A Country Divided Situated on a tiny peninsula in the Sea of Japan (East Sea), Korea is made up of two countries -the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea). This was not always the case. The first Korean nation was formed by the Ko Choson Dynasty in 2333 B.C. That was over 4,000 years ago! Korea went through four more main periods: the Three Kingdoms Period, the Unified Silla Dynasty, the Koryo Dynasty (from which the name Korea comes), and the Choson Dynasty. At the end of the Choson Dynasty, Korea was occupied by the Japanese government for 35 years. This ended in 1945. At the end of World War II, the peninsula was split into the two independent countries that exist today. The USSR supported the North, and the USA supported the South. In 1950, North Korea attacked their southern neighbors. This resulted in the Korean War, which lasted from 1950-1953. The two countries still do not get along very well. The countries are separated by a Demilitarized Zone, a piece of land stretching all the way from one side of Korea to the other that no one is allowed to cross. Close to the Land The country of South Korea is only about the size of the state of Indiana, and over 70% of it is covered in mountains. It is surrounded on three sides by ocean and the country includes over 3,000 small islands. For this reason, the Korean people are close to the land. In the summer, thousands of people go to the beaches, and in the winter many go sledding in the snow-covered mountains. In fall, Korea's most important crop of rice turns golden in time for harvest, and many families take picnics in the mountains to watch the changing colors. In spring, the country comes alive with flowers, especially with the beautiful and fragrant cherry blossoms. A Close-Knit People In the past, the Korean people were followers of the religion of Confucianism, which was brought over from China during the Choson Dynasty. Confucianism was founded by its teacher, Confucius, who was born in 551 B.C. Although many people in Korea today do not follow Confucianism as their established religion, the teachings of Confucianism are still noticeable in the interactions between people. To Koreans, it is very important to live with respect and devotion in all relationships. The Five Relationships of Confucianism describe how to treat people in this way. They cover the relationship between ruler and subject, father and son, husband and wife, old and young, and between friends. In Korea, younger people must address their elders with a specific title of respect, instead of with their name. There are different titles for each kind of relationship. For example, a woman would address an older, female friend by the respectful title un-ny (pronounced ah-knee). She would address her father with the title a-bba. This way, people are always showing respect to their elders. Traditional Holidays For the Korean people, the lunar New Year's Day, called Sul-nal, is the most important holiday of the year. Each year, the date of the Sul-nal changes, depending on the moon. On this day, the country celebrates the family and the fresh new year. Families gather together to perform special ceremonies. A special soup called Ttok-kuk, which means "adding age" is eaten on this day. Koreans believe that once they eat the soup, they all turn one year older. On this day also, younger people dress in the traditional clothing called the sol-bim and do a special bow to their elders, who, in return, give them a Happy New Year's allowance, called Se-bea don. The second biggest Korean holiday-Chusek, or Harvest Moon Festival-happens in the middle of August. This is considered the Korean Thanksgiving. It is a time for Koreans to thank their ancestors for the harvest. To celebrate, they dress in the traditional garment of Korea, the hanbok, and cook many traditional dishes such as the rice cake called songphyun. For more information about the Sul-nal, please see http://www.clickasia.co.kr/about/h0101.htm Favorite Pastimes Watching and playing sports are some of the favorite pastimes of the Korean people. Many Koreans study to get their black belt in Tae quon do, the Korean traditional form of self-defense. Equally as popular is soccer. Korea is very proud to co-host the 2002 World Cup Soccer with Japan. The World Cup begins on the last day of May and goes through the last day of June. That means it is going on at the same time the orchestra will be on tour. This is the first time that the World Cup is in Asia. Koreans will root for the Korean National Team whose symbol is the tiger, which shows strength. Seoul, the capital of South Korea and host to the opening match of the World Cup, also hosted the Summer Olympic Games in 1988. Rich Cultural Heritage The Korean culture is rich with tradition. Most of Korean traditional music in the past can be separated into two categories, depending on where and for whom the music was performed. There is chong-ak, music for the ruling class, and sog-ak, music for the common people. One part of sog-ak music, called nong-ak, is farmer's band music. It uses 12 distinct rhythms called shipich'ae that are signaled on the kkwaenggwari gong. Another traditional Korean instrument is the Haegum, which is like a 2-stringed fiddle that sits on the left knee and is played with a bow. The nong-ak music is also used to accompany the t'al-nori, literally, the mask dance drama, which is the traditional drama of Korea. There are several different mask dance dramas, each one for a different Korean festival. The t'al-nori is always performed outside, on a sandae, or improvised stage. There are fourteen different Korean mask dances that are still performed today. The Korean mask dance drama is often satirical, using the masks to poke fun at people such as the upper class or the monks. The masks can be made of wood, paper, gourd, and fur. They cover the whole face and a piece of black cloth is worn over the back of the head to simulate black hair. The colors of the mask can often symbolize the age and gender of the performer - a black mask is used for an older person, a red mask is used for a young man, and a white mask is used for a young woman. For more information about t'al-nori and to see actual masks from the different regions, go to http://www.ware4u.com/masks/ovkorean.htm Want to learn more about South Korea? Check out some of the websites listed below. Please note, when you first enter some of these sites you will get a message box asking if you want to install a Korean language pack. You can just keep hitting CANCEL until the site comes up. All these sites are in English so you won't need a language pack. Enjoy! Watch traditional Korean dancers and musicians in action http://www.kimjoongja.co.kr/fraim.eC.htm Everything you want to know about taekwon-do http://www.barrel.net/ Korea's Ministry of Culture and Tourism http://www.mct.go.kr/