Saving the Tripitaka during the Korean War

Three students - Shin Wangyu, Bae Geunwoo, and Kim Jaehong - put together a particularly fascinating presentation on the preservation of the Tripitaka, the Palman Daejanggyeong, during the Korean War. With their permission I am able to share it here. Thank you, guys, for this incredible organization of information!

Culture note: After each of the 53 million Chinese characters was carved, the carving monk did three full bows to the floor to show his humility for humbly carving the words of Buddha.

Colonel Kim Yeonghwan had grown up in the precincts of Haeinsa and his mother had gone there to bow so he knew of the deep religious atmosphere of the temple and the carved Buddhist sutras.

Because of all the confusion of the war and subsequent disorganization in processing papers, Colonel Kim was not court-martialed.

Nat'l Museum of Korea: Moveable Type (special exhibition)

The National Museum of Korea has a special exhibition displaying huge trays of moveable type with placards around giving more specific information on what is being seen. The museum has two English-speaking docents who are new to guiding guests, but they were phenomenal in organization of slides and content. The docent who primarily led this tour, Sun, put together the following slides to facilitate guests in gaining easy access to a lot of information in the single-hour tour. Thank you, Sun! 

National Museum of Korea: Home to world's largest collection of moveable type 

The National Museum of Korea is holding the first-ever exhibition presenting a complete picture of the Joseon Dynasty moveable type housed in its collection. Most of the more than 820,000 pieces of moveable type were used by the royal court and in government offices from the 17th to early 20th centuries. It is a rare case for such a large volume of moveable type originating within a single dynasty to have survived. In terms of both quantity and quality, over 500,000 of the pieces of metal moveable type in the collection have no parallel anywhere in the world.

Moveable type represents the ambitions of the rulers of the Joseon Dynasty as they sought to govern the nation through Confucian principles. Chests for storing moveable type pieces allow a glimpse into Joseon typesetters' unique system for classifying and storing moveable type pieces.

Chests for storing and organizing moveable type

Metal moveable type produced by the state represented royal authority and therefore demanded meticulous maintenance and management. A set of moveable type was generally stored in a collection of seven chests, and the amount stored in each chest was recorded in a moveable type catalog knows as a jabo. These catalogs classified moveable type in Chinese characters in a manner distinct from the system found in classic dictionaries of Chinese characters. For more convenient use and storage of moveable type, certain radicals of the Chinese characters were integrated with other radicals, and characters were classified by shape rather than by the number of strokes.

In Joseon why was moveable type produced?

In contrast to woodblock printing that was by nature restricted to only the inscribed content, moveable type, once produced, could rapidly print a range of documents by simply recombining type pieces as needed.

How many times was moveable type produced?

During the Joseon dynasty, both metal and wooden moveable type sets were respectively produced at least 30 times. Production of metal moveable type was mostly a project of the state, and wooden moveable type was also produced by the state on a number of occasions. The quantity of wooden moveable type produced by the citizenry is difficult to determine.

How many pieces of moveable type were produced each time?

Due to the quantity of type pieces required to print several kinds of books in logographic Chinese characters with a given set, at least tens of thousands of pieces were produced for each set of moveable type. Additionally, pieces of type that might appear multiple times on a single page were often produced in the hundreds.

A Timeline of Moveable Type

UNESCO Sites in South Korea (2015)

UNESCO World Heritage refers to both cultural and natural heritage sites registered on the World Heritage List. In November 1972, UNESCO adopted the "Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage" in the General Conference during its seventeenth session. Under the Convention, the World Heritage committee established a World Heritage List that includes cultural and natural heritage with outstanding value whose conservation is recognized to be in the interest of all humanity. 

As of July 2015, Korea has eleven cultural heritage sites and one natural heritage site.

Apart from this, UNESCO also has a separate program called 'Memory of the World' and 'Intangible Heritage of Humanity'. In Korea, there are seven and eight of them respectively.


World Cultural Heritage Sites

Korea's Cultural Heritage conveys a genuine sentiment of simplicity and peacefulness. The historical background of the heritage is diverse, encompassing the history of Korea from ancient times (Dolmen sites) to the Joseon Dynasty. The sites embody a wide variety of values from tidy and neat artistic spirit to scientific rationality as witnessed in such traditional constructions as a royal palaces or temples. A total of eleven Korean cultural sites are registered on the list of World Cultural Heritage Sites including:

1. Jongmyo Shrine (1995)
2. Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon, the Depositories for the Tripitaka Koreana Woodblocks (1995)
3. Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple (1995)
4. Hwaseong Fortress (1997)
5. Changdeokgung Palace Complex (1997)
6. Gyeongju Historic Areas (2000)
7. Gochang, Hwasun and Ganghwa Dolmen Sites (2000)
8. Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty (2009)
9. Historic Villages of Korea: Hahoe and Yangdong (2010)
10. Namhansanseong Fortress (2014)
11. Baekje Historic Areas (2015)

World Natural Heritage Sites

UNESCO chooses to-be World Natural Heritage Sites based on an objective evaluation of historic and academic worth, and then assists in ensuring their preservation. 

1. The volcanic island of Jeju-do has an outstandingly beautiful natural environment that is significant for its geological features and ecological value. In 2007, Jeju-do Island was listed as a UNESCO Natural Heritage Site under the name of "Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes". This includes Mount Hallasan Natural Reserve, the Geomunoreum Lava Tube System and Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak. 

Intangible Cultural Heritage

An international assessment committee appointed by the UNESCO Secretary General reviews the list of World Intangible Heritage of Humanity every two years with the mission of safeguarding and protecting such intangible heritage as language, culture, music, dance, games, myths, rituals, customs and handicrafts. A total of eighteen examples of Korean intangible heritage are on the list, including: 

1. The Royal Ancestral Ritual in the Jongmyo Shrine and its Music (2001)
2. The Pansori Epic Chant (2003)
3. The Gangneung Danoje Festival (2005)
4. Ganggangsullae Dance (2009)
5. Namsadang-nori Performance (2009)
6. Yeongsanjae Buddhist Ritual (2009)
7. Jeju Chilmeoridang-yeongdeung-gut Shaman Ritual (2009)
8. The Cheoyongmu Dance (2009)
9. Gagok, lyric song cycles accompanied by an orchestra (2010)
10. Falconry, a living human heritage (2010)
11. Daemokjang, traditional wooden architecture (2010)
12. Weaving of Mosi (fine ramie) in the Hansan region (2011)
13. Taekkyeon, a traditional Korean martial art (2011)
14. Jultagi, tightrope walking (2011)
15. Arirang, lyrical folk song in the Republic of Korea (2012)
16. Kimjang, making and sharing kimchi (2013)
17. Nongak, Community band music, dance and rituals in the Republic of Korea (2014)
18. Juldarigi, traditional ritual wishing for a good harvest, a tug-of-war game (2015)

Memory of the World Register

The Korean documents declared UNESCO Memory of the World include:

1. The Hunminjeongeum Manuscript(1997)
2. Joseonwangjosillok, the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty (1997)
3. Seungjeongwon Ilgi, the Diaries of the Royal Secretariat (2001)
4. Jikji Simche Yojeol, the Second Volume of "Anthology of Great Buddhist Priests' Zen Teachings" (2001)
5. Printing Woodblocks of the Tripitaka Koreana and Miscellaneous Buddhist Scriptures (2007)
6. Uigwe, the Royal Protocols of the Joseon Dynasty (2007)
7. Donguibogam, the Principles and Practice of Eastern Medicine (2009)
8. Ilseongnok, Records of Daily Reflections (2011)
9. Arresting the demonstrating students, archives of the May 18 Democratic Uprising against the Military Regime (2011)
10. Nanjung Ilgi: War Diary of Admiral Yi Sun-sin (2013)
11. Archives of Saemaul Undong (New Community Movement) (2013)
12. Confucian Printing Woodblocks in Korea (2015)
13. The Archives of the KBS Special Live Broadcast “Finding Dispersed Families” (2015)

Above information adapted from the Visit Korea "UNESCO World Heritage" posting.

Opening of Hangeul Museum

And yet another museum is opening in Seoul ... this new one beside Seoul's largest museum, the National Museum of Korea, but then the Hangeul alphabet, which the museum is dedicated to, is intimately related to the national identity of Korea so its location is most appropriate. 

Already within Seoul, the listing of museums in Seoul according to Wikipedia is 4 national museums, 9 municipal museums, and around 63 private museums. However, according to a brochure I picked up a few years ago at a tourist booth, the listing was closer to 300 museums in Seoul alone. Museums that I have either been to or thought sounded interesting and were not on Wikipedia's list are a shaman museum, a comic book museum, an old newspaper/magazine museum, and a baseball card museum. And sadly, the Tibet Museum listed in the Wikipedia list was closed about two years ago, according to my anthropology friend interested in the various sects of Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism being one of them. As for museums within South Korea, Wikipedia lists 123. 

This museum promises to take the visitor beyond just hearing that Hangeul was invented and promulgated by King Sejong the Great. The museum seems to be a historical journey from its creation and promulgation to how, over the centuries, its development impacted Korean society. I'm definitely interested!

The following article was taken from The Korean Herald, October 8, 2014:

Celebrating the beauty of Hangeul

Museum opens amid growing artistic, cultural interest in Korean alphabet

Hangeul, the writing system for the Korean language, has always been a source of pride for Koreans. So much so that they mark Oct. 9 as Hangeul Day, a national holiday celebrating its creation more than 500 years ago. 

Efforts to cherish King Sejong’s great gift to the people went further this year, resulting in a brand new museum dedicated solely to the alphabet. 

Hangeul museum 

The National Hangeul Museum opens to the public Thursday, with the stated mission of raising the public’s understanding of its language. 

It is also starting a month-long festival celebrating the 24 letters ― 14 consonants and 10 vowels ― that make up Hangeul. 

“Hangeul is the No. 1 linguistic and cultural asset passed down to us. The National Hangeul Museum aims to promote its value and extend it beyond the linguistic realm by promoting the use of Hangeul as a motif in art and culture,” Moon Young-ho, the museum’s inaugural president, told reporters last month during a press preview. 

“Hangeul is not just a writing system for our language. It’s a cultural medium,” he added. 

The main exhibition hall of the National Hangeul Museum. (The National Hangul Museum)

Located near the National Museum of Korea in Yongsan, the museum’s building is an architectural embodiment of the philosophy behind the alphabet ― heaven (.), earth (ㅡ) and man (ㅣ). It has four floors ― three above ground and one below. 

Nearly 10,000 Hangeul-related artifacts are housed there. Some of them have been newly discovered by the museum, according to Hong Yun-pyo who led the preparatory committee for the museum. 

“At least 10 of them deserve national treasure designations,” he said. 

Among the highlights of the museum’s inaugural exhibition are an original copy of “Hunminjeongeum Haerye,” a commentary on “Hunminjeongeum,” the original promulgation of the alphabet on loan from the privately run Gansong Art Museum; “Yongbieocheonga,” the first work written in Hangeul; the oldest Korean typewriter in existence and a cache of letters handwritten in Korean by King Jeongjo, a Joseon era ruler who took the throne some 350 years after King Sejong the Great. 

The oldest Korean typewriter in existence,
invented by Song Ki-ju in 1933
(The National Hangul Museum)

The third floor of the museum is dedicated to children and foreign visitors, with various multimedia devices and programs designed to help them understand the basics of Hangeul. 

The museum is located near Exit 2 of Ichon Station on Seoul’s Line No. 4. It closes on Mondays. Admission is free. For details, visit www.hangeul.go.kr 


Hangeul meets art, culture 

For some Korean artists, Hangeul is not just an alphabet. It’s their source of artistic inspiration. 

Many years after designer Lie Sang-bong’s signature Hangeul-themed fashion show, the Korean characters are now more widely used as a design motif in everyday life in Korea ― from Starbucks tumblers to T-shirts. 

This T-shirt is a collaborative work of up-and-coming fashion designer Nohant and actor Yoo Ah-in. (Nohant)

Earlier this year, up-and-coming designer Nohant and actor Yoo Ah-in jointly released a line of T-shirts, featuring a mix of Korean and English letters, which became an instant sensation. 

A stage musical currently running at Theater Yong inside the National Museum of Korea tells the story of King Sejong and all the obstacles he faced within the court as he pushed to create a writing system for Korean. 

The “Deep Rooted Tree” is based on the best-selling novel of the same title by Lee Jeong-myeong. A TV drama adaptation of the book ran in 2011 on local channel SBS, winning both public and critical acclaim. 

The musical raises the curtain Thursday and runs until Oct. 18. Ticket prices range from 40,000 won to 80,000 won. For details, call (02) 523-0986. 

By Lee Sun-young (milaya@heraldcorp.com)

Play: A Doll's House

The Norwegian play "A Doll's House" which premiered in Denmark in December 1879 is a play much like William Russell's "Educating Rita", first performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company in June 1980 in London, nearly a century later. Both plays have been selected in the last few months to be acted out in The Probationary Theater, and
both plays depict the growing awareness of a woman who was curbed by the social confines of her era, her social class and the men in her lives. Both plays deal with an awakening to self-awareness, self-development and the need for self-pride, not the kind that is cast off from the man she is attached to but deserving by her own existence and state of contribution to society. Institutional marriages become the object of discussion, not acceptance, the male-female hierarchy totters, and the women seek to explore what it is to be a woman beyond the confines they have hitherto not questioned.

While "Educating Rita", set a century later, was more about a woman fighting the mental confines of her low social class, "A Doll's House" was about a woman objectified into being a beautiful little doll, purposeless, functionless except as an armpiece and for the social setting, and sadly, voiceless. The "doll" in the house is told how to decorate, how to dress, how even to greet her squelchingly condescending husband upon his return every evening. The "doll" becomes a little bird that flutters and makes half-hearted attempts to be seen for what she is beyond being a "doll" without life of her own, until at the end of the play, the "doll" becomes animated with action, and flings herself against the gilded bars of her household cage and she flies out to discover ... herself. The play closed with the soon-to-be tasted freedom. The audience seemed hesitant at first before clapping at such a hint of the future, but not being given the satisfaction of knowing it.


When Ibsen wrote his play, this was such a magnificent ending for no one would know where the escape from the traditional male-dominated home could lead, so what a climax! UNESCO recognized in Ibsen's play quality of such value that the autographed manuscripts of "A Doll's House" were inscribed on the Memory of the World's Registry in 2001, in recognition of its historical value. I recognize it as a great play, especially as it invoked in me the rising frustration and anger that the "doll" was starting to feel. While she awakened to awareness of what her husband had made of her, I felt anger (perhaps the more modern emotion triggered by the obvious inequality of the relationship) for the husband's cloyness amplified as his repeatedly tried to soothe and coddle his wife as if she were a toy, a little doll. The last twenty minutes of the play were so cloying with his condescending tones, his meaningless but controlling sweet-nothings while she struggled to assert herself and rise above the blankets of sappy codependent-power obsession that my fists were clenched, and wow was I proud when she swung on her coat, stated clearly why she was leaving and walked, head held majestically high, out the door!

An Intro to the Joseon Dynasty Uigwe

"What can one expect to find in these uigwe books that will further our understanding of Joseon culture? Depending on one’s area of interest, one might retrieve information on Joseon society, politics, economics, rituals, literature, art history, musicology, culinary history, and perhaps more. Of particular interest to the art historian is the extensive description of the visual culture of the court. There is a seemingly endless amount of documentation along with numerous illustrations of ritual performances, and also of court costumes, musical instruments, ceremonial utensils, and finally of interior decoration, notably, screen paintings--all of which were made for those special events. This lecture will highlight some of these features, drawing on the lecturer’s research on several categories of the uigwe, those documenting royal weddings, the painting and copying of royal portraits, palace banquets, and finally on royal funerals and related rites." [taken from the overview of the lecture posted on the RAS website]

The Uigwe is broken down into ui or rites and gwi, tracks or models to be followed. Therefore, Professor Yi Song-mi from the Academy of Korean Studies translates the Uigwe as the Book of State Rites. The person sitting beside me was a historian who has worked on the books and he whispered that the translation should actually be "manual" of rites as the compilation is not a book per se but a manual on prescribed conduct to be performed.

Currently there are more than 4,000 volumes of uigwe. I'm not clear whether these are inclusive of all the copies made because between 4 and 9 copies were made of each book/manual and sent to its respective location. One copy was bound in silk cloth and its spine secured with a strong fancy metal binder. Between 3-8 other copies were made and sent to history archives throughout the nation. Depending on the content, even a copy was made for the crown prince's personal library to enrich his mind and tutor him in the rites of his nation.

There are various topics within the uigwe, many uigwe are dedicated to specific topics, for example, Unique Paintings of Royal Portraits or Unique Paintings of Gyeong-mo Palace, a lesser palace where a king's mother resided. Some uigwe are prescriptions on how a marriage ceremony should take place or took place for a king. But through the language used or the pictures drawn, some deeper hidden unworded sociocultural layers of the Joseon dynasty can be revealed. One point that was particularly interesting was the painting shown of a king's procession with great detail given to the horsemen and banner bearers, etc. However, the king's chair being carried was conspicuously empty, and the reason revealed was, the king can only be painted in portrait; he was like a god and therefore his likeness was only recreated in the formal setting. Ah, those interested points that give dry dusty history books flesh and life!

An (blurred) analysis of the topics in the Uigwe:



In 2007 all of the existing Uigwe were designated as Memory of the World, the world-wide designated collection of historical artifacts that represent humans fight against collective amnesia of key historical documentation.

Behind the Blue House

My great historian friend and I had another historical experience. Usually we talk about Korean history and we both have a fascination with ancient history - the splitting of the Han and their cousin the Hun nomadic groups and how the Han (Koreans) and the Huns (Turks) are still connected by blood and historical records. We're interested in the Mongols and how they affected Korean history, and then we've had deep discussions on the presidents and the re-writing of Korean books based on political viewpoints of the times. I believe all countries do this (shocked?). And by doing so, there is created an intentional historical amnesia which the old and historically valuable documents discovered and preserved around the world seek to continue to preserve and to honor. Korea has some of these documents, the Uigwe, known as the Memory of the World. These documents help historians trace where present-day known history can be realized to be incorrect. These documents are true to their time; however, the Uigwe, Korea's contribution to the Memory of the World, is not without flaw. They are the annual published manuals of the kings ... but they are rewrote at the end of every year, loose or unwanted elements have been eliminated and only the facts chosen are included. Perhaps this can be said to be creating historical amnesia by omiting certain facts that can not be verified by later generations as all original notes and writings are put into the river to wash all words away and to disintegrate the kingly texts that were not to pass into the wrong hands.


Anyway, my friend and I had our historical walk on this crisp, brisk winter day on Bugaksan. We started at Hyehwa Station and hiked over the mountain, ending up at Police Commisioner Choi Gyushik's Statue and from there walked past Cheongwadae, the Blue House, to Gyeongbokkung. Basically, we circled the Blue House but of course were not allowed anywhere near it. And particularly on the mountain trail guards were posted so that we could not even take pictures. Thankfully we had just passed beyond the point where pictures were not allowed when I detected some brown movement on the trail below us. And shocker of shockers! In this city of nearly 15 million people stacked on top of each other with roads and busy thoroughways crammed with traffic, there before our very eyes were 7 deer!



The movement I had detected was from 4 deer as they walked gracefully below. As I looked closer and had already taken some pictures to prove I wasn't hallucinating, I detected 3 more sitting placidly in the shade and looking very much like the brown shubbery around them. You bet I was excited! In all my years of hiking in Korea, I've only seen two special kinds of wildlife: 11 deer on Halla Mountain in Cheju Island when another friend and I were hiking a trail over the mountain and were caught in a snowstorm. And the other time with the same friend I was in Sobaek Mountain and there was a light rain and lo and behold an Asian raccoon crossed the trail right in front of us! And I didn't get pictures of either those events so ... wow!

After hiking the 3.3 kilometer segment of the formerly 18 km wall (at present only 10 km remain as roads were built through the city), we ended up at Police Commissioner Choe Gyushik's Statue. Police Chief Choi Gyu-sik was killed on January 21, 1968 when he and his men defended Cheongwadae (Blue House) from North Korean infiltrators. He was posthumously promoted to Superintendant General and awarded the Order of Taegeuk Military Merit. Officer Jung Jong-su who assisted him was also killed in gun battle against the North Korean commandos, and he was posthumously promoted to Assistant Inspector Officer and awarded the Hwarang Order of Military Merit.

As the sign reads explaining the area: "A tombstone has been erected on the site where the two police officers died while resisting the infiltration by armed North Korean troops. On the Jahamun Pass overlooking the road to cheonwadae, stand the Bronze Statue and the Memorial Monument erected in memory of two outstanding patriots." We came, we saw, we witnessed the memorial wreaths with memorial ribbons of black and white, and in one year if we were to return to this site, we will again see the memorial wreaths and ribbons for every year the same police force offices present their flower arrangements to pay honor to the dead and their heroic deeds for the living.