A piece of earthenware present in any Korean household, onggi has survived the passage of time. Through the years, the special characteristics of this earthenware did not only protect the nutrition of Korean households but has shaped the Korean food culture as a whole. Not seen from most people, how
How often do you drink tea? Tea has been one of the most popular beverages in human history. Tea is well known as an effective beverage. The main ingredient of tea contains a chemical called ‘Catechin’, which gets rid of free oxygen radicals that cause various diseases such as cancer, heart disease
Usually when we think about red-colored alcohol, we associate it with red wine made from plump grapes imported from the West. In Korea, we have our very own red-colored alcohol, highly regarded due to its exquisiteness. Jindo located in Jeollanamdo Province is the home of the famous drink known as H
Uiryeeumsik: Korean Ceremonial Food By Jo Hye-min, Tribune Reporter What food do you eat when you have a special celebration in your life? Nowadays most people eat cake to celebrate and enjoy the days like birthday or their marriage. Have you ever imagined what kind of food our Korean ancestors woul
Hangwa: a Taste of History By Kim Su-yeon, Tribune Reporter At supermarkets in Korea, it is not easy to find hangwa, Korean traditional snacks. As it needs delicate handmade processes and costs high per unit, it is hard to be mass-produced. Another reason that blocks hangwa from becoming popular is
The standard Korean diet is mainly built around kimchi. If it’s great, we would be reminded of onggi, which is a Korean traditional clay pottery that ranges from large to small storage jars for everyday use. It has very efficient and innovative functions especially in making fermented foods like doe
What comes into your head when you hear the word ‘artworks’? Picasso’s paintings? Rodin’s “The Thinker”? Many kinds of artworks may come to mind. Nakjuk (Korean bamboo pyrography) is a little different from them. It is an artwork that sears patterns on the surface of a piece of bamboo with a hot iro
Infinite challenge to make Korea Wooden Furniture worldwide By Kim Hyun kyung, Tribune Reporter Most people would probably think that the word ‘Somokjang’ means a farm that raises cows. However, it refers to the people who make small wooden furniture or stationery, and ‘Damokjang’ makes palaces, Bud
Jjock Yeomsaek: An Endless Desire to Gain a Color of the Sky By Son Hyun-jee, Tribune Reporter There are five Korean traditional colors called Ohbangsaek. The color for the east is blue, white is for the west, red is for the south, black is for the north, and yellow is for the center. No one can den
Jangdo Makes You Feel the Breath of History ByHwang In-sik, Cub-Reporter We often see a lady protecting herself with a small knife in Korean historical dramas. In the past, women had a small knife in order to protect their own virginity, and men gave it to a king or a foreign envoy as a valuable gif
Chaesang: Korean Traditional Bamboo Weaving Art By Pyun Ja-seong, Tribune Reporter Damyang is famous for its bamboo trees and products such as bamboo fans, mats and Dutch wives. Did you know that there is also a colorful Korean bamboo box called Chaesang? Most people are not familiar with it even ha
Jade Crafts Establish Tradition and Identity of Korean Culture By Kim So-jeong, Tribune Reporter What kind of jewelry do you think has the most traditional beauty? When I think about jade, it reminds me of old fashioned turquoise colored accessories. From the ancient times, jade has been considered
Saetgolnai: Hardship, Toilsomeness and Our History By Ahn So-hee, Tribune Reporter Have you ever heard of Saetgolnai? Saetgolnai is the work of weaving Mumyeong, the traditional hand-woven cotton, or the exact task of being a cotton weaver. Actually, “Saetgol” refers to the township of Dasi in Naju
Gangjin, the Incubator of Dasan’s Masterpieces By Jeon Joo-hee, Tribune Reporter How do you deal with hardship? Most people just try to overcome or surpass them. However, some people use those difficulties to better themselves. I’m going to tell you about a man who weathered the hardship of banishme
Relics of Gasa Literature By Lee Min-young, Student Editor Damyang, a county in Jeollanamdo, is called the “Cradle of Old Form of Korean Verse,” I would rather die to become a fading moon throwing beams On his window, yet to brighten the room where he dwells. Oh dear, why not turn into drizzly rain,
Bogildo, the Trace of Gosan’s Spirit By Oh Uhl, Student Editor One fine day in February 2009, this reporter visited a beautiful island, Bogildo, which looks like a lotus flower enveloping itself within the mountains. It took more than one hour from Haenam to get to Bogildo by sea. Bogildo is the pla
Traditional Ritual Ceremony as a Festival, Jindo Ssitgimgut By Jeong Ha-na, Tribune Reporter Traditionally, the emotion of 'Han', the feeling of a grudge, has been greatly occupied in Korean culture and our ancestors regarded etiquette for venting souls as very important. Therefore, we have many k
Whenever Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving day) comes on the 15th day on the eighth month of the lunar calendar, most Koreans head for their hometown to honor ancestors with newly harvested grains and fruits. Koreans serve dinner and drinks to each other and enjoy the feast as well as celebrating with so
By Gim Ye-seul, Student Editor Musical taste of Koreans has been changing toward a Westernized one and now most Koreans are fond of hearing Western music or Korean pop songs. It is not easy to hear traditional Korean music in public places these days. We have to visit some places, like a café
In the old days, Korean people began the New Year by conducting traditional rituals and folk games for good fortune in the year. Gossaumnori is a traditional Korean folk game originally played in the village of Chilseok-dong, Nam-gu, Gwangju on the 15th day of the New Year according to the lunar cal