Koreana Autumn 1997 (English) by The Korea Foundation

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BEAUTY OF KOREA

S6kpo Sangj61 Type

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Sokpo sangjol, the first metal han-gul type

In 1446, after three years of research and experimentation, King Sejong promulgated han-gul, an indigenous alphabet for the Korean people. Soon after its introduction, the king ordered the publication of numerous works using the new alphabet, which was officially called "correct sounds to teach the people" (Hunmin ch6ng-um). , In the second month of 1447, Songs of Flying Dragons (Yongbi 6ch'6n-ga), a eulogy to royal ancestors, was published, and several months later Episodes from the Life of the Buddha (Sokpo sangj61) was published as a tribute to King Sejong's

late queen, Sohon-wanghu. The metal type used in this publication is named for this text. Sokpo sangjol type was a landmark in the history of Korean printing because it was the first metal

han-gul type and the precursor to the Gothic type used today. Irregularities in the typeface indicate that it was cast from molten brass. Preexisting type was modeled after brush calligraphy, but Sokpo sangjol type broke from convention, setting a new standard for scientific type design. When used for texts mixing han-gul with Chinese characters, the typeface combines the fluidity of traditional calligraphy with the masculine lineal beauty of han-gul. Sokpo sangjol type was also used in the printing of Songs of the Moon's Reflection on a Thousand Rivers (Worin ch 'on-gangji-gok). A later Gothic typeface of this style was used to print Correct Rhymes of the Eastern Nation (Tongguk chongun), a dictionary of Korean pronunciation pub-

lished in 1448.

KOREAN ART & CULTURE

Cover: Sejong, one of the

c 0

Sejong

the Great

An Enlightened Monarch and Confucian Humanist: Sepng the Great

A Reexamination of King Sepng's Achievements

most revered of all Korean kings, ruled from 1418 to 1450. His 32-year reign was the most brilliant and fructuous in the 518-year history of the Chos6n Dynasty. In commemoration of the 600th anniversary of his birth, KOREANA takes a look at

Sejong~

ruling philosophy

and some of his many accom-

by Choe Ch ung-ho

8 by Yi Tae-jin

plishments

14 Creation of the Korean Alphabet by Kang Shin-hang

18 Han-gUl A Scientific Writing System by Suh Cheong-soo

20 Development of Science and Technology ·in the Early Chos6n Period by Nha Il-seong ©The Korea Foundation 1997 All rights reserved No part of this publication may be repro. duced in any form without the prior permission of The Korea Foundation. The opinions expressed by the authors do not necessarily represent those of the editors of KOREANA or The Korea Foundation. KOREANA, registered as a quarterly magazine with the Ministry of Information (Registration No. Ba-1033, dated Aug. 8, 1987), is also published in French, Spanish, Japanese and

Chinese.

26 Sepng, Han-gUl and Ship by Kevin O'Rourke

30 King Sepng's Musical Achievements by Han Myung-hee

36 ON THE ROAD

Yoju by Kim joo-young

44 KOREAN ARTISAN

Master Woodworker: Kim Ul-saeng by Lee Hyoung-kwon

Korea Foundation

Vol. 11 . No. 3 Autumn 1997

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An Enlightened Monarch and Confucian Humanist

Sejong the Great Choe Chung-ho Professor of Journalism Yonsei University

hongmyo, Seoul's royal ancestral shrine, and the annual memorial rites performed there were recently selected for inclusion on UNESCO's World Heritage List. The shrine is simple yet majestic. The long hallway is lined with vermilion columns and many shrine rooms, which house the spirit tablets of the kings and queens of the Chos6 n Dynasty (1392-1910). The music performed during the rites was designated Important Intangible Cultural Property No. 1 by the Korean government long before UNESCO recognized the rite's significance. Two ritual compositions for the

wind and string instruments, Ch6ngdae6p and Pot'aep'y6ng, were composed by Sejong the Great (13971450) himself. Records from the period described the king beating out rhythms with a walking stick as he composed the two pieces, which were based on classic royal ceremonial and processional music and indigenous Korean music. The scores of these works were recorded in ch6ngganbo, measural notations developed during Sejong's reign. These notations were the first such musical notations developed in East Asia. During his rule, King Sejong also oversaw the development or improvement of numerous musical instruments

and encouraged the com position of orchestral music. Because of Sejong's interest in music, many historians have compared him to Frederick the Great, who ruled Prussia from 1740 to 1786 and was an accomplished flutist and composer. However, these two innovative monarchs lived in quite different times. All of Frederick's writings, including his History of the Seven Years' ÂˇWar and Antim achiavel, were composed in Fre nch , and in his daily life the monarch spoke French. The Prussian ruler could not speak the language of his subjects; he was not particularly interested in his native culture nor did

It is no surprise that the UNESCO headquarters in Paris offers a King Sejong Prize each year to an individual or group that contributes to the eradication of illiteracy We can only hope that a similar award will be established for "' world leaders who emulate King Sejong's principles of government for the people.

Hunmin chong-urn, the explication issued when King Sejong promulgated the Korean alphabet, han-gul, in 1446 (above); an orchestra reliving King Sejong's ritual composition for past kings at the royal shrine, Chongmyo (right)

he understand it. Like most of Europe's aristocratic elite during his time, Frederick immersed himself in French culture. King Sejong was quite different. Korea's aristocratic society, indeed aristocracy across East Asia, was at the time dedicated to Chinese culture and literature. and used the Chinese writing system. Sejong wanted to provide his subjects with a written means of expression that was less complicated than Chinese. The ideographic Chinese writing system requires a basic knowledge of several thousand characters. Thus, commoners who did not have the "" leisure or wherewithal to master Chinese could not read or write. What's more, spoken Korean and Chinese are fundamentally different in vocal patterns and sentence formation, making it difficult to express Korean in Chinese characters. Troubled by this situation, King Sejong commissioned a group of scholars to devise a phonetic writing system that would correctly represent the sounds of spoken Korean and that could easily be learned by all people. The result was Hunmin ch6ng-i1m, the Correct Sounds to Teach the People, or han-gul as it is called today. The system was created in 1443 and promulgated in 1446. It was the first phonemic writing

system in the Chinese cultural sphere of EastÂˇ Asia and was quite different from the written languages of the Japanese, Khitan and Jurchen peoples, which were all derived from Chinese ideographs. Han-gul was founded on a phonological analysis of 15th-century Korean; it is a scientific system that anyone can learn practically overnight. Han-gul is also remarkable because it is the only alphabet in the world of whose origins etymologists are certain. King Sejong's motivation is clear from his preface to Hunmin ch6ng-i1m. The sounds of our language differ from those of Chinese and are not easily communicated by using Chinese ideographs. Therefore, many are among the ignorant. Though they wish to express their sentimen,ts in writing, they have been unable to communicate. Considering this situation with compassion, I have newly devised twenty-eight letters. I wish only that the people will learn them easily and use them conveniently in their daily life. In this preface, King Sejong's firm determination to protect the unique character of Korean culture from

Chinese cultural and linguistic hegen:ony is made clear. More important, however, was his concern for the illiterate common people. Sejong's Confucian humanism, the fundamental principle behind his rule, was apparent in his promotion of a Korean alphabet and stands in stark contrast to the more cynical and deceptive ruling principles of his European contemporaries, who were influenced by Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527) and Francesco Guicciardini (1483-1540). When the German goldsmith Johann Gutenberg, born in the same year as Chos6n's King Sejong, intro-

duced Europe's first movable type, albeit some 200 years after its introduction on the Korean peninsula, he was condemned for creating a Schwarze Kunst, or Black Art. The European ruling elite feared the dissemination of written material to the masses and imposed strict press controls as well as taxes on paper. Therefore, many publications were blacklisted. Korea during that time was different, however. During his reign, in 1420 and 1434, King Sejong ordered two new metal types cast and instituted reforms that improved printing techniques and enhanced publishing efficiency.

Sejong's reign has long been recognized as the pinnacle of Korean printing for the many historical, geographical, medical, linguistic, musical and folklore texts that ;w-ere published. King Sejong was also the first Korean monarch, perhaps the first ruler anywhere, to conduct a public opinion survey. In 1430, he ordered a survey of local leaders and commoners regarding the efficiency and fairness of the land tax system. At a time when the rest of the world's rulers insisted on controlling public access to information and ignored popular opinion, the policies and achievements of King Sejong's

reign were indeed remarkable. Sejong's reign was a golden age of humanism and of government for the-people in an age of darkness, much as ancient Greece's benevolent government was a bright spot during a time of widespread militarism. It is no surprise that the UNESCO headquarters in Paris offers a King Sejong Prize each year to an individual or group that contributes to the eradication of illiteracy. We can only hope that a similar award will be established for world leaders who emulate King Sejong's principles of government for the people. â&#x20AC;˘ 7 -- â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;˘

AReexamination of

·King·Sejong's Achievements Yi Tae-jin Professor of Korean History Seoul National University

ejong the Great, who reigned over the Chason Dynasty from 1418 to 1450 as its fourth monarch, is regarded by most Koreans as one of the greatest figures in their country's history. The invention of han-gul, the Korean alphabet, masterminded by the king, is an achievement that no Korean can overlook. It is entirely thanks to him that Koreans can express their language with an effective writing system. The invention of han-gut alone is enough to place Sejong on a historical pedestal. But for 20 years prior to the invention of the alphabet in 1446, he implemented many important reforms, laying the foundation for the Chason Dynasty, a Confucian state that ruled for more than 500 years. Why was King Sejong such an outstanding historical figure? Many assume that his personal abilities were the most important factor in his success. In fact, Sejong was quite different from other rulers. He spent the first ten years of his reign laying the foundation for monarchical rule. He founded a state research institute, the Hall of Worthies (Chiphyonjon), at the beginning of his reign, staffing it with talented officials who w~re encouraged to conduct a variety of research activities required for his rule. The direction of government was thus set and the quality of governance enhanced.

Sejong believed that a king was morally obligated to ensure the common people's basic livelihood and, after that, to refine their lifestyle through Confucian enlightenment. After his tenth- year in power, he sought concrete methods to promote agriculture as a means of providing adequate food and clothing for his subjects. Agricultural policies were at the heart of King Sejong's rule. He focused on two areas: the development of agricultural technology and the implementation of an equitable taxation system for agricultural products. On the technological front, Sejong sought to transfer the advanced agricultural techniques used in the southern provinces to other parts of Korea and to develop and distribute medical services as a means of bolstering labor efficiency. In the 14th century, the traditional practice of leaving land fallow was being replaced by more advanced farming techniques. By the time Sejong ascended the throne, repeated cultivation of the same crop in the same field was already common practice in the three southern provinces of Cholla, Kyongsang and Ch'ungch'ong. In 1429, on Sejong's orders, this advanced technology was studied and summarized in Straight Talk on Farming (Nongsa chiks61), an agricultural manual

designed to tailor agricultural practices to conditions on the Korean peninsula. ••

Sejong believed that a king was morally obligated to ensure the Âˇ common people's basic livelihood and, after tha~

to refine their

lifestyle through Confucian enlightenment Hunmin chong-urn onhae (above); Straight Talk on Farming (Nongsa chiks61), a 15th-century agricultural manual designed to tailor agricultural practices to conditions on the Korean penins ula (left) .9 â&#x20AC;˘.

Prior to this period, Chinese agricultural techniques had been employed. Magistrates of the northern provinces were required to carry this ..manual with them on their new appointments and to implement its recommendations. At the same time, intellectuals were taking a greater interest in developments in medicine, especially pediatrics and gynecology, for the purpose of promoting population growth. This resulted in the development of an independent Korean medical science on a level equivalent to advanced Chinese medicine. King Sejong ordered the compilation and systematization of Korea's indigenous medical practices. Several comprehensive medical texts were published including the Compilation of Native Korean Prescriptions (Hyangyak chips6ngbang), compiled in 1431, and the Classified Collection of Medical Prescriptions (Uibang yuch'wi). He also

published a manual for the general

King Sejong's interest in agriculture, astronomy and medicine led to the invention of the honiii, an instrument used to observe the location of celestial bodies(topleft), and thech'ugugi, the world's first rain gauge (top right), as wen as the publication of the Compilation of Native Korean Prescriptions (Hyangyak chips6ngbang) (above and right). 10

Sepng mobilized scholars to in vent astronomical instruments, induding armillary spheres for celestial observations, and to d etermine the latitude of Kyongbokkung

public entitled Summary on Pregnancy and Delivery (T'aesan yorok) as part of the efforts to promote population growth. Korea's mortality rate was high, and the average couple raised only three children to adulthood in the Koryo period. After Sejong's reign, these statistics showed an upward trend. Korean society underwent many developmental changes after the 14th century. The Chason Dynasty played a historical role in systematically harnessing these new forces to foster a more developed state and society. As one of Chason's early rulers, Sejong performed this task conscientiously and skillfully. He believed that a monarch was obligated to feed and clothe the common people; it was "Heaven's Way" (ch '6ndo). He focused on agricultural policies, repeatedly declaring that' sufficient food was the "people's heaven" (minch'6n). He did not limit his efforts to the promotion of agricultural tech- '

nology and population growth alone. Since proper timing was essential to the implementation of advanced farming techniques, Sejong ordered local government officials to be careful not to interfere with farmers' timely performance of their duties. As he reflected on his responsibilities as overseer of agricultural policy, Sejong realized the Korean people did not have their own calendar. Chason was a tributary of Ming China. Each year, as the new year approached, envoys were sent to Ming to receive the new calendar. Countless problems arose from Korea's dependence on the suzerain's calendar. Koreans did not know how to reckon time frames and were thus unable to plan before the new calendar arrived. On numerous occasions officials at the Astronomy and Meteorology Bureau miscalculated days, causing considerable commotion. This was humiliating to a ruler like Sejong who emphasized timing in agri-

The invention of the rain gauge, two centuries before an Italian inventor introduced such a device in Europe, was

a by-product of King Sejong's interest in agriculture.

cultural procedures. Thus, he decided to develop an independent system of measuring time, beginning with a survey of Kyongbokkung Palace in Seoul in an attempt to reckon days by the time determined at the palace. Advancements in astronomical science, one of Sejong's major achievements, along with the invention of han-gul, originated during this time. From the 14th year of his reig,n, Sejong mobilized scholars to invent astronomical instruments, including armillary spheres for celestial observations, and to determine the latitude of Kyongbokkung. Two years later, he ordered the development of various clocks, notably an automatically striking clepsydra (chagy6ngnu). Sejong later promoted further refinements in calendrical science, culminating in Yi Sun-ji's compilation of the almanac Calculation of the Motions of the Seven Celestial Determinants (Ch'ilj6ngsan). In

this work, Yi established that a lunar

11 ÂˇÂˇ â&#x20AC;˘ '

I ,

month lasted 29.530593 days, and a year 3652425 days.

Equitable Taxation System . As another aspect of his agricultural policies, King Sejong deemed that the establishment of a fair land tax system was crucial. During the Koryo Dynasty, the land tax was levied on three categories based on the fertility of the land. However, by the 14th century, this standard was no longer applicable because agricultural technology had replaced the traditional practice of leaving land fallow with repeated cultivation. New farming â&#x20AC;˘echniques could transform inferior plots to medium- or superior-grade land and vice versa. Reform of the land tax was thus inevitable. King Sejong began looking into this problem in the 12th year of his reign, and after painstaking consideration, the Tribute Tax Law (kongpop) was promulgated in 1444, the 26th year of his reign. Sejong took more than 10 years and polled 200,000 people, including many farmers, in devising this system. Where else in the world in the 15th century were farmers asked their views on land tax reform? In 1437, Sejong tilled his own plot of land in Kyongbokkung. He applied the directions printed in his agricultural texts in a courtyard where many of the astronomical instruments he had helped create were located, testing to see if his recommendations to farmers were in fact effective. According to the Tribute Tax Law, land was divided into five categories, while the harvest in a certain year was graded into nine classifications. The shift from three to five land categories reflected a better understanding of new circumstances that had resulted from technological innovations. Estimates of harvests had been made in the past in the areas inflicted by natural calamities, but this was the first time these estimations were incorporated into a general system. The reform process took such a long time because 12

Sejong's achievements derived from his grasp of the historical tasks before him and his sincere commitment to his subjects. As his policies for the improvement of living standards began to show results, he gradually introduced, other policies aimed at popular enlightenment He sought to use music as a way to promote Confucian harmony among the people and created the Korean alphabet to provide the common people with a more accessible writing system.

it was difficult to develop a reliable yield evaluation. An unexpected solution came about in 1441 with the crown prince's invention of a rain gauge. Choson kings often suffered on account of droughts. King T'aejong, King Sejong's father, was a prime example. He blamed his own moral deficiency for the droughts that plagued his reign, and after 18 years he relinquished the throne to his son Sejong. While dry spells had been frequent during this period, new agricultural methods had aggravated the problem. Wet rice agriculture was becoming popular and more fields were being moved from the foothills to wider plains. Irrigation became a factor because rainfall was the only source of water for these open fields. King Sejong directed every village to measure how much rain was absorbed in the soil and to report this information to the court along with records of rainfall. The crown prince (later King Munjong) invented a rain gauge while measuring rainfall atÂˇ the palace. It had occurred to him that instead of digging into the earth to check rain absorption, it would be easier and more accurate to use a standardized container. The invention of the rain gauge, two centuries before an Italian inventor introducedâ&#x20AC;˘ such a device in Europe, was a by-product of King Sejong's interest in farming. The rain gauge was immediately adopted as a tool in the evaluation of annual yield for the land t-ax system. The instrument was created in the fourth month of 1441, and by 1442 King Sejong had installed one in every district. Rainfall data were reported to the Ministry of Taxation through local magistrates. In 1441, the Tribute Tax Law was finalized and promulgated. A year later the evaluation system was judged to be objective and accurate in each district. King Sejong's agricultural policies came to a grand conclusion in 1445, with the promulgation of the Royal

Message on the Encouragement of Agriculture (Kwonnong kyos6). In this pronouncement, Sejong asked for the cooperation of government officials and farmers. He reiterated his request that officials refrain from forcing farmers to provide corvee labor service and asked the farmers to carefully observe the agricultural calendar. From test results following recommended agricultural methods, the king found that the average farming household in Kyonggi-do province could produce "several times" more (He did not offer specific numbers.) and introduced a law limiting corvee service to 10 days a year for farmers. Sejong's achievements derived from his grasp of the historical tasks before him and his sincere commitment to his subjects. As his policies for the improvement of living standards began to show results, he gradually introduced other policies aimed at popular enlightenment. He sought to use music as a way to promote Confucian harmony among the people and created the Korean alphabet to provide the common people with a more accessible writing system. King Sejong was committed to the Confucian government ideal: After the necessities of life-food, clothing and housing-had been satisfied, people should focus on leading ethical, humane lives. With this in mind, Sejong looked for a medium through which his subjects could be taught the ethics and morals of Confucianism. Early on, during his 14th year in power, Sejong ordered the scholars at the Hall of Worthies to compile outstanding examples from Korean and Chinese history concerning the "Three Fundamental Principles in Human Relationships" (filial piety, loyalty to the state and wifely devotion). The results were printed in a book entitled Conduct of the Three Fundamental Principles in Human Relationships (Samgang haengshildo). However, it was recorded in Chinese characters, making it incomprehensible to the general public.

The new Korean alphabet was invented in part to make such Confucian texts accessible to the common people. When objections to the alphabet were raised in 1446, King Sejong refuted such criticism by ordering the translation of Conduct of the Three Fundamental Principles in Human Relationships into han-gul. However, this translation was not completed until the reign of King Songjong some 30 years later.

The creation of han-gul was an important result of King Sejong's practical humanitarianism. By its promulgation, he sought to make it easier for the common people to learn. He has been remembered as a "sage king" because he contributed to the improvement of living conditions for the common people and to the development of Korean culture within the Confucian political framework, which regarded the people as "the foundation of the state." â&#x20AC;˘

Conduct of the Three Fundamental Principles in Human Relationships (Samgang haengshlldo), a book Sejong had compiled to teach his subjects Confucian ethics and morals

13 .

.Creation of the Korean Kang Shin-hang Professor Emeritus of Korean Language Sungkyunkwan University

he term Hunmin ch6ng-um (Correct Sounds to Teach the People) has three meanings. First, it is the name of the new writing system King Sejong invented in the 12th lunar month of 1443. This alphabet is now commonly referred to as han-gul Second, it refers to the treatise providing theoretical explanations on han-gul, in Chinese ideographs, that the scholars of Chiphyonjon (the Hall of Worthies), acting on Sejong's instruction, compiled in the ninth month of 1446, when han-gul was promulgated. The commentary was written by eight scholars: Chong In-ji (who as Minister of Rites concurrently served as head of Chiphyonjon), Shin Suk-chu, Song Sammun, Ch'oe Hang, Pak P'aeng-nyon, Yi Kye, Yi Son-no and Kang Hui-an. The third use of the term is for the main text of that commentary. The text, written in Chinese, was divided into three sections: a main text, explanations and examples (haerye) in six parts, and a postscript by Chong In-ji. The main text, translated into Korean in 1447, came to be called Hunmin ch6ng-um. To differentiate between the two, the commentary in Chinese is called the Hunmin ch6ng-um haerye (Explanations and Examples of Hunmin ch6ng-um) and the Korean version, Hunmin ch6ng-ilm 6nhae (Vernacular Translation of Hunmin ch6ng-um). Of the myriad scripts used throughout the world, han-gUl is unique in that its inventors and their motivation for inventing it are definitely known. Moreover, its introduction was accompanied by commentaries. The new writing system was invented by King Sejong and his purpose in inventing it was

Alphabet explained clearly in the king's preface to Hunmin chOng-Lim haerye, in ChOng Inji's postscript to the book, and in Pohanjejip (Collection of Writings of Pohanje)

by Shin Suk-chu. (Pohanje was the pen name of Shin Suk-chu.) In the preface, King Sejong states that he made a script so easy that even those without knowledge of Chinese characters could express themselves in writing. ChOng In-ji explains the motivation behind the invention of han-gul even more explicitly in his postscript to the Hunmin chong-Lim haerye:

1. Enunciation differs by geographic differences. Lacking their own letters, other countries borrDwed Chinese ideographs to communicate their needs. However, this did not meet their objectives satisfactorily. 2. Although Korea is using Chinese ideographs, those who study books in Chinese are concerned about the difficultY, of understanding their meaning and purport; those who administer the penal system are troubled by the difficulty in communicating the complexity of its legal texts. 3. Sol Ch'ong of Shilla devised the writing system known as idu, which has Âˇ been used by the government and people to this day. But it is difficult to use and often cannot transmit meanings properly. Chong then goes on to explain that Sejong created han-gul with the following effect: 1. It is so simple that it takes no more than 10 days, or even as short a time as a single morning, to learn. 2. Though comprising only 28 letters, it contains the whole essence of the Korean language and allows for infinite 15

turns and changes. 3. If han-gUl is used to produce books, it will be easier to comprehend their meanings. 4. It can accurately describe the pronunciation of Chinese ideographs, musical scales and even the sound of the wind and the crowing of roosters. Shin Suk-chu writes at the end of his Pohanje-jip "The king told us that our language should have all the linguistic components Chinese has including vowels, consonants and tones though the sounds are different from those of Chinese. Distressed that our country did not have its own script to transcribe the sounds of its native language, he created 28 consonants and vowels." Here, it is clearly specified that hangUl was invented because Korea did not have its own script, whereas all other countries had their own. Korea had already come into contact with a variety of Asian scripts including Chinese, Mongolian, Jurchen, Japanese, Tibetan and Sanskrit by the 15th century when Sejong was inventing han-gul. These scripts ranged from ideograms to phonetic symbols including syllabaries and phonemic characters. As another reason for inventing han-gul, Sejong felt the need to devise a new set of phonetic symbols to establish a standard phonologic system for the Korean language.

Basic Principles of Han-giil The circumstances surrounding the invention of han-gul are reported in detail in the entry for the 12th month of 1443 of Sejong shillok (Annals of King Sejong), which also confirms that the writing system was devised by the king himself. It reads: This month, His Highness personally created 28letters. The new script looks much like the old Chinese seal script, but it comprises initial sounds, medial sounds and final sounds, which are combined together to make syllables. This writing system can transcribe both Chinese and Korean pronunciations. Though they 16

look very simple, the initial, inedial and final letters can be combined in endless variations to make new syllables. The writing system is called Hunmin chong-urn. A phonetic, phonemic script, han-gul is by nature related to the system used by the Mongolian script of the Uighur line and to Phags-pa, a Mongolian script revised from Tibetan script. It is similar to Chinese and Phags-pa in that the transcription is made in syllabic units, writing a single syllable as a single ideographic unit. The new script was based on a hieroglyphic principle. The "Explanation on the Making of the Symbols" section of the Hunmin chong-Lim haeyre explains: "Each ofthe 28 letters of Hunmin chOngLim was shaped after a form." It goes on to explain that the initial sound symbols (consonants) and medial sound symbols (vowels) are shaped after different forms: "There are 17 initial sound symbols; ' (k), a velar and one of the basic consonants, depicts the root of the tongue blocking the throat." Whereas the basic consonants are shaped after the speech organs that articulate their sound, the models of medial sound symbols are quite different: "There are 11 medial sound symbols (vowels); one of the basic vowels, Âˇ, is articulated by retracting the tongue to make a deep sound and is shaped round to depict Heaven." Han-gul is a phonetic system of phonemic symbols. Sejong had a thorough understanding of Chinese phonology. Using this knowledge, he analyzed the sounds, of Middle Korean, categorized them into 17 consonants (23 when

counting double consonants) and 7 monophthongs (basic vowels), and then worked out phonemic symbols to accurately describe them. For this effect, he first divided Korean language into syllables and divided each syllable into an initial sound (consonant), a medial sound (vowel) and a final sound (consonant). Then he provided a symbol for each sound but he did not devise any symbols for final consonants, understanding them to be allophones of initial consonants. This is why han-gul has come to be known as the most scientific script in the world. After explaining that the shape of han-gul letters was based on hieroglyphic principles, the "Explanation on the Making of the Symbols" goes on to say that the king borrowed the principle of the 36-letter alphabet table of Chinese language to divide the sounds hy their articulatory organ into the velar, dental, bilabial, alveolar and pharyngeal sounds, and each symbol was derived from a schematic drawing of the relevant organ: The velar 1 (k) depicts the root of the tongue blocking the throat. The dental L (n) depicts the outline of the tongue touching the upper palate. The bilabial u (m) depicts the outline of the mouth. The alveolar A (s) depicts the outline of the incisor. The pharyngeal o (ng) depicts the outline of the throat. The symbols for the rest of the consonants were made by adding -strokes to the basic five shapes to indicate their aspiratory "severity." However, this principle of adding strokes was not applied

Velar

Dental

;;;:.

-5"

Bilabial Pharyngeal

0 Not severe

Severe

to the shaping of the three symbols o 2. 6. . There was no imitation of the . ideographs of neighboring countries involved in the creation of these shapes; the shaping of the han-gul symbols, consonants and vowels alike, are unique to Korea. In addition to the above, the consonant system was provided with double consonants ll r.r. llll lVi M oo to represent the hard sounds of Middle Korean by repeating the same symbol horizontally. The symbol o was added vertically below bilabial symbols, l:l :rr. llll u, to make -g ~ llJI 15 for describing labial fricatives of lighter enunciation, but these four became obsolete, used only in Middle Korean and for transcribing Chinese labial fricatives. To summarize the consonant system, the Korean alphabet came to comprise 23 consonants, 6 double consonants added to the 17 initial sound consonants. Heaven, earth and humans, the three most important elements in the 1-ching, were the models for the three basic monophthongs of Middle Korean, · _ l . The Haerye explains that these represent the front-, middle- and back-tongue vowels, respectively. The other four monopthongs were made by combining the three basic. monopthongs. A special feature of the vowel symbols of han-gUl is that each has only one sound value. These seven were called the "first symbols" and the diphthong symbols such as -'-'- F 1T i made with the addition of l were called "second symbols." They were developed to comprise ...1- } 1 1 -'-'- F 1T i as found in books written a couple of years later. The "Medial Sounds" section of the Haerye further shows that two or three symbols can be combined to make more compound vowels in addition to the 11 comprising · _ 1 ...1- } 1 1 -'-'- F 1T i. Two-symbol compounds: .1-)- -r-1 .LLF TT1 Compounds with vowel ] : . 1 ---1 _c.] ~ -,-1 i1 .Lt. 1 ~ .,-~1

.Lt~

n11

_.J1

written in syllabic units and diacritical dots should be assigned to each syllable: • _ ...1- -'-'- 1T should be written below the initial consonants and 1 } 1 F i should be positioned to their right. Syllables can be made only when the initial, medial and final symbols are combined. Dots should be positioned to the left of a syllable to indicate its tone: one dot for the falling tone, two dots for the rising tone, and no dot for the even tone. As for the rapidly closing tone, final consonants ( I c l:l ) should be marked as the way they pitch in actual use because, while they are by themselves rapidly closing tones, they can have the falling, rising or even tones when used in syllables. The pronunciation is uttered swiftly. The stipulation that phonemic symbols be used in syllabic units as if hangul were a syllabic script had a profound influence on Korean linguistic practices. Han-gul as discussed here can be summed up as follows:

King Sejong, who created the phonetic script han-gUl that could logically represent the sounds of Middle Korean, stipulated that it should be written in syllabic units made of initial, medial and final sounds. Although the new script was basically phonemic, it was in practice a syllabic script. Because the Middle Korean of the 15th century had pitches varying by syllables, a system of diacritical dots was created to indicate the pitch levels as exemplified by writings dating from the time. It is stipulated at the end of the main text of the Hunmin chong-um haerye that the new script should be

1. Han-gUl is a script that King Sejong created to help his people express themselves in writing. 2. Han-gUl is a phonemic script created to describe the sounds of Middle Korean, and it was devised after an analysis of the language was made on the oasis of knowledge of Chinese phonolC_)gy. 3. Although han-gul is a phonetic script, it was stipulated that it be written in syllabic units as in a syllabic script. 4. The symbols were shaped accord~ng to hieroglyphic principles: the basic consonants after the relevant speech organs and their articulatory modes and the basic vowels after the heaven, earth and humans. 5. The shapes of the han-gul symbols are unique to Korea; they are totally different from those of the scripts of neighboring countries. 6. The explanation of the new script was based on the Chinese phonologic theories and neo-Confucian philosophy that prevailed at the time. + 11· •.

Han-gUl AScientific Writing_System Suh Cheong-soo Professor of Korean Literature, Han yang University Director, Korean Language Information Society

hen King Sejong promulgated the Korean alphabet in 1446, he gave it the name Hunmin ch6ng-um, meaning the "correct . sounds to teach the people." This expression was a reflection of King Sejong's benevolent ideals. Historically speaking, it was common for a monarch to govern at his own discretion, leaving the masses in ignorance to get by as best as they could. King Sejong, on the contrary, sought to create a literate populace by educating the masses. He invented the Korean alphabet so that common people could become literate, accumulate knowledge, develop their culture, and hence participate in national affairs. The word han-gul, used widely today, was first introduced to designate the Korean alphabet some 90 years ago by Chu Shi-gyong. It first appeared in 1909 in the name of a Korean language teaching institute, Han-gU!mo, and then was used in the title of a book, Han-gul puri, written in 1913. This usage spread, and since liberation from Japanese colonial rule in 1945, the term has been used widely both in and outside of Korea. The "han" in han-gUl has several etymological meanings: one (hana, as in han mailm); great (kum, as in han-gil); and correct (parum, as in han-gaunde. Chu Shi-gyong seemed to think that the word "han-gul" was appropriate for the remarkable writing system, and today it continues to refer to a writing system that is "unique, great and correct." Along with the alphabet, King

Sejong published a treatise entitled Hunmin ch6ng-um, which revealed the purpose and motives behind hangul's creation, the number of consonants and vowels, the principles of the system, and details about the usage . Because of this document, the whole truth about the creation of han-gul is well known, as is its orthographic excellence. In other words, han-gul comes with a sort of warranty guaranteeing its functionality, which is unique in the history of writing systems. Koreans naturally take pride in the document because it serves as the basis for this unique cultural asset. That han-gul's creator and its creation date are known is unprecdt ~ ed in orthographic history. That is why Koreans celebrate Han-gUl Day every October 9. No other nation commemorates the invention of its writing system with a special day, because no other nation can identify the specific origins of its alphabet. In science and mathematics, many phenomena are generated or explained by applying certain rules to the basic characteristics of prime numbers or elements. The same theory applies to 'han-gul: the basic vowels and consonants generate other letters, and by combining the letters numerous syllables are created, such as 7t Y~ ~.No other country boasts such a scientific writing system. Professor G. Sampson, an orthographer and linguist in the department of artificial intelligence at Sussex University, said in an interview with me about han-gul's unique scientific features:

"There is no doubt that han-gUl is the greatest writing system in the world from a scientific viewpoint. There is no precedent in the world, as han-gUl was made according to certain principles. Above all, han-gUl is a scientific system, invented systematically following the shapes of vocal organs as they make sounds. Furthermore, the writing system reflects the characteristic of the sounds. For example, T and N in English represent sounds, but they have nothing to do with the shape of vocal organs. But L in han-gUl, which corresponds to the English N, was made from the way the tongue touches the gums, while c, which corresponds to T, is made by adding a stroke to L , showing that these two sounds come from the same area. Each letter of han-gUl was made in this way, with the shapes of the speech organs in mind." Today's computer scientists are also . impressed .by the scientific characteristics of han-gul. Professor Pyon ChOngyang of the computer science department at Dongguk University says: "The computer, which we think of as all-powerful, is driven by the repeti- Âˇ tion of two numbers-0 and 1-according to certain rules, but it has propelled the world into the information age almost instantaneously. It is the same with music. In Western music, seven notes-do, re, mi, fa, sol, Ia, ti-are used to create innumerable scores from the classical works of Mozart to the rap songs of So Tae-ji that Korean adolescents love. The same is true with hangul. It is a characteristic of han-gul that

the limited code of 24 letters, after several rules are applied, creates an unlimited number of sounds. In this way, han-gul is more scientific. than any other writing system, and it is based on the same principles as the computer, a product of modern science." Han-gUl is a phonetic alphabet like the Roman alphabet; each letter represents a phoneme. Modern han-gUl has 24 letters representing basic phonemes, whereas the Roman alphabet'has 26. To write Korean, phonemes are combined to make syllabic letters. Two or three letters are combined into a syllable unit to write a word, as in 1:11 ~ ~ .:g. To write a word using the Roman alphabet, on the other hand, letters are arranged side by side. Han-gul's formation of syllables is similar to Japan's kana. However, the Japanese syllable, such as 7J -}- 1 , cannot be divided into phonemes. But han-gul can be either represented in phonemes or syllables, as can be seen in 7}=1+}, 1.-}=L+} . _ In this respect, han-gUl is unique in that it combines the merits of an alphabetic system and a syllabic system. Many syllables are formed by combining letters, and because they are arranged in syllabic units they are easy to read. Professor Pyon a<;ids the following: "The 26-letter Roman alphabet is a phonetic alphabet in which syllables are not readily recognizable. Because of capitalization, 52 letters are used in computers. Japanese kana has 52 syllables without phonemes. On the other hand, han-gUl has the characteristics of both kana-and the Roman alphabet, and even when it was first developed the number was limited to 28 letters. With those 28letters, Koreans made up to 90,000 syllables, and if the rules set forth in the explanation of Hunmin chOng-urn are followed, theoretically 39.9 billion syllables can be formed by · combining the 28 basic letters." Han-gul is also unique in that its consonants and vowels can be distin-

guished at a glance, which is unprecedented in written ''language. It means that their generative principles are different, and that one can easily differentiate them based on their forms. Whereas the consonants are derived from the shapes of the vocal organs, the vowels, which are formed by vertical or horizontal lines, are not. This feature does not exist in the Roman alphabet or the Japanese writing system. In the case of the Roman alphabet, the formation of the vowels a/ A, e/ E is no different from the formation of the consonants b / B, c/ C. The Japanese vowels 1>/i, v\1 1 and consonants -IJ•I 7J, td 1 are not distinguishable in terms of shape. This differentiating feature is highly esteemed by Sampson and other linguists, for it indicates that han-gUl was created in a system;~ic way. Han-gUl is outstanding in terms of orthography in that each letter corresponds to a phoneme. For example, vowels, such as } 1 _,_ are pronounced the same way no matter where they are placed. This is especially remarkable when one considers the fact that the English vowel "a" is pronounced in several different ways, depending on the word. The sound of "a" differs in apple, father, about, chalk, able, fall and weak In the case of the consonants, the Korean ones such as 1 L c almost always have identical basic phonetic values. In contrast, in English "c" is pronounced either as / s/ (cider) or !k! (carrot), and "g" has different sounds as in game, germ and change. Han-gUl has the advantage that it can be' pronounced without knowing a word's meaning if the phonetic value is known. By contrast, one often cannot pronounce a word in the Roman alphabet correctly if one does not know it. Professor Kim Young-key of George Washington University, who has been teaching Korean language for many years, says the following about han-gul:

"The thing that surprises many foreign orthographers and others who study Korean is that han-gul has one letter for one phoneme. Furthermore, many letters related to each other phonetically have similar forms, which is · very impressive and makes it possible for people who study Korean as a foreign language to learn it effectively." The most remarkable char;:tcteristic of han-gul is that it is easy to learn. In the postscript to Hunmin chong-urn, ChOng In-ji wrote: "The wise will learn it in one morning, and even the fool can learn it within ten days." This has proven to be no exaggeration, not only among Koreans but also among foreign students of Korean. Some foreigners learn to read Korean signs after receiving only a few hours of instruction in han-gul. Profes?or W. Sasse, who teaches Korean studies at the University of Hamburg in Germany, recounts the following experiences: "At first, I had the impression that han-gUl was difficult, but once I took it up, it took only one day to learn. When I heard that the shapes of the letters of the Korean alphabet were based on the shape of the mouth and the shapes of the vocal organs, I found it even easier to learn. My children, who are less than ten years old, learned the Korean alphabet very quickly as a hobby, and they use hangul to write secret messages to each other by transliterating German into han-gul. This shows that han-gul is easy to learn." · Nine years ago, UNESCO acknowledged the uniqueness of han-gul by establishing the King Sejong Literacy Prize to honor people who contribute to the eradication of illiteracy worldwide. UNESCO adopted King Sejong's name in acknowledgment that hangul, the invention of King Sejong, is truly an alphabet designed for the masses. Thanks to han-gUl, Korea has one of the highest literacy rates in the . world. + 19

Development of Science and Technology in the Early Chos6n Period Nha Il-seong Professor, Department of Astronomy and Meteorology Yonsei University

hen people talk of science and technology, it is almost always the science and technology of the West. This is such an accepted fact that one may wonder why it is necessary to even mention it at all. But I have a reason: I am going to discuss the science and technology of five to six centuries ago during the Chos6n period, which many people today assume to be far removed from modern science and technology of the West. The roots of Western science go back to Egypt, Babylon and Greece along the Mediterranean. Ptolemy of Alexandria wrote Almagest, the most significant compilation of scientific development known at the time, in the second century A.D. It was at that time that Zhang Heng built Shuyun Yixiangtai, a water-driven astronomical clock tower, in China. Almagest had a

Sejong and scholars of the Hall of Worthies using an armillary sphere they invented to study the stars

Whereas the development of science and technology was in the dark in the rest of the world in the 15th century, a beacon was shining brighdy from a small peninsula in the East 20

profound influence on subsequent generations, its knowledge spreading quickly to Rome; later, with the blessing of the Vatican, it be ~ ame an absolute source of scientific learning for the whole Western world. It is extraordinary that no epochal scientific development was subsequently made in Europe until the heliocentric theory in Almagest was challenged by Nicolaus Copernicus in 1543. The most remarkable scientific achievement in the meantime may have been Yuan Chinese scientist Guo Shoujing's invention of various astronomical instruments and the findings he made with them. Guo's work was phenomenal even by today's standards and, not surprisingly, the work of this 13th-century scientist is still the subject of much research and study. There was a three-century lapse between Guo and Copernicus. It is commonly believed that this span of years represented a global vacuum in the development of science, particularly astronomy. But was it really? In the 15th century, midway between Guo and Copernicus, King Sejong, Chos6n's fourth monarch, constructed the most

I â&#x20AC;˘

complete astronomical observatory in the world near Kyonghoeru Pavilion in Kyongbokkung Palace and undertook extensive research activities. Though it has been a long time coming, it is gratifying that the scientific research and development led by Sejong in the 15th century has finally begun to be appreciated and studied by various modern scholars. In 1434, the 16th year of his reign, Sejong and his technician, Chang Yongshil, succeeded in inventing a water clock (clepsydra) after two years of research. The clepsydra was a far more complicated device than is commonly known. Water from upper vessels, trickling down to lower levels, shook an iron ball into motion, making it drop through an opening to trigger a device that beat a metal drum for the hour and a gong for the minute. The advent of this timepiece was a welcome event for the timekeeper, who often dozed off during the night shift and, awakening, announced the wrong time. Though it seems simple, in truth the mechanism was very elaborate and bulky, requiring its own building. The king named it, chagy6ngnu (automatically striking clepsydra) and the building that housed it, Porugak (pavilion for the time-announcing clepsydra). Sejong's clepsydra has long disappeared but part of a replica that was made a century later, National Treasure No. 229, can be seen at Toksugung Palace. It is also featured on the 10,000-won note currently in use. There is an old story about the accuracy of time measurement and the importance placed on it. A partial solar eclipse occurred on January 23, 1422 (the first day of the First Lunar Moon in the 4th year of Sejong's reign). The king was watching the eclipse from the terrace of InjOngjon Hall when he realized that it was taking place one kak later than calculated by his astronomer, Yi Pong-ch'on. A kak being about five minutes, Yi's calculation was very accurate, given the technical environment of Korea 570 years ago; nevertheless, he

Sejong sought concrete methods to promote agriculture as a means of providing adequate food and clothing for his subjects. As timing was important in agriculture, he had various types of clocks invented including this automatically striking clepsydra,chagyongnu.

Sejong had an armillary sphere and direction-determining equipment installed on Kaniiidae, an armillary platform built on theKyongbokkung grounds, for his astronomers to study the night sky (left), and, for the convenience of the public, angbu ilgwi, a scaphe sundial, installed at two locations in Seoul (above).

was flogged for the five-minute error. King Sejong also produced another type of clock: A scaphe sundial, called angbu ilgwi, was produced in 1434, the same year the clepsydra was made. The geometrical bronze sundial was the most beautifully made of its kind anywhere. What made it truly significant was that it was probably the first public clock in the world, as Sejong had it installed at the bustling corner of

Hyejonggyo Bridge and on the street in front of Chongmyo Shrine, both in Seoul, for the convenience of the populace. He also encouraged people to make copies of the clock for private use. Today, angbu ilgwi sundials of various size are found in museums throughout the country, all copies of Sejong's clock produced by people of means and skill. Whereas the development of science

and technology was in the dark in the rest of the world in the 15th century, a beacon was shining brightly from a small peninsula in the East. ÂˇClocks were not the only precision instruments installed in Kyongbokkung, for an array of astronomical instrumentsÂˇ of historic importance were also produced during this time. A massive stone structure, called Kanuidae, (simplified armillary platform), was built in 23

'. I

•

1433 to the north of Kyonghoeru Pavilion. A kanui (simplified armillary sphere), weighing no less than 5 tons, and a chongbang-an (diret:tion-determining square board) were installed on Kanuidae for astronomers to study the night sky. To the west of Kanuidae stood a 7.5meter-high kyup'yo (gnomon), which accurately measured the length of a year and 24 solar periods to provide basic data for the production of calendars. A small building near the kyup'yo housed two more instruments: a honui (armillary sphere), an instrument used to observe the location of celestial bodies, and a honsang (celestial globe), an instrument for studying the movement of celestial bodies in relation to the changing seasons and the passage of time. To the south of Kyonghoeru was Porugak, the pavilion with the aforementioned chagyongnu water clock. Yet another water clock was housed in a large building to the east of Kyonghoeru near the king's bed chambers and Chiphyonjon (Hall of Worthies). This water clock was called ongnu (jade clepsydra) and it was housed in Humgyonggak (Hall of Veneration). In one part of the building was a 2.1-meter-high facsimile mountain made of paper; with a device powered by a water wheel, an artificial sun surrounded by colorful clouds rose from the east of the mountain in the morning to traverse the "sky" and set in the west in the evening. A female doll struck the hour with a wooden hammer. Scenes of rural life unfolded around the mountain, changing colors according to the season. Extremely complicated and fanciful for a clepsydra, the ongnu was a pet project of Sejong who, though leading an urban life in his palace, wanted to keep in touch with the needs of his agrarian populace. After all, Sejong's quest for scientific knowledge was motivated by his concern for the welfare of his people.

This gnomon on the Kyongbokkung (left and above) was used to measure the length of a year and 24 solar periods to provide the basic data for the production of calendars.

gro~nds

The king, who was concerned aoout the prolonged dry spell, wanted to assess the seriousness of the drought by determining how much moisture was left on the roots of the plant

It was thanks to Sejong's efforts to

improve the quality of life of the populace that science, and especially astronomy, realized such a remarkable development ·in the early Choson period. Science in and of itself is meaninglessits development should be preceded by an objective. Sejong's interest in science was far different from the interest of those who regard science as a means to increase the wealth of the already wealthy or to develop tools of war. Here is an example of Sejong's efforts to apply science to farming. While traveling on horseback on a late spring day in the second year of his

reign, Sejong ordered his attendants to dig up a plant on the roadside and bring it to him. According to the Sejong Shillok (Annals of King Sejong), the king, who was concerned about the prolonged dry spell, wanted to assess the seriousness of the drought by determining how much moisture was left on the roots of the plant. Sejong also measured the amount of _ rainfall by observing the wetness of the soil. He ordered an official in the Soungwan (Astronomical Board) to regularly dig into the soil and measure the depth to which precipitation had seeped. He learned that a torrential downpour did little for farming, whereas a steady drizzle over a long period of time permeated deep into the soil. However, keeping the king posted on the amounts of rainfall across the country was no _easy task, for it took no less than a week on fast relay horses to report on farming in the remote regions of Cholla-do provinces. Sejong wanted to be kept informed of the harvest in each region so that he could work out plans to efficiently transfer relief grain to areas of greatest need from the nearest government storage bins. A report to the king from the Ministry of Taxation from 1441 shows that Sejong's concern for his farming populace was shared by his officials: "Altho ugh it has been promulgated that the governor of each province should report ·on the amount of rainfall, it is difficult to measure it because the soil differs by region. We would like to recommend that a metal container to hold rainfall be placed on a platform in Soun-gwan and an official be assigned to measure its content." Ch'ugugi, the first rain gauge in the world, thus came into being in 1442. With the advent of this device, rainfall was measured and reported regularly in Seoul and in each province in accordance with a form and method standardized by Soun-gwan. The surviving Sungjong-won Ilgi (Diary of the Royal Secretariat) contains rainfall records

since 1770. • 25 .

he invention of han-gul, the Korean alphabet, must surely rank as King Sejong's greatest contribution to Korea's cultural heritage. In Shilla times, a complex writing system was developed that was used to record hyangga, local songs, but it was so unsatisfactory, the KoreanChinese mix so obviously a mismatch, that scholars in the subsequent Koryo Dynasty did not even attempt to use it to record Koryo kayo, poems. Koryo

kayo were eventually recorded in hangul, a significant achievement in itself, but the new system's mature fruit was the recording of shijo poetry, the pulse of the Korean heart. 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. Shijo are songs: They are meant to be

sung rather than recited. This gives them a unique quality. They are light, personal and very often conversational; Âˇ the language is simple, direct .and 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, friendship, love and parting, the pleasures of wine, the beauty and transience of human existence, the inexorable advance of old age, and soon. ChOng Ch'ol, a 16th-century shijo master, demonstrates the tradition at its best. He sings here of the fate of those who fall from political grace:

The tree is diseased; no one rests in its pavilion. When it stood tall and verdan~ no one passed it by. But the leaves have fallen, the boughs are broken; not even birds perch there now.

....

The first use of the term "shijo" occurs in a record written by Shin Kwang-su 0775) that the shijo-ch'ang (song) began with Yi Se-ch'un, a wellknown contemporary singer. This reference is to the music rather than to the lyric. The term shijo itself seems to be a shortened version of shij6lgajo, meaning popular seasonal songs. Shijo, as the term is used today, came into vogue early in the 20th century to distinguish traditional verse from the flood of Western poetry that was beginning to sweep the Korean literary scene. Prior to that time, terms such as tan-ga, shinbon and changdan-ga had been used to denote traditional verse.

Origin of Shijo The origin of the shijo form has been debated vigorously by critics since the 1920s. Shijo is seen variously as an outgrowth of Shilla hyangga; a form that developed naturally in the course of translating Chinese poems into Korean; a development of the Kory6 tan-ga; or a form rooted in the shamanistic chants 27 . â&#x20AC;˘.

of antiquity. The difficulty of unraveling the history of shijo is compounded by the fact that han-gUl was not invented until 1446, so that shijo writtev prior to this date were either written originally in Chinese and only subsequently translated or retranslated into Korean, or passed down orally from the beginning. The problem is further compounded by the fact that the first of the great anthologies, Ch'6nggu y6ng-6n (Songs of Green Hills), was not published until 1728. Texts of individual poets are contained in posthumous collections, many of them produced long after the poets died. Until very recently, scholars approached the shijo as a literary text rather than a musical one. The literary approach can be traced back to the 1920s, a time of prodigious activity in Korean literary circles, when young intellectuals trained in Japanese universities began to introduce new literature from the West. In the initial phase, the new literature was propagated by young men whose interests were more national than literary. Ch'oe Nam-son,

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.

A paintit1g of scholars writing shijo, by Kang Hiii-6n, 18th century 28

one of the most prominent of the rising generation, saw the inherent possibilities of the shijo, uniquely Korean as it was, as a vehicle for raising national consciousness against the backdrop of Japanese oppression. Spurred by these national considerations, a criticism of shijo as literary text began to surface. The shijo was more than a song, it was claimed; it was a literary text, indeed the most traditional of Korean literary forms. Ch'oe Nam-son's Shijo yuch'wi (Collection of Shijo), published in 1928, recorded the poems for the first time in a three-chang format. The scholar Yi Pyong-gi popularized the use of the terms "opening chang," "middle chang" and "final chang." The three-chang division subsequently became standard in shijo criticism, with much debate among scholars on the critical terminology: chang (unit), ku (division of unit), and umbo (breath group). Shijo was a three-chang poem, 14 to 16 syllables in each chang, distributed through four distinct umbo or breath groups, the total number of syllables not exceeding 45. This was the case

for regular or ordinary shijo, called py6ng shijo. Two variations of the basic form were postulated: the 6t shijo, in which the first or the second line might be somewhat extended; and the sas61 shijo, in which all three lines might be extended. The number of extra syllables varied considerably. This is what the shijo became in the 20th century. But what were its roots? So little evidence survives, creating great difficulty in piecing together the truth. The central facts are as follows: 1. Fewer than 20 songs with claims dating back to Koryo are recorded in the great shijo anthologies of the 18th century. 2. Many shijo from early Chason survive, recorded in private collections as well as in the great anthologies. 3. Han-gUl was invented in the reign of Sejong (1418-1450), hence all shijo recorded prior to this time were recorded in Chinese characters or transmitted orally. 4. In the anthologies and the private collections, shijo are recorded variously in Chinese characters, Ii.an-gul, or a mix-

ture of Chinese and han-gul. 5. Ch '6nggu y6ng-6n, com piled by Kim Ch'on-t'aek (1728); Haedong kayo, - compiled by Kim Su-jang -(1763); and Kagok wollyu, compiled by Pak Hyogwan and An Min-yang (1876) are the three great anthologies. Ch'6nggu y6ng6n records the poems in continuous prose format, as does Haedong kayo. Kagok wollyu, however, records the poems in a five-chang (section) format. All three anthologies order the poems around the music. 6. Shijo can be sung to a kagok-ch'ang or a shijo-ch'ang. The kagok-ch'ang is a five-chang structure; it is complex and difficult to perform, demanding a large number of players. The shijo-ch'ang is a much simpler composition, employing a three-chang format. 7. Kagok wollyu uses the five-chang kagok -ch'ang in arranging its texts. This was the traditional accompaniment to the songs. In fact, it appears certain that the majority of shijo currently extant were sung originally to the accompaniment of the kagok-ch'ang. Âˇ 8. Because of the difficulty of performance, the five-chang kagok-ch'ang diminished in importance about the time of Pak Hyo-gwan and An Minyang (toward the end of the 19th century), when the composition of shijo was already in decline. In the meantime a simple three-chang shijo-ch'ang had been developed, perhaps by Yi Se-ch'un, although there is no documentary evidence to support the claim other than the note to that effect recorded by Shin Kwang-su in 1775. It is not certain when the three-chang shijo-ch'ang first appeared, but it was in use during the middle of the 19th century. An Minyang attests to this in a book of his songs, Kumok ch'ongs6, in which he records his impressions of a performance of the three-chang shijo-ch'ang. Despite the fact that professionals such as Pak Hyo-gwan and An Min-yang all stuck to the older kagok ch'ang-presumably it was their livelihood-the shijo-ch'ang eventually replaced the kagok-ch'ang as the premier mode of

accompaniment. The procesS was gradual, continuing over the next 60 or 70 years and leading up to the shijo revival at the end of the 1920s. 9. The new shijo-ch'ang appears to be the basis for the modern three-chang division of the shijo adopted by Ch'oe Nam-son and subsequent commentators.

Literary Text vs. Music Twentieth-century scholars have erred in treating the shijo almost exclusively as literary text, paying only lip service to the form's musical component. The music is integral to the shijo form. In fact, all vernacular Korean poetry composed before the 20th centuryhyangga, Koryo kayo, shijo and. kasawas composed to be sung and heard, rather' than to be read and contemplated. This is a central point, highlighting the different mind-set involved in composing vernacular songs. Scholars such as Yi T'oegye and Yun Son-do talked about the necessity of vernacular lyrics for Korean songs; the Chinese-Korean mix does not work, they said. These vernacular songs were meant to move the heart rather than the head; to generate a mood of hung, that sense of tingling excitement so integral to the Korean poetic experience. Cho Chon-song (1553-1627), a poet and government official from the time of Myongjong to Injo, illustrates the spirit of joy (hung) that is at the heart of the shijo tradition:

Boy, get ready my raingear and bamboo hat; the rain has cleared in East Valley. !11 tie a barbless hook on my long fishing pole. Fish, fear not, sheer pleasure is what I'm about Recent developments in shijo criticism offer the possibility of a new approach to the translation of shijo into foreign languages that incorporates the kagok structure. Obviously this can only be attempted within severe limitations. Shijo in English translation are not going to be performed to kagok melodies, and

efforts to render kagok melodies into English text may well be futile. At the same time, the use of the five-chang structure in English translation gives shijo a special feel on the written page, an individuality that takes shijo right outside the norm of English poetry. This is of the utmost importance. There is nothing in English poetry remotely like shijo but, unfortunately, traditional shijo translations did not make this clear; they tended to present shijo as elongated haiku, couched in a familiar six-line English lyric. The fivechang format, however, allows the translator for the first time to bring the uniqueness of the shijo home to the reader through its appearance on the page. The shape of the shijo and its prosy-recitative quality come across in a way not hitherto possible; the unusual five-line stanza, the varying lirie lengths (especially the longer third and fifth lines) and the three-syllable fourth line all contribute to a presentation of something uniquely Korean and at the same time something total]y new in English. The five-chang format, however, does have its problems. The most obvious difficulty is presented by the fourth chang, which is normally not semantically independent. The translator must reach an accommodation between musical development and the truncated three-syllable literary text. It is difficuJt to formulate a consistent English practice that reflects the syllable count without descending into nonsense. Common sense must be allowed to take precedence over mathematical .considerations. Translators should favor a format that makes visual sense on the page; they should retain the truncated feel of the fourth chang and try to convey the special quality of the longer third and fifth chang. The general principle must be to preserve the shape and feel of the original, while taking care to create a poem that looks good on the page. The objective is to create a poem that has the feel and shape of Korea. After all, that's what shijo are supposed to be. â&#x20AC;˘

King Sejong's

Musical Achievements Han Myung-hee General Director National Center for Korean Traditional Performing Arts

veryone knows that a leader's personal historical and cultural understanding has a profound influence on the cultural developments of his era. In an absolute monarchy, where every facet of life is controlled by a central administration, this is all the more true. Fortunately, the Korean people once had a sagacious king who encouraged their culture to blossom under his reign. King Sejong, who ruled during the early years of the Chason Dynasty from 1418 to 1450, is remembered for his many talents and achievements in diverse fields. Sejong's contributions to the development of Korean music are as monumental as his noteworthy achievements in politics, science and other cultural fields. He developed a bamboo tube (yulgwan) that was used to establish - the basic pitch for Korean music, redesigned instruments for use in ensemble music, composed new music, "'\ and invented the first musical notation system in East Asia. Unlike its predecessor, the Koryo Dynasty, whose national religion was Buddhism, the Chason Dynasty adopted Confucianism as its governing philosophy. The Chason rulers and their subjects had no choice but to take music seriously: Music was essential to Confucian ideology. In Confucianism, music was a means and media for perfecting the human character, refining society and customs, and inspiring proper governance of the state; it was not only pleasant to the ear but also instructive to the mind. As such, music played a central role in Confucian society. King Sejong's

Pak, a fan-shaped wooden clapper played by the director ofan ensemble to give a starting signal and a stopping signal

The Korean people once had a sagadous king who encouraged their culture to blossom under his reign King Sejmg, who ruled during the early years of the Chosi5n Dynasty from 1418 to 1450, is remembered for his many talents and achievements in diverse fields

emphasis on music so early in the dynasty reflects the Chason commitment to Confucianism as the state's ideology. From the Confucian point of view, "bad" music would plunge society into chaos and end in the state's collapse. "Good" music or ye-ak, the "music of rites," was promoted in order to encourage a wholesome social environment, while "obscene" and "convoluted" music, which could lead to the Âˇ state's demise, was rejected. From the Confucian point of view, the Koryo Dynasty's collapse was directly related to its flawed music policies, at least in a symb_olic sense. As in China, where a new dynasty always attempted to reform the former dynasty's musical system, King Sejong was expected to initiate a prompt transformation and reform of Korea's music. In King Sejong's time, music was believed capable of inducing changes in customs and the popular mood, thus determining whether the state would flourish or wither away. This attitude was quite different from today, when music is viewed simply as an art or entertainment. Only by recognizing the intellectual underpinnings of the early Chason period and the significance of music in that society can we truly understand King Sejong's musical goals and achievements. We should first note that King Sejong developed a bamboo tube that was used to establish the correct pitch, hwangjong, the equivalent of C in the Western diatonic scale. All music requires tuning to a standard pitch. In Western music, a uniform pitch is needed before various instruments and

Âˇ ~

musicians can play in concert, but in Korean music, as in Chinese music, the standardization of pitch also satisfied a philosophical belief. As mentioned before, Confucians believed that their customs would deteriorate and that the state would collapse if their music were not "correct." When the basic pitch, the "pillar of all tones," was wrong, the music, and by connection society, suffered. The bamboo tube that produced the basic pitch doubled as the everyday standard of measurement for length, 32

volume and weight. The length of the tube was the standard unit of length, the amount of millet that fit into the tube constituted the standard unit of volume, and the weight of that millet was the standard unit of weight. In other words, the bamboo tube that produced hwangjong, the "fundamental pitch," influenced not only music but also weights and measures. Consequently, the decision as to how long the basic bamboo pipe should be was a serious matter for all society as well as for music.

Cultural Independence . After establishing fundamental pitch, King Sejong went on to oversee the manufacture of various musical instruments to be used in ensembles. A-ak, classical Korean court music, was closely linked to Chinese philosophical concepts. The musical instruments used in classical court music were divided into eight categories by material: metal, wood, clay, mineral, cotton thread, bamboo, hollowed gourds and leather. These categories were rooted in the cosmological principles of the yin and

yang and the Book of Changes. By the time of King Sejong's reign, many musical instruments had been lost or were no longer used properly because of the turmoil of the Mongol invasions that shook the Kory6 Dynasty and because of the change in political systems that followed. To remedy this problem, King Sejong ordered the manufacture of certain musical instruments to provide the resources necessary for the proper performance of classical performing arts. Among the eight instruments were the p'yonjong, a set of 16 chromatically

Taegiim, a large transverse bamboo flute used in both court music and

folk music (left);p'yonjong, a set of 16 tuned bronze bells used in the ritual music performed at the rites for Confucius and royal ancestors (above)

The Chason rulers and their subjects had no choice but to take music seriously: Music was essential to Confucian ideology In Confucianism, music was a means and media for perfecting the human character, refining society and customs, and inspiring proper governance of the state; it was not only pleasant to the ear but also instructive to the mind. 33 .

tuned bronze bells, and the p 'y6ngy6ng, a set of 16 L-shaped stone chimes. The p'yon-gyong required highquality materials and thus it had not been produced in Korea until Sejong's reign. Coincidentally, it was at this time that the necessary stone was discovered near Seoul, enabling the king to have the instrument manufactured. Contemporary records say that the stone was discovered at the time because the remarkable king was so eager to contribute to the advancement of music, impressing the heavens with his enthusiasm. On one occasion a government official made a set of p'yon-gyong and played it at court. The king noted that a certain pitch was too high. The official studied that particular chime and discovered a trace of ink used to indicate where the stone should be chiseled. The chime was reworked and its pitch perfected. This anecdote demonstrates the king's fine ear for music. Sejong was also an excellent musician. He revised arrangements of pieces in adherence with musical rules and ordered the composition of new pieces, including Ch6ngdae6p, Pot'aep'y6ng (a song suite praising the civil achieve-

ments of Chason rulers), Palsang and Pongnaeui (The Flying Phoenix), all large-scale, multigenre works that combined vocal and string music and dance. Chongdaeop and Pot'aep'yong consist of eleven parts each, and Pongnaeui seven parts. "Y omillak" ("The King Shares Pleasures with His People"), one part of Pongnaeui, is frequently performed in traditional concerts today. Chongdaeop and Pot'aep'yong are ritual compositions that have been played at royal ancestral rites for the last 500 years. King Sejong next turned his attention to musical notation. He invented ch6ngganbo, a type of mensural notation, which, together with W estern:style staff notation, is still used in Korean music. Âˇ King Sejong clearly laid a firm foundation for the development of Korean music . In order to understand his accomplishments better, it is important to understand that his attitude toward music was based on a belief in Korean cultural autonomy and on a love for the common people. During the Chason Dynasty, Ming Chinese culture was revered. The Chason governing ideology was based

P'yon-gyong, a set of L-shaped chimes used in the ritual music performed at the rites

for Confucius and royal ancestors (above); a performance of court music at Y ongniing, King Sejong's tomb in Y oju (upper right) 34

on Confucianism, a Chinese philosophy, and numerous cultural systems and artistic activities followed Chinese models. Koreans also followed Chinese precedents in the field of music. When King Sejong restructured the music system and created musical instruments, he utilized Chinese models but maintained an independent spirit by promoting unprecedented policies. One example of his originality was his directive ordering that indigenous Korean music, instead of Chinese music, be used for ancestral rites. "Our ancestors enjoyed Korean

music, and it is not rational to play Chinese music for Korean ancestors. It is desirable to replace Chinese music with its Korean counterpart, which our ancestors enjoyed before they died." This simple quotation offers a glimpse of Sejong's independent cultural attitude. This attitude suggests much for Koreans today. As the Korean music community, like so many other fields, bends to Western influences, indigenous music attracts only feeble interest from the general public. The guest has replaced the host, and we are becoming

incapable of evaluating the real worth of Korea's traditional music and other art form~. King Sejong's resolute independence should be a model for modern Koreans. King Sejong's musical achievements also demonstrate his love for the common populace. Characteristic of his constant attention to the needs and hardships of the powerless masses, Sejong focused on promoting understanding and enjoyment for his people through music. A good example of his benevolence is "Y 6millak," or "The King Shares

Pleasures with His People." -Sejong was always mindful of his people's concerns, in the field of music as in other areas. His love of the people is manifest in the invention of han-gul, Korea's systematic alphabet; indeed it shows in all his achievements. King Sejong was a timeless pioneer, a learned humanist and a truly remarkable ruler who contributed greatly to the field of Korean music, based on his love for the people, his dedication to Korea's cultural independence and his commitment to detail and authenticity. + 35 .â&#x20AC;˘ .

ON THE ROAD

KimJoo-young Novelist 36

he county of Yoju, in Kyonggido province, nestled in rolling hills and fed by the waters of the Namhan-gang River, has long been known as a land of plenty. In traditional society, the Yoju people were thought blessed: Plenty of grain grew in their expansive fields; the land was relatively flat, making harvests easier; and the fishing and hunting were good. Today the region is still known for its excellent rice and also for its rich water and soil, which have distin-

The Namhan-gang River seen from Y ongwollu Pavilion

guished Yoju as one of Korea's foremost ceramics-producing regions. The clear waters of the Namhangang, which feed the county's rich soil, are directly responsible for Yoju's plentiful production . During the Choson Dynasty, the river carried grain taxes to Seoul from the provinces of Ch'ungch'ong-do and Kangwon-do and the southeastern Yongnam region . The

Ecological Guide to Korea (Taengni chi), a cultural geography by the Shirhak scholar Yi Chung-hwan (1690-1752),

describes y oju's topographical advantages: The county is located south of the Han-gang and is less than 80 kilometers from Seoul, by boat or foot. To the west of the county seat is the village of Paek-aech'on. A broad plain extends from the village to the southeast. The climate is clear and cool. Many wealthy families have lived here for generations. The people who make their living trading in

riverboats have better lives than those who work the land. As it passes through Y oju, the Namhan-gang's name changes to Yagang. Though it wasÂˇ once the nation's most important waterway, today the yo-gang must be protected-agricultural and industrial wastes have caused considerable pollution. Nevertheless, the yellow mandarin fish, now protected as a natural monument by the Korean government, still inhabits the Yo-gang's 37 .

Y6ju's many attractions are not well known because the residents are so modest They rarely brag and are never pushy They do, however, share a common dream of being buried in their home villages, no matter where in the world their lives may take them. They love this land, and can never forget the smell of the earth in their hometown. waters. The carp, for which the Yo-gang is so famous, are also yellow. In fact, they are so highly sought for their taste and medicinal properties that unscrupulous merchants sometimes try to pass off yellow carp caught in other regions as Y6-gang carp. y oju is less than an hour's drive from Seoul. The Yongdong Expressway passes through the center of the county, making for easy access. Just four kilometerS north of the Yoju Interchange on Highway 37 is downtown Yoju. The area-- is home to some of the finest peanut farms in Korea, but few people are aware of this fact. Yoju is also blessed with many mineral springs, but the locals don't brag about these either. Nor are many people aware of the massive tombs of the great Choson king Sejong and his wife in the rolling hills near the town, or of the importance of Shilluksa, one of Korea's few riverside

Buddhist temples. Yoju's many attractions are not well known because the residents are so modest. They rarely brag and are never pushy. They do, however, share a common dream of being buried in their home villages, no matter where in the world their lives may take them. They love this land, and can never forget the smell of the earth in their hometown. To the northwest of Yoju, along Highway 37, is Yongnung, where the tombs of King Sejong and his queen, Sohyon-wanghu, are located. The tomb complex is covered with thick grass and punctuated with snarled pine trees. Exhibits at a memorial hall honoring Sejong's numerous achievements include a copy of tJ:ie classic Songs of Flying Dragons, a eulogy cycle compiled in praise of Sejong's royal ancestors, and other works written in the Korean alphabet, han-giil, promulgated by King

A pavilion of Shilliiksa Temple stands on a bluff overlooking the Namhangang River (left); Y ongniing, the tomb of King Sejong and his queen (above) 39

Blessed with flat, expansive fields fed by-the waters of the Namhangang River, Y oju has long been k n own as a land of p len ty.

Sejong in 1446. In the courtyard are replicas of a rain gauge and a self-striking water clock with an automatic time mechanism, which were invented during Sejong's reign (1418-1450). During his 32 years of enlightened rule, Sejong oversaw the invention of han-gUl, various scientific inventions, the expansion of the nation's borders to the Yalu and Tumen rivers, and the subjugation of Japanese marauders based on the island of Tsushima. Sejong's tomb was originally built near Seoul, but his descendants ordered it moved to this more auspicious site in 1469. Many people say the move added a hundred years to the Chos6n Dynasty. The nearby tomb of King Hyojong (r. 1649-1659) was also relocated from Seoul's Eastern Tombs complex. Hyojong is remembered for bolstering Korea's defenses by strengthening two fortresses, Pukhansans6ng and Namhansans6ng, and for dreaming of launching a northern expedition to rid his kingdom of threats from the Manchus. The inscription on his tomb 40

says: "His dedication to our country was long and large. Why did the heavens only offer a hint of that and not a life to realize his dreams for the sake of the people?" King Hyojong was determined to expunge the northern threat that had plagued the people of the Korean peninsula for so long, but he died after only ten years on the throne, causing the common people to mourn a great national loss. King Hyojong often complained that he had so much to do and so little time to do it: "The sun sets and I still have far to go. Each day I age but there is so much to do." King Hyojong was parti~uly discouraged when he saw how so many of the privileged yangban elite spent their days indulging in wine and idle entertainment. Four kilometers northeast of Y6ju, Y6ngw6llu Pavilion offers a wonderful view of the surrounding countryside and Shilluksa. To the left of the approach to Shilluksa is a large boulder called Ma-am, Horse Hermitage. Y6ngw6llu sits atop this rock. The view of the moonrise from this pavilion is

said to be particularly beautiful. Shilluksa, the Temple of the Divine Maitreya, or Future Buddha, stands across the river to the northeast. It is thought to have been founded by Wonhyo (617-686), the great Shilla monk, during the reig n of King Chinp'y6ng (r. 579-632). A Chinese juniper planted by the Chos6n Dynasty founder _Yi S6ng-gye and a ginkgo tree that is said to have grown from a walking staff that the esteemed monk Naong (1320-1376) stuck into the ground are clues to the temple's colorful history. The location of the tern pie and the arrangement of its buildings are as impressive as its long history and great size. The juxtaposition of the gray-blue tiled roofs and the bluff reaching down to the river is a magnificent sight. In Korea, most old Buddhist temples are situated in the mountains, far from human settlements, and the temples being built today are also concentrated in mountainous area s. Shilluksa is unique for its riverside site. On clear days, the temple is bathed in sunlight

reflecting off the white sands of the riverbank More famous than the temple's loca. tion, though, is the story of the monk Naong who died here. According to legend, a close childhood friend of Naong died when they were 20 years old. Naong asked the village elders where people went when they died, but no one knew the answer. Filled with bitter sadness, Naong left his village and went to study with the master monk, Yoyon, at Mun-gyong's Mt Kongdoksan. When Naong found the monk, Yoyon asked, "What is this person?" Naong responded, "This person can talk and listen, but cannot see or find. What do I have to do to see and find what I'm looking for?" "I'm no different from you in that regard. You must look elsewhere," Yoyon replied. And so began Naong's quest. He wandered from place to place, as far as Beijing, where he studied with the Indian master Zhikong. He achieved Âˇ enlightenment and spent many years teaching the Buddhist way in Korea. Then at the age of 57 he died suddenly at Shilluksa. He is still revered by monks and lay believers alike and is honored at the temple with a three-story stone pagoda and a stone stupa, which houses his cremated remains, or sarira. Naong's death at the temple and the erection of these two memorials in his honor certainly influenced the history of the temple and guaranteed it a greater place in the history of Korean Buddhism. The relocation of King Sejong's tomb to the Yoju area in 1469 had a similar influence on the temple's fate. As the tomb was moved, officials discussed the construction of a new shrine in which images of the deceased and spirit tablets were to be stored. Shilluksa was selected as the site for the shrine, and soon a massive remodeling project was launched. Today the temple is home to seven structures that have been designated treasures by the government and eight artifacts that have been designated valuable cultural properties. This abundance of treasures was

A stone pagoda in front of the main hall of Shilliiksa (top); Yongwollu Pavilion commanding an outstanding view of Y oju and Shilliiksa (middle); some of the excellent pottery of Y oju 41 .

Natural Monument No. 209, a breeding ground for herons in ShinjOm-ri (above); the childhood home of Queen Min in Niinghyon-ri (right)

made possible by the Choson throne's interest in and support for the temple. The stone stupa, Treasure No. 4, is particularly valuable and is recognized as one of the great masterpieces of Korean Buddhist design. The village of Saemal in Shinjom-ri to the north of ShillC1ksa is the ancestral home of the Min clan, which was so influential during the last years of the 42

Choson Dynasty. Famous clan members include Queen Min, consort of King Kojong from the time she was 16, who was assassinated by the Japanese in 1895; and Min Yong-hwan, the military aide-de-camp to King Kojong, who took his life to protest the Japanese incursions in 1905. Many clan descendants still live in the village. At the entrance to the village is a breeding ground for herons, designated and protected as a natural monument. Every March, hundreds of herons, symbols of loyalty and tenacity, return to the village. Perhaps the Min descendants eagerly await their annual

return as a reminder of the loyalty and moral courage of their ancestors. Queen Min's childhood home is in Nl'mghy~n-ri . The villagers tell many stories of her childhood there, particularly of her intelligence, which was evident from her earliest years. One story tells of the future queen spending a rainy afternoon with some village girls. Someone suggested a game: Who can count the vertical rows of roof tiles the fastest? All the girls dashed from the porch where they had been sitting to count the rows of tiles. All except the future queen, of course. She had the correct answer

before the others had returned. But how? She had counted the streams of water falling from the courtyard eaves and made her calculations from that. Years later Queen Min returned to y oju as she and her entourage headed south to escape the Military Mutiny of 1882. She refused to stay with her relatives there, however, for fear that they would suffer the backlash from the approaching reactionary military forces. Like Queen Min's life, Yoju has witnessed great triumphs and sorrows. Korea's history and culture have deep roots in its fertile soil. + 43 .â&#x20AC;˘ .

KOREAN ARTISAN

Master Woodworker ~

UlÂˇsaeng Lee Hyoung-kwon President, Institute of Korean Cultural Heritage

s you near the city of Namwon along Highway 17 from ChOnju, the capital of Chollabuk-clo province, Mt. Chirisan towers in the distance. Namwon's culture and history are products of the rich, natural environment created by this mighty mountain. A taste for culture and romance seems to be part of everyone's life in this small city. At the center of the town is the historic Kwartghallu, a pavilion where countless men of talent and integrity gathered to sing of the moon and summer. breezes, and it is also where the legendary Chunhyang met her lover, Yi To-ryong. The classic Tale of Chunhyang is the first thing that comes to mind when Koreans think of - Namwon. However, the city is also famous for the magnificent wooden vessels made by generations of crafts" men in and around Chirisan. The village of Paekil-ri, in Sannaemyon, Namwon-gun, is also known as Chonghakkol, "Blue Crane Village," because of the many blue herons that once lived there. Today it is known as the inheritor of a long-cherished woodworking tradition. The village is nestled in the mountain's skirt not far from Shilsangsa Temple. It has been home to the master woodworker Kim Ul-saeng and his family for generations. Today the village boasts a small exhibition hall that displays the work of Kim and his fellow craftsmen. There is not a visitor to the village who is not deeply impressed by the beauty of their carefully crafted

wooden vessels. "It is a beautiful thing to be able to pass on the woodworking tradition in the craft's original home. I am happy to have had a chance to spend my life working at a craft I love, and I promise to do my best to cultivate a new generation of wood craftsmen." In these simple words one finds the pride and beauty of woodcraft. The words were inscribed by the hand of Kim Ul-saeng himself, the third generation of Kims to carry on this tradition. Namwon has been famous for its wooden vessels for centuries. Paekil-ri and other mountain villages like it had little to recommend themselves except for the verdant forests that provided wood for their craftsmen. It is only natural that these artisans made their homes deep in the mountains, far from roads leading to the towns and cities but close to the source of their livelihood. Paekil-i i is also the site of Shilsangsa, a Buddhist monastery where several hundred monks once lived and worked. The temple was a major consumer of Paekil-ri's woodcrafts. Each monk had his own wooden bowl and chopsticks, and many of the vessels used in temple rites were made of wood. The temple sometimes operated its own shop to produce the necessary wooden implements, but at other times it employed the services of local craftsmen. The woodworkers of this village owe much to the surrounding mountains, which provide them with raw materials, and to the temple, which has been such an important customer over the years.

AProud Way of Life The inscription by Kim 01-saeng on the marble slab in front of the Kumho Woodcraft Exhibition Hall tel~ of a lifetime dedicated to the creation of beautiful and useful wooden vessels. Kim clearly did not come to his craft in resignation to his family fate or in a desperate effort to escape the poverty of Korea's mountain villages. He exudes the confidence and refinement of an enlightened man who lives according to a firm philosophy and takes pride in the skill he carries on for the third generation. In the distant pas~ sometime during the Koryo Dynasty (918-1392) he thinks, one of Kim's ancestors made a name for himself as a civil servant. Kim says the family set roots in Paekil-ri at the time of his great-great-grandfather, Kim Tokbin, but it was his grandfather, Yong-su, who started the family tradition of woodworking. Kjm's father, Kim Wondal, learned to use an adze from his own father, Kim Yong-su. At the height of woodcrafts' popularity Âˇin 1951, the Ch6lla Wood Technical Middle School was established in the village. It operated for only seven years, but Kim 01-saeng was a graduate of the

first class. He went on to Chonju Industrial Hig School and military service, but his life after that has been spent working with wood in Paekil-ri. Today he enjoys national recognition as a "living cultural asset," but for 30-odd years his work was marked by frustration and loneliness. Kim had already devoted his life to the production of wooden vessels when nickel-plated pots and pans and plastic utensils began to dominate the domestic market. His workshop was soon empty. No one was interested in "old-fashioned" wooden vessels. Desperate to feed his family, Kim took up farming, but he never abandoned his craft. During the off-season, when there was not much work to be done in the fields, Kim gathered his neighbors to work on wood carving. He was determined to preserve the dying craft. Their wares did not sell, however, and Kim had no choice but to set out peddling their creations. Remembering how monks ate their meals from wooden bowls and used wooden vessels in their rites, Kim wandered the mountains for 15 years, stopping at temples and hermitages to sell Paekil-ri's wares. It was thanks to those lost-in-time temples

The inscription by woodworker Kim Ul-saeng on the marble slab tells of a lifetime dedicated to the creation of beautiful and useful wooden vessels (above). The secret to the beauty and long life of the wooden vessels is in the lacquer and the way it is applied (right). 46

Cured wood 1s first shaped into vessels on a lathe (top). The vessels are then placed in the shade to dry (middle). Finally, lacquer is applied to the vessels, seven layers in all, to complete the manufacturing process (bottom).

and hermitages that he was able to keep going. Each day, while he waited for daily meditations to end at four in the afternoon, he had a few moments to rest by a quiet stream or a pine tree, playing his bamboo flute or singing to himself. No doubt that many of the monks studying in isolated mountain temples during those years remember hearing the songs of the vagabond Kim. He may have looked like a drifter, but the wooden vessels he offered to the monks breathed the refined air of enlightenment and freedom from earthly travails. The process by which these beautiful vessels are made is relatively simple, but the results are difficult to reproduce because of the tricky processes of drying and lacquering. Kim is confident as he explains the painstaking process, for he knows that no one can master his craft without years of dedication and generations of understanding. Proper drying of the wood is the most important step in making these traditional vessels. The wood must be steamed over boilingÂˇ water before the sap rises. Then it must dry at room temperature for one week After that, it is piled in layers in the shade and left to dry for six months. "Once it has dried properly, you turn out the shape you want on a lathe. Then you let it dry in the shade once more, rework it on the lathe, and when you're satisfied with the shape, you carefully apply the lacquer-seven layers altogether. The whole process takes seven or eight months, but the vessels we produce are waterproof and sterilized. Put rice in them and it won't go bad, nor will the lacquer come off." Despite the decades of hardship, Kim remains dedicated to his craft. He has spent years developing lacquer technology, because lacquer is the key to long life for a wooden vessel. In 1981, one of Kim's works, a set of bowls, won the Silver Prize at the National Folk Craft Exhibition. The country was beginning to recognize his unique talents and dedication. From the mid -1980s, when

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Korean society began searching for its cultural roots, there was a growing interest in Kim and his craft. Finally, all those years of hardship began paying off. Today more than 20 craftsmen toil at Kim's workshop. Their daily tasks are much easier now that Kim can afford modern-day machinery and tools. The workshop is so busy that they sometimes have trouble filling the orders that flood in during major festive seasons. Wooden vessels are lightweight and attractive. They also exude a certain warmth, conjuring memories of a bygone era when families and neighbors were more closely connected. No doubt that this is the attraction of these vessels, along with the fact that they prevent food from spoiling. Of the many vessels made by Kim and his associates, the most popular are

A set of bowls by Kim which won the Silver Prize at the National Folk Craft Exhibition in 1981

Despite decades of hardship, Kim remains dedicated to his craft He has spent years developing lacquer technology, because lacquer is the key to long life for a wooden vessel

chegi, dishes and utensils used in ancestral memorial rites. A 35-piece chegi set includes a censor, candlesticks and ritual stands' on which offerings are made to ancestral spirits. The vessels are modeled after earthenware ritual vessels found in tumuli dating from the Three Kingdoms period (1st century B.C.-A.D. 7th century) and designed by Professor Yi Chong-s6k, a former member of the National Committee for the Preservation of Cultural Properties. Even today, as city dwellers rush from home to work and back again, ginkgo ash and alder trees are being transformed into beautiful vessels by the quiet hands of Kim Ul-saeng and his team of talented craftsmen. The pure, almost glass-like quality of their creations seems the perfect reflection of their lives spent in composed contemplation deep in the heart of Chirisan. â&#x20AC;˘ 49 ..

FOCUS

Lee]ang-jik Music Critic/Staff Reporter, The joong-ang Ilbo

he 1997 ISCM World Music Days, Seoul, organized by the International Society for Contemporary Music, takes place from September 24 to October 2 at various venues in Seoul including the National Theater, the National Center for Traditional Performing Arts, the Ho-Am Art Hall and the Shilla Hotel. Called the "Olympics of contemporary music," the ISCM festival is the biggest contemporary music showcase in the world. As an event in which composers from around the globe premier their new works, the festival enables attendees to get an overall feel for currents in contemporary music. The ISCM festival has been a representative music event ever since its inauguration in 1923, when some of the world's greatest contemporary pieces such as Alban Berg's String Quartet and Violin Concerto, Bela Bartok's Piano Concerto No. 1 and No. 2, and Olivier Messiaen's Quatour pour la fin du temps were performed for the first time. This is the second time for the festival to be held in Asia; Hong Kong was the host in 1988. Seoul was selected to host the event in a fierce competition 50

with Tokyo. Last year's festival was held -in Copenhagen; upcoming festivals are scheduled for Manchester next year, Bucharest in 1999, Jerusalem in 2000 and Tokyo in 2001. Held in conjunction with the ISCM

The link between Korea and the !SCM is deep. When the composer Yun !sang was jailed in Seoul over his alleged involvement in an espionage case known as the East Berlin

Incide~

Igor Stravinsky and many other members of the society wrote letters and collected signatures for his release.

General Assembly and symposium, this year's festival will bring together musicians from 61 countries around the world, including the 42 ISCM member countries.

The theme for this year Âˇ is "the human voice," which aims to show off the talents of Korea's many gifted singers. Behind this theme is the conviction that as the 20th century, an era in which science and technology had a tremendous impact o.n music, draws to a close, the 21st century will be a time when the emphasis of music will return to the human voice. Traditional Korean vocal music such as p'ansori (narrative song) and kagok (lyrical song) will be performed at the festival, as well as special pieces such as the rituaJ music of Munmyo cheryeak and the farmers' percussion quartet, samul nori. The Munmyo cheryeak, which is usually performed twice a year in ritual ceremonies at-- Munmyo, the Confucian shrine in Songgyungwan in Seoul, will be specially reenacted for the festival. This year the open competition for the ISCM festival drew a total of 655 entries. Of them, only 60 passed the rigorous screening for inclusion in the festival. Four of the 60 works are by Korean composers. They include Kon, a chamber music piece by Cho Songon; Yun, a string quartet piece composed by Choi Myung-whun in memory of Yun Isang; "Glaring as the

Sunflowers, Shining as the Water Flowers" by Kim Jae-wook; and "Dudri," an electronic piece by Moon Seong-joon. Cho Song-on, born in 1955, studied composition at Seoul National University and Stuttgart Hochschule in Germany. She is currently working as a freelance composer in Cologne, Germany. One of her pieces was performed at the 1991 ISCM World Music Days. Choi Myung-whun, born in 1973, a graduate of the College of Music of Kyongwon University, won first prize in the composition division in the 1995 ]oong-ang Music Competition in Seoul. Kim ]ae-wook studied at the Hans Eisler Hochschule der Musik in Berlin and is currently attending graduate school at the University of Maryland in the United States. Moon Seong-joon, a graduate of Seoul National University, is currently studying at the Hans Eisler Hochschule der Musik. He won first prize in the 1991 ]oong-ang Music Com petition.

This year's festival will also feature a wide variety of works by well-known composers from around the world, such as Mauricio Kagel of Argentina, who invented the genre of "music theater"; Gilbert Amy, dean of the College of Music at Lyon University, France,

Walter Maast(top,left)ofthe Netherlands who started the Gaudeam us Music Festival and Composer Mario Berton chin of Italy; Klangmobile of Austria (bottom)

51 .

who is a leader of the contemporary trend known as "spectrum music"; Makoto Sinohara of Japan, who seeks "to harmonize Western and Jraditional Japanese instruments; and Brian Ferneyhough of Britain, who is an expert in the new "complexity music." Famous ensembles performing in the festival include the Tokyo Sinfonietta of Japan, the Asko Ensemble of the Netherlands, the Ensemble A vant-garde of Germany, and the Basel Electronic Music Studio of Switzerland. The KBS Symphony Orchestra, the Seoul Baroque Ensemble and the Korea Festival Ensemble will represent Korea. The ISCM festival, which has played a prominent role in the world of contemporary music for more than 70 years, originated from the Contemporary Chamber Music Festival held on August 11, 1922, as part of the Salzburg Festival in Austria. Originally organized

Composer Cho Song-on of Korea

by Rudolf Reti and Egan W ellecz, it has since become an event held under the auspices of UNESCO. The .earnposers who formed the backbone of the fe~tival in the early days such as Arnold Schoenberg, Alban Berg, Anton von W ebern, Paul Hindemith. Bela Bartok, Z6ltan Kodaly, Arthur Honegger and Darius Milhaud have

For the World's Children, a German piece performed at the 1977ISCM festival 52

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become an indelible part of the history of music in the 20th century. The festival was the result of a suggestion by W ellecz for an event that would "show the essence of contemporary music" to be held on an annual basis. Headquartered in London, the ISCM developed into an organization devoted to the dissemination of contemporary music, transcending the barriers of race, religion and musical trends. The Nazis, however, decided that the ISCM was "culturally Bolshevist" and considered the organization to be part of an international anti-German conspiracy. In 1934 they founded a counter-organization, the Permanent Council for the International Cooperation of Composers, of which Richard Strauss was president. The German chapter of the ISCM was banned in 1933, and bans were enforced between 1938 and 1941 on

chapters in all German-occupied countries. Those in Italy and Japan were also banned in 1939 and 1941, respec"tively. For a time after World War II, the ISCM became active once again. Webern's Second Cantata op. 31 (Brussels, 1950) and Pierre Boulez's Le marteau san maitre (Baden-Baden, 1955) were among its most important postwar premieres. In 1949, the organization published a journal, Music Today, which only lasted for one issue. The work of the ISCM diminished in significance as new means of producing and reproducing music developed, and as a source of musical impetus the ISCM was superseded by the international summer courses at Darmstadt, by new specialized music ensembles and by the growth of broadcasting. Thus the growth and spread of serial music and other modern trends in ,many countries took place outside, even in opposition to, the ISCM. In 1971, the ISCM's statutes were revised in such a way that it could resume some of its former importance, taking advantage of its independence from commercial and political factors, its internationalism, and the equality among its national groups-from which the smaller nations in particular may have benefited as can be seen in the impetus the ISCM has provided to the development of new music in Sweden, the Netherlands and Switzerland. The link between Korea and the ISCM is deep. Korea became a member of the ISCM in the late 1950s, withdrew temporarily and then rejoined in 1971. When the composer Yun Isang was jailed in Seoul over his alleged involvement in an espionage case known as the East Berlin Incident, Igor Stravinsky and many other ISCM members wrote letters and collected signatures for his release. In 1960, Yun became the first Korean to premiere a work at the World Music Days with his String Quartet. Following in Yun's footsteps were

BahkJun-sang in 1972 with Woodwind Quartet, Kim Chung-gil in 1973 with a chamber music work, and Kang Sukhi in 1976 and 1978 with orchestral works. In the 1980s many Korean composers had their works accepted for inclusion in the festival. These included Chang Cheng-iek, Paik Byung-dong, Pagh Young-hi, Chin Eun-suk, Chung Nahmhee, Cho Song-on, Hong Su-yeon and Lee Shin-uh. The ISCM's list of honorary life members includes Bela Bartok, Ferruccio Busoni, Z6ltan Kodaly, John Cage, Aaron Copland, Paul Hindemith, Gyorgy Ligeti, Wito ld Lutoslawski, Olivier Messiaen, Darius Milhaud,

Maurice Ravel, Arnold Schoenberg, Toru Takemitsu and Hans Werner Henze-all masters of 20th century music. The one and only Korean on the list is Yun Isang, who was nominated in 1992. Today, the ISCM has its headquarters at the Gaudeamus Foundation in the Netherlands. It is an authoritative music organization with the power to eject any member country that does not produce a work accepted for the annual festival for three years running. From 1985 to 1990, Professor Kang Sukhi held the post of vice president and frorri 1991 to 1997 he has been a member of the judging committee. +

The Elsingnore Ensemble of Denmark (top); the Ark Ensemble ofjapan (bottom) 53 .

INTERVIEW

Kim Young-uk Associate Editor, KOREAN A

he World Music Days, sponsored by the International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM), which is often called the Olympics of contemporary music, will be held in Seoul this fall. The annual event, which celebrates contemporary music by highlighting new compositions by composers from around the world, has come to represent the cutting edge of avant-garde music. Kang Sukhi, chairman of the Korean organizing committee that brought the event to Seoul, is a renowned composer of electronic music. "We decided on the 'human voice' as the theme of the event, hoping to spotlight the unique characteristics of Korean music," Kang explained during an interview. "Through performances of some of Korea's finest traditional music, such as the music performed during the ritual ceremony at Munmyo, the Confucian shrine in Songgyun-gwan, p'ansori, kagok and farmers' music, we hope to introduce the flavor and excitement of Korean music." The human voice was selected as the festival's theme because it seems to be the logical conclusion to the development of experimental music in the 20th century. Kang hopes to spotlight the natural elements that distinguish Korean music from other national--music genres. From 1985 to 1990 Kang was the ISCM's vice president, the first Asian to hold this post. More recently, he has been busy preparing for the Seoul festival and serving on the ISCM judging committee.

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Despite his somewhat precise image, Kang is an unassuming and thoughtful person who dresses comfortably and often sports a wool beret. Of course, beneath the surface is a thoroughly discriminating mind. Over the years Kang has come to be recognized as a worldclass composer of modern, and specifically electronic, music. He placed second in a composition contest sponsored by the Paris-based UNESCO, composed electronic fanfare music for the Seoul Olympic Games in 1988, and has been commissioned to compose numerous works at contemporary music festivals. Kang was born in Seoul in 1934. He majored in architecture at Seoul Technical High School but studied music at Seoul National University. His grandfather, a banker, had hoped his oldest grandson would devote himself to the development of Korean industry. Young Kang loved math and science, and even considered studying theology. But he d iose music as his major; he had come to iove choral music while attending a Christian church during the Korean War years. "When I entered university, I only kri.ew a handful of pieces so I decided to spend a full year listening to music. After class each day I went to 'Renaissance,' a classical music listening room on Chongno in downtown Seoul. I would listen to music and try to transcribe the notes on paper. That's how I got closer to music and gradually developed confidence in my own ability." Kang made many friends at the university, including students majoring in philosophy, mathematics, literature and

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drama, from whom he learned about fields outside of music. As a student he was attracted to the genius of James Âˇ Joyce, Hegel, Schopenhauex;, Nietzsche and da Vinci. During his years studying in Europe, Kang says he developed a deeper understanding of music through his discussions with students and scholars in different fields. He was seriously ill with liver disease after graduating from university. The doctors were not optimistic about his chances but Kang survived, determined to become a composer. "While lying in the hospital, I decided that I had to do something worthwhile if I survived. I'm sure everyone who faces death thinks that way." Kang settled _on electronic music. With his love of mathematics and science, he hoped s0mehow to link music and science. As he lay in his hospital bed, he studied electronic music; it was a new field at the time, but he was determined to learn all he could about it. After his discharge from the hospital, Kang rented the electronic facilities at KBS (the Korean Broadcasting System). His first composition was Wonsaekiii hyangyon (Festival of Primary Colors). It debuted at the National Theater in 1966. Then Kang learned computer basics at the Korean Computer Center in Seoul. He had a feeling that computers were going to become increasingly important in music. This was less than 10 years after the first computer-generated music was introduced in 1957. "I've been constantly changing over the last 40 years. I firmly believe that a creative artist must always be new and

fresh. This is especially true in the field of musical composition." Music begins with visual representation-a score-but music itself cannot be seen. Music's lack of visual form means its structure must be that much clearer and more logical. This is why Kang calls composition "invisible architecture." 'Just as the beauty of architecture is born of an elaborate design and structural calculations, so is the beauty of

music born of a well-designed and carefully thought-out structure. It is like a diamond. The true beauty of a diamond is revealed after it is carefully cut from its rough ,shape. We judge a diamond by what is created through deliberate cutting and polishing. So too is music created on the basis of thought and technical skill." For Kang, musical composition must be based on logical process before it can be called art, just as philosophy achieves its ideal through logic. Kang believes that composition is possible without the benefit of musical talent. For him, musical composition is achieved through the

logical arrangement of sounds, rhythms and structure.

Search for Tradition Kang's introduction to the Germanbased Korean composer Yun !sang in 1968 was a decisive turning point in his musical development. He met Yun not long after Yun had been sentenced to death for his alleged involvement in the so-called East Berlin Incident. Yun was hospitalized in Seoul on parole for sickness at the time. Their meeting changed Kang's life. Yun taught Kang the importance of logical expression in his compositions. Kang also learned how to express Korean musical elements in his work. It was thanks to Yun that Kang went to the Hanover School of Music on a government scholarship in 1970. Many of Kang's compositions from this period were influenced by his discussions with Yun. It was also around this period that Kang developed an interest in Buddhist music. He was living near Pongwonsa Temple at the time and woke to the sound of the temple bell each morning. In 1968, prior to setting out for Europe, Kang was commissioned to write a piece by the College of Music at Seoul National University. In this composition he focused his interest on Buddhist bells. He then became interested in pomp'ae, Buddhist ritual chants, and went to Haeinsa Temple to study. This period of meditative study was important to his future development. The temple grounds were alive with cherry blossoms. As he watched the blossoms fall like snow, the fresh water tumble over boulders, and the sun 55 ..

sparkle off the surface of the water, Kang's mind filled with music. Every object, every vista seemed awash with ·music. The monks' chanting io the darkness of early morning was even more mystical at Haeinsa. It was here that Kang composed Yebul (Homage to the Buddha), a choral and percussion piece for 30 drummers. While researching the Emilie Bell, a magnificent bronze bell dedicated to Shilla King Songdok in 770, Kang came across some important material that inspired him to create Nang (In Play), a contemporary masterpiece of Kor~;l4i ~ s- ~\1-.

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the origins of art, the fundamental elements that make art. Only then can we transcend national or

achieve universality"

Kang combined Korean tradional music with modern music techniques in the early 1960s, the first Korean composer to do so. 56

music. He composed the work while studying in Germany, and it won an award at the 1978 ISCM World Music Days. The title Nang derives from the expression nonghy6n, "vibrating string" or "string at play." It refers to a sound that emanates from a preexisting sound, as when the vibration of one string on a kayagi'im affects another string. After meeting and working with Yun Isang, Kang has constantly asked

himself how he can best express Korea in music. The sounds of KoreaBuddhist bells and the kayagum-are often found in his compositions. Many of his ideas have been taken from Korean history or historical documents, such as Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms (Samguk yusa), and his works often combine elements from traditional music with contemporary musical vocabulary. "Searching for tradition within the modern does not mean we are trying to discover the primitive elements of art. We are searching for the origins of art, the fundamental elements that make art. Only then can we transcend national or regional boundaries and achieve universality." Kang explores tradition in order to carry on the Korean spirit and discover international universality. This too requires process and logic. While studying in Germany, Kang sought to achieve a higher level of logic and technical prowess. His compositions are marked by structural precision. He eliminates all traces of personal feeling to achieve a precise and pure abstract music. He says, "My interest in traditional Korean music has been the most consistent focus of my creative life. It's ironic, however, that I dedicated myself to com posing abstract and absolute music for the sake of universality, rather than composing Korean music." Kang believes that music should revolve around structure, not melody. That is to say, all forms contain beauty in their relation to the overall structure, but this external beauty can only be realized through a well-conceived internal structure. For Kang, careful planning and calculation are essential. "I'm not sure whether I have a natural talent for music. I've always thought that I didn't have any particular talent. However, I've created many different kinds of music, and my com positions have been performed at venues around the world. I've approached composition as one might approach any scholarly pursuit. Mathematicians and physicists

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don't think of themselves as 'born' to their specialty. They chose those fields. They develop their talents, work to Âˇ understand the logic of their field and so make their contribution to the world." People use the term "modern" quite often these days-modern art, modern architecture, modern thinking. Clearly, "modern" connotes a break with a notso-distant past. Still, the general public often feels put off by the vocabulary of modern or contemporary music, and a "modern" composer is generally viewed quite differently from one who works in classical musical genres. "People tend to think contemporary music is boring or difficult to understand, but this is simply because they aren't trained in this kind of music. Korean grandmothers love p'ansori and traditional folk songs, but the younger generations have no use for that kind of music. They prefer Beethoven or Mozart. That is because they were schooled in classical Western music. It is hard for them to approach other genres. However, we can't simply react to music emotionally. We have to make an effort to understand." Kang is still driven by an inquisitive spirit that has motivated him since the early 1960s, when there was hardly any information available about contemporary music. He is not a prolific composer but each of his compositions has a flavor all its own. Each is driven by a sense of inevitability and intuition. The international music community has recognized Kang's creativity ever since he arranged the music for the Korean pavilion designed by Kim Sugl'm at the 1970 Osaka Expo. Prior to his return to Korea after studying electronic music at Berlin School of Music, Kang's skills as a composer of electronic music were already gaining international recognition. His composition for flute and string quartet, Metamorphosen, won an award at the 1976 Paris Composition Competition. He also won the 1979 Korean Composition Award and the 1990 Republic of Korea Culture

and Art Award. And he has been the guest composer at numerous international programs including Berlin's Dada Art Program and the Japan Foundation. Kang's contribution to the advancement of contemporary music has been most evident in his single-minded dedication to the Pan Music Festival he has organized in Korea since 1970. This festival has served as an important venue for the dissemination of Korean musical trends to the outside world. Kang has also dedicated himself to the cultivation of a new generation of musicians and composers, teaching at his alma mater, Seoul National

University. Among his students, he is well known for his enthusiasm, demanding nature and warmth. His classes are always unique, and the success of his students at international contemporary music contests testifies to his love and understanding as a teacher. Kang's friends call him "Logic" because he is so systematic in his work Music is everything to him when he is composing. During these creative periods, he has no family or friends. Today, Kang is a mature musician, traveling the world to promote contemporary music, and his compositions demonstrate that his passion for the new is endless. +

Kang at Gaudeam us in Amsterdam in 1996 (top); with students (bottom)

57 .

KOREAN ARTISTS ABROAD

Elusive Elegance of

SangÂˇnam Lee Yoonie Staff Writer, Space Magazine

he works of Lee Sang-nam are extremely provocative; they pose a direct challenge to those who try to understand them. Most art enthusiasts like to first categorize a painting before examining it in detail. When they cannot do this, they feel uneasy, sometimes to the point of turning away from the painting altogether. In this sense, Lee's art leaves very little room for comfort. It is easy to detect a sense of discomfort and dissatisfaction on the faces of those visiting an exhibition of Lee's work. But then again, his work possesses a magnetism too strong for them to turn away. To stand before one of Lee's paintings is to suddenly be confronted by various concepts of art. The forms and shapes that appear in Lee's work bear a resemblance to the mechanical images that captured the imaginations of artists early in this century. But on closer inspection, they are not so much experimental mechanical shapes as they are intricately constructed, pure and conceptual geometrical forms. In some ways they resemble mysterious geometric symbols appearing on prehistoric rock carvings, marking out some sacred ground that is not to be encroached upon. On the other hand, Lee's paintings have a sparse surface beauty that makes them so modern they seem futuristic, like a spacecraft floating in a vacuum. And at still other times Lee's works seem to embody a Buddhist viewpoint or the concept of yin and

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Lee Sang-nam

Lee's paintings have a sparse surface beauty that, makes them so m odern they seem futuristic, like a spacecraft floating in a vacuuni And at still other tim es Lee's w orks seem to em body a Buddhist view p oint or the concep t of yin and yang.

fii yang. ~ There is no telling the actual subject of Lee's works, but they have some quality that prevents them from slipping into utter abstraction. Sometimes the subject appears at first to be one thing and then another. The substance of the painting is elusive. It seems to come within grasp and then slips away again, flickering briefly in a vague and distant moment. It is this vague sort of arrogance that gives Lee's work a definite aura. All the doors that might lead to the inner substance of the paintings seem to have been deliberately closed by the artist himself. Although the paintings defy any sort of analysis, it seems that Lee endeavored to achieve perfection. The paintings that were shown at the Gallery Hyundai last spring can be roughly divided into two groups. The first group includes paintings on canvas and the second group drawings on paper. The paintings were created through a process of endlessly stroking down layers of paint and scraping them off only to paint over them again, resulting in a surface that has the feel and shine of leather. Two concentric circles are placed right in the center of the canvas. On top of these circles, Lee places curious forms that sometimes move in isolation and sometimes together. In these paintings it is easy to detect Lee's fastidiousness and obstinacy, the origins of which are unknown. A picture comes to mind of the artist knitting his brows and tensing his body

while turning the compass or moving the brush. The drawings are not just sketches · made in the process of cre ~ ting paint· ings but are complete artworks on their own. They are perfectly finished. The razor-sharp outlines and fine color contrasts do not betray any traces of a scattered or unsure intent. Instead, they seem to have been more intricately conceived in composition and form than the paintings. The artist may even have shown some mercy and thrown out a few clues to his work. But regardless of how they came to be created, the forms that pass through Lee's works are anonymous and fea· ture an outrageously individual geome· try. To come a little closer to under· standing Lee's works, which are ulti· mately unfriendly, it is natural to attempt an analysis of the origin of his forms. As with all visual arts, the

images cannot be separated from the experiences of the artist. Lee admits that his sensitivity to his forms starts from an avaricious bent of looking at all things. But it is rash to describe the lineage of Lee's forms before thoroughly studying his sketchbook, because his forms are like quotations whose sources are unknown.

Oriental Quality In a case such as this, the most ambiguous and also the safest explana· tion is to call Lee's work "Eastern." After all, Lee is an Asian working and living in the West. After graduating from Hongik University in 1978, Lee painted in Korea for a few years before crossing over to the United States in 1981. There he settled in New York :and gradually came to be recog· nized as an artist. It sounds simple when put this way, but the process Lee had to go through before achiev·

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ing his present status was probably more trying than one could ever imagine. Whether a student in New York or a working resident of the city, to settle into the comfort of being considered "Asian" or "Oriental" in your work is probably the hardest temptation to resist. It could be that an artist comes to better recognize what is entailed by his or her own culture when removed from it. Or perhaps it is the result of an obsession with having to produce something different. In any case, Westerners have a tendency to classify anything that is hard for them to understand as "Oriental." Many critics have said of Lee's work that he is reworking in an Oriental way the geometric aesthetics of the West, that he is representing the world of Eastern meditation, or that he is ere· ating mysteriously sublime images. But what do they mean when they

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Minus & Plus (H:z06), 40 x 55 ln., watercolor and colored pencil on paper, 1989

59..

say Lee's work is "Oriental," and which artistic elements in particular does this statement app ly to? Koreans are so used to seeing things that are .:;upposed to look "Oriental" and are possessed with the thought that they must present an Asian feeling in all their creations that the word comes to have little meaning. But as an Asian, I cannot pass over Lee's work without wondering where the mysterious Oriental quality comes from. One of the most elusive elements of Lee's work is the way he applies up to 70 layers of pain.t, wiping one out almost entirely before painting on the next, over and over again. By just looking at his works, it is hard to figure out how they were created. In other words, the artist's effort does not show on the surface. For this reason, one wonders all the more about the cause of Lee's intensity. In the end it seems appropriate to interpret his work from the perspective of Zen discipline. Invariably, critics have likened Lee's working style to "a Buddhist monk doing penance." But, in fact, the image of an artist going about his work with a ferociousness that is damaging to his own health is more Western than Asian. It is an image that has its roots in the romantic view of the suffering artist who completes a work of art by bringing forth all the emotions that are burning within him. While there are some similarities between the intensity of Zen discipline in Asia and the romantic image of the committed artist in the West, there is a difference in goals from the outset. The Zen objective is to reach the ultimate state of peace through a process of self-denial and endurance. And it is in this respect that the critic's description of Lee's painting method as Zen discipline seems appropriate. Though his final goal may not be to reach a state of ultimate tranquility or to cultivate humanity , the process through which Lee creates his works amounts to an act of self-denial. His 60

way of looking at things, like the architect who will not tolerate a single error, is unmistakably Zen. If one looks carefully at Lee's drawings, his forms and co lors bring to mind the phases of the moon or the concept of yin and yang. Titles such as "Minus & Plus" and "White+Black" also emphasize this motif. The image that most encourages interpretation of his work from an Asian world perspective is the two concentric circles that frequently appear in the center. A circle is a perfeCt form, representing countless dots joined in completion in relation to a certain distance from a central point. In both the East and the West, it is a highly symbolic form. In the West, the circle appears as the halo abeve the heads of saints. In the East, the circle represents Buddhism's circular view of the world. In contemporary Western abstract art, however, the circle no longer holds as much symbolic meaning. Contemporary artists seem to prefer the square to the symbolism-laden circle. The square better reflects the contemporary view of the world. Despite this trend, the circle remains strongly rooted in Lee's symbolism. Of course, the forms that an artist creates cannot be independent of the personal memories of the artist. No one would deny that Lee is coating on his canvas layers of Asian motifs and tones, images that have been implanted in his mind from the time he was born and raised in Korea. But it is not enough to explain Lee's place in the history of art simply by the Asian, mysteriousness that his work exhibits. Lee's forms are ultimately the result of an unconscious visual greed, whatever the source of the Asian influence that lies behind them, be it the elegance of literati painting, the Buddhist view of the world, or the yin and yang theory. To judge his work from an Asian perspective alone can be dangerous, because Lee is actually better versed in the art of the West than the art of Asia.

He is of the generation of expatriate artists who have already separated themselves from the need to have their work identified as Asian or Korean.

Artistic Changes Therefore, in order to understand Lee's work, what is needed is not a hasty attempt to find some Asian characteristics but an understanding of the conditions in which Lee has been battling to create his art. This battle encompasses the state of the art community in Korea as well as the art circles in New York. The battle is not geographical in nature but is rather a struggle of the mind and one's particular outlook on the world. The first thing Lee had to overcome was the artist's mindset that he had inherited from his seniors in Korea. He posed the question of whether it was better to take the stance of a deliberate artist or to tackle things as they came and wait for opportunities to open up before him as he moved along. He had to ask himself whether he was ready for a life of self-repetition and what was the nature of his own artistic vision. One can see, in Lee's efforts to eliminate all traces of an artistic mannerism, the results of this battle. The measure of Lee's professionalism can be seen in the way he patiently paints laye!'s, wipes them out and paints over them agft in, and in the meticulously fine processes of his work. The next thing that must be considered is the way Lee survived-in the art world of New York. It is hard to tell from just one exhibition in Korea how he struggled for 16 years in the world capital of modern art. However, this much is for certain: Lee has the potential to make his own place in the mainstream of contemporary art history. On the surface, Lee's works bring to mind the art of Francis Picabia. On a deeper level, they remind one of Marcel Duchamp. They lightly circumscribe each of the corners of the manysided concept of Western modernism.

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Minus & Plus (M.H.O.O.Q), 40 x 26 in~

watercolor and colored pencil on paper, 1991 (left); watercolor and colored pencil on paper, 1993

Red+ Red (May), 40 x 26 in~

It is in Western art that Lee's place in art history must be sought. If there is a special Asian characteristic in his work, it must be the language embodied in his work, a language with a special persuasive power. In the analysis of the broader artistic changes that occurred between the time when Lee first began to paint-that is, the time when Korean artists first sought to absorb Western modernism in any way possible and transform it-and the time when Lee began to find his own individual style, one should attempt to find traces of a true Korean contemporary art distinct from an ambiguous Asian quality. Thus far I have talked not about the way I see Lee's work, but about the

ways in which it would be dangerous to see it. Throwing all concepts of art aside and without having considered the analytic possibilities, I stood once again before Lee's work. No gains have been made in the effort to understand the artist's symbolic fort)1, or the origin, or the act of creation through which they appear on the canvas. But then again, is it really necessary to know the source, the essence or the purpose of his art? Isn't the joy that Lee's art gives to be found not in searching for its meaning but in enjoying the very vagueness of that meaning? Lee's work provides no clear hints of meaning, but that does not mean his paintings are cold and brusque. It is art

that can be enjoyed visually by sinking into the comfort of imagination and experiencing the imagery that spontaneously arises. One can see but not really understand Lee's art. The more Gne tries to grasp it, the further out of reach it seems. The elusiveness of his art, from the perspective of visual understanding, is not a stuttering vagueness but an offering of richness. It is not too late to try to read the text of Lee's work after being won over by the loneliness and elegance of the scenes that he creates. Now, I can take a chair and sit in front of his work with ease. I want all the concepts and ideas that the artist throws up to simply pass me by. + 61

KimManjo Food Industry Consultant

imchi is a tantalizing and uniquely pungent mixture of fermented vegetables. Cabbage (Brassica chinensis or Brassica pekinensis) and radishes (Raphanus sativus) are the most commonly used vegetables in kimchi today. These are combined with more aromatic vegetables, sauces, salt and seasonings to create a food that nourishes the Korean soul as much as the body. In fact, kimchi provides both physiological and psychological comfort to Koreans. On a cold winter evening, a humble meal of piping hot rice, soybean-paste soup and cabbage kimchi, just taken from an earthenware jar buried in the backyard, is as satisfying to most Koreans as a banquet at a luxurious restaurant.

Kimchi has been part of the Korean diet for centuries and is prepared in as many as 300 variations, depending on the region, season and personal preference. Throughout the world, people have always eaten some form of fermentedÂˇ vegetables, usually cabbage, for more than 4,000 years. Around 2030 B;C., the inhabitants of northern India -brought cabbage seeds to southern China. The preservation of vegetables in brine was common in China, Mongolia and the Korean peninsula from early times. Some 2,000 years ago, the laborers who built the Great Wall in China were kept strong with cured vegetables. They were fed a diet of cabbage preserved with salt and rice wine. Some 1,000 years later, Genghis Khan and his troops carried this pun-

Traditionally, Koreans make great quantities of cabbage kim chi in late autumn to eat during the long winter months when fresh vegetables are scarce. 62

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gent dish with them into Europe. Cured vegetables were soon a staple of the European diet. Early Koreans preserved .vegetables in salt or vinegar and other spices. Sometimes they rubbed the surface of the vegetables with salt or preserved vegetables in brine or chang, soy-based sauces made from processed beans. Kimchi is thought to have originated from Chinese pickles brought to Korea and modified to Korean tastes sometime during the Unified Shilla period (668-935). Among the writings of the Koryo scholar Yi Kyu-bo (1168-1241) is a reference to the pickling of homegrown radishes in brine for use during the long winters. This dish may have been a precursor to tongch 'imi, the sliced pickled radish in refreshing salty brine that modern Koreans enjoy. The spicy red kimchi eaten today has been a part of Korea's dietary culture since the 17th century, when Portuguese traders introduced red chili

Eating habits are generally influenced by geographical, cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Every food culture should therefore be viewed in terms of its natural environment, geographical circumstances, religious beliefs, economic status and cultural traditions. It is important to take into accoont both the physiological and emotional acceptability -of various foods in the general culture.

peppers to Korea. A cookbook from the year 1670 describes pickled mixtures of wild greens and pickled gourd melons, but makes no reference to the use of chilies. One historical record from the end of the 17th century describes 11 types of kimchi. The first historical reference to chilies being used in kimchi dates from 1766. Whole-cabbage kimchi and other spicy red varieties of the dish appear to have gained popularity during the middle of the Chason Dynasty. At that time, chilies were added for taste, without knowledge of their preservative or nutritional qualities. In recent years, chili peppers have become essential ingredients for almost all kimchi. They have been found to inhibit the growth of undesirable microorganisms that form during the fermentation process. Prior to the introduction of ted chili peppers, kimchi was preserved in salt, vinegar and spices. Without modern farming techniques or refrigeration, a

Nabak kim chi is a popular seasonal kim chi because it is easy to make, particularly in small quantities.

few earthenware jars of kimchi were the only source of juicy vegetables for much of the year. Vegetables were often dried for consumption in winter, but this resulted in a loss of flavor and nutritional value over time. The addition of fish or shellfish paste or sauce (chotkal) to enhance fermentation and flavor may have begun during the 1800s. Sometimes abalone shells were also added to the jars to reduce acidity. Salt was used to produce lactic acid. Scientific Research Dr. James Lind made the first scientific study of cured vegetables in the 1700s. His aim was to find out why

Dutch sailors, who carried large quantities of cured vegetables in the holds of their ships, were not afflicted with scurvy as frequently as their English counterparts. His research showed cured vegetables to be antiscorbutic, meaning that they prevented vitamin C deficiencies. From his research, Lind learned that cured and fermented vegetables not only supply the body with vitamin C but also help the body utilize and assimilate vitamin C. The distinguished Russian biologist Elie Metchnikoff (1845-1916), who studied several ethnic groups in Russia and the Austro Hungarian Empire, discovered that these people enjoyed superior health, living long and vigorous

lives. He concluded that one of the most important factors in their longevity was a diet rich in lactic acid derived from brine-preserved vegetables. The first English-language research paper about kimchi fermentation, concentrating on the maturation period, was presented at the second International Conference of Food Science and Technology, held in Warsaw in 1966. Since then, approximately 500 papers about kimchi have been published in English, Korean and other languages. Most discuss the physical and chemical nature of kimchi fermentation, storage and ingredients, but several have dealt with the history of kimchi and various preparation techniques. Today, research 65 "

projects funded by the Korean government, universities and private companies focus on the development of new technologies involving kimcbi, such as mechanization and automation to enhance packaging techniques and thereby extend shelf life. At present, more than 60 firms in South Korea produce kimchi. A South Korean consumes an average of 18 kilograms ( 40 pounds) of kim chi a year. Although the exact volume of kimchi production and consumption in North Korea is not known, it can be assumed to parallel that of South Korea, for northern Korea was historically known for its savory kimchi. The kimchi of P'yongyang and Kaesong are considered gourmet delights. North Korean kimchi was known and valued in Ming and Qing China as well. Today, the most popular varieties of

kimchi are made with Chinese cabbage (also known as Napa cabbage or lettuce cabbage), daikon radishes, spring and summer cabbage, round-head cabbage, cucumbers, leeks, eggplants, sesame leaves and scallions. However, almost any vegetable, cultivated or wild, can be fermented to make kimchi. Kimchi varies by ingredients and preparation method. For example, cabbage and radish kimchi are pickled in brine or cured with spices and seasonings. They can include soy sauce and soybean paste or chili paste; chotkal; rice wine or soju, a distilled grain beverage; mustard or other spices or condiments; and malted rice or rice or fruit brews. Proper storage is crucial to the dish's flavor :and nutritional value. Kimchi must be kept at a constant tempera-

Ch'onggak kim chi, a kim chi made of a turnip native to Korea

Kimchi is especially satisfying when prepared and preserved accorqing to an old family recipe. Koreans generally believe that the texture, color and taste of kimchi are determined by an inherited hidden wisdom mysteriously passed down from mother to daughter over the generations. 66

ture, about 5 degrees centigrade, to prevent freezing or excessive fermentation; it lasts four to six weeks at this temperature. Traditionally, earthenware kimchi jars were wrapped in straw and buried in the ground to ensure a constant temperature. Care must be taken to prevent air from entering the storage vessel, for this will cause the kimchi to sour. The proper concentration of salt-approximately 3 percent-is also a key factor in making good kimchi. Kimchi contains some 42 milligrams of vitamin C per 100 grams, more than half the U.S. recommended daily allowance. When Captain James Cook set sail in the 1770s, he made certain his sailors were fed a daily portion of cured cabbage to prevent scurvy, a disease resulting from vitamin C deficiency. The capsaicin from kimchi's red chili peppers is also rich in vitamin E, which works with vitamin Cas an antioxidant. Capsaicin also prevents the oils in the chOtkal seasoning from turning rancid. Kimchi is high in fiber, which is necessary for proper digestion, and is rich in minerals and vitamins, including thiamin (B-1), riboflavin (B-2), calcium and iron. It is also surprisingly low in calories, only 33 calories per cup! The people who first practiced preserving vegetables in brine did not understand the microorganisms that play an important role in the fermentation process. _Many species of microorganisms, such as lactobacilli, are found throughout nature. Few of these organisms permeate leaves, however; most remain on the surface. If a cabbage is shredded, placed in a sanitary container and left at room temperature, the bacteria that is naturally present in the plant cells colonize rapidly. This quickly lowers the pH and thereby creates an acidic environment, which causes fermentation. In this environment, beneficial microorganisms, including Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus brewis, proliferate. Through enzymatic actions, these microorganisms convert the sug-

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ars and starches naturally present in vegetables into lactic and acetic acids, which are natural preservatives. This · process perpetuates a slightly acidic environment conducive to the further proliferation of beneficial microorganisms. It is important to maintain the proper microecological balance in the human digestive tract. The consumption of fermented vegetables, such as kimchi, is one of the best ways to do this. Vegetables ferment when lactobacilli convert natural starches and sugars into lactic and acetic acids, which then create an environment in which more beneficial lactobacilli can proliferate.

Rhythms of Korean Life Kimchi-making has long been the test of a Korean homemaker's culinary skills. Although kimchi's basic flavors are derived from salt, garlic, ginger, scallions, red pepper, chotkal and lactic Tongch'imi, a refreshing watery turnip kimchi usually acid fermentation, the hands of each cook provides its own unique flavors. eaten in late autumn and early winter Housewives today, as they did in the past, also recognize the important role mine what foods appeal to them and an old family recipe."Koreans generally that their brightly colored and flavorful how to heighten the pleasure they debelieve that the texture, color and taste rive from these foods. of kimchi are determined by an inheritkimchi played in everyday life. No two individuals have exactly the If there is a lesson to be learned ed hidden wisdom mysteriously passed same taste in food, but people tend to from early childhood eating experi- down from mother to daughter over share general preferences. To a large ences, it is that food should be sensual- the generations. extent, these individual and collective ly and emotionally satisfying as well as Homemade kimchi is usually seaphysiologically nourishing. Food is of soned ~ with red chili pepper, garlic, ginfood tastes have contributed to the formation of eating patterns and habits profound psychological importance for ger, scallions, salt, ch6tkal made of ferthat may be considered together with- all people; those who do not have a mente<f anchovies, oysters, baby in a broad category of food culture. ·healthy relationship with food typical- shrimp, baby squid, small swordfish or Eating patterns form an important basis ly do not have satisfying relationships shellfish, and sometimes nuts and for communities and, if shared by herbs. These ingredients are harvested, with other people. enough people, they become a distinEating habits are generally influ- prepared and stored from late spring guishing characteristic of the national enced by geographical, cultural and until early autumn. ethnic backgrounds. Every food culture The entire kimchi-making process, food culture. Food is intimately linked to our should therefore be viewed in terms of from the harvest of ingredients to servdeepest feelings. It is a part of our earli- its natural environment, geographical ing the final product, reflects the est sensual experiences and the medi- circumstances, religious beliefs, eco- rhythms of Korean life. A meal of kimum through which we develop bonds nomic status and cultural traditions. It is chi and freshly cooked rice on a of love with our parents and form feelimportant to take into account both the snowy day stirs nostalgic memories of ings about the world. However, food physiological and emotional acceptabil- childhood autumns: the pleasure of ity of various foods in the general cul- running around heaps .of newly hardoes not come to us at its own free vested cabbages and radishes , the will. A great deal of time and effort is ture. Kimchi is especially satisfying when warmth of the sun, the delightful arospent creating a healthy, individually tailored diet. Each family must deter- prepared and preserved according to mas and the sense of abundance. + 67 . • •

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Ye Yong-hae's Folk Collection Kim Kwang-on Professor of Folklore, Inha University

n exhibition of various folk materials donated by the late journalist and collector Ye Yonghae (1929-1995) to the National Folk Museum opened at the museum on June 24, 1997. The publication of Ye's complete works was also celebrated along with the opening of the exhibition. Of the 290 items Ye donated to the museum in 1994 and 1995, 6o were featured in the exhibition. They included ink stones made of agalmatolite, marble, granite and other rare stones; tobacco boxes of various shapes; incense burners; braziers; white-hemp mourning hats; casserole dishes and other pots; woodblocks for printing maps of the world and stars; hemp shoes; and flower vases Each and every one of the pieces, all in excellent condition, was lovingly collected and preserved over a long period of time by Ye, who obviously possessed a very discerning eye. Each piece offers the viewer a glimpse of the sense of beauty held by Koreans of the past Had it not been for Ye's special love of folk objects, it would be difficult to see so many high-quality utilitarian objects from the Chos6n Dynasty at one viewing. Although it is not widely known, Ye had earlier donated hundreds of gourd dippers and scoops that he had collected over the years to the Korea University Museum. The quality of these pieces at least equals the gourd pieces in the National Folk Museum's collection, and many are one of a kind. Ye's efforts deserve special respect in that he 68

YeYong-hae

returned to the public what is rightfully part of their cultural heritage instead of keeping it in private hands. The Complete Works of Ye Yonghae consists of six volumes, of which Human Cultural AS5elS is the most representative and monumental work. Along with miscellaneous writings and reports on Korean culture, the series contains articles on Korean tea, which was among his lifelong interests, and factfinding reports on various cultural subjects as well as columns and essays published in the daily Hankook Ilbo, through which he gained a reputation as a celebrated writer. Human Cultural AS5elS is a compilation of 50 articles that Ye serialized from July 1960 to November 1962 in the Hankook flbo, the newspaper for which he worked practically all his life. For this series, he sought out people who contin-

ued to dedicate themselves to traditional cultural fields, keeping alive the wisdom of ancient Koreans. The articles evoked a great response from readers because at that time not only the general public but also the related government agencies showed very little interest in intangible (human) cultural assets and traditional handicrafts. Âˇ It was thanks to this groundbreaking work that books on the preservation of traditional culture were published and that a project was launched by the government to designate ppecific cultural assets for preservation. It was only fitting that Ye was presented the Seoul City Cultural Award in 1963 and a Peony Cultural Medal from the central government in 1977 for his contributions to the field of cultural assets preservation. Ye's interest in this field continued, and from 1964 to 1970 he published 12 articles in _the Hankook flbo under the title Sequel: Human Cultural AS5ets Born in 1929 in Chongdo-gun, Kyongsangbuk<io province, Ye studied at Kyongbuk High School and Kyongbuk University's College of Education, both in Taegu. With the outbreak of the Korean War, he became a war correspondent for the daily Taegu flbo and crisscrOS5ed the front until the war ended in 1953. He started working for the Hankook flbo in 1954 and, except for a two-year stint at the daily joongang flbo in the mid-196os, continued until his retirement in 1990. Ye worked as the Hankook flbo's cultural editor and as an editorial writer.

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Clockwise from top left: inkstone, 19th century, height 17 em; incense burner, late 19th century, height 126 em; the National Folk Museum exhibition hall

Ye wrote many research reports on the preservation of traditional handicrafts, which, like flickering candles, were on the verge of extinction. He was truly the godfather in the field of folk crafts, enthusiastically participating in the designation of artisans as human cultural assets. Even today, it is rare to find someone in the field of traditional handicrafts who has not benefited directly or indirectly from Ye's support and guidance. 69

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Woodblocks for printing maps of the planets and the earth

From 1965 until 'his death in 1995, Ye was a member of the Cultural Properties Committee, the Ministry of Culture and Sports, serving as a vice chairman and in other capacities. From 1992 on, he was a consultant at the National Folk Museum, contributing greatly to its development. While working for the Hankook llbo, Ye was well recognized for being in the vanguard of research and preservation of traditional Korean culture. His expertise encompassed handicrafts, his specialty, as well as cultural assets in general. And because he worked for the press, he exerted significant influence on the planning and execution of national cultural properties policies. It was on Ye's recommendation in 1974 that the. director of the Office of Cultural Properties decided to found the National Folk Museum. Ye also played a major role in having Nak-ansong, a walled fortress in Chollanam-do, designated a cultural property. Ye wrote many research reports on the preservation of traditional handicrafts, which, like flickering candles, were on the verge of extinction. He was truly the "godfathet0 ' in the field of folk crafts, enthusiastically participating in the designaÂŁion of artisans as "human cultural assets." Even today, it is rare to find someone in the field of traditional handicrafts who has not benefited directly or indirectly from Ye's support and guidance. It should be noted that Ye encouraged the Korea Foundation to conduct extensive surveys of Korean cultural relics scattered all over the world. He traveling from plunged into the projec~ North America to western and eastern Europe as well as to Russia from 1986 to 1994. The results of his many trips helped not only Koreans but also foreign scholars appreciate the excellence of Korean culture. It was thanks to the human network he developed that the survey of relics was extended to Japan. +

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Rhee Seund-ja's Atelier in Tourrette Lee Ku-yeol Âˇ Art Critic

ast June 28, I visited Tourrette sur Loup,-a town high up in the mountains where beautiful old mansions and artists' residences Âˇ create a particular harmony with the vast forests. The town is less than an hour from Nice. My destination was an artist's atelier called "the Milky Way," which is perched on a 936-meter-high mountain looking for aH the world like a base camp for space aliens. Permission to construct the exotic building had taken many years to obtain and involved much controversy, and now that it had finally been completed, the owner was hosting a celebration. The owner and designer of the building, Rhee Seund-ja, is an artist who first left Seoul for Paris in 1951. She went through great difficulties before finally winning praise and recognition for her fantastic expressionism, which uniquely combines elements of the East and West. Those who attended the celebration in June immediately recognized that the form of the building was based on the principal motif that has appeared in her works since the 1970s. This motif embodies an Eastern way of thinking with a galactic world view; it has appeared regularly in Rhee's "City" and "Yin and Yang" series as well as in her most recent fanciful landscapes. The artist had taken the motif from her paintings and translated it directly into a three-dimensional expression. She had transformed her major artistic

motif into a physical chamber used for the birth of her art. And, indeed, the atelier is yet another of her works of art. It has been 30 years since Rhee first discovered the site on which she would one day build her atelier. It is halfway up a mountain with no other houses nearby and a clear, unobstructed view in all four directions. Rhee came upon it in 1966 when she was working on a wall mosaic titled Le chant des congnees (The Bell of Learning) at a school ip Touraine, a city not far from Nice. The area around Nice was once a major gathering place for notable Impressionists from Paris such as Renoir, Degas, Sisley, Matisse and Chagall, who were attracted by the beauty of its natural surroundings, its bright sunlight and the romanticism of the Mediterranean. It is still a popular holiday spot for the same reasons. Higher up the mountains are the cities of St. Paul, Vince and Tourrette, which developed around the castles--of feudal lords. In the mid-1950s, when she began traveling to the region, Rhee thought that one day she would like to build an atelier there. The dream was made possible with the handsome fee she received for the wall mosaic in Touraine; it enabled her to purchase the 5,600-square-meter mountain site in Tourrette she had long had her eye on. Initially, she turned the simple stone shepherd's cottage that stood on the site 71..

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the Milky Way captivated not only into an atelier, which she used when Rhee's eye but her very soul. It is this she traveled to and from Paris. The garden was also cultivated to give it an .Âˇ passion for the heavens that gives flight to her poetic expression and imaginaAsian feel. The night sky, as seen from that garden, is filled with brilliant stars tion. Rhee called her shepherd's hut "the that sparkle like jewels. The rapture of Milky Way." On the posts of the iron this scene and the seeming closeness of

Oksut'o, 116 x 89 em, 1967

garden gate, she created a stone mosaic of this name in Korean characters. Every summer and winter Rhee would come down to the hut and spend a few months working on woodblock prints. The beauty of Tourrette caught

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Rhee in its spell. It gave birth to a new dream, the dream of leaving something of her art there for eternity. So on one side of the wide garden she decided to build an atelier that would be a physical expression of her artwork And she decided to bring into three-dimensional form the circle motif that had always been the symbolic heart of her paintings and prints. The ground was broken for Rhee's dream house in 1991. The building is formed by two uneven semicircular walls of a lavender color. The flat roofs of the two structures are painted dark navy blue. In a photo taken from above, the building looks exactly like the motif in her paintings. Rhee has devoted half of the building to print work and the other half to painting. Upstairs she has created a study and living area. Taking a cue from traditional Korean lattice windows, she used wooden window frames and built-in doors in the low two-story structure. Linking the two workshops is a row of stepping stones for crossing a small stream that flows down from an artificial pond in a higher part of the garden. A multitude of flowers grows alongside the stream together with a variety of plants and bamboo, which bring a flavor of her homeland to the garden. The harmonious Oriental design of the garden is a reflection of Rhee's poetic mind, discriminating eye and refined character. In creating the atelier, Rhee received some help from her third son, Shin Yong-keuk, a businessman in Seoul. But, contrary to what one would expect, her second son, Shin Yong-hak, who is currently a professor of architecture in Paris, did not contribute to the plans at all. Rhee planned the whole design herself. It was Rhee's eldest son, Shin Yongsuk, a former Paris correspondent for the daily Chosun Ilbo for 15 years, played the greatest role by helping his

Cite de fevrier, 150 x 50 em, 1973 (top); Rhee's atelier seen from above (bottom)

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Chemin des antipodes 94-4, 114 x 146 em, 1994

mother with many of the little details involved in the construction of "the Milky Way." It is understandable that some of the area's residents expressed opposition when Rhee's exotic-looking atelier began to appear amid the traditional neighborhood of Tourrette. They did not want anything to clash with their traditional-style houses with tan-colored tiles, milk-white walls and wooden win74

dow frames. Many residents joined in a campaign to stop the city of Tourrette from allowing the building to go up. But Rhee, who was facing her 80th birthday, would not be denied, and ultimately she succeeded at last in convincing the mayor and the chief councilor in charge of culture and tourism, who was also an architect, to let her have her way.

"This atelier is not a home for many families. It is a place where I work alone for several months each year. When I die I would iike to leave it to Tourrette as a memorial of my love for the city to be used as an art gallery or some such purpose. In the end it belongs to the city," she said. Because of this simple petition, the city authorities finally gave in at the end of 1996. It had taken three long years to persuade Tourrette's residents, who had been so against "the Milky Way," to recognize the futuristic charm of the contemporary building. At the celebration for the completion of the building, delayed for so long, officials from the city of Tourrette and figures from the cultural com~uni Â ty were present. They, along with the Korean ambassador to France, Lee Sooyoung, and friends and family from Korea, congratulated Rhee on accomplishing her dream. In a congratulatory speech, the councilor for culture and tourism said, "The Nice area including Tourrette has always attracted famous artists and poets who have left behind many great works. But Rhee Seund-ja is the first woman to join the ranks and the fact that she is from Korea, an Asian country, holds special meaning. I hope that her atelier .can become the medium for cultural exchange between Korea and Tourrette." That night, as I looked up at the Tourrette sky with its endless--vista of brilliantly shining stars, I fully understood why Rhee was inspired to call her place "the Milky Way." Rhee has expressed the rapture and brilliance of the night sky in such works as Tourrette Night. Her 1994 piece, Chemin des antipodes (The Road to the Antipodes), is also a tribute to the infinity of the heavens and the great beauty of the stars and the Milky Way. And, in a way, Rhee herself is now a star in the night sky over Tourrette. +

JOURNEYS

IN KQREAN LITERATURE

Yun Heung-gil

"The Rainy Season" is a masterpiece of the Korean novella in its portrayal of a painful period of Korean history, through Yuns vivid depiction of indigenous religions, two mothers' Jove for their sons, . and a wounded childhood.

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Old Wounds and the Anguish of Reality

Yun Hettng-gil's 'The Rainy Season' Kim Chie-sou Literary Critic/Professor of French Literature Ewha Womans University

f the novel is a fundamental inquiry into human circumstances in life and th~ world, then it surely aims to reveal svmething universal through the narration of an individual's unique experiences. The novel is a psychological experience based on the author's life and created by his or her imagination. One might say, therefore, that life as depicted in a novel can be experienced by each of us in our daily lives. At the same time, "novelistic'' life can portray a depth of experience that we perhaps failed to perceive before. These two types of experiences can be called "preexperience" and "reexperience." Like all art, a literary work thus offers at least one of two levels of understanding. Any discussion of Yun Heung-gil's literary world begins by classifying his fiction into three categories. The first is made up of stories that revolve around children's experiences growing up during the Korean War. Among these are "The Rainy Season" ("Changma"), "The House of Twilight" ("Hwanghonui chip"), "House" ("Chip") and "Sheep" ("Yang''). The second category includes works depicting South Korean life in the 1960s as the nation gears up for economic development. These include "A Fairy Tale for Adults" ("Orundurul wihan tonghwa"), "Gang Beating" ("Molmae"), "The Man Who Was Left as Nine Pairs of Shoes" ("Ahop kyolle-ui kuduro namun sanae"), "Straight Lines and Curves" ("Chiksan-gwa kokson"), "Wings or Handcuffs" ("Nalgae ttonun sugap") and "A Pallid Middle Age" ("Ch'ang76

Yun perceives Korea's historical circumstances-national division and civil war-as the roots of an unjust reality. He shows how the tragedies caused by Korea's ~

political and ideological conflicts have negatively affected Korean life and will continue to plague Koreans in the future.

baekhan chungnyon"). The third category includes stories dealing with the realities and anguish of Korean division such as ''Untitled" ("Mujae") and ''When Will the Rainbow Appear?" ("Mujigaenun onje ttunun-ga"). "The Rainy Season" is Yun's literary starting point This story, together with "The House of Twilight," could be considered the essence and heart of his literary world. Yun attracted significant critical attention with the publication of these two stories, which revealed the literary potential of his descriptive skills and historical consciousness. Furthermore, "The Rainy Season" is a masterpiece of the South Korean novella in its

portrayal of a painful period of Korean history, through Yun's vivid depiction of indigenous religions, two mothers' love for their sons, and a wounded childhood. Through a child narrator, Yun shows how two old women, the narrator's maternal and paternal grandmothers, resolve their differences after the whirl of history pits one against the other. The maternal grandmother, whose son died after joining the South Korean army, and the paternal grandmother, whose son, a communist guerrilla, only comes home at night, live in the same house. The story is a microcosm of Korean society at the time of the Korean War. The fate of these two old women, who share a house and a family but who necessarily have different interests, starkly reveals the inexplicable contradictions of history. This incongruity, reminiscent of the fable about the couple with a son who sells wooden clogs for rainy weather and another who sells straw sandals for clear weather, becomes even more tragic when the two women's destinies clash. -Their miserable fate is sealed when each loses her son. But the two ultimately reconcile, thanks to a shared trait-mother's love for her child. As his grandmothers struggle, the young narrator experiences two deaths, revealing to the reader why Korean women feel han, the ubiquitous sense of regret, resentment and grief expressed in so much of Korea's art and literature. The traditional role of the Korean mother, which requires absolute and blind love for her children, forces

women to acquiesce to their son's choices instead of asserting their own views and needs in the face of historical realities. However, when a son di~s and his political beliefs are no longer associated with an individual's consciousness, Âˇthat choice loses its logical basis and is accepted as fate within the context of maternal love. In the context of a mother's love, all manner of calamities-bad harvests, traffic accidents and war-are experienced from the same perspective.

Here, we must ask whether the han felt by the main characters is a purely individual sentiment or something larger, an emotion with contemporary significance stemming from historical fact. If it is simply an individual sentim~ then it is nothing more than a retrospective emotion. However, with the protracted division of Korea, the han portrayed in this story surely carries a greater historical significance.

because of political and ideological differences, they can achieve a reconciliation based on a common, indigenous sentiment. Perhaps they share this sentiment because it had been handed down through many years of historical experience. In reality, both women experienced the anguish of losing a son in war. Accordingly, as she talks to the mysterious snake, the maternal grandmother

the story shows that history In sho~ dictated by political conflicts and propaganda cannot overcome the reality of national division. Personal enmity, on the other hand, can be overcome and forgiven through the discovery of our natural affinity in fundamental emotions such as han. In this respect, the maternal grandmother's conversation with the snake is most significant. She uses magical language. The very fact that she sees the snake as the spirit of the dead gives the language its magical quality, but this magical quality is enhanced because the conv~rsation ~ould not even take place if it hadn't been based on a belief that the snake was truly a dead person's spirit. Of course, this language of magic is only moving to those who share the belief. The paternal grandmother's hostility fades when she hears her in-law speak to the snake. The maternal grandmother, in turn, is able to employ such language because she too believes. While the two women hated each other

comes to understand the heartache of the other woman. She then proceeds to exorcise that han in her stead. In this way, the two women achieve an emotional reconciliation that is beyond logical explanation. In ..one way, the child's narration serves to reveal the psychological changes experienced by the old women. It also helps the writer delve even more deeply into the anguish of the given reality without concerning himself with the narrator's will If "The Rainy Season" is a portrayal of the traditional Korean mother's love for her children, then Yun's fourth fulllength novel, Mother (Emi), is an extension of this story. Yun's fiction helps us better understand the Korean woman's devotion to her children and so allows us to clearly perceive Korea's unique family ties, which in many ways transcend logic. When readers share in this discovery, they gain an intense appreciation of Yun's writing. +

Historical Adversity

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In "The Rainy Season," the tragic significance of the sons' deaths lies in the old women's acceptance of their losses as fate and their subsequent embrace of han. To Yun, however, the origin of this all-encompassing han is not simply fate. Unlike the two women, Yun perceives Korea's historical circumstances-national division and civil war-as the roots of an unjust reality. He shows how the tragedies caused by Korea's political and ideological conflicts have negatively affected Korean life and will continue to plague Koreans in the future. Yun also understands the guilt that the young narrator will harbor for the rest of his life after subjecting his father to physical pain because, as a small child, he was unable to resist an adult's offer of chocolate. Of course, the two old women cannot overcome this negative reality with logic. Instead, they surmount the historical adversity, which they accepted as fate for so long, by exorcising their han. This story's tragic climax, the appearance of a large snake, moves the reader by stirring indigenous sentiments represented by the snake. The importance of Korea's indigenous beliefs becomes apparent when one of the women placates the snake-which is thought to embody the spirit of the dead-as if she were conversing with the living. At the same time, her p'ansori-like narration fills the reader with an even deeper grief and reveals that there is no way for the living to exorcise their han without articulating death in this manner.

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