Koreana Autumn 2009 (English)

K Koorreeaann a arrtt & & CCuullttuurree

vo voll.. 24, 23, no no.. 23 Su A ummer t u mn 2009 2009

Recovery of 7th Century Buddhist Artifacts ISSn ISSn1016-0744 1016-0744

BeautY oF Korea

Begaenmo Pillow Decoration

© the Museum of Korean Embroidery

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s for the Korean-style pillow, which differs markedly from that of the West, begaenmo refers to the decorative pads that are used to adorn the ends of a pillow. A traditional Korean pillow is made with a cloth sack that is stuffed with various filler material, such as red beans or mung beans, as well as rice bran, buckwheat chaff, or dried flower petals. Therefore, in contrast to the fluffy type of pillow found in the West, a Korean pillow is noticeably firmer and more compact, usually with a rectangular or cylindrical shape.

Tradition called for the pillow’s ends to be adorned with decorative features, which might involve such crafts as mother-of-pearl inlay (najeonchim ) or hand-painted ox-horn appliqué (hwagakchim). However, by far, the most popular choice was the decoration of pillow ends with works of embroidery. The embroidered designs, typically related to symbols of good fortune and longevity, would often be based on the user’s gender or circumstances. For example, decorative images of butterflies and flowers, such as peonies, orchids, lotus and apricots, were favored for women, while a pine tree or bamboo, symbols of a forthright character, were suitable for men. And pillows for newlyweds would be decorated with twin phoenix images and seven baby birds to symbolize marital bliss and fecundity. Other popular patterns included symbols of longevity, such as the crane, deer, pine tree, turtle, and bullocho (fungus of immortality), and auspicious Chinese characters.

In the past, it was common for a mother to embroider the pillow end adornments for her husband and children. As such, the great care and affection that went into the making of pillow decorations have been captured in works of poetry. In the poem “My Lover is Sleeping” by the modern Korean poet Seo Jeongju (1915-2000, pen name Midang), he writes: “While my lover is sleeping, I become a crane in flight on his pillow’s end.”

The pillow end depicted here is titled “Pillow End Embroidered with the Symbol of Royal Longevity,” which features blue and yellow cranes, along with a saw-tooth pattern that is meant to fend off misfortune. According to Huh Dong Hwa, director of the Museum of Korean Embroidery, who owns this pillow, the scent of musk that permeates this piece clearly identifies it as an artifact from the royal palace. At a Begaenmo Exhibition being held at the Museum of Korean Embroidery, located in Nonhyeon-dong, Seoul, in October, visitors will have a rare opportunity to view 100 or so pieces of royal and traditional pillow ends, which Huh Dong Hwa has collected over several decades.

Begaenmo is another example of the importance and value that regular Korean people placed on everyday articles, such as their pillows, bedspreads, and clothing. Along with enhancing the aesthetic appearance of these daily items, the decorative elements were also expressions of hope for good health and prosperity.

Korean art & Culture

Vol. 23, No. 3 Autumn 2009

A gold sarira reliquary with an inner jar, along with other relics, was recently recovered from the Mireuksa Temple stone pagoda during a restoration project. Š Seo Heun-kang

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Recovery of 7th Century Buddhist Artifacts 8

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The Stone Pagoda of Mireuksa Temple Kim Bong Gon

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16 Buddhist Relics from the Stone Pagoda of Mireuksa Temple Lee Kwang-Pyo

26 Mireuksa Temple and the Legend of Seodong Cho Heung Wook 70

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The inner and outer jars of the gold reliquary, which housed sarira (crystal-like droplets that are sometimes found among the cremated remains of enlightened Buddhist monks or spiritual masters), reflect the refined crafts6 Koreana | Autumn 2009 manship of Baekje-period artisans.

Recovery of 7th Century Buddhist Artifacts On the grounds of Mireuksa Temple, of the Baekje Kingdom, an ongoing restoration project of Korea’s oldest stone pagoda (National Treasure No. 11) has led to the recent discovery of ancient Buddhist artifacts from the seventh century. In particular, the recovered sarira reliquary and related relics are highly valued for their exceptional state of preservation, along with providing documented evidence of Mireuksa Temple’s background and Buddhism’s pervasive influence on the Baekje Kingdom.

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The Stone Pagoda of Mireuksa Temple The Baekje Kingdom’s Mireuksa Temple was the largest temple of the Three Kingdoms period (1st century B.C.-A.D. 7th century). A restoration project of the temple’s stone pagoda, its only structure still standing, has resulted in the recent recovery of ancient Buddhist artifacts from the seventh century, which have shed new light on the origin of Mireuksa Temple and the Baekje people’s embrace of Buddhist thought.

Kim Bong Gon, General Director, National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage Photographs National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage | Seo Heun-kang Photographer

Koreana | Autumn 2009

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n January 2009, a treasure trove of Buddhist relics, which had been enshrined within the stone pagoda’s foundation stone, saw the light of day for the first time in some 1,400 years.

As such, this collection of artifacts and the Mireuksa Temple site have attracted considerable attention from the media and academic circles. Of particular note, along with the recovery of sarira (crystal-like droplets or beads that are sometimes found among the cremated remains of enlightened Buddhist monks or spiritual masters), there was also a document of the enshrinement ceremony dated “year of Gihae,” which corresponds to A.D. 639. This documented evidence confirms that Mireuksa Temple was built in the seventh century and verifies previous estimates that the lotus-pattern roof tiles excavated from the temple site are from this period as well.

Background of Mireuksa Temple Mireuksa was a national temple built by King Mu (r. 600641), the 30th ruler of the Baekje Kingdom, who put his utmost efforts into its construction. Although similar in nature to Hwangnyongsa Temple of the Silla Kingdom, the grounds enclosed by the corridors at Mireuksa encompassed a larger

area, signifying its status as Baekje’s foremost temple. Even after the demise of Baekje, the temple continued to thrive, judging by the fact that the bronze phoenix ornaments and roof-end tiles with scroll designs from the Unified Silla period (676-935) have been recovered at the site. Moreover, it continued to function as a temple during the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392), following its reconstruction. Goryeo-period relics that have been uncovered in previous excavations include decorative tiles, which had been affixed to roof support beams, and a large number of celadon vessels.

However, with the onset of the Joseon Dynasty (13921910), its rulers sought to promote Confucianism and suppress Buddhism, resulting in a noticeable decline in the importance of Buddhist architecture in comparison to palaces and government buildings. As for relics from the Joseon period, various items have been recovered, mainly from the northern area of the grounds nearby the dormitory buildings of the resident monks, thereby suggesting that the temple compound had undergone a considerable reduction in scale. In Wayurok , writ-

Mireuksa Temple’s unique layout included three side-byside sections and three inner gates south of a central area.

(Illustration by Baek Keum-lim) Autumn 2009 | Koreana

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ten by the Joseon scholar Kang Hu-jin in 1738, it states that the Mireuksa stone pagoda, which was standing in the middle of a rice paddy, had been partially damaged by a lightning strike a century earlier. A majority of scholars concur that the temple was abandoned sometime in the 16th century or 17th century, around the time of the Japanese invasions (1592-1598).

Mireuksa Temple eventually fell into ruin, with its buildings and pagodas left to collapse. Photographs from the early 20th century show the half collapsed stone pagoda standing in a rice paddy. In August 1974, an excavation team from Wonkwang University discovered the site of the eastern pagoda.

Then in 1980, as part of the efforts to research the remnants of Baekje culture, the Buyeo National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage initiated an excavation project of the entire Mireuksa Temple site, which proceeded for 17 years. The excavation revealed that the temple included a central wooden pagoda flanked by two stone pagodas. The three pagodas formed a straight line, from east to west, with each having a Geumdang (literally “golden hall�) to the north. The original temple site

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has been named Historic Site No. 150, while the remaining stone pagoda has been designated National Treasure No. 11.

Unique Layout The temple site faces southward between ridges of Mt. Yonghwasan, which extend to the left and right. The site was formed by creating two platforms with stone embankments, at the middle gates, and a rear section with a lecture hall. The front section included a southern gate and middle gates, with a rectangular area in between formed by the building corridors.

There were middle, east, and west sections, side by side, with each having its own pagoda, courtyard, and hall. Along with a single lecture hall, the central pagoda was made of wood, while the eastern and western pagodas were built with stone.

The layout of three sections side by side is a unique style associated with Baekje-era temples. A possible interpretation is based on a sutra that describes how Maitreya, the future Buddha who lives in Tushita Heaven

1 Banner pole supports, at the entrance of the Mireuksa Temple site (Treasure No. 236), from which temple banners were once hung.

2 Lotus-pattern roof tiles and decorative end tiles from the main roof ridge (mangsae) have been excavated from the Mireuksa Temple grounds.

3 A digitally created rendering of the stone pagoda at the Mireuksa Temple site (Park Jin-ho).

4 The stone pagoda as it appeared before the start of restoration work.

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(paradise of the 33 gods), once saved all sentient beings with the delivery of three sermons. As such, the underlying philosophy of Mireuksa Temple (Temple of Maitreya) was rooted in the cult of Maitreya, which was popular throughout Northeast Asia at that time. Based on a similar context, three Buddha images have been enshrined at Mireukjeon (Hall of Maitreya) of Geumsansa Temple, in Gimje.

In Samguksagi (History of the Three Kingdoms), it states that Mireuksa Temple was constructed with three sections, each with a hall that housed a Buddha image and a pagoda in which sarira had been enshrined. Excavation teams have confirmed the existence of a pond and three separate sections, which confirms the accuracy of this reference. A temple is an architectural structure that embodies the fundamental principles of Buddhism, while Mireuksa represents a unique example of how the philosophy of Maitreya Buddha had been integrated into the temple’s layout.

Architectural Significance The nine-story pagoda that had originally stood in front of the eastern section was reconstructed in the 1990s, in accordance with its likely appearance, based on the foundation stone. The western stone pagoda, of which six of nine stories remain, is currently being dismantled as part of a restoration project.

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1 Photograph of the stone pagoda at the Mireuksa Temple site contained in Joseongojeokdobo, an illustrated book on Korea’s historical sites published by the Japanese government general during the colonial period.

2 Plans for restoration of the entire Hwangnyongsa Temple complex.

3 The Mireuksa Temple site viewed from atop a nearby mountain.

4 Various plans have been considered for restoration of the western stone pagoda of Mireuksa, including proposals to reconstruct only up to the third story, and to repair the remainder (left), and to restore the pagoda’s appearance at the time of the dismantlement process (right).

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Mireuksa Temple, which was built to promote the well-being of the Baekje Kingdom, represented a personal endeavor of Baekje’s King Mu. As a national temple, its construction involved the refined craftsmanship of Baekje’s most prominent artisans and technicians. Indeed, Baekje was known for its advanced architectural techniques, which influenced the temple architecture of the neighboring kingdom of Silla and that of Japan as well.

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The pagoda is a variant of the stupa, which had been developed in India to enshrine remains of the Buddha and esteemed monks. Originally made of brick, the stupa is more commonly seen in a rounded form, like the Great Stupa at Sanchi that looks like a large tomb mound. After Buddhism’s transmission to China, the stupa evolved into a wooden pagoda in the form of a multi-story pavilion, which was then popular in China. After Buddhism arrived on the Korean Peninsula, via the kingdom of Goguryeo, wooden pagodas were constructed in Korea, as evidenced by the remains of a wooden pagoda in the form of a pavilion at the Cheongamnisa Temple site, in Pyeongyang, North Korea. Over time, due to an abundance of granite, stone pagodas became the norm in Korea. Accordingly, the Mireuksa stone pagoda is highly valued for its architectural significance as being the earliest example of Korea’s transition from wood to stone pagodas.

The building of a typical wooden pagoda involves the use of numerous wood pieces that are carefully shaped and assembled together; however, in the case of stone, it is necessary for the elements to be larger and less intricate. A careful inspection of the Mireuksa stone pagoda reveals that, in large part, the stone elements had been assembled in a manner normally associated with a wooden structure. Because of wood’s vulnerability to fire damage, pagodas came to be built with brick in China and stone in Korea. On the other hand, thanks to its ready access to sources of timber, the Japanese showed a preference for wood pagodas.

In the early days of Buddhism in Korea, multi-story wooden pagodas, resembling pavilions, were constructed. It is believed that the stone pagoda on the Mireuksa site was an impressive multi-story structure, as the remaining six stories alone reach a height of some 14.2 meters. A record that indicates the original height of the pagoda is found in Geummaji , the town records of previous Iksan-gun, Jeollabuk-do Province, which was the administrative district of Mireuksa Temple. Dated 1756 (32nd year of Joseon’s King Yeongjo), the record states that the pagoda’s height was 10 jang (one jang is equal to about 10 feet), making it the tallest stone pagoda in Korea and the East Asian region.

To make the tallest stone pagoda in the land called for the best available stone masons and architectural skills. The existence of the pagoda is a testament to the outstanding skills of Baekje craftsmen and technicians.

Mireuksa Temple, which was built to promote the well-being of the Baekje Kingdom, was a cherished project of Baekje’s King Mu. As a national temple, its construction involved the refined craftsmanship of Baekje’s most prominent artisans and technicians. Indeed, Baekje was known for its advanced architectural techniques, which influenced the temple architecture of the neighboring kingdom of Silla and that of Japan as well. It is known that the famed Baekje artisan Abiji was invited by Silla to oversee the construction of a nine-story wooden pagoda at Hwangnyongsa Temple, in 645. Since Mireuksa was being completed around the time that work began on HwangnyongAutumn 2009 | Koreana 13

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sa, it is reasonable to assume that Abiji had also participated in the construction of Mireuksa. Samguksagi mentions that to help with the building of Mireuksa, King Jinpyeong of Silla dispatched workers to render assistance. From this arrangement, it is believed that Silla and Baekje had engaged in cooperative efforts for the construction of temples, such as Mireuksa, along with sharing their architectural and technical expertise.

In Japan’s oldest historical record, Nihon Shoki (Chronicles of Japan), it is stated that Buddhism had been transmitted from Baekje to Japan in the early sixth century. According to this source, in the time of Soga Umako, a ruler during the Yamato period, Baekje dispatched architects, builders, tile makers, and painters to Japan, in 588 to participate in the construction of Japan’s first Buddhist temple Asukadera. The lotus-design tiles excavated from Asukadera feature a small ovary section, compared to the size of the petals, which include raised ends with rounded or triangular tips. This unique design was found in Buyeo (the later capital of Baekje) but not in the area of Gongju (Baekje’s earlier capital). Baekje’s influence on Japan’s temple architecture can also be seen at Shitennoji (Temple of the Four Heavenly Kings), which includes a typical Baekje temple layout, consisting of an inner gate, pagoda, worship hall, and lecture hall in a straight line, along a north-south axis.

Dismantlement Process Repairs were made to the Mireuksa stone pagoda in 1915, during the Japanese colonial period. However, the rudimen14 Koreana | Autumn 2009

tary repairs were simply stopgap measures, consisting of the application of concrete, in order to prevent a total collapse of the structure. Over time, the concrete patch work showed clear signs of deterioration, along with becoming blackened due to exposure to the elements. In 1978, after research studies of the temple grounds had determined the overall appearance of the collapsed eastern stone pagoda, the authorities decided to initiate efforts to restore the western pagoda. The National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage thus commenced a pieceby-piece dismantlement of the pagoda’s remaining six stories in 2001, starting with the highest level and working downward.

While dismantling the second story, several relics were recovered, including a shard from an inscribed ceramic jar of the Unified Silla period, a Goryeo roof-tile fragment inscribed with the year 1317, and Joseon coins from the 18th century. These artifacts indicate that the stone pagoda had been repaired and likely rebuilt over the years. In addition, a central stone column, which corresponds to the central pillar of a wooden pagoda, was found to extend from the bottom level up to the sixth story. The dismantlement process also revealed the application of a five-centimeter layer of earth between the stone levels, which functioned as mortar to distribute the load and to enable proper alignment of the stone blocks.

On January 14, 2009, a treasure trove of relics was discovered in a sarira chamber at the bottom of the central foundation. The most noteworthy items included a gold sarira reliquary, which helped to shed light on the temple’s construction and related matters. Currently, as work proceeds on the

1 Stone pieces dismantled from the pagoda are carefully catalogued and stored.

2 A cross-section view of the stone pagoda shows that its central stone column, equivalent to the central pillar of a wooden pagoda, extends from the bottom level to the sixth story.

3 An llustration of the Mireuksa Temple layout contained in Mireuksa, published in 1996 by the Buyeo National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage

lecture hall

western section

central section

eastern section

western stone pagoda

wooden pagoda

eastern stone pagoda

western banner pole supports

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bottom tier of the foundation, the dismantlement process is scheduled for completion by the end of this year. The pagoda’s repair and restoration are likely to be completed by 2014. Various proposals have been put forward regarding restoration.

Some argued for returning the pagoda to its original state of nine stories, while others argued for restoration to the sixstory form at the time of dismantling. For the sake of structural stability, and because of the difficulty of proving the pagoda’s original appearance, the second option of restoring six stories was decided on.

Restoration Efforts The International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), an affiliate organization of UNESCO that is headquartered in Rome, endorses reconstruction projects only when exceptional circumstances are involved, such as the unavoidable loss of a cultural heritage due to war or physical damage, such as fire. Moreover, reconstruction efforts must be based on documented evidence of the original appearance. And although the loss of Mireuksa Temple was unavoidable, due to lightening and fire damage, there is insufficient documented evidence of its original appearance. Accordingly, there seems to be several alternative approaches for the reconstruction of Mireuksa Temple.

One possibility would be to recreate the temple grounds and buildings in a virtual form through the application of computer graphics software. This could be realized with a rather nominal project budget and minimize maintenance costs;

eastern banner pole supports

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however, such a virtual viewing would fall far short of the satisfaction of being able to personally observe the physical structures. Second, it would also be possible to reconstruct only the foundation levels of the temple buildings and structures, since these aspects would be based on excavation research, without a need to conceptualize details of the original buildings.

A third alternative would be to recreate selected buildings within a designated area of the temple compound. This would allow a real-life experience for visitors, and involve a lesser project budget and reduced maintenance costs. Another approach would involve efforts to restore Mireuksa Temple to its original glory with a full-scale reconstruction project. Although this would undoubtedly be the most impressive, such a grand undertaking will require a substantial commitment of resources, time, and technical expertise. In addition, such reconstruction involves the issues of damage to the existing architectural remains and efficient use and management of the site afterward.

To avoid damaging existing architectural remains, one solution is to reconstruct the temple at a different site, leaving the remains where they are. This would be similar to the relocation and reconstruction of relics that were threatened with submersion by the construction of the Aswan Dam in Egypt.

After thorough consideration of all these issues, the reconstruction of Mireuksa Temple must be carried out in the most rational way.

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Buddhist Relics from the Stone Pagoda of Mireuksa Temple The sarira and other Buddhist relics recovered from the stone pagoda of Mireuksa Temple are highly valued for their exceptional state of preservation. In addition, a gold reliquary and other items reveal the refined craftsmanship of Baekje-era artisans, along with providing a glimpse into Buddhism’s influence on Baekje society, and the life of the Baekje people.

Lee Kwang-Pyo Culture Reporter, The Dong-A Ilbo Photographs National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage | Seo Heun-kang Photographer

The gold sarira reliquary is an intricate work of exceptional craftsmanship.

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ince October 2001, an archaeological team from the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage has been working at the Mireuksa Temple site, in Iksan, Jeollabukdo Province, on the restoration of a Baekje-era stone pagoda.

This storied pagoda, designated National Treasure No. 11, was found to be in serious danger of collapse, which required a renovation effort. For this, it was necessary to dismantle the pagoda, starting with the uppermost sixth level and working downward, one level at a time. By January 2009, the intricate dismantlement process had reached the base section, which visibly heightened expectations, since it was a traditional practice for sacred Buddhist artifacts to be enshrined within a pagoda’s foundation.

Landmark Discovery The stone pagoda at the Mireuksa Temple site, along with being the largest and oldest existing stone pagoda in Korea, is also the keeper of the secrets of Mireuksa Temple, which was built in the time of King Mu of the Baekje Kingdom (r.

600-641) but has long since vanished. With the architectural style of a wooden structure, it reflects a transition from wooden to stone pagodas. The body includes architectural features typically associated with a wooden structure, such as doors and pillars, which are joined by lintel or crossbeam elements.

This innovative construction can be attributed to the advanced craftsmanship of stone masons during the Baekje period.

From the beginning, the dismantling of the pagoda has been a time-consuming and painstaking process. The pagoda’s unique construction in the style of wooden pagoda crossbeam elements, contributed to its eventual deterioration. A pagoda erected in this fashion with so many structural members such as pillars, stone doors and crossbeams cannot remain standing for a long period of time. Such construction calls for a much larger number of stones than is generally used in regular stone pagodas. The larger the number of stones, the greater is the

danger of collapse. The shifting or displacement of just one stone can set off a chain reaction that could make the whole pagoda collapse. In contrast, the smaller the number of stones the greater is the stability. As a stone pagoda in the style of a wooden one, the Mireuksa pagoda was inevitably in danger of collapse.

This concern has been confirmed by the history of Mireuksa Temple, where three pagodas once stood on its grounds, which included a wood pagoda flanked by two stone pagodas.

However, the wood pagoda and the stone pagoda on the eastern side had already collapsed before the time of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). Meanwhile, the remaining stone pagoda has managed to survive, though not intact. The top three levels of the nine-story pagoda have collapsed and since disappeared, while three sides of its remaining body have been seriously damaged. This state of deterioration prompted the restoration project, which has proceeded slowly but systematically, over the past eight years. While experts were discussing how the pagoda should be restored as the team already reached the first tier, the team excavated beneath the central foundation stone (simju ) of the first tier. The central foundation stone is a large stone supporting the central pillar inside the pagoda.

With the aid of a crane, the team carefully removed the stone covering the central foundation stone. Suddenly, someone uttered an exclamation when a glint of gold could be seen from within the sarira chamber, where sacred items are

1 Glass beads of various colors were housed in the inner jar of the gold reliquary.

2 The sarira reliquary and other relics were recovered from a sarira chamber housed within the central foundation of the stone pagoda of Mireuksa Temple.

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With the aid of a crane, the team carefully removed the plate covering the central foundation stone. Suddenly, someone uttered an exclamation when a glint of gold could be seen from within the sarira chamber, where sacred items are enshrined.

1 1 Silver crown ornaments, gold tweezers, and other gold items were also enshrined within the stone pagoda.

2 The gold reliquary is carefully extracted from the pagoda’s sarira chamber.

3 Detailed analysis with the aid of high-tech equipment helps to assure that the excavation work can proceed without damaging any of the artifacts.

enshrined. The chamber contained a sarira reliquary and related articles situated above a layer of green glass. Of note, the recovered artifacts included an entire set of sarira jangeomgu (utensils used for veneration of the sarira), which had been enshrined within the pagoda some 1,400 years ago, as an earnest plea to assure the welfare of the Baekje royal family and the well-being of Mireuksa Temple.

Among the 500 or so recovered artifacts, the most notable included a jar-shaped gold sarira reliquary, a document of the sarira enshrinement, dated 639, inscribed on a gold plaque, six silver reliquaries, two ornamental daggers, gold tweezers, silver crown ornaments, thin gold sheets inscribed with the names of temple patrons, and a wide variety of beads. With an electronic scanning device, the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage inspected the reliquary and detected a smaller jar inside. Within the interior container, there were 12 sarira (crystal-like droplets or beads that are sometimes found among the cremated remains of enlightened Buddhist monks or spiritual masters), along with beads and glass shards from the container that held the sarira. The pagoda, and the relics housed therein, date back to the early seventh century.

Reverence of Sarira The word “sarira,” which comes from Pali (Korean transliteration of “sari”), refers to the remains of the Buddha and other spiritual masters. Remains from the cremated body of 20 Koreana | Autumn 2009

the Buddha are known as “true body sarira” (jinsin sari ), while sacred articles, such as the sutras that contain the Buddha’s teachings, are called “dharma body sarira” (beopsin sari ). In the East Asian region, the pagoda is a version of the stupa, originally a tomb that enshrined the remains of Shakyamuni Buddha. Early stupas, such as the Great Stupa in the holy city of Sanchi, India, were rounded tomb mounds.

Some 200 years after the Buddha’s death, Ashoka the Great, the third emperor of the Maurya Dynasty (r. 273-232 B.C.), sought to spread the teachings and truth of the Buddha to a larger number of the masses. A devout believer and ardent patron of Buddhism, Ashoka gathered the remains of the Buddha, which had been housed within eight stupas, and redistributed the relics among the 84,000 stupas that he built across his empire. By distributing the remains of Buddha to so many sites, he hoped to inspire more people to seek the truth of the Buddha. Some of these remains made their way to China and Korea, where the stupa evolved into the pagoda.

As Buddhism continued to flourish, additional pagodas were constructed. However, the true remains of Shakyamuni were limited. Thus, instead of sarira, other relics, such as sutras with the Buddha’s teachings or beads similar to sarira, would be enshrined in pagodas. In most cases, a small hole or chamber was created in the central foundation or at the pagoda’s base to enshrine the sarira and other sacred articles. The pagoda was thus transformed from being a tomb for the remains of

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1 A gold plaque inscribed with details about the sarira enshrinement ceremony also includes background information about the construction of Mireuksa Temple. The inscription was written in Chinese characters and coated with red lacquer to highlight the lettering.

2 These recovered glass beads are evidence of the Baekje Kingdom’s highquality glass wares.

3 A small gold piece with an inscription that identifies the donor as Jiyul, an official with a rank of deoksol (fourth of the 16 ranks for Baekje court officials).

Shakyamuni into an object of veneration, steeped in Buddhist symbolism.

The chamber is known as a “sarira hole” (sarigong ), while the sarira enshrinement ritual was referred to as a “veneration of the sarira” (sari jangeom ). The articles used to conduct this ceremony are called “utensils for veneration of the sarira” (sari jangeomgu ). In Korea, sari jangeomgu usually included several containers. Typically, the sarira would be placed in a bottle, that was encased within a reliquary, which was then placed inside a casket. The casket would be enshrined in the sarira chamber of the pagoda. The sarira bottle was usually made of clear crystal or green glass, to symbolize the eternal truth of the Buddha’s teachings. The reliquary that contained the sarira bottle was crafted from various materials, such as gold, silver, or bronze, and in a wide variety of forms, including circular or square containers, hexagonal or octagonal dishes, or a pavilion-like shape.

Baekje Gold Ware The stone pagoda at the Mireuksa Temple site is notable for its large number of sarira relics (683) and their diverse variety (19 types). In particular, the gold sarira reliquary and enshrinement plaque have attracted the keen attention of Buddhist scholars. The gold reliquary is a marvelous example of the craftsmanship of Baekje artisans, with an elegant form and artistic technique. It stands 13 centimeters high and 7.7 centimeters wide at the shoulder. An opening in the center is covered by a lid with a bead-shaped knob and tapered point. The surface is incised with an exquisite, finely detailed vine design and a series of circles. Its curved silhouette, from the lid to the slender neck, shoulder, and body is natural and graceful. The sublime beauty of its form and surface decoration is truly unique.

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The reliquary is fitted with a similar but smaller inner container. The inner container, which measures 5.9 centimeters high and 2.6 centimeters across at the shoulder, is also decorated like the outer container. Twelve sarira and an assortment of beads were recovered from within the inner container, along with shards of a green glass bottle. The sarira reliquary thus included a traditional three-layer structure, with an innermost glass bottle, which had been placed within an inner gold container that fit into an outer gold reliquary. Unfortunately, the inner glass bottle had somehow been broken.

Although there is no documented evidence, it is possible that this sarira included the actual remains of Shakyamuni Buddha, which are said to have found their way into Korea. Indeed, this is all the more probable in light of Baekje’s fervent enthusiasm for Buddhism.

In addition, the silver crown ornaments are also finely crafted, in line with the simple, refined aesthetics associated with Baekje. The elegant silver tweezers, and the beads of various shapes and colors, such as jade and blue, well exhibit the high level of artistry that Baekje craftsmen had attained in the seventh century. Indeed, archaeologists and art historians have come to regard this collection of sarira relics as being comparable to the ancient Gilt-Bronze Incense Burner of Baekje (National Treasure No. 287), which has long been considered the epitome of Baekje’s fine arts. As such, this has opened a new chapter in Baekje art history.

Autumn 2009 | Koreana 23

1 These gold tweezers were among the enshrined artifacts.

2 The gold sarira reliquary, enshrinement plaque, and other relics from the Mireuksa stone pagoda have provided scholars and archaeologists with a treasure trove of Buddhist artifacts.

Baekje Everyday Life Whereas the gold sarira reliquary reflects the advanced state of Baekje craftsmanship, the silver crown ornaments, gold pieces, and enshrinement gold plaque provide a glimpse into the daily life of the elite class of Baekje society. Ten silver Baekje crown ornaments had previously been recovered, but little is known about their background. The two ornaments found in the stone pagoda can thus be placed within a broad timeframe, since the enshrinement ceremony document indicates the year of 639.

Although there is a general consensus that the ornaments likely belonged to senior-level officials of Baekje officialdom, it is not clear why these secular articles had been enshrined with the sarira relics. Professor Lee Han-sang of Daejeon University, a specialist in tomb excavation projects, won1 ders if high-ranking officials, who had attended the enshrinement ceremony, made an offering of their most valuable personal possessions. He also suggests that the silver ornament decorated with five flower buds belonged to an official with the rank of eunsol , the third-highest of 16 levels and the other ornament decorated with three buds was worn by a lower level official. This means the higher the rank, the higher the number of flower buds, that is, the more elaborately decorated. The two silver crown ornaments are valuable relics for studying the development of crown ornaments and the practices of Buddhist patrons.

The relics also include 18 small pieces of gold, which are generally believed to be a type of gold coin used by the Baekje people. One of the gold pieces is inscribed with the name of a Buddhist patron. The inscription states that the gold coin of “one ryang ” was donated by a person named “Jiyul, an official with a jungbu rank” (fourth level among 16). Sohn Hwanil, a research scholar at Kyonggi University and a specialist in 24 Koreana | Autumn 2009

writing styles, notes: “These gold pieces are offerings made by those who attended the pagoda enshrinement ceremony, while the fact that one of them bears an inscription ‘one ryang gold’ indicates that it was used as a kind of currency.” Professor Lee of Daejeon University concurs: “It is reasonable to assume that these gold pieces were used as money.”

In addition, the gold plaque inscribed with details about the enshrinement is an especially valuable artifact for helping to understand the writing style and customs of ancient Baekje society. Measuring 15.5 centimeters across and 10.5 centimeters high, the gold plaque is incised with names in Chinese characters and coated with red lacquer to highlight the writing. With information about the background of Mireuksa Temple’s development and the names of its patrons, this plaque has attracted the keen attention of history scholars.

Professor Sohn contends the plaque writing style is similar to that of the Northern Dynasties of China, along with pointing out evidence of the insertion of an additional character to the original text. The backside of the plaque includes the characters jin-yong-seon-geun (盡用善根); however, between the yong and seon , the character for cha (此) has been inserted.

The inserted character means “this,” for added emphasis, which according to Professor Sohn refers to the temple’s construction and enshrinement of the sarira, thereby justifying its insertion.

The recovered sarira relics help to shed light on various aspects of Baekje life, including the crown ornaments of highranking officials, temple customs related to an enshrinement ceremony, and writing styles. Along with demonstrating the Baekje people’s ardent devotion to Buddhism, the artifacts are also symbols of a desire to make known the influence of Baekje

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authority, within the kingdom’s territory and beyond. In this regard, history scholars place special significance on a section of the enshrinement plaque that reads: “…may the life of His Majesty [Daewang Pyeha: 大王陛下] be as solid as the mountains and his rule as eternal as heaven and earth, spreading the dharma above and converting the people below.” Here, the “Daewang Pyeha” title is equivalent to that of the emperor of China, which sought to convey the Baekje king’s far-reaching presence, along with his lofty status as an equal to the Chinese emperor. This is highly likely to be the correct interpretation considering the close interconnection of politics and religion in the Baekje Kingdom. As the sarira relics from the Mireuksa pagoda hold so many political, social, and cultural implications they are naturally invaluable for the study of Baekje history.

Wanggung-ri Stone Pagoda Not far from the Mireuksa Temple site, you can find a fivestory stone pagoda in Wanggung-ri, Iksan (National Treasure No. 289). In 1965, a restoration project of this pagoda led to the recovery of various sarira relics, including a reliquary, sarira bottle, and gold plaque inscribed with a sutra (which collectively have been designated National Treasure No. 123).

Although opinions varied about the date of these relics, a majority view estimated a time of origin as sometime in the

ninth century, during the Unified Silla or early Goryeo periods.

But others suspect an earlier date related to the Baekje era.

The recent discovery of the Mireuksa relics has thus served to reignite the debate over the date and origin of the Wanggung-ri pagoda relics. Han Jeong-ho, curator of the Dongguk University Museum, has always contended that the relics of the Wanggung-ri pagoda, along with those of the Mireuksa Temple site, are the products of Baekje. When compared with the Mireuksa relics, he notes that the lotus design and pattern of small circles on the Wanggung-ri relics are very similar, in design and technique. In addition, both pagodas have the same foundation structure (cross-shaped structure around the central stone foundation).

However, other scholars have adopted a more cautious approach. A specialist on Buddhist sculpture observes: “It is interesting that the designs on the two sarira reliquaries are similar, but the Buddhist image found at Wanggung-ri is from the ninth or tenth century, related to Later Baekje or Unified Silla, so the designs themselves are not definitive evidence. We cannot say with any certainty that the Wanggung-ri pagoda and the sarira relics are products of Baekje.”

The Mireuksa stone pagoda is a veritable time capsule, and from the moment it was opened this debate regarding origin was reignited and it looks like it will continue for a long time to come.

Autumn 2009 | Koreana 25

Mireuksa Temple and the Legend of Seodong An excavation team recently recovered a valuable cache of seventh century Buddhist relics that had been enshrined within the stone pagoda of Mireuksa Temple. An especially noteworthy artifact was a gold plaque that provided detailed information about the temple’s background and benefactors.

Cho Heung Wook, Professor, Department of Korean Language and Literature, Kookmin University Photographs National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage | Seo Heun-kang Photographer

In the legend about Mireuksa Temple’s construction, King Mu and his wife, Princess Seonhwa of Silla, were on their way to Sajasa Temple when a Maitreya triad suddenly appeared before them in the middle of a pond, at the foot of Mt. Yonghwasan. Due to this vision, it is said that Seonhwa urged King Mu to build a temple at this site.

(Illustration by Baek Keum-lim) 26 Koreana | Autumn 2009

“S

eodongyo” (The Song of Seodong) is a work of hyangga (form of poetry of the Silla and early Goryeo periods written in Korean with Chinese characters) attributed to the youth Seodong, who became the 30th ruler (King Mu) of the Baekje Kingdom (r. 600-641). It is said that Seodong had sung this song when he entered the Silla capital (today’s Gyeongju), in an effort to win over Princess Seonhwa, the third daughter of Silla’s King Jinpyeong.

Another Look at “Seodongyo” Samgugyusa (Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms) contains a legend of Seodong, which includes a reference to “Seodongyo,” that tells a story about Mireuksa Temple, in Iksan,

Jeollabuk-do Province. Toward the end of the tale, while King Mu, who had married Princess Seonhwa, was making his way to Sajasa Temple with the queen, a Maitreya Buddha triad appeared before them in the middle of a pond, nearby Mt. Yonghwasan. After seeing this vision, Seonhwa urged King Mu to build a temple on this site. He then did so, building Mireuksa Temple. Hence, most Koreans think of “Seodongyo” as a song about King Mu and Princess Seonhwa, whose love story transcended territorial boundaries, and regard Mireuksa as the temple constructed by King Mu, in response to Seonhwa’s request.

However, an excavation team recently recovered a valuable cache of seventh century Buddhist relics that had been

Autumn 2009 | Koreana 27

1 The chapter on King Mu in Samgugyusa (Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms) includes the legend of Seodong and background about the song “Seodongyo,” which describes King Mu’s courtship of Princess Seonhwa (Cultural Heritage Administration).

2 The eastern stone pagoda at the Mireuksa Temple site, which was restored in 1993.

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“Seodongyo” is a song about the Baekje King Mu’s courtship of Princess Seonhwa of Silla, which transcended territorial boundaries.

As for Mireuksa Temple, it is said to have been built during the reign of King Mu, at the request of his queen, Seonhwa. So how does their love story compare with the information contained in the enshrinement document (Saribongangi) recovered from the temple’s stone pagoda?

enshrined within the stone pagoda of Mireuksa Temple. An especially noteworthy artifact was a gold plaque that provided detailed information about the temple’s background and benefactors. In particular, contrary to popular belief, the information inscribed on the Saribongangi plaque indicates that the queen of King Mu was the daughter of a Sataek family. Hence, the discovery of the enshrinement plaque necessitates a reexamination of what had been known about “Seodongyo” and the founding of Mireuksa Temple.

The Legend of Seodong The tale of “Seodongyo,” which can be found in the chapter on King Mu, in Volume 2 of Samgugyusa , tells the following story.

The 30th monarch of the Baekje Kingdom was a man by the name of Jang. His widowed mother built a cottage nearby a pond in the southern area of the capital, and conceived a son from the dragon who lived in the pond. As a young boy, he would dig up and sell sweet potatoes, so people called him Seodong [literally “sweet potato boy”]. After hearing that the 2 Koreana | Autumn 2009

third daughter of King Jinpyeong of Silla was especially beautiful, Seodong shaved his head and made his way to the Silla capital. There, he befriended the children of Silla by handing out sweet potatoes. He composed the song “Seodongyo” and encouraged the children in the Silla capital to sing it.

The children’s singing helped to spread the song throughout the city, until it reached the palace. The courtiers thus advised the king to send the princess to a remote location. As the princess was about to depart from the palace, the queen gave her a sack of gold for her travel expenses. Just before reaching her destination, Seodong suddenly appeared before her, bowed, and offered to escort her. The princess had no idea who he was or where he came from, but she felt comfortable with him. Thus, Seodong was retained as a bodyguard of the princess, and the two eventually fell in love.

When they arrived in Baekje, the princess took out her sack of gold so they could begin to plan their lives together. Looking at the gold, Seodong asked “What is this?” “It’s gold,” said the princess. “We’ll be rich for the next 100 years.” Whereupon Seodong said: “When I was a boy, I dug up sweet potatoes; there

was gold everywhere in the ground.” Surprised, the princess said: “You have the greatest treasure under heaven. Why don’t you dig up some gold and send it to my parents at the palace?” Seodong agreed. He dug up gold and piled it into a high mound. Then, he went to consult Monk Jimyeong Beopsa, at Sajasa Temple on Mt. Yonghwasan, about how the gold could be sent to the Silla palace. The monk told Seodong: “Bring it here and I will summon the divine powers for its delivery.”

The princess wrote a note to her parents to explain about the gold. Monk Jimyeong then summoned the divine powers that immediately delivered the gold to the palace. King Jinpyeong was astounded by the divine powers behind this good fortune, and he came to greatly admire Seodong. Then, after earning the Silla king’s trust, Seodong eventually ascended to the throne of Baekje.

One day, King Seodong and his queen were on their way to Sajasa Temple when they reached a pond at the foot of Mt. Yonghwasan. Suddenly, a Maitreya triad appeared in the middle of the pond, to which the king and queen bowed respectfully. Then the queen pleaded: “Please build a temple for me on this spot. It is my wish.” The king agreed, and he consulted with Monk Jimyeong about this project. Again, after 2 summoning the divine powers, the pond was filled with soil from the moutain, leaving a level area for the temple’s construction. A statue of the Maitreya triad was created, and temple halls, pagodas, and corridors were built. The temple was named Mireuksa, which means “Temple of Maitreya.”

Silla’s King Jinpyeong dispatched many workers to help with the construction work.

This account includes two stories, one about Seodong’s early life and his marriage to Princess Seonhwa (legend of Seodong), and another about the founding of Mireuksa. The two stories, however, are different in nature. The legend of Seodong is a fanciful tale with little relationship to his actual life and

eventual reign as King Mu. Even Monk Iryeon, who compiled Samgugyusa , expressed his skepticism of the Seodong legend, in which Seodong is depicted as the son of a widow, since King Mu was known to be a son of King Beop of Baekje. On the other hand, King Mu’s central role in the construction of Mireuksa Temple can be readily confirmed.

The legend of Seodong is a classic folk tale rooted in the common themes of popular folk tales that has been handed down from one generation to another by word of mouth. The part regarding Seodong’s birth and rise to the throne, in particular, bears many similarities to popular folk literature. The story of his conception from a dragon is similar to the way great figures and heroes in folk tales are fathered by creatures other than humans. In addition, the part about Seodong finding a great amount of gold in the places where he dug up sweet potatoes, thus gaining the faith of the king and rising to the throne, is the same content as a folk tale of a girl, the youngest daughter in a family, who leaves home after a fight with her father and meets a charcoal burner who finds a lot of pure gold, making the couple rich. Another folk aspect can be found in “Seodongyo,” the song that Seodong composed in his bid to win over Princess Seonhwa. This song was written in hyangchal , an archaic writing system for expressing the Korean language with Chinese characters. Although difficult to interpret, a general translation of the lyrics is as follows: Princess Seonhwa Married on the sly, And the sweet potato boy Takes her in his arms at night.

According to the lyrics, Princess Seonhwa sneaks out at night to see Seodong. The song’s simple lyrics are like a nursery rhyme, which made it easy for children to learn and sing repeatedly. And the folk song aspect, similar to any song used Autumn 2009 | Koreana 2

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for wooing, enabled it to spread easily among the people and eventually reach the royal palace.

New Insight Mireuksa Temple was known to be the largest Buddhist temple of the Three Kingdoms period (1st century B.C.-A.D. 7th century). According to Samgugyusa , the temple was built by King Mu at the request of his queen. As the queen in the tale is Princess Seonhwa from the neighboring Silla Kingdom, naturally it has been thought that Princess Seonhwa was the person behind the establishment of Mireuksa.

However, in January 2009, an excavation team recovered a valuable cache of seventh century Buddhist relics that had been enshrined within the stone pagoda of Mireuksa Temple.

An especially noteworthy artifact was a gold plaque that provided detailed information about the temple’s background.

According to the Saribongangi plaque’s inscription, the sarira were enshrined in the pagoda at the behest of a queen, whose family name was Sataek, which contradicts the long held belief that Mireuksa was built by King Mu in response to a request from his queen, Seonhwa. The relevant section of the inscription states the following: Our queen of Baekje, daughter of Jwapyeong Sataek Jeokdeok, has long been recognized for the compassion that she has shown for the people of the nation, along with becoming a pillar of Buddhism. Willingly, has she made a votive offering, building this temple, and enshrining the sarira on the 30 Koreana | Autumn 2009

29th day of the Gihae year.

According to this inscription, the sarira relics were enshrined in the western stone pagoda of Mireuksa Temple in the first month of 639 (Gihae year), during the 40th year of the reign of King Mu, at the behest of the queen, a daughter of Sataek Jeokdeok. The Sataek family

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1 The outer jar of the sarira reliquary consists of upper and lower sections that can be twisted open.

2 Overflow crowds came to view a month-long special exhibition of the Buddhist relics recovered from the stone pagoda of the Mireuksa Temple site, which was presented at the Mireuksa Museum in Iksan, Jeollabuk-do Province.

3 Gungnamji in Buyeo, Chungcheongnam-do Province, is mentioned in an account of King Mu’s birth, in Samgugyusa (Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms).

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was one of the eight influential clans of Baekje’s elite class.

The existence of this clan has been verified by a monument, known as Sataekjijeokbi, erected by Sataek Jijeok, who served as Jwapyeong, the highest-ranking official of the Baekje court.

In the monument’s inscription, Sataek Jijeok laments the fleeting nature of life and past glory. Therefore, the gold plaque’s inscription indicates that a queen from the Sataek clan, and not Princess Seonhwa, was the figure behind the establishment of Mireuksa Temple. Still, it is possible for King Mu to have had more than one queen during the course of his 40-year reign, which suggests that Princess Seonhwa might have been involved with Mireuksa Temple early on, but then was not around at the time of the enshrinement ceremony.

Mystique of Mireuksa Temple According to the account of Seodong in Samgugyusa , King Mu wrote “Seodongyo,” married princess Seonhwa of Silla and built Mireuksa Temple at the request of Seonhwa. However, the difference can be understood upon more detailed analysis of Samgugyusa . As already mentioned, the records dealing with King Mu consist of the legend of Seodong and

the legend of Mireuksa’s construction, the former based on legend and the latter based on fact. That is, the legend naturally continues onto the factual story of the temple.

In general, most legends about the construction of any particular temple serve to clothe the temple in divine grace to lead the people to Buddhism. Therefore, the part in the legend that deals with the selection of the temple site is usually described in association with a strange, divine incident. This is the case with the story of a Maitreya triad appearing in the middle of a pond before King Mu and his queen, thus leading to the construction of Mireuksa on that site.

To stress the divine, miraculous aspect of a temple a folk legend already widespread among the people was often adapted into the story of a temple’s establishment. This is the case with the legend of Seodong where Monk Jimyeong, the highest Buddhist monk of the day, serves as a link with the legend of Mireuksa’s construction. As the love story between Seodong and Princess Seonhwa was widespread among the common people, the monks may have seen it as useful for adaptation into the story explaining the establishment of Mireuksa Temple.

In conclusion, it can be said that the legend of Seodong is a folk tale handed down among the people while the legend of Mireuksa’s construction by King Mu is based on historical fact. Though the two tales were separate to begin with, the love story was incorporated into the story of Mireuksa as a way to enrich the legend of its construction.

Autumn 2009 | Koreana 31

FoCuS

Renovated Myeong-dong Art Theater Opens its Doors Thanks to an unprecedented “Theater Restoration Campaign,” involving the concerted efforts of various cultural sectors, the newly renovated Myeong-dong Art Theater has recently opened its doors.

With the cooperative nature of this project being so worthy of praise, it is indeed meaningful to look into the history of the theater.

Kim Moon-hwan Professor, Seoul National University, Theater Critic Photographs Myeong-dong Art Theater

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theater recently opened in the Myeong-dong district of Seoul, on a property which has been known for being the highest priced real estate site in Korea. This performing arts venue is the latest successor of the Meiji Theater, originally a cinema center completed in 1934, at the height of the Japanese colonial era. Of note, the new facility maintains a Baroque-style exterior similar to the original building. The Meiji Theater was developed by Ishibashi Ryosuke, a Japanese national who operated an architectural firm. In 1939, Ishibashi also acquired Danseongsa, and renamed it Daeryuk Theater, which was operated as a cinema house. Throughout Gyeongseong (today’s Seoul) he was known as a pioneer of Korean theater.

Theater Restoration Campaign During the Joseon era, Myeong-dong 32 Koreana | Autumn 2009

was known as Myeongnyebang (literally, a place to welcome Ming envoys). The fact that Jangagwon (Royal Music Institute) was located nearby has led people to associate Myeong-dong with the arts.

During the Japanese colonial period, the name of the area was changed to Meijicho, and the theater was named Meiji Theater.

The area gradually developed into a modern commercial district centered around the Japanese Legation, where the Shinsegae Department Store now stands. The area’s affluence and vibrancy also served to attract artistic and cultural figures.

Although Myeong-dong is now occupied by diverse retail businesses, it remains one of the most popular destinations in Seoul for Japanese tourists.

After liberation from Japanese colonial rule in 1945, the Meiji Theater building was used as the Civic Auditorium by the Seoul Metropolitan Government until

The Myeongdong Art Theater recently reopened its doors after an extensive building renovation.

1961. It also served as the home of the National Theater of Korea from 1957 to 1973, that is the building served in these capacities from 1957 to1961, when the Citizens Hall was completed.

As a result of a general repair carried out in 1962, the number of seats of the National Theater of Korea was decreased from 1,178 to 820, which was further decreased to 552 seats since it was reborn as a medium-sized theater as a result of the latest restoration effort.

Following the construction of the new National Theater of Korea building in Jangchung-dong in 1973, the Ministry

of Culture and Information rented the former Meiji Theater building from the Ministry of Government Administration. It was thereafter used as a rental venue and operated as the Myeong-dong Art Theater.

However, the building was sold to the Daehan Investment & Finance and Daehan Investment Trust Co. Ltd. in 1976, and its subsequent transformation into office space effectively ended its long association with theater.

The revelation in November 1994 of the Daehan Merchant Banking Corporation’s plans to convert the building into a 10-story company building spurred the

theatrical sector to launch the “Theater Restoration Campaign.” The Daehan Merchant Banking Corporation’s declaration of bankruptcy provided an opportunity to purchase the site, which the government finally did in December 2003. The purchase of this building was made possible in large part by the Myeong-dong Merchants Association’s efforts to prevent the sale of the building at public auction. After a five-year construction period, the building was finally reborn as the Myeong-dong Art Theater in May 2009.

The building has had its fair share of firsts, including the first opera, the first

orchestral performance, and the first theatrical performance staged by the National Drama Company of Korea following the merger of the two theater companies known as Sinhyeop and Mingeuk. In 1962, the Korea National Opera, National Gukgeuk Company (presently known as the National Changgeuk Company of Korea), and the National Dance Company of Korea all produced some of their greatest works in this building. In addition, popular singers such as Hyeon In and Yoon Bokhee also graced its stage. Furthermore, the Myeong-dong Art Theater also supported the activities of the Dongin theater Autumn 2009 | Koreana 33

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2 1 The former Myeongdong Art Theater at one time housed the National Theater of Korea.

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A festive ceremony to celebrate the grand opening of the new Myeongdong Art Theater was held on June 5, 2009.

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companies formed by the college drama societies that represented the backbone of the Korean theater circle from the 1960s onward. The author Lee Bong-gu, who flippantly referred to himself as the count of Myeong-dong, once said that the Myeong-dong Art Center encompassed the entire range of Korean arts.

Although the Myeong-dong Art Theater was a hub for Korean arts, especially the performing arts, theater was the main focus. In this regard, we should look into the historical background of the Myeongdong Art Theater from the standpoint of the performances carried out by theater companies such as the National Drama Company.

34 Koreana | Autumn 2009

Origins of the National Theater In the aftermath of Korea’s liberation from colonial rule on August 15, 1945, the Korean theatrical sector found itself divided among left and right in much the same manner as much of society did. The establishment of the Republic of Korea in 1948, as well as the mass exodus of socialist actors to North Korea or underground that took place during the intervening period, effectively brought an end to the chaos that had long engulfed the Korean theatrical world.

In December 1948, the Ministry of Education assumed responsibility for the granting of permits to stage performances from the Information Bureau and the Act

on the Establishment of the National Theater was promulgated. In October 1949, a steering committee for the National Theater was organized, and the first president of the National Theater was appointed. The 1,997-seat Bumingwan, located on Taepyeong-ro Street, in downtown Seoul (which presently serves as the Seoul Metropolitan Council) was selected as the building which would house the National Theater. The official ceremony marking the opening of the National Theater was held there in 1950, and various performances such as Wonsullang , a creative drama, Malli jangseong , a traditional Korean opera (changgeuk ), Chunhyangjeon , a creative opera, and Noeu ,

a translated drama, were staged there thereafter.

However, the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950 forced the National Theater to relocate to Busan. In October 1951, the president of the National Theater suggested that it be reopened in Busan, but his suggestion was denied and he was subsequently forced to resign. In May 1952, the government decided that until the return to Seoul became possible, Daegu would serve as the home for the National Theater. The National Theater

The April 19 Student Revolution of 1960 saw the revolutionary winds which swept the long-standing regime of President Syngman Rhee from power blow through the National Theater. Suddenly, the steering committee, which had close ties with the government, found itself the subject of increased criticism. Calls began to be made for the implementation of an arm’s length principle under which the government was to support but not interfere in creative activities. A strong case also began to be made for the National

Myeong-dong National Theater. As part of this new emphasis on the arts, the National Drama Company was reorganized, and the Korea National Opera, National Gukgeuk Company (presently National Changgeuk Company of Korea), and the National Dance Company of Korea were set up.

Reopening as Myeong-dong National Theater in the 1 60s An arts festival was held to celebrate the reopening of the Myeong-dong

The Myeong-dong Art Theater has been reborn as a first-class venue for the staging of in-house theatrical performances. The emergence of this unique performing arts theater, which focuses on in-house productions, opens an entirely new chapter in the history of Korea’s public theater.

assumed control of the building occupied by the Daegu Cultural Theater and began to stage performances in its temporary abode shortly thereafter.

In June 1957, the National Theater returned to Seoul, where it shared what is now the Myeong-dong Art Theater building with the Seoul Metropolitan Government. The National Drama Company was established that same year. However, as a result of the growing conflicts between traditional and progressive segments in the theatrical sector, the National Drama Company was dissolved and replaced by two theater companies called Sinhyeop and Mingeuk in May 1959.

Although this created an abnormal situation that can be likened to two families living under the same roof, the performances the groups staged were well received by audiences. Much of this groundswell in interest was due to the fact that a great portion of the public was already familiar with some of these actors and actresses through their roles on the big screen. Although one should not go as far as to say that progressive segments ruled the roost, many of the works staged during this period were somewhat lacking from an artistic standpoint. Examples include Wilhelm Tell and Crime and Punishment.

Theater to distance and distinguish itself from profit-oriented commercial theaters.

The May 16 Military Revolution of 1961 occurred at a time when these calls had yet to be reflected in the national policy or budget.

The first Minister of Culture and Information under the military government was an individual who had served as the director of the Information Agency during the Liberal Party regime. Having once managed a small theater (Wongaksa) on Eulji-ro Street for about two years, this person had a profound interest in promoting the arts. One of his first acts was to place the National Theater under the control of the Ministry of Culture and Information in October 1961.

The establishment of the Citizens Hall on November 7, 1961 meant that the National Theater was finally able to call the building in which it performed its own. With this change providing the impetus, a massive remodeling of the old and outdated building to which no repairs had been made in the last 15 years was launched. What emerged following the general repair of the seats, stage, cooling and heating systems, bathrooms, and lobby was a clean, pleasant, and warm structure that came to be known as the

National Theater from March 22 to the end of April 1962. Various performances, such as Dae Chunhyangjeon (Korean opera), Wangja Hodong (creative opera), and Jeolmeumui Changa (drama) were staged as part of this event. However, despite the participation of the four aforementioned national-level arts organizations and the KBS Symphony Orchestra and KBS Choir, only about 13,000 people attended this arts festival. Adding insult to injury, the number of paying customers amounted to approximately 100 people per performance. As its entire budget had been used up, the Myeong-dong National Theater was forced to start renting out its facilities.

The Myeong-dong National Theater’s administrative difficulties were further compounded by the fact that in the first two years of its reopening, no less than five directors came and went. The theater’s fortunes began to change when six drama companies came together from April 22, 1964 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth. Each company performed over the next month some of the bard’s most representative works, a process that began with the National Drama Company’s rendition of The Merchant of Venice. This festival drew the largest audiAutumn 2009 | Koreana 35

ences of the post- Korean War era, attracting a grand total of 37,000 people. Unfortunately, this proved to be little more than a temporary blip on the radar.

In 1966, the budget granted to the Myeong-dong National Theater was only half of what had been requested for that particular year. Moreover, despite ardent resistance on the part of those involved in the culture and arts sectors, the National Theater of Korea was also denied any part of the supplementary budget allotted that year. Moreover, the number of days on which performances could be staged within the building was decreased from 80 to 30 a year. As a result, the National Theater of Korea had little choice but to depend on venue rental fees for its survival.

Ironically, Korean theater’s survival 36 Koreana | Autumn 2009

was ensured by the rise of the so-called Dongin drama companies revolving around the members of college drama societies who breathed new life into the theater sector during the 1960s and their staging of performances at the Myeongdong Art Theater. In this regard, the staging of Still the Curtain Will be Raised to celebrate the 60th anniversary of singeuk (“new theater”) in March 1968 can be regarded as being symbolic of the unyielding spirit that continued to animate Korean theater despite the fact that it was on the verge of collapse. The following is an excerpt taken from a newspaper article which succinctly captures the mood at the time: “The Myeong-dong National Theater, which is the only center for the perform-

ing arts in Korea, is in such a sorry state that it has to close down for two months every year...The Myeong-dong National Theater, whose operation is made possible by the portion of the national budget set aside to foster performing arts and develop the arts on a national scale can be regarded as having been treated with relative indifference when compared with other organizations. It does not have any cooling or heating facilities, or even an emergency generator. During a recent performance of The Merry Wives of Windsor by the Gwangjang Drama Company, the actors were forced to ply their trade by candlelight after the building suffered a power outage. The building was once again struck by a power outage during a performance of the opera Chunhyangjeon attended by some foreign guests; only

this time, the audience had to wait for 50 minutes before the performance started again.” (The Dong-A Ilbo , December 20, 1966).

The next series of changes to affect the Korean theater industry was in many ways set in motion by a visit which the Director of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency paid to North Korea. Shocked to discover that North Korea boasted large-scale cultural venues such as the Mansudae Art Theater in Pyeongyang, the government decided to forge ahead with the construction of its own large-scale theater. The government hastily decided to establish the National Culture Center in Jangchungdong, Seoul, a complex which included a building for the National Theater of Korea.

The groundbreaking ceremony was car-

with its own bathroom and service room.

The 400-pyeong (1,330m²) stage would be equipped with mechanisms that would make it possible to rotate, ascend, and move from side to side, and an orchestra pit capable of holding 100 performers, as well as TV broadcasting facilities. Doubts began to be voiced whether the plan actually reflected the actual state of Korea’s theater industry.

Four open tender processes were conducted in conjunction with the sale of the Myeong-dong National Theater. Having failed to receive what it considered to be an adequate offer for the building, in 1970 the government opted instead to carry out partial repairs and change the name of the venue to the Myeong-dong Art Theater.

Meanwhile, the National Theater of Korea completed its move into its new location in Jangchung-dong on August 26, 1973. Responsibility for the Myeong-dong Art Theater, which shut its doors in 1975, was returned to the Ministry of Government Administration, and the building was finally sold in November 1976.

Production Theater

The renovation work of the Myeongdong Art Theater was designed to preserve the original character of the building’s exterior while transforming the interior into a first-class performance venue.

ried out on October 12, 1967.

The government tried to finance the cost of building the National Cultural Center by selling off the Myeong-dong National Theater. The theatrical sector was confused by these changes which were perceived as being motivated by political calculations rather than cultural ones.

The plan called for the construction of three floors above ground, a basement, 1,500 regular seats, and 130 loges, fitted

The opening of a newly renovated Myeong-dong Art Theater has been hailed by Korea’s performing arts community, and especially those who endured the building’s difficult times, as a return to the roots of Korean theater. This is welcome news to the veteran theater professionals and audiences, which include those in their seventies and eighties today, as well as Korea’s entire culture and arts sector.

The restoration project, which included numerous tasks, such as removing several layers of paint on the building’s exterior, was designed to retain the original character of the theater’s exterior, while transforming its interior into a modern performance venue. As such, conscious efforts were undertaken to preserve the historical aura of the building, along with enhancing its functionality as a modernAutumn 2009 | Koreana 37

Scenes from A Happy Day of Jinsa Maeng, a well-known Korean satire that was first performed in 1969, when the building was the home of the National Theater of Korea. After 40 years, this drama was again presented on the same stage as its original performance, as the first work shown at the new Myeongdong Art Theater.

ized performance hall. With a total of five floors and a basement level, the Myeongdong Art Theater has been reborn as a first-class performance center with a 552-seat capacity.

The venue features a 12-meterwide, 7-meter-deep Proscenium stage that faces a horseshoe-shaped seating arrangement. A spokesperson of the Myeong-dong Art Theater proudly stated that the maximum distance between the stage and the audience measured 13.5 meters on the first floor, and 16 meters on the second floor. As for the interiors of performing arts venues, a distance of up to 20 meters is generally regarded as an optimal distance between the audience and the stage, while 15 meters is an ideal distance for the audience to readily observe and appreciate the facial expressions and gestures of the performers on stage.

To this end, the latest makeover of this theater building has been highly praised for its provision of optimal interior conditions for a performing arts hall, in an effort 3 Koreana | Autumn 2009

to maximize the interaction between the audience and the stage performers.

Accordingly, by carefully arranging only 552 seats within a three-level structure, the designers sought to ensure that each member of the audience could fully appreciate the performance thanks to an exceptional sight line. Moreover, to create a sense of closeness between the performers and the audience, the rows of seats and balcony levels have been arranged in a rounded horseshoe configuration.

Equal attention has been paid to the formulation of operational plans for the Myeong-dong Art Theater. Thus far, Korea’s public performance halls have generated revenue by renting out their venue facilities to third parties, or by promoting the presentation of various works produced at home and abroad. Even in the cases when performances were produced in-house, these initiatives often took the form of

joint production projects, involving outside theater companies. In contrast to this, the Myeong-dong Art Theater intends to operate as an independent production theater that will produce the majority of its works, and not have to rely on revenue from the rental of its venue.

Innovative Approach The new director of the Myeong-dong Art Theater, Goo Ja-heung, who previously worked as a planning manager for private theater companies and public performance organizations, stressed the fact that the emergence of a production theater that does not possess its own drama company constitutes a noteworthy turning

point for Korea’s theater industry, and a new approach for the operation of a Korean public theater. In particular, this shift in the management paradigm for public theaters is expected to boost overall support for the entire theater sector, by creating a more stable environment for production activities, and helping to establish a broad foundation for the sustainable development of Korean theater.

Existing support methods have involved in large part the provision of assistance for individual drama groups, artists, and projects, along with efforts to maintain rental charges for theater venues at an affordable level. The Myeong-dong Art Theater, however, in its capacity as a

production theater, will be in a position to provide the directors, scriptwriters, actors, and staff with a full range of assistance. By making available comprehensive support that includes such aspects as a performance venue, funding, manpower resources, and technology, this should offer an opportunity for the pursuit of projects which would otherwise be too costly for private groups to manage on their own. The Myeong-dong Art Theater will thus provide a much needed boost to the theater sector, along with providing audiences with a chance to enjoy a wider range of theatrical works. Goo Ja-heung also stressed the fact that the New National Theater in Tokyo, Théâtre Vidy-Lausanne in Switzerland, and Le Theater National de la Colline in France, have implemented a similar management approach.

While a series of performances to celebrate the opening of the restored building is currently underway, the activities scheduled for 2010 have attracted much attention. These plans include the launch of a creative drama development project in an effort to establish long-term programs for the cultivation of next-generation scriptwriters and to facilitate the production and performance of various dramatic works. Moreover, the staging of an “Outstanding Performances Series” will expose audiences to the key trends and issues that have served to influence

Korean theater over the past year. In particular, this series will feature the invitation and staging of topical and cuttingedge works that have earned high marks from audiences and critics alike. Plans also call for the organization of a “Famous Directors, Famous Dramas” program, under which distinguished Korean and foreign directors will be invited to stage their classic dramas.

In addition, a three-year project, entitled the “Korean Modern Theater Landscape Series,” which focuses on a revival of the best-known drama works shown at this historic theater, is in the works as well. There are also plans for the development of an “Expansion of Imagination Project” that seeks to encourage up-and-coming directors and performers, who because of circumstances within the industry can easily slave away in anonymity in small theaters, to broaden their creativity and talent by providing them with an opportunity to utilize a high-quality venue such as the Myeong-dong Art Theater.

Meanwhile, in order to promote Korea’s cultural diversity, continued efforts will be made to stage the theatrical works from such regions as Central and South America, the Middle East, and Africa, whose culture and people remain quite unfamiliar to the Korean public.

The works to be staged will be selected from among those produced by the Myeong-dong Art Theater that the steering committee recommends. Input from audiences as well as domestic and foreign theater specialists will also be reflected in the selection of the candidate works and programming. Those works that draw a good reaction from audiences will be included in the repertory and regularly staged. Overtime, this could result in a Korean-style repertoire system. The restoration of the Myeong-dong Art Theater, resulting from the cooperative efforts of so many concerned organizations, dedicated individuals and government, is expected to greatly contribute to the revival of the glory of Korean theater.

Autumn 2009 | Koreana 3

IntervIew

H

er feet, covered with scars and thick calluses, the toes twisted, nails chipped and broken, are so painful to look at. At a glance, they appear to be gnarled tree roots. These misshapen feet, which bring to mind images of Picasso’s cubistic art, belong to the world-class ballerina Kang Sue Jin. They are the product of her passionate dedication to a rigorous training routine of more than 10 hours a day, which can wear out more than 250 pairs of toe shoes over the course of a year. But they also belong to a graceful swan with gravity-defying maneuvers during which her feet seem to hardly touch the ground. They have even been described as the most beautiful feet in the world. The renowned Korean poet Ko Un once exclaimed: “When I saw a picture of her feet, my heart beat so hard that I had to calm myself down by placing a hand to my chest. I was truly moved.”

Special Tribute On July 7, 2007, the Stuttgart Ballet staged a special performance of Romeo and Juliet , an especially beloved work of German audiences. At the conclusion of the performance, when the prima ballerina who played the role of Juliet appeared on stage for her curtain call, the capacity audience of about 1,500 people all rose to give her a standing ovation. A banner with the name “Sue Jin Kang” was unfurled, while each of the 70 members of the Stuttgart Ballet presented her with roses. The theater again reverberated with acclamation and enthusiastic applause.

The event was a special tribute performance in honor of Kang Sue Jin’s 20th anniversary with the ballet company. Today, she is a permanent member and principal dancer of the Stuttgart Ballet, after being admitted to the distinguished dance company in 1986 at the age of 19, making her the youngest-ever newcomer. It is

indeed a rarity for a world-class ballet group, with some 400 years of tradition, to present a special tribute for an active member. In March 2007, Kang Sue Jin was selected as “Royal Court Dancer” (Kammertänzerin in German), only one of four performers to be so honored by the Stuttgart Ballet over the past 50 years.

Then, in September, she was also bestowed the John Cranko Award, which is named for the legendary choreographer John Cranko (1927-1973), who brought global fame to the Stuttgart Ballet through the extraordinary artistry of his creative works. This award is presented to an individual whose excellence in dance best represents the lofty standards of John Cranko. Related to this, the Stuttgart Ballet announced: “We respectfully honor Sue Jin Kang for her unique interpretation and excellent artistry in performing John Cranko’s representative works.” This statement undoubtedly confirms her standing as the most outstanding performer of John Cranko’s choreographed works.

Steel Butterfly The glittering success of her storybook career, however, has not been without its own twists and turns. In fact, you would find a ballerina who has walked a lonely path, while embracing daily pain as a normal condition and being dedicated to such rigorous training, as evidenced by her “beautiful feet.” In 1979, when she was a seventh grader at Sunhwa Arts Middle School, Kang Sue Jin had her first, fateful encounter with the world of ballet.

One day during class, her teacher asked if any of the students wanted to learn ballet. Kang raised her hand. At that time, she had been learning traditional Korean dance. For traditional dance, you have to learn to turn your foot inward. But for ballet, a dancer needs to turn the foot outward. She thus had to realign her feet

Ballerina Kang Sue Jin Kang Sue Jin, who returned to her homeland of Korea to perform at this year’s Seongnam Dance Festival, is a permanent member of the Stuttgart Ballet and one of the world’s elite ballerinas. Along with earning high acclaim for her impressive presentations of various roles, she is known as “Steel Butterfly” among her Korean fans, in a tribute to her ability to glide so effortlessly across the stage.

Chung Sang-Young Journalist, The Hankyoreh | Gundel Kilian Photographer

40 Koreana | Autumn 2009

Dazzles Global Audiences Kang Sue Jin performs in Romeo and Juliet.

In 1993, she assumed the lead role in this work for the Stuttgart Ballet.

42 Koreana | Autumn 2009

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1 Kang Sue Jin portrays the lovely and pure-hearted Tatiana of Onegin.

2 Although over 40, Kang Sue Jin, a principal dancer of the Stuttgart Ballet, performs the role of the youthful Juliet. (Photograph: Jung Hyung-woo)

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through endless practice. Then, after a year and a half of training in ballet, she captured first place in a competition organized

by Ewha Womans University. In 1982, she went abroad to study at the Académie de Danse Classique, in Monte Carlo, after principal dancer Marika Besobrasova had visited Sunhwa Arts High School, where she took notice of Kang’s potential talent and invited her to attend the academy for specialized training. At that time, Kang was only 15 years old.

The Académie de Danse Classique’s dormitory strictly enforced a lights-out regulation at 9:00 each night. But Kang would wait until 11, after the security personnel completed their rounds, then sneak into an upstairs studio to practice late into the night by the moonlight that filtered in through the window or light from the adjacent palace. She felt a need to keep up with the other students, who were far more accomplished than she. In 1985, just ahead of her graduation, she became the first Asian performer to win the Prix de Lausanne. The following year, she knocked on the door of the Stuttgart Ballet in the hope of learning classical and neoclassical ballet, as well as modern ballet. That was the start of the “Steel Butterfly” legend.

Overcoming Adversity On the way to joining the ranks of the world’s elite ballerinas, Kang had to become accustomed to chronic pain. “When I wake up

in the morning, I always feel certain pain. If I don’t feel any pain, I would think: ‘Gee, I guess I didn’t practice enough.’ If you perform ballet, you feel pain all the time, so I have tried to make friends with pain. Suffering is normal for me.”

In 2000, she experienced a serious setback when she fractured an ankle bone and ended up being sidelined for a year. She had attempted to return to practice despite excruciating pain, forcing her doctor to prescribe a “temporary stay of dancing.” While worrying about whether she could ever dance again, she fell into a state of crisis, but Reid Anderson, artistic director of the Stuttgart Ballet, called her one day and promised her: “Sue Jin, don’t worry. We’ll wait for your recovery however much time it takes.”

Encouraged as well by her colleague Tunchi Shockman, who told her, “You can make it back,” she gritted her teeth and doubled her resolve. Indeed, Kang “loved dancing far too much to give up,” and by 2002, she had overcome her injury and made a return to the stage. She also became a permanent member of the Stuttgart Ballet and married Tunchi Shockman.

What does ballet mean to Kang? “In a word, it’s my life. I cannot imagine my life without ballet. That has not changed since I first joined the Stuttgart Ballet 24 years ago. Most of all, it is so important to practice everyday and perform whenever possible.

I think talent makes up only one percent and the rest is from perspiration.” This statement is quite natural for someone who Autumn 2009 | Koreana 43

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“When I wake up in the morning, I always feel certain pain. If I don’t feel any pain, I would think: ‘Gee, I guess I didn’t practice enough.’

If you perform ballet, you feel pain all the time, so I have tried to make friends with pain. Suffering is normal for me.”

practices as passionately as she continues to do. She repeatedly emphasizes: “To become a great ballerina, you need to have talent and the body for it, but without constant training and great patience, you cannot achieve your goal.”

Even today, she is up about by six every morning and will practice for six to eight hours daily when not preparing for a scheduled performance. During her early years, she would practice for up to 19 hours a day for an upcoming performance. Back then, she would often run through three or four pairs of toe shoes in a single day, whereas other performers might use one pair for two weeks or longer. This even caused the equipment manager to mention to Kang that she was greatly exceeding her “shoes allowance.”

Along with wearing out countless pairs of shoes, this rigorous training regime took a serious physical toll on Kang, deforming her feet and constantly causing blisters, which would always become infected and never fully heal. Once, she had to stuff uncooked meat into her shoes for padding because her toes were so raw. “During the course of the performance, some blood seeped through, but there was nothing else I could do,” she recalls. With gnarled toes and knotty calluses on every joint of her toes, these are all part of Kang’s “beautiful feet” that have served as an immutable foundation upon which her stellar career has been built.

44 Koreana | Autumn 2009

The dance critic Jang Kwang Ryul privately confided that “sometimes male dancers are reluctant to perform with Kang, because once, after a practice session with Kang, a male performer ended up being completely exhausted and dehydrated.” Jang went on to remark: “But that’s Kang Sue Jin. After pushing herself to such extremes in practice, she can be flawless on stage, gliding about so effortlessly, as if defying gravity.”

Diverse Roles Kang Sue Jin is known as a ballerina who wins over audiences with her captivating artistry and creative expression. Jang Kwang Ryul, who has followed Kang throughout her career, believes that her star power is a result of her “exquisite technique based on ceaseless training and an ability to bring characters to life with her own interpretation and style.”

Over the past 20 years, Kang has performed the lead role in over 20 ballets, including The Sleeping Beauty, The Magic Flute , and Romeo and Juliet, in addition to being cast in various roles in more than 80 other productions. Many of these works featured demanding scenes of world-renowned choreographers, such as John Cranko, Maurice Béjart, Jirí Kylián, John Neumeier, William Forsythe, Hans van Manen, Christopher Wheeldon, Nacho Duato,

1 A scene from The Lady of the Camelias in which Kang plays the high-class prostitute Margaret, while presenting the character with her own interpretation.

2 A scene from The Sleeping Beauty 3 Dances at a Gathering

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and Renato Zanella. All this while, she has consistently earned high praise from critics and audiences.

In The Lady of the Camellias , Kang played the high-class prostitute Margaret, who yearns for an impossible love, which she presented with her own interpretation. Then, in Onegin, she gracefully portrayed an entirely different kind of character in Tatiana, an earnest and compassionate woman. In Romeo and Juliet, she performed the youthful Juliet to perfection, in the appraisal of critics, even though she was over 40. As for this role, she noted: “Whatever your age, you can appear to be seventeen or seventy if you wholly immerse yourself into the role.”

At the Seongnam Dance Festival 2009, she again revealed her passion for ballet, saying: “As long as my body allows me to do what I want, I will continue to dance.” In June, she was part of a Romeo and Juliet performance tour of Spain, and also performed in Onegin in Stuttgart, Germany. Though now over the age of 40, when most ballerinas have long bade farewell to their days of stage performances, Kang remains at the peak of her ballet artistry. “The past and the future are not important. It is important to practice and to live for today. I intend to focus all my energy on how I can improve and perform even better than yesterday.”

Autumn 2009 | Koreana 45

artISan

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Sohn Dae-Hyun

Master Lacquer Artist

Applying Layer upon Layer of Lacquer for an Enduring Luster The lustrous sheen of lacquerware is the result of numerous coats of lacquer, which must be applied with the utmost care and attention to detail. For master artisan Sohn Dae-Hyun, he admits to not having been fully satisfied with his lacquerware techniques until he had accumulated about 12 years of on-the-job experience.

Park Hyun Sook Freelance Writer | Ahn Hong-beom Photographer

46 Koreana | Autumn 2009

H

ousehold articles or furniture with a lacquer finish give off a radiant luster, along with having a unique fragrance and sense of warmth. A lacquer finish adds a decorative quality to everyday items, turning them into works of art.

In addition, it also enhances an article’s durability due to lacquer’s resistance to moisture, heat, and decay. The remarkably well-preserved woodblocks of the Tripitaka Koreana Buddhist scriptures (Palman Daejanggyeong, produced from 1236 to 1251 during the Goryeo Dynasty) are the result of a lacquer-coating process, along with other factors such as advanced wood-drying techniques, skillful carving of the wood block letters, and scientific design of the storage buildings, which promote natural ventilation and proper humidity. Today, lacquer is also used to protect the surfaces of automobiles and maritime vessels.

2,000-year Tradition Lacquerware has a long history in Korea, China, and Japan, where each country developed a distinctive style. Lacquer engraving is a technique unique to China that involved applying thick layers of lacquer and then carving out exquisite patterns on the surface. In Japan, its lacquerware often included a dusting of fine gold or silver powder on the surface or an application of gold or silver leaf on a lacquered surface (makiye ). Koreans preferred lacquerware with decorative patterns or a scene created with inlaid mother-of-pearl. The items

recovered from a tomb in Daho-ri, Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do Province, Korea, which dates back to the dawn of the A.D. era, indicate that lacquerware has a history of some 2,000 years in Korea. The craft of Korean lacquerware reached a peak during the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392), which is reflected in various ancient materials. In Compilation of Reference Documents of Korea (Donggugmunheonbigo ), it is stated that King Munjong of Goryeo sent mother-of-pearl lacquerware as royal gifts to the Liao Dynasty of China. Xu Jing, an envoy of the Song Dynasty who visited Goryeo in 1123, highly praised Korean lacquerware in his travelogue Illustrated Accounts of Goryeo (Gaoli tujing), in which he described the items as being “very exquisite and truly valuable.”

During the Joseon Dynasty (13921910), government articles were produced by commissioned artisans retained by the central government and local government offices. The former, known as “capital artisans,” produced handcrafted items for the royal family and central government offices. The latter, referred to as “provincial artisans,” catered to the demands of local governments. These commissioned artisans and their artistic skills exerted a widespread influence on craftsmen throughout the country. Moreover, lacquerware makers were one of the three most important artisans of the capital workshop, along with woodworkers and bamboo craftsmen.

Master Jeon Seong-gyu was a lacquerware maker who

1 Sohn Dae-Hyun puts the final touches on a new work. After inlaying mother-of-pearl, several layers of lacquer are applied, and the dried surface is smoothed out to reveal the pattern. Any remaining lacquer is scraped off with a knife.

2 This set of lacquered cases is the first work of Sohn to receive an award at a handicrafts exhibition. The exquisite chrysanthemum and scroll patterns were created with tortoiseshell pieces and then coated with several layers of lacquer.

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Autumn 2009 | Koreana 47

1 A lacquered tray-table and a tea set. The gold decoration inside the cups provides a sense of elegance. Lacquerware items are attractive as well as practical, since the lacquer is resistant to moisture, heat, and decay.

2 A traditional lacquer coating technique of the Goryeo Dynasty was utilized to create this exquisite pattern, with thin translucent pieces of tortoiseshell that are painted on the reverse side.

“If you tell yourself in a moment of carelessness, ‘Well, this is just one of several coats,’ in all probability you will end up with an unsatisfactory result. My teacher would always tell me to pay attention to what was out of sight. That’s because when you apply coats of lacquer, the interior finish is just as important as the exterior surface.”

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worked in the court workshop at the end of the Joseon Dynasty. Having been adopted by a court lady, he lived on the palace grounds in order to maintain royal antiquities and lacquerware items. During his lifetime, as one of the last capital artisans of the Joseon Dynasty, he trained several noteworthy protégés, including the three foremost lacquer artists of the time: Min Jong-tae, Kim Bong-ryong, and Kim Taehui. Sohn Dae-Hyun, a master lacquer artist and holder of Seoul Intangible Cultural Property No. 1, was the prize pupil of Master Min Jong-tae.

Three Generations of Artisans In 1996, a year before his death, Min Jong-tae designated Sohn Dae-Hyun as his heir, and then bestowed Sohn with his pen name, Sugok. Min had acquired this pen name, meaning “a valley of life,” from his own teacher, Jeon Seong-gyu. Similar to his teacher, Master Min also selected the best of his pupils to be his successor and to carry on the artisan spirit of his pen name. In 1999, Sohn Dae-Hyun was also designated a Seoul Intangible Cultural Property.

“My teacher would always tell me to pay attention to what is out of sight. That’s because when you apply coats of lacquer, the interior finish is just as important as 4 Koreana | Autumn 2009

the exterior surface. The overall process involves at least 20 steps, including the application of numerous coats of lacquer and attachment of a piece of fabric. And if you decorate a surface with mother-ofpearl inlay, there will be an additional 25 steps. A basic item will usually take about six months to complete, but I once spent more than ten years on a single piece.

Lacquerware is a process that requires your full concentration and patience.

“If you tell yourself in a moment of carelessness, ‘Well, this is just one of several coats,’ in all probability you will end up with an unsatisfactory result. My teacher would always say: ‘Depending on the care that you put in each step, a work can last for over 100 years, 50 years, or an even shorter number of years.’ There is a tortoiseshell prayer-bead case produced during the Goryeo Dynasty. Its motherof-pearl inlay of chrysanthemums and scrolls is still iridescent and exquisite, even after a thousand years. The creation of such a wondrous work reflects the spirit of a true artisan.”

Lifelong Dedication Sohn still clearly remembers when, as a 16-year-old boy, he was so enraptured by the luster of lacquer works. He was born in 1949 in Janghyeon, Hwanghae-do

Province. The next year, when the Korean War broke out, his mother carried him on her back down to South Korea; his father had died before he was born. Growing up without a father and away from his mother’s hometown made life all the more difficult. After completing elementary school, he took a job in Seoul, running errands for a trading business. In the building where he worked, there was also the workshop of a lacquerware maker.

He was so attracted to the exquisite lacquerware works that he began to hang around the workshop and even learned some basic skills by observing the artisans. As his interest in lacquerware intensified, he was told about the three greatest masters of lacquer works. This prompted Sohn to quit his job and search out Master Min Jong-tae. At first, however, the teacher would not even glance at the young man who had come to him with such passion for a chance to learn the craft. The making of any worthwhile artwork, above all, calls for patience, which Sohn had to prove to Min. After six months of doing all manner of menial tasks without uttering a complaint, Sohn was finally accepted as a student.

When describing the making of lacquerware, Sohn compares the fundamental techniques to that of calligraphy,

Summer 2009 | Koreana 4

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This jewelry box, adorned with ten longevity symbols, was presented to Queen Elizabeth II, during her visit to Korea in 1999.

in which a bold, confident brush stroke is essential. For this, a proper amount of ink is required for the particular stroke in order to create a perfect image, not too thick or too thin. For lacquerware, a brush-like implement (gwiyal), made with human or horse hair, is used to apply the lacquer. There is a range of gwiyal types of varying thickness and width. After the hair is packed tightly into a wood casing, the edge is cut away so that bristles protrude, somewhat like sharpening a pencil.

As in calligraphy, it is critical to have a proper amount of lacquer so that it can be applied evenly with a smooth stroke. Sohn admits to not having been satisfied with his lacquer-making techniques until he had accumulated 12 years of on-the-job experience. Like his teacher, Sohn demands perfection, while refusing to touch up any flaw or defect, no matter how minor.

His teacher, Min Jong-tae, was also a master of inlaid mother-of-pearl. Traditional lacquerware would often feature decorative mother-of-pearl inlays in the form of shimmering patterns or scenes from nature. A popular motif for lacquerware included a scene with both the sun and moon, representing a coexistence of two opposing elements. In a similar vein, Korean lacquerware combines the radiance of the sea (mother-of-pearl) with the wisdom of the mountains (lacquer tree sap) to create an artistic as well as functional article.

With the lessons learned from his 50 Koreana | Autumn 2009

teacher, Sohn’s lacquer crafts gained recognition when he earned an award at the Dong-A Handicraft Competition in 1984.

Thereafter, he received various awards at the Korean Annual Traditional Handicraft Art Competitions before he finally captured the Prime Minister’s Award, which brought him nationwide acclaim.

Sohn (currently director of the Korean Association for Preservation of Important Intangible Cultural Properties) is especially admired for his ability to create works that incorporate modern aesthetics while adhering to traditional techniques.

While faithfully maintaining his teacher’s exquisite craftsmanship, he adds his own innovations to create works that appeal to modern-day sensibilities.

During his term in office, Korea’s President Kim Dae-jung would often present distinguished guests with gifts of Sohn’s lacquerware items. For example, a jewelry case decorated with double hui letters (喜, meaning joy) was presented to the Japanese Emperor, while a jewelry box adorned with the ten longevity symbols was given to Queen Elizabeth II, during her visit to Korea in 1999. Sohn’s lacquerware items are displayed at the Ho-Am Art Museum and the National Folk Museum of Korea, alongside the works of his teacher.

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3 1 As the first step in the making of a wooden lacquerware item, an equal amount of raw lacquer and rice glue are mixed together with a wooden spatula.

2 The prepared mixture is evenly applied to the wooden article, lined with ramie fabric.

3 An initial coating of refined lacquer is applied.

Spartan Workshop Lacquerware works are painted with raw lacquer, from lacquer tree sap, and

A proper amount of lacquer is critical so that it can be applied evenly with a single stroke.

4 Sohn applies a final coat of lacquer. Only a dustfree surface can assure the perfect sheen.

processed lacquer, which involves the heating of raw lacquer to 40°C. When oxidized steel is added to refined lacquer, it turns pitch black. Other colors can be made by adding cinnabar or orpiment to the lacquer. For a typical lacquerware item, a piece of fabric is attached to a wood frame, to which a mixture of lacquer, fine earth, and powdered shell and charcoal is applied to create a smooth surface. A whetstone is used to polish the surface.

After applying another layer of lacquer, it is placed in a drying room at a regulated temperature and humidity. This process is repeated two to four times, while carefully examining the surface to ensure that no dust or particles have become attached.

After polishing the surface with sandpaper, another layer of lacquer is applied.

Then, a coat of refined lacquer is applied, followed by a second and third layer.

Between each coat, the frame is left to dry and then polished. Finally, mother-ofpearl decoration is inlaid and 20 or more layers of lacquer are applied, one at a time, giving each layer time to completely dry.

Until the final layer is completely dry, the artist cannot relax.

“I am awestruck whenever it is time to open the drying room door. Before opening it, I always wash my hands and adjust my clothing. I am anxious to see if the color has come out exactly as I had intended, and I’m always afraid of finding some minute particle trapped between the layers of lacquer. I think the quality of an

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artwork is determined by the amount of sweat shed by the artisan.”

Indeed, the art of lacquerware involves extreme self-discipline and perseverance.

However, Master Sohn has never regretted his choice. Even in the midst of financial hardship, the thought of finding a new livelihood never entered his mind. This determi-

nation was further reinforced by his wife’s caring support. She has always been at his side to help him in any way possible. Once, when he was in need of gold powder for his work, she gave him the gold rings from their children’s first-birthday celebrations. His principles of true artisanship are a valuable legacy from his teacher, Min Jong-tae.

Autumn 2009 | Koreana 51

MaSterPIeCeS

Kim Hong-do Captures the Essence of Joseon Society Kim Hong-do’s Album of Genre Paintings is a representative collection of paintings that exemplifies the artistic refinement attained by the 18th-century Joseon Dynasty. The album comprises 25 paintings that depict various scenes from the everyday life of Joseon society.

Jin Jun-hyun Curator, Seoul National University Museum Photographs National Museum of Korea

K

im Hong-do (1745-1806), who is also known by his pen name Danwon, was a virtuoso painter of the late Joseon Dynasty period, from the late 18th century to the early 19th century. At that time, Korea enjoyed notable political and social stability as well as economic prosperity. Its longstanding agricultural society started to enjoy the fruits of international trade, including brisk exchanges with the Qing Dynasty of China and the Edo Bakufu of Japan. In addition, the dynasty was ruled by culturally refined monarchs, such as King Jeongjo and King Yeongjo, who actively patronized a number of talented artists such as Jeong Seon, Kang Se-hwang, Sim Sa-jeong, Sin Yun-bok, Jo Yeong-seok and Yi In-sang, along with Kim Hong-do, the foremost painter of his time.

Depictions of Everyday Life King Jeongjo, a patron of the fine arts, was especially fond of Kim Hong-do’s works. Kim painted Jeongjo’s portrait on several occasions, and was also awarded a variety of commissions by the king and court retainers. In 1776, when King Jeongjo came to the throne, other parts of the world were undergoing historical change. This included the newly established United States that declared its independence from English rule that same year, while Europe would soon find itself smoldering from the destruction wrought by the French Revolution in 1789. In Asia, however, Korea, China, and Japan enjoyed a period of social stability and economic affluence thanks to the effective governance of the Joseon Dynasty, Qing Dynasty, and Edo Bakufu, respectively.

Kim Hong-do was a truly consummate artist with such diverse talent that he excelled in all categories of Asian painting. Regardless of the subject matter, whether a landscape scene, human figure, or flowers with birds, his brush strokes were always mas52 Koreana | Autumn 2009

terful. In particular, his most endearing works featured people from all segments of Joseon society as they went about their everyday lives. In fact, genre painting became a popular artistic trend of 18th-century Joseon. In contrast to Asian painting in general, which is often characterized by its idealistic or philosophical expression, the adoption of realism in genre painting distinguished it as a unique art form. As compared to the usual works of abstraction, which would often cause people to pause in bewilderment, his animated depictions of everyday scenes were received with widespread enthusiasm. Moreover, no other genre painters could infuse their works with the enduring charm of Kim Hong-do.

Around that time, the artistic styles of Classicism and Romanticism held sway over the Western art world. The Western artists, whose lives closely overlapped with that of Kim Hong-do, included Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825) of France, and Francisco Goya (1746-1828) of Spain. David was a painter of the Neo-classical style and an ardent supporter of the French Revolution. His The Death of Marat painting, a masterpiece of Western genre painting, is said to be a silent but powerful expression of the tragic reality of his times. Spanish court painter Goya’s works, in the Romantic style, likewise revealed the tumultuous situation of contemporary Spain.

Unlike these Western-style genre paintings, Kim Hong-do’s works are placid and genial. Reflecting the affluent times of the late Joseon Dynasty, his works portray a wide range of people in a state of contentment or leisurely comfort, rather than scenes of brutal violence or chaotic turmoil. Although he was often commissioned to depict the festive scenes of various court celebrations, Kim preferred to capture the mundane affairs of common people. As such, the Album of Genre Paintings offers an insightful

“Ssireum” (Korean Wrestling) is a well-known work in Kim Hongdo’s Album of Genre Paintings. Although the wrestlers and spectators were drawn extemporaneously, without a preliminary sketch, the composition is especially balanced and effective.

Autumn 2009 | Koreana 53

In particular, the brush strokes are truly masterful. The basic outlines and forms are applied directly to the paper without any preliminary sketching. In spite of this seemingly extemporaneous process, the final painting exhibits a carefully planned composition.

glimpse into the lifestyle and essence of Joseon’s common class.

Nowadays, Korean viewers might smile bemusedly at the quaint goings-on of Joseon society, some 200 years ago, but they may also be surprised with the extent to which these bygone influences have left an imprint on our modern-day life.

Cornerstone of Society: Education The Village School or seodang is a delightful work that illustrates the Joseon education system, along with confirming the deep roots of Korea’s zeal for education. In the past, and today as well, parents are known to make such extreme sacrifices for the education of their children, with little regard for their own well-being. And in fact, education was essential for upward social mobility and admission into mainstream society, based on the ethical standards of the times. The most basic educational institution of the Joseon Dynasty, the kind of school depicted in the painting, could be found in practically every agricultural village or community in the countryside.

The painting depicts an elderly teacher and a class of nine students. From behind his low desk, the teacher faces his students, who are sitting on the floor in two rows. A young student in the middle is about to be disciplined. His book is laid open on the floor, behind him, and there is a whip beside the teacher’s desk.

While wiping away tears with the back of his hand, the boy loosens the ties around his trouser cuffs to reveal his calves. The young boy, who appears to be seven or eight years of age, is filled with the dread of being whipped on his calves by the teacher. The boy’s classmates make up two factions. A group to the left seems to be sympathetic toward the boy’s predicament. One of them, his hand covering his mouth, appears to be whispering the answer to his beleaguered classmate, while another one signals for him to look 54 Koreana | Autumn 2009

at his book. The group on the opposite side, sitting farther away, looks on with relative indifference, or even with slight amusement at his plight.

A student closest to the teacher, to his left, wears a largebrimmed hat, which suggests that he is an older student. As captured in this scene, in a rural schoolhouse of this period, students of various ages studied together and were taught based on their individual level of learning. At least for primary education, this was a practical means to provide education to as many children as possible in rural areas. Overall, this painting sheds light on the long history of Korea’s respect for education.

Koreans at Play Korean-style wrestling, or ssireum , is noticeably different from Western forms of the sport. It is also separate from taekwondo, Korea’s traditional form of martial arts, in that it is not about kicking and striking, but a contest of strength and technique. Two contestants grapple in an effort to throw their opponent to the ground. A winner is declared if any part of his opponent’s body, other than the feet, touches the ground. In ssireum, one of the wrestlers, with a slight advantage, appears ready to throw his opponent to the ground. The aggressor’s face is taut with determination, while his opponent struggles desperately to maintain his balance. In an instant, one or the other could be on the ground. Their footwear is placed neatly on the side.

Notable details reveal various aspects about the spectators.

Two men at the lower right side stare intently at the wrestlers, their mouths agape. Individuals in the crowd show varied interest in the match—some with hats on their heads and others with their hats removed, along with one fan who leans forward on his hands in anticipation of the outcome, and another that covers his lower

“Seodang� (Village School) from the Album of Genre Paintings illustrates a rural classroom scene during the Joseon Dynasty era.

face with a fan. It is presumed that a man sitting in the front, with his arms around his legs, is the contestant in an upcoming match, since he has removed his hat and footwear. The one person in the crowd who is not paying any attention to the match is a taffy vendor, standing to the left with a wooden tray suspended from his neck. He seems to have few buyers except for one young boy shown at the bottom edge.

Characteristic Composition The works of the Album of Genre Paintings are noteworthy for their focus on the subject people and their activities, without including background details. This approach helps to highlight the central theme, especially when working with a small-size surface.

However, a careful inspection of the composition of each painting reveals just how adeptly and efficiently the artist has made use of the limited space. In the works, the people and activities are arranged so that the viewer can feel like he is part of the particular scene. And this is achieved in a natural, subtle manner.

In particular, the brush strokes are truly masterful. Basic outlines and forms were applied directly to the paper without any preliminary sketching. In spite of this seemingly extemporaneous process, the final painting exhibits a carefully planned composition. For Kim Hong-do, who created the Album of Genre Paintings while in his late 30s, his extraordinary artistry enabled him to produce this collection of genre masterpieces with such an unassuming and effortless style.

Autumn 2009 | Koreana 55

art revIew

A Look Back on 30 Years of the Seoul Theater Festival

In Spring Day, Oh Hyeon-gyeong, who also played the father character during a previous performance in 1984, is now much closer in age to his character in this drama.

56 Koreana | Autumn 2009

Based on a “remake of representative works” theme, the Seoul Theater Festival, which celebrated its 30th anniversary this year, presented new interpretations of its most popular past performances. After a successful 30-year run, this event well deserves a critical evaluation of its various achievements and future outlook.

Gu Hee-seo Theater Critic | Photographs The National Theater of Korea

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he Seoul Theater Festival, which was launched in 1977 under the name Korea Theater Festival, is one of the oldest and best-known theater events in Korea. Although the festival was initially organized by the National Theater, the Seoul Theater Association has since assumed responsibility for management of the annual event. Actually, 2009 marks the 33rd year of the Seoul Theater Festival, which dates back to 1977. However, because the festival was called the Seoul Performing Arts Festival for three years, the Seoul Theater Association proclaimed 2009 as the 30th anniversary year of the Seoul Theater Festival, along with unveiling a new format for this event.

Remake of Past Works This theater festival was first organized in 1977 when the government’s support for the performing arts industry was on the rise. The Korea Music Festival was initiated in 1976, while the Korea Theater Festival and the Korea Dance Festival made their debut thereafter. The primary goals of the Korea Theater Festival were to promote the staging of creative dramas and to support theater companies. The Seoul Theater Festival’s steady focus on creative dramas and its continuous provision of support funds for playwrights from its overall budget were consistent with its fundamental objectives of promoting Korea’s drama theater. In large part, the festival has adopted a competitive format. Whereas the first festival focused on the presentation of group awards to theater companies, group and individual awards have been presented since the second festival event. Moreover, although special events, such as the 1988 Olympics Cultural Art Festival have featured the staging of foreign and domestic dramas, the Seoul

Theater Festival has continuously emphasized the development and performance of original creative dramas.

The 2009 festival presented 10 dramatic works, including 9 representative works selected from among the 290 creative dramas staged over the past 30 years, along with one original drama, from April 16 to May 24, at the Arko Arts Theater, in Daehak-ro, as well as the Towol and Jayu Theaters of the Seoul Arts Center.

The use of the Seoul Arts Center venues marked a clear departure from the previous years when practically all the dramas were performed at the main hall and smaller halls of the Arko Arts Theater.

The focus of the 2009 Seoul Theater Festival was to give new life to nine representative drama works based on the creative efforts of new theater companies, production teams, and casts of performers. A majority of the dramas were selected in recognition of their exceptional representation of the times and the expressiveness of the playwrights. Much passion was poured into the creation of new platforms for adding new twists to these dramatic works. This innovative approach proved to be a resounding success, as evidenced by the record-high audience turnout for this year’s festival.

In Korea, there have been several instances in which the run of a creative drama ended suddenly, not long after its opening.

The growing number of theater companies and overall upswing in performance activities have resulted in a slight increase in the number of dramas being restaged, and there has been recent interest in the creation of new performances based on a reinterpretation of existing works; however, the restaging of a series of dramas as part of a festival event has seldom been a common Autumn 2009 | Koreana 57

concept in Korea. As such, in line with its goal to “remake its representative works,” the 30th Seoul Theater Festival marks a noteworthy turning point in the history of Korean theater. Let us now turn our attention to the question of the extent to which this year’s festival was successful in achieving its objective of “remaking representative works.”

Spring Day Written by Lee Gang-baek, the original Spring Day was directed by Kwon Oh-il, of the Sungjwa Theater Company, and presented during the 1984 Korea Theater Festival. This year’s remake was overseen by Yi Seong Yeol, director of the Baeksukwangbu Theater Company. This work has also been performed by the Bipa Theater Company, under the direction of Kim Cheol-ri, at the 1997 Seoul/Gyeonggi International Theater Festival. Spring Day uses a fairy-tale or myth-like structure as a metaphor to express the political situation in Korea during the 1980s. Although the initial performance was staged in a lyrical and poetic style that shied away from overt political criticism, the 1997 version, under Kim Cheol-ri’s direction, replaced the work’s metaphorical perspective in favor of a more direct approach, which centers on a struggle between a father, symbolizing Korea’s patriarchal society, and his sons, who represent the new generation. The two actors who played the father character, Oh Hyeon-gyeong in the 1984 version, and Kim In-tae in 1997, have both been praised for their commanding stage presence.

In the 2009 remake, directed by Yi Seong Yeol, along with recasting Oh Hyeon-gyeong as the father, it features a new twist

to the storyline. Director Yi Seong Yeol’s version reveals darker colors and a deeper message that revolves around the tone of Oh Hyeon-gyeong’s delivery, who is now much closer in age to the father character in this drama. In reality, the power struggle that plays out amid a tense political situation, which the original playwright had sought to express, was in need of reinvigoration and reinterpretation. To this end, Yi Seong Yeol’s version can be applauded for its ability to breathe new life into this work.

Bulga Bulga Lee Hyun-hwa’s Bulga Bulga was performed from May 9-15, at the Main Hall of the Arko Arts Theater. This drama was staged at the festival for the first time in 1987, when it was finally selected after having come up short on several previous occasions. This drama is unique for its portrayal of rehearsal sessions and an actual performance, as a kind of play within a play. It was written in an effort to demonstrate that, much like the rehearsals for a play in which the performers must repeatedly practice their lines and scenes, historical incidents tend to repeat themselves as well.

In the first performance, with its heavy emphasis on the unique nature of the drama and the significance of bulga bulga, it served to create a certain sense of spontaneity; whereas, in the new version, under the direction of Chae Yun Il, who also directed the original performance, he infuses the work with an atmosphere of composure and placidity. The composed and measured demeanor of Lee Ho-jae, who played the role of the “senior” in the original version and that of the director in the remake, and Kim In-tae, who was cast in the role of the “senior” in the new work,

1 The Family’s Start on a Way tells the life story of painter Lee Jungseob.

2 The stage setting of Let the Sunshine into the Haunted House helped to clarify the story line and overall theme for the audience.

3 Beautiful Soul Mate is set against the backdrop of military rule during the Goryeo Dynasty.

5 Koreana | Autumn 2009

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contributed much to the overall stability and professionalism of the presentation.

of his character was not significantly different from the performances by Kim Kap Soo and Gang Sin-gu in the previous versions.

The Family’s Start on a Way

A Song Like This

Written by Kim Ui-gyeong, The Family’s Start on a Way revolves around the life and work of painter Lee Jung-seob.

Directed by Lee Yun-taek, it earned top honors at the 15th Seoul Theater Festival in 1991, after which Director Lee took this work on the road to New York and Los Angeles, in 1992. The versions featured a wide range of visual and audio cues which ranged from actors delivering their lines in a manner that emphasized various sounds and rhythms, to the use of stage art featuring Lee Jung-seob’s paintings and the use of music for dramatic effect. In 2001, the Seoul Metropolitan Theater, under the direction of Ki Kuk-seo, staged a version of this work at the BeSeTo Theater Festival held in Japan. Featuring a heavy dose of traditional music and movements, the performance garnered favorable reviews from Japanese audiences and critics.

At the 2009 Seoul Theater Festival, the remake was directed by Lim Hyung Taek of the Seoul Factory Company. Unfortunately, it left much to be desired in terms of a reinterpretation of the script and the actors’ ability to bring the characters to life. Another unfortunate aspect was that the lead actor Jeong Bo Seok’s portrayal

Written by Jeong Bok-geun, A Song Like This , which was performed from April 29–May 6 at the Small Hall of the Arko Arts Theater, was staged at the 1994 festival. The original work, which was directed by Shim Jae-chan of Jeonmang Theater Company, featured a stellar cast that included Park Seung-tae, Kang Sinil, and Sol Kyung-gu. This drama tells the tragic story of a woman, who after having unwittingly contributed to her husband’s execution, finds herself confronted with her son’s death, as a result of her actions.

This drama uses a naive woman’s outlook on life as a means to sharply criticize the ideology of our contemporary times. By condemning ideology in such a profound manner, the actors and director of the original work elicited a clear sense of empathy from the audience. As for the remake, which featured young actors, such as Kim Yeong-pil and Kim Ju-wan of the Golmokil Company, along with the veteran actress Lee Hye-gyeong, it sought to emphasize everyday happenings rather than ideological conflicts or symbolic stage settings. As such, by discarding the central tenets of the original script, the new version failed to properly convey the thoughts and individuality of the Kim Young-ok lead character.

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The 200 Seoul Theater Festival staged nine dramas, which have been regarded as the event’s most representative works. Moreover, the selected works were brought to life by new theater companies, production teams, and casts of performers. This year’s festival was indeed a resounding success, as evidenced by its record-high audience turnout.

Let the Sunshine into the Haunted House Written by Lee Hae-je, Let the Sunshine into the Haunted House, which was performed from May 7-17 at the Jayu Theater of Seoul Arts Center, was performed at the 2000 festival event, after having being staged at the Dongsoong Art Center in 1999.

More recently, it has also been presented at the LG Art Center in 2004 and the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2005. This year’s remake also featured the original director Lee Gi-do of the Inhyeok Theater Company. Of note, this play has been widely regarded as one of the most successful Korean dramas, scoring high marks from audiences and critics ever since its original performance.

The drama revolves around the history of a family that is told from the standpoint of its family deities. Whereas the previous versions featured an esteemed cast of actors, which included Oh Dal-su, Park Yong-su, and Kim Byeong-chun, with the notable exception of Han Myeong-gu, who reprised the role of Pabuksungi that he has played since 2004, and Jeon Guk-hyang, who again assumed the role of Samseung Halmeom, the remake presented a new slate of performers. The inclusion of these new actors has helped to rejuvenate this modern classic of Korean theater. A particularly notable aspect of this play is its effective utilization of whatever stage it has been presented upon. This includes the 2009 remake that was performed at the Seoul Arts Center’s Jayu 60 Koreana | Autumn 2009

Theater. The stage setting included a dramatic overpass, with a roadway alongside. The stage, which initially depicted a road and house which overlapped with one another, was eventually altered so that the house was raised while the road disappeared. All of these features had the effect of making both the story and overall theme clearer, while the effective acting of the new cast greatly enhanced the performance’s overall quality and entertainment value.

Why Did Simcheong Throw Herself into the Indang Sea Twice?

Why Did Simcheong Throw Herself into the Indang Sea Twice?, which was performed from April 25–May 10 at the Daehangno Arts Theater, was written by Oh Tae Suk and first performed by the Mokwha Repertory Company at the Chungdol Theater in 1990. It has also been staged at such venues as the Jayu Theater, Aroongguji Theater, and the National Theater of Korea’s Haneul Youth Theater. Moreover, this work was also presented at California State University Northridge (CSUN), in conjunction with the International Conference for World Theater and Drama in 2005. Writer-director Oh Tae Suk and members of the Mokwha Repertory Company have continuously created refined versions of the original work. Among the works presented at the 2009 Seoul Theater

3 1 A Song Like This uses a naive woman’s outlook on life as a means to sharply criticize the ideology of our contemporary times.

2 The Sound of Organ explores the hardships of a mining-town family.

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Festival, this drama has been staged the most number of times.

The play tells the story of Simcheong, who after having thrown herself into the Indang Sea, as a sacrifice in order to save her blind father, does so again as part of a deal with the Dragon King (Yongwang), in an effort to rescue the people who are suffering from neglect. Although the storyline and characteristics of the lead character have been altered somewhat, and certain dialogue has been added to reflect current circumstances, the basic stage setting and atmosphere have generally been maintained. A constant inflow of fresh-faced actors has helped to ensure the work’s overall freshness.

This year’s festival also featured Picasso’s Women , which was selected as the opening performance that featured polished acting of the female performers. Written by Yun Jo-byeong, The Sound of Organ, the second installment of a trilogy which explores the tragic life of a mining family, featured world-class stage art.

Meanwhile, Nam Myeong-ryeol’s impressive acting in Hans & Gretel helped to create a work that was remarkably true to the original script, while a new cast of young actors managed to infuse Beautiful Soul Mate with added vibrancy.

Another Takeoff

Why Did Simcheong Throw Herself into the Indang Sea Twice? represents a reinterpretation of the traditional “Simcheongjeon” story for contemporary audiences.

all reflect various situations of Korean society. Korea’s playwrights have constantly sought to heighten the people’s awareness of the political and social circumstances in need of public attention.

Accordingly, there is a need to remember that, in addition to the nine selected works, there have been so many other plays staged over the first thirty years of the Seoul Theater Festival that are also worthy of attention and reconsideration.

The parties who reinterpreted this year’s works also made concerted efforts to create new approaches and modes of expression. To this end, technical improvements were evident in such aspects as stage art, and the use of stage space, lighting, costumes, and music. However, more often than not, a desire to retain a majority of the original script, which served to constrain efforts to present a fresh interpretation, contributed to somewhat less-than-hoped-for results.

At this point, there are those who have called for a general rethinking of the Seoul Theater Festival, which for 30 years has revolved around the staging of new creative works. In this regard, I am hopeful that the 2009 Seoul Theater Festival, which broke with past tradition by staging some of the best works seen during the first 30 years of this event’s history, has provided a platform for another takeoff by this festival.

The nine works selected for the 2009 Seoul Theater Festival Autumn 2009 | Koreana 61

DISCoverInG Korea

A Children’s Book

with a Heart for nature John Walker, a successful financial executive from Australia now making his home in Korea, can include a new achievement on his resume: author of a children’s book. His book, Ura’s World , tells the adventures of a moon bear (bandalgom : black bear with a large half-moon shaped white spot under its neck), a species of bear indigenous to Korea that today is at serious risk of extinction.

Hwang Sun-Ae Freelance Writer | Ahn Hong-beom Photographer

Autumn 2009 2009 62 Koreana | Summer

John Walker’s book Ura's World was inspired in part by his Korean wife’s volunteer work for animal-welfare causes.

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new children’s book, especially for those aged five to seven, was released on May 5, to coincide with the observance of Children’s Day in Korea. The book, entitled Ura’s World and published in Korean and English, has attracted considerable attention as a result of its delightful story and the unique background of its author, John Walker. Of note, John Walker, a financial executive from Australia, is chairman of the Macquarie Group of Companies, Korea, the largest foreign-based investment banking firm in Korea. While drawing inspiration from the beauty of Korea’s natural scenery and its foundation myth, this endearing book tells the story of a moon bear’s adventures, along with offering heartfelt lessons about nature.

Dynamic Energy In 2000, Walker settled in Korea, the consequence of a visit that he described as somewhat accidental. When Macquarie, an Australia-based investment banking group, decided to establish branches outside of Australia, he added a stopover in Seoul to an Asian business trip so that he could assess the potential for Macquarie to conduct business in Korea. Upon his arrival, he immediately sensed Seoul’s dynamic energy, which left him with a positive impression about Korea’s business prospects.

Within a week, he found an apartment and went about the process of setting up a branch office. Initially, the office included only himself and 4 staff members, but today it maintains a staff of over 300 employees who are assigned to 13 business areas, including stock brokerage, mergers and acquisitions, and private equity investment.

Early on, Walker was impressed by the glamor and affluence of Seoul’s Gangnam district, where his apartment complex was located. He noticed the stylish attire of people and their liking for sporty European cars. Over time, however, he became fascinated with the way in which the modern and the traditional managed to coexist in Seoul, in terms of architecture, food, and lifestyle, while reflecting the influences of such traditions as shamanism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Christianity. He did have some difficulty adjusting to certain Korean foods, and also learned a few cultural lessons the hard way.

In his workplace, for example, while unaware of the importance that Koreans place on the hierarchy of job titles, he mistakenly assigned a higherranking title to his secretary than a member of his executive staff, which Autumn 2009 | Koreana 63

“Koreans have some ancient cultural reasons for why something is good for you, whether it’s food or a mountain.

It’s hard to be absolutely definitive about this, but everything seems to have a meaning, or reason.

I just worry that Koreans themselves will forget this.”

unexpectedly created tensions among the employees.

He learned from this “clash of culture” lesson, and is now more sensitive and attentive to Korean culture, while at the same time actively promoting a workplace culture that encourages openness, innovation, and twoway communication. Nowadays, he is pleased with how Macquarie’s management emphasis on creativity and teamwork have been so effectively blended with Korea’s culture of hard work, respect, and commitment, for the betterment of everyone’s interests and welfare.

Nature in the City During his early years in Seoul, Walker would visit Jejudo Island whenever he needed a break from urban life. He took comfort in this island paradise and its wonderful nature. However, he eventually came to discover that Seoul offered its own natural resources as well.

While working on a Macquarie joint venture project, which involved boring a tunnel through Mt. Umyeonsan, a 293-meter-high mountain on Seoul’s southern border, he discovered a network of hiking trails, along which the pleasures of nature could be readily enjoyed. He now resides in Seongbuk-dong, in northern Seoul, from where a hiking trail is within a 10-minute walk from his front door—and even his office has a natural, relatively wild area nearby.

He well appreciates the uniqueness of Seoul, which has been developed in and around nature, since this kind of environment cannot be found in other international cities such as Beijing, Sydney, or Los Angeles.

During his stay in Korea, he has learned that Koreans maintain a special relationship with mountains, to which much significance is attached. “It is a fundamental part of Korean society that mountains are a place for people to go and refresh themselves and clear their minds. I have learned much about mountain gods and mountain spirits,

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which is quite interesting. One of the nice things about Korean culture is that there is a strong cultural context to what people do. It’s a different kind of value system. A lot of Western people don’t have a cultural context, so they don’t have values that are steeped in culture. Their culture has sort of been forgotten. Koreans have some ancient cultural reasons for why something is good for you, whether it’s food or a mountain. It’s hard to be absolutely definitive about this, but everything seems to have a meaning, or reason. I just worry that Koreans themselves will forget this.” Walker seems to admire Korea for its “enchantment,” whereas Western civilization seems to reflect a sense of “disenchantment,” due to modernization, in line with the thoughts of the early 20th-century German sociologist Max Weber.

Korea is still undergoing modernization and is thus involved in many development projects, which can have both positive and negative consequences on the environment. Walker notices that environmental awareness has recently been heightened within Korean society. “Everybody has begun to realize that the environment is so important. In Seoul, for example, there have been many environmental improvements, such as the creation of new parks, walkways, and linkage of walking trails. I think these are great initiatives. It’s taking Seoul to another level.

The greener a city is, the more attractive it is to tourists.

And if it’s more attractive to tourists, it’s more attractive to businesspeople as well.”

Social and commercial benefits are often intertwined, so making cities more environmentally friendly is important not only for an improved quality of life but also for a better business environment. The most impressive city that he has visited is Gangneung, in eastern Korea.

Bordered by the sea, but graced with a large lake and an impressive mountain backdrop, the city’s primary industry

John Walker’s residence is nearby Mt. Bukaksan, which is within a 10-minute walk of a hiking trail.

He believes that environment-friendly projects will take Seoul to another level.

is tourism, which he believes makes it a model Korean city of the future, since tourism and services will play an increasingly critical role in Korea’s economy.

Although Walker is highly optimistic about Korea’s development and how quickly things are proceeding with green-city projects and green energy initiatives, he also believes that it is crucial for people to possess a deeper understanding of nature: “Nature should be systemic, something that we’re always thinking about.” He thus hopes for people to be more consciously aware of the presence of nature and reflect deeply upon how people and nature coexist with each other.

Ura’s World According to Animals Asia, an animal welfare organization based in Hong Kong, more than 1,300 moon bears exist in a state of limbo on Korean bear farms, despite the fact that bear-bile gathering has been prohibited by the government since 1992, when the extraction of bile from living bears was declared illegal. Moon bears, which were once found in abundance in Korea, have been hunted down to a state of virtual extinction because of an insatiable “medical” demand for bear gall bladder products. Walker says that surveys have found that only about 16 moon bears remain in the wild in Korea.

He developed a keen interest in this issue because of his Korean wife’s volunteer work in animal welfare efforts.

Then, the idea of writing a story with a moon bear as the main character occurred to him in the midst of the recent financial crisis. When times get tough, he noted, one often finds time for self-reflection. During conversations with his wife about the situation of moon bears and people’s attitude toward this endangered animal, the book idea came to him. However, he did not want to write a story with a direct message, but instead an entertaining book with heartfelt lessons.

Ura’s World is influenced in part by Korea’s foundation myth, in which a bear becomes a woman and marries a god-man, whose son, Dangun, grows into the first Korean.

Before hearing this myth, Walker had always thought that Korea’s animal was the tiger, but he now believes that a combination of the two—the fearsome and vivacious tiger and the powerful and patient bear—provide an ideal depiction of the Korean people. In his book, the young moon bear cub is rescued by a man who himself had been saved from peril by an adult bear. It is a story of friendship between humans and animals, and how they can live together in harmony through their mutual respect and concern for each other.

Walker’s next book, a follow-up to Ura’s World and second in a four-volume series, is scheduled for release before Christmas. For Walker, who had once harbored dreams of becoming a veterinarian, he can now bring his imaginary animal characters to life through his books. As a business executive who has attained success as a writer of children’s books, John Walker is a truly unique individual, worthy of the public’s appreciation. Moreover, he encourages people to enhance themselves through self-learning and self-sufficiency, rather than focusing excessively on academic education, which indeed sounds like valuable and practical advice.

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1 Younghi Pagh-Paan is a professor in the Composition Department at the University of the Arts, Bremen, in Germany (photograph: Gang Tae-uk).

2 The National Orchestra Company of Korea plays traditional Korean instruments to perform “The Universe Breathes, Grows, and Disappears (for Orchestra)� (2007) composed by Younghi Pagh-Paan (photograph: The National Orchestra Company of Korea).

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ounghi Pagh-Paan (b. 1945) is a representative of Korea who seeks to introduce people to the contemporary music of the Western world. Her devotion to her music can be likened to that of a devout Catholic who would never go anywhere without a rosary in hand, for the sense of comfort that it provides.

Seeker of the Truth With wholehearted sincerity, Younghi Pagh-Paan never fails to reflect upon her inner self and the others with whom she maintains a common concern. In a concerted effort to share her musical knowledge, she is wholly dedicated to the teaching of musicians and the sharing of her music with audiences, while continuously traveling between the West and the East, as well as to other corners of the world.

She says: “My music is not based on intuition, but on a logical, rational structure. Nature is organized along organic principles and logical structures. I pursue such an organization in my music, which relates to my respect for living creatures and also for ‘politics,’ in a broad sense.”

Her musical works have been staged and highly regarded in Europe for some 30 years. In 1994, Pagh-Paan was appointed to a professorship of the composition department at the University of the Arts Bremen (Hochschule für Künste Bremen), which marked its first-ever appointment of a female composer. “There were many candidates to consider, including world-class composers, but we unanimously agreed on Younghi Pagh-Paan,” recalls Dr. Nikolas Shalz, musicologist and professor emeritus of Bremen State University of the Arts, who went on to add: “Her confidence and rational approach to her music made a strong and persuasive impression on all of us judges.”

Composer Younghi Pagh-Paan Gives Music Lovers a Reason to Smile Younghi Pagh-Paan composes modern music that is based on her individual approach of blending the cultural traditions of the East with the influences of Western culture. While working in Europe for the past 30 years, she has consistently earned high marks for her innovative compositions, along with being known as “Isang Yun’s successor.”

Kang Unsu Composer, Ph.D., Musicology

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By adding “Paan” (big smile) to her name, she might have sought to convince herself that her music would one day bring a bright smile to the face of music lovers and herself as well. Through her music, she has traversed a vast realm, much like her beloved literary figure, Park Kyong-Ni, the recently deceased novelist of Land , an epic masterpiece of Korean literature.

Heartfelt Expression Born in 1945, the year of Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule, Younghi Pagh-Paan studied at and received her master’s degree from Seoul National University. In 1974, she went to study in Germany thanks to a DAAD German government scholarship. She was a student of Klaus Huber at the University of Freiburg, where she became the first Korean to earn a dual-major degree in composition and music theory.

In 1978, she captured the first prize at a Boswil composition competition in Switzerland with her “ManNam for Clarinet and String Trio,” which quickly helped to make her name known in the contemporary music world. Soon thereafter, in 1980, her orchestral work “Sori,” which had been commissioned, was highly lauded at Donauesching Music Festival, the world’s most prestigious stage for contemporary music. This recognition led to a publishing agreement with Publisher Ricordi, which has been publishing her works ever since.

“Sori” is a composition that she created for her graduation work. At the time, Korea was undergoing serious political turmoil, culminating in the Gwangju Democracy Movement, while the German media provided coverage of the situation in Korea with repeated scenes of the government’s brutal suppression of civilians. As for “Sori,” which means “sound” in Korean, it sought to convey the Korean people’s sentiments and to give a voice to the ardent supporters of democracy. The poignant message of this work struck a resonant chord with European audiences. Accordingly, upon her graduation, the name Younghi Pagh-Paan was already known among contemporary music circles, which served as momentum to vault her to even greater heights, which included the receipt of additional awards and the staging of her works at prominent music festivals, a pinnacle of success for music composers.

Guided by her inner voice, she has composed a series of works with Korean titles, such as “Nun” (Snow, 1979), “Madi” (Joint, 1981), “PYON-KYUNG” (a traditional Korean musical instrument, 1982), “NO-UL” (Sunset, 1984/85), “NIM” (Beloved, 1986/87), “HWANG-TO” (Yellow earth, 1988/89), “MA-UM” (Heart, 1990/91), “NE MA-UM” (My heart, 1996), “SOWON” (Wish, 1995/96), “GO-UN NIM” (My wonderful beloved, 1997/98), and “sowon…borira” (Wish…will be completed, 1998). With such a lengthy list of commissioned projects, there has been little time for her to visit her hometown and observe her filial respect for her mother, who raised nine children by herself. She thus strives to express her personal sentiments on the music sheets of her compositions.

Big Smile Younghi Pagh-Paan is a combination of her original name, Younghi Pagh, and her artistic name, Paan, a Chinese character that means “big smile.” Later, her friend Kim Yong-ok, a Korean philosopher, came up with another

The world-renowned German composer Klaus Huber is the most important person in Younghi Pagh-Paan’s career and life. As her teacher as well as her husband, he supports her dedicated efforts to compose, communicate with musicians, and teach students (opposite page, left).

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sobriquet, with the same Korean but a different Chinese character, meaning “a lute alongside a desk,” which she currently uses. Although she had selected the “big smile” suffix for herself, it was hardly the case that you could see Pagh-Paan wearing a warm smile on her face. If fact, the depth of her musical works is typically attributed to han, an inherent Korean sentiment that is often associated with lamentation or longtime suffering.

Among the European music lovers who are familiar with her music, many think that Pagh-Paan came to Germany for her survival, at a time when Korea found itself engaged in a fierce struggle between its authoritarian regime and the advocates of democracy. After living through the Korean War (1950-1953) as a young child, she then encountered wanton government suppression when she was a university student. As such, her relocation to Germany was an escape from the tumult of Korea, as well as an opportunity to pursue artistic and personal freedom.

By adding Paan (big smile) to her name, she might have sought to convince herself that her music would one day bring a bright smile to the face of music lovers and herself as well. Through her music, she has traversed a vast realm, much like her beloved literary figure, Park Kyong-Ni, the recently deceased novelist of Land, an epic masterpiece of Korean literature. Along the way, she has carved out her own niche in the world of music, which encompasses the East and the West.

Moon Shadow

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© Nikolai

Wolff

In July 2006, her Moon Shadow opera was premiered at the Stuttgart Theater. This work staged at an international festival of contemporary music organized by the International Society for Contemporary Music, proved to be a turning point in her professional career. Rooted in the “Oedipus the King” of Sophocles, this opera provides a key for understanding the “foreignness” (fremdheit in German) and “alienation” that characterize her music.

Max Nyffeler, a music critic, once said: “The radical change in Younghi Pagh-Paan’s music, since Moon Shadow in 2006, has surprised everyone. Her music conveys a sense of ‘own-ness’ and ‘foreignness’ (das Eigene and das Fremde in German), or a state of being familiar and foreign at the same time. The very Korean part of her music is something spiritual, more than simply expressing a motive or technique.”

What kind of spiritual world does the Moon Shadow opera seek to reveal? For this work, she consulted Han Byung-Chul, a scholar of Korean philosophy, for ideas about how principles of Taoism could be integrated into her opera. She addressed the complex themes of life and death, as well as sin and punishment, in the dialogue, which mentions “existence regrettable for being born,” and through her musical expression. Moon Shadow concludes with a text that reads: “Life is like the dew on the tips of grass, which will vanish at the slightest touch of a bird’s beak.” Accordingly, it reflects upon the way that Eastern philosophy respects the fragility of life.

After Moon Shadow, Pagh-Paan began to focus on religious music, after being inspired by a collection of letters written by Thomas Choi Yang-up, the second priest of the Catholic Church in Korea. These works included “Stay in Me, I’ll Stay in You” (Bleibt in mir und ich in euch in German), “Lord, Listen to Our Lament” (Vide Domine, vide afflictionem nostrum in original Latin), and “We Want to Stroll under Light” (In luce ambulemus in original Latin).

As she enters the twilight of her career, Pagh-Paan’s music has taken a new direction away from the somber tone of her earlier works, which seems to give her greater satisfaction. Of note, after mentioning her dream of returning to Korea when she does retire, the face of Younghi Pagh-Paan brightens with a smile, in keeping with her artistic name. She goes on to express a hope to work with children’s choirs, who would give performances across the country. Indeed, is there anything that can bring a bigger smile to the face of people than hearing the innocent voices of a children’s choir?

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on tHe roaD

Jangheung Where Korean Literature Is Deeply Rooted Jangheung is known as a “slow city,” where time flows along at its own leisurely pace, while ignoring the urgency of today’s demands. It is also the only city in Korea to be designated a literary tourism zone thanks to the fact that Jangheung is said to be the home of Korean literature.

Kim Hyungyoon Essayist | Ahn Hong-beom Photographer

Han Seung-won, Jangheung’s representative writer, walks along Meta Sequoia Road, in Pyeonghwa Village, Jangheung.

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he courtyard of Borimsa Temple in Jangheung is marked by a tranquil stillness. Amid the brilliant sunlight of an early summer morning, the deep green of a dense growth of trees is complemented by the radiance of the courtyard’s white clay surface. A gentle breeze adds a sense of elegance to the graceful atmosphere by gently tinkling a wind chime.

Ancient Borimsa Temple I take an immediate liking to the temple that lies nestled in a valley surrounded by mountains. Although only briefly removed from the mundane world, the tranquility of the temple grounds quickly captures my heart. Since its founding in 860, during the Unified Silla period, Borimsa Temple has accumulated a history of well over 1,000 years. The Buddha statue housed within Daejeokgwangjeon Hall, along the southwest edge of the courtyard, and the stone lantern and pair of three-story stone pagodas facing the hall, attest to the resilience of this temple, which has been reconstructed after being

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destroyed by fire. The stone lantern and pagodas possess an enduring charm that can only be acquired through centuries of exposure to the elements.

Beyond the front gate and Gate of the Four Heavenly Kings, the courtyard appears. The broad courtyard, flanked by Daejeokgwangjeon Hall and Daeungbojeon Hall, includes a natural spring at its center, from which clear mineral water flows.

The imposing roof lines of the halls are replicated in the tile roof of a small pagoda that covers the spring, which is encircled with beds of roses, azaleas, peonies, plantains, and crepe myrtles. The courtyard area is lined with a variety of mature trees, including silver magnolia, nutmeg, maple, gingko, pine, and fir. The long, narrow yard between Daeungbojeon Hall and the secondary halls for meditation and worship is a typical example of the natural garden area associated with Korean traditional buildings. It is a space with minimal human intervention, where trees and flowers grow naturally. While sitting on mosscovered stone steps, the peacefulness is interrupted by only the buzzing of bees.

Similar to other rural areas, a growing number of women from various Asian countries now call Jangheung their home, after marrying Korean men. To get an idea of a foreigner’s thoughts of Jangheung, I talked with a Japanese woman, Yamazaki Naoko, who has resided here for 13 years.

She mentioned that in Jangheung, her second hometown, she most liked to visit Borimsa Temple, even though she is not an adherent of Buddhism. Still, she says there is a powerful presence at the ancient temple that can help to soothe one’s troubled soul.

Slow City Movement The Jangheung area is dominated by mountainous terrain, which covers about two-thirds of its 618 square kilometers.

A seemingly endless series of mountain peaks emanate from Yuchi-myeon, where Borimsa Temple is located, sweeping across the land and out toward the southern coast. Sparsely populated villages are scattered about, often at the base of steep cliffs adjoining narrow tracts of flat land.

The densely forested mountains are home

to eagle owls, while roe deer, elk, and boar roam the valleys.

Cittaslow International has recently recognized Yuchi-myeon as a “slow city.”

The “slow city” movement, which began in Orvieto, Italy in 1999, is based on efforts to promote a practical lifestyle that strives to preserve the natural environment and longstanding tradition. However, in addition to Yuchi-myeon, the whole of Jangheung is aligned with this initiative.

As such, local residents engage in basic farming, along with raising cattle, pigs, and bees, and gathering mushrooms from wooded valleys—a lifestyle that has changed little with the passage of time.

The villages retain their rustic charm thanks to traditional-style homes with drooping eaves, along with low stone walls that form winding walkways.

In the 1970s, to facilitate Korea’s

industrialization, farm lands were increasingly converted into factory sites, while hordes of residents from the countryside migrated into the cities. In fact, for Jangheung, its resident population plummeted to only 43,000 from a peak of about 140,000. For those who remained, they would say that Jangheung was now home to more cattle than people. Due to the remoteness of this mountainous area, it did not benefit much from the industrialization process; however, this lack of modernization has enabled the region to preserve its natural splendor.

Still, over time, the continued usage of chemical fertilizer and pesticide has come to threaten the area’s natural environment. In response to this concern, and to abide by the “slow city” principles, local farmers have come to actively promote organic farming and crop rotation. More-

over, concerted efforts are underway to revive various insect species, which have nearly disappeared in recent years, such as the rhinoceros beetle, stag beetle, and dung beetle. Residents are also seeking to cultivate earthworms, which play a vital role in enhancing the fertility of crop lands.

The northernmost of Jangheunggun’s ten administrative districts is Yuchimyeon, which is home to Borimsa Temple and Jangheung Dam. Built along the upper reaches of Tamjingang River and completed in June 2006, the dam project provides a reliable source of water for the residents and farmers of the southwestern region of Jeollanam-do Province, where Jangheung is situated.

A number of peaks protrude from the surface of this vast reservoir, which extends over some 10.3 square kilome-

1 Iron Seated Buddha Statue (National Treasure No. 117) is housed within Daejeokgwangjeon of Borimsa Temple.

2 The summit of Cheongwansan Mountain, where natural rock formations create an intriguing spectacle.

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ters within a large valley, creating a picturesque view. The reservoir’s fresh water is essential to the region, but the dam’s development did not come about without considerable sacrifice. In fact, some 20 villages were situated within the reservoir area, necessitating the relocation of about 2,200 longtime residents.

History of Tragedy In February 1894, the Donghak Peasant Revolution was started in Gobu, when the peasant class could no longer tolerate the abuses and corruption wrought by local government officials. The uprising was led by followers of Donghak, an indigenous religion that stressed the equality of all human beings. Local skirmishes quickly gained momentum due

to the government’s inability to suppress the rebellious peasants. In a state of chaos, the government turned to Japanese troops for assistance. Facing rifles and artillery, the peasant army was no match for the Japanese and government forces.

Although defeat was inevitable, some 30,000 peasant rebels amassed to make a final stand at the open plains along Tamjingang River, to the south of Jangheung, which was a stronghold for Donghak followers. Armed with little more than pitchforks and crude weapons, the peasants fought fiercely but were methodically slaughtered, leaving their bodies strewn about and turning the Tamjingang River waters red with their blood. But it did not end here. Even after the battle was

1 Path alongside a stone wall in Gisan Village, Anyang-myeon.

2 The Stupa of Master Bojo at Borimsa Temple (Treasure No. 157); the stupa is decorated with relief carvings of the Four Heavenly Kings.

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over, the government troops pursued the survivors of the peasant army and their followers, slaughtering them mercilessly.

This ruthless brutality left a deep chasm between the defeated common peasants and the government officials, along with the aristocratic (yangban ) class, which would not be closed easily.

About a half century later, the South was invaded by North Korean troops in June 1950. Although this area was spared from the intense fighting and devastation of the Korean War, a post-war ideological clash, between partisans of the left and the right, exacted a heavy toll, in terms of senseless bloodshed and property damage. This kind of tragic past is all the more painful for a rural area like Jangheung, where a strong sense of community and

The novelist Hang Seung-won resides nearby the coastline. Not far from his writing room, there is a quaint building where he meets with people who love literature to share their thoughts about literary works and to tell stories about personal experiences.

interdependency is particularly essential among the residents.

Literary Attractions From the north, the Tamjingang River flows into Jangheung, where its waters gather at Jangheung Dam, then leisurely continues southward to Jangheung-eup, the area’s most thriving district. The river is about 100 meters wide at this point, but shallow enough for an adult to stand upright and not be submerged. Yamazaki Naoko, the Japanese wife, told me that along with Borimsa Temple, she also liked to stop by this river to enjoy the waterside scenery.

I spent two nights in Jangheung, and each morning I arose early and made my way to the banks of the Tamjingang River. Yellow and orange carp, as large as a man’s thigh, thrashed about, vaulting above the water’s surface. Residents could be seen going about their daily routine as an early morning mist rose from the water. There was an abundance of snowy herons, which would wade along the water’s edge and poke around reed patches, seemingly lost in a state of contemplation. Then, they would suddenly take flight, gliding effortlessly in the skies above. This graceful environment was indeed intoxicating.

The Tamjingang River flows through the town of Jangheung-eup, turns southwest at Eokbulsan Mountain, and enters the neighboring county of Gangjin-gun.

Its waters flow silently along a 51.5-kilometer journey to the South Sea. Yet for many residents of Jangheung they are little soothed by the river’s tranquility.

Due to the heart-wrenching tragedy of the Donghak Peasant Revolution, the ideological conflict after the Korean War, and

landlord’s mistreatment of peasants as well as the corruption of government officials, there are those who see the river as a symbol of the endless tears shed by local residents.

As for the novelist Han Seung-won, whose father was a Donghak follower and as someone who has resided in Jangheung for 70 years, he has noted that his literature is deeply rooted in the region’s cruel and lamentable history.

Han Seung-won resides in the village of Yulsan, in Anyang-myeon, nearby the ocean. He built a separate writing room a short distance from the house where he lives with his wife, who makes tea from leaves that are gathered from plants behind their home, which she prepares and roasts herself. Adjacent to the writing room is a quaint building, which the Jangheung-gun authorities built 2 for Han, so that he could meet with people who love literature to share century poet, and Wi Baek-gyu, a promitheir thoughts about literary works and to nent Practical Learning scholar of the tell stories about personal experiences.

18th century, whose poetry dealt with the Jangheung-gun is the only county in hardship and suffering of the area peasKorea to be designated a “special literants. In spite of its rather nominal populaary tourism zone.” As such, “literature” tion, a large number of literary figures hail has been selected as a specialty product from Jangheung, which is home to some of this region. In line with this unique 80 active poets and novelists. The area’s designation, a number of projects are curmost distinguished and currently active rently underway to preserve and restore writers include Song Ki-sook, Lee Seungthe birthplaces of local writers. In addiwoo, and Han Seung-won. Together tion, a “literature neighborhood” has with novelist Lee Chong-jun, who died in been created, and a literature park com2008, Jangheung-gun has named these plex, which includes a literature-theme four writers as the area’s representative museum, has been built at the base of Mt. authors, along with actively publicizing Cheongwansan, the area’s most majestic the fact that the Jangheung region is the mountain. home of Korean literature.

The literary roots of Jangheung can Song Ki-sook and Han Seung-won be attributed to Baek Gwang-hong, a 16th Autumn 2009 | Koreana 75

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have written novels about the Donghak Peasant Revolution. The works of these two authors are similar in that they reveal an in-depth understanding of the social inequities which have burdened the lives of Korea’s commoners. Meanwhile, Lee Chung-jun has focused more on urban life, while subtly delving into the suppression of humanity and the reactions of individuals to this plight. As for Lee Seung-woo, who is some 20 years younger than the other three authors, he has been described as a writer who deals deftly with aspects of the human condition. Nobel Prize winner Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio, of France, has lauded his works, along with saying that Lee Seung-woo is a worthy candidate for a Nobel Prize.

At Cheongwansan Literature Park, large stone monuments, inscribed with passages from representative Korean works and information about the authors, have been installed along the winding walkways. It is designed so that visitors can be informally exposed to Korean literature as they leisurely wander about the park grounds. The literature museum, which introduces the works of well-known authors from Jangheung, includes a reading room, where you can enjoy a variety of books, and seminar rooms.

New Identity: Jeongnamjin Even today, there is no train service to Jangheung, but access by bus or car is no problem. Although the region lies along the southern coast, the local boats only commute to and from nearby islands.

The ocean water here, like that of the Tamjingang River, is noticeably peaceful, because the lengthy Goheung Peninsula serves as a natural breakwater. The calm waters do not necessarily yield a wealth of seafood, but pike eel and common octopus are relatively plentiful, while the broad tracts of tidal flats are a reliable source of clams.

If you head due south from the center of Seoul, you will eventually reach Jangheung. Accordingly, the Jangheung-gun Office has adopted a new name for its coastal area: Jeongnamjin, which literally means “due south ferry launch.” Based on the example of Gangwon-do Province, which has successfully promoted Jeongdongjin (“due east ferry launch”) as a tourist destination, Jangheung is likewise seeking to attract visitors to its southern coast. It would not surprise me to see this campaign pay off handsomely for Jangheung, where I found the coastal scenery to be truly enchanting and memorable.

2 1 The Old House of Jonjae, in Bangchon-ri, Gwansan-eup (Important Folk Material No. 161) is the birthplace of Wi Baek-gyu, or Jonjae, a pioneer of the Practical Learning discipline. The outer yard includes a pond.

2 A stone guardian spirit pole at the Traditional Culture Village in Bangchon-ri, Gwansan-eup

3 Nampo, in Yongsan-myeon, Jangheung-gun, gained fame as the film location of the 1996 film Festival, which was based on a novel by Jangheung-born novelist Lee Chung-jun.

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CuISIne

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aro soup is one of the foods that has long been savored by the residents of Seoul and the Gyeonggido Province area during the Chuseok holiday, which is often called a Korean version of Thanksgiving Day. Because taro helps to promote proper digestive function, dishes featuring taro have become a regular fixture on the meal table during Chuseok, when people are more prone to stuffing themselves with the abundance of delectable food on hand at gatherings with family and friends. While taro is a common soup ingredient for the residents of the Jeolla region, in various areas of the Yeongnam region (Gyeongsang-do provinces) torantang is a requisite dish for ancestral rituals.

Although tang is generally regarded as being a more formal or respectful term of Korean cuisine than guk , when referring to a soup dish, there are those who make a different distinction. In this regard, a tang soup would tend to be a main

course or stand-alone meal, whereas a guk is a dish that is prepared for a meal, which is served together with various side dishes.

Background of Toran Toran , or taro, which is regularly grown in tropical and temperate regions, will thrive in low-lying, humid areas, reaching a height of 80-120 centimeters.

It is the plant’s bulbous root that is harvested and used for cooking. Its broad, round-shaped leaves, which can be 30-50 centimeters in length and 25-30 centimeters in width, are large enough to provide makeshift protection for anyone caught in a sudden downpour while out in the fields.

Although the plant’s scientific name is Colocasia , it is more commonly referred to as taro, or cocoyam. The scientific name is a compound term consisting of “colon” and “casein,” from the Arabic language. The name reflects the fact that the plant’s root is a source of food, while

its flower can be used for decorative purposes.

The taro plant is believed to have originated in the tropical regions of Southeast Asia, including eastern India, Myanmar, the Malay Peninsula, and southern China.

In Korea, taro has long been grown in the southern regions of Korea, centered around the Jinju area. However, in more recent times, it is also found in such areas of Gyeonggi-do Province as Gwangju, Icheon, and Gimpo, as well as in Gwangju of Jeollanam-do Province.

There are no records which detail when the taro plant was introduced to Korea or when Koreans first started to consume it. However, based on references to toran found in Goryeo-era documents, such as Hyangyak gugeupbang (鄕藥救急 方, Compilation of Folk Medicine and Emergency Remedies, 1236), it

Torantang

Enjoy Healthy during the Chuseok Holiday

Made from freshly harvested toran (taro), torantang , or taro soup, is counted among the representative foods that are associated with the sumptuous meals of the Chuseok (Harvest Moon Festival) holiday in Korea, along with songpyeon (traditional hand-made stuffed rice cake).

Shim Young Soon Director, ShimYoungSoon Korean Food Research Institute | Author, Best Tastes of Korean Food Ahn Hong-beom Photographer

The ingredients (left) for making torantang, a hearty taro soup (far left) Autumn 2009 | Koreana 7

The inclusion of taro, a rich source of alkaline, is helpful to round out a meat-oriented diet. Known to aid the digestive process, dishes made with taro are invariably found on the meal table during the Chuseok holiday, when people are more prone to stuffing themselves with the abundance of delectable food on hand.

has been concluded that toran was being commonly used and eaten during the time of the Goryeo era (918-1392).

it helps to prevent an accumulation of excess fat. It is effective for treating stomach disorders and bouts of diarrhea due to excessive drinking or eating.

Although dextrin and sugar contribute to the natural sweetness of taro, its primary component is starch. It is also a source of protein, fat, fiber, carbohydrates, phosphorus, salt, calcium, potassium, and vitamins C, B1, and B2. When combined with kelp, the medicinal efficacy of taro is further enhanced. In particular, the algin and iodine found in kelp help to prevent absorption of calcium oxalate and the other harmful elements of taro, in addition to offsetting its odor, which people can find objectionable. The taste of kelp is also said to complement the taro flavor.

Medicinal Properties Taro has long been prized for its medicinal properties that include an ability to lower a fever, aid digestion, soothe inflammation, and relieve pain. An alkaline food, it is helpful for balancing out a meat-oriented diet. In addition, it is also an effective diuretic, along with being a natural source of the somnolent melatonin, which can provide relief for people who suffer from insomnia.

The gooey extract of taro is a type of mucin, a combination of sugar and protein.

Mucin helps to promote healthy functioning of the liver and kidneys, along with providing anti-aging benefits and encouraging cell growth by facilitating the absorption of proteins. Furthermore, since mucin slows down the processing of carbohydrates, 0 Koreana | Autumn 2009

The broad, thick leaves of the taro plant can be eaten after cutting the leaves into slices and searing them in oil.

Stems and Leaves Taro is a hardy and adaptable plant.

When planted in the spring, it can generally be harvested by the time the cool

breezes of autumn arrive. It can be stored for a long time as long as the peel is not removed. However, after harvesting the plant, people will typically remove, dry, and use the stems and leaves as a food ingredient during the winter season. The dried stems can be made into a side dish by soaking them in water, adding various seasonings, and then searing in oil, or used as an ingredient for yukgaejang (spicy beef and vegetable soup) or chueotang (spicy soup with loach or mudfish).

Fresh stems can also be served as a tasty side dish. The broad, thick leaves can be eaten after being cut into slices and seared in oil. The leaves are also used as a wrap for rice or meat.

Preparation When handling or peeling raw taro roots, people are strongly advised to wear rubber gloves, because it is possible to develop an itchy rash if your skin comes into contact with taro extract. If

you do have a reaction, wash off the affected area with salt water to relieve any discomfort.

The acidity of taro is related to its presence of calcium oxalate. It is thus recommended that you boil the peeled taro roots in water, in which rice has been washed, because the phospholipids and proteins contained in this rice-rinsed water help to reduce the calcium oxalate and other components that contribute to the taro’s acidity. Peeled taro roots can also be boiled with onions, shallots, and garlic, to help reduce its odor.

Of particular note, tang dishes are known for the diversity of their ingredients, which create a delectable medley of flavors.

Torantang is typically made by boiling taro roots with perilla seeds to make a thick broth. The scent of the perilla seeds helps to eliminate the unpleasant smell of the taro. A popular version of torantang is made with a variety of seafood ingredients.

Separately sear the seafood and vegetables in oil, then add the onion and garlic extract.

Torantang Ingredients

2 Parboil the shrimp, and then peel and slice. Soak the sea cucum-

300 grams taro, 3 medium- or large-size shrimp, 1 sea cucum-

ber in water and then slice. Slice the abalone into large pieces.

ber, 1 abalone, ¼ bamboo shoot, 5 jujubes, 5 chestnuts, 2 shiitake

Sear these ingredients in oil, adding soy sauce, salt, chopped

mushrooms, 2 green chili peppers, onions, shallot, garlic, traditional Korean soy sauce, soy sauce, broth (made of kelp, dried shrimp, anchovy), sesame oil

onion, and garlic.

3 Cut the bamboo shoot into 4-centimeter-long pieces and slice thinly. Slice the shiitake mushroom and cut the green chili pepper into four pieces. Sear slightly in oil and then add the onion and

Instructions 1 Boil the peeled taro roots, along with the onions, shallots, and garlic, in water and then rinse with cold water. Slice the boiled roots and sear with 1 tablespoon traditional Korean soy sauce, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, ½ cup broth, and ¼ tablespoon sesame oil.

garlic juice.

4 Boil and then peel the chestnuts. Remove seeds from the jujubes and cut into halves.

5 Boil the broth. Add all the ingredients and boil briefly, before seasoning with refined rice wine, salt, and soy sauce.

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lIvInG

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City Dwellers Experience the Pleasures of Korea’s Traditional Houses Enjoying an overnight stay at a traditional Korean house, in particular the home of a head family, has become a popular activity among modern Koreans.

Examples of Korea’s traditional architecture are not hard to find in Seoul, but few of the homes are occupied. To find living, breathing traditional houses, you need to venture outside the capital, to the smaller cities and towns of the provinces.

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

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n early summer rain plays softly on the roof tiles. The paper door slides back to reveal beads of water dripping from the eaves and smattering with a bright, clear sound onto the yard below. Somewhere outside, a cuckoo adds its lonely, gentle notes to the melody. White smoke drifts from the chimney, and the stoked fire below is just starting to warm the floor. Where are we? In a small, cozy room of a traditional Korean house, experiencing what it would have been like to live there, even if only for a day.

Old Homes with a Proud Lineage

Guests can enjoy scenic views from a wooden-floored room in what was once the men’s quarters of the home of Yun Jeung, in Nonsan, Chungcheongnam-do Province.

Korea’s Confucian culture is the driving force that has kept many of these old houses alive, when so much of Korea has been developed and modernized around them, while one of the central tenets of Confucian teachings is the idea of filial piety. Although honoring one’s father and mother is a universal principle, in Korea this filial piety extends to relationships with generations that have since passed on. The ancestral rites performed for previous generations are the responsibility of the eldest son of the family, and this responsibility is handed down from generation to generation, from first son to first son.

The family that follows this line of succession is called the “head family,” and many of the traditional houses that still stand around Korea are those of these head families.

During the Joseon Dynasty period (1392- 1910), these families owned large tracts of land that were tilled by tenant farmers, and this income helped them to maintain their large houses and ritual responsibilities as head families. However, with land reforms in the mid 20th century, these families lost their primary means of income and fell into decline. Some left their ancestral homes to seek their fortunes in big cities such as Seoul.

Others stayed behind, but both houses and families lost their former grandeur.

It was not until relatively recently that the government has made a focused effort to restore these treasures, giving the now scattered descendants both an opportunity and a reason to come home. Today, they welcome visitors, giving them a taste of what it is like to live in a traditional house, and many of them offer cultural programs that allow guests to experience games, food, and other aspects of Korea’s traditional lifestyle.

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In response to a survey conducted last year, 1,007 people described their reasons for wanting to live in a traditional Korean house.

The top three responses included: “closeness to nature,” “health benefits,” and “peacefulness.” What is it about these traditional houses that people find so desirable and attractive?

Delightful Charm The Korea Tourism Organization operates a Korean website that is filled with information on these traditional houses, listing 68 homes found in the provinces, of which 39 are located in Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, thanks to the region’s strong and continuous respect for Confucian culture. Many of the houses offer a traditional meal for breakfast, and there are hands-on cultural experiences, such as using a traditional mill, learning Korean tea etiquette, dressing up in traditional attire, pottery making, and various traditional games. There are also some homes where visitors can observe actual performances of Confucian ancestral rites, while gaining valuable insight into the food, clothing, architecture, traditions, and other cultural aspects, which have been diligently preserved by these head families. Some traditional

4 Koreana | Autumn 2009

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houses take advantage of their undisturbed natural environment to offer nature-appreciation programs, giving children a chance to see plants, animals, and insects that they would never encounter in the big cities.

Ever more Koreans are discovering the charm of these traditional houses each year. For modern city dwellers, one of the most obvious advantages of staying at a traditional house is the ability to escape from the tense, suffocating environment of the city and return to a time and place more closely connected to nature. A survey conducted by the Architecture & Urban Research Institute last year asked 1,007 people to cite their reasons for wanting to live in a traditional house. The top three responses included: “closeness to nature” (35.5 percent), “health benefits” (27.0 percent), and “peacefulness” (23.5 percent). One visitor to Yi

1 Jars with fermenting sauces sit in a sunny area behind the women’s quarters of the home of Yun Jeung.

The family’s secret flavors have been passed down from generation to generation.

2 Guests at Seonbichon (“Scholar's Village”) in Yeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, hang up pieces of fabric after applying natural dyes. Seonbichon is a cultural and historic theme park that features 12 traditional houses.

Man-hyeon’s house in Andong, Gyeongsangbukdo Province, had this to say: “My troubled mind became clear, and the stress that had built up over the past year disappeared without a trace after spending one night in this quiet, old house.”

Other visitors are looking for something more, like two 30-year-old women who stayed at the house of Kwon Cheol-yeon in Chunyang, Gyeong2 sangbuk-do Province. They had left the company where they had worked and set out on a 10-day journey to visit cultural sites and stay at traditional houses, hoping to reconnect with something that had been missing from their lives. There is also a group of people that have formed a club to learn about and experience Korea’s traditional culture who spend their free time visiting culturally and historically important sites around the country. In Gunja Village in Andong, not only did they stay at traditional houses, they also arranged for performances of traditional Korean music and dance to coincide with their visit.

Most of the visitors, however, are families, especially those with young children. A couple that brought their children to Jeonju Hanok (Traditional Korean House) Village, located in Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do Province, appreicated the learning experience: “There is so much to do here. For only a small fee, the whole family can make mixed rice or mugwort rice cakes, and if you apply in advance, you can learn about traditional etiquette and handicrafts. It was a valuable experience

that allowed our children to see for themselves the beauty and importance of Korean tradition, as well as things that they had only seen in the pictures of their textbooks.” Another couple, who stayed at the house of Yun Jeung, in Nonsan, Chungcheongnam-do Province, found a special joy in their son’s reaction to the experience: “The dandelions and wild flowers, whose names we didn’t know, the beautiful and abundant garden seen from our room, the geometric shapes of the paper door latticework...and our son, who looked at all of these things with wonder in his eyes...it was a precious time for him, a step toward a world of beauty.”

What makes these traditional houses so special, of course, is that they are not simply for show. They are living museums, homes to the descendants of the people who built them. These descendants carry on the traditions of their families and are more than willing to share their experiences with visitors over a cup of Autumn 2009 | Koreana 5

tea. On an early summer evening, as the raindrops fell from the tiled eaves, Kwon shared his story. He is the great-grandson of Kwon Cheol-yeon, the man who built the house that still bears his name. The family fortunes rapidly declined after the land reform, and Kwon moved to Seoul as a young boy. The ancestral rites were still performed, but the ancestral home was eventually abandoned and sat vacant for 16 years.

Then the government came to him with an offer: they would help to restore the house if he would return and live there, and open it up to visitors who wanted to experience life in a traditional house. He accepted the offer and has been taking in visitors for the past three years. In the first year, he had around 50 visitors, but by the second year that number jumped to 200. This is the third year, and he expects the visitor traffic to continue to rise.

Kwon has often pondered why it is that Koreans today are so drawn to these traditional houses. A large part of it, he believes, is the realization that many of the traditional values of Korean society, such as the Confucian concept of filial piety, are fading away due to today’s fast-paced, industrialized society. “Parents suddenly felt an urgent need to emphasize this culture of filial piety in their children’s education,” he says, “and this culture is fundamentally related to the Confucian spirit. Then the government started to emphasize the culture of Korea’s traditional houses in the media, and all this has led to our recent rise in popularity.”

Lee, the owner of Yi Man-hyeon’s house, shares Kwon’s respect for traditional Confucian values. The house is located within the city limits of Andong, which is already a popular destination for those looking to experience traditional culture, and this has helped attract many visitors each year. It has been only three years since the government helped him restore the house, but he has already reached a level of about 5,000 guests per year. He lists five reasons for the popularity of his house, and traditional houses in general: a greater appreciation for culture as opposed to mere recreation, desire of parents to teach their children things they cannot learn in the cities, added leisure time due to the fiveday workweek system, diversity of traditional houses (“No two are exactly alike,” he says), and interest in traditional culture in general, including the Confucian culture that has helped to keep these houses alive throughout the generations.

But he also feels that the current popularity of traditional houses is only the tip of the iceberg. “[Visitors] are just scratching the surface nowadays,” he says, “but when they start to dig a little deeper, they will start wondering about the lives of the people who lived in these houses. They will want to understand the culture.”

When that happens, Lee believes that Korea’s traditional houses will see an explosive rise in popularity: not as relics of a time gone 6 Koreana | Autumn 2009

by, but as the living face of a traditional culture that has so much to offer modern Korea.

Finding the Future in the Past Lee emphasizes the importance of Confucian values in today’s society, in particular the desire to realize a world in which everyone can live together in peace and a willingness of the individual to place the good of society ahead of personal interests. “Futurologists believe that this is the only way to bring about happiness to the whole world in the 21st and 22nd centuries,” he explains.

For his part, Kwon points to a wooden tablet hanging on the wall, engraved with a simple family motto: “Sincerity is our family tradition.” He takes great pride in the fact that, when the tenant farmers ran short of food, his great-grandfather ordered his family to eat only two meals a day so they could open their storehouse and feed the hungry farmers.

Although it may seem a tautology, Korea’s present has long been torn between its past and its future. Korea’s modern history has been especially painful: 35 years of colonial rule under Japan, who sought to erase Korea’s identity and incorporate her into the Japanese Empire; bitter North-South war that ravaged the peninsula after Japanese rule; and over 50 years of living as a people divided by ideology. Yet, despite its poverty-stricken state after the Korean War, South Korea has somehow managed to pull itself up by its bootstraps and become the world’s 13th-largest economy.

This period of rapid economic growth is so astounding that it has been dubbed “The Miracle on the Han River.”

But there is also danger in moving forward at such a relentless pace; that is, losing touch with one’s past. When your past contains as many painful memories as Korea’s, this might not seem to be such a bad thing. But there is much that can and should be preserved from the past, and much that can be used to build a road into the future. Korea’s local governments have recognized this and invested in traditional houses and their inherent culture.

Although the visitors might not wax philosophical about their reasons for staying at these traditional houses, the fact that so many of the guests are families with young children says something about their motivation: namely, that they feel there is something of value here that needs to be passed on to the next generation. Though they may not articulate it, many realize that the pursuit of modernity should be tempered with an understanding of and respect for tradition. There is much in the past that needs to be overcome, but there is also much to be treasured, such as the human values that people like Lee and Kwon truly cherish. The traditional Korean houses that they call home are just the tangible face of this precious tradition.

Kim Jung-hyuk Journeys in Korean Literature Š LIM Jong-jin

Kim Jung-hyuk has created a unique narrative style, and his innovative approach is rarely found in the works of Korean novelists, who tend to focus attention on their characters.

In his first collection of short fiction,

Penguin News , he revealed his obsessive interest in the details of everyday life.

Meanwhile, in Library of Instruments , he poses new questions about the meaning of life.

CrItIQue

Kim Jung-hyuk’s Journey along a Less Traveled Path Shin Soojeong Professor of Creative Writing, Myongji University

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s for Kim Jung-hyuk (b. 1971), his debut work Penguin News was published in 2000. This was hardly an early start as compared to other young writers, such as Kim Youngha, Kim Yeon-su, Kim Gyeong-uk, Yi Eungjun, or Kim Jong-gwang. Nonetheless, within a two-year period, the publication of Penguin News (2006) and Library of Instruments (2008), firmly established his standing as a noteworthy writer. He also received the Kim You-Jeong Literary Award in 2008.

In content and form, Kim Jung-hyuk’s short stories are distinctive for being on the outer fringe of Korea’s mainstream literature.

His debut “Penguin News” tells the story of an “underground liberation army” engaged in a drawn out and futile war in some future world.

As a form of science fiction, the story portrays an insatiable quest for the truth. In “Bus with

Koreana | Autumn 2009

No Destination: A Remix Version of ‘The Oncebeautiful Ppaengdeok,’” Kim rewrites the short story of the late Kim So-jin, while adopting the audio technique of remixing to his writing. His creative style is also characterized by a strong attachment to various everyday items that are destined for obsolescence, such as the typewriter, bicycle, and record player.

Kim reveals his mania-like focus on such objects in almost all of his works, including “Museum of Odds and Ends,” “Eskimo, This is the End,” “A Gray Monster,” “Banana, Inc.” and “Four-hundred-meter Marathon.” His obsessive attention to various articles represents an unusual style that has not been attempted by a majority of Korean novelists, who tend to emphasize the details of their characters. His short stories have thus added to the richness of Korean literature, going beyond a basic critique of modern society,

while opening up a new dimension of fiction in today’s age of automated production.

In “Library of Instruments,” the protagonist is struck by a car that sends him flying through the air. At that precise instance, he suddenly thinks to himself that “it’s wretched to die as a nobody.” Thereafter, this incident becomes a life-changing experience. He quits his job and starts drinking every night while considering what he should do “in order not to die as a nobody,” but, in fact, he has no idea of even knowing where to begin.

Then, one day, he happens to come across a music shop and decides to buy a violin for his girlfriend, who teaches violin to young students.

Perhaps he was destined to take a part-time job at this music shop called “Musica.” Having passed a threshold in life in which everything that had defined his identity has lost its meaning, he is not about to accept the influences of other people or the common sense of the outside world. He was left with his own devices to find a way “not to die as a nobody.”

This short story nudges us to reassess the principles, social guidelines, and ethical standards that we have long accepted at face value, without a second of hesitation. For example, the protagonist discusses his confusion about the criteria used to classify musical instruments with the music shop proprietor. He wonders why there are string instruments, when they rely on vibration for their sound, but then an external factor, like wind, is needed for the sound of other instruments. Meanwhile, by definition, percussion involves a striking action to produce sound. To Kim, even though this classification seems to be rational enough, its details are

somewhat arbitrary or even whimsical.

Furthermore, the rationale of the classification of musical instruments is applicable to our everyday life as well. Kim seeks to warn people that the concepts which influence our daily lives are not necessarily as sound as we might assume. Accordingly, in order “not to die as a nobody,” it is necessary for us to carefully reconsider the familiar matters that give meaning to our existence. The protagonist is thus compelled to record the sound of every musical instrument. And if this “dependent variable” assumes its own significance, this might result in a new form of music. The protagonist’s girlfriend finds his behavior to be overly eccentric, and eventually leaves him. Just as each musical instrument can produce a distinctive sound, each individual has his own way of seeking the meaning of life. Otherwise, we are all destined to “die as a nobody.”

Kim Jung-hyuk imagines a way of being that can accept every mode of existence, just as each of the various musical instruments is recognized for its own worth and contribution to the harmony of music. After all, the protagonist, despite his meager existence as a part-time worker at an insignificant music shop, has found a means to enjoy his life to the utmost. The existence that Kim depicts in his short story might not strike a chord with everyone; nor does he believe that this needs to be the case. However, this might open our eyes to an alternative mode of existence that deviates from the conventional lifestyle which a majority of us have come to accept as the only reality. To Kim Jung-hyuk, the craft of writing is all about discovering a new dimension that no one else has delved into.

Autumn 2009 | Koreana