Chuseok: A Korean Holiday of Thanks.

Chuseok is a major Korean holiday that is celebrated as a feast of thanksgiving. Much like the U.S. holiday of Thanksgiving, Chuseok is celebrated with family and friends, and is a time to celebrate the bounty of the year, thank the ancestors and look forward to fortunes of a new year. Chuseok is also called Hangawi and falls on the fifteenth day of August on the lunar calendar. Han means great and Gawi means middle, which is appropriate as Chuseok/Hangawi occurs in the middle of August.

Korean Tea

Buddhist monks traveling from China may be responsible for the Korean affinity towards tea. Tea drinking appeared as early as the 600's. The Korean monarch King Sinmun of the Silla Kingdom believed in the therapeutic value of tea. Tea was often used in ceremonies. It was used in regular ceremonies called Hon-ta and ancestral ceremonies called Ch'a-rye.

Korean Painting

Korean painting can be traced as far back as the fourth century around the area of Lelang. Korean painting has been heavily influenced by Chinese philosophy, but a style developed that was decidedly Korean. Korean painting became known for it's simplicity and realism. Although much of Korean art has been lost in the many conflicts that have been waged, the works that remain are admired around the world for their beauty and style.

In 1972, UNESCO adopted the World Heritage List to designate historical sites around the world. These are sites that have significant cultural value. The following are some of the current historical sites in South Korea:Changdeokgung Palace ComplexThe Changdeokgung Palace Complex (창덕궁;昌德宮) was built in 1405 by King Taejong (태종;太宗) of the Joseon Dynasty. Located in Seoul, it was burned down during the Japanese invasion of 1592. It was reconstructed in 1609 and served as the royal seat for the next 300 years. The Changdeokgung complex was registered on UNESCO’s World Cultural Heritage List in 1995.

Korean style and pop culture is a hot commodity these days. Thanks to the popularity of South Korean soap operas and pop stars, Asia is entranced by what is being called the “The Korean Wave,” or hallyu (한류;韓流).

The attraction to things Korean extends farther than pop culture. The term was actually coined by Chinese journalists who reported on the increased popularity of Korean goods. This new phenomenon has now morphed into an all-out craze that includes young women visiting plastic surgery clinics in Korea so they can obtain the look of their favorite pop idol.

Fueled by this same demographic of young Asian women, tourism to the region has increased dramatically. Korean men are now the object of affection for Chinese and Japanese women, spurning the creation of many match-making services that specialize in matches between Korean men and women of other nationalities.

Satisfying both practical and stylish needs, Korean pottery has for centuries been a central form of artistic expression in this ancient culture. Ceramics also stand out as the most famous of Korean art forms sought after by art historians and connoisseurs around the world. However, to take a comprehensive look at Korean pottery it is imperative that we look back at the country's history and foundation as the past has truly cast a mold for this ancient art.

The Three Kingdoms period (100 BCE-668BC) gave rise to the birth of pottery in Korea. During the Silla Era (668-935), Korean pottery was characterized by simplicity in shape, color, and design. A celadon glaze and color was primarily used for pieces during this period, and its basic white appearance and simplicity was actively sought as a distinguishing feature to set Korean pottery apart from the more complex styles of China at the time.

Early Korean literature began as an oral tradition that focused on a love of nature and man's relationship with it. Korean works that came after this oral tradition were heavily influenced by shamanism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. Evil was punished and good rewarded, and respect, friendship, and loyalty were constant and emphasized themes.

Much early literature in Korea were of poems called hyangga (향가;鄕歌), which used hanja (Chinese characters) to phonetically represent how the Korean language sounded. Using Chinese was the only option for Korean writers at this time as the Korean language lacked its own native alphabet. In the Joseon period (조선시대;朝鮮時代), Korean literature of the upper class was still being written in classical Chinese and focused on philosophies and essays reflecting many of the Chinese classics.

Everyday clothes and fashion in Korea ranges from jeans and T-shirts to tailored suits and designer name ensembles; basically any and all fashions that one could find someone wearing in any major city in the world. One fashion piece that is original to Korea is the traditional dress for both men and women, known as hanbok (한복;韓服) in South Korea and joseon ot (조선옷;朝鮮옷) in North Korea.

Ancient Korean architecture began in the 7th century in what is called the Neolithic period. A primitive heating system called ondol (온돌;溫突) and the development of the vertical wall began during this time.