Feature
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Where is the representative place of Korea?
The recent Gucci fashion show held at Gyeongbokgung Palace drew enormous public attention for its unusual juxtaposition of an international luxury brand with a historic Korean space. Choe Nowk, who was among the audience at the Gucci fashion show in central Seoul, shares his personal experience of this event as well as his thoughts on Korean tradition and the country’s historical sites.
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Seoraksan National Park
Located in Gangwon-do Province, Mt. Seoraksan is the third highest mountain in South Korea. It is part of the chain of mountain peaks running the length of the Korean Peninsula. The name seorak, or “snowy mountain,” is derived from how often its highest peak, Daecheongbong, is covered in snow. Rising 1,708 meters above sea level, Daecheongbong Peak first collects snow around Chuseok (the Korean Thanksgiving Day), and it often only melts deep into the next year.
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Daemokjang Carpenters Safeguard Traditional Korea
A daemokjang, literally “great carpenter,” took charge of the overall process of constructing a building from levelling the ground and dressing the logs to determining the design and assembling the elements needed to complete the structure.
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Talchum on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List
The Korean mask-dance tradition known as talchum was entered into the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in December of last year. This achievement was a result of longstanding dedicated efforts made by the Cultural Heritage Administration in close cooperation with mask-dance masters and other stakeholders.
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Conservation Science Connects Heritage and Technology
Watching the film series Night at the Museum, I often think about how wonderful it would be if Koreans of the past could come back to life and describe to us in detail how they lived. Admittedly, it is a far-fetched fantasy. Instead, my colleagues at the Conservation Science Division and I travel back and forth between heritage sites and laboratories as we reconstruct the lifeways of the people who lived in Korea before our time.