Koreana Autumn 2012 (English)

a ut umn 2012

Korean Culture & Arts Special Feature 100th Special Edition

Intangible Cultural Heritage

asum utum m er n 2012 2012 vo vol. l. 26 26 nnoo.. 32

Special Edition

ISSN 1016-0744

v o l. 26 n o. 3

Intangible Cultural Heritage: Priceless Legacies to Share with the World

Paradigm Shift: Advocacy for Safeguarding Cultural Diversity

100th

PUBLISHER EDITORIAL DIRECTOR EDITOR-IN-CHIEF EDITORIAL BOARD

COPY EDITOR ASSOCIATE EDITOR ASSISTANT EDITORS

Kim Woosang Zeon Nam-jin Lee Kyong-hee Bae Bien-u Elisabeth Chabanol Han Kyung-koo Kim Hwa-young Kim Moon-hwan Kim Young-na Koh Mi-seok Song Hye-jin Song Young-man Werner Sasse Dean Jiro Aoki Lim Sun-kun Teresita M. Reed Cho Yoon-jung

CREATIVE DIRECTOR ART DIRECTOR DESIGNER LAYOUT & DESIGN

Kim Sam Lee Duk-lim Kim Ji-hyun Kim’s Communication Associates 384-13 Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, 121-839, Korea www.gegd.co.kr Tel: 82-2-335-4741 Fax: 82-2-335-4743

TRANSLATORS

Charles La Shure Chung Myung-je Hwang Sun-ae Kim Young-kyu Min Eun-young

Subscription Price for annual subscription: Korea 18,000, Asia by air US$33, elsewhere by air US$37 Price per issue in Korea 4,500

Subscription/circulation correspondence: The U.S. and Canada Koryo Book Company 1368 Michelle Drive St. Paul, MN 55123-1459 Tel: 1-651-454-1358 Fax: 1-651-454-3519 Other areas including Korea The Korea Foundation 2558 Nambusunhwan-ro, Seocho-gu Seoul 137-863, Korea Tel: 82-2-2151-6544 Fax: 82-2-2151-6592 Printed in autumn 2012 Samsung Moonwha Printing Co. 274-34 Seongsu-dong 2-ga, Seongdong-gu, Seoul 133-831, Korea Tel: 82-2-468-0361/5

© The Korea Foundation 2012 All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced 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 Culture, Sports and Tourism (Registration No. Ba-1033, August 8, 1987), is also published in Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Indonesian, Japanese, Russian and Spanish.

Koreana Internet Website http://www.koreana.or.kr

KOREAN CULTURE & ARTS Autumn 2012 Published quarterly by The Korea Foundation 2558 Nambusunhwan-ro, Seocho-gu Seoul 137-863, Korea

Lanterns hang from the pagoda trees in front of the main hall at Jogye Temple in central Seoul to celebrate the Buddha’s Birthday.

The Lotus Lantern Festival (Yeondeunghoe ), handed down for over a thousand years since the Silla period, has recently been designated Important Intangible Cultural Property No. 122. ©Choi Hang-young

Message from the Publisher

The 100th Edition of Koreana Koreana , the quarterly magazine that the Korea Foundation launched in 1987 to introduce Korean culture and arts to global readers, is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. This Autumn 2012 issue is its 100th edition.

As a leading foreign-language periodical disseminating knowledge on Korea to audiences abroad, Koreana has built up a loyal following and worldwide reputation for the exceptional quality of its content and design. Today, it is published in nine languages — Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Indonesian, Japanese, Russian and Spanish, as well as English.

Over the years, we have been wholly dedicated to communicating with our readers in their own language so they might get to know Korea better, in regard to its people and society, their everyday life and sentiments, and the nation’s history and culture. All of this is in line with the Foundation’s primary mission of fostering global friendship and cooperation through mutual understanding.

In particular, the Koreana staff has consistently sought to inform and engage our readers through thoughtful selection and vivid presentation of relevant subject matter, and remain attentive to their feedback. As part of such efforts, the Summer 2011 issue featured a revamped front cover with a stylized design and typography that integrates the modern

2

with the traditional. We also made changes to the page layout of the entire magazine for an enhanced reading experience from cover to cover.

Over the past 25 years, the Korea Foundation has introduced various aspects of Korean art and culture, including architecture, fine arts, nature, traditions, and history, to readers all over the world. In doing so, Koreana has proudly served as a window through which our readers can have a glimpse into the essence of Korea.

On the milestone occasion of its 100th edition, this issue includes a series of feature stories about Korea’s farsighted efforts to safeguard and promote its intangible cultural properties and the country’s contributions to the preservation of the world’s cultural heritage.

We are pleased to spotlight how the intersection of modernity and tradition has helped to energize Korea’s cultural scene, and the living human treasures who keep traditions alive and ever fresh in their respective fields of endeavor.

At this time, Koreana looks forward to further satisfying the interests of its valued readers with the publication of another 100 editions over the next 25 years.

Kim Woosang President, The Korea Foundation

Ko re a n Cu l tu re & A rts

Special Feature Intangible Cultural Heritage

06 14 18 22 26 32

Special Feature 1

A Look Back at Master Artisans

Park Hyun-sook

Special Feature 2

Paradigm Shift: Advocacy for Safeguarding Cultural Diversity

Han Kyung-koo

Special Feature 3

Fifty Years of Endeavors for Preservation and Transmission

Choi Sung-ja

26

Special Feature 4

The Hidden Friends of Living Human Treasures

Soul Ho-jeong

Special Feature 5

From Local to Global: World Heritage Titles Broaden Cultural Awareness

Song Hye-jin

Special Feature 6 Living Human Treasures Rebuild Sungnyemun, National Treasure No. 1 Lee Kwang-pyo

40 46 52

43

58 64 70

9

Special Feature 7 Audience Rapport Enlivens Traditional Performing Arts Park Hyun-sook Special Feature 8

Pilgrimage to Jeonju, ‘City of Flavors’

Kim Yoo-kyung

Special Feature 9

Culinary Traditions: What Should be Preserved and How?

Focus

Challenges of Yeosu Expo 2012

Ye Jong-suk

58

Yang Sun-hee

Art Review

Creative Evolution of the Hanok

Song In-ho

in love with Korea

An ‘Existential Bridge’ between Korea and the World

76

74 82

Charles La Shure

On the Global Stage

Visual Artist Yang Haegue Transcends Genres and Boundaries

Koh Mi-seok

Books & More Children’s book for Readers of All Ages

‘Leafie, A Hen into the Wild’ translated into Polish, titled ‘O kurze, która opus´ciła podwórze’ Mastering Korean Homemade Food and Korean language

Korean Home Cooking

The Future of Art Catalogues in the Digital Era

86

23 Artists of the Year from 1995 to 2010

84 86 90 K o r e a n a ı A u t u mn 2 012

Entertainment

‘My Partner’: Matchmaking on Primetime TV

Hwang Jin-mee

Lifestyle

Urbanites Commune with Nature at Recreation Forests

Ryu Jeong-yul

journeys in Korean literature

Critique: A Rural Bakery Owner’s Son Becomes a Novelist New York Bakery Kim Yeon-su

Uh Soo-woong

3

4

Ko re a n Cu l tu re & A rts

Intangible Cultural Heritage

K o r e a n a 覺 A u t u mn 2 012

5 穢 Joo Byoung-soo

Special Feature 1

A Look Back at Master Artisans

It is not only their manual skills that these artisans are passing on to the next generation, but also the way of life that they have learned from their teachers.

Park Hyun-sook Freelance Writer | Suh Heun-gang Photographer

Noh Jin-nam A Lifetime of Weaving since a New Bride of 20

T

he village of Saetgol in Naju, South Jeolla Province, has long been known for its production of high-quality, hand-woven cotton fabric. In the olden days, weaving was the work of all the village women. This was also true for Noh Jin-nam, holder of Important Intangible Cultural Property No. 28. Noh first learned the craft from her mother-in-law at the age of 20, when she moved to the village upon her marriage, and has since been weaving cotton fabric at her inherited loom for the past 60 years.

Noh deeply respected her mother-in-law, Kim Man-ae, who was designated a Living Human Treasure. The honor, according to Noh, was a reward for not only Kim’s excellent weaving skills but also her warm-hearted generosity. In 1965, when mass-produced synthetic fabric had practically shunted aside traditional hand-woven material, only three women in the village continued to weave cotton in the old way. That year, Dr. Seok Juseon, a scholar of traditional Korean clothing, paid a visit to the village for her research. Her first stop was Kim’s house. Dr. Seok asked if she could purchase samples of Kim’s fabric, but Kim offered them for free as a contribution to the scholar’s research.

With a bright smile on her face, Noh recalls how this led to a back-and-forth tussle between Dr. Seok, who would not accept the precious fabric for free, and her mother-in-law, who refused to take any payment. One of the two other village women whom the scholar visited asked for exorbitant prices, while another slammed the door in her face saying that she had no desire to discuss the painstaking labor. Dr. Seok’s repeated visits to Kim Man-ae, and the subsequent publication of her research, led to Kim’s designation as a Living Human Treasure in 1969. (Previous article: Spring 1989)

6

Ko re a n Cu l tu re & A rts

Seol Seok-cheol Joiner Builds a Foundation for the Future

S

eol Seok-cheol, 87, is a master joiner and holder of Important Intangible Cultural Property No. 55, who has produced handmade wooden furniture for some 70 years. His home in Yeongcheon-ri, Jangseong County, South Jeolla Province, is quite unique: The first floor comprises his living quarters and a showroom for his furniture; the second floor is the workshop where his three sons are perfecting the intricacies of their father’s craft; and the third floor is the master joiner’s wood storage room, which he calls his “treasure house.” Visitors to Seol’s house have the rare opportunity to see various kinds of wood, observe how the wood is processed and assembled into a piece of furniture, and appreciate the completed traditional furniture works — all in one place.

Seol has traveled to wherever high-quality wood can be found. His treasured stock of wood, some of which has been drying in his storage room for decades, includes millennium-old zelkova wood as well as centuries-old gingko, paulownia, and persimmon wood. To supplement his furnituremaking, he started to plant trees about 10 years ago.

Caressing a piece of gingko wood with an exquisite grain, Seol says: “I hope the trees that I’ve planted will earn a new life in the hands of the joiners who come after me. And if the furniture produced with the wood is owned by the right person, and is passed down from one generation to another as a family heirloom, I have nothing more to wish for.” His hearty laughter rings out loud. (Article about another joiner Sim Yong-sik, Intangible Cultural Property No. 26 of Seoul Metropolitan City: Spring 2011)

K o r e a n a ı A u t u mn 2 012

7

Kim Jong-dae Making Compasses Guided by the Principles of the Universe

“N

o one can go against the principles of the universe,” says Kim Jong-dae, holder of Important Intangible Cultural Property No. 110, who has produced traditional compasses for the past six decades. With a gentle smile on his face, the artisan admires an exquisitely crafted compass with a 24-tier circular band around the dial in the center. He says each of the concentric tiers not only indicates the geographical directions, but also represents the Earth’s various cycles over the past 4.5 billion years and the concepts of water circulation.

Kim succeeded his family’s calling as a third-generation producer of traditional compasses. He followed the wishes of his uncle who said: “This is something worth devoting your life to. It won’t make you rich, but I hope you’ll preserve this craft.” And now Kim’s son is keeping the family tradition alive. When Kim completes a compass, after an arduous process of drawing multiple tiers of concentric circles with the utmost precision and engraving 4,000 Chinese characters onto the circular surface according to the principles of yin and yang, the Five Elements, Eight Trigrams, Ten Heavenly Stems, and Sexagenary Cycles, he says he feels the sheer elation of embracing the universe in his arms.

“I am still amazed with how this compass can contain the principles of the universe and the world’s natural forces,” the artisan says. “I don’t pretend to know some mysterious or miraculous way. I just follow the way of life. There’s no shortcut; there is only the right path. If it’s not the right way, you should avoid it.” (Previous article: Spring 2009)

8

Ko re a n Cu l tu re & A rts

Chung Bong-sup Twisting and Knotting Silk Cord into Ornaments

“I

love my hard-working life. Life without a challenge wouldn’t make me feel alive,” says the master artisan now in her seventies. Chung Bong-sup, holder of Important Intangible Cultural Property No. 22, has been carrying on her parents’ craft of traditional ornamental knot making, which she has also passed down to her three daughters.

Traditional knot works, usually adorned with tassels, are made with cords of diverse colors made by twisting together several strings that are made by twisting together multiple strands of fine silk thread. Once a knot work is started it has to be finished without stopping, so knot makers often work all through the night, even when their arms are numb and their fingers chapped or even bleeding. Making the tassel is just as complicated: A strand of thread is folded to the desired length of the tassel and the two connected strands thus formed are twisted to become a single strip. And without cutting off the end, the next strip is twisted, so that a single strand is used all the way to the last strip, thus completing the tassel.

During this painstaking process, which does not allow for the slightest error, the knot maker has to twist together the strips hundreds of times while maintaining the length of the strips all exactly the same. In general, to make a small round tassel with a 2cm diameter, the folding and twisting has to be repeated more than 260 times. It usually takes about 10 full days to make a knotted pendant with adjoining tassels, called norigae . Chung has

dedicated herself to this arduous task for over 50 years. (Previous article: Autumn 2000) K o r e a n a ı A u t u mn 2 012

9

Kim Il-mahn Heart-pounding Rhythm of a ‘Percussion Quintet’

T

unk, tunk! Thump, thump! Boom, boom! Clack, clack! Slap, slap!

Early in the morning, a curious assortment of rhythmic sounds are heard from potter Kim Il-mahn’s Ipo Village workshop in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province. The door to the workshop opens to a frenzied scene of five potters briskly turning their wheels to throw huge 100-liter jars. While using their feet to spin the wheels, the potters hit the surface of the clay wall, formed by piling up layers of clay coils, with small wooden mallets.

The father produces a low sound that lingers on with resonance, the son a steady and consistent beat, and the grandson a fast and energetic cadence. Kim Il-mahn, the septuagenarian master potter and holder of Important Intangible Cultural Property No. 96, his three middle-aged sons, and his eldest grandson, who is in his twenties, throw large jars using the best clay collected from all across the country, and fire the vessels for five days in their traditional kiln, stoked with red pine wood from Gangneung along the east coast.

Despite its being a highly unproductive process that can leave almost half the jars cracked or broken, the Kim clan has stubbornly adhered to the traditional method through eight generations. Kim ended his two sons’ education after elementary school, believing that too much thought in their heads would make their hands clumsy and dull. The artisan’s decision has never made his sons resentful, nor compromised their respect for him.

(Previous article: Autumn 2011. Article about another potter Yi Hak-su: Spring 1998)

10

Ko re a n Cu l tu re & A rts

Song Ju-an Mother-of-Pearl Craftsman Recalled by His Son

“M

y hometown Tongyeong was, and still is, famous for its exquisite lacquer ware inlaid with mother-of-pearl. In my father’s time, most experienced artisans here would open their own shops and hire craftsmen. However, my father, with his sharp cutter always in his hands, wanted only to be an artisan, and never minded working for someone else. One day, when I read in the newspaper that a younger friend of his had been named holder of an Important Intangible Cultural Property, I was enraged. I complained, ‘Dad, you have to show off yourself and your skills! Even if you work your fingers to the bone, no one will know about you if you keep hiding in this tiny workshop.’ But my father simply replied: ‘The artisan does not know how to sell his wares; he just knows how to make them.’ I could not understand his attitude. But today, at 73, I find myself nodding in agreement whenever I recall his words. If you start to worry about the cost of all the materials — the wooden frame, lacquer coating, mother-of-pearl pieces, metal accessories — you can’t focus on the work. Your purpose will waver, if out of economic concerns, you start calculating the amount of effort befitting the price of a work.”

The son, however, did not give up on the efforts to make his father’s life as an artisan and his work known to the world. His persistence paid off with his father’s appointment as holder of Important Intangible Cultural Property No. 54. As a young man, Song Bang-ung had aspired to become a poet and held exhibitions of his illustrated poems, but now he is following his father’s path as an artisan, carrying on the tradition of mother-of-pearl inlay.

(Article about another mother-of-pearl artisan Lee Hyung-man: Autumn 2004)

K o r e a n a ı A u t u mn 2 012

11

© Joo Byoung-soo

Kim Dae-gyun Tightrope Walker Never Afraid of the Wind

T

he spectators watch nervously as the performer stands on a rope suspended three meters above the ground. An occasional wind precariously sways the helpless performer on the rope. But he adeptly maintains his balance with a folding fan in one hand. Whenever the wind gusts against his body, he says jokingly, “Ah! That darned wind keeps teasing me, swirling around my body as if it has eyes to see.” The performer is Kim Dae-gyun, holder of Important Intangible Cultural Property No. 58, who learned to first walk on a tightrope at age nine, and is still walking and bouncing from on high as a middle-aged man of 45.

Traditional Korean tightrope walking is a performing art that combines 43 feats and maneuvers on the rope, accompanied by a clown’s comical commentary on the ground, and music played by an ensemble consisting of a small reed flute (piri ), large bamboo flute (daegeum ), two-stringed zither (haegeum ), hourglass-shaped drum (janggu ), and barrel drum (buk ). The two-way interaction between the performers and the audience is an essential aspect of this thrilling performance.

Kim says he is filled with happiness when he sees the spectators respond to his acrobatic feats and banter on the rope. “The wind can’t stop a tightrope walker from displaying his skills on the rope. In the act of going up on the rope even if the weather is adverse, he is saying without words, ‘Look at me. I’m walking on a tightrope in this wind. Nobody leads a life that has no windy days. So, let’s not lose hope.’ Tightrope walking is a moment of this shared insight,” says Kim. Then, for the audience assembled in the courtyard, he again goes up onto the rope.

12

Ko re a n Cu l tu re & A rts

© Lee Kyu-chel

Yi Jong-sun All Worries Dispersed in Straw Boat Ritual

I

n early February this year, a heavy blanket of snow covered the island of Wido in Buan County, North Jeolla Province. An elderly dancer, not deterred by the concerns of his younger colleagues, led a group up the slippery mountain trails, merrily dancing toward the village shrine at the peak. The dancer in his late seventies is Yi Jong-sun, holder of Important Intangible Cultural Property No. 82-3. Born and raised on the island, he worked as the skipper of an anchovy fishing boat as a young man. All through his life, he has taken great pride in his hometown village and its boat ritual.

“We make a boat with the straw gathered from the coast and send it out to sea with a scarecrow figure on board. The boat carries all our misfortune out to the sea. What a fantastic idea!” he exclaims. “And we hold a sacrificial rite to the gods of heaven and earth, which cleanses our minds and makes us happy!” The Straw Boat Ritual of Wido is an annual rite to pray for the villagers’ well-being and a bountiful catch of fish. Once a year, all the villagers come together to enjoy themselves, resolve conflicts, and create peace throughout their community.

Yi was overflowing with mirth. It was difficult to believe that this man, who seemed to almost defy the laws of gravity in his dance, had recently fractured his ribs from a fall and had an operation on one of his knees that left it without any cartilage. He led the ritual performance, without taking a single break, from early morning until late afternoon. When asked about the secret of his stamina, he said: “I forget all the worries of life in the ecstatic ritual. I don’t even feel any pain in my body!”

K o r e a n a ı A u t u mn 2 012

13

Special Feature 2

Paradigm Shift: Advocacy for Safeguarding Cultural Diversity More and more countries around the world are joining hands across borders in an effort to preserve intangible cultural heritage. In the course of its rapid modernization, Korea was relatively quick to recognize threats to the transmission of its intangible cultural assets and thus made strategic efforts for their preservation.

As such, it is now in a unique position to make a significant contribution to the global efforts in this area.

Han Kyung-koo Cultural Anthropologist and Professor at the College of Liberal Studies, Seoul National University | Suh Heun-gang Photographer

K Intangible Cultural Heritage

orea takes great pride in the extent of its efforts put forth for the preservation of intangible cultural heritage. Despite widespread devastation and turmoil in the aftermath of Japanese colonial rule, the Korean War, and violent revolts against authoritarian regimes, Korea enacted the Cultural Properties Protection Act in January 1962, thereby becoming the second nation in the world to adopt systematic measures to preserve its intangible cultural heritage. The law was not perfect, of course, but it’s unnerving to consider just how much more we might have lost without these legal safeguards during Korea’s breakneck pursuit of economic development and urbanization. Based on these experiences, Korea proposed the creation of a “Living Human Treasures” program at the UNESCO Executive Board Meeting in 1993; the nation found itself in a unique position to assist UNESCO’s efforts to promote the protection of intangible cultural heritage.

At the Forefront of Protecting Intangible Cultural Heritage Korea became the 11th member state to ratify the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, which UNESCO adopted in 2003. In 2011, Korea set up the International Information and Networking Center for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region (ICHCAP) after receiving authorization from UNESCO in 2009. Currently, there are 14 Korean items inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, including one jointly nominated with other countries.

The importance of recognizing shared cultural heritage was the focal point of the Gangneung Recommendations, which were adopted at the International Forum on Common Intangible Cultural Heritage in East Asia, held in November 2009, under the joint auspices of the Korean National Commission for UNESCO and the city of Gangneung. Korea pledged to mobilize international support and cooperation for the promotion of cultural heritage, along with taking a lead role in the efforts to limit single-nation nominations and encourage multinational submissions, and to broaden awareness of UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding.

UNESCO’s Intangible Heritage System The UNESCO programs for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage are essential to bringing about fundamental change in the global community’s perceptions and attitudes toward culture and cultural heritage. They are critical for promoting and protecting the cultural diversity that can help to build a peaceful world. But misguided preconceptions and a lack of understanding of culture’s true diversity, as well as narrow-minded nationalism and excessive competition between countries to advance their own self-interests, are giving rise to unnecessary controversy and misunderstanding, contributing to tension that could even lead to conflict.

UNESCO’s concept of intangible cultural heritage broadly applies an anthropological definition of culture, which has played a central role in making people aware of the importance of the cultural heritage of non-

14

Ko re a n Cu l tu re & A rts

© Kim Young-gwang

Falconry is the first Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity designated by UNESCO as the result of multinational nomination. It was inscribed on the Representative List in 2010 as the common cultural heritage of 11 nations including Korea, the UAE, Belgium, France, and Mongolia. Top: Park Yongsun, a Korean “living human treasure,” demonstrates falconry; below: a young falconer demonstrates how to train an Egyptian vulture at the Locarno Falconry Exhibition, held September 3, 2011 in Locarno, Switzerland.

Western societies that hitherto had been comparatively underappreciated. At the core of this concept, which underpins the mission of UNESCO, is an understanding that the essence of culture is not so much its products as the cultural activities and symbolic expressions embraced by people. In addition, the UNESCO concept of culture makes it clear that intangible cultural heritage is owned not by states but by the individuals, groups, and communities related to its origin and usage.

Consequently, the cultural status of non-Western societies has risen. In large part and for a long time, Western culture had been regarded as more valuable and even superior to non-Western culture. Even the World Heritage designation, lauded as one of UNESCO’s most successful programs, has at times been criticized for its focus on the West and elite culture. This approach seemed to be rooted in the World Heritage Convention of 1972, which stresses K o r e a n a ı A u t u mn 2 012

“outstanding universal value” in its selection criteria. This did in fact lead to the designation of a large number of so-called great historical architectural monuments, more than half of them in Europe.

As a result, the countries that possessed such architectural works came to be increasingly regarded as “great” civilizations, while those that did not were deemed to be inferior. It can even be said that countries without these “great” monuments developed a sense of cultural deficiency.

It is ironic that UNESCO’s World Heritage program has played a part in perpetuating such cultural discrimination. With the advancement of industrialization and urbanization, various non-Western cultures were threatened with decline or extinction, but discrimination was not limited to this Westward orientation. There was also a preference for the modern over the traditional, male culture over female culture, elite culture over folk culture, and tangible cultural

15

Performance on the yanggeum , a Korean hammered dulcimer. This type of string instrument consisting of a square wooden board with metal strings, which are played by striking them with a stick, was created in Europe in the Middles Ages and has been passed down to many countries around the world. It was introduced to Korea in the latter half of the Joseon period and soon became an established part of traditional instrumental ensembles.

heritage over intangible cultural heritage.

In response to this undesirable state of affairs, the 1989 UNESCO General Conference adopted the Recommendation on the Safeguarding of Traditional Culture and Folklore, which emphasized the preservation of folk culture. In addition, in accordance with a proposal presented by Korea at the 1993 Executive Board meeting, the UNESCO director-general called for member states to introduce systematic measures to protect Living Human Treasures.

This was a noteworthy step that recognized Korea’s efforts to protect intangible cultural heritage. While it is true that Korea’s cultural heritage protection laws and systems were in large part influenced by those of Japan, the term “Living Human Treasure,” which was proposed by Korea in an effort to embrace minorities, as well as all faiths and regions, was adopted, rather than “Living National Treasure” which was used by Japan.

Thereafter, regulations regarding Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity were adopted in 1998, and the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage was approved at the 32nd UNESCO General Conference in 2003,

16

but only after heated discussion among the member states. This convention represented a significant step forward in the institutional efforts to protect intangible cultural heritage. However, much more needs to be done to overcome the notion that each cultural heritage item belongs to a particular group of people, which has contributed to a lack of consideration for common cultural heritage, a source of potential conflict between countries.

A Truly Living Heritage The most common misconception about intangible cultural heritage is that it only involves things that are ancient, fusty and of little relevance. Many people also believe that it is no longer performed or enjoyed, thinking that it is long dead and buried. Moreover, many also mistakenly think that archetypes of intangible cultural heritage exist and must be preserved intact in order to maintain its value.

Intangible cultural heritage is a form of traditional culture that is alive and well, and even thriving today. It encompasses the knowledge, skills, performing arts, and forms of cultural expression of a community or group, that are constantly reinvented through interaction with the surrounding environment, nature, and history. As industrialization and urbanization proceed unabated, many traditional cultural practices are disappearing under the influence of capitalism and big business commercialism. But creative diversity is a vital aspect of our daily lives. The cultural heritage elements that had been ignored or scorned during the nation’s rapid modernization process are now being brought to our attention again.

Ko re a n Cu l tu re & A rts

This unwelcome situation calls for wider recognition of the importance of intangible cultural heritage that transcends territorial borders, i.e., common intangible cultural heritage, and more education on cultural heritage in general. The concept of common intangible cultural heritage calls on us to think deeply about how culture should be regarded in modern international society, based on a full discussion of the universal and particular aspects of culture. This also calls for a new perspective that prompts us to consider the relationship between individuals, or communities, and the state within today’s nation-state structure, and the mutuality of nation-states.

The concept of common intangible cultural heritage and multinational nomination was adopted by UNESCO in its 2003 convention, but in reality public acceptance that cultural heritage can belong to more than one country simultaneously remains an exception rather than the norm. This is the result of widespread and deeply entrenched belief that a cultural heritage is in fact the exclusive property of one nation or one particular group of people.

Under these circumstances, it is imperative for Korea, whose nomination of the Dano Festival of Gangneung created conflict by touching a sensitive nerve, to provide support and nurture cooperation toward establishing principles for promoting common intangible cultural heritage and multinational nominations.

Transcending Territorial Borders Above all, the Gangneung Recommendations emphasized that The UNESCO intangible cultural heritage program has conan intrinsic attribute of intangible cultural heritage is its shared tributed remarkably to rectifying the Western-centric emphasis, nature, and accordingly that a sharing of intangible cultural heripromoting cultural diversity, and fostering mutual understanding tage among different communities and peoples is more ordinary between cultures. However, it has also given rise to new problems than it is exceptional. In addition, it was stressed that multinational nomination is the way of the future The most common misconception about intangible cultural heritage and the focus in the listing of intangible cultural heritage. Finally, the is that it only involves things that are ancient, fusty, and of little relevance. recommendations underscored Korea’s role in discovering and Many people also believe that it is no longer performed or enjoyed, researching intangible cultural heritage, particularly those that thinking it is long dead and buried. But intangible cultural heritage is a transcend the borders of an indiform of traditional culture that is alive and well, and even thriving today. vidual nation-state, and formulating the criteria and procedures for multinational nominations.

During the course of its lengthy history, Korea has carried out active cultural exchange with other with some countries that regard designation of intangible cultural countries while maintaining its own unique identity, and in the proheritage as a means to boost their national prestige. Various countries cess of building a modern nation it has endured the tragedies of have indeed succeeded in gaining UNESCO inscription for a number colonization and all-out war. Meanwhile, the country’s compressed of intangible cultural properties, but the origin and ownership of a parmodernization experience has compelled deep reflection and ticular element, such as the Dano Festival of Gangneung (Gangneung debate on the urgency of protection, preservation, and utilization of Danoje ), can become a matter of dispute. In such a case, rather its intangible cultural heritage. In this sense, Korea is in a unique than promoting cultural appreciation and mutual respect, UNESposition to make a meaningful contribution to the global efforts to CO’s program for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage has led safeguard cultural heritage. to animosity and tension.

Thanks to the synergy of modern technology and accumulated knowledge, and changes in our way of life, tradition is changing or emerging in new forms.

Intangible cultural heritage undergoes constant change according to circumstances, and what we might perceive to be an archetype of intangible cultural heritage is likely to be a highly perfected form or method reached at a particular point in time. In principle, there is nothing wrong with the use of intangible cultural heritage as a tourism resource or a commercial product, but caution must be taken to prevent excessive commercialism that could damage or distort its fundamental essence. Furthermore, a focus on the preservation of an archetypal form could dampen creativity and deter contemporary adaptation, thereby leading to a loss of vibrancy.

In this light, the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage calls for thoughtful deliberation and assessment of what exactly should be preserved. Along with accurate and comprehensive documentation of current forms and practices, and the restoration of past characteristics, it is also important to think about modern adaptations of intangible cultural heritage, taking into consideration contextual factors such as demographic changes and available resources.

K o r e a n a ı A u t u mn 2 012

17

Special Feature 3

Fifty Years of Endeavors for Preservation and Transmission Fifty years after the enactment of the Cultural Properties Protection Act, Korea is now preparing to further upgrade the institutions and policy measures for safeguarding the nation’s intangible cultural heritage and assuring its transmission to future generations.

Choi Sung-ja Member, Intangible Cultural Heritage Subcommittee, Cultural Heritage Committee | Suh Heun-gang, Ahn Hong-beom Photographers

W

Intangible Cultural Heritage

hen I began my work as a rookie reporter for the Hankook Ilbo in the summer of 1975, the senior reporters told me about “the legend.” This was the story about editorial writer Ye Yong-hae, who wrote a series of 50 articles under the title “Living Human Treasures,” which the newspaper published from July 1960 to November 1962. He traveled around the country to interview masters of traditional culture and arts so that they could be introduced to the newspaper’s readership.

The stories gained widespread popularity. As a reflection of the changing times, people’s attitudes toward these artisans, long treated with a lack of respect by mainstream society, had noticeably changed. Many people took an interest in the solitary guardians of intangible culture and arts and began to recognize the true value of the mysterious exuberance of their dance or the intricate craftsmanship of their masterful works.

The government agencies dealing with cultural promotion also took notice. Go Sang-nyeol, who was responsible for the management of intangible cultural assets for the Cultural Properties Preservation Bureau (now the Cultural Heritage Administration) from 1961 to 1968, recalls: “The Cultural Properties Protection Act was introduced in 1962, but in the aftermath of the war’s devastation, we had so few reference materials. We sought out folklorists, but their research efforts had not yet produced any helpful results. So, for awhile, I relied on Ye Yong-hae’s articles on living human treasures. I carried the clippings around in my bag and read them carefully, and also visited Ye for advice.”

This being the situation, the first cultural heritage items to receive state designation in the 1960s were largely selected on the basis of Ye Yong-hae’s “Living Human Treasures” series, and from winners of the annual National Folk Arts Contest, which was launched in 1958 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Korea. The research of scholars and recommendations by city mayors and provincial governors were also taken into consideration.

Recognition of ‘Holders’ Under the Saemaul (New Community) Movement in the 1970s, the old zelkova trees that had long served as guardian figures at village entrances were chopped down in the name of stamping out superstition. This prompted a sense of crisis that led to an urgent designation of “important intangible cultural properties.” On Jeju Island, in August 1971, the local women divers’ songs were designated Provincial Intangible Cultural Property No. 1, thereby triggering a nationwide campaign to designate intangible cultural assets at the national and regional levels.

At the heart of Korea’s system for protecting intangible cultural heritage is the official recognition of “holders,” or “bearers,” who have mastered the requisite skills of a specific genre of arts and crafts in their traditional form. Under the existing system, intangible cultural assets are appointed as “holders” who are sanctioned to train others to carry on the heritage so that the cultural traditions can be perpetuated. This institutionalized system of transmission from masters to apprentices, graduates, and schol-

18

Ko re a n Cu l tu re & A rts

The decorative knot maker Kim Hui-jin, left, and an apprentice demonstrate their art.

arship students is unique to Korea. Individual and group “holders” receive assistance from the government in the form of instructional expenses, support for performances, and provision of educational facilities. Qualified apprentices and scholarship students also receive allowances from the government.

The intangible cultural heritage of Korea has thus been protected institutionally for a half century now. And a number of “living human treasures” have enjoyed considerable fame, including varying degrees of material affluence. Korea’s cultural heritage system is comprised of tangible cultural properties, which are designated as national treasures and treasures, along with other catK o r e a n a ı A u t u mn 2 012

egories such as natural monuments and historic/scenic sites; however, intangible cultural heritage is receiving increasingly greater attention these days. As the value of culture that people can see, hear, and enjoy in their daily has gained widespread recognition, appreciation of the original forms of intangible cultural assets has increased as well.

We now live in an era that calls for not only the preservation of cultural heritage but also its utilization in a variety of ways. The value of human arts and crafts should be well appreciated, and it is indeed fortunate that government policy measures have achieved much success in this regard. But there is also worry that Korea’s

19

A system of transmission from masters to apprentices, graduates, and scholarship students is unique to Korea. But this highly exclusive and hierarchical structure of technology transfer and title inheritance has come under scrutiny.

current system for protecting intangible cultural heritage has certain limitations that need to be addressed.

Above all, there is a belief that the system’s emphasis on holders should be altered in order to allow the designation of a broader scope of intangible cultural heritage. Concern has been expressed about unseemly power struggles due to excessive competition over appointments as living human treasures. The highly exclusive and hierarchical structure of technology transfer and title inheritance has come under scrutiny, along with questions being raised about the objectivity of various surveys and evaluations conducted for the selection of holders.

Over a three-year period since 2009, the Cultural Heritage Administration developed a system to help assure a fairer and more objective evaluation of intangible cultural heritage. On the basis of research contributed by three academic societies — the Korean Folklore Society, Society for the History of Korean Dance, and Korean Musicological Society — a team of private experts and evaluation consultants developed a comprehensive set of evaluation criteria, which is expected to improve the designation process in the days ahead.

National Intangible Heritage Center In 2004, one year after UNESCO adopted the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, Korea hosted the first-ever general conference in Asia of the International Council of Museums (ICOM), under the theme of “Museums and Intangible Cultural Heritage.” The conference marked a turning point in the recognition of Korea’s intangible cultural heritage system, centered on living human treasures. The 2003 UNESCO convention introduced the new term “intangible cultural heritage,” which was meant to be broader than “intangible cultural property,” in terms of concept, definition, and scope of what was eligible for protection.

Kim Sam-gi, who had worked on intangible cultural properties at the National Folk Museum of Korea since the 1980s, and then at the Cultural Heritage Administration in the 2000s, noted: “The Living Human Treasure system led to the inclusion of 14 items, such as the royal ritual music of Jongmyo and pansori form of narrative song, on the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Human-

20

ity, since 2001. However, after the Dano Festival of Gangneung was placed on the list in 2005, China identified a total of 1,218 intangible cultural heritage elements that were then designated as national treasures, from 2006 to 2011. This included 16 items from the culture of ethnic Koreans residing in China, such as the 60th birthday celebration, traditional wedding ceremony, Arirang folk song, and traditional games of seesawing and swinging. We thus realized a need to expand our concept of intangible cultural heritage in line with the UNESCO convention, and decided to draft a new law.”

Korea also focused its attention on international exchange with the establishment of the International Information and Networking Center for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region (ICHCAP), under the auspices of UNESCO, and the launch of the “International Journal of Intangible Heritage” (www.ijih.org). Choe Jeong-pil, chairman of the Korean branch of ICOM, which publishes the English-language journal in coordination with the National Folk Museum, attributes great significance to this annual publication.

“This journal, after its founding in 2006, was registered in 2010 on the Arts & Humanities Citations Index, a list of leading academic journals from around the world. In 2012, the number of articles submitted by international scholars was four times greater than the number we were able to accept,” Choe said.

On May 3 this year, the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) announced comprehensive plans to invest a total of 445.9 billion won (about $391 million) over the next five years in order to bolster Korea’s intangible cultural heritage in 22 areas. This includes founding of the National Intangible Heritage Center and the Center for the Promotion of Cultural Heritage.

Hwang Gwon-sun, head of the CHA Intangible Cultural Heritage Division, explains: “China has already designated such areas as ginseng gatherers of Mt. Paektu, acupuncture, moxibustion, and ox bezoar medicine as intangible heritage at the province level. Likewise, we must also open the way for designation of elements without individual title holders. Kimchi, Hangeul, the Arirang folk song, health treatment based on the four bodily constitutions, Goryeo ginseng, bamboo fish traps, and even local dialects like that of Jeju Island should be promoted as Korea’s intangible cultural heritage.

The education and transmission of heritage, currently centered on Ko re a n Cu l tu re & A rts

Kim Jeong-ok, left, and an apprentice work at a traditional ceramic kiln.

living human treasures, will need to be expanded to encompass relevant university departments as well. Copyrights for intangible cultural heritage are now protected under the Framework Act on Intellectual Property.”

Meanwhile, the National Intangible Heritage Center is now being built on a site of 59,930 square meters in Jeonju, the hub of Korean traditional culture, at a cost of 75.3 billion won (about $66 million).

Comprising seven five-story buildings, the center, which is scheduled to open in March 2013, will comprise workshops and exhibition halls for living human treasures, as well as educational and performance facilities. It will also house the ICHCAP and archives of video K o r e a n a ı A u t u mn 2 012

recordings of intangible cultural heritage that have been accumulated over the past half century.

Thus far, the government has designated a total of 128 “important intangible cultural properties” along with 570 holders of these properties. Today, with 390 individuals retired due to death or incapacitation, there are 180 active living human treasures. The term “living human treasure” (ingan munhwajae ), first used by Ye Yonghae in his landmark series of articles, has been used for the holders of nationally-designated important intangible cultural heritage.

It will become a legal term later this year upon enactment of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Act.

21

Special Feature 4

The Hidden Friends of Living Human Treasures At a time when only royal palaces and stone pagodas were considered to be cultural heritage, some persistently argued that shamans were no less valuable cultural assets. The dedicated efforts of these individuals have helped to keep alive countless aspects of intangible cultural heritage that could have been forever lost in the maelstrom of rapid industrialization.

Soul Ho-jeong Journalist | Suh Heun-gang Photographer

O Intangible Cultural Heritage

n July 10, 1960, the first installment in a special feature series entitled “Living Human Treasures,” dealing with Korea’s traditional artisans, appeared in the culture section of the Hankook Ilbo, a leading national daily. The series was researched and written by a young reporter, Ye Yong-hae, who was 31 years old at the time. Having come from a family with a long, prestigious history in Cheongdo, in the traditionally conservative province of North Gyeongsang, he had learned to appreciate traditional cultural heritage while growing up. To gather material for his articles, he traveled to wherever artisans could be found, even the most remote corners of the country.

Arts and Crafts from Ancient Times Most of the people Ye Yong-hae met were suffering from poverty and the same discrimination and contempt that their forebears had endured since the olden days. On top of this, the military regime of Park Chung-hee, who had taken power through a coup d’etat promising to “wipe out old evils,” had begun to ruthlessly uproot the “old ways,” including the time-honored traditions and customs of rural villages. These artisans thus found themselves with no place to turn.

In the opening of the final article in the series, on “Jeweler Kim Seok-chang,” published on November 30, 1962, Ye expressed his empathy for the hardships that he had witnessed: “It has been almost three years, and I have now sought out 50 ‘living human treasures.’ Over the length and breadth of this country, by land, sea, and air... they range in age from the 40s to the 90s, have lived a total of 3,200 years, and are on average 60 years old... I don’t believe I will ever forget the looks in their eyes, living and dying with no name... What hardship must they have endured that such sadness should glimmer in those deep, limpid eyes?”

In yet another article he lamented: “If future generations should ask how it is the arts that had been handed down over a thousand years were lost in our time, what could we say?”

Ye’s feature stories were published in a book, titled “Living Human Treasures,” on September 25, 1963, by Eomungak Publishing Company. It was a compilation of stories about those who had dedicated themselves to preserving the arts and crafts of the Korean people: practitioners of art forms such as the lyrical song cycles (gagok ) and epic narrative songs (pansori ), of stringed instruments like the gayageum , wind instruments like the daegeum , traditional masked dance dramas of North and South Korea, palace cuisine, lacquer ware with mother-of-pearl inlay, celadon and white porcelain, carpenters who build traditional houses, traditional paper makers, brush makers, artists who paint the hanging scrolls found in Buddhist temples, and artisans who make horsehair hats (gat ), or bows and arrows.

A Journalist’s Eulogy for ‘Living Human Treasures’ In the book’s foreword, Ye wrote that the term “living human treasure,” which he had coined, was equivalent to the term “intangible cultural property” found in the newly-enacted Cultural Properties

1

22

Ko re a n Cu l tu re & A rts

Protection Act. “Firstly, living human treasure refers to intangible cultural property, and although I did not follow any official procedures, I made an effort to select those who are the best in their fields... I am putting out this loose collection of my articles as a book because I was aggrieved and disheartened that these things — perhaps we can call them our own unique culture — have been so wantonly neglected.”

“Living Human Treasures” was published as a hardcover volume with a lining of the hemp cloth that Koreans use to make mourning garments. This was symbolic: the book was a shocking report on Korean traditional culture, which was in danger of disappearing with no recourse, and a eulogy written in advance. It was an urgent warning: “Hurry, before it is too late!”

Fortunately, most of the 50 traditional arts and crafts covered in Ye’s articles were officially designated as intangible cultural heritage. Prompted by the alarming circumstances that he had uncovered while researching his subjects, Ye used every inch of space at his disposal to stir up public opinion with captivating articles written in a fluent style. Later, as a member of the Cultural Heritage Committee, he continued his efforts to uncover lesser-known skills and arts. For example, thanks to his dedicated efforts the all but forgotten martial art of taekkyeon was made known to the world, and later designated an important intangible cultural property.

Ye is remembered as a “true gentleman” who never once haggled over the price when he bought products from “living human treasures,” and for those who were having trouble selling their wares he found buyers who were willing to pay a fair price. After he passed away in 1995, his family donated some 280 folk art objects that he had collected over the years to the National Folk Museum of Korea.

in Yangju (Yangju Byeolsandae Nori ), and the mamsadang vagabond clowns’ performance (Namsadang Nori) . Soon thereafter, on December 24, the art of horsehair hat making, pansori narrative singing, and mask dance dramas of Tongyeong (Tongyeong Ogwangdae ) and Goseong (Goseng Ogwangdae ) were designated as the fourth through seventh.

For the designation of the mask dance dramas of Yangju, Tongyeong, and Goseong, in particular, folklorist Im Seok-jae, one of the initial four members of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Subcommittee of the Cultural Heritage Committee, played a pivotal role. As a first-generation scholar of Korean folklore, Im is referred to as “the last chronicler of the common people’s culture.” He devoted his life to gathering and organizing the folk tales, songs, narrations from masked dance dramas, and shaman songs that had been handed down orally.

“In 1963, when I was a university student, my father had convinced some Yangju mask dancers to give a performance, and he recorded the narration and singing,” recalls Im Don-hui, the daughter of Im Seok-jae. “My father took up smoking at the age of 60 just so he could get closer to these people. And he would go around calling them ‘teacher.’ They were deeply moved that a Seoul National University professor would call them teacher. And yet even after he had finally convinced them of the urgent need to pass on their art form to future generations, they would often not show up for recording appointments, worrying my father greatly.

They were most concerned about the discrimination their children would likely suffer if their social status as traditional entertainers became public knowledge. But after their arts were designated as intangible cultural heritage, which meant official state recognition, they even came to be known as ‘new aristocrats.’ In this way, the living human treasures were encouraged to preserve their skills

Folklorist Turns Entertainers into Aristocrats Korea’s first “important intangible cultural properties” were designated on December 7, 1964. The first group included the ritual music performed at the royal ancestral shrine of the Joseon Dynasty (Jongmyo Jeryeak), the mask dance drama that originated

Artisans appearing in Ye Yong-hae's “Living National Treasures.”

From left: white porcelain maker Yi Im-jun, namsadang puppeteer No Deuk-pil, and Bongsan mask dancer Kim Jin-ok.

Yet there was considerable resistance to recognizing these individuals who had long occupied the lowest social classes during the past dynastic era. There was steadfast criticism from those who believed that only tangible objects should be recognized as cultural properties, and kept questioning how the dance, songs, and skills handed down by the likes of gisaeng, clowns, and shamans could be considered cultural heritage worthy of state protection.

The social atmosphere at the time was such that it was thought that these “undesirable customs” should be discarded for the sake of Korea’s modernization.

and arts.”

An anthropologist, Im Don-hui has followed a path similar to that of her father. A chair professor at Dongguk University, she also serves as a judge appointed by UNESCO to assess Asian nominations for inclusion in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Akai Reel-to-Reel Tape Recorder Professor Im also recalls that her father recorded all materials by hand at first, and it was only in the 1960s that he started to use a tape recorder. The first tape recorder that he used was an Akai reel-to-reel recorder, which had been purchased by the psychology department of Seoul National University for research projects.

It was so large and heavy that it was difficult for one person to lug around.

Professor Im goes on: “Father had been mostly hand-recording accounts, but when he began to carry the tape recorder with him he was able to record folk songs, shaman songs, and masked dance drama narrations as well. When he recorded stories in the countryside and then played them back, the people were so amazed to hear their own voices coming from the machine that they all stopped telling stories and started singing. They loved to listen to the songs being played back, and would find the best singer in the village to make a recording. In this way, the recording of folk songs happened naturally. And they were the best folk songs at that. So he began to record shaman songs as well. The recordings served as research materials and the singers were designated holders of intangible cultural heritage. My father had an excellent ear for music, so when the shamans sang he was immediately able to recognize the best.”

Can a Shaman be a Cultural Property?

The folklorist Im Dong-gwon, who served as a member of the Cultural Heritage Committee for 35 years beginning in 1966, recalls vivid tales from this time. As the youngest member of the committee, the first intangible cultural heritage candidate that he proposed was the Ganggangsullae dance of Haenam in South Jeolla Province. The committee’s response was cool. Neighborhood women holding hands and dancing beneath the full moon — how could this qualify as cultural heritage? Im Dong-gwon had to press his case for the next six months that this dance was an important women’s festival for farming communities before it was eventually recognized as cultural heritage. Im states his case plainly: “Did the people listen to court music on festive occasions? No, they played folk music. That is the true musical sentiment of the people.”

He talks about the difficult process of nominating the communal rites and festival of Eunsan (Eunsan Byeolsinje) of the Buyeo area, South Chungcheong Province, and the Dano festival of Gangneung (Gangneung Danoje), of Gangwon Province, for designation as cultural properties. During the evaluation process, strong opposition arose from those who claimed that shamans “who deceived the people” could never be designated cultural properties and receive state assistance.

“But I argued that if you took away our material culture, and Christianity, Taoism, and Confucianism, which are all foreign religions, we would be left with shamanism. So shamanism is truly our oldest and most unique lifestyle tradition and we cannot simply

1. Researchers recording Ganggangsullae with the villagers of Usuyeong, Haenam, South Jeolla Province during summer vacation in August 1966; second from left is the folklorist Im Seok-jae. His Akai tape recorder is on the table. (Photo by courtesy of the National Folk Museum of Korea) 2. A scene from Eunsan Byeolsinje , the communal rites and festival of the Buyeo area, South Chungcheong Province.

24

1

Ko re a n Cu l tu re & A2rts

“Even after he had finally convinced them of the urgent need to pass on their art form to future generations, they would often not show up for recording appointments, worrying my father greatly. They were most concerned about the discrimination their children would likely suffer if their social status as traditional entertainers became public knowledge.”

exclude it. And we eventually came to an agreement,” Im said.

In another interview, Im shared his thoughts on cultural heritage: “Our professional singers and dancers are shamans in a sense. Shamans pray for man’s most ardent wishes. In this regard, what they do is loftier than what dancers today do on the stage. It is tragic. But that was the state of our nation at the time.”

Kim Geum-hwa, a shaman who in 1985 was designated holder of the rituals for the safety of fishermen of the west coast region (Seohaean Baeyeonsingut), Important Intangible Cultural Property No. 82, recalls her dreadful experiences: “Due to the New Community Movement, there was no stopping the drive to eradicate superstition. Our whole family would be dragged to the police station, where we were kept up all night, and we had to sign written promises in order to be released. This happened over and over. We finally got some freedom in 1976.” This same Kim Geum-hwa is today regarded as one of Korea’s foremost traditional artists.

and have since disappeared altogether. Although they had been restored after a brief disruption, it was recognized that these performing art forms were worthy of being preserved, and were thus designated as cultural heritage.

It has been 50 years since the Korean government adopted a system for the protection of intangible cultural heritage, which has undoubtedly played the lead role in the preservation and transmission of Korea’s traditional culture. But this effort has been far from perfect. When the UNESCO committee met in Paris in 2000 to select intangible cultural heritage items, Im Donhui made the following statement.

“The intangible cultural heritage system has achieved significant results in protecting traditional culture from disappearing, but at the same time it has given rise to a problem — the problem of hierarchy among cultural properties. Intangible culture exists in a variety of forms in different regions, but those that have been designated intangible cultural properties receive proper attention, while this is not the case for those that have not been so recognized. I would like to advise UNESCO to reflect on Korea’s experience in writing its intangible heritage policy.”

It’s time we gave this some more thought.

Survival of North Korean Mask Dance The efforts of folklorist Lee Du-hyeon were instrumental in the designation of the mask dance dramas that had originated in North Korea. He is credited with restoring the Bongsan Mask Dance Drama and Gangnyeong Mask Dance Drama of Hwanghae Province, Bukcheong Lion Dance of North Hamgyeong Province, and other mask dances, based on the personal accounts of performers who had come south during the Korean War (1950-53).

In North Korea, it is said these mask dance dramas were performed for the last time just before the outbreak of the Korean War

K o r e a n a ı A u t u mn 2 012

3. A scene from Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut , the shaman rites for the goddess of wind of Jeju Island, has been inscribed on the UNESCO list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

4. Folklorist Im Dong-gwon (far right) on a field trip to Ganghwa Island in 1961.

(Photo by courtesy of the National Folk Museum of Korea)

3

25

4

Special Feature 5

From Local to Global: World Heritage Titles Broaden Cultural Awareness UNESCO’s program of registering intangible cultural heritage can be seen as a form of emergency relief work which helps to preserve cultural traditions that are in danger of disappearing around the world. What effect is this emergency relief work having in Korea?

Song Hye-jin Professor, Sookmyung Women’s University | Ahn Hong-beom, Suh Heun-gang Photographers

“A

Intangible Cultural Heritage

s recently as ten years ago I never even thought that I would someday be performing this music so often. One or two performances a year during the regular rituals, and maybe five or six times at important state events with distinguished foreign guests in attendance or special performances at the National Gugak Center — that was pretty much it. Nowadays, my schedule is busier than I could ever have imagined.”

“This music” is Korea’s Important Intangible Cultural Property No. 1, Jongmyo Jeryeak, the music performed during the royal ancestral ceremony at the Jongmyo Shrine, and the speaker is one of its senior performers, Choe Chung-ung, 71. Choe plays the percussion instrument called pyeonjong , the principal instrument of this highly exclusive form of traditional performing arts. He completed his study of the royal ritual music in 1977, became eligible for the title of property holder in 1984, and has since played a pivotal role in its preservation and transmission for three decades. He has also served as the president of its preservation society since the late 1990s, when the last of the original Living Human Treasures in this field passed away, making him the most senior practitioner with knowledge of the entirety of the royal ritual music. Choe excitedly tells what changes came about after the royal ancestral ceremony was inscribed on UNESCO’s register of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity (later incorporated into the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity).

Inclusion of Korean intangible cultural properties on the UNESCO list of world heritage has brought a fresh wind of vitality and global awareness to the country’s traditional performing artists, along with affirmation of their modern-day relevance. The importance and value of intangible cultural heritage had been recognized early on in Korea, through the establishment of a legal system for its protection, which came into effect in 1964. The selection of the royal ancestral ceremony of Jongmyo as a world cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2001 sparked an entirely different level of interest in not only Korea’s living cultural traditions but also Korean culture as a whole. (The Jongmyo Shrine itself was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1995.) Thereafter, various Korean performing arts have likewise earned “world-class” renown, making their practitioners more active than ever.

Bringing Tradition to the Broader Public Jongmyo Jeryeak is the ancient repertoire of instrumental music, songs, and dances that are performed during the ancestral rituals conducted at Jongmyo, the royal shrine that houses the spirit tablets of the kings and queens of the Joseon Dynasty. It is a form of music — unlike other traditional music — that has been much less accessible to the general public and thus not as popular. Its his-

26

Ko re a n Cu l tu re & A rts

Choe Chung-ung, a pyeonjong player for the Jongmyo Jeryeak, has played a pivotal role in the preservation and transmission of the royal ritual music.

27

Living human treasures who had previously thought of the preservation and transmission of our traditions only in terms of a monumental personal responsibility, have come to adopt a more comprehensive outlook about what makes their art worthy of the world’s attention, its notable characteristics, and how to make known its inherent value.

1. The virtuoso singer An Suk-seon performs a pansori number.

2. The Buddhist ritual Yeongsanjae (Rites of Vulture Peak) is performed at Bongwon Temple in Seoul.

torical and artistic significance has long been recognized, hence its designation as Korea’s Important Intangible Cultural Property No. 1, but as the ritual music of the Joseon royal family, it had not been available for the general populace to see, hear, and enjoy in their daily lives. Consequently, very few are well acquainted with the music, and fewer still are aware of its hidden beauty.

But this situation changed dramatically after the ceremonial music was inscribed on the UNESCO list. Above all else, it became possible to do what had never been done: stage a public performance of the heretofore private ritual music. The custodians of the royal ancestral rituals had long been reluctant to have the music brought to a public stage, but the UNESCO recognition as a world cultural heritage enticed them into the performance venue. “The Eternal Sound of the Jongmyo Jeryeak,” a solemn event that for the first time combined ritual and public performance, was presented at the main concert hall of the National Gugak Center in 2003. It was hailed as a successful revelation of the essence of Korea’s traditional performing arts, gaining high acclaim as a new style of performance of ritual music.

Subsequently, a diverse variety of performances have been staged, making the living human treasures in this genre busier than ever.

In a similar vein, the Korean Traditional Performing Arts Foundation staged “A Rediscovery of Korean Music” in 2007, as part of its traditional arts outreach. Reinterpreting this Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity through an “experiential performance” supplemented by easy-tounderstand explanations, it helped to make this world cultural heritage more accessible to the general public. At first, the musicians balked at the event organizers’ request that they perform not only the traditional music but also experimental pieces to highlight the unique characteristics of individual instruments, in addition to teaching songs to the audiences and having them sing along. “Performing the music is enough. Why should we have to do all that, too?” But soon enough they came to support the effort to facilitate the public’s understanding and appreciation of the traditional arts, and they actively cooperated thereafter.

In this way, Jongmyo Jeryeak became popular among audiences. A permanent program of regular performances is now allowed at Jongmyo, which had never been available as a performance venue, aside from the regular rituals. Jongmyo is now a must-see attraction for any Korean cultural tour. In addition, Yeongsanjae (Rites of Vulture Peak), the shamanic rituals of the Dano Festival of Gangneung, and various traditional religious ceremonies and festivals have gained considerable popularity as well. As a result, the living human treasures who are entrusted with the preservation of these cultural traditions have more frequent opportunities to perform.

New Inspiration Revitalizes Tradition This is not to say that all items on the UNESCO list are celebrating a new golden age. For example, there is the case of the lyric song cycles known as gagok , whose practitioners are experiencing difficulty with the transmission of their genre. Kim Yeong-gi, a living human treasure of gagok, grapples with the basic question of what must be done in order for his music to receive the same

28

1

Ko re a n Cu l tu re & A rts

level of interest from the general public as the ritual music of Jongmyo, pansori (narrative folk singing), jultagi (tightrope walking), and the Dano Festival of Gangneung.

“I want to know about the other forms of vocal music that have been registered as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and are in a similar situation. Surely other nations must also have a tradition of artistic singing; so, if we look at how those forms of vocal music are being handed down, might we not be able to figure out how to properly preserve and transmit our music?”

In these words it is possible to discern an important change taking place in Kim’s heart. Previously, he had thought of the preservation and transmission of our traditions only in terms of a monumental personal responsibility, but now he recognizes the need to develop a broader perspective of the world’s intangible culture in order to find new ways to hand down the tradition of gagok. In other words, he has come to adopt a more comprehensive outlook about the tradition he has been charged with handing down: What makes it worthy of the world’s attention, its notable characteristics, and how to make known its inherent value? We thus need to keep a close eye on how this approach will influence the transmission of gagok.

The recognition of our intangible cultural properties as world heritage items has buoyed those who have been quietly toiling to carry on our traditions with renewed pride. Most of the masters today proudly point out the fact that their art form is a world heritage on their name cards, their resumes, and various publicity materials for their performances. You can see how they have been emboldened in their insistence that people take a greater interest in the transmission of these art forms to the next generation.

K o r e a n a ı A u t u mn 2 012

29

© Park Bo-ha

2

Š Joo Byoung-soo

30

Ko re a n Cu l tu re & A rts 1

1. Tightrope walking at Gyeonghoeru Pavilion in Gyeongbok Palace.

2. Singer Yi Ja-ram is active on stages both at home and abroad as a creative pansori artist.

On the evening of March 29, 2012, in conjunction with the second Nuclear Security Summit hosted by Seoul, the visiting world leaders and officials were treated to a special cultural performance at Gyeong­ hoeru Pavilion of Gyeongbok Palace, the main royal palace of the Joseon Dynasty. A tightrope walker introduced himself, after executing his acrobatic stunts on the rope, by addressing the guests, “How lucky you all are to be here for the performance of my art, which is not only a cultural property of Korea but a cultural property of the world.” The audience acknowledged his pride with joyful applause.

Pansori Fusion: Global Appeal Young artists are also making efforts to reinterpret and recreate the traditional arts. After faithfully mastering the traditional techniques, some have gone on to embark on a path of new creation. Pansori is one example of this recent innovation. The pansori performer Yi Ja-ram was introduced to the ancient vocal music at the age of five and from early on showed her potential to become a star musician. While still a student of traditional music at Seoul National University she made it into the Guinness Book of World Records as the youngest singer to perform the longest pansori work (of eight hours). She has taken a step further and is now successfully creating new pansori versions that are more appealing for international audiences.

Based on her belief that “pansori is so wonderful, so we can’t always just perform the repertoire from the 20th century and even earlier,” Yi has performed the entirety of the German dramatist Bertolt Brecht’s “Der gute Mensch von Sezuan ” (The Good Person of Sichuan) as a pansori version. She has adopted the original form of pansori, with a drummer accompanying a solo singer, and added a few more performers and musicians to create a performing art form that is both colorful and appealing.

She might be singing “Der gute Mensch von Sezuan ,” but what the audience hears are the sounds of pansori. She has thus opened up a new world for pansori with her passionate singing style and in-depth understanding of the ingenious aesthetic that bring together satire, metaphor, and humor. After its premiere in 2007, theaters around the country invited Yi to perform her groundbreaking fusion work. It also captivated European festival planners as the opening program for the PAMS (Performing Arts Market in Seoul) Choice in 2009.

In 2011, Yi adapted another of Brecht’s works, “Mother Courage and Her Children,” which well surpassed her success with “Der gute Mensch .” And she has been busy performing at home and abroad this year. Performance planners are hopeful that more global-minded artists with imaginative flair like Yi will continue to emerge from among the practitioners of traditional performing arts.

K o r e a n a ı A u t u mn 2 012

31

© LG Art Center

2

Special Feature 6

Living Human Treasures Rebuild Sungnyemun, National Treasure No. 1 The restoration of Sungnyemun is a grand-scale construction project involving the foremost artisans from diverse fields of Korea’s intangible cultural heritage.

The project epitomizes traditional technologies and craftsmanship that have been handed down since ancient times.

Lee Kwang-pyo Journalist; Head of Management Strategy Department, Channel A | Suh Heun-gang Photographer

Intangible Cultural Heritage

T

he flames in the furnace turn the iron red-hot. A worker hammers the malleable iron against the anvil while another dips the hammered iron into cold water to temper it. The clanging of metal on metal reverberates everywhere. From time to time, the workers pause and straighten their backs, wiping sweat from their faces. Watching a smithy at work in the heart of modern-day Seoul is much like going back in time.

To prepare stone, a mason repeatedly strikes the solid granite with a hammer and chisel. As chips of stone fly off in every direction with white dust, the crude slab of granite is trimmed into shape. The mason stacks it on top of other similar granite pieces and then chisels off the rough edges. The clear, rhythmical clanking of metal against stone resonates through the nearby buildings.

The stones are prepared in this manner for building the fortress walls, while the roof of this magnificent wooden structure is nearing completion with its rows of tiles and eaves creating a graceful curve. At one corner of the pavilion structure, decorative paintwork in a variety of colors and patterns is applied to the wooden surfaces.

This is how Sungnyemun, Korea’s National Treasure No. 1, is being reconstructed. One of the four major gates to the capital of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), which is today’s Seoul city center, the historic monument was severely damaged by arson on February 10, 2008, the last day of the three-day lunar New Year holidays. In this tragic fire, the two-story wooden pavilion over the arched stone gate was burnt down. Today, however, the gate is being restored to the stately edifice that it had been for hundreds of years.

In the two years between the fire and the start of the reconstruction work in February 2010, various preparations were undertaken including site clean-up, assessment of damage, recovery of reusable components, and drafting of the structural designs. The reconstruction, scheduled to be completed in December 2012, has been carried out according to the specified procedures: disassembly of the structural elements of the pavilion, recovery of reusable materials, restoration of the fortress walls, assembly of the wooden pavilion, installation of roof tiles, application of decorative paintwork, and finally, hanging of the signboard.

All the work processes are being carried out in strict accordance with traditional methods. As part of this effort, the Cultural Heritage Administration built a smithy on the site and requested POSCO to produce iron ingots with the same metallic composition as that used during the Joseon Dynasty. From these ingots, iron components and tools needed for the restoration work have been forged on the site.

The project participants include a number of master artisans of various fields who are holders of

32

Ko re a n Cu l tu re & A rts

K o r e a n a Äą A u t u mn 2 012

Master carpenter Shin Eung-soo directs the restoration of Sungnyemun’s wooden pavilion.

33

1. Master carpenter Shin Eung-soo makes a meticulous inspection of the work in progress. The wood was cut and carved using traditional hand tools rather than mechanized equipment.

2. The stone walls are restored under the direction of master mason Yi Jae-sun.

Important Intangible Cultural Property (IICP) titles, such as Shin Eungsoo, 70, carpentry (IICP No. 74); Hong Chang-won, 57, decorative painting (IICP No. 48); Yi Jae-sun, 56, and Yi Eui-sang, 70, masonry (IICP No. 120 for stone sculpture and stone structures, respectively); Yi Geun-bok, 62, rooftile laying (IICP No. 121); and Han Hyeong-jun, 83, tile making (IICP No. 91).

Procurement of Timber In traditional Korean architecture, the master carpenter is responsible for all aspects of building the wooden framework. He selects the desired trees from forest areas, dries the timber sufficiently, and cuts it into columns and beams, which are joined together to create the structural framework. Master carpenter Shin Eung-soo is a preeminent artisan who 1 has been dedicated to his trade for 50 years since participating in the renovation of Sungnyemun in 1962.

The master carpenter’s major concern with this project was finding suitable trees for timber, one of the most critical factors for building a large-scale traditional wooden structure. “I think of history when I work with wood,” he says. The best tree is a strong, straight and thick pine, a meter or more in diameter. However, such trees are not easy to find. It is known that the best wood for traditional architecture comes from red pines, 200-300 years old, growing along the Taebaek Mountain Range between Yangyang in Gangwon Province and Uljin in North Gyeongsang Province.

The red pine wood used to restore Sungnyemun’s wooden pavilion came from the forests of Samcheok, Gangwon Province, or from trees donated by citizens wanting to be a part of the historic project.

Rebuilding the Fortress Walls A section of the fortress walls is being rebuilt at the same time as the wooden structure. Sections of the original perimeter wall enclosing Joseon’s capital city were demolished by the Japanese imperialists in 1907. As part of the restoration project, sections to the left and right of the gate (53 meters eastward and 16 meters westward) are being rebuilt. The significance of Sungnyemun will be better appreciated when presented as the main gate of the city’s fortress walls, rather than a stand-alone structure, a gate to nowhere.

Master mason Yi Eui-sang is supervising the building of the fortress walls. The first step was the selection of stones, which needed to be similar in appearance and composition as the granite used for the original city walls. Yi found a source of such stones in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province.

The quarried granite slabs needed to be cut and trimmed to the proper size. Rather than cutting them into uniform blocks using a mechanized cutter, the master mason bored a hole in the surface and drove a wedge into the stones to split them into pieces in the traditional way. Then, he evened out the surfaces by removing any irregularities and rough edges with a chisel forged in the on-site smithy. The stones processed in this manner were carried to the site and stacked up in the traditional way.

Since the mid-1970s, Korean masons have used modern tools and equipment even for the cutting

34

Ko re a n Cu l tu re & A rts

K o r e a n a 覺 A u t u mn 2 012

35

2

1

2

The fire that destroyed Sungnyemun was a most shameful and deplorable incident.

However, dedicated artisans of our time are turning this misfortune into an opportunity to restore and transmit the legacy of Korea’s rich cultural traditions to posterity.

36

Ko re a n Cu l tu re & A rts

4 1. Traditional tools must be sharpened frequently at the smithy built on the restoration site.

2. 3. Master tiler Yi Geun-bok is in charge of laying 22,000 tiles on the roof of Sungnyemun.

4. Each roof tile was made by hand and fired in a traditional kiln.

and trimming of stones for the restoration of a traditional structure. But not this time. Modern chisels for stone-cutting often have an industrial diamond coating to provide a sharp and durable edge. In contrast, traditional chisels have relatively soft edges, which are very quickly blunted. Therefore, two or more workers are assigned to the smithy for sharpening the chisels whenever necessary.

For these reasons, the traditional stone work has taken about twice the time and energy as otherwise required, but the masons willingly accepted the traditional working conditions.

“Since modern tools are sharp and hard, the stones end up having minute but noticeable sharp edges on the surface. On the other hand, traditional tools leave the surfaces smoother and a bit rounded, giving the stone a human touch. Using these tools takes more time and makes our work more difficult, but we have to do it this way,” says Yi.

Making and Laying Roof Tiles The construction of the gate’s wooden superstructure has been followed by the roofing work, for which the first step was undertaken by master tile maker Han Hyeong-jun.

In October 2011, Han recreated three traditional kilns on the campus of Korea National University of Cultural Heritage, in Buyeo, South Chungcheong Province, to fire the roof tiles for Sungnyemun in the Joseon style. Even though Han has been making traditional tiles for over 70 years, he says that this project means a lot to him personally. As he stoked the kiln to fire the tiles, he remarked: “I thought the government would decide to use mass-produced roof tiles. I can’t tell you how pleased I am to make the traditional tiles for this restoration.” As he spoke, tears of joy welled up in his eyes.

Kilns for traditional tiles steadily disappeared during the early half of the 20th century. When Sungnyemun was destroyed by fire, its roof was made with mass-produced tiles. Traditional tiles are less susceptible to damage because they are lower in density with micro-pores on the surface, making them better able to withstand temperature changes. Being 20-30 percent lighter than mass-produced roof tiles, they are altogether more appropriate for traditional wooden structures.

Traditional tiles are formed by hand, one by one, and then fired in a kiln for three days. While massproduced tiles have a dark, artificial color because the tile surface is scorched when fired in a gas kiln, traditional tiles have a subtle and rich silver-gray color that naturally develops during the wood firing.

As of late June, master tile layer Yi Geun-bok has been overseeing the installation of 22,000 tiles on the roof of Sungnyemun. The roof frame is evenly covered with thinly split wood pieces (jeoksim ), which is then covered with a layer of clay onto which the tiles are laid. The clay base layer contains quicklime K o r e a n a ı A u t u mn 2 012 3

37

1

38

Ko re a n Cu l tu re & A2rts

1. Master dancheong painter Hong Chang-won applies decorative paintwork to the wooden surfaces of Sungnyemun.

2. Sungnyemun before the fire in 2008 3. The new signboard of Sungnyemun

to protect the building by preventing rainwater from seeping into the wooden framework and repelling termites. Yi notes that cement has a 100-year lifespan, but quicklime can last over 1,000 years.

A number of artisans are carefully laying the roof tiles on the clay base, constantly walking along the roof, from the corners of the eaves up to the ridge. Today, another factor has to be taken into consideration: the threat of earthquakes. Yi explains that the tiles are affixed onto the planks of the roof frame using forged iron nails and copper wires, so they won’t fall down in an earthquake. After the roof is covered with concave tiles, the furrows formed by their lines are filled with clay, and then convex tiles are laid along the furrows.

3

Decorative Paintwork of Exquisite Colors and Designs The next step is the decoration of wooden surfaces, including the ceilings, columns and walls, with colorful paintwork of intricate designs. This decorative paintwork, called dancheong , features blue, red, yellow, white, and black as the primary colors. It serves the practical purpose of protecting the wood from exposure to the elements, along with accentuating the building’s grandeur.

A team of dancheong artists, led by the master artisan Hong Chang-won, is applying paintwork to the interior of the wooden pavilion, with plans to finish the paintwork, including the exterior, by October.

The fact that the painting is underway means the restoration work is in its final stages. With 43 years of experience, Hong has worked on a large number of prominent Buddhist temples nationwide as well as major palace buildings in Seoul, such as Geunjeongjeon at Gyeongbok Palace, Myeongjeongjeon at Changgyeong Palace, and Junghwajeon at Deoksu Palace.

Dancheong is a common characteristic of the traditional architecture of Korea, China, and Japan.

Hong contends that Korea’s dancheong is more elegant than China’s danqing and Japan’s dansei because the colors are brighter and more vivid and the designs more diverse and intricate. In painting Sungnyemun, the artisans are making a special effort to revive the colors and tones that were prevalent in the early days of Joseon, when the gate was first built.

The colors of the decorative architectural paintwork have undergone notable changes according to the social atmosphere of the times. During the Goguryeo and Goryeo periods, the colors were especially brilliant, lavish with red tones. In Joseon, however, the splendor of the past periods gave way to the modesty and restraint of the contemporary Confucian culture, such that the use of red decreased and green tones prevailed. The red tones returned to prominence by the mid-Joseon period, and toward the end of the dynasty resplendent colors were again emphasized.

In 1988, the last time paintwork was applied to Sungnyemun before the fire, the designs were based on early Joseon styles while the colors were typical of later years. This time, Hong has toned down the use of red while emphasizing the green tones to give the structure a subdued yet elegant appearance.

The fire that destroyed Sungnyemun was a most shameful and deplorable incident. However, dedicated artisans of our time are turning this misfortune into an opportunity to restore and transmit the legacy of Korea’s rich cultural traditions to posterity. And, this is what makes the restoration of Sungnyemun a meaningful undertaking.

K o r e a n a ı A u t u mn 2 012

39

Special Feature 7

Audience Rapport Enlivens Traditional Performing Arts Visitors to the ancient palaces in Seoul can listen to the music that kings of the Joseon Dynasty enjoyed during royal festivities. In Anseong, south of Seoul, the shows presented hundreds of years ago by wandering troupes to give solace to the ordinary people are revived on a weekly basis. Across the country, various traditional performing arts presentations draw appreciative audiences.

Park Hyun-sook Freelance Writer | Ahn Hong-beom Photographer

Intangible Cultural Heritage

Anseong Namsadang Troupe Descendants of Vagabond Clowns Enchant the Audience “Baudeok! Oh, Baudeok! Life isn’t easy even when you’re walking on a wide road, then why would you want to climb onto a tightrope?” This is a song about the life of Baudeok, the lone female in the otherwise all-male wandering troupes of entertainers, called namsadang , of the late Joseon Dynasty.

As the song begins, signaling the start of the show, the spacious outdoor theater is filled with spectators.

All-male entertainment troupes were formed among the lower social classes during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). The popular repertoire of these itinerant groups has been designated Important Intangible Cultural Property No. 3, as well as inscribed on UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Baudeok was the leader of a well-known namsadang troupe based in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province. She became the group’s leader at the age of 15, thanks to her diverse talents, at a time when people believed that men were superior to women. She attained near-legendary status for rising from the lowest social class to become a high-ranking government official. Under her leadership, the vagabond clowns from Anseong earned a reputation as the most outstanding entertainers in the country.

When the city of Anseong founded the Baudeok Company in 2002, the traditional namsadang repertoire came to be staged regularly, both in and outside of the country, for the first time in 120 years. These days, the company presents weekly performances at the Anseong NamViewer Info: sadang Theater. The program includes six traditional acts — The Baudeok Company presents regular perfarmers’ band music (pungmul ), tightrope walking (eoreum ), formances every Saturday and Sunday, from March through November, at the Anseong acrobatics (salpan ), mask dance drama (deotboegi ), bowl Namsadang Theater (198 Namsadang-ro, spinning (beona ), and puppet show (deolmi ) — as well as a Bogae-myeon, Anseong, Gyeonggi Province).

The show times are 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. on dozen other acts. Combining acrobatic stunts with witty banSaturdays, and 2 p.m. on Sundays. The afterter, singing, and social satire, the highly entertaining shows noon show features one of the six traditional offer the audience a cathartic experience. acts, in turn each week, while the evening show offers a more comprehensive program, For the tightrope act, a modern-day Baudeok, 25-yearincluding tightrope walking. Reservations old Park Ji-na, holds the audience spellbound as she walks are available online at: www.namsadangnori. and dances with ease on the rope suspended three meters or.kr. For additional information, contact the Baudeok Company (031-678-2518). above ground. In the puppet show, called deolmi after the

40

K o r e a n a Äą A u t u mn 2 012

41

Performances of the Baudeok Company: bowl spinning(top) and farmers’ band music and dance.

Viewer Info: The Jinju Sword Dance is performed at Chokseok Pavilion (within Jinju Fortress; 626 Namgang-ro, Jinju City; http://castle. jinju.go.kr) at 2 p.m. every Saturday, from April through October. Kim Tae-yeon and Yu Yeong-hui perform with their students.

Additional information is available from the Department of Culture and Tourism, Jinju Municipal Government (055-749-5076).

nape of the neck where the puppets are held to maneuver, the hypocrisy and debauchery of the elite class are ruthlessly satirized. For the finale, a farmers’ band plays festive music, luring the audience onto the stage to merrily dance along with the performers. Smiling as he looks out at the excited audience, Kim Gi-bok, the 80-something leader of the group, proudly says, “Look at that! That’s the spirit of the Korean people!”

Jinju Sword Dance Pageantry of Gallant Sword Play Eight female dancers in ancient military attire stand in two rows, facing each other. The dance begins with a slow, barely visible movement, while the rhythm steadily builds up in pace and intensity until it reaches a passionate climax. With long, multi-colored sleeve extensions flowing gracefully, the dancers swirl around with knees bent, agile and alert in a crouching position. For the climax, the dancers bend forward for a moment before they lean back while twirling around in a hypnotic movement, as nimble as swallows taking flight with the wind. The dance ends abruptly with a single stroke of the sword, symbolizing a righteous victory over the enemy. This can be seen as a depiction of the heroic act of Nongae, a Joseon courtesan, who clinched a general of the Japanese invaders in her arms then leapt off a cliff into the Nam River.

This fearless stroke of the sword, steeped in tragic beauty, is the essence of the Jinju Sword Dance with a thousand-year history. According to historical literature, the sword dance was initially performed by hwarang, the aristocratic youth corps of the Silla Dynasty (57 B.C.-A.D. 935).

Later, it was included in the court dance repertoire and performed at royal banquets. As the dance spread across the country, it was performed for ceremonies at regional government offices, with different versions emerging over time. The Jinju Sword Dance (Important Intangible Cultural Property No. 12) has been handed down in its court style, which features more varied movements and musical rhythms than other versions.

Kim Tae-yeon and Yu Yeong-hui, Living Human Treasures of this genre, perform the dance with their students every Saturday at Chokseok Pavilion, a popular sightseeing destination in Jinju. “While the sword dances of the Honam region and Tongyeong are delicate and feminine, the dance of Jinju is majestic and masculine,” Kim notes. “The moves are powerful though subtly expressed, which makes the dance all the more exquisite.”

Gochang Farmers’ Band and Pansori Drama Nocturnal Outdoor Performances at Historic House Gochang County in North Jeolla Province has long been associated with pansori , a genre of traditional vocal music in which a solo singer recites a lengthy narrative to the rhythm of a drummer. This county is home to two legendary pansori artists. The first is Shin Jae-hyo (18121884), a theorist, critic, composer, and patron of pansori during the late Joseon Dynasty, who is known as “Korea’s Shakespeare” for compiling six pansori works that had been orally handed down. The other is Jin Chae-seon (1842-?), the first famous female pansori singer.

As part of “Visit North Jeolla 2012,” a province-wide campaign for tourist promotion, Gochang has staged a nightly pansori performance at Shin Jae-hyo’s old house, every Friday and Saturday. The program began on May 18 and will continue through October 6. The outdoor performance allows for active communication and rapport between the performers and the audience.

In June, Shin Jae-hyo’s home was the venue for the creative pansori drama “Peeking into the House with a Paulownia Tree.” The two lead singers, Yi Chung-ha and Gu Hye-min, are

42

Ko re a n Cu l tu re & A rts

A nighttime pansori and farmers’ band music performance at the old house of Shin Jae-hyo in Gochang County.

Viewer Info: “Peeking into the House with a Paulownia Tree,” a creative pansori drama accompanied by Gochang farmers’ music (Intangible Cultural Property No. 7-6 of North Jeolla Province), is performed every Friday at 7:30 p.m. “The New Song of Peach and Plum Blossoms,” another pansori drama about the love story of Shin Jae-hyo and Jin Chae-seon, is performed every Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

Between 2 and 5 p.m. before the shows, visitors to the old house of Shin Jae-hyo can play various folk games. Additional information is available from the Department of Culture and Tourism, Gochang County Office (063560-2456/2457).

Viewer Info: “Mother,” a musical based on Jeongseon Arirang, is performed on the afternoon (4:405:50 p.m.) of every market day (days that end with 2 or 7), from April through November, at the Culture and Arts Center in downtown Jeongseon. For additional information, contact the Jeongseon Arirang Performing Art Institute (033-562-3821, http://www.muyonsi. com).

K o r e a n a ı A u t u mn 2 012

a young farming couple in their 30s who also lead the Society for the Preservation of Gochang Farmers’ Band Music. It was a busy season for local farmers, so the couple had to work in the rice paddies before going on stage. Both were thrilled to be performing at the historic house and having a chance to interact with the audience. As for the rewards of being a pansori singer, Gu said, “When I sing, the story touches my heart so profoundly that I often look at the audience to see if they are just as moved as I am.”

Jeongseon Arirang Sorrowful Melody of Highland Village “Arirang” is such a beloved folk song that it can be heard anywhere in the world where Koreans live. As the epitome of Korean sentiment, the song includes 60 regional versions nationwide and some 3,600 variations. In particular, “Jeongseon Arirang” (Intangible Cultural Property No. 1 of Gangwon Province) is said to include as many as 8,700 lyrics, according to the Jeongseon Arirang Culture Foundation. Visitors to Jeongseon on market days, when all kinds of wild herbs from the deep mountains are offered for sale, can enjoy the sorrowful melodies of Jeongseon Arirang in a musical entitled “Mother,” based on the folk song.

Since 1999, the song has been dramatized in a variety of original works, such as “The Sound of the Gods,” “A Happy Event in the Maeng Family,” “The Tale of a Nobleman,” and “Over Arirang Hill.” In “Mother,” the history of Jeongseon Arirang forms the basis of the storyline.

43

A court banquet of the Joseon Dynasty, reenacted at Gyeonghoeru Pavilion in Palace.

KoGyeongbok re a n Cu l tu re & A rts

© Joo Byoung-soo

44

© Seok Jae-hyun

Hahoe Mask Dance Drama

Viewer Info: The Servants’ Mask Dance Drama of Gangneung is performed at 3 p.m. every Saturday, from April through October (no shows in July and August), at the outdoor theater of the Ojukheon & Museum (3139-24 Jukheondong, Yulgok-ro, Gangneung, Gangwon Province). For additional information, contact the Ojukheon & Museum (033-640-4457).

The Hahoe Byeolsingut Talnori is performed three times a week (Wednesday, Friday and Saturday), at 2-3 p.m., at the Hahoe Village Theater (Hahoe-ri, Pungcheon-myeon, Andong). For additional information, contact the Hahoe Village Preservation Society (054-8530109).

Viewer Info: The Palace Pass offers one-month free admission to four royal palaces — Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung, and Deoksugung — as well as Jongmyo. It costs 10,000 won and can be purchased at the ticket office of any palace. The 2012 Palace Events Calendar is posted on the website of the Cultural Heritage Administration (www. cha.go.kr). Also, the free smartphone application “Changdeok Palace Story” can serve as a personal tour guide.

In the early years of the Joseon Dynasty, some of the displaced people of Goryeo drifted into Jeongseon to live in seclusion, and created this song of yearning for their lost homeland. The musical begins with a procession of performers summoning the souls of loyal subjects of the fallen dynasty. The story may be sad, but it concludes with the performers and audience joining together to celebrate with singing and dancing.

Mask Dance of Gangneung and Hahoe Jubilant Plays Evoke Comic Relief in Anonymity In the class-regimented society of the past, mask dance plays were one of the few outlets for the lower class to publicly express their resentment through satire. Among the numerous regional varieties of traditional mask dance plays, the Servants’ Mask Dance Drama of Gangneung (Gangneung Gwanno Gamyeongeuk , Important Intangible Cultural Property No. 13) was performed and transmitted by servants belonging to the local government until the end of the Joseon Dynasty. Performed during the annual Dano festivities on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, it is the only silent drama among all the mask dance plays handed down in Korea.

Hence, the satire is more reserved, while the dance and mime are emphasized. The main characters include a nobleman (yangban ), his young lover Somaegaksi, two ruffians (Sisiddakddagi), and two clowns (Jangjamari). Based on the theme of love and reconciliation, while defying rigid class distinctions, the masked play also expresses the wishes for a good harvest and to fend off misfortune.

Boasting a history of five centuries, the Mask Dance for the Shamanic Rite of Hahoe (Hahoe Byeolsingut Talnori, Important Intangible Cultural Property No. 69) can be traced back to the communal shaman rites held at the start of each year to pray for the villagers’ well-being and an abundant harvest. After the ritual, people would gather at the village center and dance wearing masks. The performers, wearing the masks of a child dancer, nobleman, monk, butcher, and elderly widow, act out a story in which virtue is rewarded and evil punished, laced with mockery of depraved Buddhist monks and hypocrisy of the noble class.

Concerts at Ancient Palaces Enjoying the refined court music of the Joseon period at an ancient royal palace is certainly a novel experience for people of the 21st century. A program titled “Listening to Traditional Music in Old Palaces,” sponsored by the Korean Traditional Performing Arts Foundation, is presented in spring (May and June) and autumn (September and October) every year.

Sujeongjeon at Gyeongbok Palace, which stands on the former site of Jiphyeonjeon (Hall of Worthies), is the venue for the reenactment of a majestic court banquet. Held at 2 p.m. on Sundays, the event features the stately dance and music that were performed for the kings of the Joseon Dynasty.

At Changdeok Palace, there is the royal residence named Nakseonjae, built by King Heonjong (r. 1834-1849) for his beloved concubine Lady Kim. On Sundays, at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., musicians perform gagok (lyric songs), pansori , and julpungnyu (string ensemble) amidst the delightful grove of pine trees in front of Nakseonjae. At Jeonggwanheon pavilion of Deoksu Palace, where King Gojong (r. 1864-1907) enjoyed coffee, two weekly concerts are held: a traditional repertoire at 7 p.m. on Thursday, and a fusion program at 7 p.m. on Saturday. Lastly, the ritual music for the royal ancestral ceremony of Joseon is performed at 10 a.m. every Saturday at the ritual hall (jaegung) of Jongmyo Shrine. The royal ancestral ceremony of the Joseon Dynasty, including the ritual music, has been inscribed on the UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

45

Special Feature 8

Pilgrimage to Jeonju, ‘City of Flavors’ Bibimbap , hanjeongsik , and kongnamul gukbap are among the most acclaimed local culinary specialties and primary attractions of Jeonju’s vibrant restaurant scene today. Visitors come to this old cultural center with hopes to partake of at least one of these native favorites.

Kim Yoo-kyung Journalist | Lee Jong-keun, Ahn Hong-beom Photographers

J

Intangible Cultural Heritage

eonju, located in southwestern Korea, a two-and-a-half hour drive from Seoul, proudly bears its well-earned appellation, “City of Flavors.” With a population of only some 650,000 residents, this provincial capital of North Jeolla has caringly nurtured and maintained the unique styles and tastes of its culinary tradition that cannot be found in large metropolises like Seoul or Busan. The most beloved of its gastronomic attractions is the bibimbap (rice mixed with various ingredients and chili paste) à la Jeonju and the full-course meal hanjeongsik that includes some 50 side dishes, as well as kongnamul gukbap (bean sprout soup with rice), a rather common dish typically served with suran (poached egg) and moju (a crude liquor). In addition, beer and makgeolli (unfiltered rice wine) are likewise enjoyed in ways unique to Jeonju.

UNESCO City of Gastronomy Jeonju’s distinctive food culture evolved from the everyday home cooking of ordinary households. Housewives with notable cooking talent have been opening small restaurants since decades ago. One such woman, whom I recently met, told me that she cooked from her heart so that “people get enough energy to walk longer than if they’d eaten somewhere else.” Thus it can be said that Jeonju’s food tradition reflects the flavors found on the dinner tables of individual families. Great food is available everywhere in this city, not only in well-known restaurants but even at holein-the-wall eateries at the marketplace.

UNESCO recognized the culinary skills of Jeonju women in referring to “the heartfelt family food handed down over the millennia,” when awarding it the coveted title “City of Gastronomy” in May 2012.

Among Jeonju’s gastronomic legends is the elderly proprietor of the famed restaurant Sambaekjip. This lady sold only about 300 servings of kongnamul gukbap a day in its early days, until she became widely known as the “Cussing Grandma” when an impatient senior government official from Seoul pressed her for quicker service, and she retorted: “Hold your horses, buster!”

A man who had long lived abroad overheard the exchange and remarked, “Since I was visiting Korea after spending a long time overseas, I enjoyed hearing such a brusque retort instead of the usual formal courtesy of smiling and bowing many times. It was all so touching, I nearly cried.”

When I visited Jeonju with a few friends in June this year, the old “Cussing Grandma” had retired and her restaurant was flourishing as ever, but now as a large franchise operation. At the tables arranged so closely that people’s backs almost touched, quite a number of tourists were enjoying their meal, glancing about curiously.

Later that evening, as we took a stroll through the area known as Hanok Village, a neighborhood of old traditional houses, we found a restaurant still open. It was Waengijip, another popular restaurant specializing in bean sprout soup and rice. This place’s name is rooted in the word waeng , meaning the buzzing of a bee, in hopes of attracting customers like the bees buzzing around a hive. The place doesn’t look like much, but the service is attentive and customers can enjoy a pleasant, inexpensive

1. A table setting at a kongnamul gukbap restaurant in Jeonju. The two bowls above the spoon and chopsticks contain suran (poached egg) and moju (a crude liquor).

2. Bibimbap prepared in the popular Jeonju style. Atop the rice cooked in beef brisket broth are the ingredients, gorgeously arranged. It is typically served in a brass bowl.

46

1

Ko re a n Cu l tu re & A rts

K o r e a n a 覺 A u t u mn 2 012

47

2

1

1. Jeonju Hanok Village, built in the 1930s, is well maintained.

These days, the traditional Korean houses here are used more as hanok life experience centers, museums, exhibition halls, and other cultural facilities than as family homes.

2. Jeonju hanjeongsik includes numerous side dishes, providing practically all the specialties of local family meals.

meal in leisurely comfort. Even customers who come just to drink are served the poached egg that usually comes with soup and rice, along with popped rice in a big basket as an after-meal treat. In another restaurant that we happened to pass, a poster on the wall proudly advertised its distinction: “Pounding and Chopping, Sounds of Ingredients.” This meant that each meal’s ingredients are freshly prepared in their own kitchen.

I should also mention the alcoholic drink moju, a kind of makgeolli simmered with sugar and cinnamon and other traditional herbs, served at every gukbap (soup and rice) restaurant. It is served cold in summer and hot in winter. These kinds of food and drink, extra freebies, and homey customer service are part of the traditions unique to Jeonju’s family-owned restaurants.

48

Michael Jackson’s Bibimbap Jeonju bibimbap is a dish of white rice cooked in meat stock topped with fresh egg yolk, red raw beef strips, light-green ginkgo nuts, strips of lentil jelly (muk ), and a variety of fresh greens, arranged artfully and served in an elegant bowl. This colorful and flavorful dish is now widely known internationally as a quintessential Korean food.

You Jong-keun, the former governor of North Jeolla, likes to tell an anecdote about Michael Jackson, the famous American pop singer, who had a part in contributing to the global fame of this local delicacy. After Governor You met with Jackson to discuss an investment project, he invited Jackson to have lunch at the governor’s residence.

“It was 1997. I’d heard that Jackson didn’t like meat, so I had to think about what to serve and decided on bibimbap. My wife used various ingredients as substitutes for meat. That day, we had a group of about 15 people at lunch, and Jackson especially enjoyed the dish.

“Soon afterward, early one morning, I got an urgent phone call Ko re a n Cu l tu re & A rts

2

In central Jeonju alone, there are 18 restaurants where a serving of fine bibimbap costs 10,000 won (about $9) or more, but countless establishments around the city offer lower-cost versions of the dish. At one highly recommended restaurant, brass bowls and side dishes were arranged in orderly stacks for quick service. A photo of a crock with soybean sprouts growing upside down adorned the wall like an art poster.

from the hotel where Jackson was staying. The night before, Jackson had ordered bibimbap, and they served it as prepared in the hotel. Jackson, however, wanted to have the same bibimbap as he’d eaten at my place. So my wife quickly wrote down the exact ingredients of her bibimbap and sent the recipe to the hotel that morning.”

Governor You and Jackson remained in contact for a long while thereafter. During a visit to Los Angeles, the governor presented Jackson with a gift of two stone pots for serving bibimbap. Jackson would invariably mention Governor You’s tasty version whenever he had a chance to have bibimbap. The hotel where Jackson stayed in Jeonju served “Jackson Bibimbap” as a special dish, which became the talk of the town for some time.

K o r e a n a ı A u t u mn 2 012

Governor You explained that his wife, Kim Yun-a, was so well trained from cooking at her mother’s home that from the time they got married, she could readily manage large banquets for guests.

He said: “I had no anxiety about hosting visitors. There were so many good restaurants in Jeonju, and my wife’s cooking was also quite satisfying. Food is very important for personal relationships, so you should put extra effort into serving food to your guests. Long known as a ‘City of Flavors,’ Jeonju is an excellent place for that.”

In central Jeonju alone, there are 18 restaurants where a serving of fine bibimbap costs 10,000 won (about $9) or more, but countless establishments around the city offer lower-cost versions of the dish.

At one highly recommended restaurant, brass bowls and side dishes were arranged in orderly stacks for quick service. A photo of a

49

1 1. A back alley in Jeonju Hanok Village.

2. Jeonju’s makgeolli bars are noted for the variety and generosity of their servings of snacks.

crock with soybean sprouts growing upside down adorned the wall like an art poster. That was the restaurant’s special way of growing soybean sprouts.

When bibimbap is served in brassware, diners will often pause to appreciate the colorful arrangement and even be reluctant to mix up the ingredients. The multicolored ingredients and garnishes atop the rice are so carefully arranged, so photogenic — each dish an artistic marvel turned out quickly by the hundreds daily by middle-aged women, their hands guided by generations of culinary memory. Customers come and go, the place bustling and the mood festive.

At one point, a young toddler with a family at a table began to cry loudly. After the child was quieted down, people at the nearby tables applauded softly in a gesture of understanding for the harried parents. A rather ordinary bibimbap restaurant suddenly became a special place thanks to customers who were thoughtful enough to express their support for a family with a difficult child.

We later enjoyed hanjeongsik in a hanok restaurant that greeted us with an impressive tile-roof gate. The traditional structure included such a spacious courtyard that people could even enjoy a short walk there. Families celebrating special events and people entertaining important business clients seemed to be the main

50

customers.

The elegantly arranged dishes covering the table heightened the mood and delighted the eyes. We were served a special wine produced in the nearby county of Gochang from Korean black raspberries (Rubus coreanus ). Unable to get to the side dishes beyond my reach, I focused on those around me, but even these included so many varieties that I can’t recall everything that I ate. Such a meal with so many side dishes can certainly be a memorable experience, and perhaps more so as part of a social gathering. In Jeonju, a set menu of hanjeongsik can cost as much as 400,000 won (about $350). As such, the meal is prepared with only the highest quality ingredients.

‘Don’t Eat Common Snacks’ Jeonju’s food culture embraces royal cuisine alongside everyday fare. This tradition of egalitarian tastes is also apparent in the local drinking culture that favors humble beverages and simple snacks shared with friends at neighborhood joints late into the night. One example is gage maekju (“store beer”), shortened to gamaek .

Everywhere in Korea, by nightfall in any season you can see people seated under large parasols in front of corner stores drinking beer and sharing simple snacks. But at Jeonju’s drinking joints, there is Ko re a n Cu l tu re & A rts

2

a particular snack food culture.

Every neighborhood in Jeonju has its own gamaek joint that offers snacks like hwangtae (specially prepared dried pollack), dried cuttlefish, and eggrolls. Thus at any gamaek, there will be someone grilling dried pollack over charcoal, with piles of the pollack stacked nearby. The hwangtae is prepared and distributed to each store by a particular supplier. Some places serve dried cuttlefish pounded flat with the kind of hammer that a blacksmith would use to pound metal. Even the eggroll served by a common neighborhood store is tasty when eaten with its special sauce. One customer remarked, “At home, you can never create such a flavor.

There must be a secret.”

Cho Young-ho, a division head at Jeonju City Hall, says that gamaek joints have been around for 20 years. With ever more visitors in recent years, including tourists and moviegoers attending K o r e a n a ı A u t u mn 2 012

the annual Jeonju International Film Festival, young people and artists have taken a special liking to the unique Jeonju experience.

Indeed, even late at night, people can be heard shouting “Cheers!” over glasses of beer at gamaek joints in every neighborhood.

Jeonju is also known for its makgeolli served with a variety of snacks, a different one with each new kettle ordered, which is known as “relay snacks.” After being pushed aside for a while by beer on tap, makgeolli is enjoying a notable resurgence these days.

Located between apartment complexes or in low-rent spaces of commercial areas, makgeolli drinking joints are popular for their relay snacks. On our way by taxi to enjoy this special experience, the driver offered a bit of advice: “After two or three kettles of makgeolli, they serve better snacks like pork feet. So, don’t bother with common snacks like boiled eggs. You’ll fill your stomach up too quickly. People from Seoul always get too full early on.”

51

Special Feature 9

Culinary Traditions: What Should be Preserved and How? Which cultural traditions should we preserve and pass on? And how should this be undertaken?

When it comes to food, the challenge becomes all the more daunting.

Ye Jong-suk Food Columnist; Professor of Marketing, Hanyang University

Intangible Cultural Heritage Š Institute of Korean Royal Cuisine

52

1

Ko re a n Cu l tu re & A rts

2

T

radition is in a constant state of flux. And culinary tradition is especially susceptible to changing social circumstances, such as economic conditions, and rapid developments in the food supply chain. As a peninsular country on the eastern edge of the Asian mainland, Korea has repeatedly suffered from the turbulence of foreign invasions and wars that forced its people to sustain themselves in creative ways, such that its culinary traditions have sometimes undergone dramatic upheaval, giving rise to new traditions.

1. Reproduction of a royal meal for Joseon kings.

2. Gujeolpan , a platter of nine delicacies. A sectioned enamel tray holds various prepared vegetables and meat, to be eaten wrapped in thin wheat pancakes from the central section.

Meat in the Korean Diet The history of meat in the Korean diet clearly illustrates how traditions are adopted and subjected to change. According to historians, today’s Koreans descended from nomad groups who wandered about the vast Eurasian plains. One group of these nomads, the Mongolian Tungus, gradually moved to the east and adapted to the agricultural ways of the Huabei fields in northern China, before moving on to southern Manchuria to eventually form the Dongyi, or the Eastern Barbarians, also known as the Maek tribe, who are the ancestors of today’s Koreans. Their livelihood was more dependent on animals than the early agricultural tribes of northern China, so they likely developed meat-related abilities.

The ancient skewered meat dish named maekjeok is thought to be a forerunner of bulgogi , the grilled beef that Koreans enjoy today.

As agricultural output increased and Buddhism arrived on the Korean Peninsula, the Korean diet gradually turned away from its nomadic roots, and meat consumption started to decrease. After Buddhism was adopted in the late fourth century A.D., meat consumption was officially prohibited, although not entirely eliminated, and the meat-handling skills of Koreans took a step backward. It was during the late Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392) that meat consumption came to be re-introduced to Korea by the invading Mongols. The Mongols demanded beef cattle but there was no such livestock industry in Korea. The Mongols thus developed pastureland on Jeju Island and bred cattle, which served to encourage Koreans of the late Goryeo period to consume meat after the centuries-long prohibition. Thereafter, beef became a favorite feature of the Korean diet.

During the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), the government often prohibited the slaughter of cattle and set up an office for its regulation, but such restrictions proved ineffective, and the preference for meat dishes became an entrenched dietary practice. The partiality for beef, however, led to a tendency to shun pork. Old texts from the 19th century stated that pork was not healthy and traditional medicine practitioners even prescribed against its consumption. Pork was thus regarded as a food to be avoided for a long time, but this habit came to be drastically altered in modern times.

In the 1970s, the Korean government aggressively encouraged farmers to engage in pork production, so the supply of pork increased exponentially. These days, Koreans consume 10 times more pork than they did 30 years ago. Under such circumstances, a new dish called “grilled three-layer pork belly” emerged to become one of the favorite foods of contemporary Koreans.

Evolution of Kimchi In these ways, the Korean culinary tradition has continued to change over time. Certain foods have been passed down for many generations but with a variation in its ingredients. Kimchi, which is Korea’s best-known food item among the international community, is a perfect example of such an evolutionary K o r e a n a ı A u t u mn 2 012

53

1. Sinseollo , the Royal Hot Pot, also known as Yeolguja-tang , meaning “mouth-pleasing stew.”

2. Clan elders dine at a gathering for ancestral rites at the familty head’s house in Gyeongju.

process. Kimchi’s origin stretches farther back than the Three Kingdoms period (57 B.C.-A.D. 668). The variants of kimchi are numerous; they come to as many as 200. But today’s most common kimchi, made with Chinese cabbage and red pepper, has been eaten for only a hundred years or so. Kimchi during the Three Kingdoms era mostly referred to pickled radish, eggplant, or leeks, with only salt added. Over time, from the Unified Silla 1 (668-935) through the Goryeo periods, more diverse kinds of vegetables came to be pickled, such as cucumbers, water parsley, and bamboo shoots. And from the early 1700s, chili pepper and fermented seafood were added to kimchi, which eventually began to take the form of today’s kimchi by the late 1800s, with the introduction of Chinese cabbage.

Korean-style Table d’Hote Culinary tradition can undergo surprisingly rapid changes, as can be seen in the case of Korea. Consequently, it is often unclear which traditions should be preserved as authentic. The oldest extant Korean cookbooks are dated to the late Joseon Dynasty. Furthermore, the existing documents about royal cuisine are all from the 18th century or later. Nonetheless, within this rather brief span of time, our culinary culture has continually evolved.

A good example is yeolguja-tang . A representative dish of royal cuisine, the ingredients of this hot pot, as documented in texts from 1795 and over the next 100 years, vary considerably. Korean royal cuisine, designated an intangible cultural property, originates from a specific time; it was passed down to the common people after the Joseon Dynasty collapsed in the early 20th century. Likewise, hanjeongsik , the Korean-style table d’hôte , which is regarded as a typical Korean meal today, is in fact quite different from the table set for a noble family in olden times.

Originally, a Korean dinner table was typically set for a single person. But in the early 20th century, as the Joseon Dynasty neared its demise, the royal cuisine style was adopted by some restaurants in the capital, featuring numerous dishes laid out on a large dining table. Recently, influenced by Western culture, many restaurants have come to offer multi-course menus, comprising an eclectic array of contemporary foods. Many of the dishes and ingredients now appearing on Korean dinner tables were not common a generation ago, such as broccoli, celery, and bell pepper; the ever-popular budae jjigae (spicy sausage stew) and LA ribs are recent creations.

The “globalization of Korean food” has recently become a key issue in the restaurant industry. Globalization of a unique national food cannot be successful without the effort to adjust to the tastes and preferences of local people. But localization can also mean a loss of tradition. Through the ages Koreans have learned from the old saying, “Creating from the old.” Which cultural traditions should we preserve and pass on? And how should this be undertaken? When it comes to food, the challenge becomes all the more daunting.

54

Ko re a n Cu l tu re & A rts

Korean royal cuisine, designated an intangible cultural property, originates from a specific time; it was passed down to the common people after the Joseon Dynasty collapsed in the early 20th century. Likewise, hanjeongsik , the Korean-style table d’hôte , which is regarded as a typical Korean meal today, is in fact quite different from the table set for a noble family in olden times.

K o r e a n a ı A u t u mn 2 012

55

2

© Lee Dong-chun

Focus

Challenges of Yeosu Expo 2012 Yeosu Expo 2012 was the second world expo hosted by Korea after the Daejeon Expo in 1993. Held in the small coastal city of Yeosu in South Jeolla Province, it ran from May 12 through August 12, with the participation of 106 countries presenting eco-friendly visions for the future of marine industries.

Yang Sun-hee Editorial Writer, The JoongAng Ilbo

N

ot all Koreans know much about Yeosu or have been there. Yeosu is just a small coastal city situated on a butterfly-shaped promontory at the far southern tip of the Korean Peninsula. It has a resident population of less than 300,000. But there are some notable aspects about the city. Above all, it is a historic site in the collective memory of Koreans: In the seas off Yeosu, Admiral Yi Sun-sin dealt a crushing defeat on Japan during the Hideyoshi invasions of 1592-1598, the most serious armed conflict of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910).

Remnants from that time include a maintenance dock which was used to repair the iron-clad “turtle ships” of Admiral Yi’s fleet, and Jinnamgwan, or the South Garrison Hall, which housed the admiral’s command post.

The southern coast of Korea is renowned for the beauty of its natural scenery, featuring jagged coastlines and numerous islands scattered about in the adjacent waters. Yeosu has recently attracted attention for a new walking trail developed on the nearby Geumo Island, once off-limits to civilians during the Joseon period because of a royal deer reserve there. The scenic 8km trail, called Byeoranggil, or “Cliff Trail,” encircles the island with a dizzying course along rugged cliffs. It has become famed for the unique experience of walking in the wind blowing in briskly from the ocean with a precipitous cliff face at your feet while enjoying one-of-a-kind views of the spectacular scenery of Dadohae (Sea of Many Islands) marine national park.

Water World Yeosu began making headlines as the Yeosu Expo 2012 Korea was approaching. Ever since the first World Expo was held in London in 1851, featuring the introduction of the steam engine, the event has never been hosted by such a small city. Moreover, the Yeosu Expo’s theme “The Living Ocean and Coast” is noteworthy as well. While the Expo is normally an event for the par-

The Expo Digital Gallery, a supersize LED display that covers the ceiling of the main walkway of the International Pavilion at Yeosu Expo, presents a variety of stories of the sea.

58

Ko re a n Cu l tu re & A rts

59 2

1

ticipant countries to show off their new technology and industrial prowess, the Yeosu Expo delivered quite a different message: Understand the ocean, which makes up 70 percent of the Earth’s surface, and the life of people living on its coasts, and look for ways to coexist with nature. The ocean is a channel of communication, a place where people live, and a resource for humankind that needs to be sustained. Yeosu Expo thus called on people to think seriously about the ocean and human life at a time when global warming and marine pollution have become matters of grave international concern.

Also worthy of note are Yeosu Expo’s exhibition halls and pavilions, built right on the water. The local organizers spent two and a half years constructing the facilities on some 250,000 square meters of reclaimed land adjacent to the New Yeosu Port. The event grounds made up an area less than one-quarter that of the Shanghai Expo held in 2010. But despite its lesser scale, the Expo venue offered visitors a view of the ocean from any vantage point. It almost seemed

60

1. Sky Tower, a pair of abandoned cement silos, became a landmark symbol of the Yeosu Expo.

2. The ceiling dome screen at Korea Pavilion II displays fantastic 3D images.

to stretch into the vast blue ocean and reach out to the islands, small and large, dotting the waters. Cruise ships arrived at a nearby ferry port, scientific exploration vessels from various countries were docked at Expo Port, and ferries carried visitors to and fro between the Expo venue and nearby islands. Including auxiliary service facilities, such as staff quarters and outlying parking lots, the entire Expo venue covered a total of 2.71 million square meters, more than 10 times Ko re a n Cu l tu re & A rts

2

the exhibition space.

People arriving on high-speed KTX trains walked directly to the Expo gate from the Yeosu station, where they were greeted by an eye-catching structure, a tall cement silo-cum-pipe organ called the Sky Tower, alongside a water desalination tank. The pipe organ was played once every hour, and visitors were allowed to play it as well, producing bellowing sounds like a boat horn. At the desalination tank, visitors could sample desalinated water.

Once inside the main gate, visitors could see how the ocean and the buildings were melded together. A 218m-long LED display on the ceiling of the walkway to the International Pavilion presented life-like images of whales and other aquatic creatures frolicking in an aquarium. The ocean was above and around your head and before your eyes. The Theme Pavilion was an artificial island that resembled a huge whale. And the Big-O was a large-scale floating stage where K-pop concerts and various performances were held every day. The stage curK o r e a n a ı A u t u mn 2 012

tains were sheets of seawater, while images were projected onto a screen of water, and water was sprayed about to create special effects. At Yeosu Expo, the ocean was indeed a channel of communication, a place where people live, and a place for culture, inspiration, and relaxation.

106 Countries from Around the World A total of 106 countries participated in the Yeosu Expo.

The organizing committee scheduled daily events for each country’s performing groups so that the visitors and participants could engage in cultural exchange. Each country’s pavilion delivered the same clear message: “Coexistence of the ocean and humanity: Appreciation

61

1

and protection of the environment.”

It can be said that the most noteworthy outcomes of the event The Korea Pavilion included two exhibition halls: Exhibition Hall 1 featured a include the “Yeosu Declaration,” which reflects the spirit of the large three-sided display while Exhibition Yeosu Expo in calling for global efforts to address threats Hall 2 had a dome-shaped screen on the ceiling. Exhibition Hall 1 showed images of from the pollution of the marine environment and reckless the coastal areas and people who reside on the coasts of Korea, which is surroundfishing practices. ed by the ocean on three sides, while Exhibition Hall 2 showcased Korea’s maritime zero Arctic temperatures. If anyone let out a shriek due industries, such as its desalination sector, as well as the ocean’s utilization as to the biting cold, they were treated to a warm hug by a source of energy and a departure point for export goods. event staffers wearing polar bear outfits. When visiThe U.S. Pavilion delivered a digital message that with less than 5 percent of tors emerged from the hall, their heads were white the ocean having been explored, the future of the Earth depends on our underwith frost. The Marine Industry and Technology Pavilion standing and exploration of the ocean. The Russian Pavilion highlighted the offered presentations on how to make plastic and fabdevelopment of Arctic areas, including exploration of the Arctic Sea, while the ric from seaweed, through unique performances that UAE Pavilion received accolades for alerting people to the growing threat of combined live acts with video. plastic garbage polluting the ocean.

The foreign media showed a keen interest in the Each pavilion employed a different strategy to deliver its own theme or mesYeosu Expo. In an article titled “Shining South Jeolla sage. Some used huge displays and vivid digital images, while others staged Province, the Jewel of Korea” (Joyau de la Corée du performances and demonstrations. At the popular Climate and Environment Sud, le Jeolla brille à nouveau), the May 16 edition of Pavilion, visitors passed through a cold zone where they got a taste of the sub-

62

Ko re a n Cu l tu re & A rts

France’s Le Monde introduced the Expo and the beautiful southern coast of Korea. CNN named Yeosu Expo one of the best places to visit in 2012.

Expectations and Outcomes In its final evaluation, the Yeosu Expo turned out to be somewhat less successful than expected. This was partly due to its location in a small city such a long way from Seoul, and also the organizing committee’s failure to promote the event adequately after making a huge effort to build the facilities. During its three-month run, the Expo attracted some 8 million visitors, while the organi­ zers had projected more than 10 million visitors. The number of tourists from neighboring China was also lower than anticipated.

For such a large-scale event which cost a staggering 12 trillion won (roughly $10 billion), the results were less than satisfying. But it also needs to be noted that about 10 trillion won of the total amount was spent to expand the region’s transportation infrastructure. For example, Yeosu and nearby Gwangyang, where the POSCO steelworks is located, had been separated by a bay. But thanks to the new 8.5km Yi Sun-sin Bridge, it now takes a mere 10 minutes to drive between the two coastal cities. Meanwhile, the Expo project has created some 79,000 jobs, and is expected to generate 12 trillion won in economic activity and 5.7 trillion won in value added.

To ease traffic congestion during the Expo, the city of Yeosu built parking lots in outlying areas, where visitors could use free bus service to the Expo venue or

the downtown area. The city government spent 11.5 billion won on this project, which paid off with congestionfree traffic flow. “The Expo has given us confidence that even a small city can manage a large international event. So, this has been a great opportunity to publicize our city,” said Yeosu Mayor Kim Chung-seok.

It can be said that among the most significant outcomes of the event are the “Yeosu Declaration,” which reflects the spirit of the Yeosu Expo, and the “Yeosu Project.” The “Yeosu Declaration” calls for global efforts to address threats from the pollution of the marine environment and reckless fishing practices.

The “Yeosu Project” highlights the need for international cooperation to support marine research in less developed countries, for which the organizing committee has promised to donate 10 billion won from the Expo proceeds.

1. The DSME Marine Robot Pavilion features the “Firo” fish robot swimming in an aquarium.

2. The Norway Pavilion takes visitors on a virtual trip to Norway, the country of the Vikings.

63

2

Art Review

Creative Evolution of the Hanok “Contemporary Hanok,” an exhibition presented by the Clayarch Gimhae Museum on the occasion of its sixth anniversary, highlights the various possibilities that have emerged from the evolution and transformation of hanok , the traditional Korean house.

Song In-ho Professor, Department of Architecture; Director, Institute of Seoul Studies, University of Seoul I Photographs Clayarch Gimhae Museum

1. “Total Dimension — Tower,” an installation artwork with hanok roof motif, by Baek Seung-ho.

2. Model of the main building of “Seodaemun Hanok” by Cho Jung-goo, is exhibited in the lobby.

1

F

or a better understanding of the “Contemporary Hanok” exhibition at the Clayarch Gimhae Museum (March 24 to August 26), this introduction provides some insight into the value and beauty of hanok by explaining in four categories how traditional Korean houses have changed and evolved.

Architectural Characteristics of Hanok First and foremost, the hanok is an architectural form characterized by a perfect matching of the structure and the contours. It is built by erecting wooden pillars, positioning crossbeams, securing the structural components with brackets, weight-bearing blocks, and bracket supports, putting up ridge purlins, and finally laying the rafters on top. Thanks to the extensive use of earth and proper

thickness of the structural members, hanok structures are solid and highly durable. A basic measurement of the wooden framework is the kan (distance between two support pillars), which defines the structure’s appearance. The interior space is characterized by the arrangement of the kan units, which also determines the form of the roof.

Second, the major spaces in hanok — the ondol room with under-floor heating, maru, a wood-floored hall open to the outside, kitchen, and courtyard — are organically integrated. The ondol and maru are contrasting spaces. While the ondol room is an intimate interior area enclosed with papered sliding doors and walls, the maru is an outward-oriented space that is open to the courtyard, with exposed rafters and bare wooden frame and earthen walls.

65

2

1

2

1. Interior of the exhibition hall with the theme “Critical Evolution of Hanok.”

2. “Steel Skeleton Gongpo,” by Kim Jong-heon. Gongpo are the wooden brackets placed on top of the pillars to support the roof structure.

3. A model of “Lagung,” a hanok hotel, by Cho Jung-goo

66

Ko re a n Cu l tu re & A rts

These two spaces define the lifestyle of the residents who read, eat, and sleep on the floor, and look out onto the yard while leaning on the window sill. On the other side, the kitchen is built lower than the main part of the house, which sits on a stone base, with an attic space above. The hanok spaces are organically connected around a central courtyard.

Third, the hanok is a “green building” made of all-natural materials. In addition to wood, the primary material, earth, stone, paper, and iron are also used. These natural materials are all used in accordance with their characteristics. The surface is either left natural or finely finished depending on the role and function of particular structural members, with the differences left clearly visible.

Fourth, the hanok is a structure crafted by master artisans. The style follows the general norm but the actual configuration can be flexible. Based on a set of essential rules, the house is the result of the combined skills of various craftsmen, such as carpenters, masons, and roof-tile layers. It can be likened to a piece of largesize wooden furniture.

In the 21st century, the hanok is going through changes and experimentation in the four areas described above: structure, spaces, materials, and techniques. For example, instead of earth, a dry-

K o r e a n a ı A u t u mn 2 012

3

roof method, taking advantage of thermal insulation and waterproofing, is now more commonly used. The interior is more functional as well as comfortable with the introduction of floor-heating systems that use hot water and air-conditioning units. While maintaining the merits of an eco-friendly house, the use of new materials, such as prefabricated wood pieces and plate glass, is gaining momentum, along with machine pre-cut timber to reduce construction costs.

Background of the Exhibition New-style hanok these days include creative versions designed by architects as well as reproductions of traditional houses. The research of innovative construction technology and cost reduction measures is being undertaken at the government level, funded by the Ministry of Land, Transport, and Maritime Affairs. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is also working on various projects to promote hanok. The first overseas hanok exhibition was organized by the National Trust of Korea in 2008, while the first annual Prize for Hanok Architecture was awarded in 2011 by the National Hanok Center, and the first Hanok Photo Contest was held in 2012.

The exhibition “Contemporary Hanok” echoes these evolution-

67

ary endeavors. The Clayarch Gimhae Museum, which specializes in architecture and ceramics, organized the exhibition to introduce the works of four representative architects who are known for their urban hanok projects, alongside the works of an installation artist and a photographer. As the title suggests, the exhibition spotlights the hanok as a creative architectural work from a contemporary perspective, not as a historical form of architecture.

As such, the exhibits are not typical traditional hanok, but creative new works. The participating architects, using hanok as a basis, interpreted the site to organize space creatively and adjust the contours. As mentioned above, the plane and cross sections as well as the plane and exterior are more intimately integrated in the hanok than in any other architectural form. For example, if

the width of a room is enlarged from 8 ja (one ja is about 30 centimeters) to 12 ja, the thickness of the pillar as well as the superstructure are proportionately adjusted, resulting in changes to the proportions of the elevation. For the houses with a two-sided (ㄱ) or three-sided shape (ㄷ), the structure of the corners also has to be considered. The hanok models, panels, photos, and installation art works on display at the exhibition give viewers an opportunity to look closely at hanok in detail as actual structures rather than conceptual plans.

Exhibition Highlights “Namsan Hanok” is a teahouse built on a hilly site. “It is my own interpretation of hanok space, which has a dual nature, both closed

The first thing that comes into sight upon entering the exhibition hall on the first floor is “Seodaemun Hanok” by Cho Jung-goo, which was previously displayed at the 12th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale in 2010. Visitors can enter the house and look around the interior or pause on the narrow verandah to view photos of “Hanok in South Gyeongsang Province” by Yoon Joon-hwan, hanging on the walls.

1. A model of the main building of “Seodaemun Hanok” by Cho Jung-goo 2. A model of “Mumuheon” by Hwang Doo-jin

68

1

Ko re a n Cu l tu re & A rts

2

and opened,” says the architect Kim Jong-heon. Climbing up the steps on a slope, the trees and ridges of Mt. Nam can be seen in the background. The house sits beautifully on the site, conforming to the natural topography.

“L-Hanok” by Hwang Doo-jin is an urban hanok like those found in Bukchon, a neighborhood in northern Seoul, where clusters of traditional houses are preserved. It is a typical family house, rather small but with an outer yard nearby the gate and an inner yard enclosed by buildings on three sides. The living spaces are organized for practicality, but the most notable feature of this house is the study room in the basement. Taking advantage of the different levels of the yard and the main wood-floored hall, small, high windows were installed in the study, creating a dynamic space in spite of the standard floor plan.

“Module Hanok,” a full-scale work of Kim Yong-mi, enable viewers to appreciate the spatial arrangements of a real-life hanok.

From the height and thickness of the pillars, the distance between pillars, the width of the purlin supports and the beams, and the size of the windows, to the paper on the sliding door — every aspect of the house is based on modules. The modular system provides the basic principle for the aesthetics of hanok and the basis for an effiK o r e a n a ı A u t u mn 2 012

cient hanok production system.

“Lagung,” in Gyeongju, is the first hanok hotel in Korea, consisting of various structures, such as a two-story rectangular (ㅁ) administrative building, a central courtyard, broad corridors and large, open yards, and hanok units with individual yards and hot tubs. Cho Jung-goo planned the hotel as a hanok complex, like a town with yards and houses that vary in type and appearance, with the cross section formed accordingly. This hotel, as well as “Seodaemun Hanok” and other works by Cho, can be viewed through videos and scale models.

The exhibition confirms that the key to the uniqueness and beauty of hanok is its cross section, the way the house is arranged and sits in conformity to the site. The differences in the cross sections reflect the creativity and evolution of hanok today.

To round out the exhibition, there are installation art works based on the hanok roof motif by Baek Seung-ho and photographs of old hanok structures in South Gyeongsang Province by Yoon Joon-hwan. Through this exhibition, viewers can appreciate aspects of the unique beauty of hanok, and reflect on what has been lost or given up while living in a modern house.

69

Amoureux de la Corée

An ‘Existential Bridge’

between Korea and the World Professor Alok Kumar Roy first came to Korea in March 1980 on a government scholarship to study international politics and diplomacy at Seoul National University. But it wasn’t until this past January that he became something of a celebrity in Korea, when the media spotlighted him as the 100,000th foreign national to be naturalized as a Korean citizen.

Charles La Shure Professor, Graduate School of Interpretation and Translation, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies I Ahn Hong-beom Photographer

70

Ko re a n Cu l tu re & A rts

P

rofessor Alok Kumar Roy shows us into his office at Pusan University of Foreign Studies, where he has taught for the past 23 years. He teaches contemporary Indian politics, economics, culture, and media, but his interest in things Korean is apparent from the many Korean texts that fill his bookshelves. His story begins over 30 years ago — his first days in Korea in the tumultuous spring of 1980.

‘My Galapagos Islands’ To the question of why he came to Korea, Professor Roy has a unique answer. “This is my Galapagos Islands,” he says. “It’s a good place for comparison, and a good place to see the evolutionary process. Nowhere can one see so much change in such a short time. I have never regretted coming to this place.”

Nineteen-eighty, of course, was the year when the citizens of Gwangju rose up against military dictatorship in what was later named the Gwangju Democratic Movement. The government of President Chun Doo-hwan, a former Army general, mobilized the military to put down the uprising, but the cracks were already beginning to show. The movement led to further protests throughout the 1980s, and ultimately to a democratically-elected government.

But in those days, when the young Indian student Alok Roy arrived in Korea and began his studies, democracy was only a distant hope.

“I always compare the situation in 1980 to the last stages of a pregnancy. The woman is expecting a baby; she’s not sure who it will be, but she cannot delay it anymore. In all this uncertainty, there was a hidden expectation, a hidden hope that tomorrow will be better than today. I could witness that,” Roy says. He talks a lot about these hopes and expectations being hidden. At a time when the might of the military dictatorship was on display, hope could not but remain hidden. “For the first time in my life I saw tanks — on a university campus,” he recalls.

The 1988 Seoul Olympics was a significant turning point for Korea, when the nation began to open up to the outside world. The tide of democracy was irreversible, and in the end it washed over the country not like a stormy sea breaking on the rocks, but like a gentle surf rising inexorably up the beach. Finally, in 1992, Korea elected its first civilian president in 30 years. As a student of international politics, Roy was amazed at how peaceful the advent of democracy ultimately was: “I never thought that political transition could be so smooth!”

Now, two decades later, Professor Roy is at long last a citizen of the country where he has spent more time than in any other part of the world. The decision was a long time coming, and not an easy one to make, but perhaps not for the reasons one might first suspect. “It’s not so much a question of loyalty,” he explains, “because loyalties cannot be divided — they can only be added. It is not whether I am 100 percent Korean and 0 percent Indian, or 50 percent Korean and 50 percent Indian. I can be 100 percent Korean and 100 percent Indian, even though I have changed my nationality.”

Instead, it was a matter of being able to make the best use of his abilities, both for himself and for Korea. He describes his relationships with Korea and India using two Indian concepts: kharmabhumi and janmabhumi .

“Kharmabhumi is where you have your job, where you work. Then there’s janmabhumi, which is where you were born. Yes, you were born there, you grew up there, but this is the place where you are doing something.” In order for him to do his work — to pursue his kharma — he decided that he needed to become a citizen of Korea.

It is one thing, of course, to become a Korean citizen, but another to become entirely Korean. Professor Roy is all too aware of this distinction. For him, being Korean was all about how he related to other Koreans. “Am I speaking the same language they are speaking, talking on the same wavelength that they are talking on? That was a challenge for me. Before I became a Korean, I wanted to prove to myself that I could be a better Korean. But society, as always, has its limitations. So even though I have Korean nationality, this does not mean I am the same as other Koreans.”

Lessons from India’s Multiculturalism Professor Roy attributes this harsh distinction between “Korean” and “foreign” to Korea’s history. “The history here is very linear,” he explains, “and the problem with any linear history is that it is very competitive and very racial at the same time. So to a person who doesn’t know you for who you are, you are a foreigner. This was a very shocking experience for me, because I come from India where, even if you look different, nobody will say that you are different. Or even if they say you are different, they will not say that you are wrong. In Korea, you are not only different, you are wrong. This happens very naturally. Because of this linear history that Korea has, pride has become a very K o r e a n a ı A u t u mn 2 012

71

important concept. When there is pride, it would be very unnatural if there was no prejudice. And sometimes those prejudices become more visible than the pride.”

Given this linear history, it is no surprise that the road to multiculturalism in Korea might not be as smooth as many had hoped. Professor Roy waves a hand. “This word itself, I do not like. It is not multiculturalism, it is Koreanization of a different culture, so far at least. But it is changing. Maybe, given the potential of Korean society to change quickly, it may change faster than many other societies, even Japan.”

With multiculturalism being such an important concept in contemporary Korea, it is important to define it properly. Professor Roy has spent a lot of time pondering this matter, and he defines it in two ways. The first is through a sense of space. “You might have noticed that I didn’t change my name,” he says. Most Korean names are short, generally three characters. But Professor Roy’s full name in Korean transcription is seven syllables — a full nine characters if the spaces are included — meaning that his full name does not fit in the spaces provided on most forms. On his paycheck his name is simply “Roy.” On his medical insurance, though, his name is “Kumar.” He says, “It was one of my major arguments that Korean society should give space to others.” Rather than changing himself to fit the Korean space, he hopes that Korea will learn to give him the space he needs.

Multiculturalism can also be defined in terms of time. For Professor Roy, multiculturalism is futuristic, forward-looking. “When I live in Korea, or if somebody lives in America, it is because he thinks there is a future there. It is not because there is a past there.” He sees the world, education in particular, as moving into an age when students study to prepare for a future that may take them to another part of the world. “Why should we go back? If we say that someone is multicultural, we should appreciate that he is multicultural. Don’t make him unicultural again. The focus should be not on the Koreanization of those multicultural families but on the globalization of Korean society, so that you have space for everyone, and when there is conflict between those two spaces, make it smooth so that they don’t crash into each other.”

Professor Roy believes that his cultural background gives him a unique perspective on the concept of multiculturalism. Indians have accepted diversity in their blood, he says. “It is in our DNA,” he adds with a smile. Indian multiculturalism goes back thousands of years to the time of Ashoka the Great. At first a conqueror intent on building an empire, Ashoka toured a battlefield and saw

1

the death and destruction he had wrought and was determined to pursue peace instead of war.

The symbol he chose for peace was a pillar with four lions on top — that peace should have a force, but that it should not be monopolized. This is the key, Professor Roy stresses. “We should live like lions, but we should live together. That is the Indian concept of peace in society. It is very old, but sometimes I feel that we need it, so we can accept other people as other lions without tearing out their hearts. After all, what are human beings? Human beings live off of their pride. And we should not hurt that pride.”

1. Professor Alok Kumar Roy evaluates student presentations in class.

2. Professor Roy talks with students in his office, advising them to study for a future that may take them to another part of the world.

72

Ko re a n Cu l tu re & A rts

2

In addition to introducing Indian culture to Korea, Professor Roy has also helped introduce Korean culture to India by, for example, translating Choi In-hoon’s “The Square” into Hindi. “That is the first taste of Korean novels in India,” he says.

As in the 1980s, though, change is again coming to Korea today. Professor Roy uses the issue of international marriage as an example. “Until some time ago, people used to think that international marriage was somebody else’s problem. But now my son-in-law or my daughter-in-law could be a foreigner.”

Once the issue goes from being abstract to concrete, change is inevitable. “It has to be your problem. This is what is happening in Korea.”

Translation of Rabindranath Tagore Professor Roy has not been content to simply watch the changes taking place around him; he strives to be a part of that change himself. One way he does this is by acting as a cultural bridge between Korea and India. His thesis for his M.A. degree in Korean language education dealt with the translation into Korean of the celebrated Indian thinker Rabindranath Tagore, the first non-European winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature. He has also presented papers on Tagore, hoping to clear up some misconceptions about him, and says that in the future he may translate Tagore directly into Korean. “Most translations of Tagore were from English, but no work as such has been translated from Bengali to Korean. And I, being Bengali, may be in a better position to do that.”

In addition to introducing Indian culture to Korea, Professor Roy has also helped introduce Korean culture to India by, for example, translating Choi In-hoon’s “The Square” into Hindi. “That is the first taste of Korean novels in India,” he says. “I like this novel because it talks about the Korean society of that time. Everything — the ideological debate, the personal conflicts — is involved. And most importantly, it is his language that I like. It is very poetic.”

The novel was well received in India. “People liked it because in India we also K o r e a n a ı A u t u mn 2 012

had the same problems arising out of partition, where people are divided in the name of religion, even though more Muslims live in India than in Pakistan. Many of the writers I talked to said they liked the novel because it was sensitive — sensitive in the sense that it provokes you to think.”

And yet, Professor Roy feels that his lasting contributions to Korea may come about not because of what he does but because of who he is. “What I do is important, no doubt, but who I am is more important. I am, professionally, a teacher, and a learner, too. People ask me, ‘Are you doing something for Korean-Indian economic relations?’ But that is not my job. It is for business people to do something about it. Will there be nuclear cooperation between Korea and India? This is for political leaders to decide. But I can help in my own way. I want to be more like an existential bridge, rather than a highway bridge.”

It could be something as simple as dealing with a longer name on a bank form. Perhaps someday soon, Korea will have more space for others, in every sense of the word. Until that happens, Professor Alok Kumar Roy will be pushing at the boundaries, making a space for himself and helping to bring about true multiculturalism.

73

On the Global Stage

Visual Artist Yang Haegue Transcends Genres and Boundaries Yang Haegue (Yang Hye-gyu) has enjoyed a steadily growing profile in the international contemporary art scene.

At the 2012 dOCUMENTA in Kassel, one of the world’s biggest contemporary art shows, her installation demonstrates an intriguing interplay of audacity and sensitivity.

74

Koh Mi-seok Editorial Writer, The Dong-a Ilbo

Ko re a n Cu l tu re & A rts

Visual artist Yang Haegue and her latest work “Approaching: Choreography Engineered in Never-Past Tense,” installed at the Central Station in Kassel, Germany.

I

n a freight terminal at Kassel Central Station, an array of 2-meter-wide venetian blinds hangs from a makeshift roof. Whenever the blinds are opened and closed in repetitive movements against the desolate landscape of the vacant terminal, they give off a distinctive shriek. As each unit of blinds opens in succession as part of an automated choreography, the far side of the platform can be briefly glimpsed, only to be blocked from view a short while later. The blinds open and shut in turns, repeating the process over and over. Like some kind of machine-like alien creature in a science-fiction film, the 45-meter-long installation looms ominously, its steady mechanical movement provoking disquiet in viewers, who are reminded of the military parades or mass exercises of totalitarian regimes of the 20th century.

This installation is Yang Haegue’s latest work, titled “Approaching: Choreography Engineered in NeverPast Tense.” It is currently on view at the 13th dOCUMENTA international art exhibition in Kassel, Germany, which runs from June 6 through September 16, 2012. At this renowned global event for contemporary art, the 41-year-old Korean artist introduced her first attempt to utilize computer software to automate her installation’s movements.

Choreography of Venetian Blinds “When I arrived at the Kassel Central Station, I was gripped by the powerful energy that this place exudes,” Yang noted. “It reminded me of the gigantic force of modernization, which propels industrialization based on a utopian ideal that strives to forever achieve more, effectively and efficiently. To me, the now desolate train station seemed to represent abandonment, juxtaposed against the past glory of industrialization.

Through my installation, I hope to convey my message that industrialization is not yet over, and that we still need to critically reflect upon this whole open-ended process.”

K o r e a n a ı A u t u mn 2 012

75

1

With the software-controlled, repetitive movements of the blinds, Yang seeks to visualize the sheer intensity of the industrializing process. The force of industrialization is being experienced as an ongoing pursuit in the developing world, or is regarded as a bygone past, only vaguely recalled, in the richer countries. Her installation, set against the backdrop of the vacant freight terminal, has enjoyed an enthusiastic reception among local audiences for the depth of its emotional resonance. The German magazine ART named it as one of its top 20 selections of this year’s dOCUMENTA, while ARD, the German national news broadcast network, also placed it in the limelight as a must-see at the exhibition.

“For this exhibition, my colleagues and I developed a computer program to operate the electric motors attached to the blinds. It took some serious effort but I found it a meaningful process to study mechanized movements,” Yang said during an interview in Kassel.

Since 1955, dOCUMENTA has been held once every five years in Kassel, in central Germany. This year, the high-profile art event is exhibiting the works of 150 artists from 55 countries. Yook Keunbyung was the first Korean artist to participate in this exhibition in 1992. Two decades after the initial Korean presence, three Korean artists were invited to participate in this year’s event by the exhibition

76

Ko re a n Cu l tu re & A rts

1. “Series of Vulnerable Arrangements — Voice and Wind,” presented at Yang Haegue’s solo exhibition titled “Condensation” at the Korea Pavilion, 53rd Venice Biennale, Venice, 2009.

2. A series of sculptural assemblages by Yang, called “Totem Robot,” using light bulbs and garment racks.

organizers: Yang Haegue, and the team of Moon Kyoung-won and Jeon Joon-ho.

Kassel dOCUMENTA is famed for presenting art works that focus attention on social issues and progressive views. It is often compared with the Venice Biennale, which is dubbed “The Olympiad of the Art World,” where a competition system has been adopted and nationalistic hues are prevalent to attract broader public attention. The history of the city of Kassel provides a background for the dOCUMENTA’s unique approach to the fine arts. As the center of German military industry during World War II, Kassel was devastated by Allied bombing. By the end of the war, the once vibrant manufacturing city had been turned into rubble. The city, however, resurrected itself as a hub of contemporary visual arts after the artist Arnold Bode launched the quinquennial dOCUMENTA art exhibition in 1955.

Because the exhibition is rooted in a critical reflection on the dehumanizing acts of the Nazi regime, dOCUMENTA encourages its viewers to seriously contemplate the role of art and artists in shaping sociopolitical reform. Therefore, an artist’s commercial success alone does not guarantee an invitation to Kassel. As such, Yang Haegue’s presence here is a noteworthy affirmation of the creativity and philosophical depth of her works, which have received broad critical acclaim.

Yang constantly pursues novelty and experimentation. In addition to her installation of moving blinds at the train station, she also staged a theatrical project, “The Malady of Death,” during the preview week at Kassel. This monodrama, which is her stage adaptation of Marguerite Duras’ novella of the same title, was presented in collaboration with Staatstheater Kassel on June 7. The performance featured the French actress Jeanne Balibar reading the novel on stage. The stage area was designed to express the inexplicability of love through symbolism, aided by lighting effects, images, and electric fans. The successful staging of “The Malady of Death” proves that Yang’s innovative creativity and artistic interpretation enable her to blur the lines between the literary and visual arts. Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, the artistic director of the 13th dOCUMENTA, also expressed her sincere appreciation of Yang’s theatrical production. She watched the performance, and underlined the significance of this stage project during the exhibition’s official press conference attended by more than 500 media representatives and art critics.

2

The Mystery of the Mundane Yang Haegue cuts a distinctive profile in her international career. At the 2009 Venice Biennale, she attracted critical attention for an installation titled “Condensation,” for which she extensively used venetian blinds to create a space of open-close duality. The interior of the work was filled with scented breezes as electric fans dispersed perfume sprays. Viewers were invited to approach and enter into the installation and view the exterior through the half-open blinds amidst the fragrant breeze.

Yang’s artistic creations are grounded in her philosophical principles. Her works often appear to be rather abstract and incomplete. Her installations extensively employ venetian blinds, garment racks, folding chairs, electric fans, and light bulbs. With these mundane objects of modern daily life, she weaves a poetics of abstraction and ambiguity, eliciting emotive responses and stirring the imagination of the audience.

In her works, garment racks stand in various amusing postures as if they are captured in a dance.

The mélange of breezes of varying temperatures, produced by cold and warm air generators, seem to signify the dualistic nature of love. Hence her creations evoke a powerful and emotive resonance, K o r e a n a ı A u t u mn 2 012

77

“What people think about my work is of secondary importance. I am the ultimate judge of my own work. Whether I made a step forward or resorted to self-plagiarism is subject to my rigorous self-examination. I know myself and I cannot deceive myself.�

78

Ko re a n Cu l tu re & A rts

transforming the banality of our approach to the everyday. “Sometimes it happens that ordinary things that surround our daily routine can suddenly look quite different. Sometimes it happens that the same regular routine might suddenly create a very different, unusual sensation deep inside us. That is the moment when the everyday turns into the mysterious,” Yang explains. Her artistic expressions are highly creative, whether they represent a rediscovery of the mundane, a critical interpretation of modern life, or an artist’s contemplation of contemporary politics. Invariably, she infuses her works with her personal insight to convey her unique viewpoints.

Nomadic Wanderer When Yang appeared at Artsonje Center as a 2003 Hermes Korea Misulsang (Fine Arts Award) finalist, she sported a moustache drawn on her face. This bold public stunt created a stir among Korean art critics and her fellow artists, bringing to mind the antics of Marcel Duchamp, who poked fun at the conventional authority of artistic interpretation by creating a reproduction of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa with a moustache and goatee.

In 2006, Yang staged her first solo exhibition in Korea, which was held in an abandoned house in Incheon. To enter the vacant house-cum-exhibition space, visitors had to first open the gate lock, using the secret code on their invitation card. Then, they were only allowed to enter the house one at a time, where they found the interior of a desolate dwelling. Remnants of time that passed without human presence were displayed in various forms: electric fans in an empty room, clocks with mixed-up numbers, and shards of broken mirrors strewn about.

Yang has been working mostly abroad over the past 18 years after graduating from Seoul National University’s Fine Arts College and Städelschule Frankfurt in Germany. She now splits her time between Berlin and Seoul. Thanks to residency programs providing temporary accommodations for artists, she has been traveling widely while enjoying short- to medium-term stays in different countries, including Britain, Japan, France, the Netherlands, and Germany.

She is known to be a workaholic, whose intensive work schedules surprise many in the art circles.

“Since I never consider art a simple pastime, my whole life should be spent on art. The moment I get lenient toward myself, that’s the end of my life as an artist. At every moment, I do my utmost to get the best out of myself,” Yang said. For her, the boundary between work and life seems unclear.

As a result of the years of ceaseless effort, Yang’s works have continued to be seen in prominent museums and art galleries abroad. Her solo shows include “Integrity of the Insider” at Walker Art Center (Minneapolis, 2009), “Voice and Wind” at New Museum (New York, 2010) and “Arrivals” at Kunsthaus Bregenz (Austria, 2011). In autumn this year, she will exhibit her works at Tate Modern in London, and also set up a large-scale installation at the main hall of München Museum. The Guggenheim Museum and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and Hamburg Museum currently house/exhibit Yang’s installations. The curator Chantal Crousel of the Galerie Chantal Crousel in Paris says: “Yang is an outstanding artist, who takes a philosophical approach to art. She creates a unique novel energy by combining elements of Korean culture with global artistic inspirations.”

With her international reputation on the rise, Yang is even more firmly determined to sharpen her creative discipline. She rejects self-plagiarism and repetition. “What people think about my work is of secondary importance. I am the ultimate judge of my own work. Whether I made a step forward or resorted to self-plagiarism is subject to my rigorous self-examination. I know myself and I cannot deceive myself. My daily struggle is to make a decision between consistency and expansion of my horizons. I cannot afford to be lax on these matters.”

A scene from Yang’s theatrical project “The Malady of Death,” a monodrama adapted from Marguerite Duras’ novella of the same tittle.

K o r e a n a ı A u t u mn 2 012

79

Children’s Book for Readers of All Ages

O kurze, która opus´ciła podwórze Written by Hwang Sun-mi, Translated by Choi Sung-eun, Warsaw: Kwiaty Orientu, 210 pages, 26.67 złoty

“Leafie, A Hen into the Wild” by Hwang Sun-mi is one of the most popular children’s books in Korea. Published in 2000, it has sold more than one million copies in Korea, and has been made into a hit animation film. Based on its popularity at home, the story has been translated into several languages to reach an international readership. “O kurze, która opus´ciła podwórze” is the Polish translation of this book.

The book tells the story of a hen named Leafie, who escapes from her cage at an egg-laying farm, where she cannot hatch her own eggs. Yearning for the freedom to raise her own chicks, she flees the farm at the risk of her life. In the wild, she finds an egg and gives it motherly TLC. When it hatches, it turns out to be a duckling. The duckling gradually realizes he is different from his mother, Leafie, but with his mother’s encouragement he grows up to lead an independent life. In a most unusual and shocking end for a children’s book, Leafie willingly lays down her life, sacrificing

Books &

Mastering Korean Homemade Food and Korean Language

Korean Home Cooking Compiled by Daewoo Securities’ Community Service Group, Seoul: Bookie Publishing Co., 164 pages, 12,000 won

“We’re not looking for the recipes of fancy dishes that you wouldn’t normally cook at home.” This is what the women of multiethnic families living in Korea said in unison, when asked about what kind of Korean cookbooks they would like to see. Instead of impractical knowledge on sophisticated Korean cuisine, they wanted useful tips and recipes that they can use at home on a daily basis, especially clear explanations on Korean food measurements and cooking methods, such as jum (fistful), umkeum (handful), and tteum deurigi (simmering).

“Korean Home Cooking” presents the recipes for 45 dishes that are commonly served in Korean homes for the benefit of foreign students and businessmen residing in Korea, and particularly those with Korean spouses. The book introduces many different types of Korean food, from everyday basics such as steamed rice, side dishes, stews, and soups, to party foods, regional delicacies, and snacks. It also provides information on Korean culinary culture and tips on using the right cooking utensils and buying

82

suitable ingredients.

Amid a sharp surge in the number of international marriages over the past decade, the book was initially published for free distribution to foreign residents in Korea, especially those settling down here with their families. It was published in the 10 foreign languages most commonly used in Korea: English, French, German, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Mongolian, Thai, Filipino, and Indonesian. After an initial period of free distribution, the book has been re-launched for retail sale to reach a broader audience.

With explanations in both Korean and the respective foreign languages, the book also enables readers to familiarize themselves with the Korean language. Thanks to this bilingual feature, the book can be used alone, or by two people speaking Korean and a non-Korean language as they help each other to follow the recipes.

The book is the result of generous contributions by many helpful volunteers and organizations who wished to provide a practical culinary guide especially for multiethnic families. The Korean Food Institute of Sookmyung Women’s University and photographer Yeo Sang-hyun played key roles in putting the book together, while the Korea Support Center for Foreign Workers arranged for translators for the 10 different languages. Royalties earned from the book sales will be used to assist multiethnic families in Korea.

Ko re a n Cu l tu re & A rts

herself to a mother weasel and her babies.

The book is about a hen’s adventure, courage, motherly love, and sacrifice, which represent the values that are cherished by Koreans.

The story makes a departure from the typical happy ending for children’s books, in which the good and virtuous always win out over the evil and wicked, with a kind of real-life outcome.

The author made her literary debut in 1995. Growing up in a needy household, she says she used to remain at school to read until dusk.

She believes that children’s books do not have to be the usual fairytales where everything is fine, and everybody is happy and carefree. Instead, she sensitively depicts the difficult choices of life, the sadness of separation, and even fear of death.

“Leafie, A Hen into the Wild” has been introduced to ever more readers abroad since its 2003 translation into Japanese. In Poland, it was selected as the “Best Book of Spring 2012” (Najlepsza ksiazka na wiosne 2012), a remarkable achievement considering that few Korean books are available in the Polish language.

In the United States, Penguin Classics will publish an English translation for distribution to English-language readers. The U.S. publishing firm is especially targeting adult readers, in light of the story’s profound insight into the realities of life. An Italian translation is being published by Bompiani publishing firm. Publishing rights to the book have also been sold in France, China, Vietnam, Taiwan, and Thailand, among other countries.

More The Future of Art Catalogues in the Digital Era

23 Artists of the Year from 1995 to 2010 Free NMoCA Application for iPad Users

As the opening of an art exhibition approaches, curators are extremely busy rounding out the final details. Among their greatest concerns is the timely production of a catalogue for the exhibition. Many curators say, “When the exhibition ends, only the catalogue remains!”

Since the 1990s, contemporary art works have increasingly involved media-friendly features and digital content, and the static photo images of a conventional printed brochure are no longer satisfactory in conveying the dynamics of an in-person museum experience. Curators and exhibition organizers are constantly searching for ways to better promote video imagery, installation works, and performances among fine arts audiences.

A recent breakthrough has been the digital catalogue. With the inclusion of video clips, digital catalogues provide a more vivid presentation of contemporary multimedia artworks for exhibition viewers and the general public. A pilot project, “National Museum of Contemporary Art Digital Publishing Campaign,” was undertaken to produce a digital brochure for the exhibition “23 Artists of the Year from 1995 to 2010,” held at MOCA from August 9 to October 30, 2011. The digital catalogue includes a wealth of information on the exhibited artworks and artists, as well as critiques and artist interviews. The result is a comprehensive K o r e a n a ı A u t u mn 2 012

Yoon Bit-na Reporter, The Reader’s News Kim Sung-chul Director, Community Service Group, Daewoo Securities Ki Hey-kyung Curator, National Museum of Contemporary Art

overview of Korea’s contemporary art scene since the exhibition featured the 23 artists who had been selected as “Artist of the Year” over 16 years.

The project also attracted international attention and received a silver prize at the Internationalist’s Fourth Annual Awards for Innovation in Media, held in New York in April this year.

The digital catalogue can be accessed online by downloading the NMoCA application onto an iPad. In comparison to conventional printed brochures that only provide regular photographs, the zoom and rotation functions enable you to take a virtual tour of the exhibition. Portability and convenience are key advantages of the digital format.

More work is needed to build on the museum’s successful launch of its digital resources. The Internet-based services typically involve complicated copyrights and image rights issues. Accessibility also needs to be improved as it is currently available for use only on iPad devices. In addition, an Internet platform that can smoothly deliver video content in a seamless manner is required as well.

Despite these issues, we are drawing closer to an age of digital catalogues with audio and video content for an enhanced viewer experience.

The MOCA plans to continue to produce digital resources for its annual “Artist of the Year” exhibition series, thereby giving new life to the museum’s reference materials.

83

Entertainment

‘My Partner’: Matchmaking on Primetime TV “My Partner” (Jjak ) is a reality TV program in a matchmaker format for the Korean John Doe Kim (Jane Doe Kim) searching for a partner. A group of eligible men and women are thrown together in close quarters for a week, and their interactions with each other are filmed as they search out, choose, and woo a potential partner, and presented in a documentary style.

Hwang Jin-mee Film Critic

T

he weekly TV matchmaking show “My Partner” has evolved from an SBS Special, “I Also Want to Find My Partner,” a three-part series which was first broadcast on January 2, 2011. The opening episode was “I Am Korean — Be My Partner.” The weekend late-night documentary show, which usually deals with socio-cultural issues, created quite a stir due to its highly unconventional subject for a New Year broadcast.

Twelve unmarried men and women are taken to a remote location where their personal interactions are recorded by an all-seeing camera as they work on simple tasks or just spend time together. The expectation is that over their brief period together, the participants would discover a potential mate, pair off, and perhaps end up as altar-bound couples, with the entire process recorded and aired with commentary. In spite of its titillating concept and promise for young men and women searching for a mate, the bland, matter-of-fact narration left viewers with the sense that they watched some kind of anthropological study. Not unlike the documentary “World of Animals,” which depicts up-close how animals live in the wild, the program seemed intent on showing how the Korean Homo sapiens , male and female, go about developing a relationship with a member of the opposite sex.

A Week in ‘Love Village’ Two months later, this unique documentary became a regular program.

For the first broadcast on March 23, the basic format remained intact. A group of 12 men and women (six of each or at times seven and five) were admitted to a “Love Village” for a week of filming, including interviews to hear about their thoughts, which would be edited and broadcast in two to four parts of 65 minutes each. The Love Village has 12 rules: Rule No. 1 makes clear that the activity is for the express purpose of finding a potential marriage partner. Par-

84

ticipants wear uniforms with a number on the back.

Instead of names, they are referred to by their numbers. On the first day, they feel each other out based on first impressions alone. The following day, they introduce themselves by revealing such basic information as the kind of work they do. As such, socioeconomic status is factored into any attraction from the first day as part of their decision-making process. The program provides several opportunities for individual dating, and the participants’ emotional responses are continuously observed.

As everyone knows, the attraction of love can unfold in unexpected ways. So, instead of one participant pairing up with another, sometimes several men compete for the same woman, or vice versa. Some participants end up being ignored and relegated to the sidelines.

Nevertheless, everyone does their best to project a positive image, seek out a prospective partner, and follow through with all manner of courtship. With several opportunities to spend time with a single partner, the pairings will often change during the one-week period.

When a pair feels unsure about each other’s feelings, they put the relationship to the test through push and pull. Some are left out because they fail to make a connection with anyone, while others get off to a good start but come up empty because they spread their attention among several prospects rather than focusing on one

Ko re a n Cu l tu re & A rts

single individual.

Because everyone is in constant contact with one another, there is often tension among participants of the same sex. In some instances, several men compete for a woman to the end, others negotiate with each other, and a few quietly come to an agreement. Some pairings that seem destined to succeed end up failing; sometimes a relationship can blossom away from the camera.

Reality Dating Games A number of previous TV programs have also sought to spark romance for young men and women. The well-known program “Studio of Love,” first aired in 1994, brought together eligible men and women for an opportunity to get to know each other in question and answer routines and playing games. The program simply transferred to the studio what Korean college students of the time called a “meeting,” usually arranged by friends to check out potential dating/ marriage prospects.

In retrospect, it seems amazing that people believed in the possibility of finding a partner through such a simple contrivance. With today’s society being much more liberal, and spontaneous, there are several forms of arranged meetings for young men and women, such as sogae -ting, meaning “a meeting for an informal introduction (sogae )” and “booking” (selecting a date in a bar or dance club). The notion that a meaningful relationship could result from a televised encounter in a studio after a two-hour conversation would not likely gain traction among today’s viewers and potential participants. As such, “My Partner” is based on a setting more conducive to the development of personal relationships.

Love, Off-camera It is not only young men and women looking for their own soul mate who avidly watch “My Partner.” While discovering the typical traits and thinking of people searching for a partner, the viewers can gain insight to guide their own experiences from this program that condenses the epic drama of love into a few hour-long episodes. Hence, “My Partner” often becomes the talk of the town despite its broadcast time on weeknights, and without featuring celebrities. After every broadcast, the words describing the show’s participants shoot to the top of Internet search words.

Participants in the show must contend with constant scrutiny, their personal information dragged out and circulated on the Internet. You can find postings that criticize

K o r e a n a ı A u t u mn 2 012

certain participants for engaging in self-promotion to get a head start on an entertainment career or bolster their image for business purposes. Some viewers wonder why those young men and women are willing to publicize their identities and intimate emotions when they could pursue their search for a partner in a more discreet manner with higher chances of success; matchmaking businesses are thriving on bold promises to find a perfect partner for every client. Some are critical of the voyeurism of viewers who delight in watching others struggling to develop a relationship.

The interests of the participants and viewers, however, are understandable enough. Many people have not found their partners despite today’s culture that allows for free and open dating. For many, finding a partner can be a difficult process even with the aid of traditional matchmakers due to a bewildering array of preferences and the increasing tendency to marry late.

For these individuals, an environment or framework to simplify the search for a partner is indeed useful. The more desperate a participant appears in his/her search for a partner, the more likely it is for viewers to become fully absorbed in the program. Moreover, the program proves its real worth when participants are pushing 40, or have never dated much before, or are looking to remarry.

Over 300 men and women have undergone the “Love Village” experience thus far. Recently, the program scored its first success in bringing together a couple who eventually married, and are now awaiting the birth of their child. The couple had participated in a special episode for people seeking to remarry.

Although each had originally partnered with someone else, they reconnected later in a follow-up meeting for program participants. Both had broken off the relationships with their partners from the program. Shortly thereafter, off camera and off screen, love blossomed, their feelings for one another sparked by their reunion.

The program reveals just a slice or two of real life, but what it sets in motion can take on a life of its own.

85

Lifestyle

Urbanites Commune with Nature at Recreation Forests The Korean Forest Service currently manages 36 natural “recreation forests” throughout the country, while provincial governments and private operators maintain many more similar sites.

The number of visitors, which hovered around some 50,000 per year when these sites began to open in the late 1980s, has surged to 2.86 million as of 2011.

Ryu Jeong-yul Travel Writer

S

on Jeong-a takes to the woods to relax from her job as a midlevel manager. She has fallen in love with camping so much that she pitches a tent in a recreation forest every weekend. There she takes naps lulled by gentle breezes or reads a book while sipping tea, enjoying a respite on her own.

Relaxation and Rejuvenation Ryu Tae-hyeong, who also works in the city, likes to spend his time in nature so he frequently makes backpacking treks to traverse the valleys and mountains of his childhood. He often takes his wife and child to recreation forests, believing it would be a great hands-on educational experience for the child to see various spe© RESOMFOREST

86

Ko re a n Cu l tu re & A rts

© RESOMFOREST

Forest bathing at Resom Forest, a private resort near Pakdal Pass in Jecheon, North Chungcheong Province.

cies that thrive in the forests, such as crayfish, which are only found in pristine freshwater, native salamanders, day lilies, Siberian chrysanthemums, and China pink in bloom. He takes his child on forest walks barefoot, and stops to embrace large trees, sharing his love of nature.

Edward O. Wilson, the pioneering evolutionary biologist and Harvard professor who is known as the “father of biodiversity,” asserts in his “biophilia” hypothesis that humans have a genetic disposition to feel affinity for other living organisms. This offers a likely explanation for the beneficial effects of exposure to forests and the natural environment on the human mind and body, such as alleviation of stress simply by hearing the sounds of the forest or the sea, and touching natural objects.

The National Natural Recreation Forest Office highlights the restorative benefits of forests by providing such amenities as “fo­rest bathing” facilities and various wellness programs.

K o r e a n a ı A u t u mn 2 012

Forest Retreat Recently, I headed to Uljin for my own reinvigorating forest experience. For this, I decided to spend the night at Tonggosan Mountain Natural Recreation Forest. I drove toward Buryeong Valley along Highway 36, which cuts across the Nakdong Range of Uljin County, about 350 kilometers southeast of Seoul. The roadway into the mountain was paved about 10 years ago. This area has long been rather isolated and not easily accessible. As a remote inland area with few visitors, the mountain has retained its natural luxuriance, a perfect spot for me to enjoy time by myself amidst the serenity of the forest’s dense growth.

Daybreak at Mt. Tonggo is greeted by a chorus of birdsong and chirruping from all around. After a light breakfast, I set out for a walk. The best time for a stroll is around sunrise or before noon because this is the time when the forest is busy regenerating itself, and plants release the highest amount of phytoncide, a protective

87

substance that functions as a disinfectant and insecticide. It purifies the air and works wonders on your body and spirit. Indeed, I felt the soothing aroma of the forest spreading deep into my heart. All at once, the smallest flowers and grasses around me, to which I didn’t pay much attention before, now caught my eye. Following a valley stream alongside a narrow path, I removed my shoes, rolled up my pants, and stepped into the water. With my feet cooled by the gently flowing water, I felt like all the hardness in my heart was being washed away.

The recreation forests offer cozy overnight accommodations at reasonable rates. Each site offers rental cabins, a community center with basic amenities, and outdoor camping facilities. In addition, they also provide various facilities for an array of forest experiences such as plaza lawns for relaxation and “forest bathing,” nature study tours of the woods, open-air classrooms, and woodcraft workshops.

They all boast magnificent scenery and unique natural features deep within Korea’s highest and most majestic mountains. Tonggosan Mountain Natural Recreation Forest is densely forested with

ral Recreation Forest of Inje County, Gangwon Province. This mountain area features one of the most outstanding virgin forests in Korea with crimson autumn foliage that is simply breathtaking. The summer heat will be a distant memory in the spray of its two-tier waterfalls enjoyed up close on top of broad flat rocks. This is also a perfect jump-off point for enthusiasts of leisure sports, like rafting the nearby Naerincheon stream, until September.

Cheongtaesan Mountain Natural Recreation Forest is located in Hoengseong County, Gangwon Province. Mt. Cheongtae boasts such superb natural scenery that Yi Seong-gye, the founder 1 of the Joseon Dynasty, bestowed the name “Cheongtaesan” in his own calligraphic handwriting. At this state-managed model forest, natural forests and planted areas have been harmoniously combined. The nut pine forest’s dense growth is especially popular for its “green showers.” Visitors can choose among six trekking courses and “well-being” forest trails, depending on their physical condition and personal interests. In September every year, a festival to celebrate homegrown Korean beef (hanu ), the pride of Hoengseong, attracts visitors from all over the country.

Daegwallyeong Natural RecIf you collect stamps from all of the 36 recreation forests, you are awarded an reation Forest in Gangneung, Korea’s first state-managed honorary membership that includes free admission to any site for a period of area for forest recreation, is also one of the three most gorgeous two years. The first honorary member was named on May 30 this year. forests in the country, according to Korea Forest Service.

Thick with maple and pine trees, the forest is especially known for Pinus densiflora , the most handsome pine trees, and a diverse variits nature exploration center that caters to families. It has a charety of broadleaf trees. The crystal-clear waterfalls that cascade coal kiln where visitors can try their hand at making traditional oakdown a granite cliff face make a truly magnificent sight, bringing wood charcoal. Excellent walking trails, such as Seonjaryeong and to mind the ink wash paintings of awestruck literati of old. Trails Daegwallyeong old road courses, take visitors through endless for trekking and forest observation are ideal for leisurely strollscenes of picturesque highland landscape. ing and meandering about. After taking in the restorative beauty of the forest, you can enjoy sea bathing and hot springs nearby. From this forest recreation area alongside Wangpicheon, a tributary of Book Well in Advance Buryeong Valley Stream, you can reach Mangyangjeong Beach.

The National Natural Recreation Forest Office recently launched Deokgu Spa, Korea’s only volcanic hot springs resort, is nearby as a “Forest Tour Stamp” promotional program that offers visitors well. a stamp each time they visit a recreation forest, awarding perks based on the number of stamps collected. If you collect stamps from all of the 36 recreation forests, you are awarded an honorary Autumn, the Golden Season membership that includes free admission to any site for a period of Some recreation forests are especially suited for autumn visitwo years. The first honorary member was named on May 30 this tors. In particular, I would recommend Bangtaesan Mountain Natu-

88

Ko re a n Cu l tu re & A rts

On the shooting platform, people stand in order from the eldest to youngest, and the oldest shoots first, a courtesy in Korean traditional archery.

2

year: Ha Yeong-ju, a Busan resident who has been visiting recreation forests with his wife since his retirement in September 2011.

Recreation forests are highly popular destinations for vacationers as well as those in need of a brief respite from urban life. As such, it can be difficult to reserve accommodations at certain times.

All told, the country’s recreation forest sites offer some 750 rooms within about 300 units, with each room meant for 2 to 18 occupants, based on size. This means that the recreation forests can house a maximum of about 4,300 overnight visitors per day. The facilities are very much in short supply, given the large number of potential users. Therefore, reservations can only be made via the Internet. During the summer peak season, from July 14 to August 25, reservations are allocated by random drawings. For the remainder of the year, bookings can be submitted only on Wednesdays, at least a month in advance. And in an effort to allow more people to enjoy forest recreation, each reservation is limited to a stay of three nights and four days.

When Shin Dong-hun was assigned the task of organizing his company’s team workshop last summer, he thought about renting a private “pension unit,” like in the past. However, he decided to have the group stay at a recreation forest this year. Since it was a work-related event, he applied for a weekday reservation, which K o r e a n a ı A u t u mn 2 012

1. Buryeong Valley Stream nearby Tonggosan Mountain Natural Recreation Forest in Uljin County, North Gyeongsang Province.

2. Children get up close and personal with trees at Unaksan Mountain Natural Recreation Forest in Gapyeong County, Gyeonggi Province.

was more likely to be accepted. Shin noted: “Because the air was so clean and pure, we didn’t get drunk easily there. It was a perfect place to wake up in the morning and take a stroll. During dinner at the barbeque pit, we had meaningful conversations, which was not always the case at the office.”

Spending time and doing things together in the woods, people of any age can relax and comfortably interact with each other. Simply talking about the names of different trees can help to bond parents and children by creating unforgettable memories. Precious moments to share each other’s sentiments while in the embrace of nature would be the most wonderful gift that you can receive from a recreation forest.

“In a forest, you can casually talk about things you might hardly mention at home,” says Kim Chang-gyu, who lives in Sanbon, in Gunpo City, Gyeonggi Province. He added: “The main attraction of a recreation forest is that you can talk about so many things with your family and enjoy Nature, breathing in clean air with the people you love.”

89

Journeys in Korean Literature

Critique

A Rural Bakery Owner’s Son Becomes a Novelist Uh Soo-woong Arts & Culture Reporter, The Chosun Ilbo

“I

often recall scenes of Gimcheon, that small town where we used to live; those days seem to have been perfect. You recall Nanking Restaurant (Namgyeong Banjeom ) where there used to be a photograph of Chiang Kai-shek and a calendar with scenes of Taiwan? Even now we can remember everything from those times. We know the histories of the shops that used to line the streets of Gimcheon in those days like the palms of our hands. Of course, inevitably, there was violence and cursing, and a struggle for survival. But at least, those people thought that they were not going to owe anything to anybody.

They never thought, as people do nowadays, that they would make it through while others go bankrupt. The people of those times could feel more like living beings. Since time is like an endlessly turning bicycle pedal, to me, even those memories are hollow like the husks of insects, yet those days alone seem to me to have been perfect times.”

Those words were spoken by Kim Yeon-su, one of Korea’s recognized contemporary writers, to the poet Mun Tae-jun, a hometown friend and fellow writer. In discussing the story “New York Bakery,” it is important to evoke two aspects: The first is the particular sentiments associated with the generation of writers born in the 1970s. The second is the distinct regional identity of Gimcheon, a small town that forms a kind of “inland island” in the middle of North Gyeongsang Province. Interestingly, the two aspects seem to collide even as they diverge. That is where the roots of Kim Yeon-su’s writing rest.

“New York Bakery” is the name of an actual bakery that faced the square in front of Gimcheon station. Kim Yeon-su’s parents ran it. According to the poet Mun Tae-jun, after school each day, Kim used to read poetry books — Rimbaud or Hwang Ji-u — or a literary review he subscribed to, while he looked after the shop. There is one particular episode: He was sitting beside the coal briquette stove reading a

90

poetry book when an elderly monk came in. The monk asked what he was reading, and Kim said it was Rimbaud’s poems.

The monk then said to him, “Young man, keep doing that for ten years. Something great will result.” Upon hearing those words, Kim thought, “I must write for just ten years, then I am sure to get somewhere,” thereby making up his mind to do so.

I have seen a few photos taken when Kim was a child. In one, he is riding a tricycle in front of the store with a “New York Bakery” sign in the background. The young boy is smiling brightly.

The blinds are lowered to block the sunlight and on the window is a sheet of paper announcing, in 1970s-style writing, “Quality Cakes” and “Hot Cocoa.”

When Kim was young, every penny counted, so his mother had to be sparing about letting her son have cake. He could not think of having regular servings of cake; instead, little Kim Yeon-su’s share was the leftover scraps called kireppashi , trimmed off edges of sponge cakes cut into regular pieces and packaged for sale to customers. Trimmed-off scraps. Not presentable enough to sell, but impossible to simply throw out. As the story says, “I never tired of red-bean buns, cream cakes, muffins, soft rice cakes, doughnuts, or white bread, but I did finally grow weary of kireppashi.” So they ended up being fed to the family’s puppy, just before they became stale, but later even the puppy turned up its nose at them. As the writer concludes, “Life is like that, after all. Excess cloys the appetite.”

On a personal note, Kim Yeon-su and I are of the same age, which is to say that we share the same generational experiences and memories. Young Koreans who were born in the 1970s, while growing up in the 1980s, still had no notion of, nor would have welcomed, diversity in tastes; they just all enjoyed and consumed the same popular culture. Then, as we were entering primary school, we started to hear about color television. Boys were hooked on the professional wrestling star Kim

Ko re a n Cu l tu re & A rts

© Paik Da-huim

Kim Yeon-su When the jury for the 2003 Dong-in Literary Prize presented the annual award to Kim Yeon-su for his collection of short stories entitled “When I Was Still a Child,” it made note of the following: “The author throws a stone into a pond of personal, concrete experiences, creating ripples that spread out in circles, rendering a precious account of Korea’s very recent history.” “New York Bakery” is one of the stories from Kim’s prize-winning collection.

K o r e a n a ı A u t u mn 2 012

Il and the cartoon movie “Five Eagle Brothers.” In middle school, we were initiated into pop music.

Thanks to having had the same experiences during our childhood and youth, even though I have never tasted kireppashi, I can naturally connect with a depiction of the period’s wants and small indulgences that the cake scraps are meant to symbolize.

In 1993, Kim Yeon-su began his literary career, first as a poet. Then, in the following year, he made his debut as a fiction writer with “Walking Along Pointing at Masks.” If you include his poems, Kim has been writing for some 20 years now. During this time he has published a wide spectrum of works, but his own words help to define his style: “Staying in tune with the 70s generation’s special experiences and status, I seek to capture, with an acutely sensitive and restrained style, the undercurrent of angst and painful moments of self-awareness experienced by those people who have lived through the so-called ‘generation of loss.’”

“New York Bakery” is an autobiographical work that combines memory with self-reflection, which reveals the author’s psychological roots. As mentioned in the opening lines, the story was written in pencil, suggesting that he felt a more “hands-on” process was needed to match the way he would bare his inner self.

The following is from a story that Kim Yeon-su read in a newspaper: “My four-year-old son is delighted when he gets a ‘Fail’ message after playing games on my smartphone. I asked him if he knew what ‘fail’ meant, and he replied, ‘Repeat.’”

Everyone will find different charms in Kim Yeon-su’s works, but for me, the special appeal of his writing lies in the way that as I read his works, “fail” becomes synonymous with “repeat.”

That leaves me both happy and grateful.

91

IMAGE OF KOREA

T

he wheat was ripening under the blazing sun, the fields a sea of gold. The path dividing the wheat fields stretched on endlessly, dissolving into the distance. Corn poppies poked their bloody heads out of the edges of the wheat fields, then faded away, blanched by the fierce sunlight. In each long furrow, lavender bloomed in profusion, covering the hillocks in a haze of purple fragrance. A farmhouse enfolded in trees is shrouded in shadow.

At the end of the road, a small village square emerges. Cool water flows from a fountain, and people lounge around a table sipping peppermint water and watching the clouds pass by. Old sycamore trees line the road and block out the heavens, casting leafy shadows onto the road. As I walk along, the shadows dance faintly on my body. After I pass, the dappled shadows lie at rest once more on the road.

Thus, as a stranger, I roamed long in the well-ripened summer of a foreign land. As I walked along the road, I looked upon the flowers and the wheat fields, the trees and the fountain, and the farmhouse, sometimes from the side, sometimes from below. I was beside them, and I was among them. I had become part of the scenery.

When I returned to my own land, it was already autumn. I found a photograph of my country seen from above, fields lying bare, bereft of shadows. The flowers have faded and the leaves have fallen. Even the birds and people have gone. The fields have laid down all their ornamentation and lay pale and forlorn as a naked abstraction. One autumn day in the universe, in the afternoon when the starlight is still on the way, a harvested field stretches out beneath the eyes of the heavens, recalling cornrows on a young maiden’s head. It is a scene I have never seen before, this world beheld from another; it couldn’t seem stranger. Unaware that my own land could seem so unfamiliar, I traveled idly here and there through the summer. And then, upon returning home, I suddenly found myself standing outside of the scenery. Now I look upon the fields with the eyes of a banished soul, as if watching myself depart. Thus has autumn come to this land.

An Autumn Scene, Observed from the Outside Kim Hwa-young Literary Critic; Member of the Korean National Academy of Arts Choi Jae-young Photographer

K o r e a n a ı A u t u mn 2 012

1