Cultural Lore and Artistic Flair - II

Korea enjoys a beautiful natural environment. From olden days Koreans referred to this landscape as geumsu gangsan or "a golden tapestry of rivers and mountains." The wonder of this terrain presents in each season a different prospect of picturesque scenery. In the Korean climate, spring, summer, autumn, and winter are all quite distinct, with the winter usually being rather long, summer somewhat shorter, and spring and autumn shortest of all. Rainfall is concentrated in the summer. The heavy rainy season usually comes in July in Seoul and the central regions and in August further north. In Seoul, for example, 60% of annual rainfall occurs between June and August, and 30% in July alone. This climate has had a direct influence on the lifestyle of Koreans in such aspects as location of settlements and economic activities. Although there is some regional variation, in general the production of food, clothing, and housing in Korea has been designed to defeat the cold of winter and the heat of summer.
The traditional dress of the Korean people is the hanbok. In its winter version the cloth is wadded with cotton and the trousers tied with bands at the ankles to better keep in the body heat, while the summer hanbok is made of starched hemp cloth or ramie that is freely permeable to air and maximizes the diffusion of body heat.

Korean food has also developed in response to the climate. In regions where the winter is long, special preservation techniques for vitamin-rich vegetable recipes have evolved. Kimchi is perhaps a typical example of fermented food. The fact that kimchi becomes saltier as one moves from the cold north to the warmer south is also closely related to the climate.

The influence of the climate is also seen in Korea's distinctive domestic architecture. Traditional Korean houses are equipped with ondol underfloor hypocaust heating for the winter, and in general the roofs are low, the rooms small, and the walls thick. Windows and external doors are few and small, and often made in two layers. This style of domestic architecture has clearly developed with a focus on conserving heat against the long winter. Traditional Korean houses have an open wooden-floored hall, where the family spends much of its time in the summer. While the living room is usually located at the center of the main building, the room for receiving guests is in a separate building. The kitchen is built separately and designed to serve for various kinds of work besides cooking. Traditional Korean houses can be classified according to the roofing material: thatch, tile, wood, or stone. The main framing material for houses is wood, while earth and stone are also important.

Although Korea developed an agrarian culture from an early stage in its history, the mountainous terrain gave a relatively small margin of arable land. The main crop has been rice, which requires a level field for flooding, but on gently sloped land and at the foot of mountains dry fields have also been created. For ages the staples of everyday meals have been the rice grown in paddies and the barley, other grains, and vegetables produced in dry fields. But today, alongside the traditional crops, Korean farmers raise a variety of products including livestock, flowers, fruits, and, near the sea, aquaculture products.

Indeed, in recent times Korea's economy has been considerably restructured. Since the 1960s, Korea has changed from an agriculture-dominated economy to one based on rapid industrialization. The country has gone through a revolutionary change, boosting electronics, shipbuilding, communications, and automobile industries, which has made it a model for national development worldwide. In the information and communications industry in particular, Korea today stands on the global forefront.Through their long history Koreans have created an outstanding culture, and their unique cultural heritage can be found throughout the peninsula. Koreans value learning and have won a high reputation for diligence and dedication. It was perhaps due to these traits that they were able to foster a vibrant culture thoroughly adapted to their natural surroundings.