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Showing posts from December, 2021

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 ...

Gat (Traditional Korean Hat in Joseon Dynasty)

Recently as the Korean zombie dramas gains explosive popularity on Netflix (2019), the hats worn by actors in the drama aroused great interest from foreigners. This interest has led to people purchasing and collecting Korean Gat offline.  In Korea, There are various forms of Gat in Joseon period. If you look at the hats worn by the greats in the South Korean banknotes, they are all wearing different hats.  The Scholar Yi Hwang who represented the Joseon Dynasty is wearing a bokgeon, Yi I , a disciple of Yi Hwang is wearing the Jeongjagwan worn by nobles at home. King Sejong the Great, who created Hangeul, Korean alphabet is wearing the ikseongwan, a hat used while performing his king's duties.  Depending on what kind of hat you are wearing, you can see his or her identity and what he or she does. Commoners wore hats but those who could not afford it, they just exposed topknots.  In case of women, there are many women who wear sseugaechima used to cover a woman's...

Old sailing ship in Korea (황포돛배: Hwang po sailing boat)

  Yellow sail boat (황포 돛배  Hwang-po sailing boat )  When you watch Korean historical dramas , you can often see these ships as a means of transportation when people see off someone who is leaving for a long distance, or in a scene where a man and a woman saying farewell leave each other.    Hwangpo means yellow cloth, and it is a sail dyed with red clay water.  The material of the boat is made of pine tree.  It was also a representative symbol of the history of the Han River.  During the Joseon Dynasty, Ships were used to transport regional specialties such as food, firewood, rice and salt to pay taxes along with people.  The characteristic of the boat is flat-bottomed ship. At the time, Koreans traveled on the southern and western seas where the tidal changes are so severe that the mudflats were exposed during low tide.  These flat-bottomed boats were much safer as they were less likely to capsize.  In addition, it played an import...

Seoul World Cup Stadium

  World Cup Stadium  Location : 240, World Cup-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea.  The Seoul World Cup Stadium was constructed in 2001 for 2002 FIFA World Cup and is the largest stadium in Asia. The stadium hosted the opening match between France and Senegal (0:1) and match between Germany and South Korea(1:0) which is the semi-finals Korea made for the first time. During the semifinals, Korea's cheering squid the Red Devil played the card section that said dreams come true but South Korea lost the game against Germany. The stadium is currently used as the home base for FC Seoul.  About the Stadium Design  The exterior of the stadium has a special shape. It was designed like Bangpae Kite(=shaped like shield) and the cable structure is shaped like the sail of a Hwang po sailboat which was a means of transportation in Joseon Dynasty. It was designed with many traditional aesthetics and the shape of the roof attracts attention from afar.  How to go  It...