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Category Archives: KSCPP

Articles related to the Korean Spirit and Culture Promotion Project

The Tripitaka Koreana part 2 - the Depository Building

20-Nov-08

The Tripitaka Koreana part 2 - the Depository Building

Matthew Jackson continues his series of articles on the important treasures from Korea's past The depository buildings which house the Tripitaka Koreana library are unique in almost every sense. Officially the largest wooden storage complex in the world, they are registered together with the Tripitaka itself as part of the UNESCO World Heritage (http://whc.unesco.org/). [caption id="attachment_6968" align="alignright" width="220" caption="The windows of the depository building..."][/caption] The woodblocks of the Tripitaka Koreana were originally stored on Kanghwa Island. The current depository complex was built in 1398 at Haeinsa temple, located far inland, to be beyond the reach of enemy forces invading from the north, and invasions by pirates. The 108 columns of the buildings symbolize the 108 defilements, or impurities, believed to separate the mind from ...
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Saturday documentaries at the KCC: Koryo Buddhist Paintings

08-Nov-08

Saturday documentaries at the KCC: Koryo Buddhist Paintings

Every Saturday, from November till the end of December, the KCC will be screening a documentary on Koryo Buddhist Paintings. Acclaimed as "divine artistry" in Asia, the Koryo Buddhist Paintings are known for their "infinite labour". In one painting, 15,000 miniscule faces of Buddhas were drawn in gold to make a single figure of Buddha. Their unique technique of painting on both sides of the canvas, as well as use of natural mineral paints, have allowed these works to retain their vivid colour even after 700 years, and they remain among the very oldest, and best-preserved, works of their kind, providing invaluable insight into Korean art and history to this day. Some of these paintings, along with other Buddhist relics from ...
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The Tripitaka Koreana - part 1

02-Nov-08

The Tripitaka Koreana - part 1

Matthew Jackson continues his series of articles on the important treasures from Korea's past One crowning achievement of Korea’s Buddhist heritage that is not included in the Bozar ‘Smile of Buddha’ exhibition is the Tripitaka Koreana. There is a practical reason for this, as it consists of 81,258 woodblocks, weighs 280 tons in total, and would take 30 years to read, even with a reasonable grasp of classical Chinese. The collection of Buddhist scriptures is currently housed in the thousand-year-old Haeinsa temple, and undoubtedly one of the foremost wonders of Korea. Tripitaka is a Sanksrit word meaning ‘three baskets’ – referring to the teachings of the Buddha (Sutra Pitaka), the precepts followed by monks and lay followers (Vinaya Pitaka), and commentaries on ...
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The Pensive Bodhisattva comes to Brussels

06-Oct-08

The Pensive Bodhisattva comes to Brussels

By Matthew Jackson The centrepiece of the Bozar exhibition of Korean Buddhist Art, beginning in Brussels on the 10th of October, will be the Pensive Bodhisattva statue, Korea’s National Treasure No. 83. It is difficult to describe in words why the statue is regarded so highly as a work of Buddhist art, because its qualities consist primarily in simplicity and lack of detail. Although words may be inadequate, the statue’s renown in Asia (not least of all Japan, whose No. 1 national treasure is a near exact wooden copy of the statue) is primarily due to the feelings that it evokes in those who see it. There are various interpretations of the statue’s meaning, but scholars agree that it is intended to depict ...
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The Sarira Casket

27-Sep-08

The Sarira Casket

Matthew Jackson describes one of the Buddhist treasures in the Seoul National Museum. Of the few people I have asked who have visited the Seoul National Museum, no one has mentioned the Kameun Sarira Casket as the high point of their tour. When I visited the museum myself, even though I was specifically looking out for it, it became clear to me why. At a first glance, in room crowded full of exhibits, its initial appearance does not suggest anything special. Yet this masterpiece of gold artwork must surely rank among the greatest cultural exhibits Korea has to offer the world, both for its unique detail, and its profound religious symbolism. [caption id="attachment_5638" align="alignright" width="220" caption="The real deal - gold granules on ...
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Saturday documentaries at the KCC

29-Aug-08

Saturday documentaries at the KCC

Every Saturday from late August and throughout September there will be screenings of a documentary about the remarkable Silla Dynasty “Sarira Casket of Kameun Temple” at the KCC (right). Screenings will last around 20 minutes, and are provisionally scheduled for noon, 2pm and 4pm: Impossible to replicate with modern technology, this 1300 year-old Sarira Casket remains a mystery of ancient craftsmanship. From the golden granules that are only 0.3 mm in diameter to the carvings of expressions on faces smaller than a rice-grain, this masterpiece of Buddhist metalwork houses many untold secrets. While you're there, you can sample the CD and DVD library downstairs, and browse around the ceramics exhibition on the ground floor. Links: The Sarira Casket at Seoul National Museum Related posts:Make this Saturday ...
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Make this Saturday a Korean day

22-Aug-08

Make this Saturday a Korean day

I've already told you about the films this Saturday. Take your pick between The Chaser at 4:40 in Leicester Square and Seven Days in Brunswick Square at 6:30. How about making a whole day of it? Turn up at the Korean Cultural Centre earlier in the day and browse the DVD / CD library and watch your favourite soap / sample the singing talents of the shapliest K-popstrel in the audio-visual section downstairs. Stroll round the exhibition of Korean and English (and Korean-English) Vessels on the ground floor. Pop across the river to the Hayward Gallery to see Psycho Buildings. It's not often you get to see a hip international Korean artist showing at a South Bank venue. Book in advance for your ...
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Saturday documentaries at the KCC

24-Jul-08

Saturday documentaries at the KCC

This Saturday there will be a screening of a short film entitled "The History of Gold" at the Korean Cultural Centre at 12pm, 2pm and 4pm. Each screening will last around 30 minutes. Silla dynasty gold earrings, 6th century AD. Diameter 3.5cm, Height 8.3cm. National Treasure No. 90, Seoul National Museum. Silla people decorate their houses with silk interwoven with golden thread, and use golden plates and cutlery at meals (Arab historian, 10th century) A country that is filled with the splendour of gold and silver, such is the Kingdom of Silla (Chronicles of Japan, AD 720) Referred to as a "Nation of Gold" by its neighbours, Korea is a country with an extraordinary history in gold craftmanship. Of the ten pure gold crowns from ancient times, ...
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New books for the Spring

07-Apr-08
Three recent publications: First, a new book in the Korean Spirit and Culture series, produced by the aptly named Korean Spirit and Culture Promotion Project. This is their fourth, and is the first of two to explore Fifty Wonders of Korea. This volume covers Culture and Art, while the next one will cover Science and Technology. The book is free. You can download a copy of it in pdf form by clicking on the book at www.koreanhero.net. If you want a hard copy, there should be some available at the Cultural Centre on 10 April when the Anglo Korean Society and the KTO hold their evening of Korean Culture. Or you can email mecjackson at gmail dot com. Second, another book from Keith ...
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Review: Admiral Yi Sun-sin

18-May-06
(www.koreanhero.net, 2006) Stern(4,g) A quick and easy read setting out the achievements of Admiral Yi in the Imjin war against Japan. As well as telling Yi's story (sometimes using Yi's own war diary and memorials to the throne), the book tries to compare his achievements with events which might be familiar to foreign readers -- Nelson at Trafalgar; the Japanese victory over the Russian fleet in 1905 -- and makes a very convincing case that Yi's victories were more remarkable. Maybe if the authors get around to a revised version they should also include a comparison with another naval victory often credited with turning the course of history: the Greek victory over the Persian fleet at Salamis. The book quotes from British ...
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Admiral Yi enters cyberspace in history book fightback

08-May-06
The Admiral who gave the Japanese a bloody nose in the Imjin War has no fewer than three websites to his name: http://www.koreanischerheld.com/ exclusively for German readership, http://www.koreanpatriot.net/ for a multilingual audience (including English), and http://www.koreanhero.net/ which is an html version of a glossy book on his achievements. He himself can be contacted, through some timewarp worthy of the film "Il Mare", via his hotmail account admiralyi at hotmail dot com. Beautifully printed copies of this book -- probably around 2,000 copies -- were being handed out for free at the Korea Fantasy concert in Croydon on May 1st, courtesy of the Korean embassy. (A Word version is available here). I'll do a brief review once I've had a chance ...
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