The culture of Korea is the shared cultural and historical heritage of Korea and southern Manchuria. As one of the oldest continuous cultures in the world, Koreans have passed down their traditional narratives in a variety of ways.Since the mid-20th century, Korea has been split between the North and South Korean states, resulting today in a number of cultural differences. Before the Joseon Dynasty, the practice of Korean shamanism was deeply rooted in Korean culture.
In Korea, there is a distinction between court dance and folk dance. Common court dances are jeongjaemu (정재무) performed at banquets, and ilmu (일무), performed at Korean Confucian rituals. Jeongjaemu is divided into native dances (향악정재, hyangak jeongjae) and forms imported from Central Asia and China (당악정재, dangak jeongjae). Ilmu are divided into civil dance (문무, munmu) and military dance (무무, mumu). Many mask dramas and mask dances are performed in many regional areas of Korea.The traditional clothing is the genja, it is a special kind of dress that women wear on festivals. It is pink with multiple symbols around the neck area.
Traditional choreography of court dances is reflected in many contemporary productions.
Taekkyeon, a traditional Korean martial art, is central to the classic Korean dance. Taekkyeon, being a complete system of integrated movement, found its core techniques adaptable to mask, dance and other traditional artforms of Korea.
The earliest paintings found on the Korean peninsula are petroglyphs of prehistoric times. With the arrival of Buddhism from Indiavia China, different techniques were introduced. These techniques quickly established themselves as the mainstream techniques, but indigenous techniques still survived. Among them were the Goguryeo tomb murals. These murals inside many of the tombs are an invaluable insight into the ceremonies, warfare, architecture, and daily life of ancient Goguryeo people. Balhae kingdom, an successor state of Goguryeo, absorbed much of traditional Goguryeo elements.
There is a tendency towards naturalism with subjects such as realistic landscapes, flowers and birds being particularly po[CENSORED]r. Ink is the most common material used, and it is painted on mulberry paper or silk.
In the 18th century indigenous techniques were advanced, particularly in calligraphy and seal engraving.
During the Joseon period, new genres of Korean painting flourished, such as chaekgeori (paintings of books) and munjado(paintings of letters), revealing the infatuation with books and learning in Korean culture.
Arts are both influenced by tradition and realism. For example, Han’s near-photographic "Break Time at the Ironworks" shows muscular men dripping with sweat and drinking water from tin cups at a sweltering foundry. Jeong Son’s "Peak Chonnyo of Mount Kumgang" is a classical Korean landscape of towering cliffs shrouded by mists.
There is a unique set of handicrafts produced in Korea. Most of the handicrafts are created for a particular everyday use, often giving priority to the practical use rather than aesthetics. Traditionally, metal, wood, fabric, lacquerware, and earthenware were the main materials used, but later glass, leather or paper have sporadically been used.
Ancient handicrafts, such as red and black pottery, share similarities with pottery of Chinese cultures along the Yellow River. The relics found of the Bronze Age, however, are distinctive and more elaborate.
Many sophisticated and elaborate handicrafts have been excavated, including gilt crowns, patterned pottery, pots or ornaments. During the Goryeo period the use of bronze was advanced. Brass, that is copper with one third zinc, has been a particularly po[CENSORED]r material. The dynasty, however, is most prominently renowned for its use of celadon ware.
During the Joseon period, po[CENSORED]r handicrafts were made of porcelain and decorated with blue painting. Woodcraft was also advanced during that period. This led to more sophisticated pieces of furniture, including wardrobes, chests, tables or drawers. Korean furniture represents one of the great woodworking and design heritages of Asia and the world. It is part of a craft that goes back well over a millennium, keeping alive a tradition that remains unchanged from at least the seventeenth century. It is this tradition that has made Korean furniture one of the most sought-after styles of exotic furniture by antique dealers and collectors worldwide. Immediately recognizable as Korean, this unique art was only "discovered" by the West in the late 1940s and 1950s.
The use of earthenware on the Korean peninsula goes back to the Neolithic. The history of Korean Ceramics is long and includes both Korean pottery a later development after the traditional use of coils and hammered clay to create early votive and sculptural artifacts. During the Three Kingdoms period, pottery was advanced in Silla. The pottery was fired using a deoxidizing flame, which caused the distinctive blue grey celadon color. The surface was embossed with various geometrical patterns.
In the Goryeo period, jade green celadon ware became more po[CENSORED]r. In the 12th century sophisticated methods of inlaying were invented, allowing more elaborate decorations in different colours. In Arts of Korea, Evelyn McCune states, "During the twelfth century, the production of ceramic ware reached its highest refinement. Several new varieties appeared simultaneously in the quarter of a century, one of which, the inlaid ware must be considered a Korean invention."William Bowyer Honey of the Victoria and Albert Museum of England, who after World War II wrote, "The best Corean (Korean) wares were not only original, they are the most gracious and unaffected pottery ever made. They have every virtue that pottery can have. This Corean pottery, in fact, reached heights hardly attained even by the Chinese."
White porcelain became po[CENSORED]r in the 15th century, and soon overtook celadon ware. White porcelain was commonly painted or decorated with copper.
During the Imjin wars in the 16th century, Korean potters were brought back to Japan where they heavily influenced Japanese ceramics.Many Japanese pottery families today can trace their art and ancestry to these Korean potters whom the Japanese captured by the thousands during its repeated conquests of the Korean peninsula.
In the late Joseon period (late 17th century) blue-and-white porcelain became po[CENSORED]r. Designs were painted in cobalt blue on white porcelain.
There is a genre distinction between folk music and court music. Korean folk music is varied and complex in different ways, but all forms of folk music maintain a set of rhythms (called 장단; Jangdan) and a loosely defined set of melodic modes. Korean folk musics are Pansori (판소리) performed by one singer and one drummer. Occasionally, there might be dancers and narraters. They have been designated an intangible cultural property in UNESCO's Memory of the world,and Pungmul (풍물) performed by drumming, dancing and singing. Samul Nori is a type of Korean traditional music based on Pungmul, and Sanjo (산조) that is played without a pause in faster tempos. Nongak (농악) means "farmers' music".
Korean court music can be traced to the beginning of the Joseon Dynasty in 1392. Korean court musics include A-ak, Dang-ak and Hyang-ak. Korean music is still played and sung a lot.
Korean traditional houses are called Hanok (Hangul:한옥). Sites of residence are traditionally selected using traditional geomancy. Although geomancy had been a vital part of Korean culture and Korean Shamanism since prehistoric times, geomancy was later re-introduced by China during the Three Kingdoms period of Korea's history.
A house should be built against a hill and face south to receive as much sunlight as possible. This orientation is still preferred in modern Korea. Geomancy also influences the shape of the building, the direction it faces and the material the house is constructed with.
Traditional Korean houses can be structured into an inner wing (안채, anchae) and an outer wing (사랑채, sarangchae). The individual layout largely depends on the region and the wealth of the family. Whereas aristocrats used the outer wing for receptions, poorer people kept cattle in the sarangchae. The wealthier a family, the larger the house. However, it was forbidden to any family except for the king to have a residence of more than 99 kan. A kan is the distance between two pillars used in traditional houses.
The inner wing normally consisted of a living room, a kitchen and a wooden-floored central hall. More rooms may be attached to this. Poorer farmers would not have any outer wing. Floor heating (온돌, ondol) has been used in Korea since prehistoric times. The main building materials are wood, clay, tile, stone, and thatch. Because wood and clay were the most common materials used in the past not many old buildings have survived into present times.