The Culture of Korea

 

The traditional culture of Korea is historically shared by North Korea and South Korea. Nevertheless, the current political separation of the north and the south of the peninsula results in some regional variance in the Korean culture.

Traditional Korean arts

Traditional music

The traditional music in Korea is based on the voice, a distinct type reflecting the temperament and history of the Korean people. There are two kinds of traditional music: Jeongak and Minsogak.

Jeongak

Jeongak is court music and has a strong intellectual emphasis. This kind of traditional music is closely related to the upper-class, the literate. Jeongak is played at a very slow pace. Some single beats can take three seconds. The beat matches the speed of breathing rather than the heartbeat as in most Western music. As a result of this slow speed, the music feels static and meditative.

The tone of Jeongak is soft and tranquil because the traditional instruments are made of non-metallic materials. String instruments have strings made of silk rather than wire. Almost all wind instruments are made of bamboo.

Minsogak

Minsogak is Korea's traditional folk music and is full of expressions and emotions. This kind of traditional music is closely related to the lives of common people. In opposition to Jeongak, the music of Minsogak matches the heartbeat.

As with the Jeongak, improvisation is common in Minsogak. This is much more evident in the emotional music of Minsogak.

Traditional dance

Traditional dances have been part of Korea's culture ever since it can be remembered. The cross cultural exchanges with China and between the three Kingdoms produced a large variety of distinctive dances. There is a distinction made between native dances (hyangak jeongjae) and imported dances (dangak jeongjae) which refers to dances imported from China.

As with music, there is a distinction between court dances and folk dances. Common court dances are jeongjaemu performed at banquets, and ilmu. Ilmu are line dances performed at Confucian rituals. Jeongjaemu is divided into native dances (hyangak jeongjae) and imported forms (dangak jeongjae). Ilmu are divided into civil dance (munmu) and military dance (mumu).

Folk dances are commonly divided into religious dances which are led by monks and secular dances which are performed by the ordinary people. Religious dances include all the performances at shamanistic rites (gut). Secular dances include both group dances and individual performances.

Traditional choreography of court dances is reflected in many contemporary productions.

Korean paintings

The earliest paintings found on the Korean peninsula are petroglyphs of prehistoric times. With the arrival of Buddhism from China, different techniques were introduced. These quickly established themselves the mainstream techniques, but indigenous techniques still survived.

There is a tendency towards naturalism with subjects such as realistic landscapes, flowers and birds being particularly popular. Ink is the most common material used, and it is painted on mulberry paper or silk.

In the 18th century indigenous techniques were advanced, particularly in calligraphy and seal engraving.

Arts are both influenced by tradition and realism in North Korea. For example, Han’s near-photographic "Break Time at the Ironworks" shows muscular men dripping with sweat and drinking water from tin cups at a sweltering foundry. Son’s "Peak Chonnyo of Mount Kumgang" is a classical Korean landscape of towering cliffs shrouded by mists.

 

Traditional Korean lifestyle

Traditional houses

Sites of residence are traditionally selected using geomancy. It is believed that any topographical configuration generates invisible forces of good or ill (gi). The negative and positive energies (yin and yang) must be brought into balance.

A house should be built against a hill and face south to receive as much sunlight as possible. This orientation is still preferred in modern Korea. Geomancy also influences the shape of the building, the direction they face and the material they are built of.

Traditional Korean houses can be structured into an inner wing (anchae) and an outer wing (sarangchae). The individual layout largely depends on the region and the wealth of the family. Whereas aristocrats used the outer wing for receptions, poorer people kept cattle in the sarangchae. The wealthier a family, the larger the house. However, it was forbidden to any family except for the king to have a residence of more than 99 kan. A kan is the distance between two pillars used in traditional houses.

The inner wing normally consisted of a living room, a kitchen and a wooden-floored central hall. More rooms may be attached to this. Poorer farmers would not have any outer wing. Floor heating (ondol) has been used in Korea for centuries. The main building materials are wood, clay, tile, stone and thatch. Because wood and clay were the most common materials used in the past not many old buildings have survived into present times.