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What bear lives in Korea? 한국에 여전히 곰이 살고 있나?

The Asiatic black bear is the only bear that naturally occurs on the Korean Peninsula. It is a medium‑sized black bear with a distinctive white or cream “V”/crescent patch on its chest, which is why Koreans call it “half‑moon bear” (반달가슴곰). In Korea it is classified as an endangered wild animal (Class I) and is also a Natural Monument (No. 329). How many bears are in the wild now? By the late 1900s, hunting and habitat loss had reduced the wild population to only about 5 bears in South Korea. A government re‑introduction program began in 2004, releasing Russian Far East bears that share the same genetic lineage. By 2024, the Korea National Park Service reported about 86 wild Asiatic black bears living mainly in Jirisan National Park. In addition, there are still hundreds of captive bears (around 322 bears on 20 farms as reported recently) used historically for bear farming. Where do they live? Today, almost all wild bears in South Korea are concentrated in Jirisan National Park and nea...
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Eating tteokguk in Lunar New year's Day

  Eating tteokguk also means to grow a year older with a common saying: “One needs to eat a bowl of tteokguk on Lunar New Year’s Day morning to grow a year older.” Lee Yu-ra, 31, who lives in Daegu, feels that a new year has actually started only after eating a bowl of tteokguk with her family. read more
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Buddhist 49-Day Memorial Rites (49재)

 In Buddhism, 49-Jae (사십구재) is the most significant funeral ritual, performed exactly 49 days after a person passes away. The fundamental belief is based on the concept of reincarnation. After death, the soul does not immediately transition to the next life. Instead, it enters an intermediate spiritual state called Bardo (중유/간극) for 49 days.  During this period, the deceased undergoes judgment every seven days by the kings of the underworld, who evaluate the karma—the accumulated deeds—of their past life to determine their next rebirth.   Live carefully. Your actions matter. What you do in this life affects what comes next. This is very Buddhist. Buddhism teaches that life is shaped by karma . Karma means actions and their consequences. Good actions create good results. Harmful actions create suffering. So 49-jae reminds people that death is connected to life, and the afterlife is connected to how we live now. 불교에서 49재 는 고인이 세상을 떠난 지 정확히 49일째 되는 날에 치르는 가장 중요한 ...
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불교 용어

The past is already gone, and the present keeps passing and changing moment by moment. The future hasn't come yet.  Because the moment you call it yours, it's already slipped into the past. so don't cling to the past, don't cling to the present , and don't cling to the future.  Just think about, in changing situations, where you'll go in this very moment, and how you'll move forward.  과거는 이미 지나갔고 , 현재는 지금 이 순간 계속 지나가고 변하고 있다. 내것이라고 말하는 순간 이미 과거가 돼버리기 때문이다.  그러니까 과거에 집착하지 말고, 현재에도 집착하지 말고, 미래에도 집착하지 말라. 다만 변하는 상황에서 지금 이 순간 내가 어디로갈지, 그리고 어떻게 전환해 나갈지를 생각하라.  Because nothing has a fixed, unchanging essence, everything around me is simply passing by.   ✔️108번뇌  ✔️ 불교이야기  ✔️팔상도   ✔️팔정도  심우도 불교 사물 연등회  불교문양 해석 : 만(卍)자 나치 문양 하켄크로이츠 어떻게 다른가? 풍경 물고기 모양 왜?  ✔️ 사천왕상  ✔️ 불교 수용시기  ✔️ 인도불교 탄생 배경  고행 - asceticism  수행자- a practitioner  (*Siddharta realized that asceticism was not the proper path to enlightenment ) ...
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Metasequoia Tree

The Metasequoia is also called the dawn redwood in English. This tree is special because people once knew it only from fossils. For a long time, scientists thought it was extinct. But in the 1940s, living Metasequoia trees were found in China. This discovery surprised everyone. The tree earned the name “living fossil.” Its scientific name is Metasequoia glyptostroboides. Only one living species exists in the Metasequoia group today. It is a conifer but different from most pine trees. It is a deciduous conifer. Its leaves look like needles, but they fall off in winter. The leaves are bright green in spring and summer. They turn brown or reddish-brown in autumn before they drop. The tree looks very different in each season. Metasequoia grows tall quickly. It likes sunny places with moist but well-drained soil. Young trees can grow 30 to 80 cm per year, sometimes up to 1 meter in very good conditions. Because it grows fast and becomes large, it absorbs a lot of carbon dioxide — some repor...
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Why Damyang Is Famous for Bamboo

  1. What Bamboo Needs to Grow Well Bamboo needs three main things to grow well. It needs warm weather, enough moisture, and well-drained soil . Damyang has these conditions. It is located in the southern part of Korea, so the weather is relatively warm. It also has mountains and rivers, so the air has enough moisture. At the same time, Damyang has many hilly areas, so water can drain well. This balance is very important. Bamboo grows very fast, so it needs a lot of water. But if the roots stay underwater for too long, the bamboo can become weak. So bamboo needs moisture, but it also needs soil where water can move out. Damyang had this good balance. Because of that, bamboo grew very well here. And because bamboo was easy to find, local people naturally used it in daily life. They made baskets, trays, mats, blinds, fans, and kitchen tools from bamboo. As a result, Damyang developed a strong bamboo craft culture and a famous bamboo market. So Damyang’s bamboo culture began with natu...
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