Korea: Rich Heritage

[Music] [Music] [Music] all [Music] [Music] for [Music] I am leang Jin in the Western World I would be known as s Jin Lee but in Korea my family name comes first and it is most important to me it says to me and to others that my family is directly descended from the ancient Kings of the E Dynasty there are only about 200 family names in my country so millions of families named Lee but not all related to mine there is a book in our family which records the names of family members going back some 800 years we attach great importance to our family and to continuing the work left by our ancestors [Music] traditionally we honor our ancestors through Memorial rituals we hope to inherit the spirit displayed by those [Music] ancestors on these occasions we share with them our best wine and food this sharing reminds us that the past is part of our current lives this Memorial ritual is not taking place in one of the modernized villages it is one of certain communities that have been preserved as cultural Villages here Customs centuries old continue almost unchanged most of the villagers are of one family or [Music] clan on these formal occasions the chief and Elders Meet In traditional costume to conduct Village [Music] Affairs family Clans have a long tradition in prehistoric times all of Korea was occupied by separate tribal Clans more than 2,000 years ago the land was organized into three kingdoms one the kingdom of Sila dominated in 66 68 ad uniting the Koreans as one people for the first time many artifacts have survived from these earlier periods the belt worn by a Sila Monarch gold crowns roof tiles and endurable objects made with clay or [Music] stone Sila was followed by the Coro Dynasty in 918 ad one of the artistic glories of the Coro period was in Ceramics Coro Celadon Pottery is considered to be without peer its unmatchable glaze almost a lost art Coro was followed by the E Dynasty which lasted until the Japanese Occupation of 1910 the Palaces in Soul were the capital of the e Kingdom for 500 years despite their long history as a United people the Korean Heritage is a story of cultural survival under extreme difficulties at various times their land has been invaded by the Chinese and Manu captured by the Mongols of Jenis Khan and occupied by the Japanese Invaders destroyed cities temples and artifacts at a single wooden Temple po built before the 1500s still stands however many such as bulguksa were rebuilt on their old foundations by a people who have clung tenaciously to their own Heritage and identity it's as if Korean culture had a vivid color of its own as colors from outside were introduced into it they toned the Korean color but at the same time were changed by it so the end results were special Hues that are distinctly [Music] Korean religion provides an example living on this mountainous Peninsula strongly influenced by the Four Seasons their earliest beliefs were in animism or Shamanism in spirits that reside in a mountain or the sea in animals in the Sun or in a tree Buddhism reached them from India by way of China here in the famous Grotto soram built in 751 ad sits a Buddha carved from a 10t slab of granite originally a religion without a god Buddhism offered formulas for personal salvation through suppression of worldly desires but as it spread it gathered an array of protectors Saints and saviors who could be appealed to for a better life on Earth in Korea Buddhism was further adapted to accommodate established [Music] beliefs [Music] while honoring Buddha Koreans also venerate the older Spirits so they won't become jealous or angry confucious the Chinese Sage was another enduring influence in Korea the code taught by confucious became a system of Education family behavior and civil Administration in schools like this one Scholars memorized Confucian teachings upon which all examinations for civil offices were based at one period scholarship and government were so closely entwined that each government official had to write poems and present them to the king the emphasis upon Confucianism declined but the Legacy that education is the key to future success remains deeply ingrained so too does the emphasis upon family relationships this older residence was the home of a master of calligraphy or brush writing three generations of a family would live in the same house women prepared the meals here in the cooking area and had their own section of the house the head of the family had his private quarters for work and study its Now Quiet rooms say much about what educated Koreans valued in the way of orderliness Simplicity and harmonious Arrangements today's Urban dweller is more likely to live in a single family apartment one of the changes about which Mr Lee comments at the present time my country has moved rapidly toward modernization and industrialization toward establishing a new culture at the same time we wish to make it harmonious with the old so a national effort is being made to preserve revive restore and nurture our own unique cultural heritage visits to museums housing these National Treasures are part of the children's education and adult Koreans visit these exhibitions by the thousands respect for the past is expressed in many ways approaches to a shrine are planned with beauty and Harmony in mind helping to create the proper respectful [Music] mood this Shrine honors Admiral e sunshin who in the 1590s developed what were probably the first ironclad ships in history and defeated an invading Japanese Armada reconstructed in 1968 the shrine has design features that are traditionally Korean the roof Ridge that curves up at both ends and the upward curves at the corners influenced by the Chinese the Korean style in turn influenced Japanese architecture places like the he insa Temple have a special attraction for Koreans though they may now practice Christianity Daoism or some other religion Buddhism was once the state religion and its temples and artifacts are Treasures of their [Music] past [Music] these buildings house one of the great achievements of Korean culture the traptic corana all of the basic Buddhist scriptures preserved on more than 8 80,000 wooden printing blocks each handcarved on both sides begun in the year 1237 as a work of piety to secure Buddha's protection against Mongol Invaders the blocks took 16 years to complete the texts are as reproducible today as they were 700 years [Applause] ago printing from all the blocks will fill 6,780 volumes printing had an early start here Koreans were using movable type 200 years before Gutenberg developed it in the Western World the use of metal type spread to China and Japan from here Koreans have a language of their own but for centuries their writers and Scholars used difficult Chinese characters with Korean pronunciation then in the 15th century King seong and enlightened Monarch commissioned the development of a phonetic Korean alphabet this alphabet called hungo made reading and writing easily available to all classes the old Chinese system used thousands of ideographs to picture what was being said whereas in the early form of hungo Koreans had to learn only 11 vowels and 17 consonants which could be used in various combinations the way we use the letters in our alphabet thus for the sound of con Koreans write their equivalent of k a n the three letters when combined make up the sound con calligraphy or brush writing is an art form here it is writing and a Mark of scholarship but also something Beyond mere skill and [Music] technique Mrs Lee choong principal of a girl's high school is a master calligrapher her Artistry is considered to have reached a quality of spiritual [Music] attainment [Music] to preserve valued legacies from the past certain Treasures receive government protection National Treasure number 20 for example is the tabot toop an 8th Century Pagoda of unique and complex design called the sitting mitraa this guilt bronze image from the ancient period of the Three Kingdoms is National Treasure number [Music] 78 most unique to Korea are its human cultural Treasures such as the skill of Madame Kim hu Jin hers is cultural treasure number 22 meaning that her skill in the ancient art of making knots with silk thread is to be preserved apprentices are sent to her for training in this art the knotted threads often supporting Jade are used as accessories and traditional costumes Kim pong Yong whose skill is human cultural treasure number 10 preserves the art of manufacturing lacer and inlaying with mother of [Applause] pearl between Mr Kim and this old painting of a scholar lies an unbroken heritage like the old Southgate and soul National Treasure number one they are Treasures that keep history from being lost in the rush of modern development perhaps the revered past has helped prepare Mr Lee sjan for the challenges of a new age an age that is bringing to Korea the influence of foreign cultures he and his fellow Kore hope to succeed as they have in the past in harmonizing these new influences with their own Rich [Music] heritage [Music] despite the hazards if history follows its previous course Korea will remain the land of morning [Music] calm