 101 foreign academics are participating in the academic conference itself and some 600 will participate in the general congress. "The World Community in PostIndustrial Society" is the general theme of the conference which is being broken down into five sub-themes which are being discussed successively throughout the conference. The first of the sub-themes dealt with changing families in a world perspective. While the other sub-thmes also focus on topics related to the general theme; continuity and change in communications in post-industrial society; the confusion in ethics and values in contemporary society and possible approaches to redefinitions; the encounter between the East and West and the creation of a global culture; and finally, the human encounter with nature: destruction and reconstruction. Some of the world's most famous academics and professors are attending the conference, and Âˇon the first day of the general congress following the conference, John Kenneth Galbraith, professor emeritus at Harvard University, and Fei Xiaotong, former president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, make keynote speeches. While at the closing ceremony, India's M.M. Thomas, chairman of the World Council of Churches, and French professor Michel Crozier deliver their keynote speeches. Also, Soviet leader Gorbachev's philosophical adviser Tchinguiz Aitmatov is slated to deliver a commemorative speech at the closing ceremony.+

Soviet Performances in Seoul To the complete surprise and satisfaction of the general public it was announced in early August that the Bolshoi Ballet, the Moscow Philharmonic and the Bolshoi Academy Chorus will perform in Korea in September as part of the Olympic Arts Festival. The event is not only a historic one in that it marks the first time that Soviet artists have performed in the Republic of Korea but it is also a major cultural landmark in itself. A major Seoul newspaper, the Dong-a Ilbo signed the contract for the Soviet ballet troupe on Monday, August 8, with V.G. Alexandrov, a high-level official of the Soviet Cultural Department representing the Soviet side. The Bolshoi Ballet, with six outstanding soloists and a 44 member corps de ballet will perform at Seoul's Sejong Cultural Center on September 4-5 and in provincial cities on Sep-

tern her 7-8 and 10-11. They will present highlights from 27 ballet pieces including "Swan Lake," "The Sleeping Beauty" and a duet from "Spartacus." The Moscow Philharmonic will perform at the Seoul Arts Center from September 18-21 and in provincial centers on September 14 and 15. Their repertoire includes Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 and Rakmaninov's Symphony No. 5 as well as other famous pieces. The Bolshoi Academy Chorus which is celebrating its 60th anniversary is also presenting a variety of outstanding classical selections in its concerts from September 21-23. The Bolshoi Academy Chorus' performances are being sponsored by the Chosun Ilbo, another prominent Seoul newspaper. Included in the cast of the chorus will be two vocalists of Korean origin, Ludmilla Nam and Nelly Lee.+

ART NEWS

La Scala in Seoul The Sejong Cultural Center in Seoul was the site for a spectacular start to the Olympic Arts festival with the staging of the opera "Turandot" by the La Scala opera company of Milan. For its Seoul debut, the 210-year-old opera company performed Puccini's last opera before spellbound audiences on August 19 and 22 as well. The sheer color, technical brilliance and excellent performances by both the La Scala orchestra and the vocalists will make this piece one of the most memorable events of the 50-day Seoul Olympic Arts Festival. In terms of plot and musical style, "Turandot" represents Puccini's ultimate work and its only flaw lies in the fact that it remained unfinished with his death. The finale added by Franco Alfano completed the piece but it never satisfactorily matched the main body of the work. However, the La Scala production staged in Seoul was completely transformed with a dazzling array of Mediterranean colors by the unrivaled skill and excellence of its producer, Franco Zeffirelli. This along with the music of the La Scala orchestra, conducted by maestro Lorin Maazel, gave the singers an almost perfect forum to express their voices and demonstrate their talent.

Bulgarian-born soprano Ghena Demitrova appeared in the leading role of Princess Turandot Âˇ and Gt::seppe Giacomini and Lando Bartoloni alternated in the role of Calaf, the Tartar prince who woos the forbidding princess. Althgether, the cast and staff of the production comprised

some 720 members 425 of whom came from Milan along with thirteen container carloads of scenery and costumes for the performance. Thus making this as authentic a performance of the Teatro Alla Scala as if it were played in Milan itself.+

Who will it be in '88?

Ssangyong has a special interest. In recent decades, we've seen some spectacular stars in Gymnastics, names that include Comaneci, Kim and Retton. At Ssangyong, we're particularly anxious to see who it will be in the '88 Seoul Summer Olympics.

Why? Because we built the Gymnastics Arena, the very first in the world with a light-asa-feather self-supporting cable dome. And the arena is as graceful as the athletes who'll beÂˇ performing in it, with all requirements having been delicately balanced to perfection. Ssangyong. In business, too, we're out to make stars out of our partners as we hurdle around the world in trade, automotives, finance, and other business areas in addition to construction.

(((((SSANGYONG Central P.O. Box 409 Seoul , Korea Telex: TWINDRA K23258 Phone: 270-8114 Fax: 273/0961

- =-==-====

§nil¥ Rise With Us.

Business Lines of the Sunkyong Group •General Trading: Sunkyong Limited •Synthetic Fibers, New Materials and Fine Chemicals: Sunkyong Industries Limited •Polyester Film, Video Tapes, Floppy Disks, Compact Discs: SKC Limited •Integrated Energy and Chemicals: Yukong Limited

Head Office: CPO Box 1780, Seoul, Korea / TEL: 758-2114/ TELEX: K24B51-5 SNKYONG / FAX: (02) 754-9414 New York : SUNKYONG INTERNATIONAL INC. TEL: (SKI) 212-564-6650/ TELEX: RCA 233439 SKTC / FA X: (212) 714-9123 London : SUNKYONG EUROPE LTD. TEL : (01) 561-1200/ TELEX: 22426 SKYLDN G/ FAX: (01) 561-7626