The city, translated.
SEOULIAN desk · CULTURE
K-pop, cinema, drama, art, language, living heritage, and the cultural systems Korea shares with the world.
85 published stories in this section.
75 stories · Page 2 of 4
The traditional culture of Korea is the shared cultural and historical heritage of Korea before the division of Korea in 1945. Since the mid-20th century, Korea has been split between the North Korean and South Korean states, resulting in a number of cultural differences that can be observed even today.
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K-pop (Korean: 케이팝; RR: Keipap; an abbreviation of "Korean popular music") is a form of popular music originating in South Korea. The music genre that the term is used to refer to colloquially emerged in the 1990s as a form of youth subculture, with Korean musicians influenced by Western dance music, hip-hop, R&B and rock.
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The hanbok (Korean: 한복; Hanja: 韓服; lit. 'Korean dress') is the traditional clothing of the Korean people. The term hanbok literally means Korean clothing in South Korea and internationally, where it is the standard term for the attire. North Koreans refer to the clothes as chosŏnot (조선옷; lit. 'Korean clothes'). The attire is also worn by the Korean diaspora.
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The Korean Wave, or hallyu (Korean: 한류; IPA: [ˈha(ː)ʎʎu] ), refers to the rise in global interest in South Korean popular culture that has spread rapidly since the 1990s. It is led by the spread of K-pop, K-dramas, K-beauty, K-food, and films, with key successes including K-pop groups 2NE1, BTS and Blackpink, the Oscar-winning film Parasite (2019) and the…
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A hanok (Korean: 한옥; name in South Korea) or chosŏnjip (조선집; name in North Korea and for Koreans in Yanbian, China) is a traditional Korean house. Hanok have their origins in pit houses from the early Neolithic period around 6,000 BCE, and the traditional form of Hanok was completed in the late Joseon period.
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Korean hip-hop, also known as K-hip-hop or K-rap, is a subgenre of the South Korean hip-hop scene. It is widely considered to have originated in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and has since become increasingly popular, both in South Korea and abroad.
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Ondol (ON-dol; , Korean: 온돌; Hanja: 溫突/溫堗; Korean pronunciation: [on.dol]) or gudeul (구들; [ku.dɯl]) in Korean traditional architecture is underfloor heating that uses direct heat transfer from wood smoke to heat the underside of a thick masonry floor.
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Korean rock (Korean: 한국의 록) is rock music from South Korea. It has roots in American rock, which was imported to South Korea by U.S. soldiers fighting in the Korean War and stationing in U.S. military bases in South Korea after the war. Around the U.S.
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Dancheong (Korean: 단청; Hanja: 丹靑) refers to Korean decorative colouring on wooden buildings and artifacts for the purpose of style. It is an adaptation of the Chinese practice danqing, danqing refers to Chinese painting on silk and paper, and also decoration on wood.
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Korean ballad, also known as K-ballad (often simply referred to by South Koreans as ballad; Korean: 발라드), is a style of music in South Korea and a genre in which soul and rhythm and blues music is transformed to suit Korean sentiment. It became popular in the 1980s, and has influenced and evolved into many different music styles.
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Korean drama (Korean: 한국 드라마; RR: Hanguk deurama), also known as K-drama and Koreanovela, is a Korean-language television show made in South Korea. These shows began to be produced around the early 1960s, but were mostly consumed domestically until the rise of the Korean Wave in the 1990s.
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South Korean films have been heavily influenced by such events and forces as the Korea under Japanese rule, the Korean War, government censorship, the business sector, globalization, and the democratization of South Korea. The golden age of South Korean cinema in the mid-20th century produced what are considered two of the best South Korean films of all…
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A bojagi (Korean: 보자기, sometimes shortened to 보; bo; po) is a traditional Korean wrapping cloth. Bojagi are typically square and can be made from a variety of materials, though silk or ramie are common. Embroidered bojagi are known as subo, while patchwork or scrap bojagi are known as jogakbo.
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Norigae (Korean: 노리개) is a typical, traditional Korean accessory used in Hanbok, which can be hung on goreum (coat strings) of a woman's jeogori or on her chima. The norigae functions as a decorative pendant and is both a good-luck charm hoped to bring something such as eternal youth, wealth or many sons (depending on its shape), as well as a fashion…
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Manhwa (Korean: 만화; Korean pronunciation: [manβʷa]) is the general Korean term for comics and print cartoons. Outside Korea, the term usually refers to Korean comics. Modern manhwa has extended its reach to many other countries.
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Korean ceramic history (도자기; dojagi) begins with the oldest earthenware from around 8000 BC. Throughout the history, the Korean peninsula has been home to lively, innovative, and sophisticated art making. Long periods of stability have allowed for the establishment of spiritual traditions, and artisan technologies specific to the region.
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Webtoons (Korean: 웹툰; RR: Weptun) are a type of episodic digital comics that originated in South Korea usually meant to be read on smartphones. While webtoons were mostly unknown outside of South Korea during their inception, there has been a surge in popularity internationally thanks to the easy online accessibility and variety of free digital comics.
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Korean paper or hanji (Korean: 한지) is traditional handmade paper from Korea. Hanji is made from the inner bark of the paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera; 닥; dak), a tree native to Korea that grows well on its rocky mountainsides. Another crucial material used in its creation is the mucilage that oozes from the roots of Abelmoschus manihot.
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A PC bang (Korean: PC방; lit. 'PC room') is a type of internet cafe or LAN gaming center in South Korea. Patrons can use computers, often to play video games in person with friends, for an hourly fee. Although the per capita penetration of personal computers and broadband internet access in South Korea is one of the highest in the world, PC bangs remain…
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Minhwa (Korean: 민화; Hanja: 民畵) refers to Korean folk art produced mostly by itinerant or unknown artists without formal training, emulating contemporary trends in fine art for the purpose of everyday use or decoration. This type of painting was often the work of anonymous craftsmen who faithfully adhered to the styles, canons and genres inherited from the…
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Moon jar is a type of traditional Korean white porcelain which was made during the Joseon dynasty (1392–1910). The Joseon white porcelain was adopted as imperial ware in the fifteenth century. Moon jars first appeared in the late seventeenth century and remained popular until the mid-eighteenth century.
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Chaekgeori (Korean: 책거리; Hanja: 冊巨里), translated as "books and things", is a genre of still-life painting from the Joseon period of Korea that features books as the dominant subject. The chaekgeori tradition flourished from the second half of the 18th century to the first half of the 20th century and was enjoyed by all members of the population, from the…
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Karaoke (カラオケ) is a type of interactive entertainment system usually offered in nightclubs and bars, where people sing along to pre-recorded accompaniment using a microphone. Its musical content is an instrumental rendition of a well-known popular song.
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Korean calligraphy, also known as Seoye (Korean: 서예), is the Korean tradition of artistic writing. Calligraphy in Korean culture involves both Hanja (Chinese logograph) and Hangul (Korean native alphabet). Early Korean calligraphy was exclusively in Hanja, or the Chinese-based logography first used to write the Korean language.
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