culture and customs of korea

[...]... ups and downs is part of Korea' s modern history and only happened within the past forty years Before that, life in Korea was highly traditional and Koreans were still in their "hermit" mode 4 CULTURE AND CUSTOMS OF KOREA Yet over the course of centuries, even in isolation from the outside world, the Korean people succeeded in developing a unique way of life Though it existed in the shadow of China and. .. soldiers who spend short periods in Korea as part of their military service These, of course, are not counted in Korean population figures THE KOREAN PENINSULA The Korean peninsula extends southward from the mainland, between China and Japan The waters surrounding it moderate and determine its 6 CULTURE AND CUSTOMS OF KOREA weather, which is hot and humid in the summer and cold and dry in winter, following... and social customs and lifestyle In this series, SERIES FOREWORD Xlll we have chosen not to elaborate on elite life, ideology, or detailed questions of political structure and struggle, but instead to explore the world of common people, their sorrow and joy, their pattern of thinking, and their way of life It is the culture and customs of the majority of the people (rather than just the rich and powerful... occupying most of the Korean peninsula did not begin until A.D 668 Between the Neolithic (Late Stone Age) period and that year of unification, several different areas of Korea saw the rise of THE STORY OF THE KOREAN PEOPLE 5 small states, some of them kingdoms, in which culture and customs developed that continue to mark Korean civilization as unique today Tribal organization, status consciousness, and the... the Korean-American Educational (Fulbright) Commission and my home institution, Trinity University Among the many mentors and friends who have contributed to my understanding of Korean history and society are builders of the Korean studies field such as Professors Edward Wagner of Harvard, Koh Byong-ik of Seoul National University, George Paik (Paek Nakchun) of Yonsei University, and Chun Hae-jong and. .. functions of government such as finances and justice, assisted the king of Korea In order to wield power, Korea' s officials had to pass tests to prove their intelligence, education, and fitness to rule Certain families contributed large numbers of these officials and thus became a kind of aristocracy These aristocrats were known as the yangban class, and they were the richest and most respected (and sometimes... course of their national life The seas and the foreign peoples around Korea have served to isolate and confine the Koreans in their native land And the mountains have channeled the population toward the south and southwest, making South Korea twice as populous as the North and requiring intense efforts at land cultivation and the production of food The fact that the mountains become more rugged and the... the land and people of a nation or region and includes a brief history and an overview of the economy This is followed by chapters dealing with a variety of topics that piece together a cultural panorama, such as thought, religion, ethics, literature and art, architecture and housing, cuisine, traditional dress, gender, courtship and marriage, festivals and leisure activities, music and dance, and social... drew on the Chinese for protection and many of its cultural patterns, Korea had its own language and customs, its own unique family system and way of life At the same time, the Koreans admired Chinese culture and imitated it to an extent For example, Koreans always used the elegant Chinese written script called "characters," a way of writing symbols for words instead of using an alphabet They did this... in I960 Jai-hyup was the first to introduce me to Korean family life, the cultural richness of the city of Seoul, the fascinations of Korean markets and the delights of Korean restaurants, and the world of Korean ideas and thought We kept in touch through college, graduate school, and our early years in academe and remained close friends until his early death from cancer in the 1980s His passing took . alt="" Culture and Customs of Korea Recent Titles in Culture and Customs of Asia Culture and Customs of Taiwan Gary Marvin Davison and Barbara E. Reed Culture and Customs of Japan. Connecticut • London Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Clark, Donald N. Culture and customs of Korea I Donald N. Clark p. cm.— (Culture and customs of Asia, ISSN 1097-0738) Includes. questions of political structure and struggle, but instead to explore the world of com- mon people, their sorrow and joy, their pattern of thinking, and their way of life. It is the culture and customs