Things Korean

145 Pages·1999·99.979 MB·English

by  O-Young Lee, John Holstein

Things Korean
by Lee O-Young
Translated by John Holstein
Charles E. Tuttle Company
Rutland. Vermont & Tokyo, Japan

Foreword
The people of ancient times did not see cute piece of handicraft, or we admire it existence, each having meaning in itself.
the stars as scattered individual entities for its value as an antique. We have lost This book eschews the usual systemat-
but as elements linked together in constel- the poetics of seeing the object as part of a ic order of beginning and end. Because
lations. Heaven made the individual stars, constellation with many stories to tell, of each section is an entity in itself the read-
but the mind of man made constellations seeing these objects together as a book er is not required to begin on page one and
out of these stars. And so the individual with so much to tell us. proceed page by page through to the end.
stars of heaven are the same stars, no mat- The book which you are holding in Each section is independent, so that you
ter where on earth we see them, but the your hands now was born of the desire to can begin reading wherever you open it.
peoples and nations of the world have giv- conjure again those constellations. From You might open at the end of the book,
en them different names and different sto- this we want to form anew for ourselves an where you will find an appendix which
ries. Where the Greeks saw Altair and image of Korea, an understanding of the offers more information on the topics in
Vega, for example, the Koreans saw Kyonu Korean mind, and to regain our sense of the main text. After finishing with the
and Jiknyo. identity with our ancestors. The dabbler in material in the appendix you can jump
If our ancestors made stories about folk arts and ways and the one who is back to the main text, and then jump back
these stars thousands of light years away, looking for something to satisfy his inter- again to the appendix at the end for fur-
would they have ignored, as we do today, est in antiques will have no use for this ther reference on another topic you may
the utensils they lived so closely with in book. have come upon in the main text. This
their everyday lives? In the tools and The one who may find something in book can, then, be read in a continuous
clothing and household items with which this book is the one who knows the free- cycle. In a word, this is a format which has
they lived for hundreds, thousands of dom and joy to be found in reflection on no beginning and no end.
years, it is unlikely that they would see, as the nature of things, the one willing to We have often seen displayed in muse-
we do today, no significance other than devote the entire self to the adventure ums the earthenware crock, or a pair of
their utility. involved in deciphering that cryptic code shears, inherent parts of the Korean's
The chopsticks they used for eating, which a culture builds from its objects to everyday life. The crock, the shears, and
the sashes they used to fasten their tell of itself, the one who has the eyes to every other item we see in the museum are
clothes, the ceiling rafters they gazed at as distinguish, through the poetics of objects, individual symbols of an inclusive code
they reclined on the cool floor in the sum- the minds of Koreans in the images of the which defines culture in one way. Through
mer—all of these creations together objects they use. that thick glass, though, we can only look
formed a constellation in their minds. The This book is not one man's work. The at these objects. We cannot stick out our
nature of this constellation, in turn, author deciphered the code in these hands and touch them. Those shears,
reflected their mind. The things they lived objects; the editors compiled all this in alone there on the other side of that glass,
with, more than being objects of simple their original approach. can not cut even the softest fabric, just as
utility, were the expression of what they As you will see when you thumb we, on this side of the glass, cannot come
saw in life and what they felt about life. through these pages, this book itself is one close to scratching the surface of the cul-
Is it just that the rays of stars come object in that constellation. In this way it tural code which they hold inside.
from so far away that the stars have now helps us understand the entire constella- This book, yet another star in the con-
lost their luster? Is this why we in modern tion. The unique Korean mulberry paper stellation of earthen crocks and shears—
times are unable to hear what they are used in the original edition of this book and kites and coins and all those other
telling us? The things we use every day, has inherent in it something of what the objects which fill our daily lives—is a
too—even when we do regard one of them book is trying to say. The Korean script decoded conversation with the co-inhabi-
as more than a mere tool, it is because we used to write the original is not just the tants of its constellation.
see it not for what it is, but for what we traces of words; each letter is itself a poet-
can get from it. We regard it as a quaint or ic symbol of graphics with independent Lee O-Young
Contents
6 Scissors and Their Country Cousin 39 From Twine to Macrame 70 The Fanners' Band
Kawi Maedup Samulnori
8 A Hat of Principle 40 Chemistry of the Millstone 72 Ethics of the Floor Table
Kat M a e t d o l- Sang
10 An Intimate String Instrument 43 A Grave's Grave 75 The Porch's Beams and Rafters
Komungo Mudom Sokkarae
12 The Egg Crib 44 Elemental Doors and Windows 77 The Yin-Yang Union of Spoon and Chopsticks
Kyerankkuromi Mun Sujo
14 The Heaping Measure 46 Down by the Old Mill 78 The Old Straw Shoe
Kobong Mullebanga Shinbal
17 The World in a Thimble 48 Our Maitreya Bodhisattva 80 Relaxing Wrestling
Kolmu Minik Ssirum
19 The Luster of Lacquer Inlay 51 Sister's Wicker Basket 82 A Rule-of-Thumb Kite
Najonchilgi Bakuni Yon
20 Productive Sickle 52 Pants for People 84 Coin of Universal Tender
NalandHomi Baji Yopjon
23 Paddy Paths 55 Gourd of Bounty 86 A Game for Only the Strong of Heart
Nongil Bak Yut
24 Laundry Bat: The Cudgel Tamed 56 The Boot Sock 88 Cushions and Bedding That Will Floor You
Tadumi Boson Ibul and Bangsok
26 Friendly Walls 58 Dreamy Pillow Ends 90 Wardrobe Mosaic
Uam Bekaetmo Jangnong
28 A Long, Long Bamboo Pipe 60 The Lives of a Folding Screen 93 The Condiments Bay
Dambaeidae Byongpung l Changdokdae
30 The Magic Mat 63 All-Purpose Wrapper 94 Totem Couple
Doijari Bojagi Changsung
33 Rice Chest, Heart of the Home 64 A Fan for Winter 96 The Temple Bell
Duiju Buchae Jong
34 Rice Cake, an Event in Itself 66 A Most Communicative Brush 98 A-Frame: Aesthetics at Work
Wok But Jige
36 Letter of Unity and Continuity 68 Crossbar in a Hairpin 100 Living Window Paper
2 I B'nyo Changhoji
102 The Roofs Hip
Choma
105 The Silk Lantern: Enhancing the Night
Chorong
106 An Obliging Outfit for the Lady
Chima
109 Knives and Daggers
Kal
111 The Winnow: Dispersion and Cohesion
Ki
112 Dance of the Mask
Tal
115 Taekwondo: Art in Motion
Taekwon
117 Yin-Yang's Cartwheel
Taeguk
119 Nature's Own Pavilion
Palkakjong
120 Tripitaka Koreana: The Sword Conquered
Palmandaejangkyong
123 The Wind Bell: Where Fish Swim the Sky
Pungkyong
124 Principles of Hangul Script
Hangul
126 Oriental Medicine: Healing Through Words
Hanyak
128 The Earthenware Vessel
Hangari
130 Tiger: Laughter in Brute Force
Horangi
132 The Brazier: A Crypt for Fire
Hwaro
134 Appendix
Scissors and Their Country Cousin
Kawi
Among all our utensils is there any more and sever those which are joined together. borhood with his white twists and tan slabs,
familiar to us than scissors? There is not a Scissors signify to us separation, severance pieces of which he exchanges with the kids
household without a pair. East or West, they and elimination. for whatever discarded goods they can
are one of those utensils most commonly To the writer, scissors are the most fear- scrounge for him. Those shears with their
uneardied from ancient burial sites. some of all our devices. In Korean we say dull, loose blades do not look like they
Scissors, however, have not been blessed censored writing has been scissored. In could cut a thing, and, indeed, can not. The
with a positive image. Designed for cutting addition to their figurative role as the great- taffy man long ago scissored the scissoring
things, these two blades using the awesome est enemy of the freedom of expression, in function out of these emasculated scissors,
power of leverage both look and play the the West scissors are used as a simile for since he did not use them for their original
role of the villain. In that world of the plagiarism. Imagine one writer scissoring function of cutting but simply to help sound
sewing basket inhabited by the thread, nee- out a useful part of another's writing, then his arrival. In that transformation from sev-
dle and scissors, scissors, with their nature fitting it into his own. Scissors, not the pen, ering to serving, scissors were transformed
so different from the needle and thread lead plagiarize. And so we have the true story of from the role of villain to that of the much
an alienated and lonesome existence. how, on the opening night of a play by the loved hero in children's tales and childhood
That figure of speech which has the thread nineteenth-century writer Alexander memories.
following the needle is often used to signify Dumas, the author's rivals sent him a pair of Both scissors and shears work on the prin-
the inseparable relationship of a loving cou- scissors instead of the usual bouquet of ciple of leverage, but the taffy man's use of
ple, but it also shows the capacity of the flowers. (Wherefore Dumas announced to leverage has nothing to do with force. When
needle and thread to unite that which is fall- his audience, "Anyone who thinks he can the shears' lever-like blades meet, a lyrical
en asunder. The needle sutures the wounds write a play like this can have these scis- sound, not destructive force, is produced.
which clothes receive in their much abused sors!", to which the audience responded Those glinting blades of scissors with exact
existence, and it mends new life into them delightedly with a vindicating round of fit could never produce such a welcome
when they seem to be on their last leg. The applause.) sound as the jangling clank of the taffy
thread incorporates the nature of continuity. In Korean, we refer to the negative mark X man's shears. Only the loose, amiable
That is why parents like to think that when as scissors, not only because of the shared blades of this artless and guilelessly dull
their baby, at that special celebration of his meaning of the two, but also because of the work of gray steel can. Shears do not sever,
first birthday, happens to reach for the spool strong resemblance between them in form. they gather the children from around the
of thread (placed conveniently close to him There is another, happier image of scissors neighborhood, unite like thread and needle.
for that very reason), he is guaranteed a long to be found in their country cousin, the The taffy man is no longer to be seen in
life. shears of the taffy man. Clanking his huge the big cities these days. But still we hear
But scissors cut things which are whole, shears, he makes the rounds of the neigh- the genial clank of his shears in our dreams.
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It is not the honifying quiet snip of scissors
that you might hear in one of those dreams
which Freud tells us originate in some sub-
liminal castration complex. It is rather a
sound which recalls the warm affection the
taffy man stuffed into the extra chunks he
always gave us.
A Hat of Principle
Kat
That which hest manifests the nature of a of the fourteenth century, gave the kat a fea- The kat is used neither for practical rea-
building is its roof. Likewise, of all the dif- ture unique among hats of the world. While sons nor for ornamentation. The act of wear-
ferent clothes man wears, that which best it resembles a roof, it does not serve the ing the kat, and the kind one wears,
expresses the character of the person wear- roofs function of protecting. From a practi- expresses an idea, a spirit, and identifies thf
ing it is the hat. cal point of view, on the face of this earth one wearing it. We have the adage, "Put on
Both the roof and the hat are at the sum- there is nothing more impractical than the your kat and await your doom." This means
mit. closest to the sky. and both of them kat. This headpiece, woven in a very loose that the kat bares to all the world your self,
serve the purpose of protecting us from sun and airy warp and woof from the hairs of the your mind and soul. Since the beginning of
and rain. Let us turn it around once: the horse's tail, stops neither rain nor sun nor the Chosun Dynasty in the fourteenth centu-
roof is the building's hat. the hat is a per- wind nor cold. In truth, a much more attrac- ry, the kat has announced the social position
son's roof. tive aspect of this wondrous hat which, for and the activity of the one wearing it.
One architect even theorized that a roof in all its lack of protection, one can wear with- In the nineteenth-century social critique,
any one culture closely resembles the hats out actually wearing, is the way it shows off The Legend of Ho Saeng, we find an episode
worn by the people of that culture. There is the head under it. The topknot and the in which the hero tries to corner the market
no difference between the turban of the horsehair band inside are silhouetted as on the kat so that he can at least temporarily
Moslem and the onion-shaped roof of his clearly as the form in a lace curtain window. deprive the aristocrats and Confucian schol-
mosque. And in European culture that hat This is not to say, though, that the kat is ars of their mark of distinction, by which, in
worn by Napoleon's troops recalls to us the for ornament. On the kat you see neither turn, he hoped to excise the problems inher-
classical triangular stone roof supported by the resplendent gems nor the brilliant colors ent in the strict formalism of Confucianism.
its rows of pillars. of great wealth or high authority. This black With this episode the author seemingly
Anyone who sees the undulating eaves of kat. even when worn at its usual casual tilt, denounced not only Confucianism but the
the Korean thatch-roof house sees in them is the ultimate expression of moderation and kat along with it. Rather than this being any
the floppy brim of the reed hat worn by our restraint. insult to the kat, though, he inadvertently
travelers in the old days. Our point may be But this is not to say that the kat is any- highlighted the kafs moral power.
made even more clear if we suggest a juxta- thing ponderous or oppressive, like some The kat's message is manifest in the firm
position of the reed hat and the thatch-roof helmet or ceremonial hat designed to main- and straight consistency of the hair of the
house with the sombre head gear of the tain a Spartan or sublime frame of mind. On horse's tail. It is soft, not hard like steel.
patrician class-the kat—and the dignified the contrary, the unique feature of the kat, The kat's silken black sheen nevertheless
tile-roof buildings of that class. more than anything, is in its feeling of light- manifests the strict integrity it attests to.
Korea's version of Confucianism, which ness. We might say it is the lightest of all The.material is itself the embodiment of the
came to dominate our societv from the end hats known to us. Korean spirit.
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