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Korea’s Treasures

The Turtle Ship

by Matthew Jackson on 25 October, 2009

There is a story that when the nascent Korean shipping industry was attempting to raise capital, Barclays asked what the Koreans could provide in the way of security for the loan. The Korean executive is said to have taken a 500 won bill from his pocket, which featured the turtle ship of Yi Sun-sin, and [...]

Tagged as: Korea's Treasures, Yi Sun-shin

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Golden Earrings of Silla

9 September 2009 History & heritage

Along with the famous Golden Crown of Hwangnam, the tombs of Silla contained many other, less immediately eye-catching objects of beauty. An example is the golden earrings, one of the literally thousands of accessories such as necklaces, rings, belts and shoes that were buried with the dead kings and queens in Kyongju, capital of the [...]

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The Shining Fortress part 2: its remarkable story.

7 August 2009 Gyeonggi-do

by Matthew Jackson
The story which surrounds the building of the Hwaseong fortress is an extraordinary one. The fortress was originally built as part of the new Suwon city, a project initiated by King Chongjo.
King Chongjo (or King Jeongjo, depending on your preferred romanization) had been greatly devoted to his father, Sado Seja, who died [...]

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The Shining Fortress part 1: its construction

28 July 2009 Gyeonggi-do

by Matthew Jackson
The official report by the advisors to UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee concluded that the Suwon Hwaseong Fortress “represents the pinnacle of 18th century military architecture, incorporating the best of that from Europe and from the Far East. As such it has a unique historical importance”.
What makes Hwaseong special? Following the editor’s [...]

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A scientific look at ancient Korean art

22 June 2009 Anglo-Korean Society

Jennifer Barclay reports on the Anglo-Korean Society evening at the Korean Cultural Centre, 16 June 2009
Short documentaries on some of Korea’s ancient cultural artefacts were shown at the Korean Cultural Centre on 16 June, presented by members of the non-profit Korean Spirit and Cultural Promotion Project.
Matthew Jackson and Hang-Jin Chang, who graduated together from [...]

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Chongganbo – Sejong’s Musical Alphabet

1 May 2009 History & heritage

King Sejong is most famous for his invention of the Korean alphabet. His other achievements, in social and legal reform, science and art, are less well known. The Chongganbo, which could be regarded as a musical alphabet, is one such achievement.

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Making History Part 3 – Uigwe

21 April 2009 History & heritage

The last of three articles in which Matthew Jackson describes the detailed historical records kept by the Joseon dynasty court.

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Making History Part 2 – Diaries of the Royal Secretariat

14 April 2009 History & heritage

The second of three articles in which Matthew Jackson describes the diligent record-keeping of the Joseon dynasty court

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Making History: Part 1 – The Sillok

7 April 2009 History & heritage

In the first of three articles, Matthew Jackson looks at the ways that the official history of the Choseon dynasty was written.

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The Gwanghwamun and its many rebirths

29 March 2009 Conference reports

A feature on the great gate of the Gyeongbukgung in Seoul

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Movable metal type part 2 – the move to Lead

23 March 2009 History & heritage

After the invention of movable metal type, the next stage in the evolution of printing in Korea was improving the type itself. Matthew Jackson continues his series of articles

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Movable metal type, part 1a – Jackson fights back

12 March 2009 History & heritage

Following on from some comments on his previous article about moveable metal type, which expressed some doubts as to the justification behind its hallowed status amongst Koreans, Matthew Jackson investigates further, and returns to his original conclusion that it is a unique and extraordinary contribution to world history.

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