K O R E A N HERITAGE 여름 SUMMER 2015 | Vol. 8 No. 2 여름 SUMMER 2015 Vol. 8 No. 2 Vol. ISSN 2005-0151 KOREAN HERITAGE Quarterly Magazine of the Cultural Heritage Administration KOREAN HERITAGE SUMMER 2015 Cover Haenyeo culture, anchored in Jeju Island, is an important part of Korea’s intan- gible heritage. This unique aspect of Jeju culture encompasses a rich trove of tradition handed down to the present, including diving techniques, knowledge about surviving and living in harmony with the oceanic environment, and diverse rituals. Women divers, or haenyeo, have overcome adverse conditions to give birth to a full-fledged female profession, serving as an exemplar of persever- ance and the pioneering spirit of Jeju women. KOREAN HERITAGE is also available on the website (http://English.cha.go.kr) and smart devices. 02 | 03 KOREAN HERITAGE CHA News Vignettes An Everyday Artifact Cooperation for Underwater Excavation Starts in Earnest Hapjukseon, Traditional Korean Fan The Cultural Heritage Administration and the Korean Institute of Ocean Science and Technology Before modern-day electric fans and air conditioners were invented, have completed on-site joint research, through their research arms, the National Research Institute what was there to cool one down in sweltering weather? Korean of Maritime Cultural Heritage and the Korea Research Institute of Ships and Ocean Engineering ancestors of course always had their fans, called buchae, close at (KRISO). The partnership was initiated as an effort to deploy a Korean oceanic robot for excavating hand to gently stir the air and chase the heat away. The word buchae underwater heritage. sounds like a borrowed term from the Chinese, but it is a pure Korean word, composed of bu, derived from the verb bu-chi-da, which In August 2014 the two research institutes signed a memorandum of understanding on means “drawing wind” and the noun chae meaning “handle.” The cooperation for excavating underwater heritage geared toward contributing to the advancement of Chinese character for the Korean term buchae is 扇 (seon), consisting national maritime technology. Preliminary tests were conducted indoors through March this year to of 戶 (“hedge gate”) and 羽, meaning “bird’s feathers,” denoting that enable the robot, named “Crabster,” to operate with the necessary movements, including picking up a buchae is made by intertwining bird’s feathers onto a hedge-gate objects. Tests were also conducted on exploration devices built into Crabster: supersonic cameras form. capable of video-recording an area up to 15 meters in front of it with sound waves of 1.8 to 3.0 megahertz, and a high-resolution scanning sonar, which detects objects up to 150 meters away in Thin strips of bamboo are aligned to create a frame, over which paper or cloth, usually silk, is murky waters. mounted to craft a hand-held fan. Fans of the best quality are produced in Jeonju, Nampyeong, and Naju in the southeastern region of Jeolla. Traditional Korean fans are divided into two categories: This cooperative project is doubly valuable: the two research round—or rigid, flat—fans and folding ones.Hapjukseon refers to the folding fan that is framed institutes, second to none in their own areas of work, have by overlapping strips of bamboo held together at the bottom by a clasp of metal or bone. The synthesized their knowledge and technology, making contributions hapjukseon was a signifier of the literati’s character and dignity, coming in diverse forms and lengths not only to the advancement of heritage excavation technology, but depending on the owner’s class and status. According to The Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, there also to the enhancement of the national brand image. Partnership of was a special agency called Seonjabang dedicated to hapjukseon production for royal use, which this kind is a model for the government’s endeavors for inter-agency was located in Jeonju. cooperation. A practical tool used for relief from the summer heat, the buchae has come to be deployed for The work with KRISO is part of efforts by Korea to become ritual and decorative purposes. The groom and the bride cover their faces with a fan in a traditional a leader in underwater heritage research in Asia by, among others, wedding ceremony; and a fan hand-painted with calligraphy of poetic verses or a scenic landscape is beefing up maritime heritage research capacity. The National displayed as a house decoration. Other than these functions, hand-held fans are used for performing Research Institute of Maritime Cultural Heritage will maintain a fan dance, or buchaechum, or for shamanic rites. Although it has given way to electric cooling a close cooperative relationship with KRISO, and will also help machines, the traditional fan still holds its place in contemporary society as a local specialty craft with the commercialization of robotic technologies currently under and an indoor ornament expressive of a homeowner’s taste for things traditional. development by the government. 04 | 05 KOREAN HERITAGE CONTENTS 06 26 Heritage for the World Photo Gallery Mountain Temples of Korea: Beopjusa and Magoksa National Treasures: Royal Palaces 12 30 Heritage Today Design Heritage ‘Moonlight Tour’ at Changdeokgung Palace Aesthetic Beauty of Jogakbo Design 16 34 Documentary Heritage Foreigner's View The Archives of Saemaul Undong Experiencing Korean Traditional Festivals 22 38 Natural Heritage Intangible Heritage Enchanting Sceneries of Waterfalls The Haenyeo and their Culture Heritage for the World 06 | 07 Seven Buddhist Temples Selected for Mountain Temples of Korea: World Heritage Nomination Beopjusa and Magoksa A Korean Buddhist temple is a cultural, historical, and religious space, where Text by Jeong Byeong-sam, Professor of History and Culture, Sookmyung Women’s University architectural structures have been gradually Photos by Cultural Heritage Administration & Good Image added around the main hall over a long span of time, and endowed with diverse cultural features. Since it not only has functioned as a place of worship for the public, but also as space for monasticism, a temple is home and sanctuary to Buddhist monks throughout history. Monastic communities have been consistently conserving the extant buildings and sometimes adding new ones to form the temples as they are today. There are numerous such Buddhist temples in Korea that are distinguished by age-old history, enduring tradition, and unique cultural characteristics. Among them are the seven most distinct ones, which were selected for nomination for inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List: Beopjusa Temple, Magoksa Temple, Seonamsa Temple, Daeheungsa Temple, Buseoksa Temple, Bongjeongsa Temple, and Tongdosa Temple. The first two temples, Beopjusa and Magoksa, are explored in this issue. Beopjusa Temple located in Mt. Songnisan. Beopjusa Temple from 1,500 Years Ago Buddhist temples and monasteries in Korea, particularly those safeguarding The seven temples were all constructed during the Three Kingdoms period, their time-honored history and traditional culture, are mostly located in spatial compositions consolidated only after the mid-Joseon era. Beopjusa Temple, mountainous areas. Among contemporary Koreans, traditional Buddhist located in Boeun County, Chungcheongbuk-do Province, was constructed in temples are popularly understood as mountain temples. 553 during the reign of King Jinheung of Silla (57 B.C.–A.D. 935), having been maintained for some 1,500 years until the present. A popular belief recounts that the spiritual patriarch Uisin, who came with Buddhist sutras loaded on a white donkey, had built the temple. However, it is more plausible to think that the founding of Heritage for the World 08 | 09 Beopjusa was initiated by Master Jinpyo in the 8th century; and then Yeongsim, a light into a world of darkness, the two stone lanterns are celebrated for artistic great monk from Mt. Songnisan who received instruction about the Dharma from perfection: one in the shape of two lions holding up a fire; and the other in the form Master Jinpyo, established the temple and widely disseminated Buddhist teachings. of the four heavenly guardians standing guard around the light. Another symbol of brightness embodied in stonework is a bodhisattva statue sculptured in the image of Beopjusa Temple stands on spacious grounds amid Mt. Songnisan, part of Baekdu a bodhisattva carrying a large jar on its head. Along with the stone lotus pond, these Daegan, the mountain ridge that runs through most of the length of the Korean stone artifacts all date back to between the 8th and 9th centuries, testifying to the Peninsula. After the entrance gate of the temple, called iljumun, or “one-pillar gate,” temple’s flourishing fortunes during that period. unfolds a 2-kilometer-long trail, shaded by a variety of trees and shrubs transforming shapes and colors with the change of seasons. The forest trail leading to the main Beopjusa as a primary temple of the Beopsang School (or the Korean Yugakara The stone lantern with complex of the temple is one of the most aesthetic entrance roads to Buddhist school) had accumulated so much fame as to be resided in by princely monks such images of Four Guardian temples in the country. With a step into the temple complex appear imposing temple as Dosaeng and Gwangji during the Goryeo Dynasty (918–1392). In the early Kings carved on its four sides, from the late Silla structures, which nestle in the spectacular sceneries of Mt. Songnisan, harmoniously period of the Joseon Dynasty (1392–1910) the temple enjoyed prosperous times; period. mingling together with the surrounding nature. Although there was a hall of Maitreya Great Master Sinmi, the beloved monk of King Sejo (r. 1455–1468), delivered called Sanhojeon Hall until the mid-Joseon period, a 10-meter-high Maitreya statue major religious activities here, and it is known that the king endowed the official stands in the site of Sanhojeon today; Daeungbojeon Hall to the rear and Palsangjeon title jeongipum, the third highest of the 18-rank administrative hierarchy of Joseon, Wooden Pagoda at front comprise the central axis of the temple complex.