Koreana Spring 1988 (English)

Our long-cherished desire lies in the realization of a welfare society through a healt~y dietary )ife.

Miwon, an arbiter of the art of taste as a pioneer of the food industry, has, for more than thirty years consistently devoted itself to improving our people's dietary life, regarding as our capital the pride and tradition of the national enterprise that has grown and developed through our belief and utmost sincerity.

Now, Miwon pledged to fulfill our mission, wi~h strong will and faith, of realizing the summons to progres toward advanced nation status and to build a welfare society.

~ MIWON CO.,LTD.

KOREANA Vol. 2 /No. 1 KOREANA is published quarterly by INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL SOCIETY OF KOREA. 526, 5-ga, Namdaemunno, Chung-gu, Seoul 100, C.P.0. Box 2147, Seoul, Korea Telex: INCULKO K27738 Tel : 752-6170 , 753-3463/7 KOREANA was registered as a quarterly magazine with the Ministry of Culture and Information, Republic of Korea, on August 8, 1987 Registration No. Ma-1033

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42

FEATURE

PHOTO ESSAY

DRAGONS IN KOREAN ART

Ancient Bridges

By Lim Young-ju

By Joo Nam:ch ull

52

12 LITERATURE

PEOPLE

YUN TONG-JU: A Search for His Roots

LEE SE-DUK: An Artist of Intellectual Modernism

By Ohmura Massiio

60

By Lee Kyung-sung

20

KYONGJU: The Homeland of Korean Culture

HERITAGE

By Kim Won-yang

SOWON: Korea's Confucian Academies with Shrines

SPOTLIGHT

30 LITERATURE

Pointing at the Clouds

By Kevin O'Rourke

34

68 ICSK Sponsors Performance of Traditional Folk Opera Ch'unhyang-jOn Musical"Pae Pijang-jOn '87 Contemporary Costume Show

78

KIM YOUNG-UCK: The Man and His Music

BOOKS

By Kim Won-koo

ART NEWS

COVER: A bridge at SOnunsa Temple in Puangun,

C h'o lla buk-do.

80 PUBLISHER/PRESIDENT: Kim Seong-jin EDITOR IN CHIEF: Peter Hyun EDITORIAL BOARD: Choe Chungho Hahn Man-young Rhee Sang-woo Yoo \'.oung-ik ART DIRECTOR: Park Seung-u TEXT EDITORS: Suzanne Crowder Han Elizabeth K. Lee PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR: Kim Soo-nam ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Kim Young-uk (text)/ Kim In (graphics) Yang Eun-hwan (photos)

CIRCULATION Overseas: TEL 752-6170, 753-3463, 753-3464 FAX: 757-2049 C.P.O. Box 2147, Seoul, Korea Domestic: 274-5443, 269-2209 C.P.O. Box 7852, Seoul , Korea U.S. DISTRIBUTION OFFICE The Korea Herald Inc. 150 West 51st St. Suite 1426, New York , N.Y. 10019 Tel: (212) 582-5205/6 Advertising inquiries should be addressed to AD Seoul, RM . 601, Lions Bldg., 50, 2ga, Ch(!ngmuro, Chung-gu, Seoul, Tel: 274-8336 , Fax: (82)-(02)-274-8337 TYPESETTING: World Compugraphic PRINTING: Samsung Moonwha Printing Co. C .P.O. Box 4323 Seoul, Korea Price per copy: US$3. 75 (3,000 won)

FEATURE

GONSIN KO

By Lim Young-ju

4

REAN ART orean formative arts can be equated with Bud dhist art. Buddhism has wrought such a tremendous influence on the arts throughout Korea's long history that it is difficult to find any ancient work of architecture, sculpture, or painting that does not show some Buddhist influence.

Not all of the motifs that have made their way into the Buddhist arts are of Buddhist origin, however. Endowed with a strong tendency of facile assimilation, Buddhism often embraced elements of indigenous religions rather than rejecting them, thereby giving birth to a new set of imagery unique to the land that came under its influence.

The dragon that appears repeatedly in Korean Buddhist arts is one such image. It was firmly established in the Oriental psyche as an auspicious animal with divine properties long before Buddhism came into being. In later periods it came to be regarded as a symbol of regal authority and was also revered as a divine presence capable of repelling evil spirits.

Stories about dragons have been woven into a great number of folk tales and legends and images of dragons have been depicted in many folk painting5 and folk crafts.Painted dragon images were displayed on the gates of houses or shaman shrines to invoke the dragon to use its supernatural power to expel evil, to bring good fortune and to control rain clouds. Dragon-shaped end-tiles were placed at each of the roof ridges on palatial structures, dragon antefixes were placed at the end of rafters, and dragon images were placed on stone balusters, all in supplication of the dragon's protection from fire and other disasters.

K

Miniature Banner Pole with Dragon Finial, Early KoryO period, National Treasure No.136, H. 73.8cm, Hoam Art Museum

Monument to the stupa of Chikwang of P6pch'6nsa Temple, Koryo period (1085 A.D.), National Treasure No. 59, H. 4.55m.

As depicted in legends and in artistic works, the dragon is generally related with water and heaven. The abundance of ancient legends featuring the sea dragon as a national protector can be explained by the historic fact that Korea was constantly harassed by maruaders coming from the sea. Entries in the Samguk yusa (Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms) record that King Munmuwang (r. 661-681) of Shilla (57 B.C.A.D. 935) was buried under a large submerged rock in the East Sea because it was his wish to be reincarnated as a great dragon to protect his country and that a dragon gave King Shinmun-wang, Munmu-wang's son, a magic flute called manp'ashikj6k to solve national problems.

Dragon images painted for rain rituals also show the hydrophilic property of the dragon. It is also said that it hibernates in water in the form of a turtle, a fish or a serpent waiting for the appropriate moment to metamorphose and ascend to heaven.

When it does, thunderstorms accompany it and a furrow-like trail is left on the earth.

The dragon is depicted in many forms , each an idealized assemblage of parts of various animals to more graphically illustrate its divine attributes. The ancient Chinese volume entitled Chinese Repository records the dragon "has nine resemblances or forms-the head of a camel, the horns of a deer, the eyes of a rabbit, the ears of a cow, the neck of a snake, the belly of a frog, the scales of a carp, the claws of a hawk, and the palm of a tiger."

Another ancient record, the Shuo Wen dictionary of China's Han Dynasty (202 B.C.-A.D. 221) , says: "The dragon is the chief of scaly reptiles;it has the power to transfom it6

Gilt Bronze Dragon Head, Unified Shilla period (8th- 9th century), H. 65.5cm, Kyongju National Museum.

self and the gift of becoming visible or invisible at pleasure. In spring it ascends to heaven, and in autumn it buries itself in the watery depths."

The earliest concept of a dragon in China is known to be k'uei, or a python , a beneficent creature that appears on ancient bronze vessels of the Shang (c. 1766-1122 B.C.) and Chou (c. 1122-221 B.C.) periods. By the time of the Han Dynasty, the many forms and varieties now known were established. The most important of them is the Heavenly Dragon, the son of Heaven, which explains why the dragon is closely assoch1ted with the emperor who is considered the earthly son of Heaven.

Dragon worship eventually made its way to Korea and Japan from China. Images of dragons were incorporated in the tomb murals of the Animals of Four Directions and in many metal ornaments, weapons and horse trappings as evidenced by relics recovered from ancient tombs of the Three Kingdoms period (57 B.C.A.D. 668).

Korean dragons include the Spiritual Dragon,Fish Dragon,Cock Dragon, and Heavenly Dragon. As is illustrated in many legends, such as the story of Ch'oyong, the son of the Dragon King of the East Sea, the story of Lady Suro who was abducted by the Sea Dragon, and the legend of King Mu-wang of Paekche (18 B.C.-A.D. 660) who was conceived by a dragon, the mythical animal was a figure very real to the ancient people and was thus depicted as animals they were familiar with such as turtles, carp and cocks.

The dragon on a patterned tile found in Puyo, the capital of Paekche, has a body writhing in a swirling cloud design typical of the

Han Chinese style, but its head looks like a cock's. The Cock Dragon myth, however, is of Shilla origin rather than Paekche, as is shown in the foundation myth of Hyokkose, the first king of ancient Shilla. The aforementioned Samguk yusa says about the birth of Lady Allyong, the queen of Hyokkose: "A Cock Dragon materialized by the Allyong Well of Saryang-ri Village and bore a girl child, who was very beautiful but with a mouth like a cock's beak. The beak fell off when the people bathed her in the water of the Pukch' on River of W olsong." Transforming a dragon, the symbol of authority, into a mere cock or a turtle is an interesting Korean development.

As illustrated in the aforementioned Sea Dragon myths, Shilla regarded the dragon as a protective deity of the nation. Dragon worship was thus a driving force behind its unification of the peninsula and was also the underlying motive for the construction of Hwangyongsa, or the Temple of the Imperial Dragon, a mammoth sanctuary for the worship of the Buddha and the dragon.

The tradition of revering the dragon as a symbol of royal authority continued throughout the ensuing Kory6(918-1392) and Chason (1392-1910) periods. According to legend, the Wang clan, whose Wang Kon founded the Koryo Kingdom, was descended from the Divine Sea Dragon and there was a dragon scale in the armpit of every member.

Images of the dragon as a divine being were made in great quantity and idolized in the folk faith of shamanism. They were also frequently carved or painted on the ceilings and girders of Buddhist temples constructed in the late Chason period.

7

Dragon designs decorating the eaves of Chahamun Gate at Pulguksa Temple.

To return to the subject of the dragon in Korean arts, dragon sculpture can be classified into those of Han Chinese origin and those that emerged after the sixth century under Buddhist influence.

The former include the Celestial Dragon in the Animals of Four Directions found in tomb murals and coffin decorations, the Python (K'uei) Dragon appearing on crown decorations, the ornaments danging from belts and horse trappings, sword handles and handles of bronze vessels. Examples of the latter are: dragon finials of Buddhist flag poles, ridge end tiles of Buddhist structures and miniature bronze pagodas, dragon heads sculpted at the ends of girders, dragon designs carved in relief on ritual handbells,and dragons carved on the pedestals and capstones of steles and stupas. Coiling Dragons, the type that inhabit the waters, are featured on the ceilings of both temples and palaces, as well as on their stairways and tiles.

The dragon sculptures reflect the technical development and preferred materials of the time. For instance, the sculptures dating from the Unified Shilla period through the early Koryo period glow with excellence both in metal and stone, while those towards the end of the Koryo period evince gradual degeneration. During the Choson period, both metal and stone sculpture give way to wooden, often of a refined quality, a fact which bears some relationship with the social and economic changes of the time.

The forms and styles of dragons are also indicative of the period to which the relic belongs. Details that illustrate temporal changes include the body which might be rendered more 8

like a snake than a dragon, the head which could be borrowed from other animals, the teeth which could be depicted with stronger accents either on the upper or lower teeth, the expression of the eyes, the position of the Flaming Pearl, the number of claws and the way they are depicted. Another thing to look for is if it has one horn or two,or none at all.

Dragons of the Shilla and early Koryo periods are characterized by heads shaped like a boar or other wild animal, sometimes of cocks complete with cockscombs. Later they generally take the form of a snake head and remain so throughout the Koryo period.

Another telltale feature is the horn.

Towards the end of Shilla the horn begins to curve into a comma as in the capstone of the stele to monk Ch'olgam-sonsa of Ssangbong<,a Temple (868), heralding the antler shaped dragon horns. By the early Koryo period it defintely takes the shape of an antler as evidensed by the dragon images on a number of bronze bells dating from the period such as the one at T'apsansa Temple.

The existence of the horn determines the rank of the dragons as well.

An ancient Chinese document places the horned one above the hornless ones, conferring much gr~ater importance and authority to the former.

The origin of the dragon horn resembling deer horns, as depicted in Korean sculpture as well as in the aforementioned Chinese dictionary Shuo Wen, can be traced to the primitive antler worship of the northern tribes. The claws which resemble those of big birds like eagles also evince continental influence.

However, the snake-shaped body is reminiscent of the reptile culture of

9

Drago painting an old tomb in Niingsan-ri,

Puyci.

west China and Tibet. The snake heads of the Shilla dragons seem to have come from the West while the Fish Dragon that emerges from the mid-Koryo period is obviously of southern Chinese origin.

Of all the sculptural pieces of Shilla, the capstones of the stele to King T'aejongmuyol-wang(ca.661) and of the monument to T'ang Chinese general Liu Jen-Yiian (ca. 663) and the suspension rings of the bronze bell of Sangwonsa Temple (725) and the bell of King Songdok-wang (771) are four examples that best illustrate the general concept of the dragon and its temporal development.

The dragons on these four relics are characterized by the general impression of a snake and protrudin~ ears opening like the bell of a bugle. The shape of the ears is quite significant in determining the period to which the relic belongs as they become very short later. It is also noteworthy that the eighth century dragons such as those on the aforementioned two bells have very long upper lips that curl upward. Unlike those of the dragon on the stele of King T'aejongmuyolwang, long, pointed canine teeth project upward from the upper jaw like those of a boar.

The protuberances on the heads are also noteworthy as they anticipate the antler type horns. The feathery hair flaming up behind the ears indicates a departure from the snake form . The glaring eyes and wide open mouths are reminiscent of wild beasts such as tigers. The eyebrows are depicted like cockscombs.

The single horn is depicted much larger in the dragon head finial of the gilt bronze miniature Buddhist banner pole (ca. 8-9th century) retrieved from the Anapchi Pond in Kyongju 10

Detail of Dragon Head of Sword, Paekche period.

(6th century), L. 82cm Kongju National Museum.

and the gilt bronze ridge-end tile with dragon motif (ca. 10th century) in the Hoam Museum. The mouth is so short that it looks more like a dog's.

The feathery beard which is reminiscent of the pectoral fin of a fish appears at each end of the mouth. The upper canine teeth have become smaller while the lower ones look more like those of a dog or a wolf.

These dragon heads with wild beastlike eyes would look more appropriate for ferocious animals than on dragons if it were not for the antlers.

The dragon on the gilt bronze handbell of Songgwangsa Temple, dating from either the end of Shilla or early Kory6, has a short muzzle for a mouth and three-clawed feet . It does not have a horn. Because it gives the impression of a tiger at first glance, it is thought by some to be an image of a tiger as depicted in one of the Animals of the Four Directions murals of the Kogury6 tombs. Since the bell is a Buddhist ritualistic instrument, however, it is in all probability a Flying Dragon depicted in the tradition of the ancient tomb murals.

Suspension rings of Buddhist bells are always made in the shape of one or more dragons. According to the Dragon Sutra, there are nine offshoots of the dragon. One of them called F u - lao (P'oroe in Korean) is known for its habit of crying out loudly when attacked by its archenemy the whale. It is thus carved on top of the bell which is struck with a gong carved in the shape of a whale so that the bell can ring as loudly as the P'u-lao dragon. The dragons on the suspension rings of Korean bells are believed to have originated from the same idea, though it is not quite certain they are in the same form as the Chinese P'u-lao.

Another of the dragon offshoots called Pi-shi ( Iha in Korean), which also looks much like a dragon, is very fond of literature and is thus carved on the sides of steles. The dragon decoration on the capstones of steles must also have come from the same theory.

Yai-tzu(Aebi in Korean) the dragon derivative remembered for its lust for slaughter, decorates sword hilts and the place where the blade joins the handle. Examples of such in Korea are the swords dating from the Three Kingdoms period such as the one recovered from the tomb of King Muryong-wang of Paekche.

There is also Chih-wen, or the Dragon Fish, which is a dragon that looks like a carp but with a horn on its head. Because it likes rain and wind and can swallow fire, its image is placed on the roof ridges of buildings to protect from fire.

In sum, dragons are depicted in many different forms according to their use and popular beliefs in them which varied by period. They¡were depicted in the form of animals, snakes, cocks, turtles or even fish according to the preference of the times.

Sculpture is generally considered the weaker side of the Korean traditional arts both in quantity and quality. It is hoped that a review of the infinitely varied rendering of the dragon motif will help rectify such a negative view. Unlike the Buddhist images which were conditioned by complicated norms prescribed by religious precepts, the dragon was a theme that could be wielded at pleasure by both the artisans and the commissioners alike and thus enjoyed an extremely free and diversified expression. + â&#x20AC;˘The writer is an expert advisor of the Cultural Properties Maintenance Office.

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LITERATURE

TONG-JU A Search for His Roots

By Ohmura Massuo

Yun Tong-ju (1917-45) was a nationalistic poet who wrote some of the most beautiful lyrics in Korea in the last years of the Japanese colonial period (1910-45).

Born and raised in North Kando (Chien-tao) in southeast Manchuria where many Koreans lived in self-imposed exile from the Japanese, Yun Tong-ju was exposed to the resistance spirit from childhood. He studied at Yonhi College, today's Yonsei University, from 1938 and wrote most of his poems during his four years there. After graduation, he went to Japan for further study at Kyoto's Doshisha University. He was arrested by the Japanese police in 1943 on charges of propagating subversive ideas and participation in the Korean independence movement. He died in Fukuoka Prison in Japan in 1945 and was buried in his birthplace in Kando by his family.

Yun's family and friends published a collection of his poems in 1948 after Korea's liberation and it was only then that most of the Korean readers came to know of his poems charged with fierce purity and relentless search for perfection. Titled Hanoi kwa Param kwa Pyal kwa Shi (Sky, Wind, Stars and Poems) the collection contained 31 of his best poems which are his tributes to the tormented souls living in a dark, repressive age.

Though he did not write many poems, his crystalline lyricism, uncompromising idealism and fervent love for his homeland have won the everlasting admiration of Korean youth. Forty years after their first publication, Yu n's poems are still among the best read and quoted. The following is one of Yun's most loved poems.

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COUNTING THE STARS The autumn fills the sky where seasons flow.

Carefree, I think I can count all the stars in the autumn sky.

But I cannot count all the stars that come to mind one after another because the morning will soon come, because I still have tomorrow night, because my youth is not yet done. one one one one one one

star star star star star star

and and and and and and

memory love solitude longing poetry Mother, Mother

Mother, I say one beautiful word for each star.

The names of childhood classmates; names of foreign girls like Ling, Peng; names of girls who are mothers now; names of my poor neighbours; dove, puppy, rabbit, mule, deer; names of poets like Francis Jammes and Rainer Maria Rike.

But they are too far away like the distant stars.

And,' Mother, you are in distant Manchuria.

Longing for something, I write my name on this &lar-lit hill, and then cover it with earth.

The insects chirping all night through bemoan their shameful names.

When the winter passes and the spring comes to my star, the grass will proudly cover the hill where my name is buried, as green turf grows on the tombs.

his article is not intended as an in-depth discussion of Yun Tong-ju. I will only report a few things concerning him, which I found out in my endeavor to trace his origins, when I stayed in the Y6nby5n Korean Selfgoverning Province in Jilin Province China for a year. I first reported them in a research report presented at the 36th Korean Academy Conference on October 5, 1985. At that time, I mainly used slides for my report; however, in this article, I have had to limit the number of photographs.

There are no diplomatic relations between China and Korea. What few relations there are do not quite reach the academic world. China's import of Korean books and literature, however, has been rapidly increasing, but the number is still far from sufficient.

Thus the literati of Y6nby6n did not even know, until recently, of the existence of Yun Tong-ju, and his works were completely unknown. There are a number of relatives of Tong-ju still fiving in Y6nby6n, but even they did not dream of his being a respected national poet in Korea. In the history of the literature of the Chinese Koreans, writers such as Shin Ch'ae-ho, Kim T'aek-yong and Kim Chwa-jin have been dealt with. Yun Tong-ju, however, has never, until recently, been discussed. Today he stands in the limelight as a proud son of Y6nby6n and a great patriotic anti-Japanese poet. His anthology, HamJl kwa Param kwa Pyo] kwa Shi (Sky, Wind, Stars and Poetry), is read and passed around. Ten of its poems appeared for the first time in the November 13, 1985 issue (volume 6) of Literature and Arn, published by the Y6nby6n Literary Research Institute.

When the history of the Chinese Koreans, including literature, is discussed there seems to be two criteria for establishing who is Chinese Korean. Those who were born and died in China or are actually living there, qualify. Those who went to the Republic of Korea or to North Korea after liberation and died there or are actually living there at the moment are also considered as Chinese Koreans. Accordingly, General Kim Ilsung's name appears in neither A Brief History of the Chinese Koreans (1964) nor in Yonbyon People's Revolutionary War History Songang Chaegang

T

(1984), though he was supposed to In the summer of 1984, I met have taken part in the anti-Japanese Tong-ju's younger brother Professor movement in Manchuria. This is be- Yun Il-ju who was studying in Tokyo. cause he is thought of as belonging to His memory went back some 40 years.

Korean history. Although he died in I found out from him that Tong-ju's Japan, Yun Tong-ju was a native son, tomb was located in the old East Hill born and brought up in Y6nby6n, and Church Cemetery situaj:ed on the hill is sure to be dealt with in the litera- leading to the old Unjin Middle ture of the Chinese Koreans from now School. On April 12, 1985, a few days on. However, it is doubtful whether . after I arrived at Yon-gil, I asked some he will be regarded as as great a poet other people to go and search for the tomb. Yon-gil had become an open as he is in Korea. city in February 1985, and even foreigners were free to come and go Discovery of Yun Tong-ju's Tomb as they pleased. However, the tomb I knew all along that Yun Tong-ju's was not situated in the city, but on the tomb was in Y6nby6n. His book of ¡ outskirts in Yongjongjin village in poems, Haniil kwa Param kwa Pyo] Yongj6nghy6n county. Therefore, I kwa Shi (SeoukJungeumsa, 1983) fea- was obliged to rely on other people, tures a photograph of five members of because a foreigner had to have writhis family, two of his father's cousins, ten permission from the Security Yun Yong-ch'un and Yun Kap-ju, his Office to go there. The people I asked sister, Yun Hae-won, his brother, Yun scattered around gathering informaKwang-ju, and his brother-in-law, 0 tion and searched every corner of the Yong-born, beside his tombstone. old East Hill Church Cemetery all day every Sunday, but to no avail. They pessimistically feared that it might have been destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. I wanted to confirm with my own eyes whether it still existed or not. Finally, on May 14, I got permission from the Security Office and set off for Yongjong in a jeep loaned by Y6nby6n University. In the company of the head of the Y6nby6n University Ethnic Research Institute, Assistant Professor Kwon Ch'61 and the head of Y6nby6n University Chinese Korean Literature Research Center, Lecturer Yi Hae-san, I first went to ¡ Yongjong Middle School to ask Professor Han Saeng-ch'61, who is well versed in history, to accompany us. The middle school is situated where the old Taesong Middle School used to be. Parts of the original buildings remain and are used as exhibition halls.

The old East Hill Church Cemetery is spread out over the entire hill. Fields and woods were scattered along the steep slope, which was impossible to go up in an ordinary car. The road leading to Hoeryong in Korea ran from northwest to southeast, and we saw the hill endlessly stretching to the left, with mounds of earth and tombstones scattered here and there. A considerable number of the tombstones at the base of the hill had fallen down or were broken, perhaps because of the Cultural Revolution, the construeYun Tong-ju's tombstone.

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The author (far left) in front of Yun Tong-ju's tombstone. Inscribed on the front of the tombstone is "Poet YunTong-ju's Tomb" and on the back is eight lines of 22 Chinese characters.

tion of new factories or the encroachment of farms. Yun Tong-ju's tomb was situated on the slope some 10 to 15 minutes' climb by jeep from the foot of the hill. It was already May 14, but the new grass had not grown yet, and it was covered with last year's dead grass. That day, we just cut the long grass and tidied the stones before we went back down the hill.

On May 19, nine of us, including Professor Che of Y6nby6n University, the Curator of the Y6nby6n Folk Museum, Mr. Shim Tong-g6m, and the Curator of the Y6nby6n Museum, Mr. Chong Y6ng-jin, went up to the tomb in two separate jeeps, and performed an ancestral ritual. We prepared trout from the Tuman-gang (Tumen) River, and pollack from Korea and performed a purely traditional Korean service. The Tumangang has a particular significance for the Chinese Koreans in Y6nby6n, just as the Hy6nhaet'an (Korea Strait) does for the Korean residents in Japan.

The Name on the Tombstone The tombstone stood right next to the grave which faced southwest. The main body of the tombstone was set on a foundation stone and had a slightly arched top. It measured 1 meter high at the highest point and 39.5 centimeters across the front while the lower parts on the left and right measured 93 centimeters high. The side was 93 centimeters high and 17 14

centimeters wide. The tombstone was slightly bigger than those around it.

On the front was written "Poet Yun Tong-ju's Tomb." Eight line, of 22 Chinese characters were inscribed on the back. On the right hand side as I faced the front, there were three lines of 22 characters, and on the left hand side, there were 25 characters.

The inscriptions on the tombstone read as follows: Oh! The late poet Yun Tong-ju whose ancestors originally came from Pap'y6ng. When he was young, he graduated from Myongdong Primary School and then went to Hwaryonghy6nnip Cheil Primary School. The:9 he finished three year's study at Unjin Middle School and transferred to Sungshil Middle School in P'y6ngyang. He spent a year there and returned to Yongj6ng and finally graduated from Kwangmy6ng High School with excellent results. In 1938, he went to Yonhi College of Liberal Arts in Ky6ngs6ng (the old name for Seoul) and after four winters, graduated. Although he had successfully finished his studies, he felt his education was not complete.

The following April, he packed his belongings, went east and concentrated on his studies at the College of Liberal Arts, Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan. But who would have known how things were going to turn out? He lost his freedom in the rough sea of studies,

and his life of diligent studies was destined to become that of a bird in a cage. Moreover, he became gravely ill and finally on February 16, 1945, he bade farewell to the world. He was only twenty-nine years of age at the time. He had shown promise of becoming a great person of his age, and his poetry was beginning to move society.

Spring wind has no heart-it does not allow the blossoms to bear fruit.

Alas! How we grieve for you! You, who are the grandson of the Honorable Ha-hy6n, and son of Y6ngs6k. You, who were so bright, and loved learning and new poetry and left ¡ a considerable number of works. Your pen name should also be TongjuPl -Writing and calligraphy by Kim Sok-kwan (Haesa), June 14, 1945 -Respectfully erected by your younger brothers, 11-ju and Kwang-ju

The Roots of Tong-ju Hitherto the most authentic and detailed curriculum vitae of Tong-ju is the one written by his brother Yun 11-ju, which appears in the appendix of the anthology of his poems Hamil kwa Param kwa Pyo] kwa Shi, published by J ungeumsa. I found many discrepancies when I compared it with the information on the tombstone. I came to the conclusion that the infor-

mation on the tombstone must be quite accurate, as the tombstone was erected soon after his death when his parents were alive and well.

According to his curriculum vitae (hereafter called his c.v.) compiled by Yun Il-ju, he studied for a year at a Chinese primary school in Taenapja as a sixth grader after graduating from Myong-dong Primary School. Taenapja is the present Chi-shin in Yongj6nghy6n county. The Chinese primary school in Taenapja was Hwaryonghyonnip Cheil Primary School at the time.

According to his c.v., he was admitted into the sixth grade but there was no mention of the "re-admission" on his tombstone, and according to it, he went on to high school. I cannot say for sure which is more accurate, however, it is more normal to advance to a high school and most unusual for anyone to be re-admitted to another primary school after graduating from one primary school.

His experience at Taenapja is well reflected in his poem. "Pyo] Heneun Pam" (The Star-counting Night): I say a beautiful word for every star in the sky.

The names of the children, Who shared desks with me at primary school, Pae, Kyong, Ok-the names of the foreign girls I knew, The names of the lasses, already mothers, The names of the poor neighbors ...

Yak-yon as the Headmaster of Myongdong School, and Kim Sok-kwan was Chong-kyu's son.A dean was a master in charge of the affairs of the school and the students. Tong-ju attended Myong-dong Primary School for six years, and Sok-kwan, therefore, was also his teacher.

At the time of his death, his parents were both alive and well. His father even went to Japan to fetch his body.

According to Korean custom, however, close older relatives do not erect tombstones for the dead. That is why the name of his brothers, Il-ju and Kwang-ju, are inscribed on the surface of the tombstone. His epitaph, however, reflects his parents' grief and sorrow.

Kwangmyong Middle School Register There were six middle schools in Yongjong, which was commonly called the "Seoul" of Kando. They were amalgamated into Yongjong Middle School. The six were: Unjin Middle School, Myongshin Girls Middle School, Tonghung Middle School, Kwangmyong Middle School, Taesong Middle School and Kwangmyong Girls Middle School. While searching for materials related to Tong-ju at Yongjong Middle School, which was built on the old site of Taesong Middle School, I found the

Kwangmyong Middle School register and a list of graduates. According to the student register, Tong-ju was admitted to the fourth grade at Kwangmyong Middle School on April 4, 1936, after completing the three year course at Sungshil Middle School in P'yongyang, and was graduated from Kwangmyong Middle School on February 17, 1938. In his fifth year, he was given a choice between English and Chinese, and chose English in which he got fairly good marks. He also studied Japanese, though he was not very good at it. In Korean and Chinese characters, the study of which was discouraged in comparison with Japanese, his marks were on the fair side. His religion was shown to be "Christianity," and the occupation of his father, Yun Yong-sok, was written down as "draper. " In the student register, two pages were devoted to each student; on one page was given the student's name, education, guardian and academic results, and on the other, comments about his behavior. For Tong-ju, the behavior column was blank between the first and fourth years, and only in the fifth year was it filled in.

His c.v. gave his date of birth as December 30, 1917, but the student register showed it as December 30 in the seventh year of Daisho. (2) The seventh year of Daisho is 1918, and therefore, there is a whole year's difference between the two dates. His

A memorial rite in front of Yun Tong-ju's tomb.

Transferring from Unjin Middle School to Sungshil Middle School in P'yongyang was very common. To advance to a higher school, one needed to complete five years of middle school, but those who attended Unjin Middle School, which was a private school, spent only four years and were therefore not qualified to be admitted to a high school or a college.

Kim Sok-kwan, who was the writer and calligrapher of the epitaph, deserves brief mention here, as he is completely unknown. From 1919 to 1922, he was the dean of Myong-dong School, which was founded by Kim Yak-yon (1868-1942), a patriotic independence fighter. Tong-ju's mother was Yak-yon's sister, and therefore, Yak-yon was Tong-ju's maternal uncle. Kim Chong-kyu succeeded Kim 15

c. v. offers an explanation for this discrepancy. It says, "His year of birth was registered as 1918, because they did not register his birth until a year late. " As the writer of his c.v. was his own brother, it may well be true. The only other possibility is that his birthday was December 30, 1917, in the old calendar, which was in fact early February of 1918 by the new calendar. As they did not think it proper to change the actual date of his birth as well as the year, they could have left the date, December 30, and just changed the year to 1918. It was common, however, to delay the register of a birth, but it is odd that it should have been delayed by almost exactly one year. At that time, as the lunar calendar dominated everyday life, I wonder whether "December 30 in the seventh year of Daisho" does not refer to the lunar calendar.

tong-ju's Childhood One way to understand Tong-ju would be to reconstruct his childhood, by visiting the house he lived in and the church he used to attend, and looking up his friends and people who influenced him. There were two houses in Yongjong and one in Myong-dong where he lived, but they have been torn down. I was sorry to hear that the house where he was born was demolished in 1983. I was able, however, to confirm the site

where the house stood. His primary and middle school were no longer extant, though it was possible to obtain some photographs. The information I obtained about Yun Tong-ju at the university library in Japan and in Yonbyon are as follows:

died there three years later.

The earthenware pot and fulling block used by Yong-sok's second wife were still at Yong-jip's house, together with Tong-ju's mother's photograph.

The Site of the House Where Tong-ju Was Born (Myong-dong)

Tong-ju's Mother There is a picture of Tong-ju's mother, Kim Ryong (1891-1948), thought to have been taken at the age of 50. She was shown to have a high nose and narrow eyes. It was in the possession of Tong-ju's second cousin, In-ju. This is the only surviving picture of one of his immediate family.

All his photographs and letters were burned during the Cultural Revolution. It was a miracle that even one photograph survived. Kim Ryong, Kim Ik-yon's sister, was ,an intellectual well versed in Chinese literature and classics. She was by nature quiet, and suffered long illnesses. At the time of her death, Tong-ju's brother, Kwangju, wa5 fifteen according to Korean age(3), and was taken care of by his grandmother.

His father, Yong-sok, remarried around 1955. By that time only Kwang-ju was living at home.

Kwang-ju died of consumption in 1962, and Yong-sok died three years later in 1965. Yong-sok's second wife who suffered various illnesses, stayed at his cousin Yong-jip's house, and

The site of the house where Tongju was born had become a tobacco field . A pile of foundation stones 70 to 80 centimeters high stood where the house had been. Where the kitchen and warehouse stood, there were a few concrete slabs. Only one building had been built in the north-south direction for good ventilation.

The House Where Song Mongkyu Was Born (Myong-dong) Mong-kyu was arrested and died in prison about the same time as Tongju. The two of them were cousins and friends. They were born in the same year, and their houses were very close to each other. They were christened as babies at the same time, and went to Myong-dong Primary School together. The house where Mong-kyu was born was still standing on the same spot. It was exactly as it had been except for a new chimney.

Mong-kyu's father, Song Changhoe, was the Headmaster of Myongdong School and the head of the village office. After liberation, until A picture of¡ Yun Tong-ju's mother, Kim Ryong (front row far left).

This is the only surviving picture of anyone in Yun's immediate family.

Kim Ryong was an intellectual well versed in Chinese literature and classics.

16

1946, he was the principal of Kwangmyong Middle School. A distant relative of Mong-kyu, Song Tok-sop, was still living in Myong-dong, however, Mong-kyu's parents had returned to Korea after liberation. Mong-kyu was also a graduate of Taesong Middle School, which was well preserved. His school register was still kept there.

the night duty room of the teachers was still there and being used as a private home. The site of the old school building was overgrown with weeds, and the present Myong-dong Primary School had been built on the other side of town.

The Cemetery of the Yun Family (Myong-dong)

It was situated under a low cliff, some 200-300 meters to the north of the old Myong-dong School. It was still standing after a few renovations.

It seemed to be used as a sort of meeting place or a warehouse, or some sort of a public building. The tree on which the church bell used to hang was still standing.

It was situated almost to the north of Tong-ju's birthplace, some 10 minutes' walk from there. It seemed to be fairly large, but was no longer used and its boundaries were not very clear. Tong-ju's tomb was on the outskirts of Yongjong, some 4.5 kilometers away.

Yun's Grandfather Ha-hyon's Tomb (Myong-dong) The tombs of his father, Yong-sok, and his mother, Kim Ryong, must have been in the Yun family cemetery, but could not be identified because the tombstones could not be found. His grandfather Ha-hyon's tomb, however, was confirmed. Ha-hyon had been on the Council of Elders and a prosperous farmer owning about 5 chongbo (about 12.3 acres) of land. It was not a huge piece of land, but in the tiny mountain village, he was considered a rich, westernized farmer, and during the Cultural Revolution, the red guards dug up his grave. They were searching for articles buried inside the tomb to use them in their class war. Originally there must have been tombstones, but they were no longer there. The hole the red guards made was still visible.

Myong-dong Church

Hwaryonghyonnip Cheil Primary School The present Chishin Primary School is in Chishin-hyang, Yongjonghyon county. Taenapja was the old name for Chishin. Tong-ju's old school building was pulled down two or three years before, but there still are some photographs of the building.

Unjin Middle School (Yongjong) This is the Canadian Mission School, which Tong-ju attended from April 1932 to August 1935. There are photographs both in Japan and in Yonbyon, of the school at the time of

its opening. The woods behind the school were the same, but they had become a military area which we were not allowed to enter. The experimental farm of Unjin Middle School, next to the school building, had now become the playground of Yongjongsajung, a middle school offering a four-year course.

Kwangmyong Middle School (Yongjong) This is the former Yongshin Middle School. It was founded in 1910, and Tong-ju attended it from April 1936 to February 1938. The school building was in the shape of a " c ." At present only the " part remains and is used as the cooperative store of the Shinan Primary School, which adjoined Yongjong Middle School.

L

"

Tongsan Christian Church (Yongjong) The Presbyterian church was located on the east hill in Yongjongjin village. The main building of the church remained, though the belfry did not.

There were separate doors for men and women on the right and left hand sides of the building, but now they were blocked and the building was used as a warehouse. An old photograph of the church showed a sign above the belfry, "Tongsan Christian Presbyterian Church," and below it a

Myong-dong School Myong-dong School was burned three times. It was finally burned down by the Japanese as a center for the revolutionary movement. Tong-ju attended it between 1925 and 1931.

I obtained an old photograph of the school building. It was a long, straight building, with the primary school on the left and the middle school on the right. The door was in the center, with a sign, "Myong-dong Primary School," set in cement. The school building was no longer standing, but

The house where Song Mong-kyu was born.

17

sign, "Tongsan Kindergarten."

The House at Yongjong Tong-ju's family moved twice in Yongjongjin village, after moving there from Myong-dong. Both houses were destroyed. The house of his father's cousin, Y6ng-kyu, was the only one remaining, though somebody else was living in it. The house where Ha-hy6n, Y6ng-s6k and Tong-ju had lived was near there, where there is now a road leading to the main building from the front gate of the Yongjonghy6n county machine repair factory. Tong-ju's family was very close to Y6ng-kyu, and they were in and out of each other's house. It was just a few ¡minutes' walk from Unjin Middle School. The second house where he lived was also not far from there, and his neighbors thatched roofs recreated the atmosphere of his time.

Taesong Middle School (The Site of the Present Yongjong Middle School) Song Mong-kyu graduated from this school. Of the old middle school buildings, the only ones still remaining were the Taes6ng Middle School building and the oldest buildings of Kwangmy6ng Girls Middle School. In the center of the building, there was an entrance door, over which was the sign, "Taes6ng Middle School." The center of the building was three stories, and on the second floor, there was a Confucian altar. On April 1, 1923, students demanded the school authorities abolish daily morning rituals dedicated to Confucius, banish Director Im and teach modern science. When the school refused, they set fire to the altar on the second floor.

At present, the two rooms on the first floor were being used as an exhibition room, showing the history of the school, as well as materials related to the original six middle schools. On June 11, 1985, under the guidance of the teachers of Yongj6ng Middle School, the "Yun Tong-ju Literary Ideas Study Group" was formed, and afterwards during August, anthologies of Tong-ju's poetry, the details of thP Unjin Middle School in YongjOng, which Tong-ju attended from April 1932 to August 1935.

18

sentence he received in the Province of Kyong-do, drawings done of Tongju in prison, and his curriculum vitae, were displayed.

Miscellaneous

I I .;..••

I

Ifl~::: •. ::t

The existing buildings, which had no direct relation with Tong-ju but with which he must have been familiar, are as follows:

'"~:~.

1 t,... 11,.-,,.•

l ::::?:i:,1

• 1, ... -·~ I

1 ,~ , ... ~

.. I" .. "'I.

ttr•••v•

•.

") fj,Hfl

• The Charity Hospital This had become the office of the Yongjong Cheil Department Store. It was an attractive three-story building with a green roof. It had been the ministry hospital, though originally established as the Korean Colonial Office Hospital.

,f ~l

J

• Hongjung Primary School It is now part of the Yongjong Primary School.

• Thepriginal Building of Kwangmyong Girls Middle School Situated right outside the present Yongjong Second Middle School, it is currently a private home, though soon to be removed.

• The Auditorium of Kwangmyong Girls Technical College The present fifth middle school in Yongjonghyon, it is connected to Kwangmyong Middle School through the primary school.

Tong-ju's Relatives in Yonbyon and His Brother, Kwang-ju Tong-ju's nearest relative was Kim Tong-shik an assistant professor at the Yonbyon Agricultural Institute, however, he could not remember Tong-ju in any detail, because of a 40-year interval. Kim Tong-shik's wife was Tong-ju's aunt (his father's sister), and therefore was very close to his family. Kim Tong-shik even lived with them at one time.

Tong-ju had a younger si$ter called Hae-won, and two younger brothers, Il-ju and Kwang-ju. The former two now live in Seoul and on the outskirts of Seoul, repectively, and only Kwang-ju continued to live in Yonbyon until he died. Tong-ju's brothers and sister could all he called poets. Ilju was also a poet, though he was an

Yun Tong-ju Exhibition Corner in the YongjOng Middle School (top).

KwangmyOng Girls Middle School (bottom).

architect by prof~sion.

Kwang-ju (1933-62) was recognized as a poet in Yonbyon. Three of his poems appear in An Anthology of Poet1y in Commemoration of the Thirtieth Anniversaiy of the People's Republic of China published in September 1969 by Yonbyon Shimin Publishing Company. Judging from the title of the book, only those works which were reasonably valued must have appeared in it. Those three poems, entitled "Tashi Mannaja Kohyanga " ( Farewell, My Hometown ) , "Ko won iii Sae Pom" ( The New Spring on a Plate·au ), and "Ach'im Hapchangdan" (The Morning Chorus ) are lyric poems and have a completely different feel than those written by Tong-ju . It is quite natural, as their times and circumstances were totally different.

Besides those people mentioned above, there were a few teachers who influenced his ideas; Yi Ki-ch'ang, Han Chun-myong and Kim Chongbun of Myong-dong Primary School;

Myong Hiii-jo, _Kim Chun-song and Yi T'ae-jun of Unjin Middle School; and Pak Yong-hwan of Kwangmyong Middle School. All of them were brilliant people, who were also very patriotic. Especially, there were lots of stories about Pak Yong-hwan . Tongju's classmates were not difficult to find, but most of his teachers had passed away. I could specify the curriculum vitae of each teacher, but that would not show clearly how they influenced his ideas, and therefore I considered it to be unnecessary at this stage. +

(1) The poet's name is Tong-ju ( "JlW: ) meaning "eastern pillar." The suggested pen name Tongju ( .!i't fij· ) means a "boy's boat."

(2) Daisho was the name of the Japanese emperor and the name by which his reign is known.

(3) Koreans call a child one year old at birth and a year older on each New Year's day.

•The writer is a professor at Waseda University in Japan.

19

I- --HERITAGE

Korea's Confucian Academies with Shrines Text & Photos by ART¡SPACE

D

uring the Koryo (9181392) and Choson (13921910) kingdoms, before the introduction of a modern educational system, the state educational institutions consisted of the Kukchagam or the National Academy, the Songgyun-gwan, the National Confucian University, and the Tongbu and Sobu haktang, the Eastern and Western District Schools, all located in the capital, and the hyanggo, the community schools loChon¡ kgyonggak of SOnggyun-gwan, a sanctuary of Confucianism in Korea.

cated in the provinces. These schools taught the Confucian Four Books and Five Classics to prepare students for the kwago or civil service examination.

In addition to the state schools, there were private village elementary schools called sodang and private academies with shrines called sowon.

The S6won and hyanggyo provided the Confucian education of the Choson period. A number of sowon still remain today as reminders of the na-

21

Sosu Sowon

Hanggyo, a local school to educate the sons of the ruling class in Confucianism (above).

Tosan Shisadan, a place for examination in the Confucian classics (right) .

22

tion's Confucian roots.

W ith the emergence of the NeoConfucian literati as the ruling class of the Choson Kingdom, Confucianism replaced Buddhism as the leading ideology and education came to be of great importance, especially to those who aspired to join the civil service by passing the kwago examination. The state educational institutions headed by the Songgyun-gwan and the local schools such as the hyanggyo, sodang, and sowon were intended to educate the sons of the ruling class in Confucianism.

In the mid-Choson period, during which there were a number of literati purges, the local hyanggyo were unable to carry out their responsibilities effectively and thus numerous scholars established sowon to provide a proper education in Confucianism and to foster a proper spiritual and moral environment for the demoralized literati.

The sowon were a combination of the sojae, or private academies, and shrines d,edicated to past Confucian

Worthies. In religious origin, the sowon and the European universities of the Middle Ages share certain similarities. The s6won differed from the Ch6ngsa, or study hall, and the sodang in that it had a shrine and from shrines in- that it was also a school.

The sowon were established to train young men in Neo-Confucian ideology, manners and morals. They were also the center of regional cultural development and the overseer of the spiritual and moral.<development of the local literati.

In Korea, Confucian shrines honoring past Confucian Worthies were built from the Shilla period (57 B.C.-A.D. 935) but it was not until well into the Chosbn Kingdom that academies and shrines were combined to form a new institution.

Korea's first sowon was Paegun-dong Sbwon established in 1542, the 37th year of the reign of King Chungjong,

by Chu Se-bung, the magistrate of P'unggi County. Yi Hwang (T'oegye, 1501-70) who succeeded Chu as magistrate of the county petitioned the

Yi Hwang (T'oegye, 1501-70), one the foremost Confucian scholars of Choson , is called the Chu Hsi of Korea.

court in a memorial to bestow a hanging signboard for the sowon written by the king himself. The king complied, writing the four Chinese characters for Sosu Sbwon and the academy has been known by this name ever since. The king also donated the Four Books and Five Classics and other Confucian books.

After the establishment of Sosu Sbwon, a great number of sowon were built by local community leaders with their own funds or state subsidies. By the time of King Sukchong (r. 1674-1720), there were 80 to 90 sowon in each province. With this proliferation, they began to be economically a.n d politically counterproductive. The problems associated with the sowon became so bad that the ¡ Regent Hii.ngsbn Taewon-gun closed all but 47 of them in 1871. P'ilam Sbwon and Musong Sbwon in the Challa-do provinces and Pyongsan Sowon, Tosan Sowon, Sosu Sowon, Todong Sbwon and Oksan Sbwon in the Kyongsang-do provinces were the most famous of the 47.

23

In this article, three of the sowon in the Kyongsang-do areaPyongsan, Tosan and Sosu-will be introduced. The Pyongsan Sowon in Pyongsan-dong, P'ungch'on-myon, Andong-gun, Kyongsangbuk-do Province is Historic Site No. 206. Its predecessor was P'ung-ak Sodang which had been given land and books

by King Kongmin-wang (r.

1351-1344) of the Koryo Kingdom who took refuge in Andong from the Red Turban bandits. He was deeply impressed by the diligence of the stu-

24

dents at the local sodang.

P'ungak Sowon was moved to Pyongsan from the busy area of P'ungsan-hyon in 1572, the fifth year of the reign of King Sonjo, by Yu Song-ryong (Soae). Yu, who was 31 years old at the time, changed its name to Pyongsan Sowon. After his death, local Confucian students built a shrine to him in 1614, the sixth year of the reign of Kwanghaegun , and called it Chondoksa .

Memorial services honoring him have since been held annually in spring

Pyongsan Sowon, Historic Site No. 206

The hanging signboard of Pyongsan S6won (far left) and a pond in the garden of the S/Jwon (left).

and autumn.

Pyongsan Sowon faces southeast toward the N aktonggang River. It is reached by the winding road to Hahoe Village, with the river on the left.

Entering the front gate, the visitor climbs up stone steps below Mandaeru Pavilion which is said to be the largest sowon pavilion. Emerging from under the pavilion, one must climb a few more stone steps to reach the lecture hall called Ipkyodang. In front of the lecture hall is Tongjikje, the dormitory which is parallel with the library. Behind Ipkyodang to the east on raised ground is a gate. Pass-

ing through it, one comes to Chondoksa, the shrine. There is a storage room for woodblocks to the west of the shrine and a memorial service preparations office and the duty officers quarters to the east.

The two-story Mandaeru Pavilion has seven bays across the front and two on the sides. It commands a view of the whole surrounding area. There is an artificial oblong pond near the wall to the west of the pavilion with an island made to resemble Pangjangsonsan Mountain, one of the three holy mountains in Chinese folk beliefs.

25

A pair of stones supported by stone pillars is in front of Chondoksa. A bonfire is believed to have been built on the stones to illuminate the shrine during memor-ial services at night.

Similar stones have also been found at Todong, Oksan ¡and Tosan sowon.

The largest existing sowon, Tosan Sowon in T'oege-ri, Tosan-myon, Andong-gun, Kyongsangbuk-do Province is Historic Site No. 170. Yi Hwang, who was admired as the Chu Hsi of Korea, taught and developed his ideas here. Started as Tosan Sodang, it grew into a sowon when his disciples built Sangdoksa Shrine (Treasure No. 211) dedicated to him in 1574, the seventh year of the reign of King Sonjo (r.

1567-1608), and the east and west dormitories and the Chon-gyodang lecture hall (Treasure No. 210). In 1575, the king bestowed a hanging signboard for Tosan Sowon written

by Han Ho (Sokpong, 1543-1605) , the greatest calligrapher of that time.

Tosan Sowon faces southeast along the Nakch'on, an upperstream tributary of the N aktonggang River. Two mountains, Tongch'wibyong on the east and Soch'wibyong on the west, rise up behind the sowon like a folding screen. Passing through Chindomun, the front gate, the visitor faces the original Tosan Sodang enclosed by walls to the east and Nong-unchongsa, the dormitory and study hall for the students, to the west. The Nong-un-chongsa is laid out in an" I " to resemble a Chinese character taken from Yi Hwang's motto emphasizing the balanced development of mind and body. Hagojiksa, the kitchen, is located opposite the sodang.

Behind the sodang compound is the gate to Chon-gyodang lecture hall. On the sides of the gate are .Tonggwangmyongshil and Sogwangmyongshil in which Yi Hwang's books, the books formerly in Yoktong Sowon and other donated books are kept. There is also another building, Changp'an-gak, used to store the woodblocks for printing Tosan .shibigok (Twelve Poems from Tosan).

Sosu Sowon is located in Naejukri, Sunhiing-myon Yongju-gun, Kyongsangbuk-do on the site of Suksusa Temple. In 1542, Chu Se-bung built a shrine dedicated to An Hyang (Hoehon, 1243-1306) who had greatly contributed to the development of 26

Tosan 5/lwon, Historic Site No. 170, is the largest 5/lwon in Korea (left).

At top is its hanging signboard. And the entrance of Tosan So won (bottom) .

Neo-Confucianism toward the end of the Koryb period. An Hyang was born and raised in Sunhung and studied in P'unggi. The following year Chu opened the Paegun-dong Sbwon, the forerunner of Sosu Sbwon, Historic Site No. 55. There is one National Treasure and four Treasures on the premises. The name Sosu Sbwon means "academy of received learning." It was suggested by Shin Kwang-han, an official of the Office of Special Advisors, in honor of An Hyang.

Sosu Sbwon was the first sowon to be honored with a royal hanging signboard and was thus the first of the so-called royally chartered private academies. The royally chartered private academies, which increased rapidly so that there were more than 100 by the time of King Sbnjo, were 27

Potrait of An Hyang , KoryO period (1318A.D.), National Treasure No. 111, Color on silk, 37 x 29cm, Sosu Sowon.

Confucius and His Disciples, Treasure No. 485

28

given grants of books, land and slaves and were exempt from tax and corvee.

Sosu Sowon nestles among centuries-old pine trees near the Chukkye Stream. Entering the main gate, the visitor faces Mybngryundang, the lecture hall. There are four dormitory buildings to the left and rear of the lecture hall: Chikpangjae, Ilshinjae, Hakkujae and Chirakchae.

To the right of Chikpangjae are the shrine dedicated to An Hyang, An Chuk, An Po and Chu Se-bung and Chbnsach'ong, in which ritual vessels for Confucian memorial services are kept. In building Sosu Sbwon, Chu Se-bung used Pai-lu-dong Academy established by Chu Hsi in China as a model, also adopting the curriculum and rules of conduct of the Chinese academy.

The portrait of An Hyang in the Sosu Sbwon was commissioned by King Ch'ungsuk-wang (r. 1313-1330, 1332-1339) of Koryb in 1318, 12 years after An's death and was presented to the head of the An clan. As an indication of the honor with which he regarded An, the king had a Yuan Chinese painter paint the portrait from an original done during his lifetime. The An clan first enshrined the portrait in Sunhiing Hyanggyo but later, during the literati purge in 1457, the third year of the reign of King Sejo, moved it to the family shrine. Then in 1543, the 38th year of the reign of King Chungjong (r.

1506-1544), it was enshrined at Sosu Sbwon. The oldest extant painting in Korea, it is National Treasure No. 111. It is a realistic painting which is neither Buddhist nor Confucian in style. Because it was painted from an original portrait, it is believed to be a faithful depiction.

A painting of Confucius and his 72 disciples and feudal lords is Treasure No. 485. Confucius is seated on a throne and the others are seated in front of him in several rows. This painting was among the paintings, ritual vessels and portraits of the ten most famous Confucians that Kim Mun-jong, an official of the National Confucian University, brought back from Yiian China at the instruction of An Hyang in 1303, the 29th year of the reign of Ch'ungnybl-wang (r. 1274-1308). There is a record that the painting once hung in the main

hall of the National University. It was moved to Sunhung Hyanggyo and then enshrined in the portrait room of the lecture hall of this sowon. It is important to the study of how Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism was brought into Korea, although it is not known whether this is an original or a copy.

A pair of stone flagpole supports in the pine grove to the right of the entrance is Treasure No. 59. They belonged to Suksusa Temple which was destroyed to build the sowon.

Sosu Sbwon survived the closing of the sowon by the Regent Hungsbn Taewon-gun, although it was banned from carrying out any activities. The Confucianists in the area began to repair it in 1975 and an exhibition hall was added to the existing buildings. At present, it is open to tourists.

All three of the sowon discussed in this article have mountains to the rear and rivers in front. Thus they had excellent natural surroundings for education and academic pursuits. The natural environs of Tosan Sbwon were considered exceptionally good.

Although they were frequently criticized for fostering factionalism and academic conflicts, the sowon have been credited with making a creative contribution to education and the promotion and practice of Neo-Confucianism, which was the mainstay of the culture of the Choson period. Because of the independence and spirit of equality it fostered, the Sosu Sbwon, especially, played an important role in the rise of the local Neo-Confucian literati. Then in the 17th century, the private sowon were successful in filling the educational gap created when the national schools, which had prepared students for the state civil service examinations, almost ceased to function because of the devastating misrule by Kwanghaegun (r. 1608-1623). +

A pair of stone flagpole supports in the pine grove to the right of the entrance, Treasure No 59. at Sosu Sowon.

29

LITERATURE

Pointing at the Clouds

By Kevin O'Rourke

oyal Inspector, governor of a province, personal secretary to the king, second prime minister, general of the army-these are some of the positions held by Chong Ch' 61 during a career which was punctuated by periods of voluntary retirement, dismissal and exile. He was by nature a brilliant but rather stubborn man, and his career is marked by continuous controversy.

What sort of man was Chong Ch'ol? His friends say he was upright, loyal, dedicated and filial; his enemies say he was greedy, avaricious, a snake and a wolf; neutral commentators say he was a loyal upright official but inclined to be narrowminded and intolerant. ¡ Whatever the ambivalence in the personality of the man, it is at least certain he was a poet of the first rank, in fact the first shijo poet to leave a considerable body of work. Shijo are three-line poems, controlled by strict syllable count. They are Korea's most traditional poetic form and continue to be composed today after a history of some five hundred years. Chong Ch'ol's claim to fame does not rest

R

merely on bulk; his claim rests solidly on the way he uses the Korean language. In Chong Ch'ol, we see that versatility in the use of languagethe startling phrase, the spare elegant expression, the density of ,meaning, the use of irony- which so much a part of the sijo tradition.

What happens if you pull down beams and supports A host of opinions greet the leaning skeleton house.

Carpenters with rulers and ink keep milling around.

There is nothing quite like this in the previous history of theshijo. The images are startlingly clear, precise, and incisive, beams and supports being qualified and extended by the use of skeleton with all the connotations of that word. The final image of carpenters running around with rulers and ink lends comedy, irony, indeed the surgeon's scalpel to the poem. The poem supposedly reflects the confusion of the court at the time of Hideyoshi's invasion (The forces of Japanese warlord Hideyoshi Toyotomi invaded Korea several times from 1592-98).

31

Another poem, with quite a different mood, shows the poet's basic method again, the same sharp definition of images with irony as the scalpel. Paduk (Go in Japan) is a game like chess which was and is very popular in Korea.

The lads have gone to dig fernbrake; the bamboo grove is empty.

Who will pick up the pieces scattered across the paduk board?

Reclined against a pine tree root, inebriate, I do not feel the approach of day.

The irony of the poem is increased by the knowledge that the inebriated state was not at all uncommon for Chong Ch'ol. Indeed the seeming transcendence of the poet's position may be part of the irony.

Chong Ch'ol loved his wine: Yesterday I heard that farmer Song from over the hill had new wine.

I kicked the ox to its feet, threw on a saddle-cloth and rode up here.

Boy, is your master home?

Tell him Chong Ch'ol has come to visit.

I'm fifty now, no longer young.

Yet wherever I go, at -the mere sight of wine, I break into a broad toothy grin.

What's wrong with me?

Wine is an old, old acquaintance: I cannot ever forget him.

However, wine posed an enormous problem for Chong Ch'ol. In his writings he notes that most of the messes in his life were caused by overindulgence. How awful, he exclaims, to waken in the morning with a terrible head and not be able to remember the insults one may have ladled out the previous night!

Despite the fact that Chong Ch'61 incurred some notoriety for his indiscretions while under the influence, nevertheless he retains a special place in the Korean heart for his love of and loyalty toward the king. Many of the poems he wrote on this theme are couched in the convention of a lady speaking to her beloved: 32

Snow falling in the pine forest; every branch a flower I'll cut a branch and send it to my love.

What matter if it melts if he but sees it first?

Whatever about the contradictions in his character, Chong Ch'ol's best poems are pervaded by a fine sense of humanity; he seems to frame them within a very personal context. This fine sense of humanity is evident in poems that deal with the feelings of isolation and alienation that are the inevitable lot of prominent political figures who fall from grace:

The tree is diseased; no one rests in its pavilion.

When it stood tall and verdant, no one passed it by.

But the leaves have fallen, the boughs are broken; not even birds perch there now.

Perhaps more than anywhere else these finer human feelings can be discovered in poems that deal with the theme of transcendence. Indeed the finest sijo seem to deal with this theme, but then perhaps the finest poetry always does.

A shadow is reflected in the water; a monk is crossing the bridge.

Monk, stay a moment; let me ask you where you're going?

Pointing his stick at the clouds, he passes without a backward glance.

Here we see contrasted the disparate experience of two people, a monk who presumably has penetrated the secret of transcendence and a speaker represented as indolent but willing to learn. The focus in the poem is on the speaker. He is the one who is brought face to face with

truth; he is the one who achieves the insight.

One of the distinguishing marks of the good poet is the ability to be able to perceive the transcendent in others and perhaps more importantly to perceive the lack of it in himself.

Chong Ch'61 had this quality:

Chong Ch'6l's heart was in the right place. If, like most of us, he failed in the implementation of the ideal, at least he knew what it was. +

A sudden shower splatters a lotus leaf, but I cannot find the track of water.

I wish my heart were like that leaf, that nothing ever stained it.

We can at least be certain that

â&#x20AC;˘The writer

!s a professor at Kyunghee University.

33

34

im Young-uck may be physically small, but his violin music is titanic.

His pianissimo strains flow gently into every corner of the concert hall, and his fortissimo refrains penetrate the heart.

He owns two classic masterpieces: a Guarnerius and a Stradivarius which he favors these days. He chooses the violin that best suits the music' he is playing, but his recent performances seem to be more effective on the Stradivarius than the Guarnerius.

He says he married a violin at the age of seven, long before he married a woman, and that the two master violins in his possession are the greatest beauties in the world. They say that 300 years ago the Italian master violin makers designed the violin in the shape of a beautiful nude, and that nothing-not even the nudes of Rubens and Renoir or the exquisite Venus de Milo-matches the artistic curves of the violin.

Kim Young-uck says that his heart leaps like a bridegroom meeting his bride, every time he takes one of his master instruments out of its case. Einstein was separated from his wife because she was jealous of his dedication to the violin . Kim's marriage to the violin, however, is merely metaphysical. He loves his music as much as his life, but his passion for his wife is equally strong; to him, she is a goddess.

In the days of the great Baroque composer, Vivaldi, there was an unusual ceremony, "The Marriage of the Sea to Venice," his home tow n. The Governor of Venice sailed out to sea in a splendid gondola accompanied by his men, and threw a ring into the sea, declaring, "I pronounce th ee and Venice, husband and wife forever ." In some ways, Kim Young-uck's marriage to the violin is similar: Kim's face has been made more beautiful by his music. It reminds one of Apollo. Goethe, the poet, studied phrenology and physiognomy. He admired young Mendelssohn for his angelic face as well as his musical talent. If Goethe could have met Kim, he would have

K

35

Kim Voung-uck as a boy with his sister pianist Kim Duck-ju (top).

This picture was used to make a postcard (bottom).

36

praised the violinist for his inspired performance and well sculpted face.

His bowing is very polished, but his fingering is even more wonderful. His fingers move all over the four violin strings, measuring distances as accurately as a caliper, or as adroitly as a spider's feet, weaving intricate geometric webs under the star-lit night skies. Heifetz's bowing and fingering are supposed to be the most accurate, but Kim's are so precise that he is said never to have been out of tune in his 20 years of performing.

In a recent interview, Kim said, "Now that I'm middle-aged, I seem to understand a little what music is all about. Musicians should never be self-complacent, however much they think their art has matured, because there is no perfection. The greatness of a musician is decided by how he or she performs in this short life. It is the destiny of a musician to strive until the end. " Some musicians, reminiscent of Immanuel Kant who emphasized pure a priori reason, might come to the same conclusion based on logic, but Kim, like the English philosopher John Locke, who claimed that experience alone is truth, based his views on his 20 years of experience.

He continued, "I sometimes doubt whether I did the right thing in choosing to become a musician. The answer to such skepticism must lie in philosophy, but a musician should also rid himself of doubt. I probably need the violin to wash away my skepticism about life, the world, the universe and my own existence. Music is a great savior for me, because I can sublimate my deficiencies in it.

Kim is said to be an optimist.

Although his discussion about life seems pessimistic and he suffers from occasional bouts of skepticism as he gets older and wiser, he is basically quite optimistic. He often bursts into laughter while he's talking.

Schopenhauer wrote a famous thesis, On Suicide , in which he claimed that the only way to end the suffering of life is death. A typical pessimist philosopher, he always looked as if he was about to weep. The reason why I mention Schopenhauer, who said that the universe was created by the devil himself, is that, by contrast, Kim Young-uck's optimism is very refreshing.

"I'm very lucky to have music to make me happy. I suppose each person has his or her own savior. I always dream of the future and never dwell on the past. What's gone is gone, and there is no use in being obssessed with it, good or bad. I think life has vitality and we can ?e happy only when we

think of the future and do our best," he said. I could not agree with him more. Nietzsche totally ignored his contemporaries and lived with his love of the future.

On the contrary, _Satre maintained that it was silly to have hope for the future. In my opinion, Kim, who does not think of the past and pursues his art with an eye on the future, is very wise.

"I hate it when somebody asks me about my past in an interview.

Strangely enough, I can talk about my future plans very clearly, whereas I seem to suffer from amnesia about the past, which, in theory, should be clearer. I often hesitate when asked a question about my past. In some ways, I'm a futurist."

Kim's philosophy of not dwelling on the past and leaving everything to the future is very profound. Satre stated that man had neither a past nor a future but only a present, which itself was empty. By contrast, Kim,

who fascinates other people and makes himself .happy with his music, delightfully applies optimism to the future.

"A musician can never rest for even a moment. He must run every day as soon as he wakes up.

In that way, he can possibly achieve some sort of eternity. He must overcome all such obstacles as despair and anguish. Any rest, however brief, means death to a musician," he said. Suddenly I was reminded of Mercury. Not unlike this young god, who had to dart all over the universe bearing the messages of the gods, Kim has been running ail over the world with his violin to make beautiful music for all people. He seems to consider himself a messenger of music, a sort of Mercury.

He went on, "Individuality is very important to the interpretation of music, but variety is equally indispensable. A composer uses his own diction, but a performer has to give life to it. A perform-

ance is often seen as a second composition. That is true, however, only when a piece is performed with rich expression.

Though of course perfection doesn't exist."

Recently his performances have seemed more mature. This is partly due to the fact that he has reached an age when he contemplates life more seriously, and partly that he has performed continuously. A few years ago, when he came back home to give a recital, I saw him at a rehearsal with a symphony orchestra. It was well past two o'clock in the afternoon, but I was impressed to see him ask the conductor to let him go over it again, because he was not totally happy with it.

He is a hard worker, who sacrifices everything to perfect his art and. to play perfectly for his audience, even though he said that perfection did not exist in music.

He has always aimed for perfection despite all sorts of difficulties.

Ivan Galamlan, Kim Young-uck and David Garvey

37

Kim Young-uck; Rudolf Serkin and Kim's sister, Kim Duck-ju, in 1960 just before Serkin left Korea following a recital.

He later took Kim Young-uck to America.

38

Kim was born on September 2, 1948, in Seoul. His father was a medical doctor. It was immediately after Korea's liberation from Japan , and the musical world was not very active. He started playing the piano at the age of four and made good progress. It was when he started playing the violin three years later, however, that he showed particular genius . Georg Simmel once said, "Art is created only by geniuses. A genius can reach the object without the process. " He could have had Kim Young-uck in mind.

A year after he started violin lessons, Kim was labeled a "genius" after winning the first prize in the violin section at the Ewha-Kyonghyang Competition.

He was as much a genius as Mozart who had started playing the piano at the age of three and composing at the age of five. Very early on, he was called the Paganini of Korea and his teacher and other musicians had no doubt

that he would be a world-class musician one day.

When he was 15, Rudolf Serkin , a world-famous pianist, came to Korea. He was surprised to hear Kim play the violin and was convinced he was a genius. He decided to take him to America.

At his farewell recital, Kim played Bruch's Violin Concerto fantastically. I had heard Menuhin's recording of the same piece at the age of 15, and felt Kim's performance was just as good.

When he went to America, he gave a recital of a violin concerto

by Vieuxtemps, a Belgian composer. During the second movement, he suddenly became homesick for his mother and tears fell down his cheeks. The audience must have thought he was so moved by the sad strain of the music but he was only a boy of 15. Recollecting this incident years later, he said that a performer should never allow himself to become sentimental, as he communi-

39

Violinist Kim Young-uck with pianist Christoph Eschenbach (top) and Peter Serkin (bottom)

cates with the soul of the composer during a performance.

Tears are only beautiful when shed because of sympathizing with the music. He no longer sheds sentimental tears now that he is at an age of "no doubt," (Confucius reportedly said that he had "no doubts" after he reached the age of 40.) but he knows how to shed tears of love and charity. Therefore his music moves us more.

In America, his genius became quickly recognized after his recital with the Philadelphia Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Eugene Ormandy. Isaac Pearlman, one of today's foremost violinists, 40

is said to have envied Kim's talent when he heard him play during his school days. It is impossible to know whether Mr. Pearlman still envies him, however, there is no doubt that Kim is a gen.ius.

Leonard Bernstein was so impressed with his performance that he said, "I've never called anybody a genius, but I can't find another word for Young-uck Kim." Mr. Ormandy also used that term, and Mr. Bernstein went even further and called him "the genius of all geniuses." This is very gratifying, as the name of Korea, which had not been known at all until then, reverbera.ted far and wide thanks

to him.

Kim, at one point, fell into a deep slump. It happens to most artists some time or other, but in his case, it was very serious. In Faust, Goethe claimed that it is women who come to our rescue.

True enough, it was a woman who saved him. His first marriage to a British cellist broke up, and this greatly affected his art. His second wife, an American, has proved to be a gem. She supports him and his art in every way.

He indeed found a new lease on love and art. For example, he was invited as a soloist five times and was a huge success in concerts with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra at the end of 1980 and the beginning of 1981. We will have to make sure that he repeats the glory he enjoyed when he was very young, performing in America, Europe and various Latin American countries. I felt his maturity as a man and artist at the concert he gave with the KBS Philharmonic Orchestra in 1986.

Mr. Pearlman, who once envied his talent, has become world-famous, thanks to the support of his country, Israel, and its people. We should do the same for our genius, Kim Young-uck.

He is fully booked up until 1990. In the past, he had no time for recordings except for two records by Gramaphone produced ten years ago. Recently, however, he has ¡started serious recordings with CBS and a French company, Erato. He has also formed a group called, "Beethoven Cycle" with Peter Serkin, the son of Rudolf Serkin, who took him to America as a young boy. They will play together in various concerts over the next three years. "The Ex I Kim/ Ma Trio" (the pianist, Ex, the violinist, Kim Young-uck, and the cellist, Yoyoba) was originally formed to give a concert every three years, but they now do so every year. His duets with Peter Serkin are very important, but recently this Trio has also won popularity all over the world, and therefore, he has been actively involved in chamber music as well.+ â&#x20AC;˘The writer is a music critic.

C

0

E

l

cl

0 E

<(

A picture from Columbia Artists Presents Inc. Several Newspapers including the L.A. Times and the Christian Science Monitor have highly praised Kim 's playing.

41

en must have gotten the idea for a bridge from a tree fallen across a stream or perhaps from vines hanging across a river, a gully or. the like. In fact, a log or two spanning a stream or stepping stones crossing a shallow waterway are still found quite often in the remote mountainous areas.

With the development of construction skills, girder bridges with timber piers or masonry arches appeared on wider streams. The vines for suspension bridges were replaced by ropes and, since the 19th century, by wire cables.

Bridges can be categorized according to building materials into wood, stone, iron, and, with more modern constructions, into reinforced or prestressed concrete and high-tensile steel. Whatever their modern classification, bridges in Korea, as indeed in any other country, are believed to have started with wood and stones.

The first mention of a bridge in recorded history is a passage in the Samguk sagi (History of the Three Kingdoms) in the chapter on the Shilla Kingdom (57 B.C.-A.D. 935).

It reads: " ... the great bridge constructed in P'yongyangju in the autumn of the 12th year of the reign of King Shilsong." The 12th year of Shilsong's reign corresponds to 413.

M

This cute log structure was thoughtfully placed here for the convenience of the monks going to one of the many hermitages of SOnamsa Temple.

44

45

This levee in Pogildo Island, built by the great Choson poet Yun Son-do (1587-1671) to flood a lotus pond, is called Tolgak-dari, or " Rattling Bridge," because one of the stones rattles when stepped on.

There is no way to determine if the bridge was made of wood or stone.

The next reference is to a bridge named Ungjin-gyo recorded tohave been built in 498, appearing in the same chronicle in the chapter on the Paekche Kingdom (18 B.C.-A.D .

660). Ungjin is today's Kongju in Ch'ungch'ongnam-do Province, but here again there is no mention of the building material.

Nevertheless, it is highly probable that early Korean bridges were mostly girder types with piers made of 46

timber or stones and superstructures made of logs.

A later entry on Shilla in the aforementioned Samguk sagi refers to "a fire on the Kungnamnu Pavilion Bridge" in the spring of 798. It was not clear whether it was a stone bridge on which a wooden pavilion stood or a bridge-cum-pavilion made entirely of wood until an extensive excavation in Kyongju in 1986 revealed part of what is believed to be its wooden piers. The pieces of wood recovered at that time are the oldest

remains of a bridge in the country.

The oldest extant wooden bridge is Nungp'agakkyo near the ancient T'aeansa Temple in Koksong, Chollanam-do Province. The bridge with a wooden pavilion on its deck was constructed in 1737 during the Choson Kingdom (1392-1910).

Other ancient wood bridges of note include the covered passageway connecting the Yongnamnu Pavilion and its annex, S6ikh6n, which was built in 1884, and the pretty little bridge spanning the lotus pond to

Ch'ihyanggyo, or "Bridge of Intoxicating Fragrance;· that spans the lotus pond of Hyangwonjong, or "Pavilion of Far Reaching Fragrance," in Kyongbokkung Palace.

The stone staircases over this arch in Pulguksa Temple in KyOngju are called bridges as they symbolically bridge the secular world to Pulguk, the Land of Buddha (right).

48

Hyangwonjong Pavilion in Ky6ngbokkung Palace, built in 1867.

The piers of the latter are stone, precluding it from the category of purely wooden bridges.

The oldest written reference to stone bridges is perhaps in the Samguk yusa (Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms) in an episode about a Shilla beauty, Tohwany6, and Pihy6ngnang, her son by the spirit of King Chinji-wang (r. 567-579) who is said to have fallen in love with her while he belonged to this world. Being of a ghostly descent, Pihy6ngnang was obviously on very good terms with the inhabitants of the underworld and, by royal command, built a stone bridge overnight to the north of Shinwonsa Temple with the aid of

his ghostly friends. The now nonexistent bridge was appropriately named Kwigyo, or "Ghost Bridge." This was in the 18th year after Chinjiwang's death, which corresponds to 596.

The oldest extant stone bridges are Ch'6ng-un-gyo and Paeg-un-gyo of Pulguksa Temple in Ky6ngju. Built in 751 by Kim Tae-s6ng, they are in fact a set of staircases leading to Chahamun, the main gate to the temple. They are named bridges, however, because they symbolically span the secular world and the Land of the Buddha (Pulguk). There used to be a pond in front of the temple originating from the same symbolism.

Ch'6ng-un-gyo, the lower flight of the two staircases, is built over an arch whose 13 voussoir stones are beautifully jointed. The nearby Yonhwagyo and Ch'ong-un- gyo bridges, which are smaller staircases dating from the same period, also scale up over an arch.

Attempts were made in 1986 to find the Wolch6nggyo Bridge "on Munch'6n Stream to the south of the Palace" and the Ilchonggyo Bridge 800 meters upstream from it, as recorded in the year 760 in the Samguk sagi. Remains of the two bridges were visible until the late 15th century as there is mention of them in the Survey of Geography of Korea compiled at that time.

The 1986 excavation revealed that the stone piers of W olch6nggyo were set at 45° angles to the flow of the stream·to reduce the effects of water erosion on them. What the superstructure was like cannot be determined from the piers but it was very probably a kind of cantilever bridge with stone beams.

Several bridges of the Kory6 Kingdom (918-1392) are mentioned in the Kory6 sa (History of Kory6), an authentic history of Kory6 compiled by scholars of the early Chason Kingdom. A bridge named Manbugyo appears in the entry on King T'aejo (r . 918-943), the founder of Kory6, and one called Hwanggyo in the entry on King Kojong (r.

1214-60), but neither remains today.

The oldest extant Kory6 bridge is Sonjukkyo in Kaes6ng, the capital of Kory6 which now lies in North Korea. The bridge is best known as the place where the Kory6 loyalist

49

Yogjegyo in Kyongbokkung Palace spans a Kt.Imch'tJn, a waterway constructed behind the palace gate to mart the boundary between the royal domain and the common area.

Chong Mong-ju was killed by an assassin of the Yi clan that later established the Yi Dynasty of Chos6n.

There is mention of it in historic records as early as the mid-12th century. It has stone piers and stone girders.

Another stone bridge dating from the Koryo period is located - at Hamp'y6ng in Ch6llanam-do Province. Said to have been built in 1274 by a monk named Komak-taesa, this 20-meter-long, 3.5-meter-wide bridge has five rows of piers, each consisting of three stones. The deck is made of stone slabs. It is named Kommakkyo after the name of its builder.

It was standard practice during Kory6 and Chos6n to construct a stream or waterway between the palace gate and the throne hall to demarcate the royal domain. The stream was aptly called kiimch'i5n (literally, forbidden stream) and court officials had to cross it to approach the throne hall. Manwolgyo on the site of the Kory6 palace in Kaes6ng is the first known kiimch'i5n-gyo which heralded the construction of numerous structures of this kind in the Chos6n palaces. A bridge of this type is the first thing that a visitor encounters in every palace in Seoul. In keeping with the imposing style of the palatial structures, these bridges are 50

ornately decorated and often have handsome masonry arches.

One of the most famous of the Chos6n bridges was Sup'yogyo, one of seven bridges that spanned the now concrete covered Ch'6nggyech'6n Stream in Seoul. It was a girder bridge with tiered stone piers and stone deck. ~ up'yogyo owes its name to a nearby sup'yo, a stone marked with notches, erected in 1441 to measure the water level of the stream . As the stream was made in 1406 as part of King T'aejong's

Haet'ae, a mythical animal, at the Kumch'on-gyo in Kyongbokkung Palace guard the palace from evil spirits that might lurk by the waterway.

development plan for the capital, the bridge is beiieved to date to sometime between the time the stream was made and the marker was erected.

The longest of the Chos6n bridges is the 78-meter-long, 6-meter-wide Salgoji Bridge at Hwangshimni in Seoul. Built in 1483, the girder bridge with a deck of stone plates supported by square stone piers served as the gateway to Seoul from the Kangwon-do and Ky6nggi-do provinces throughout the Chos6n period.

The¡ Hwahonggyo Bridge under the Hwahongmun Gate of Suwons6ng Wall, which was built in 1796, deserves note if only for its beautifully worked arches which number seven.

The bridge with the greatest number of arches in the country is not a passageway but a floodgate with a pavilion-like superstructure.

Other bridges representative of Chos6n bridges are the arched bridge at P6lgyo and one near S6namsa Temple in Sungju-gun, both in Ch61lanam-do Province. The Samch'6nggyo Bridge of Songgwangsa Temple not far from S6namsa is also noteworthy for its interesting superstructure of a pavilion called Uhwagak. + â&#x20AC;˘The writer is a professor at Korea University.

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PEOPLE

Lee Se-duk An Artist of Intellectual Modernism

By Lee Kyung-sung

odern painting was started in Korea in the 1930s and '40s by a group of artists who studied in Japan. Politically, Korea was suffering miserably under Jap . a,nese colonial rule. There was a strong anti-colonialist movement, especially after the March 1, 1919 Independence Movement. There were also many struggling to free themselves and the nation from antiquated conventions. There was a movement, in general, toward modernism.

Even though there were signs that Japan was losing the war(WW II), Lee Se-duk went to Tokyo because of Korea's dire circumstances. During the time there, which was like a training period,he embraced modernism despite the raging war. Modernism in Japanese art was due largely to liberal-minded painters who had studied in Paris. Having studied modern art, they adopted it to their lifestyles and introduced it to Japan when they returned home.

Modern painting at that time could be divided into two schools: one based on emotions and one based on intellect. The school based on emo-

M

tions manifested itself as Fauvism and abstract expressionism, which emphasized subjective expression of the artist's inner experiences. The dynamic, powerful paintings of the Fauvists and abstract expressionists influenced many Korean artists in the 1930s and '40s.

The school based on intellect was actually cubism and an art form which is refined and purified, called modernism. This modernism, so static, transparent and orderly,captivated many young artists including Lee Se-duk. Lee immediately became a believer in modernism. It was as if his natural temperament was in direct sympathy with it.

However, the raging war interrupted his studies pushing him into the line of battle. He was drafted into the army and difficult and dangerous days followed.

In 1945, the war finally ended and he returned to Korea. The liberation from Japanese colonial rule on August 15 promised everybody liberty. However, it was not until the late 1950s that Lee got around to painting.

Pushed around in the confusion and chaos which followed the cease-

fire, he did not begin to emerge as an artist until the late 1950s when he actively took part in the world of art as a university lecturer and a member of an art group. A coolheaded intellectual by nature, he naturally developed his own individual form of art based on modernism.

He started his art career at the Tokyo International Art School, where he studied between 1940 and 1944. Once in the 1950s he taught art at a university, but his artistic temperament did not suit such a rigid full-time position.

In 1958, he went to Paris, and for the following four years until 1962, he was baptized into all sorts of modem art.

He was somewhat of a pioneer.When he first went to Paris, there were only a handful of Korean artists there. His stint in Paris and its influence on his art is well reflected in his later works of abstract expressionism, though they are very different from the socalled abstract expressionism developed in America. The reason for this is that the source of Lee's paintings is nature itself, though the fonns may be simplÂľied and abbreviated.

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Image. 1987. 011 on canvas, 260x162cm.

54

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In those days, his art reflected his broad international experience because of the world he had gotten to know in Paris and through living and talking with artists from all over the world. An intellectual artist with rich international experience was finally born.

When he returned to Korea, however, he realized that Korean traditions were too outmoded for international standards. From then on, he concentrated on understanding thetrue character of Korean traditions and finding ways to depict them in modern forms of art.

About this time, he went through another change; he became an "applied artist." He saw that often foreign artists did not just stay on one plane, but actively engaged in the three-dimensional or even fourdimensional world. He decided to broaden his horizon by taking up designing. Just when Korean society's demand for new public buildings such as theaters and hotels was growing, he emerged as an applied artist.

At first, he was frowned on for engaging in interior decoration and design, but he shrugged off such criticism as being narrow-minded. He began to be actively involved in this new field in 1965, when he represented Korea at the International Applied Artists Association, and in 1966 at the Fifth IAAA Tokyo General Meeting. In 1968, in particular, he masterminded the Korean Modern Art Exhibition in the Tokyo National Modern Art Gallery, and introduced modern Korean works to Japan.

He has been active not only in Japan, but also throughout Southeast Asia and as far as Brazil, where he

Lee Se-duk in his studio.

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- - - - - - - - - - - - - -- -- -- - -- - - -- - -- - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - -- --- -

~~--·

A tapestrylee made in 1987 that hangs in the Haeundae Paradise Beach Hotel .

represented Korea at the Fifteenth San Paulo Biennial.

It was entirely thanks to his efforts that Korean art was introduced to the world through the ISPAA. In 1968, the ISPAA Group Exhibition wa5 opened in Korea, and in August of that year, · internationally famous works of modern art were shown. It was through his efforts that a relationship was formed between the Osaka Art College and Hongik University. They exchange works every year in an annual exhibition, which has contributed greatly to art education in both countries. In some ways, therefore, his name is better known in Japan and Southeast Asia than in Korea.

His ability to adapt to the changing world is amply shown in the way he extended himself to the world of interior design and three-dimensional works.

It was a bold adventure in those days for an artist to paint murals in public buildings, and design curtains for theaters and tapestries.for hotels, 58

though it is not uncommon now.

His main works since 1954 inc;:lude murals in the French Embassy, the Sheraton Walker Hill Hotel and the Christian Academy; interior decorations in the old National Theater, the new National Theater, the National Assembly building, the Seoul Royal Hotel, the Sheraton Walker Hill, the BandoChosunHotel and the Yongbingwan, the old government guest house now a part of the Shilla Hotel; and curtains in the new National Theater. Apart from those, he painted the murals in the Korea Culture and Art Promotion Center and in the Hilton Hotel. His tapestries are also very well known. Some of them decorate the Plaza Hotel in Tokyo, Japan. Lee is an active artist, not _only in painting, but also in all genres of art. His unique vision can be seen in all his works.

Lee grew up in the turbulent modern Korean society, and went abroad to study the arts of Japan and Europe. He digested what he had learned to suit himself and returned

to Korea and applied it. The process of application itself was a sort of creative process, as it involved harmonizing foreign and Korean elements and moulding tradition and new creations in the same dimension.

The world of beauty he created combines Korean fantasy with new forms as he attempted to internationalize the most essentially Korean things. After all what is essentially Korean can be international and what is international can be one with the Korean concept of beauty.His artistic fantasies leap incessantly toward the future . His world also contains rythmic and musical sentiments. His works, which are mainly based on straight lines, have a rythmic structure and music that can be felt. They are transparent, well-structured and rythmic, and succeed in dragging out an awareness of beauty which lies dormant deep in the minds of everyone.+ •The writer is an art critic and the director of the National Museum of Contemporary Art

Jinro-SoJu-Korea's traditional liquor Soju was introduced to Korea more than 600 years ago from Mongolia which was also t he country that first introduced Islamic culture to Asia.

Soju has for centuries been considered a premium quality liquor because of its mild and refined taste.

IF YOU WANT TO UNDERSTAND KOREA, YOU SHOULD TRY JINRO-SOJU.

Why does Jinro-Soju taste so goo_d_?___ ~.....

Jinro is the largest integrated liquor maker in Kor.ea, and has for over sixty years produced only superior quality liquor.

As Soju is a pure liquor made from natural ingredients such as rye and sweet potatoes, the taste is simple and clean.

Other products In addition to Jinro Soju, we produce ginseng wi ne, fruit wine, vodka, scotch whisky and dry gin , and export these products to 23 countries, including the U.S.A. and Japan .

The high awards of Jinro liquor has been recognized worldwide wit h the winning by Jinro of the International Wine & Spirit s Competition Award and the Monde Selet ion Award , three years in a row.

Places of interest in Seoul. lnsa-dong Somet imes called a " Street Museum" lnsadong has numerous antique shops. There are also many book stores and galleries concentrated in this area.

Daehak-ro (College street) Daehak-ro in Oongsoong-dong the previous location of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences of Seoul National University, is a cheerful, cultural street, overflowing with youth and the arts.

ltaewon ltaewon is a shopper 's paradise. There are over one thousand stores in and around ltaewon and it is one of the best shopping place in Aisa for clothes, leather goods and various industrial products. After shopping hours the nightlife in ltaewon is something to write home about.

Noryangjin Fish Market Business for t he day starts at 4: 00 A.M. and finishes late at night. It's a real experience to buy your fish at one of the many fish actions in the market . .

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Nam Dae Mun Market A visit to Korea isn't complete without a day 's shopping at Namdaemun Market . It is Asia's largest open air market and every conceivable product can be purchased .

~ JINRO LIMITED

KYONG JU The Homeland of Korean Culture

By Kim Won-yong

K

oreans consider Kyongju a symbol of their history and ancient culture, and it is their earnest desire to visit this city at least once during their lives.

In spring and autumn, its streets are filled with toutists on group tours and middle and high school students from around the country on school trips.

The cities that served as capitals of the various Korean kingdoms were concentrated on the western coast of the peninsula. Each served as capital for about five hundred years before relinquishing the position to yet another city¡. Only Kyongju was located on the southeastern end of Uie peninsula and served as .t he seat of government for the Shilla Kingdom for nearly a thousand years.

The first kingdom to unify the peninsula, Shilla gathered the culture of every region in its capital and unified these into what became the tradition of Korean culture.

After Shilla's unification of the peninsula, northwestern Korea, the former territory of Koguryo, became a culturally peripheral area, and the region south of the Han-gang River was established as the main stage for Korean culture. This, in tum, signified the end of the shift in the economy and culture from that of the nomadic Tungus to that of sedentary farmers. The sinicization of Korean culture was encouraged by Shilla rulers. It was through this process that Korea emerged as one of the three cultural spheres in East Asia along with China and Japan.

A number of factors enabled Kyongju to occupy such an important position in Korean history, the most 60

important of these being its geographical assets.

Kyongju is situated near the tail end of the T'aebaeksan mountain range, which runs along the eastern coast and forms the watershed of the peninsula. It is cut off from northwestern and central western Korea by the Sobaeksan mountain range running southwest from the southern tip of the T'aebaeksan range and the Naktonggang River flowing south along tne eastern flank of the Sobaeksan range. The city was thus blessed with natural defenses during the Three Kingdoms period prior to unification (4th-6th century A.D.).

Such geographical conditions also endowed the people and the culture of the Kyongju area and the Yongnam region, the area south of the Sobaeksan range, with a conservative temperament as a whole. It was such a temperament that gave Shilla culture its strong indigenous character.

Though it seems isolated at first sight, Kyongju also occupies an important position in transportation. As a look at a map of the peninsula reveals, three north-south highways pa&<. through this area. They are the traditional coastal route along the eastern coast and to the east of the T' aebaeksan range; the traditional route along the western flank of the T'aebaeksan range leading from Seoul to Ch'ungju, Andong and Yongch'on; and the highway from Seoul to Ch'ungju, Sangju and Taegu. Kyongju is also connected with the Naktonggang River to the west through the valley running from Yongch'on to Taegu and with the East Sea through the Hyongsan-gang

River and Ulsan valleys. In a manner of speaking, it is a natural fortress located at the end of the north-south transportation routes. Its wide alluvial plain is good farming land, wellirrigated by the upper reaches of the Hyongsan-gang Riwr. It was thus uniquely endowed as an area in which the ancient peoples could settle.

The Kyongju Plain began to be settled in earnest during the Bronze Age, a fact that is demonstrated by the existence of dwelling sites and various types of graves, including dolmens dating from the period.

The discovery of the Wooden Chamber Tomb with its abundant supply of bronze artifacts of the latter Bronze Age tells us that from about the third century B. C., this had become the third center of Bronze Age Korea along with the northwest and central west regions.

This, in tum, reflects the fact that new residents from the north and west settled here around that time.

The rock drawing of Taegok-ri, Ulchu, is an example of the cultural elements that were introduced from northeastern Korea. This drawing depicts the life of a fishing people hunting whale and dolphin with supplementary hunting of game, a phenomenon of northern culture.

The drawing testifies to the northern Siberian element in prehistoric Korean culture.

The bronze settlers from the northwest and central west already had the technology of iron smelting. While bronzeware was alread used mostly for ceremonial occasions, the new settlers monopolized the manufacture

Tumuli Park contains 20 large earthen mounds that are Shilla royal tombs.

and distribution of highly effective iron tools for practical use. With that background they developed into a strong power class and became founders of village states.

According to the Samguk sagi (History of the Three Kingdoms), Saro, the forerunner to Shilla, was established in 57 B.C., most likely the date the founder of the Saro village-state ru;rived on the Kyongju Plain. The village of Saro was a tribal village of a bronze and iron culture population located at the foot of the mountains on the Kyongju Plain. In the fourth century A.D., a gold industry based on the extraction of alluvial gold ap-

pears to have arisen here, and gold and iron together became an important source of economic strength for the area.

The king of Saro was chosen from among three clans: the Pak clan, the head shaman who claimed to be descended from god; the Sok clan, established on the foundation of iron smelting( and the Kim clan, which probably had the gold technology.

The Kim clan came to dominate the royal succession around the middle of the fourth century. This is considered the reason that there are many articles of pure gold found in the tumuli from the late fourth century onward.

The beginning of the Kim royal line in the fourth century marks the beginning of Shilla as a substantive kingdom.During this period, also,the huge tumuli in the graveyard on the plain to the north of Kyongju's Panwol Fortress began to be built. One reason that so many of Kyongju's tumuli have been preseived almost perfectly for 14 or 15 centuries may be because the royal tombs were built within sight of the palace. Another reason is that they are protected by a huge outer layer of dirt and an inner stone mound that made grave robbery difficult.

The royal tombs of Koguryo and 61

Paekche were robbed and destroyed in a relatively short time because the structure of the stone chamber was easily penetrated by plunderers. The fact that Kyongju graves were much better preserved has been a decisive factor in making this the single most important city in studying the history of the Korean people. All who visit Ky6ngju today and look upon these tumuli existing alongside homes and rising above their roofs experience the illusion of returning to the Shilla Kingdom. There they feel the satisfaction of having returned to the pride of the national tradition and the homeland of the national culture.

The indigenous faith of the Shilla people was shamanism. Shamanism had been the faith of the Siberian people, and the fact that the royal crown of Shilla is composed of stylized trees and deer antlers reflects a connection with Siberia. Indeed, a gold diadem adorned with realistically rendered trees and antelopes was discovered at a Sarmation tomb in Novocherkassk on the northern shore of the Black Sea. With their capital located close to the East Sea, the Shilla people worshiped the sun which rose up over that body of water. They also worshiped the heavenly horse said to fly through the heavens and the rooster that drove away the darkness and heralded the light with the coming of the new morning. According to the foundation myth of Shilla, the founder of the kingdom, Pak Hy6kk6se, was born from an egg, and it was the neighing of a white horse that led to the discovery of this egg. The egg symbolized a bird of the sky or the rooster representing the light of the sun, and the horse represented the mythical flying horse. A pair of mudguards decorated with a drawing of a flying horse was discovered in Kyongju's Tomb 155, excavated in 1975. The tomb was subsequently named the Tomb of the Heavenly Horse.

Also, according to the Shilla foundation myth, the founder of the Sok clan, one of the early royal clans, was also born from an egg. This egg was found in a wooden box floating in the sea, where the singing of a magpie heralded its location.

Today, the magpie continues to play an important role in Korean tra62

Sunrise at T'ohamsan Mountain

dition and is thought to be the harbinger of good news. This is one expression of Koreans' faith in hamll (heaven), a faith that endures to this today.

The Shilla people also held the cow sacred, a phenomenon probably derived from their being an agrarian people. Ky6ngju was called S6nab61 ( itJJ/Sf:lt ) or S6rab61 ( iN/Hlt) at the time, with Saro (Winn: ) being the abbreviated version of this name. The modern Korean word "Seoul," meaning capital, derives from the name of the ancient Shilla capital. In the opinion of this author, S6nab61 and S6rab61 derive from the two Korean words so, meaning ox, and bol, meaning plain.

The area probably came to be called "Ox plain" because the dwellers of the plain worshiped the large number of oxen on the Kyongju Plain at the time. The wing-shaped ornaments on the front of the triangular hats worn by the nobility of Shilla were, according to the Samguk sagi, symbolic of horns. In fact, 24 real ox horns were discovered, among the burial goods, in the Tomb of the Heavenly Horse mentioned above.

Also, the highest class of Shilla nobility was called "horn-khan ( :l!J'f- )."

Cow-worship in Shilla was an indigenous faith not related to Buddhism. While modern day Koreans do not worship cows, indeed they very much enjoy beef, they do believe that

a cow appearing in a dream symbolizes their ancestors. This and the case of the magpie discussed previously are examples of the unique beliefs of the Korean people. This, however,is the present author's personal theory but the general understanding that , as it has been called "Kums6ng"(Gold or Iron Castle),Sorabol may be related to the word soe (iron), appears to be more reasonable. In any case, Kyongju through time has always remained the homeland of the Korean people and their culture.

Shilla began developing rapidly as it entered the fifth century. By the middle of the sixth century it had conquered the Kaya ( //Jn/Jl/1) region on the west bank of the N aktonggang River, advanced north to central Korea and pushed down the Hangang River until it secured an exit to the Yellow Sea. Shilla derived power from the strong conservative temperament of its people, the structure of its society, and the bravery of the young aristocrats who were the core of the army.

The nobility of Shilla was divided into eight classes according to lineage.

The king could be chosen only from among the highest class (S6nggol or Sacred Bone). As gradually the puri. ty of the highest class became adulteratf:'d through intermarriage with other classes, the king was chosen from among the next highest class (Chingol or True Bone). Also, the three lowest classes of the nobility appear to have become commoners as their lineages became adulterated over time. Government officials were chosen from among the nobility, but limits were placed on how high each could advance according to his lineage. Lineage also determined limitations on the size of one's house, the number of horses one could own and the shape and material of the ornaments one wore.

This strict social structure formed the base of the Shilla nation, and absolute loyalty and a sense of duty and faith were upheld as the highest expressions of morality.

Shilla's military might was symbolized by the h warang ( 1i'. f!/1), a group of noble youth who made up the noble officers corps and became the symbol of the strength and patriotism of the Shilla army.

The image of Sakyamuni Buddha in the SOkkuram is considered by many ar historians to be the most perfect sculpture of its kind in the world.

SOkkuram Cave Temple, one of Korea's most magnificent works of art.

Buddhism came to Shilla around the fifth century, but it was not until the sixth century that it was officially sanctioned as the religion of the nation. Shilla was thus the last of the three kingdoms to adopt that religion. Buddhism was able to develop rapidly thereafter, however, as monks were able to convince successive kings that theirs was a religion that would protect the country. A number of large temples began to appear around Kyongju, and the entire field of Buddhist art experienced unparalleled development.

Buddhist art in Shilla during the

Three Kingdoms period was, of course, heavily influenced by that of Kogury6 and Paekche. It also developed its own unique characteristics, however, in straighter lines and a more prominent trend toward impressionism. Shilla pottery also exhibited similar trends. Representing Kyongsang-do pottery of the Three Kingdoms period, Shilla pottery is famous for the characteristic unglazed grey texture and the simple, straight line forms. The superiority of this stoneware made of quality clay with high silicon content was also recognized in contemporary Japan. The

Japanese called this hard stoneware from Shilla sueki, distinguishing it from their own soft clayware which they referred to as haji. The term sue, according to Kim Tai-su, derived from the Korean word soe meaning iron, and sueki thus meant "pottery as hard as iron."

Shilla unfied the Korean peninsula in the latter half of the seventh century and made it possible for at least the people and cultures of most of the Korean peninsula below 39° North latitude to be grouped homogeneously under the term "Korea."

Shilla's unification of the peninsu'

63

la occurred just as T'ang was unifying China, and it was difficult to block the powerful cultural stimuli being emitted from the continent.

Thus a trend arose within Korean culture of absorbu:ig much of Chinese culture.

It is widely known that during this period many of Shilla's scholars and Buddhist monks travelled to China, and even to India, to study Confucianism and Buddhism. By the middle of the eighth century, many common people were traveling to China, as well, and small communities of Shilla people began to appear along the coast leading from the Xuandong Peninsula to the Yangzi River.

The Chinese culture thus imported was immediately reflected in the life of the nobility in Kyongju, and the city came to be known as a miniature Changan, the T'ang capital, because of the similarity of its layout arid its high cultural standard.

The Anapchi P<;md was an artificial pond on the grounds of the royal villa built during the latter half of the seventh century. When the pond was dredged in 1975 and '76 it yielded much material relating to life in the court. The ".ariety of highly polished and sophisticated articles of daily life and ornaments gave us a glimpse into life in the Shilla court and illustrated that Kyongju had by then become a cosmopolitan city. Samguk sagi shows clearly that the culture entering Shilla around this time was coming not only from T'ang China, but also from the Islamic world. We already have articles of Occidental derivation from this time, such as the glassware found in Kyongju's Tomb 98 (the Great Hwangnam Tomb), which dates back to ancient Shilla of the fifth century, and the stone-inlaid gold sheath found in a small grave nearby. Also an early eighth century mural painting depicting an envoy of the Unified Shilla period, among those from other nations, has been found by Russian archeologists on the site of a royal palace in Samarkand in Central Asia. The stone military guardians standing before the tombs of King Wonsong-wang (d. 798) and King Hiingdok-wang (d. 835) have clearly Caucasoid features. There was also a thick-bearded Iranian-looking man among clay figurines of court officials 64

discovered in a stone-chamber tomb excavated in 1986 in Yonggang-dong, Kyongju.

King Kyongdok-wang, who ruled during the middle of the eighth century, was a monarch who symbolized Shilla at its height. During his reign, Kyongju occupied an area of 4 square kilometers (1.6 square miles) that was filled with about 170,000 houses and was divided into 1,360 administrative units. During Kyongdok-wang's rule, Shilla was at its zenith both politically and culturally. Many more large temples were built on the basis of this national strength, including such masterpieces of Korean art as Pulguksa Temple and Sokkuram Cave Temple.

Buddhist sculpture of the mideighth century, .as represented by the

Back garden of the Kyongju National Museum

sculpture at Sokkuram, transcended the influence of contemporary China and was at a stage where a unique style all its own had been established.

The main Buddha of Sokkuram with its imposing mass emits a sublime spiritual beauty and an eternal tranquility, washing away the impurities of the secular world. This statue represents one of the pinnacles of world sculpture. The twin stone pagodas on the grounds of Pulguksa, also built during the time of Kyongdok-wang, represent the best of Shilla's stone pagodas. The famous colossal Bronze Bell (dated 771) now kept at the Kyongju Museum was cast during this time, as well.

If Kyongdok-wang committed one error, it was that he adopted a misguided policy toward modernization

and changed all geographical names in the country to Chinese style names.

The fortunes of Shilla began to wane as the eighth century passed.

The modernizing trend of thought coming in through China expressed itself primarily in the form of an opposition by the nobility itself to the strict class system based on lineage. From 835, the king was no longer determined by lineage, but rather by political and military strength.

The destruction of the traditional class system represented a rebellion by those with the actual power, and Kyongju was no longer able to act as the leader of Shilla and of the entire peninsula, either through the government it hosted or through its culture.

The Korean peninsula was in need of a new center of politics, culture and art. This need gave rise to the Koryo regime in central Korea. With the appearance of Koryo, the center of the Korean peninsula shifted from Kyongju in the southeast, to Kaesong in the central region.

Thus,Kyongju as an ancient capital came to an end. During the Bronze Age (ca.1000-300 B.C.),Kyongju was populated by the builders of dolmens who were the makers of the Plain Coarse pottery, but entering the Late Bronze Age, or Early Iron Age (300- 0 - B.C.),immigrants from northwestern Korea and midwestern Korea, both with much advanced bronze as well as new iron technology, arrived in the area and settled down. The Kyongju area, thus, emerged as an important stage for Korean history from that critical period, the beginning of the Iron Age. Around the originating date of the Occidental calendar, Saro was formed by bringing villages together. Saro expanded until it became Shilla during the fourth century A.D. With its united social structure based on a strict class system, its deep-seated and stubborn indigenous spirit, its favorable geographical conditions and its economic strength based on iron and gold industries, as well as agriculture, Shilla increased its strength during the fourth, fifth and sixth centuries, finally uniting the peninsula during the middle of the seventh century.

The birthplace and base of Saro and ancient Shilla, Ky-ngju became the capital of the entire Korean peninsula and took on a new look as

The Kyongju National Museum (top) and the Divine Bell of King SOngdOk the Great, ortheEmille Bell as it is commonly called, on the grounds of the museum (bottom).

A close-up of one of the four apsarases, or heavenly maidens, decorating the Emille Bell.

a cosmpolitan city through its close cultural contacts with T'ang China.

Such glory passed in less than 300 years, however, as Shilla was defeated by Koryo in 935. The last king of Shilla, Kyongsun-wang was taken to the new capital where he married into a noble family of Koryo and settled.

The government of Koryo changed the name of the former Shilla capital from Kumsong to Kyongju. The defeated Kyongsun-wang was given the nominal title of mayor. As it claimed to be the lawful heir of the Shilla Kingdom, the Koryo govern-

ment did not discredit Shilla or treat it as an enemy. Instead, it dubbed Kyongju, Tonggyong (Eastern Capital) as it had already dubbed P'yongyang, the former capital of the Koguryo Kingdom, Sogyong (Western Capital). Koryo policy was to memorialize Kyongju's former status as a royal capital. Kyongju went through a series of changes until the end of the Choson Kingdom (1392-1910) in terms of land area and status as an administrative unit. In the end it remained only as a small rural town and ceased to perform any political or cultural function. Its

Buddhist monuments were destroyed by the weather and the anti-Buddhist policy of the Choson Kingdom. The tombs that were said to contain the remains of kings and aristocrats, however, were protected by the Kim, Pak and Sok families of Kyongju, the descendants of Shilla. The central government also aided this effort, on occasion. The people of Kyongju thus maintained among themselves a trace of dignity as the ancient Shilla capital, and government officials retained a sense of ceremonial respect for Shilla as a legitimate kingdom in Korean history.

65

The Conflict Between Urban Modernization and Preserving the Old Ironically, it was the appearance on the Korean peninsula of the Japanese, who had praised Shilla culture from ancient times, that provided the opportunity for Koreans to be reminded of the historical significance of Kyongju, which by this time had been reduced to a small country town, a mere shadow of what it had been during the height of Shilla.

During its occupation of the Korean peninsula (1910-1945), Imperial Japan had archeologists excavate the tumuli of Kyongju and restored a number of important remains. The results of these excavations were published, and the image of Kyongju as the capital of Shilla was brought to the fore internationally, as well as domestically. General interest in Shilla was heightened, as well. The accidental discovery in 1921 of the Tomb of the Golden Crown produced a large number of golden ornaments, including the gold crown, and excited even more the interest of Koreans and others .in Kyongju ani:l in Shilla culture.

Tourists began to crowd into this once quiet town, and its citizens raised money for a special warehousecum-exhibit hall for the artifacts from the Tomb of the Golden Crown so as to prevent these from being sent off to Seoul. At a time when Koreans had been deprived by Japan of their nationhood, Shilla culture was a source of national pride. As the home of this culture, Kyongju came to represent the roots of the nation, and it gave comfort, hope and confidence to the dejected and frustrated hearts of Koreans.

It was not until after liberation in 1945, however, that this national sentiment was translated into actual projects. Only then did Kyongju become the target of full-scale and farsighted projects aimed at restoration, maintenance and development, based on a sense of pride and love for its ancient culture. Particularly during the 1970s, government projects to develop this city immensely changed its appearance and were a great aid in advancing our knowledge and understanding of Shilla culture. The change 66

of Kyongju into a tourist center and its new role as a transportation center that accompanied its industrial development have brought about increasing urbanization. Though these trends ultimately derive from Kyongju having been reevaluated as a historic city, such urbanization has inevitably caused friction with the projects to preserve its cultural treasures.

As mentioned above, the cultural and historic importance that Kyongju has for Koreans lies in the actual features and attributes exhibited by each individual cultural site and artifact. An even greater significance, however, lies in the spatial distribution of these visible objects, the historic quality of Kyongju as an ancient capital over a thousand years, the wear oftime manifested by each artifact and the natural surroundings of the city. The comprehensive preservation of this historic atmosphere or historic quality created by all these factors together is what must be the ultimate goal of the administration and urban planning, with respect to this historic city.

During its occupation of Korea, Japan undertook a partial study of Kyongju's historical monuments and relics, but it did not establish farsighted plans or projects to develop and maintain Kyongju as the spiritual and cultural homeland of the Korean people. Because of this, the streets of the city began to extend beyond their former confines during the

Anapchi Pond, built in 674, was excavated and restored in the 1970s.

Choson Kingdom toward the royal graveyard near Panwol Fortress.

This trend continued after liberation and during the period of confusion duriP;g and after the Korean War (1950-53). It was exacerbated even more by the period of accelerated modernization of the country during the 1960s. The increased number of houses and the increase of low quality buildings of Occidental style modernized, in a negative sense, the ~ppearance of Kyongju.

With the 1970s, the government made Kyongju a national park and designated it an area in which further expansion was restricted. In order to harmonize the city's dual functions as a modern city and as a historic city, the government built a resort area, the Pomun Complex, east of the city, well removed from Kyongju proper with its many tumuli. It also removed residential housing from the area within Kyongju city where the tumuli are concentrated and built a wall around the area. A spacious park of tombs was thus created.

As a part of the same project, two tumuli in this park were excavated.

On one of these, the Tomb of the Heavenly Horse, the project restored the original protective layers of dirt and hollowed out half of this struc. ture so that the public could see a cutaway :View of the entire tumulus.

Anapchi Pond was dredged, and the site of Hwangyongsa, the largest of Kyongju's temples, has been undergoing excavation for more than ten years since 1976. The project beautified the areas around various monuments, restored damaged remains, and recreated a number of buildings that had disappeared entirely.

Some appreciated the fact that the streets of Kyongju had been cleqned up and that the comfort and convenience of tourists had been provided for. More than a few persons, however, made the criticism that Kyongju has become too new and that its historic character may have been a bit diminished. For the sake of Kyongju itself, it is urgent that basic concepts and policies regarding the effective administration of cultural treasures be made. These should be policies that satisfy the government, the citizens of Kyongju and all citizens of the country. Today the Ministry of Culture and Information

0-nung, or "Five Tombs"

An excavation site

Pomun Lake Resort

Symbolic bridges leading to the Buddha Land, Ch'Ong-un-gyo and Paeg-un-gyo of Pulguksa Temple were constructed between 751-774.

and the Office of Cultural Property Maintenance believe that for the sake of preserving cultural treasures, further modernization and development in Kyongju should be restricted. The citizens of Kyongju see modernization as inevitable if their city is to survive.

Many educated citizens around the country express concern that Korea's ruins in general, not only those around Kyongju, are being made too new under the pretext of restoration.

The spiritual backbone of Kyongju is its history as the ancient capital of Shilla, and that historical identity can only be maintained by the preserva-

tion of historical monuments. It is of course important that modern Kyongju develop and survive as the stage for its modern-day citizens, but that may be only possible 'by preserving the historical identity of Kyongju and keeping the balance and harmony between the old and new.

Quite recently, hot springs have been discovered on both sides of the road from the Pulguksa Railway station to Pulguksa Temple,and this important historic area concentrated with ancient tombs of the Proto-Three Kingdoms (Wonsamguk) period (A.D . 0300), the initial period of the Shilla

Kingdom, is facing disastrous destruction to accommodate a new bustling hot spring town.

It is likely that Kyongju is not alone in this antinomy of whether to be a historic or a modern city. Similar cities throughout the world must be facing similar problems. The author believes that the historic city of Kyongju should be preserved over a long period, not only as a testimony to human civilization in general, but also as the cultural and historic homeland of the Korean people. + â&#x20AC;˘The writer is a professor at Dong-a Un iversity.

67

I

n the little town of Namwon in Ch'ollabuk-do Province, located in the southwestern part of Korea, there stands a timeworn but magnificently carved wooden pavilion called Kwanghallu.

To one side is a pond where huge carp idle away the time under a lovely little old wooden bridge called Ojakkyo ("The Bridge of Magpies"), and to the other an equally aged shrine to a girl named Ch'unhyang ("Fragrance of Spring"), a girl who may really never have existed at all.

There, a full-length portrait of her hangs on a scroll, before which stands an altar with candles placed on each side. People say the old kisaeng (the Korean counterpart of the Japanese geisha) of the town still go there on occasion to honor her memory, lighting the candles and bowing before the portrait three times, as is customary. But no one really knows for sure. Maybe they don't do it anymore. Well, maybe it's just that they aren't around to do it anymore. The old kisaeng tradition is dying away; but, nonetheless, the memory of Ch'unhyang lives on in the hearts and minds of the Korean nation.

The International Cultural Society of Korea (ICSK) helped to perpetuate that memory when it sponsored a performance of "Ch'unhyangj6n" ("The Tale of Ch'unhyang"), presented in traditional folk opera form, at the National Theater in Seoul on December 4, 1987 before an

SPOTLIGHT

ICSK Sponsors Performance of Traditional Folk Opera 68

'u

By Kim Hak-do

an ~--

invited audience that included many distinguished guests from the foreign community.

Though the "Tale of Ch'unhyang" has been performed on the stage of the National Theater as a folk opera many times before, there was something quite different about this occasion-aside from the highly abridged version (1 hour 40 minutes as opposed to the usual 3-4 hours) that was offered. It marked the first time in the history of Korean traditional theater that the libretto was flashed on a screen-both in Korean and English, located to the right and left of the stage respectively-for all of the audience to see. Never before has this been done. And though printed librettos (in Korean) have on occasion been included along with the program notes in past performances of folk opera, the audience almost never looks at them during the performance-as is the practice, for example, in the Japanese Noh drama where the audience follows the libretto scrupulously, pausing only very occasionally for a glance or two at the stage.

For the members of the foreign community, the English translation was adequate enough to follow the story line in general. And so, in that respect, it achieved its intended purpose. But, upon careful scrutiny, one finds that it contains more than its share of errors, inadequacies, mistranslations and misspellings. To cite

but a few of these, the kisaeng is referred to throughout as a "court entertainer," which, by itself, is misleading; "fragrance" is spelled "fragrnance," "chick" spelled "chic," and "petals" spelled "pedals. " Yi Mong Ryong (the hero) asks his servant Bang J a, "What's swinging over there?," when he should say, "Who's that swinging over there?" and Bang J a answers, "What, my lord? No can see nothing, so far, " when he should say, "No one can see anything so far."

In addition, the lack of footnotes, or parenthetical insertions, at least, sometimes renders the text meaningless to an unitiated foreign audience.

Take, for example, such proper nouns as "Kyon Woo" (Altair) and "Chik Nyo" (Vega), and such notables and figures of Oriental legend and history as referred to in the following passage: "She is beautiful as Changgang, learned as Yi Baek and Dubo gentle as Taesa and loyal as A-Huang and Yoyong the 2 tragic sisters. " The introductory portion also leaves a lot to be desired. Among the titles are "Musical instruction by Chung Kwon Jin" (long since deceased), when "Musical Direction by the late Chung Kwon-jin" would be far more appropriate. In addition, the translator (Park Chan Eung) concludes the title listings as follows: "Musicians Drummer Ajaeng player.

Taegeum Large Gong. Small Gong.

Changgo player. " Here again, to a foreign audience unfamiliar with

A love scene from "The Tale of Ch'unhyang."

- on

Yi Mong-nyong, Ch'unhyang's husband, andWolmae, her mother.

69

Accompanists

Korean traditional musical instruments, the following would have been more informative: "Accompanying Musical Instruments: puk (round or barrel drum), ajaeng (seven-stringed bowed instrument) , taegum (transverse bamboo flute), ch 'ing (large gong), (kkwaenggari) (small gong), changgo (hourglassshaped drum)."

Aside from the foreign audience invited by the ICSK for this occasion, it is assumed that this adaptation of "The Tale of Ch'unhyang" with accompanying English translation was used as a test run by the National Theater for its projected Cultural Festival to be held during the upcoming Olympiad in which the full-length version of this folk opera will be revived from September 17-20 as part of a mammoth arts festival. If such be the case, it is strongly recommended that the English translation be revised with the aid of a native speaker, preferably one familiar with this type of Korean traditional folk art idiom.

Just when the "Tale of Ch'unhyang" first came into existence, no one really knows. According to Richard Rutt in his work entitled ''The Song of a Faithful Wife, Ch'unhyang" (Virtuous Women: Three Classic Korean Novels,published by the Korea Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Seoul, 1974), the "Tale of Ch'unhyang" was " .. .first heard of in a story sung by the wandering players of old Korea, the kwangdae, reciting a form of rhythmic chanted narrative now called p'ansori. The oldest 70

version which is reliably datable is Ch'unhyang-ga ("The Song of Ch'unhyang'') written as a long poem in Chinese by Yu Chin-han in 1754.

How long the story had been in existence before that is guesswork."

P'ansori may be more fully defined as a narrative-epic-dramatic folk vocal art form that is executed by one singer accompanied by a single drum called a puk. The subject material of the songs is usually taken from time-honored folktales, though recent years have seen creations of new works based on both historical and religious material as well.

Sources differ somewhat as to the etymology of the word itself, but it is generally thought the prefix p'an indicates a place or area where various types of folk arts were once performed, often referred to as a norip'an (lit., "performance area"). The suffix sari means "sound," but it is a "sound" that can either be spoken or sung. In the case of the p 'ansori it is both, the singer alternating sung passages (ch'ang) with recitative (aniri) ¡in between. So, when the two parts of the word are combined, it can be roughly translated into a ''.song sung at a place of entertainment."

In the past, this "place of entertainment" was more often than not to be found at the village square on market days and traditional festival holidays, at wedding ceremonies, the gardens of wealthy aristocrats, or, on rarer occasions, even the royal court itself. Today, however, p'ansori is almost always performed on the stage of a modern, Western-style theater and occasionally for T. V. audiences.

Whether it be at a village marketplace or a theatrical stage, the performance style is essentially the same.

The male singer is dressed in traditional garb with black horsehair hat, the female singer likewise in traditional women's dress, holding a fan in the right hand and a handkerchief in the left. The singer stands on a straw mat placed in the center of the stage, called the sorip'an , while the drummer sits off to the singer's left.

The fan and handkerchief are employed as props as the performer sings and speaks, often acting out the story with gestures (norumsae) and an impromptu dance (pallim) as well.

Though sources vary also on the origin of the p'ansori, the general

consensus is that its melodic roots lie largely in the shamanist ritual songs of the southwestern part of the peninsula, the resemblance of which may be borne out even until the present day. In this area, the religious practitioners are always female, the role of the males being solely to provide the musical accompaniment. It is believed that somewhere along the line, some of these male musicians abandoned their religious function to become what is known in Korean as kwangdae, something on the order of wandering minstrels, bards, troubadours, or jongleurs, so to speak, in which they traveled about the countryside entertaining villagers, gradually evolving into the role of professional entertainers. Their repertoire

The executioner is ready to behead Ch'unhyang.

came to include not only instrumental and dance performances, but also such acrobatic feats as tightropewalking, tumbling, and juggling. In between these acts, they engaged in a type of story-telling employing both song and recitative, the story material being drawn from well-known folk- tales of the time and the melodic structure of the songs stemming from shamanist ritual music and regional folk songs. Having no formal education, their repertoire was simple and sung entirely by rote. Here then lie the beginnings of the p 'ansori, which scholars estimate to be somewhere during the early period of the Yi Dynasty (c. 15th-16th century) . Avestige of this primordial style of p'ansori can still be found at some village

ritual ceremonies to this day, although it is gradually disappearing.

By the middle period of the Yi Dynasty (18th century), the p'ansori had developed as an art, both in quality and quantity, to the point of sophistication wherein its proponents disassociated themselves from the acrobatic-type repetoires of which it once had been a part; and, in the latter period of that dynastic history, p 'ansori text and music came to appeal to the aristocratic class, who, prior to that time, had looked down upon it with repugnance and disdain as being fit only for the lower classes. From the 19th century onward, a great number of famous p 'ansori singers were patronized by the nobility, and, due to the wide range of so-

cial audiences, a great breadth of linguistic expression was inevitably needed. Accordingly, many vulgarities of the original texts were dropped in favor of quotations from Chinese classics, the standard literary media of the gentry and scholarly class, though it still included folk proverbs as well.

As the texts underwent refinement and the music developed, famous singers came to be appreciated by landed gentry, local magistrates, and men of letters. Later on, performances are recorded as having been given even before the royal family. A well-trained and inspiring singer became what was known as a taegwang; and, being thus widely recognized, would devote his entire life wholly to p 'ansori . These taegwang developed special personalized performing styles that were transmitted to later generations of singers.

When they performed at the royal court or before the nobility, they were presented with an honorarium in the form of rice or money. Sometimes they were even bestowed with an honorary government title, which was the highest prestige a p 'ansori singer could attain at the time. During the reign of King Sunjo (1801-34), eight of these taekwang became known throughout the land as the "eight great singers." The latter half of the 19th century saw the emergence of a considerable number of taekwang, and it has thereby been recorded in the annals of Korean history as¡the "golden age of p 'ansori."

It was also during the period of King Sunjo that the p 'ansori, which then consisted of a total of 12 songs, was put into written form. At that time, there appeared on the scene a truly extraordinary man named Shin Chae-hyo (1812-84) who became the most notable patron of the p'ansori in Korean history. In addition, he was also a specialist, educator, and compiler of p'ansori texts as well. It is said that in the 19th century, there were virtually no famous p'ansori singers who had not studied , at one time or another, under his direction.

He was born of an aristocratic family in Challa-do Province, the area in which the p'ansori is said to have been born and bred. At that time, it was a most unusual phenomenon for a man of his status to dedicate his life 71

to a field of art that had traditionally been looked down upon by the literati and upper classes in general.

His talent was not limited to the work of researcher and compiler alone, however. He also refined and polished the p'ansori texts, sometimes rewriting whole sections, and influenced the way in which it was performed by arranging the texts with proper rhythmic and melodic patterns. In addition, he improved singing techniques and placed particular emphasis on the norumsae and dialog technique, thus attempting to establish a stronger unity in the work as a drama in the modern sense. Also, before his time there were no known female p'ansori singers, and he was the first to break with this tradition by himself training a woman.

Shin Chae-hyo's greatest accomplishment, however, was the reorganization and codification of five of the 12 original songs into the so-called "Five Great P'an-sori" as they are known today. Based on the ¡ "Five Cardinal Relationships" originally laid down by Confucius as an ideal to be attained by society (i.e., subject to king, father to son, husband to wife, brother to brother, friend to friend), they include Ch'unhyang-ga, the most well-known and loved of all, a story of marital fidelity in accordance with the doctrine that a woman shall not serve two husbands.

Equally significant, however, are its cloaked grievances against the officialdom of the time, who, during the mid-Yi Dynasty period, when the story is believed to have been written, fell victim to corruption and evil practices.

The story tells of the love between a beautiful young girl, Ch'unhyang, daughter of a kisaeng, whose father, however, had been from the aristocracy, and a young man, Yi Mongnyong, whose father, a nobleman, was the governor of the Namwon district in Cholla-do Province. The hero and heroine meet, fall in love, and are unofficially married by Wolmae, Ch'unhyang's mother, since, at that time, it would have been impossible for the daughter of a kisaeng to become the wife of an aristocrat's son through legal marriage procedures.

Their happiness is shattered, however, when Yi Mong-nyong's father is summoned to take up a new post in 72

Seoul, and the hero has no choice but to follow, leaving the hapless Ch'unhyang behind in Namwon. Soon after, a newly appointed governor appears on the scene whose greedy and lustful eyes fall upon the beauty of Ch'unhyang. He demands that she serve him as a concubine, but she repeatedly refuses, and, after brutal torture, is thrown into prison. The day of the governor's birthday celebration approaches and he ordains that Ch'unhyang shall be executed unless she yields to his demands. In the meanwhile, Yi Mong-nyong has passed the highest civil examination and is appointed a royal secret inspector, whereupon he returns to Namwon in the guise of a scholarly beggar. After he discovers the situation, he arrests the wicked governor, rescues Ch'unhyang just as she is about to be executed, and the two live happily ever after.

Shin Chae-hyo was thus, in addition to everything else, a reformer who turned the p 'ansori toward the

path of becoming a stage art-an opera in the Western sense of the word (it is even said that he initiated three styles of p'ansori singing for Ch 'unhyang-ga: the first for male, the second for female, and the third for children)-which it eventually did, around the turn of the 20th century, in the form of what is known today as ch 'anggiik ("singing play"), a kind of Korean traditional folk opera, such as Ch'unhyang-jon.

In ch'anggiik, the dramatic roles are performed by different singers in costume and make-up along with theatrical trappings such as stage props, scenery, lighting, and sound effects as in Western and Chinese opera, and Japanese kabuki theater.

It is accompanied by a full instrumental ensemble. Though the ch'anggiik reached the height of its popularity in the 1940s and '50s, it suffered a sharp decline thereafter due to the onslaught of mass media such as movies, TV, symphonic and Western-style pop music. After 1965,

The torture of Ch'unhyang.

The last scene in which Ch'unhyang and Yi Mong¡ nyong are reunited.

however, the traditions of both ch'anggiik and p'ansori were revived with the government's decision to designate the "Five Great P'ansori" as "Intangible Cultural Properties," to be protected and preserved for future generations to enjoy and appreciate, and outstanding p'ansori singers as "Human Cultural Treasures."

One of these p'ansori "Human Cultural Treasures," Oh Jong-sook, sang the part of W olmae, Ch'unhyang'smother, a role for which she has now become famous, in this !CSK-sponsored perfonp.ance. As usual, her highly comical rendition of the old kisaeng stole the show.

The heroine, Ch'unhyang, was ably handled by Ahn Sook-sun, a relative newcomer to the p 'ansorich'anggiik stage, who is well on her way to establishing a name for herself in this tradition. Kang Hyung-ju comes off as being a little too weak for the role of the hero, Yi Mongnyong. He's far better suited for the character of Pangja, the servant, a

role he has portrayed many times in the past. The narration, which is always sung in strict p'ansori style, was executed by veteran singer Kang Jong-ch'ul, and the entire production was assisted by the chorus and instrumental ensemble of the National Ch'anggiik (Folk Opera) Co. As always, Huh Kyu's direction was lively, well-paced and colorful.

Huh, who also now heads the National Theater, which will celebrate its 15th birthday this year, is well known for his lifelong passion for adapting ch'anggiik to the expediencies of the modern stage. He began directing the National Ch'anggiik Co. in 1977 and, since then, has adapted all of the "Five Great P'ansori" into full-length ch'anggiik versions for the stage. His version of Ch 'unhyang-ga, premiered in 1982, has won praises both at home and abroad for its ability to capture the wonderful dramatic balance between the tragic and comic elements inherent in the story. In particular, the scenes showing Ch'unhyang's torture and refusal to yield to the demands of the wicked governor, the return of the hero to Namwon in the guise of a scholarly beggar and his sudden encounter on the road with the servant Pangja wherein he first learns of Ch'unhyang's terrible plight (omitted, unfortunately, in the abridged ICSKsponsored performance), his subsequent meeting with Wolmae at Ch'unhyang's house wherein the old kisaeng at first fails to recognize him, the birthday celebration of the wicked governor, and, in particular, the final scene wherein the lovers are once again re-united, never leave a dry eye in the theater.

The "Tale of Ch'unhyang," in the words of Richard Rutt (Ibid.), once again, " ... is Korea's favorite story. No one knows when it was first told or who told it, but every Korean alive knows both the plot and the characters intimately. The tale has been told thousands of times: in Korean and Chinese, in verse and in prose, as opera, drama, film and musical comedy; in cartoons, and in elegant embroidery on screens and scrolls. It has truly become part of Korea's folk heritage." +

73

"Dreamland," a drapery made of many triangular pieces of dyed silk gossamer and vinyl woven together with fine sticks of wisteria wood,

by Prof. Pae Man-sil of Ewha Womans University.

"Thawing, " a long white dress in flowing , petal-like lines dyed along the edges, by Prof.

Bae Chun-bum of Ewha Womans University.

SPOTLIGHT

'87 Contemporary Costume Show

74

he '87 Contemporary Costume Show, which .was held from December 2 to 31 at the National Museum of Contemporary Art, was an eyeopening event combining art and fashion . The month-long exhibition, a rare event to be organized by an art museum, featured 120 works by 41 leading textile artists and fashion designers.

The show consisted of two parts, "Art to Wear" and "Fashion Design. " This was to show that dress can be explored as an independent medium of artistic expression, that a dress can be displayed for artistic appreciation like a three-dimensional art piece, or a sculpture in motion.

The show reverberated with ex-

T

--===-- -"Swathe," a series of coiled-shaped dresses and jacket-skirt ensembles by fashion designer Gee Chun-hee.

perimental ideas expressed through a rich variety of techniques and materials, free from the world's fashion trends and far from practical use as well. "As dress is very apt to be passed up simply as an everyday phenomenon, this exhibition was organized to show that dress may be considered a legitimate field of contemporary art and a vital aspect of our modern life," explained Lee Kyung-sung, an art critic and director of the museum.

Some of the dresses featured in the show were highly inspiring with surrealistic imagery and motifs from ethnic costumes. The materials were not confined to conventional textiles, but included such unexpected things as metal studs, wires, vinyl, mulberry paper, electric bulbs and wisteria

wood. Raveling, burning and braiding were some of the unusual techniques involved.

Some of the eye-catching pieces on display included "Dreamland," a drapery made of many triangular pieces of dyed silk gossamer and vinyl woven together with fine sticks of wisteria wood, by Pae Man-sil, a professor of industrial design at Ewha Woman's University; "Thawing," a long white dress in ÂŁlowing, petal-like lines dyed along the edges, by Bae Chun-bum, a professor of industrial design at Ewha; and "Swathe-87," a series of coiled-shaped dresses and jacket-skirt ensembles, by Gee Chunhee a fashion designer. +

75

SPOTLIGHT

Musical "Pae Pijang-jOn" he picket-waving kisaeng ( geisha - type entertainer) demand a hike in pay and the removal of progovernment hostesses,while the new magistrate vacillates between a hardline policy to subdue the demonstrating girls and conciliation with them.

The magistrate, after agonizing over the problem for a long time, decides to accommodate all their demands.

He makes a dramatic announcement that he will drastically increase their pay, recognize the formation of a "democratic kisaeng union," and reemploy the fired hostesses.

This scene from "Pae Pijang-jbn" was clearly a parody of the political upheaval and labor disputes of last summer. A jubilant mixture of music, dance, poignant social caricature and horseplay, the musical comedy, produced by the Munhwa Broadcasting Company (MBC) and staged at the Munhwa Gymnasium from December 4-15, last year, appeared to greatly amuse the audiences who had been starving for highbrow satire.

Based on a well-known Chosbnperiod (1392-1910) comedy about a lovesick petty official named Pae

T

Pae Pijang undergoes humiliating punishment.

76

Pijang (Pijang referred to low-ranking officials accompanying magistrates on trips to their place of assignment) and a popular hostess named Aerang, who makes fun of him, the play started with a rather unusual prologuean election of the actor to play the leading role. All the performers on the stage agree to a proposal by one of them to hold a direct election to choose the hero. Candidates are then nominated and, after registering with the election management panel, they put on heated campaigns and make many election pledges. When the campaign is at its height, all the candidates suddenly declare their withdrawal from the race, citing various reasons.

The playwright, Kim Chi-il, evidently intended to make a mockery of the politicians who failed, to the great disappointment of the people, to agree on a single candidate in the recent presidential election. The ancient fable was thus used to convey current sentiments. The role of Pangja, Pae Pijang's servant, who collaborates with Aerang to ridicule his lovesick master, was notably expanded to symbolize the attitudes of the common class under authoritarian rule during the Chosbn period and by extension such attitudes at any time.

Before leaving for Chejudo Island to accompany its new magistrate, Pae Pijang promises his wife that he would never look at kisaeng there who are famous for their beauty and service. Upon his arrival in the island, he happens to witness a stunning farewell scene between a popular kisaeng named Aerang and her lover, Chong Pijang, who is leaving the island as a member of the retinue of the outgoing magistrate. Aerang, shedding many tears, asks him to give her everything he owns as a token of his love-his hat, coat, underwear, and even his hair and teeth. The poor man steals into the ship at the last moment, naked, as the girl sneers at him behind his back.

Pae Pijang, chilled to the bone, once again renews his resolve not to get involved with any of those "horrible girls," and even refuses to attend the welcoming parties for the new

magistrate. But one fine spring day, while on a picnic on Mt. Hallasan, he happens to see Aerang taking a bath by a waterfall. Without knowing that it was a scheme to mock him by the magistrate, Aerang, and his own servant, Pangja, he begs Pangja to introduce him to the girl. At first, Pangja refuses, and as his master grows more and more anxious, he tells him that he may sneak into her house at night. Pae Pijang follows this suggestion, and undergoes humiliating punishment by Pangja who is disguised as Aerang's husband.

This comic episode concerning a feeble-minded petty aristocrat, often interpreted as having served as an emotional outlet for the oppressed commoners in traditional society, has been handed down as a p'ansori (narrative folk song) since around the 18th century. The latest musical version successfully used the original, characterized by earthy humor, pungent

satire and prevalent optimism. It was aptly directed by Son Jin-ch'aek. The music composed by Pak Pom-hun and the dances choreographed by Kuk Su-ho marvelously contributed to an exciting work of total theater.

Since 1981, MBC has been producing musicals in a similar style by adapting popular stories from classical Korean literature. Previous productions in this series included "Hosaeng-jon,"a tale about a fictitious character called Hosaeng, a scholar who displays commercial genius by amassing a huge fortune from international trade, and helps the needy; "Pyoljubu-jon"featuring a wise tortoise as a loyal subject to the dragon king of the undersea palace; "Nolbo-jon" based on an ancient tale about a greedy elder brother and a goodhearted younger brother; and "Yi Ch'un-p'ung-jon,"a comic tale about a nobleman who goes bankrupt to please his kisaeng mistress. +

The picket-waving kisaeng demand a hike in pay and the removal of pro-government hostesses:

77

BOOKS

Korean Royal Costumes of the Late Choson period

Prince. Un, or Yongch'in-wang as he was popularly known, was born in 1897, the second son of King Kojong. At the time, the Choson Kingdom (1392-1910) was eclipsing fast in the shadow of the imperialist plans of foreign powers.

He was named crown prince in 1907 when his elder brother, Sunjong, ascended the throne. The next year, however, he was taken to Japan as a political hostage, and two years later, Japan annexed Korea. He married a Japanese princess named Masako (Pang-ja in Korean) in 1920 and lived there until 1963, when he returned home, bedridden and unconscious, to die soon afterwards.

In spite of the entangled relationship between the two countries, the couple had a happy life. It is 78

not hard to imagine, however, that their life was not at all what young boys and girls wishing to be a prince or a princess might dream. Because of their royal status, they suffered the tragedy of modern East Asian history even more than most of their contemporaries. The princess, who is spending her last years alone in Seoul looking after handicapped children, recently had a rare occasion to recollect both her past suffering and glory.

One afternoon last November, there was a small gathering in the garden of the princess's residence in Seoul's Ch'angdokkung Palace.

The occasion was the publication of a beautiful hard-cover book introducing the royal cost1::mes and jewelry used by Prince Un and his family in the 1920s. Entitled Korean Royal Costumes of the Late Chason Period, the book introducing the gorgeous royal costumes and accessories in colorful plates with descriptions in both Korean and English was written

by Kim Young-sook, director of the Tongyang (Oriental) Costumes Research Institute in Seoul.

The only known collection of genuine royal costumes and jewelry of a Korean royal family, they have long been kept out of public view at the Japanese National Museum in Tokyo. The book introduces all the objects in the collection, which includes 79 outfits (18 of the king, 36 of the queen and 25 of the prince) and 73 accessories. The accessories, most of them used by the princess, include exquisite hairpins, pendants and rings as well as silk purses decorated with colorful embroidered designs.

"Aside from their historical significance," the author wrote in her foreword, "I was stunned to see the beautiful dresses and ornaments preserved in such an excellent state." She visited the Tokyo museum on five different occasions since 1963 to study and take pie-

tures of the dresses and jewelry.

The first time, she was taken there

by Princess Masako herself.

The princess noted in a preface to the book: "I was so moved by her scholarly enthusiasm that I took her to the museum and asked the museum officials to give her a chance to see them. Those clothes and ornaments have a very special meaning to me personally, because they were used in my wedding.

There also are the clothes used by my sons when they were very little. "

IU J.. lff

flltlVl)iiP,lfhl'bon\U \)n;c>1;11N11(T1.1<lâ&#x20AC;˘lfl,t\"l"II 11i11

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150

She continued that the book reminds her of the happy days of her youth when her husband and she wore the beautiful robes and accessories presented by the royal court in Seoul. "So, they naturally cause me to have mixed emotions," the princess said.

She further explained that she asked the Tokyo museum to be the custodian of the Korean royal costumes and accessories in her possession after the end of World War II, because her family faced

a drastic reduction in their income and real estate like most of Japan's imperial and royal households during the postwar years. Her fam ily had to move out of their mansion in central Tokyo to a much smaller house in the outskirts, and this was the main reason she had to entrust the invaluable dresses and ornaments to the museum.

Mrs. Kim, the author of the book, formerly taught dress and textiles at Seoul's Sookmyung Women's University and Sacred

Heart Women's College. She had her first opportunity to see the Korean royal costumes and jewelry at the Tokyo museum while she was undertaking a graduate course at Ocha-no-Mizu Women's College in Tokyo. Each of her four subsequent visits required strict red tape and it was not easy to measurE the dresses and ornaments, take pictures of them and study the patterns during the allowed time.

"But, for more than 20 years after the unforgettable first visit, I was never freed of my self-imposed sense of duty to complete my study of them," she says.

The results of her tenacious efforts are successfully presented in this marvelous volume which shows the colorful costumes and accessories viewed from all necessary angles and in many details, accompanied by elaborate descriptions and measurements as well as records from the Chason royal household on the production of each of the important ceremonial robes. Another bilingual edition of the book in Japanese and English will soon be published by Tokyo's Kenryusha Publishing Company.

New H. Edward Kim Volume

IS. J:lf.ff flâ&#x20AC;˘ &ocfv\lttwlifhlCU(~{Ond'I

151

The Korean Smile, H. Edward Kim's latest book, is a rich portrayal of Korea's history and development, culture, physical beauty and people through 200 pages of lush photographs and text by the photographer himself. An excellent introduction to the Land of the Morning Calm, The Korean Smile is published by Samhyong Munhwa Publishing Co. and costs 38,000 won.

79

ART NEWS

THE SEOUL ARTS CENTER OPENS The Seoul Arts Center, which will eventually comprise six performance halls when it is completed in 1992, was opened February 15 with the dedication of the Concert Hall and the Calligraphy Hall. It is located at the foot of a wooded hill in Soch'odong, Soch'o-gu, Seoul.

Korea's only facility exclusively for musical performances, the four-story, 19,569-square-meter Concert Hall incorporates the best features of more than 10 of the world's most renowned music halls. The stage, which is fan shaped, is located at the center of the 2,600-seat auditorium.

"As a concert hall is actually a musical instrument itself, I did my best to make it create a good sound," architect Kim Sok-chol said about the Concert Hall. To do so, he covei:ed the walls, floors and ceiling with materials to reverberate sounds instead of absorb them as is the case with conventional music halls.

The KBS (Korean Broadcasting System) Symphony Orchestra opened the Concert Hall's 45-day opening festival which will include performances by the Korean Festival Ensemble on March 11,the Korean Symphony Orchestra on March 23, and soprano Kim Young-mi on March 24 to name a few.

The Hall is already fully booked up through mid-August with performances including cellist Rostropovich, pianist Yen Chen-zeng of China, the Musica Antigua Koln, and the Chamber Orchestra de Paris.

The 6,650-square-meter, four-story Calligraphy Hall comprises an exhibition hall with 10 galleries and a museum for priceless calligraphic works and relics as well as a seminar room, two lecture rooms and nine practice rooms. In celebration of its opening, an exhibition called "One Hundred Years of Korean Calligraphy" is being held from February 16 to April 15. The Hall incorporates 80

traditional Korean architectural motifs.

Other halls to be constructed in the mammoth Seoul Arts Center include what is being called the Festival Hall, the Visual Arts Hall, the Arts Library, an amphitheater and a huge parking lot. The Festival Hall will comprise an opera house, a small theater for plays and an "experimental theater."

THE '88 SEOUL OLYMPIC CULTURAL FESTIVAL It won't be all sports this fall at the Seoul Olympics. The Ministry of Culture and Information together with a number of culture and ¡arts organizations and the International Olympic Committee are planning a crowded schedule of gala events that are sure to put Seoul on the map as a major center for the arts. Korean artists will be joined by their counterparts from abroad in performances of dance, music and theatre as well as a variety of exhibitions including sculpture, ceramics, painting and even video art.

The '88 Seoul Olympic Cultural Festival will span a 50-day period from August 17 to October 5. Included will be the Seoul International Dance Contest, to take place at the National Theater and the Munye Theater. The event will feature five or six foreign dance troupes, including the Toronto Modern Dance Troupe¡ and the Washington City Ballet, as well as a number of Korean guest performers designated living cultural treasures and six Korean dance troupes.

There will also be lots happening on the music scene during the Olympics. La Scala of Milan, the world famous opera company, will stage "Turandot" in August under the sponsorship of the Korean Culture and Arts . Foundation.

"Chunhyang-ga," a Korean musical, will be performed September 17-20 at the National Theater under the direction of Hoe Kyu, head of the government-founded theater.

The National Theater will also be the venue for the National Drama Company's production of "P'algok Pyongp'ung" (An Eight-Fold Screen)

by Oh Tae-sok, the National Dance's

"White Portrait" written and choreographed by Kuk Su-ho, the National Ballet's "Prince Hodong" by Ku Hi-so and the National Opera's "The Burning Tower" by Yun Cho-pyong.

The Korean Traditional Music Festival will offer another dimension to the music scene from September 1 to October 1. Kugak (Korean music) and other traditional music will be performed to the delight of both Korean enthusiasts and foreign visitors.

The opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games themselves will also provide a look at the traditional folk dances and songs of the participating countries and their Korean hosts.

The visual arts will not be outdone by music and dance, however.

The second annual international outdoor sculpture exhibition will invite one top sculptor from each of the IOC member countries to produce sculptures to be placed at the Olympic Park in Chamsil. (See Koreana , Vol. I, No. 1, re: 1987's exhibition).

Ceramic art from eight countries including Japan, Great Britain, Italy, France and West Germany will be on view September IO-October 9 in the East-West Contemporary Ceramic Exhibition. The National Museum of Contemporary Art in Kwach'on has scheduled two painting exhibitions during the festive period-one for Korean painters and one for international artists, including Roy Lichtenstein and Robert Rauschenberg and several painters from the Eastern bloc countries.

Paik Nam-june,Korean video artist active in New York, will dedicate a video art piece for permanent display at the National Museum of Contemporary Art entitled "Tadaikson" (The More the Better). The enormous piece includes seven videotape players and will be situated in the museum's main entry way.

Korean movies will be on the menu as well. A number of films

dubbed in foreign languages will be shown at the Sejong Cultural Center's Small Hall from September 15-24.

Rounding out the arts activities, a number of international performers including a Japanese kabuki troupe, an opera company from China, the National Theater of Greece and the French Comedy will be making their debuts in Korea during the Games.

Negotiations are also in the works for performances by big name pop stars like Michael Jackson and Madonna.

With all this going on, who is going to have time for the sports?

WORLD PEN CONGRESS IN SEOUL The pen is mightier than the sword," said Edward G . BulwerLytton, a ¡ 19th century English novelist, dramatist and politician.

If the pen is indeed more powerful than the arms or the muscle, which many believe it is, how appropriate and significant that the 52nd International P.E.N. Congress is scheduled to be held in Seoul from August 28-September 2-a fortnight before the opening of the '88

Summer Olympics in the same city.

According to Mme. Chun Sookhee, president of the Korean Center of the International P.E.N. Club, much of the preparatory work has been done. "Around March we expect to know the number of countries and delegates attending the congress," she says, "and we expect a large turnout in view of the Summer Olympics."

Invitations have been sent out to 82 P.E.N. centers in 71 member countries by Mme. Chun and the organizing committee chairman Chung Eul-byung. Many world-famous authors and important publishers, including a number of Nobel laureates, are expected to attend the second P .E. N. World Congress to be held in the Korean capital.

Although the theme of the 52nd P.E.N. Congress is "Change and Permanence in Literature in a Rapidly Evolving Society," the Korean organizers hope the event will also serve as a viable venue for introducing Korean literature to the rest of the world-a literature that is not wellknown abroad.

Errata: Mme. Chun says that "the Korean press reports quoting the Korean PEN Club's announcement that" ... a handful of literary luminaries have ¡ agreed to attend the International PEN Congress to be held in Seoul" is incorrect, and that the Korean organizers are still waiting to hear from them and the others.

"CONCERT FOR NATIONAL HARMONY 1988" STAGED IN FEBRUARY

TH H52 ~ 1>

INTERNATIONAL

P. E. N.

CONGRESS ACG.

28- ,1.PT. 2 1988

SEOUL,KOREA

In an effort to unite and inspire the Korean people in preparation for the peaceful transfer of power and the Seoul Olympics, the Concert for National Harmony 1988 was held in the Sejong Cultural Center in February.

The Pan Korea Symphony Orchestra, consisting of the leading members of the Seoul City Sym81

ART NEWS

phony, the KBS Symphony and various regional orchestras, shared the stage with the 250-member Pan Korea Chorus, which included members of the Seoul City Chorus and provincial groups. Soloists included tenor Park In-su and sopranos Park Sun-bok and Jung Dong-bee.

Lim Hun-jung, music professor at Seoul National University, conducted the performance of Berlioz' "Roman Carnival," two Verdi arias and a variety of Korean folk songs including "A Boat Song" and "Miryang Arirang."

YOUTH TRADITIONAL MUSIC ORCHESTRA TO DEBUT IN SPRING The newly-formed Korea Youth Traditional Music Orchestra will make its debut performance this spring at the National Theater's Main Hall. The group was established to familiarize the public with Korea's traditional music and particularly to encourage young people to participate in and appreciate Korea's musical heritage.

Professor Kim Chong-su of the Chugye School of Arts will serve as director-conductor and some llO members, ranging from high school freshmen to college seniors, chosen through auditions last October, will play a variety of traditional instruments including the haegiim (Korean violin), p 'yonjong (bell (chimes), Komun-go (6 string zither) Changgu (hourglass-shaped drum) and tanso (bamboo flute).

RECORD OLYMPIC ATTENDANTS Of the 167 member nations of the International Olympic Committee, all of whom were sent invitations on September 17, 1987 to the '88 Seoul Summer Olympics, a record 161 countries from all parts of the world, 82

including the United States, the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China have accepted and are preparing their athletes to participate.

Of the 38 member nations in Asia, all but North Korea have accepted. In Africa, 43 of the 45 member countries, in the Americas 37 of 39, in Europe 33 of 34 and iri. Oceania, all ll nations have accepted.

All 54 countries that have diplomatic ties with South Korea but not with North Korea will attend; 63 of the 65 countries with diplomatic ties with both South and North Korea, 27 of the 29 who have diplomatic ties with only North Korea,six with no ties to either South or North Korea and all 11 special territories are planning to attend. Because of such broad attendance, the East and the West will meet in nonpolitical competition for the first time in many years.

The modern Olympics were begun

by Pierre de Coubertin and the first were held in Athens, Greece, in 1896.

With nearly full participation unmarred by political conflict, the Seoul Olympics will be the most successful yet.

CULTURAL FESTIVITIES BRIGHTEN THE NEW YEAR HOLIDAY Several major theaters and museums under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture and Information

launched a series of concerts and exhibitions over the New Year holiday.

A gala concert of opera aria highlights performed by a number of famed soloists accompanied by the National Opera and National Chorus was held at the National Theater, January 2-4.

In addition, a forum bringing together a team of performing artists specializing in traditional Korean music and dance was sponsored by the Korean Culture and Arts Foundation at the Munye Theater in Tongsung-dong. Folk dances and a variety of chang (narrative songs) highlighted the event.

Korea's folk arts were the focus of a performance at the Intangible Cultural Properties Center in Samsong-dong, Seoul on January 2-3.

Pansori (narrative songs), samulnori (quartet of percussion instruments), traditional folk songs of Kyonggi-do Province and nongak(farmers'music) made up the exciting program.

The New Year was welcomed by two visual arts programs as well. The National Museum of Contemporary Art in Kwach'on offered video presentations on Michelangelo and Peter Paul Rubens over the New Year weekend while the National Museum of Korea showed five films portraying various aspects of Korea's cultural heritage, including the S6kkuram Buddha of Kyongju, mask dance and shamanism .

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