KOREA'S CULTURES AND TRADITIONS

Korea or Korean peninsula is a region in East Asia. It is bordered by China to the northwest and Russia to the northeast. As a result of the Allied victory in World War II in 1945. Korea was divided into two sovereign states with different political ideologies: the Republic of Korea to the South and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to the North. Despite of the division region of these two countries South and North Korea, they share the same Cultures and Traditional values. By practicing their Cultures, they believe that they become one and reunited again......

Many people were curious about the Korean's culture, traditions and its religion. South Korea country has been trending all over the globe and a lot of people idolize South Koreans people because of their appearance and charisma. When we heard the word Korea, people might think of K-pop, Kdrama, Korean foods and Korean movies but still don't know much about them. Or perhaps you heard a lot about South Korea in general and you are curious about the country's cultures and traditions. This blog will gives you some views about the culture and traditions of the Koreans.

Korean’s Cultures and Traditions

One of the major traditions and cultures of the Koreans is celebrating holidays every year. The “Lunar New Year's Day” (seollal) which they celebrate in January - February and the “Koreans Thanksgiving” which they celebrate in September - October. They celebrated these two holidays with their family to show respect to their ancestors and wish to have a lot of luck to come. They will also prepared traditional foods, play folk games and listen to some of the stories about their history.

In celebrating 'Lunar New Year's Day (seollal), Koreans performed ritual called “sebae”. The whole family are wearing “hanbok” dress and perform a deep traditional bow while wishing to the year to bring luck and good harvest. For food, it is normal to eat rice cake soup, savory pancakes, and stir-fried glass noodles with vegetables.

On the other hand, in celebrating “Korean thanksgiving” they usually perform “charye” or an ancestral memorial rite which is the most important part of the holiday. It involves a lot of preparation in order to create a table of offerings. On the table there are also two candles put at the edges and corner, an incense holder in the middle, and the memorial tablet which symbolizing the spiritual presence of the ancestors at the center. For food, stuffed rice cakes usually called “songpyeon” are made as to the most traditional one as well as some famous traditional foods.

Korean’s Clothing

The traditional outfit in Korea is called “hanbok”. Hanbok refers to both traditional Korean clothing for men and women. It consists of a long-sleeved shirt and a long wide hemmed skirt. The specific styles and colors of each 'hanbok' differ. Even today, it is normal for 'hanboks' to be worn during the big holidays such as celebrating “Lunar New Year's Day” and “Korean Thanksgiving”. Moreover, 'hanbok' also worn at weddings by the bride and groom’s parents, as well as the bride and groom at some point after the ceremony or even during the ceremony if it’s held in a traditional Korean style. It can also be worn on special events in the family, in the company, or on business events. In the modern, many millennial prefer wearing t-shirt, jeans and other comfortable clothes for their everyday clothes.

Language

Hangul is the name of the Korean alphabet. Korean is the official language of both South Korea and North Korea. Linguists believe the Korean language is a member of the Altaic family of languages, which originated in northern Asia. There are five major dialects in South Korea these are the "Seoul/ standard Korean, Gyeongsang, Chungcheong, Jeolla, Jeju" and one in North Korea which is "Pyongan dialect". Despite differences in the dialects, speakers from different areas can understand each other.

Korean’s Social Habits

The Confucian code greatly influenced Korean's tradition in a way of practicing ethical code of conduct in social life and showing respect to the elders and family. Korean citizens also believe in sincerity and loyalty and follow certain codes of conduct while meeting, eating, praying and even celebrating. At times when many other cultures would shake hands, Koreans bow. They bow as a sign of gratitude and respect to the person they are meeting. Koreans are reserved and well￾mannered people. Korea is a land of strict Confucian hierarchy and etiquette is important.

Korean’s Music

The music of Korea refers to music from the Korean peninsula ranging from prehistoric times to the division of Korea into South and North in 1945. It includes court music, and folk music. 

Korean folk music is typically referred to as “pansori”, which has even been designated as an intangible cultural property by UNESCO. “Pansori” is performed by one singer and one drummer. Some “pansori” songs also include dancers and/or narrators. Another type of folk music is “pungmul”, which involves drumming, singing and dancing. It is traditionally called “nongak”.

Besides folk music, Korean court music is another traditional form of Korean music. It was developed at the beginning of the Joseon Dynasty. It was greatly influence from Chinese court music. There are also similarities to Japanese and Vietnamese court music.

There are three types of court music. The first form is “aak”, which was drawn directly from the Chinese. “Aak” court music performed in state sacrificial rites, and still existing today as music performed in some Confucian ceremonies. The second form is “hyangak”, which was created entirely by Koreans. “Hyangak” was often accompanied by traditional country dances, with the dances being performed for an audience. The third one is the “dangak”, which mixes Chinese and Korean court music styles into one style. There are specific types of dances that go along with “dangak”.

- K-pop Music

For the past years, many music in the Korea emerged which they called k-pop music. K-Pop is short for Korean pop, Korea’s response to Western mainstream music. The music itself samples different genres from rock and jazz to hip hop and techno influenced by worldwide trends.However, despite the influences K-Pop is also quite different from Western pop, since it is an idol groups in the South Korea. These groups are formed by entertainment agencies, who have been signed to the agencies hoping to debut as an artist at a young age. In each group, each member plays their own stage role, there’s a main dancer, a rapper, a main singer, visual, and so on. These idol group will release some k-pop music on each comeback or releases a new music. K-pop music been trending all over the world and influences other countries.

Korean’s Cuisine 

Korean cuisine is largely based on rice, noodles, vegetables and meats. Some of the famous Korean dishes include “bibimbap”, “bulgogi” and “dakgalbi”. Pork is perhaps the meat eaten the most inKorea, with “samgyeopsal”. It is a grilled pork belly which is one of the most Koreans’ favorite foods. Several different chicken dishes also exist, including chicken feet mixed with spicy sauce. Beef is seen as the meat with the highest value, which explains its comparatively higher price. Koreans said that eating beefs and meat become more common to eat on a regular day instead of solely on special occasions. Majority of Korean food is served grilled, steamed, fermented, or pickled. There are also a large variety of soups and stews, as well as noodles. In addition, several specific foods, such as salty pancakes or tofu with kimchi, are commonly eaten while enjoying alcohol.

In terms of culture and etiquette, Korean show politeness and respect and this is clearly evident in Korean table manners. Some of these are the following:

 The Older people should sit down first at the table and a guest should say “jalmeokkessumnida”, which means “I will enjoy the meal”, as a sign of respect to the host. 

 Eat at the same pace of other people sitting at the table. 

 Chew your food with your mouth closed and do not make noises while chewing.

 In drinking alcohol, one must pour to the other and not by self

Korean’s Religion 

Confucianism, Buddhism and Christianity are the main religions. Buddhism is the religion in Korea with the most followers and its teachings have a great impact on Korean lives, culture and art. “Yungdrung” is a main symbol of Korean Buddhism and can be found in all temples and religious places in Korea. The division of Korea has also caused a divergence in religious life in the two countries due to the different political structures. South Korea has been characterized by a rise of Christianity and Buddhism, while North Korea is considered a secular state.

REFLECTION ON CULTURE

The countries South and North Korea gives me a lot of knowledge about their history, cultures, traditions and their different beliefs. Upon writing this blog, it also helps me to know how significance for the both countries South and North Korea's their cultures despite of being separated and have different boundaries. I learned that Koreans people still practicing their cultures together with their family and perform rituals on their important holidays. I also learned the name of their traditional cloth which is “hanbok” for men/women and when is the exact occasions they usually wear it. I gained knowledge about their famous cuisine and their traditional side dishes such as “kimchi , bibimbap”, and etc. I learned the history of their traditional music which they still practicing until now, as well as the majority of the Korean’s religion and how it influence them. I have now abetter understanding how they socialize with other people and their different languages used in every area in their country. For that reason, it motivates me to work hard and have the opportunity to experience their different Cultures and Traditions in the near future.

In addition, I learned that Koreans people are influence of Confucian code up until today in a way of showing respect to their elders. Instead of making a handshake to the other person, Korean usually bow to express their gratitude and respect to the person they greet and meet. They apply ethical manner in their everyday life like in eating, praying, and even in their work place.

As a Filipino, I can say that we have the same perspective with the Koreans which is to give importance to our Cultures. We also celebrates fiestas and holidays here in our country since we believe that by practicing our culture every year will continue passing our traditions to our next generations and will remain our cultureexisting. The same to the other countries, we Filipinos have also traditional clothing which we called “Filipiñana” for women and “Barong Tagalog” for men. We also wear these if we celebrate some important events and occasions here in our country. I think the main difference between the Filipinos and Korean/other countries is our social habits and behavior since instead of bowing to the person we meet to show our respect, we usually do cheeks to cheeks, hand shake or “mano” which we put the back hand of the person to our forehead in expressing our gratitude as well as respect. We also say “po” and “opo” to our elders and addressing them as “ate” and “kuya” instead of calling them with their names since we Filipino finds it disrespectful to the elders. We also have “pamahiin” that we follow every time we encounter situation in our 

lives.

I believe every country has different cultures, traditions, and beliefs. And our country which is the Philippines is not an exception. Cultures are important to every country since it serves as our identity for being who we are. It came from our ancestors and they continue passing up to our generation and for the upcoming new generation. Cultures are significant since it helps us understand other people behaviors and actions. It influences their views, their values, their humor, their hopes, their loyalties, and their worries and fears. So when you are working with people and building relationships with them, it helps to have some perspective and understanding of their cultures. Thus, cultures is necessary for us to know other people’s perspectives and understand their opinions. Culture can teach us what were about, what we prefer, and where exactly we came from. Culture is also helpful to us when it comes to understanding our values and ways of thinking. Culture also gives us the opportunity to learn about our past and common custom.