
View a machine-translated version of the Korean article.Sangjoon Lee and Markus Nornes, Hallyu 2.0: The Korean Wave in the Age of Social Media (Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 2015). Yoon-jung Cho (Seoul: Ewha Womans University Press, 2006), 13-39. Sunhwa Rha, Pottery: Korean Traditional Handicrafts, trans. Robert Koehler, Korean Ceramics: The Beauty of Natural Forms (Seoul: Seoul Selection, 2012). Soyoung Lee and Jeon Seung-chang, Korean Buncheong Ceramics from Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art Yale University Press, 2011), 8-20. " Sinheungsa Temple," Korea Bridge, Korea Bridge, accessed June 01, 2017. Lancaster and Chai-Shin Yu (Berkeley, CA: Asian Humanities Press, 1989), 1-28. Seth, A History of Korea: From Antiquity to the Present (Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2011), 219-220.Īhn Kye-hyon, "Introduction of Buddhism to Korea" in Introduction of Buddhism to Korea: New Cultural Patterns, ed. The trend is sometimes referred to as Hallyu, a play on America's Hollywood. Korean dramas, along with K-pop music, have found global success as part of the larger Korean Wave. Perhaps the most visible art of modern Korea is its booming television industry. Some work to preserve the customs of the past, while others push the cutting edge of creative expression at venues across the globe. Later, painters also explored daily life in the yangban courts.Ĭontemporary Korean artists are represented across all media. Masters like Chong Son were especially fond of mountains. Scholars painted screens to look like bookshelves or natural landscapes. Minhwa paintings show colorful, idyllic scenes. In the Joseon dynasty, it became a popular pastime for amateurs and professionals alike. Over the following centuries, Korean painting drew from both Chinese and folk influences. These first paintings are more similar to those of Manchuria and Central Asia than of China. Hunters pursue tigers from horseback, while dancers and wrestlers entertain the masses. The tombs depict women in short coats with rouged cheeks chatting with noblemen. In old Goguryeo, they reveal scenes from a society almost lost to time. The first known paintings of Korea can be found within the tombs of its early rulers. Porcelain, especially cheaper Chinese porcelain, was also popular among peasants. This pushed buncheong to the lower classes as the 16th-century yangban changed fashions. Over time, porcelain became more widely available. It reflected Confucian ideals of elegance and natural harmony. Buncheong pottery was initially reserved for the yangban. The artform, like many others, declined with the Goryeo dynasty.Įarly Joseon kilns focused on porcelain and buncheong. This allowed finer detail and deeper color in the finished ceramic. While other nations like China produced celadon, Goryeo kilns were famed for their semi-transparent finish. Ceramic artists from the Goryeo specialized in jade-green celadon glazes. Pottery is one of the oldest and most developed artforms of Korea. Their works show a taste for fine detail, including dangling pendants and precious stones. The Silla and Goguryeo dynasties in particular specialized in ornate gold-working. As a result, Korea's most elaborate metalworking occurred during the Three Kingdoms Period. The Joseon and Goryeo dynasties suffered from regular metal shortages.


Built in 1992, it expresses Koreans' desire for unity between North and South. The 108-ton bronze statue sits about 48 feet tall at Sinheungsa Temple. The most visible proof of this is the Tongil Daebul, or the Great Unification Buddha. They carved large statues from stone and cast smaller statues in gilded bronze.īuddhism was discouraged in the Joseon dynasty.Lately, however, it has seen a revival in modern South Korea. Korean artists combined the foreign styles of Buddhism with their own native tradition. The oldest known statue of Buddha in Korea dates to 539 CE, shortly after the arrival of Buddhism itself. Traditional Korean sculpture reached its height in the Buddhist Goryeo dynasty.
