Heritage

“Arirang” looks to be safeguarded at UNESCO for (South) Korea

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by Philip Gowman on 11 November, 2012

in Asides | Heritage | Korean traditional music

After last year’s scare that China was laying claim to Arirang, Korea’s most famous folk-song, it looks like UNESCO will soon be listing it as part of Korea’s intangible heritage (source: Korea Times / Cultural Heritage Administration). But the song, which is loved throughout the peninsula and in Korean communities elsewhere, is to be registered [...]

Tagged as: Arirang, Intangible Cultural Heritage, UNESCO

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2012 Travel Diary #16: Silla pagodas, Korea’s first beautiful village, and Nammyeong’s tomb

by Philip Gowman 19 September 2012
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29 March 2012. Today is the day we start the ascent of Jirisan, but first there’s a couple of local sites of interest that I need to visit. First, the two Unified Silla dynasty stone pagodas, which are now the only remnants of Dansoksa, a temple built in the middle of the eighth century. The [...]

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2012 Travel Diary #14: Mugwort pancakes and bronze age dolmen

by Philip Gowman 25 June 2012
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28 March 2012. It’s time to leave Tongyeong, and head off to Sancheong, where I have happily spent much of my time in Korea in recent years. We set off along the main Tongyeong to Seoul expressway, which passes alongside the Gyeonghogang river and thus cuts through the heart of Sancheong County. I am told [...]

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Ancient Silla dog breed to be listed as heritage

by Philip Gowman 9 April 2012
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The Donggyeong dog breed – thought to be Korea’s oldest – is to be listed as a natural monument, joining the Jindo (a hunting dog) and the Sapsal (apparently effective for keeping ghosts away) http://bit.ly/IlE3EK

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Korean Naval Firepower Part 1 – When Wako Attack

by Matthew Jackson 29 March 2012
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The Battle of Lepanto, wherein the allied forces of Venice, Genoa, and Spain overcame the Turks by means of a superior number of cannons, was a turning point in naval history in the West. Dominance of the sea enabled countries such as the Netherlands and England to play a dominant role in world affairs. The [...]

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Reading the Heavens Part 3 – The Astronomical Legacy of King Sejong

by Matthew Jackson 28 February 2012
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As mentioned in part 1, King Sejong presided over the zenith of Korean astronomical achievement. The construction of a large observatory at Gyeongbok Palace in 1438 – later destroyed without a trace in the Japanese invasion – played a key role in the country’s progress. On the roof were installed various astronomical instruments such as [...]

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Reading the Heavens Part 2 – World’s First Complete Star Map

by Matthew Jackson 21 February 2012
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Koguryo generally has the tag of a warlike kingdom, and I always assumed that it was the least culturally developed of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. Amongst other things, however, it was responsible for the world’s earliest complete map of the stars. This planispheric star map is believed to have been produced in 1395, the [...]

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Reading the Heavens Part 1 – Two Millennia of Astronomy in Korea

by Matthew Jackson 14 February 2012
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To celebrate star-crossed lovers everywhere, Matthew Jackson starts a series of articles on Korean astronomy As we can tell from ancient monuments like the Dolmen stones and more recent buildings such as Cheomseongdae, astronomy was big in Korea. Why was this exactly? Reverence for nature was part of it, but it was in fact more [...]

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A look back at 2011 – part 1

by Philip Gowman 23 December 2011
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LKL’s annual look back at the stories and events of the last 12 months; this year, a multi-part piece, starting with some heritage, film, and the development of Korean food among world cuisines. Heritage The Ilsungrok (diaries of the daily lives of Joseon kings) and the written and visual logs of the pro-democracy movement in [...]

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Taekkyeon gets UNESCO listing

by Philip Gowman 28 November 2011
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Taekkyeon beats Chinese Shaolin Kung Fu to UNESCO intangible cultural heritage listing. http://t.co/KkyDZ6tC. Tightrope walking (jultagi) and ramie weaving (mosi) also listed.

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Buddha’s Voice – The Bell of King Seongdeok

by Matthew Jackson 26 October 2011
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People sometimes take a jaundiced view of Korea’s estimation of the importance of its cultural heritage. In the case of the Sacred Bell of King Seongdeok, however, it was foreigner, Dr. Otto Kummel, a director at the National Museum of Germany, who suggested that the museum’s description of the bell as ‘the best in Korea’, [...]

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Stargazing in Ancient Silla – the Cheomseongdae

by Matthew Jackson 18 October 2011
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Cheomseongdae, the world’s oldest surviving observatory, features a great deal in tourism material, and even if you haven’t been to Korea or the Gyeongju area, you will probably have seen it. You will also, if you are like me, have been somewhat underwhelmed by its rather modest appearance, which if anything does it less justice [...]

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Taiwanese keep alive ancient heritage

by Philip Gowman 15 October 2011
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Taiwanese keep alive ancient heritage forgotten by China. It would be interesting to compare with Korea’s experience. http://t.co/cYXdoKMd

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The Changdeokgung’s Secret Garden – A Part of Nature

by Matthew Jackson 18 August 2011
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There was a series by Monty Don a while ago called Around the World in 80 Gardens. The East Asian segment was naturally devoted to Chinese and Japanese gardens. It is pity Korea was missed out, as the gardens of Korea have a distinct and unusual ethos. Koreans feel that nature has been good to them. [...]

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Live Long and Prosper – Food Advice from Old Choseon

by Matthew Jackson 4 July 2011
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Traditional fermented dishes such as doenjang and Kimchi form the basis of the Korean diet. It is a known fact that the inhabitants of cultures and regions which have fermented milk products as part of their daily diet (e.g. the Caucasus) tend to live longer. In the case of soybean-based dishes such as doenjang, the [...]

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China claims Arirang as its own

by Philip Gowman 25 June 2011
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Why 'Arirang' isn't listed among Korea's cultural assets – and why it soon will be thanks to the Chinese. Interesting article in the Chosun Ilbo http://bit.ly/jFz2MM with a counterblast by Roboseyo (Nobody owns Arirang) #

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Cultural Heritage Administration is 50 this year

by Philip Gowman 11 June 2011
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Taking what was achieved yesterday and handing it over to tomorrow: the Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. http://bit.ly/k5GoJt #

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New Korean heritage listings at UNESCO

by Philip Gowman 31 May 2011
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Diaries of Kwangju uprising, plus the Ilsungrok (account of Joseon kings' daily lives) have just been listed in UNESCO Memory of the World http://bit.ly/lJNKdY #

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The return of the Uigwe

by Philip Gowman 17 April 2011
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Ancient texts looted by France are home at last – the Uigwe once stored in the Oegyujanggak library on Ganghwa-do return to the National Museum of Korea on semi-permanent lease. http://bit.ly/fIFpeJ #

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Tripitaka Koreana is a copy, but an improvement on the original

by Philip Gowman 15 February 2011
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Interesting article on the Tripitaka Koreana – an early example of Korean improvement on foreign intellectual property. http://bit.ly/fjShBC #

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The Arch of Enlightenment launched

by Philip Gowman 6 February 2011
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Good to see that Prince Charles turned out so support the premiere of the new documentary on the Gwanghwamun: http://bit.ly/fq8fI1 #. The DVD gets a release in March.

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