This is my power point presentation about South Korea for LIT 002 / World Literature. Contents: *geography * brief history * culture * traditions * literature * landmarks * economic * others

1. SOUTH
KOREA

2. South Korea ( officially
the Republic of Korea), is a
country in East Asia, constituting
the southern part of the Korean
Peninsula. The name Korea is
derived from Goryeo, a dynasty
which ruled in the Middle Ages. It
shares land borders with North
Korea to the north, and oversea
borders with China to the west
and Japan to the east.
Capital: Seoul
Administrative Divisions:
9 Provinces (North and South Chungcheong,
Gangwon, Gyeonggi, North and South Gyeongsang,
Jeju, North and South Jeolla)
7 metropolitan cities:
► Busan ► Daegu ► Daejeon
► Gwangju ► Incheon ► Sejong City
► Ulsan

3. The Flag of South Korea, or Taegukgi
is the national flag for the Republic
of Korea. It has three parts:
 A white background which
represents peace and purity.
 a red and blue Taeguk, which is a
red and blue Taiji yin- and yang-
symbol in the center, represents
the balance of the universe
 and four black trigrams which
represents the heaven ☰(kun),
earth ☷(kon), water ☵(kam),
fire ☲(yi)

4. HISTORY OF KOREA
Monarchy Begin:
Gojoseon by Tangun
(legendary:2333 B.C)
Three Kingdoms and Gaya (5th century)
•Goguryeo 37 B.C. - AD 668),
•Baekje (18 B.C. - AD 660),
•Silla (57 B.C.- AD 935),
•Gaya (42-562)
Unified Silla and Balhae (8th century)
Goryeo Dynasty (11th century)
Joseon Dynasty (15th century)
 Korean Empire
Monarchy Ended: Sunjong (The Last
Emperor: August 29, 1910

5. Tangun creation myth of Korea
Traditional myths of ancient Korea tell that over 4,000 years ago
Hwanung, the King of Heaven, descended near a Tan tree on Mt. Taebak in
North Korea. Accompanying Hwanung were 3,000 followers, and he ruled
over all of their needs. In a nearby cave lived a tiger and a bear who wished
to become human. As part of the test he gave them mugwort and garlic to
eat, requiring them to live in darkness for 100 days. After only a few days,
the tiger could no longer stand it and ran out into the mountain forests. The
bear, however, stayed in the den, finally emerging as a beautiful woman. She
repeatedly prayed beneath the Tan tree for a child, and Hwanung
momentarily transformed himself to marry her. They produced a wonderful
child they called Tangun. Tangun invented the basics of civilization and
created a dynasty that lasted for 1,500 years.
This was followed by a period
called Kija Choson that lasted 99 years.
Tangun is still regarded as a great
culture-hero and his memory is marked
every 3rd of October on Foundation Day.
Depictions of Tangun often show him
with a tiger, which is regarded as a
mountain god.

6.  Over the last 2,000 years the Korean peninsula has been
wracked by eight major invasions and countless smaller
wars and incursions.
 Among the many invaders have been ancient Chinese
kingdoms, Qidans (Khitans), Mongols, Japanese, and
Manchus.
 In the 20th century, Korea was colonized by Japan and in
the Post-WWII era was caught in the middle of conflicts
between the United States, the Soviet Union, and China
over the expansion of Communism in the Cold War Era – an
era which still lingers in the as yet unresolved division
between North and South Korea.

7. KOREAN WAR
On June 25, 1950, North Korea
launched an unprovoked full-
scale invasion of the South,
triggering a three-year war
which drew in U.S., Chinese, and
other foreign forces. The entire
peninsula was devastated by the
conflict. A ceasefire was signed in
July 1953.

8. Korean Culture,
Traditions and Literature

9. CULTURE
HANBOK
 Traditional women's hanbok consists
of jeogori, a blouse shirt or a jacket
and chima, a wrap-around skirt,
which is usually worn full.
 The ensemble is often called chima
jeogori.
 Men's hanbok consists of jeogori and
baji which means pants in Korea.
 The baji were baggy pants in traditional
men's hanbok.

10. HANGEUL (한글)
 The Korean AlphabetThe Great King Yi Sejong

11. HANOK
 Korean traditional house
 The raw materials used in
Hanok are soil, timber, and
rocks
 Windows and doors are made
with Hanji (traditional
Korean paper).
Traditional Korean Musical
Instruments

12. RELIGION in South Korea
South Korea has various types of
religion throughout the country. Over
40% of the whole population do not
believe in any religion. The next two
main religions within the country
are Buddhism(25%) and Protestantism
(Over 15%).
Heywood, P, 2008, ‘Religions of South Korea’

13. Classical Poetry
 Classical Korean literature has its roots in traditional folk beliefs
and folk tales of the Korean peninsula.
 There are four major traditional poetic forms: hyangga ("native
songs"); pyolgok ("special songs"), or changga ("long
poems"); sijo ("current melodies"); and kasa ("verses").
Other poetic forms that flourished briefly include the kyonggi-
style, in the 14th and 15th centuries, and the akchang
("words for songs") in the 15th century.
The most representative akchang is Yongbi och'on ka (1445–47;
Songs of Flying Dragons), a cycle compiled in praise of the
founding of the Yi dynasty.
Korean poetry originally was meant to be sung, and its forms and
styles reflect its melodic origins.
The basis of its prosody is a line of alternating groups of three or
four syllables, which is probably the most natural rhythm
the language.

14. Idu Medieval Korean Modern Korean Translation
願往生歌 원왕생가 왕생을 기원하는 노래
Ode to Eternal
Life(translation by Mark
Peterson, 2006)
月下伊低赤 달하 이제 달이여 이제 Oh Moon!
西方念丁去賜里遣 서방까정 가시리고
서방(西方) 넘어
가시려는고
As you go to the west
this night,
無量壽佛前乃 무량수불전에 무량수불전(無量壽佛前)에
I pray thee, go before the
eternal Buddha,
惱叱古音多可支白遣賜立 닛곰다가 살ㅂ고사서 일러서 사뢰옵소서
And tell him that there
is one here
誓音深史隱尊衣希仰支 다짐 깊으샨 존에 울워러
다짐 깊으신 아미타불을
우러러
Who adores Him of the
deep oaths,
兩手集刀花乎白良 두손 모도호살바 두 손을 모두어
And chants daily with
hands together, saying
願往生願往生 원왕 생 원왕 생 왕생(往生)을 원하며 Oh grant me eternal life,
慕人有如白遣賜立
그럴 사람 있다
살ㅂ고사서
그리워하는 사람 있다
사뢰소서
Oh grant me eternal life,
阿耶 此身遣也置古 아으 이몸 기쳐두고 아아 이 몸을 남겨 놓고
But alas, can any of the
48 vows be kept
四十八大願成遣賜去 사십팔대원 일고살까
사십 팔 대원(大願)
이루실까
While still trapped in
this mortal frame?
A typical hyangga is "the Ode for Life Eternal", or perhaps, "the Ode for Nirvana".
The poem is a song that calls upon the moon to convey the supplicant's prayer to the
Western paradise, the home of Amita (or Amitabha - the Buddha of the Western
paradise). The poem's authorship is somewhat unclear; it was either written by a
monk named Gwangdeok or, onesource says, the monk's wife.

15. Middle Korea Modern Korean Translation
내 벗이
몇인가하 ᄒᆞ 니
수석과 송죽이라
내 벗이
몇인가하니
수석과 송죽이라
You ask how
many friends I
have? Water and
stone, bamboo
and pine.
동산의 ᄃᆞᆯ 오
르니 긔더옥
반갑고야
동산에 달오르니
그 더욱 반갑도다
The moon rising
over the eastern
hill is a joyful
comrade.
두어라
이다ᄉᆞᆺ 밧긔
또더ᄒᆞ 야
머엇ᄒᆞ 리
두어라, 이 다섯
밖에 또 더해야
무엇하리
Besides these five
companions, what
other pleasure
should I ask
Sijo, unlike some other East Asian poetic forms, frequently
employs metaphors, puns, allusions and similar word play. Most poets
follow these guidelines very closely although there are longer
examples. An exemplar is this poem by Yun Seondo (1587–1671) :

16. Other forms of Classic Literature
P’ansori
 This “one-man opera” (p’ansori)
featured a single storyteller who would
unroll a grass mat as a performance
space and holding a folding fan would
entertain audiences with long stories, the
musical parts accompanied by an
assistant playing an hour-glass drum
(changgol).
 Gagok (long lyrical song) is a genre of
Korean traditional vocal music
accompanied by a small ensemble of
Korean traditional musical instruments.
It uses sijo, Korean traditional poetry, as
lyrics, allowing us a glimpse into the
spirit of the Koreans long ago and their
appreciation of the arts.

17. Yi Kwangsu (1892-1950)
 wrote the first modern Korean Novel
“The Heartless”
 The story itself is about a love
triangle between the schoolteacher Yi
Hyŏngshik and two women: Yŏngch’ae
who became a Kisaeng and Sŏnhyŏng a
daughter of a minister. He eventually
marries Sŏnhyŏng, since her father had
arranged and expected this from him
by allowing him to teach English to his
daughter, and also with the hopes that
they could both go to the US for studies.
The story is quasi-historical with its
setting being just before the formal
annexation of Korea.

18. Honggildongjeon (Classic)
Honggildongjeon (Tales of Hong Gil-dong,
the first novel published in Hangeul) is a work of
social criticism that scathingly attacked the
inequities of Joseon with its discriminatory
treatment of illegitimate offspring and its
differences based on wealth.

19. KOREA TODAY

20. President: Park Geun-hye
(2013)
Prime Minister: Chung
Hong Won (2013)
Government: Republic
Land area: 37,421 sq mi
(96,920 sq km)
Population (2012 est.):
48,860,500
Capital and largest city
(2009 est.) Seoul, 9.778
million
Other large cities: Pusan,
3.439 million; Inchon,
2.572; Taegu, 2.458
million; Taejon 1.497
million.
Monetary unit: won

21. ECONOMY
 South Korea is one of the
world's wealthiest
nations, and is a member
of the Organization for
Economic Co-operation
and Development (OECD)
and the G-20 major
economies.
 South Korea has a market
economy that ranks 15th
in the world by nominal
GDP and 12th by
purchasing power parity
(PPP).

22. LANDMARKS

23. Haeinsa Temple, Hapcheon (합천 해인사)
Haeinsa is one of the three Jewel Temples in
Korea.
The world's oldest intact Buddhist canon,
the Tripitaka Koreana, is carefully housed in
the 1,200-year-old Haeinsa Temple.

24. Hwaseong Fortress
Hwaseong Fortress was built in the late 18th century by
King Yeongjo of the Joseon Dynasty in Suwon, South Korea. It
was built to honor and house the remains of his father, Prince
Sado who was killed by being locked alive inside a rice chest by
his father, King Yeongjo because the prince had failed to obey his
fathers command to commit suicide.

25. Gyeongbokgung(경복궁), also known Gyeongbok Palace
It is a royal palace located in northern Seoul, South
Korea. First constructed in 1395, later burned and abandoned
for almost three centuries, and then reconstructed in 1867, it
was the main and largest palace of the Five Grand
Palaces built by the Joseon Dynasty.

26. Changdeokgung Palace
One of South Korea’s “Five Grand Palaces” built
by the kings of the Joseon Dynasty sits within a large park
in Jongnu-gu, Seoul. It is often referred to as Changdeok
Palace as well as the East Palace due to its location.

27. Changgyeonggung Palace
Changgyeonggung Palace is a royal residence
located in the heart of Seoul that was built for
King Taejong. In 1418, King Sejong built a royal
residence for his father, King Taejong.

28. Jeju Island, also known as the "Island of the Gods," is a
popular vacation spot for Koreans and foreigners. It remains the
top honeymoon destination for Korean newlyweds, and is also
regarded as one of the top honeymoon destinations in the world.

29. Chocolate Museum (초콜릿 박물관)
The Chocolate Museum in Seogwipo,
Jeju is the second largest chocolate
museum in the world (the largest being
the Cologne Chocolate Museum in
Germany)
Teddy Bear Museum

30. Lotte World is a major recreation
complex in Seoul, South Korea. It
consists of the world's largest
indoor theme park (a Guinness
World Record) which is open all
year.

31. Namsan locks of love, Seoul, South Korea
At Seoul’s Mt Namsan, thousands of love padlocks can be seen hanging on
the fences around the base level of N Seoul Tower. Locks of love is a custom
in some cultures where love birds would lock their padlocks at public areas
and throw away the key to symbolise that their love will be locked forever.

32. Seoraksan National Park (NaeSeorak) (설악산국립공원 - 내설악)
Also referred to as Seolsan and Seolbongsan, the mountain
was named Seorak ('Seol' meaning 'snow' and 'Ak' meaning 'big
mountain') because the snow would not melt for a long time keeping
the rocks in a permanent state of white.

33. Ganghwa Dolmen Site [UNESCO World Heritage] (강화 부근리 지석묘
[유네스코 세계문화유산])
Dolmens’ are stone graves/tombs which date back to the pre-
historic era. Dolmens are largely concentrated in Northeast Asia with
Korea alone being home to a total of around 30,000 dolmens.

34. ENTERTAINMENT

35. The Korean Wave
The Korean Wave is a neologism referring to
the increase in the popularity of South
Korean culture since the late 1990s. The term
was originally coined in mid-1999
by Beijing journalists who were surprised by
China's growing appetite for South Korean
cultural exports. They subsequently referred
to this new phenomenon as "Hánliú" (韓流),
which literally means "flow of Korea".