My Profile

Nama                : Muhammad Syafiq Bin Jamaluddin

Matric.No         :  233892

Course             :  Business Administration

Sub.Code         : STID11013

Lecturer Name : Dr. Wiwied Virgiyanti

Blog Title          : Korean lifestyle

TAEYEON 태연_ I (feat. Verbal Jint)_Music Video

Korean best places

Gyeongju

It’s the massive burial mounds, brown and dusted by frost in the winter, and carpeted with a dark-green nap in the summer, which punctuate any visit to Gyeongju. Rising here and there in populated and rural areas, they dominate all other physical realities in this riverine valley between Daegu and Busan. The mounds, memorial tombs or neung in Korean, represent the glory that was Silla, and the ancient wonders contained within are now waiting to be unearthed. The area around the city is also full of interest – secluded temples, including famous Bulguk-sa, abound in the wooded hills of Namsan and Tohamsan.

Opulent shaman kings

Gyeongju was well known to Asia’s ancients as Geumseong, the home of powerful and opulent shaman kings. Today, it’s an easy-going resort town where rice cultivation and tourism are more important than wars of conquest. Its distinction as a one-time seat of power, however, cannot ever be forgotten. This 214-sq-km (83-sq-mile) valley is dotted with burial tombs – most from the 1st to 8th centuries but some more recent – and tired pagodas, fortress ruins, granite sculptures, palace grounds, and other remnants of the rich Three Kingdoms Period.

Gyeongju is one of the three most popular destinations in South Korea (the other two being Seoul and Jeju-do), and Koreans have an immense pride in Gyeongju and the Silla Kingdom that was able to unite the peninsula for the first time. Like the corresponding Tang Dynasty in neighboring China, the Silla period is considered the epitome of Korean art and culture. In the early Silla period, the dominant belief system was based on shamanism, that magical world inhabited by benevolent mountain spirits and malevolent demons. The huge tombs of Gyeongju and other areas on the Korean peninsula date from this period, as do magnificent golden crowns decorated with amulets. Eventually Buddhism was accepted by the royal families and spread rapidly throughout the kingdom. The religious fervor sparked by this new religion resulted in a flowering of the arts that remains unsurpassed. Much of the art was religious in nature, pagodas, statues, and magnificent temple compounds, all in praise of the Buddha.

---

Places to visit in Gyeongju

Tumuli Park

There are several routes you can take to see Gyeongju’s sites, but since Tumuli Park sits near the middle of the historic part of the city, it’s a good place to start. This is a unique 15-hectare (37-acre) “tomb park” on the southeast side of Gyeongju with some 20 tombs of varying sizes that were originally heaped into place as early as the mid-1st century. Until 30 years ago, this restored, beautifully landscaped and lamplit complex of mounded graves was just another ordinary neighborhood in Gyeongju. When private individuals and government archeological teams began to find literally thousands of important items here, however, the area was quickly cleared of houses and was designated as a national museum and site of major historical significance. The restoration of Tumuli Park began in 1973, and the complex was officially dedicated and opened to the public in 1975.

The largest of the tombs, that of King Michu (r. 262–85), has been identified in ancient chronicles as the “Great Tomb.” However, a secondary tomb (No. 155), the so-called Cheonmachong, or “Heavenly Tomb” or “Flying Horse Tomb,” is probably the best-known gravesite here. This tomb, about 50 meters (164ft) in diameter and 12.7 meters (42ft) high, was excavated in 1973, and in its collapsed wood and stone burial chambers were found numerous important treasures.

Anapji Pond

Anapji Pond is where Silla kings and queens spent their leisure moments relaxing, writing poetry, playing games, and entertaining visiting dignitaries. This was said to have been the grandest garden in the Orient, with trees and plants brought in from throughout Asia. It lay in ruins for centuries, until 1975, when a team of archeologists began working at the site. To their surprise, hundreds of dishes, tiles, religious artifacts, and even a boat were found at the bottom of the silted pond. These items, which were discarded or accidentally dropped by royal revelers, can now be seen at the Gyeongju National Museum. Today, the pond is back, along with reproductions of three pavilions that once stood at the water’s edge. While Anapji may never regain the glory of its Silla days, it remains a pleasant place to take a leisurely break while touring Gyeongju.

Gyeongju National Museum

Gyeongju is often called “Korea’s Open-air Museum.” The phrase is apt, because so many of the city’s treasures are outdoors where they can be seen, touched, and experienced. Yet in the Gyeongju National Museum, you can see some of the finest of more than 80,000 items unearthed during recent and old-time digs in this area: metal work, paintings, earthenware, calligraphic scrolls, folk art objects, weapons, porcelains, carved jades, and gold, granite, and bronze sculptures wrought in various shamanist, Buddhist, Taoist, and Confucian motifs. Only about 10 minutes by bicycle from Anapji Pond, a visit to this world-class museum will put your tour of Gyeongju’s other historic sites into perspective.

Among the museum’s important pieces is the huge bronze Emille (pronounced “Em-ee-leh”) Bell, The Divine Bell for the Great King Seongdeok, which is one of the world’s oldest, having been cast in ad 771. It is also one of the largest, weighing 20 tonnes and measuring 3 meters (10ft) in height and 2.3 meters (7½ft) in diameter. This Buddhist bell, which originally hung in a pavilion at nearby Bongdeok-sa Temple, is embellished with four relief devas who kneel facing each other on lotus blossom cushions. It is said that the bell’s sonorous tones can be heard 64km (40 miles) away on a clear day. The bell’s name, it has been written, comes from an ancient Silla term that literally means “mummy.” The bell was given this name because its sound resembles the voice of a lost child crying for its mother. 

Gyeongju Folk Craft Village

Gyeongju Folk Craft Village has a large building selling crafts made by local potters, wood carvers, and other local artisans, who live and work in the small village directly behind. Those who take the time to walk through the village can often observe artisans at work. Much of their work reproduces designs and pieces from the Silla period, an indication of the influence this culture still exerts on the Korean peninsula a millennium after its demise.

Bulguk-sa

This sprawling temple complex about 16km (10 miles) due south of Gyeongju on the western slopes of Tohamsan is one of the oldest surviving Buddhist monasteries in Korea. First built during the reign of Silla King Beopheung (r. 514–40), Bulguk-sa, “Temple of the Buddha-land,” is also Korea’s most famous temple. Its renown comes not from its age or size but probably because it stands, flawlessly restored, as a splendid example of Silla-era architecture in a spectacular hillside setting lush with manicured stands of pine, plum, peach, pear, cherry, and cryptomeria trees. It also enshrines some of the country’s and Korean Buddhism’s most important national treasures. The historical significance of Bulguk-sa and the nearby Seokguram were recognized when they were listed as Unesco World Heritage Sites in 1995.

Wonderfully stone-crafted steps and bridges carry the visitor on an uphill stroll to the broad granite block terraces on which this pristine temple compound stands. Almost all of the hand-painted wood structures on these terraces are of recent Joseon-dynasty construction, but most of the stone structures – large granite blocks fitted together without mortar – are original. 

King Munmu's underwater tomb

The Koreans have always worried – understandably – about invasion from their neighbors to the East, so much so that when King Munmu died, he requested that his body be buried underwater and promised to return as a dragon and protect Korea from the Japanese. His son complied and buried him by a tiny island near the Gyeongju shoreline. (Take a bus from Gyeongju to Bonggil-ri, look out to sea and you can’t miss the little rocky islet.) A nearby temple and pavilion offer the dragon deity a resting spot and a private subterranean entrance from the water. Whether the king returned as a dragon is debatable: history shows the Japanese invaded Korea many times. Today, the site draws beachgoers in summer and tourists year round, who walk the shore and often stop in for fish at the local restaurants.

Korean traditional marriage

         In Korea, the marriage between a man and woman represents the joining of two families, rather than the joining of two individuals. As such, the event was often called Taerye (Great Ritual), and people from all over participated. Steeped in traditional Confucian values, the ceremonies and events surrounding the actual marriage were long and elaborate, from the pairing of the couple to the rituals performed after the ceremony.
Professional matchmakers paired up likely candidates for marriage, with the new couple often meeting for the first time at their wedding! The families considered many factors in the decision, consuting with fortune tellers for predictions about the couple's future life together. During the Chosun period, people married in their early teens, with the girl often being several years older than the boy.
The groom usually traveled to the house of the bride for the ceremony, then stayed there for 3 days before taking his new bride to his family's home. The actual ceremony involved many small rituals, with many bows and symbolic gestures. The participants were expected to control their emotions and remain somber.
Although Koreans have kept several aspects of the traditional ceremony, most modern ceremonies resemble Western marriage ceremonies more than traditional Korean ones. However, many folk villages and museums across the country regularly perform ceremonies to keep the traditions alive.

 Traditionally, commoners wore white or subdued clothing except for special occassions and festivals when they wore bright, festive colors. As marriage represented the most import event in a person's life, the participants were allowed to wear clothes fashioned after the costumes reserved for members of the court. In addition to the clothes, they also wore ceremonial head gear. The groom wore a black hat, while the bride wore a veil covering her face until halfway through the ceremony. Additionally, she wore a long hair pin. (For more information, see the Traditional Clothing spotlight.)

Wedding clothes

Bride's Costume Wonsam or Hwalot The bride wore an elaborate topcoat with flowing sleeves over her other clothes. Similar to the costume worn by queens and noblewomen of the time, a Wonsam was made with blue silk on the inside and red silk outside. The front and back had embroidered flowers representing wealth, longevity, and nobleness. The billowing sleeves had blue, yellow, red, fabrics, with a wide strip of white at the cuffs, which also had colorful embroidery.
The wonsam replaced the hwalot during the Chosun Dynasty (1392-1910), and many brides followed suit. Princesses wore green ones. The wide sleeves often had 4 or 5 colors, with wide white strips at the cuffs.
Daedae
A daedae (belt of red woven silk with gold embroidery) was wrapped around the wonsam or hwalot and tied in the back.
Jokduri (Ceremonial Coronet)
The Jokduri was fashioned after a cap used by Mongolian women when they went outside the home. The Korean version became smaller than the original size and is used mostly as an accessory. Jokduri worn by royal family members contained 7 different colors.

Yongjam and Daenggi
The bride's hair was pulled back tightly and tied at the back of her neck. A yongjam (long hairpin with a dragon head at one end) was placed through her tied hair. A dot'urak daenggi (a long, wide piece of dark silk, embroidered with gold lettering) attached to the jokduri and hung down the bride's back. A thinner ap' daenggi hung from each side of the yongjam, resting along the front of the wonsam.

Dangui and Hwagwan
The queen, princess, or wife of a high ranking government official wore a dangui during minor ceremonies in the palace. Women of the Yangban (noble) class also wore it as a wedding costume. It was usually made with green silk outside and red inside or purple silk outside and pink inside. The costume had narrow sleeves and a half-moon shape on the bottom hem. Similar to the jokduri, but more ornate, a hwagwan was worn for a headdress with a dangui.
Groom's Costume
Called Samogwandae, the groom's costume closely resembled the clothes worn by the lowest ranking court officials during the Chosun Dynasty. The color and belt decoration symbolized the person's position within the court hierarchy. As marriage represented the most important event in a man's life, the groom was allowed to wear this uniform, even though he did not hold any position in the palace. (Those of higher rank would wear different clothes during their own marriage ceremony).

Paji and Cheogori (Traditional Pants and Jacket)
The paji had wide legs as baggier pants were more comfortable for sitting on floors than narrower pants. Two straps of cloth (called Daenim) bound the cuffs of the paji around the ankles. This prevented the cuffs from covering up the boots. A cheogori was the traditional shirt worn by men of the time.

Dalryeongp'o (Jacket)
This jacket, usually of blue or maroon color, contained an embroidered picture (hyungbae) of two red crested white cranes on the middle of the chest. A gakdae (belt) tied the dalryeongp'o together, similar to the bride's daedae.

Completing the costume were a pair of black cloth boots (Mokwha) and a samo (a stiff cap with "wings" on the sides).

korea's folk music

          Korea's folk music tradition, with its generous use of bright rhythms and melodies, offers a more energetic and capricious contrast to the nation's collection of classical music works. Folk music represents the soul and sound of traditional Korean villages with an eclectic array of music forms including numerous folk songs, various forms of instrumental pieces, pansori, and shaman ritual music. Some of the most prominent pieces and folk music forms are as follows:

1. Sanjo
2. Sinawi
3. Pansori
4. Chapga
5. Folk Songs
6. Pungmulnori & Samullori
7. Shaman Ritual Music

Featured Folk Music Piece:

Song of Chunhyang  

           Song of Chunhyang is the most popular of the five remaining works of pansori, Korea's unique epic narrative vocal form. There is an ancient legend associated with this pansori work which tells of a small southern village called Namwon and a village girl called Chunhyang. Apparently Chunhyang was quite ugly and unpopular, often finding herself the object of scorn and menace. She is eventually imprisoned and then executed under false charges. Soon after, the village of Namwon falls into disarray. A number of magistrates die under mysterious circumstances and the village suffers several years of poor harvests. One village magistrate suspects that a curse has been placed on the village by Chunhyang's angry spirit. To appease her, the magistrate writes a tale of deceit and treachery, but also of love. Chunhyang is described in beautiful terms and in the end marries the most handsome lad of the village. This seemed to satisfy Chunhyang's angry soul as Namwon then enjoyed great prosperity. The text used in this pansori work "Song of Chunhyang" is this very text penned by the village magistrate centuries ago. That's what the legend tells us.

Hanok House

      Hanok refers to Korean traditional architecture style with various roof types including thatches, shingles and tiles. With the vanishing of thatch-roofed and shingle-roofed houses, Hanok today is generally understood as the tile-roofed house. There are many tile-roofed houses not only occupied as private residences, but also maintained as national cultural heritages.

The Korean style Hanok house is not only the tradition of the past but also an effective architectural style in modern times. Hanok’s charm is twofold: scientific excellence and environmental friendliness. The scientific excellence is demonstrated by a heating system called the “ondol.” Ondol helps residents endure the cold of winter by heating the floors of the home. The word ‘ondol,’ now registered in the Oxford Dictionary, literally means “warming the stone.” When heat coming from the fire in the kitchen is connected to the other rooms, the layer of stone in the floor of the target room becomes heated. The warm air at floor level rises, keeping the temperature of the whole room comfortable.

As much of Korean daily life utilizes the floor surfaces, the ondol culture, the core of the family’s indoor temperature control, is always mentioned when discussing Korea. In the West, the cold floor is often avoided, while chairs and beds are preferred. However, the comfort of the ondol means that Korean people, rather than avoiding the floor, make full use of it. In fact, the reason that it is necessary to take off shoes before entering a house is to keep the floor as clean as possible. This is because the floor is used for both dining and sleeping; short folding tables are brought out when dining, and bedclothes are placed on the heated floor at night for sleeping.

The words ‘downside’ and ‘upside’ are both derived from ondol. The floor near the fireplace is heated and is the hottest area when the fire is burning hot. The Korean people are always aware of the need to show respect to the elderly and therefore this area, the downside, is usually reserved for elders of the family. Fires are less necessary during the summer and Korean homes kept cool by utilizing natures cooling system, the movement of air. The Hanok house has fewer walls and more doors. When the door is closed, it becomes a wall and when it is open, it brings in the breeze to keep air circulating throughout the living spaces. That is why the Hanok keeps cool in the heat of summer.

Ondol is also used for medicinal purposes. The Korean language has the phrase “sizzling the body,” which refers to a kind of fomentation effect that is created when somebody lies on the hot floor in the cold winter. Such fomenting is known as being effective for tired or sick people, pregnant women and the elderly. To this day, Koreans prefer to forment on a toasty ondol floor when they get a cold or other such illness. 

 nother attraction of Hanok is its environmental friendliness. The earth, stone, wood and paper which make up the Hanok are obtained directly from natural sources. Wood is used in pillars, rafters, doors, windows, and flooring. Walls are a mixture of straw and earth. The Korean paper used throughout the house is made from natural wood pulp and is glued to the frame of the sliding doors and the cross ribs of the windows. The floor is polished with bean oil after covering it with Korean paper, making the flooring waterproof. The Hanok breathes on its own because every material is from nature. The wood and earth breath when it is humid indoors and exhale when it is dry.

Koreans built their homes in accordance to geomancy. Houses were positioned after considering the distance and direction in line with mountains and fields as well as the location of water. The direction and structure of the position of the house were decided by this principle. The theory of geomancy is not just a simple superstition. Koreans regard a house built against the background of a mountain and facing the south as being in the most ideal location, and certain points have to be taken into consideration when constructing a residential structure, such as limiting the effects of wind off the mountain, adequate ventilation and exposure to sunlight. When considering these points, Hanok is a very practical residential form.

Finally, the best experience of Hanok comes from the inside. With its scientific excellence and environmental friendliness, Hanok and its aesthetics may be appreciated the most from exploring it from its interior.

Korean festival

Festivals  

         Until the mid-20th century, Korea was primarily an agricultural society, and the seasonal rhythms of daily life were organized by the lunar calendar. As a society where farming was hugely important for the subsistence of its members, it developed a great variety of semi-religious events where prayers were offered for a good harvest and abundant food, and which gradually developed into communal celebrations and festivals. 

         The Lunar New Years Day (Seol or Seollal), which is generally regarded as the most important of all the traditional seasonal festivals, is celebrated with a special festival food called tteokguk, or a rice flake soup. Eating it signified becoming one year older (this means that a child born on the 29th of the twelfth lunar month becomes two years old only two days later). The festival is also related with the ceremony of performing the Sebae (New Years Bow) before the elders of one family and neighborhood. After Sebae, the elders present New Years gift money to their juniors. 

        Another important seasonal festival called Daeboreum (Greater Full Moon) celebrates the fifteenth day of the first month of the year by the lunar calendar. On that day, people eat special festival food called ogokbap, a dish made with five grains and served with an assortment of cooked vegetables, play games aimed for the unity of the local community and perform rituals for good harvest. Chuseok, which is held on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, consists of thanksgiving services in which newly harvested crops and fruits are offered to the ancestral spirits. Generally held to be as important as the Lunar New Years Day, Chuseok is also one of the two annuals occasions when all the family members gather together. 

 

Sebae(New Year Bow). Korea has a long tradition of starting the New Year (by the lunar calendar) with the ceremonious bows made by children to their parents

Korean traditional dress

 Hanbok

The Hanbok is the traditional outfit of the Korean people. Koreans nowadays wear this outfit only on festive days or special anniversaries, however it was worn daily up until just 100 years ago. It is a kind of traditional formal dress and most Koreans keep a hanbok for these special times. Children wear hanbok on their first birthday and adults wear it for their wedding ceremony and on their 60th birthday. The hanbok is also worn for funerals or religious services, and is still used as casual wear in villages or districts where the traditional ways of life are still maintained such as Chunghak-dong on Mount Jirisan. 

 One way to refer to Korea is 'the people in white’, which refers to the fact that the Korean people often wear white or similar tones. Koreans have long worn white clothing made of hemp or cotton regardless of their status. The case of formal dress was different, however. Color and design were typically luxurious and the hanbok was particularly highly valued for its gracious and subtle colors. Modern designers have presented the traditional Korean costume at renowned cities of fashion such as Paris and New York.

The hanbok is colored using natural dyes. The colors of nature are imbued in the cloth. For example, red dye is obtained from the petals of red flowers. The color pigment is extracted by grounding the petals in a mortar, putting them in a jar and rinsing them with hot caustic soda. It is a very slow, complicated, precise process. The colors obtained in this way differ greatly from artificial dyes in their color and depth. The Hanbok is creative and emotional in its design. One Korean phrase regarding the shape of the outfit is the 'upper is narrow, lower is wide'. The jacket must be tightened and the skirt relaxed, as was the silhouette of the women’s hanbok in Joseon times. The tightly fitting jacket attractively reflects the shape of the upper body. The wide sleeves and flexible skirts enhance the wearer’s gracefulness by hiding the physical features of the lower body.

The principles behind the creation of the hanbok can be explained by the movement from 2 dimensions to 3 dimensions. The flat cloth is patterned, cut, and sewn in 2 dimensions but the subject wearing the hanbok is a 3 dimensional being. The hanbok is frilled or fastened with string to enhance the 3D affect. The unique line of the hanbok is created from this process. The lines of the hanbok costume are as smooth as the curves of the eaves of tiled roof house and as sharp. An old adage says that you can tell the man by his clothes.

Koreans have traditionally lived as one with nature, and obtained all material from natural sources for making cloth and coloring it. Koreans favor smooth curves rather than straight lines and that has added a gracious line to the hanbok. A common comment that every hanbok designer gets is that the outfit is more beautiful when it is worn than when it is on the hanger, and more beautiful when moving than when standing. Indeed, the unique lines of the hanbok appear at their greatest when the wearer is in motion.

Although hanbok have become the ritual dress of choice worn only on traditional holidays, Koreans' love for hanbok is tremendous. The popularity of Korean classic dramas is causing many foreigners to take a keener interest in traditional Korean attire as well.

 Ceremonial hanbok

 Children's hanbok

 Women's hanbok

 Men's hanbok

Korean meals

Bibimbap

Mixed Rice – 비빔밥 

   If you try only one recipe from this list – let it be bibimbap. In Korean, “bibim” means “mixed” and “bap” means rice. All of the ingredients except the meat (which is optional) are prepared in advance so you can add them at room temperature to the top of hot steamed rice. You then quickly fry and add the meat and a sunny-side up egg to the top. Bibimbap is usually served with a spicy sauce made from gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste) which you can add to your liking – allowing you to control how hot it is. You then use your spoon (Korean food is always served with metal chopsticks and a spoon) to “bibim” it all until it is completely mixed together. The trick then is to see how much you can fit in your mouth in one go! Well, not really, but it tastes so good that that is invariably what happens at my house. This really is a taste sensation and it really is impossible not to fall in love at first bite.

 

Kimchi

Fermented Cabbage – 김치

Kimchi is the national dish of Korea. At first it can sound daunting to us westerners because of the word “fermented” but don’t forget that we eat a lot of fermented foods already – yoghurt and bread for example. In the case of kimchi the cabbage is coated leaf by leaf in a delicious spicy mix of hot pepper flakes, garlic, chives, onion, pear juice, and more. It is then able to be eaten right away (in which case it is fresh, not fermented) or you can leave it out of the refrigerator for two or three days to start the fermentation process. 

As it ferments it develops a rich and slightly sour flavor – true also of German sauerkraut (which means sour herb or cabbage). It lasts for months and is also used as the base for many other dishes such as kimchi stew and even as a filling for kimbap (Korean sushi). Kimchi is such an important dish in Korea that it is eaten with breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It may not look pretty but it sure tastes good! And if you don’t have time to make it yourself (it can be a little time consuming) it is always available pre-made at your local Korean grocery.

 

 

Ddukbokkie

Rice Cake Street Food – 떡볶이

Ddukbokkie is the delicious smell of Korean cities at night. In large Korean cities like Seoul, the streets are filled with vendors selling their own special recipe versions of the most popular street food. Ddukbokkie (it is pronounced roughly like “dok-bok-ee”) is one of the most popular and it comes in various styles. In the example above I used the linked recipe but also added sliced fish cakes and boiled eggs. The sauce is spicy but it is also very sweet and packed with an immense amount of flavor. The spiciness is cut by the long cylindrical rice cakes which, when cooked, become chewy and soft. The rice cakes are probably the most unusual part of the recipe for most westerners but when they try it – they love it.

Korean bowing

In In Korea, bowing is a normal form of greeting, particularly when meeting those who are senior to you, either in age or in a given social or work-related hierarchy. In addition, it is a customary Confucian tradition to perform the jeol, a deep bow on bent knees, chest touching the floor and the arms stretched forward to show respect to parents or older relatives on special holidays.

Just like many Asian countries, bowing is a big part of greetings in Korea. It’s a way to show respect, say hi, thank you, and bye. So if you’re not sure how or when you should bow, watch this video to find out about bowing in Korea!

– When meeting someone in an informal setting in Korea, just a slight tilt of the head is usually ok. This simple bow is also used when saying hello, bye and thank you.

– For more important meetings (or people), the lower you bow, the more respect it shows (it also shows more respect if you hold the bow for a longer period). Hold your hands to the side or in front of you.

– The most respectful bow is called keunjeol (큰절 – “big bow”). This is only used for the most formal occasions and to show the most respect. Koreans typically give their older family members a big bow (keunjeol) on Lunar New Years (설날 – seollal) and the Harvest Festival (추석 – Chuseok). It’s also used for jesa (제사), which is a traditional Korean ceremony that respects ancestors. Also, men will do this to their fiance’s parents when they ask for their hand in marriage. Sometimes instead of a big bow (keunjeol), Korean girls will give 작은절 (jakeunjeol), aka small bow.