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Culture
&
Society Topics
Various general statements on various cultural and society based topics can be found on
this page. Use the following bookmarks to jump to the relevant topic of interest.
Population
Koreans are one ethnic family and speak one language. Sharing distinct physical
characteristics, they are believed to be descendants of several Mongol tribes that
migrated onto the Korean Peninsula from Central Asia. In the seventh century, the
various states of the peninsula were unified for the first time under the Silla Kingdom
(57 B.C.-A.D. 935). Such homogeneity has enabled Koreans to be relatively free
from ethnic problems and to maintain a firm solidarity with one another.
As of the end of 2003, Korea's total population was estimated at about 48 million
people with a density of 479 people per square kilometer. By contrast the population
of North Korea is estimated to be about 22 million people. Korea saw its population
grow by an annual rate of 3 percent during the 1960s, but growth slowed to 2 percent
over the next decade. Today, the rate stands at about 0.6% and is expected to further
decline to 0.06% by 2020.
A notable trend in Korea's demographics is a population with increasing average age.
Statistics show that 6.9% of the total population of Korea was 65 years or older in 1999
and 7.9% of the total in 2002. In the 1960s, Korea's population distribution formed a pyramid
shape, with a high birth rate and relatively short life expectancy. However, the structure
is now shaped more like a bell with a low birth rate and extended life expectancy. Youth
(under the age of 15 years) will make up a decreasing portion of the total, while senior
citizens (65 years or older) will account for some 15.1 percent of the total by the year 2020.
The nation's rapid industrialization and urbanization in the 1960s and 1970s has been
accompanied by continuing migration of rural residents into the cities, particularly
Seoul, resulting in heavily populated metropolitan areas. However, in recent years, an
increasing number of people have begun moving to suburban areas.
Art
While in some ways typically East Asian, Korean art does much to distinguish
itself from neighboring traditions. and in doing so, it often reveals what is unique
about the Korean people. From a broad view, Korean art reflects a longing for
serenity but it also depicts motions and colours resulting from life's general
struggle. Scenes where nature seems poised as a Chinese character, stand
in contrast to the humor portrayed by a leering and almost familiar tiger. Korea's
world-renowned ceramics, steeped in calm colors and repetitive motifs, are
contrast to almost chaotic Samulnori, a dance of shamanistic intensity. Ancient
legend and folklore have been brightly passed down via theatrical tradition
which contains all elements of satire, melodrama, and morality. To encounter
the art of Korea is to encounter fresh and sometimes startling variations on
universal themes and variations, all of which continue to flourish under the efforts
of many talented living artists.
Music
& Dance
Throughout their long history, Koreans have nourished an ardent love of music and
dance. In the distant past, villagers gathered to celebrate plantings and harvests. Such
festivities were probably the origin of folk songs and dances that are still widely enjoyed.
Korean traditional music can be divided into two major types: jeongak for the noble class,
and sogak for the common people. Jeongak, performed at court, tended to be slow,
solemn, and elaborately melodic. Sogak drew from a variety of influences, including Buddhist
and shamanistic rituals. The songs are often dramatic, depicting love stories and folk tales.
Performances are vibrant, full of strong emotion. Western music was introduced at the end
of the 19th century and gained rapid acceptance. There are a number of Korean musicians
performing and competing internationally today.
Traditional Korean dance may be divided into court dance, folk dance, ritual dance, and
the dance of professional entertainers. Court dances are slow, stately, and elegant, the
movements balanced and restrained. Folk dance includes farmers’ dances, mask
dance-dramas, and various group dances meant to accompany work. Ritual dance appears
in Confucian, shamanistic, and Buddhist ceremonies. Professional entertainers performed both
court and folk dances, often combining features of the two. Many traditional dances were
forgotten during the Japanese colonial period (1910-45) and the chaotic early years of the Republic,
but in the 1980s, interest in these long-forgotten dances revived. Several were designated
Intangible Cultural Properties by the Korean government, while their most notable performers
were recognized as Human Cultural Treasures.
Painting
The earliest known Korean paintings were murals painted on the walls of tombs of the
Three Kingdoms period (53 B.C. ? A.D. 668). The paintings of Goguryeo were generally
dynamic and rhythmic, those of Baekje elegant and refined, and those of Silla somewhat
speculative and meticulous. Little is known of the painting of the Unified Silla period (668-935),
as only one example survives, but it is believed that painting developed a great deal during
this culturally rich and harmonious era. In the Goryeo period (918-1392), painting flourished
in rich variety, with heavy Buddhist influences reflected in temple murals and scroll paintings.
Many master painters produced works of the so-called "Four Gentlemen": the
plum, the orchid, the chrysanthemum, and the bamboo. Early Joseon (1392-1910) painters
seemed unable to free themselves from what had become conservative styles, but their
descendents grew in creativity and originality, relaxing classical tropes and depicting scenes
from everyday life. Understandably, traditional painting suffered under the policies of the
Japanese colonial period. Meanwhile, Western styles were introduced and gained a degree of
prevalence. After liberation in 1945, interest in both Korean and Western styles of painting
grew rapidly. Today, Korean artists engage in both traditions, often fusing them in new and
surprising ways.
Ceramics
Ceramics are by far the most famous Korean art objects among the world's art historians
and connoisseurs. Neolithic ceramic pots had narrow, rounded bases and were decorated
with parallel lines and dots. Early Silla ceramics, free and original in style, varied in color
from gray to black and sometimes held brown tones resulting from oxidation in the kiln.
Ceramics in Korea reached an apex during the 12th century of the Goryeo Dynasty with
the attainment of a mysterious bluish-green celadon glaze and the innovation of a decorative
inlay technique. Sung Chinese influences diminished, replaced by features more distinctly
Korean. Most of these techniques were lost during the Mongol invasions, so that modern
potters can only approximate the glorious achievements of their Goryeo forebears. In the Joseon
period, Korean ceramics tended toward austerity. Much favored among the Chinese and
Korean aristocracies were plain porcelain vessels of a luminous white. At the same time,
however, the lower classes were producing for their own use a colorful variety of cruder
porcelain vessels, later prized by collectors for their artless charm.
Literature
Early Korean literature was heavily influenced by shamanism, Buddhism and Confucianism.
The early literature, which began as an oral tradition, depicted a love of nature and man and held
that man was a part of nature. Good was rewarded and evil was punished, and values like
loyalty to the King, filial piety, respect for one's elders, true friendship and chastity were
emphasized. Some of the earliest extant Korean writings are poems, called hyangga, written
during the Unified Silla period (A.D. 668-935) using Chinese characters phonetically to represent
the sounds of the Korean language, which as yet lacked a native alphabet. Only 25 remain.
During the Goryeo period and the later Joseon period, Korean literature of the upper class, mostly
written in classical Chinese, was characterized by an emphasis on philosophic expositions on
the Chinese classics, an art that was essential for government service, the only respectable
avenue to success outside of teaching. Scholarly essays and the diaries of scholars and court
ladies compose one strain of the literature of this time. Also during this period, hansi poems in
Chinese characters developed to maturity and toward the end of the dynasty, a new form of
poetry called sijo gained wide acceptance. The sijo, a short three line poem written in Hangeul
(the Korean alphabet), remained popular throughout the Joseon Dynasty, as did the later gasa, a new
vernacular verse genre which was more descriptive and expository. The Joseon period also
saw a great outpouring of literature written in Hangeul which often centered on the concept that
all men are equal and attacked social inequality, spurred by the introduction of Silhak (Practical
Learning) in the 17th century. The predecessor of this genre was The Story of Hong Gildong,
generally considered to be the first Korean novel, written in the early 17th century to criticize
the inequalities of Joseon society. This trend was reinforced during the late 19th century by the
introduction of Western influences, as writers were inspired by ideas of enlightenment, freedom and
independence. Modern writers have also focused on social injustice, particularly under the
authoritarian regimes, as well as the dehumanizing influence of industrialization and modernization.
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