Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0327/03272.txt

Text File | 1991-06-25 | 17.2 KB | 309 lines

$Unique_ID{COW03272}
$Pretitle{241}
$Title{South Korea
Art and Culture}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Korean Overseas Information Service}
$Affiliation{Korean Overseas Information Service}
$Subject{korean
century
chinese
korea
art
period
choson
buddhist
shilla
painting}
$Date{1989}
$Log{}
Country:     South Korea
Book:        Facts about Korea
Author:      Korean Overseas Information Service
Affiliation: Korean Overseas Information Service
Date:        1989

Art and Culture

     The gorgeous gold crowns of the Shilla (57 B.C.-A.D. 935) kings embodied
the shamanistic ideals of the ancient Koreans who aspired to communicate with
the supernatural through the mediation of their ruler. The subtle and elegant
Koryo (918-1392) celadon ware represented the refined aesthetic taste of
Korea's medieval ruling class who were deeply engrossed by the Buddhist
doctrine of all-embracing mercy. More recently, the pragmatic-minded Confucian
scholars of the 15th-century Choson Kingdom invented one of the world's most
scientific writing systems.

     Most anthropologists recognize an ethnic and cultural kinship between the
primitive residents of northeast Asia and the early inhabitants of the Korean
peninsula. They stress the resemblance of the Neolithic earthenware discovered
in Korea and Japan. Many historians also emphasize the immense respect Koreans
showed towards the cultural and political giant on the vast Chinese continent
over the centuries.

     Cultural commentators generally agree that in artistic creation, Koreans
shared aesthetic concepts, motifs, techniques and forms with the Chinese and
Japanese, but developed a distinctive style of their own. They point out that
while the hallmark of Chinese art is grandeur and aloofness, and that of art
in Japan an ornateness or decorative sophistication, the strength of Korea's
art is to be found in simplicity and spontaneity-qualities which go hand in
hand with a great respect for nature.

Literature

     Early Korean literature goes back several thousand years to an era of
myths, legends and epic poems. Some of the legends provide interesting clues
to the origin of the Korean people and their national foundation, while the
epic poems depict enchanting episodes from the dawn of Korean civilization.
There are even millennia-old love songs improvised by heartbroken lovers,
which were handed down orally from generation to generation until they finally
found a place in written literature.

     Although Korea had its own distinctive spoken language for many thousands
of years, Koreans first wrote their language in Chinese characters. For
scholarly and literary works, they used the Chinese language, as European
scholars used Latin, though Chinese is not linguistically related to Korean.

     Most of these ancient literary pieces, therefore, were markedly
influenced by Chinese tradition and had to be translated into modern Korean
during this century for contemporary readers. Even after the creation of the
Korean alphabet in the mid-15th century, most writers preferred to use Chinese
characters. The Korean alphabet was used mostly by women, thus resulting in a
precious stock of classical romances in popular style depicting the life of
women in the royal court or aristocratic households during the dynastic
period.

     The two most flourishing literary styles during the Choson Kingdom
(1392-1910) were shijo and p'ansori. The former were brief lyric verses that
usually consisted of three-line stanzas conveying compact messages. The verses
were often improvised on special occasions, sometimes intended to be sung. The
latter, which were more popular among the common folks in contrast to shijo
favored by the learned gentry, were semi-operatic epic tales performed solo by
traveling minstrels at village squares or in houses of the wealthy.

     In the early 20th century, a group of young writers educated in Western
literature in Japan departed radically from the literary conventions of their
time. They denounced the romantic tradition of the Chinese novel, the practice
of writing poems in Chinese and the literary style heavily loaded with
classical Chinese references and cliches. Bearing the standard for this
revolutionary movement was Yi Kwang-su, who regarded literature as an
instrument for social edification and enlightenment.

     Although Yi opened the new era with a novel, modern Korean literature
grew principally in short-story form for financial and publishing expedience.
Most serious writers used the short-story form for which they found markets in
various literary magazines without much difficulty. Up to the late 1960s the
major creative talents expressed themselves in this genre. Their favorite
themes were social injustice and the dehumanizing influences of both
industrialization and modernization. Only recently have Korean writers begun
to show a serious interest in the novel.

Painting

     The earliest extant examples of Korean painting are found on the walls of
Koguryo (37 B.C.-A.D. 668) tombs in southern Manchuria and near P'yongyang.
These colored paintings on stuccoed walls date from the fourth or fifth
century. They depict the life of aristocrats of the ancient warring state and
their Taoist concept of the world after death. A Shilla tomb in Kyongju from
a similar period yielded another monumental piece of painting, a pair of
saddle flaps made of birch bark painted with a white horse flying through the
heavens.

     The Koryo period (918-1392), dominated by Buddhist faith both in the
everyday life of the people and in artistic creation, produced a rich
collection of icon paintings manifesting dexterous artistry. However, most of
them have been lost. Only a few known examples are preserved in Korea. During
the Koryo period, many Korean artists visited Sung China to study and were
influenced by the Chinese schools of ink and brush painting. The Chinese
influence continued to prevail in the Korean art community during the
following centuries, as Korean artists mainly imitated the imaginary landscape
painting of China.

     A significant departure, however, took place during 18th-century Choson.
Chong Son (1676-1769) and his students discarded Chinese styles and created
new indigenous themes based on Korean scenes. The latter half of the 18th
century also witnessed a flourishing of painting taking its themes from
real-life Korean folk customs and nature. Kim Hong-do (1745-) and his
contemporary Shin Yun-bok (1758-) were the celebrated masters of this school.
Shin in particular added a romantic flavor to Korean painting by depicting
female figures and actual love scenes, a sort of taboo in Choson society
which was ruled by rigid Confucian ethics.

     Along with the refined ink and brush paintings of the four "noble plants"
symbolic of traditional virtues, i.e. the plum, orchid, chrysanthemum and
bamboo, and the authentic landscape paintings, the Choson period (1392-1910)
produced a splendid variety of folk paintings of fantastic motifs and styles.
These paintings by anonymous artists, though less sophisticated in style than
those by the Confucian artist-scholars, were much more vitally concerned with
the daily life of average Koreans and their wishes and dreams. Colorful and
vivid, these paintings are free of conventional restraints. They attract
remarkable interest today both in and outside Korea.

     With the beginning of the 20th century, Western art trends started to
influence Korean artists to a considerable extent. A great number of Korean
artists educated in Europe and the United States have played a major role in
introducing to Korea the up-to-date trends and styles in contemporary art.
Both traditional Oriental painting and Western-style oil painting flourish in
present-day Korea, with not a few prominent artists displaying creative genius
and originality.

Sculpture

     The oldest known examples of sculpture in Korea are some rock carvings on
a riverside cliff named Pan-gudae in Kyongsangbukdo province and some clay,
bone and stone figurines of men and animals excavated from Neolithic village
sites. Similar figurines were actively produced in bronze, earthenware and
clay during the Bronze Age. However, it was not until the introduction of
Buddhism to the three kingdoms in the fourth century that sculpture began to
develop significantly in both quality and quantity.

     Each of the three kingdoms, Koguryo, Paekche and Shilla, were
enthusiastic supporters of the newly introduced religion, and consequently the
carving of Buddhist images and pagodas became the main thrust of their
artisans. With artistic and religious fervor, they carved numerous Buddhist
images as well as pagodas of diverse shapes in bronze, stone and wood. The
regional differences of the three kingdoms were gradually integrated along
with the assimilation of T'ang Chinese arts. Buddhist sculpture enjoyed a
"golden age" during the two centuries following Shilla's unification of the
peninsula in 668. The Sokkuram cave temple, built in the mid-eighth century
near Kyongju, represents the best Buddhist sculpture of this period, not only
in Korea but the entire world.

     As the Koryo Kingdom proclaimed Buddhism as its state religion, Buddhist
carvings continued to flourish during the period, which produced a great
number of Buddhist images and pagodas of excellent artistic quality. Buddhist
sculpture rapidly declined with the inception of the Choson Kingdom in the
late 14th century, as its ruling aristocracy suppressed the religion as a
national policy. Sculptural art in general experienced a notable deterioration
during the entire Choson period because its Confucian-dominated society held
it in little esteem.

     In spite of a brilliant tradition of stone and bronze sculpture in the
ancient and medieval periods, Korea saw the birth of modern sculpture only
recently. The first sculptor of significance in modern times was Kim Pok-chin
who studied in Japan in the late 1910s. Any growth in this field was
frustrated during the colonial period and most sculptors simply imitated
Western techniques. Korean art circles began to gain some vitality after the
Korean War (1950-53) and modern sculpture became a world of its own in the
1960s, when the opposing schools of realism and abstractionism grew and
sculptors began to use a great variety of materials.

Metalcraft

     A variety of bronze relics, including mirrors, axes, knives and bells,
all dating from the Bronze Age, have been discovered all over Korea. These
artifacts, decorated with interesting geometric and animal patterns, are
evidence of the advanced craftsmanship of ancient Korean metalsmiths.

     The art of metalcraft made steady progress through the early Iron Age and
by the time the three kingdoms Koguryo, Paekche and Shilla emerged in the
first century B.C., quite a high level of sophistication had been reached.

     Modern archaeology found that the large mounded tombs of the Shilla (57
B.C.-A.D. 935) aristocracy are a great source of brilliant metalcraft objects
produced by ancient Korean artisans. The tombs have yielded rich collections
of fantastic gold accessories of kings and queens, such as crowns, earrings,
necklaces, bracelets and girdles. The gold crowns in particular attest to a
remarkable standard of artistic sophistication. Linear engraving and repouss*e
work embellish the upright tree-shaped ornaments, the diadems and the
pendants, which are further decorated with gold spangles and comma-shaped
jades attached with fine wire. The earrings show a refined art of filigree
combined with granulation.

     Shilla artisans also excelled in the production of temple bells. The
bronze bells of Shilla were renowned for their elegant design, sonorous sound
and impressive size. The late 8th-century Divine Bell of King Songdok, or
Emille Bell as it is popularly known, is the largest of existing temple bells
in Korea. It is decorated with beautiful designs of lotus-shape medallions,
flowers, flames and heavenly maidens.

Pottery

     Ceramics are by far the most famous Korean art objects among the world's
art historians and connoisseurs. From the Neolithic earthen pots with their
rustic surfaces to the elegant celadon vases adorned with exquisite inlaid
patterns, Korea boasts a great legacy of ceramics.

     The early ceramic pots from the Neolithic period have narrow, rounded
bases and are decorated with parallel lines and dots or "comb patterns."
Some painted pottery and clay figurines evolved later. A vast amount of
stoneware recovered from Shilla tombs show the next stage of development in
pottery making. Varying in color from gray to black and sometimes brown tones
resulting from the degree of oxidation in the kiln, these early stoneware
pieces are free and original in style, some carrying unmistakable evidence of
shaman influence.

     Shilla stoneware produced after the fifth century, however, tended to be
less spirited, possibly due to the influence of Buddhism, Many potters applied
stamped designs to duplicate the same patterns on funerary urns used to
contain the ashes after cremation. Gradually during the Unified Shilla period
(668-935), pottery became sturdier but more unassuming, without the pleasing
ingenuity of the earlier periods.

     From the 12th to the 13th century the Koryo Kingdom, the art of pottery
making in Korea reached an apex of development with the attainment of the
mysterious bluish-green celadon glaze and the inlaying technique. Celadon
techniques originally came to Korea from China during the Sung period
(960-1279), possibly from the T'zu-yao kilns in the 10th century. However,
Chinese influences were disregarded by the first half of the 12th century, and
indigenous creativity achieved its highest degree of refinement.

     The technique of inlaying, which was devised by Korean potters, involved
incising designs into the clay and filling the recesses with white or black
slip. Excess slip was scraped away prior to the firing. These designs,
applied in a simple and restrained manner in the early stage, gave a subtle
and dignified beauty to celadon vessels.

     By the end of the 13th century however, potters became unrestrained in
the use of these popular designs, abandoning the long tradition of molding
their wares in various fascinating shapes inspired by familiar motifs in
nature. Craftsmanship further deteriorated and inlaid designs became coarse
after the Mongol invasion of Korea. During the 14th century, the skills of
celadon making finally vanished, and the  secret of producing the lustrous
range of blue-green glazes would remain lost until rediscovered in the 20th
century.

     With the beginning of the Choson Kingdom in 1392, Confucianism replaced
Buddhism as the official state doctrine, and there was a greater concern for
ethical conduct and probity in human relations than for the mystical concepts
of an afterlife. Perhaps as a result, Choson pottery differs radically from
that of Koryo. Choson works had a straightforward, stolid masculinity in
contrast to the refined, courtly and even feminine elegance of Koryo celadon.
Choson ceramics, characterized by heavy potting and often slipshod
techniques, seem rather coarse and commonplace.

Architecture

     Korean architecture of pre-modern periods may be classified into two
major streams: the styles used in palace and temple structures, which were
largely influenced by Chinese architecture, and those used in the houses of
common people, which consisted of many local variations. For the former,
Korea's ancient architects adopted the Chinese modes of bracketing. The latter
was characterized by thatched roofs and heated floors called ondol. People
of the upper classes built larger houses with tiled roofs. The roofs were
elegantly curved and accentuated with slightly uplifting eaves.

     The natural environment was always regarded as an element of supreme
importance in Korean architecture. Numerous Buddhist temples which are
scattered all over the country, for instance, were frequently located in
mountains noted for their scenic beauty, and their structures were carefully
arranged so as to achieve an ideal harmony with the natural surroundings. In
selecting the site for a building of any function, Koreans tended to attach
special meaning to the natural environs. They did not consider a place good
enough for a building unless it commanded an appropriate view of "mountains
and water." This pursuit of a constant contact with nature was not due only
to aesthetic reasons. It was also because geomantic principles dominated the
Korean psychology.

     Western architecture was first introduced to Korea with the opening of
its doors to the world toward the end of the 19th century. Churches and
offices for foreign legations were built by Western architects and engineers
during those early years, but the Japanese gradually took over the
construction business as their political power increased. Korean architecture
entered a new phase of development with the post-Korean War reconstruction.

     Seoul has rapidly changed into a fascinating showcase of modern
architectural trends and styles. The city's ever-changing skyline speaks for
the dramatic speed with which the nation has developed in recent years.