By Chung Ah-young
Although Korea’s economic power has been widely recognized throughout the world, its culture, especially folk tradition, remains in the dark. In many cases, English publications related to Korea are limited mostly to travel, national treasures and pop culture. It is difficult to find English books that offer an understanding of Korean folk culture.
In an effort to help foreigners better understand Korean folk culture, the National Folk Museum of Korea has published the English version of the “Encyclopedia of Korean Seasonal Customs.”
To promote Korean folk culture worldwide, it is the first time the English-based encyclopedia has been published featuring the seasonal customs.
The publication has come out after the Korean version was printed between 2004 and 2007 in six volumes overviewing the first lunar month, spring, summer, autumn, winter and an index covering the seasonal customs symbolizing Korean folk culture.
With 2,267 headwords, the Korean version is truly a specialized encyclopedia.
The newly published English edition condensed the 2,267 headwords down to 230 words with 650 photographs for global readers to easily access. Timothy Tangherlini (UCLA) and Chae Ria (Seoul National University) took part in the English editing.
The encyclopedia follows the yearly cycle of Korean seasonal customs with chapters divided into spring, summer, autumn and winter with seasonal holidays and terms for each lunar month.
The sections on how to use the encyclopedia, a sample page, notations and the index are reinforced. By marking the headword and index in English, Korean and Chinese characters, it is more efficient to search.
“This encyclopedia will play an important role in comprehending Korean culture as a part of a two-way communication in the multi-cultural society,” An Jeong-yun, researcher of the folk research division at the museum, said.
As Korean people’s lives were based on agriculture up until the 1960s, the seasonal customs refer to various rituals and games taking place in farming or fishing communities, wishing for peace and prosperity by a family or a village on the lunar holidays.
“Seasonal customs can be understood as the cultural phenomenon of Korean’s unique way to overcome adversities in life. Through communal rituals and games, a family or village could share the hardship of labor and strengthen solidarity,” she said.
Also, the various farming methods influenced by the seasons show conscious efforts to coexist with nature. The communal culture and harmonious coexistence with nature are the roots of the strength of Korea today, the museum said.
Prior to the printed edition of the English encyclopedia, the English web edition of the “Encyclopedia of Korean Seasonal Customs” (https://folkency.nfm.go.kr/eng) launched its service for a wider audience in December 2009.
The museum plans to publish additional seven volumes as part of the “Encyclopedia of Korean Culture and Traditional Culture.” Following the recent publication, seven volumes on diverse themes — Korean folk religion, folk literature, rituals in one’s life, food, clothing and shelter, livelihood techniques, folk art and folk society — will be featured.
The online edition of each encyclopedia will be progressed in conjunction with the publication of the printed edition.
“By continuing the publication of the English version of the encyclopedia, it provides an opportunity to share and learn about Korean folk culture with the rest of the world. We hope more foreigners and Koreans living abroad will widely show an interest in the book,” said An.