Photo Story
how Korean lives in traditional and modern way
ID # 2740
This photo story is going to discuss about how Korean lives in traditional and modern way. Most foreigners usually misunderstand that Korea is one of countries, which follows East Asian traditional way because Korean war was occurred only 60 years ago. If you have researched about Korea on google, you could see lots of North Korean pictures and Korean traditional life. However, Korea is one of countries that has preserved their own traditional life while developing the country.
Therefore, I would like to show how Korean have preserved their own traditional way to live and how they have developed modern way to live. Since Seoul is the capital of South Korea, it is the best place to see how Korean people lives in their own way; I decided to show the pictures I took in Korea to discuss about it.
This photo story is geared toward students in Grade 9.
Photo #1- Gyeongbok palace
Photo #1
While Seoul has been a capital of Korea for more than 600 years since Joseon dynasty, 5 main palaces has surrounded Seoul. Although 5 main palaces were almost damaged while the era under the colonial administration of imperial Japan, the government has restored some parts of the palaces; Gyeongbok palace is located in the center of Seoul. Korean elementary school students usually visit there to study elementary Korean history, and that was even the first time for me to visit there. Although I was too young to feel any proud of being Korean when I visited there at first, my mind has changed to feel proud of Gyeongbok palace because it shows Korean royalty’s life.
Photo #2- Hi Seoul Festival
Photo #2
“Hi Seoul Festival” is the main festival in Seoul, and it is held every years for 10 to 30 days. There are various programs, which are nonverbal performance, sharing campaign, Cheongyecheon festival, installation arts, auxiliary programs, and affiliated programs. This festival is held all over Seoul, and the picture shows Cheongyecheon Lotus Lantern Festival in 2011. Although I have never been there since I was in the U.S., I have been Cheongyecheon luminarie festival; that was the most impressive one in my life because of the harmony between the city and luminarie. This festival tries to show the balance between Korean tradition and modern times, so I thought this picture is the best way to show how Seoul city balances it.
Photo #3- Han river park
Photo #3
Han river is the river in Seoul, and it divides Seoul into north and south. Han river serves as a resting place for the citizens of Seoul, so the citizens go to the Han river to go jogging or riding a bicycle. People also go that place to drink a beer while watching the scenery surrounding Han river. This area is famous of it, but I have never been there since I do not live in Seoul. However, if you go there, you can see how Korean people enjoy their life in a modern way. Han river park is like Central park in New York.
Photo #4- DMZ (Demilitarized zone)
Photo #4
Have you ever heard about DMZ? Since Korea is divided into the South and North, there is a DMZ between two nations. Although DMZ is a restricted area, I have been there last year under the permission from the government. Since I wanted to learn about the reunification between two nations, I applied the camping program about it; that’s how I could visit there. An ecosystem in there has been preserved because there was nobody, who could destroy there for more than 50 years. What I have thought after I visited there was that DMZ could be a great place for ecotourism after reunification. I could not take a picture of it, DMZ was the best place I have ever been (although it is not really safe). DMZ is the place where the environment has preserved for more than 50 years, so I thought this place could show how Korean environment is.
Photo #5- Kangwondo
Photo #5
Although Korea is very small country, the natural environment is excellent. There is a range of mountains in Eastern Korea, so it serves various natural landscape in each season. My family usually visit Kangwondo, which is located in Eastern Korea, for vacation to enjoy various natural environment. I thought the environment also could show the Korean traditional life because it shows how Korean people have preserved and enjoyed their environment. Korea did not really exploit the area to make there as a national park, so visitors can enjoy the scenery of there.
Photo #6- Jangdokdae
Photo #6
Jangdokdae means a platform for crocks of sauces and condiments. Even though it is traditional way to store sauces and condiments, there are still many people who store their sauces in this way. My grandmother also uses it, and I thought this could be a good example of how Korean people live in both traditional and modern way. If you put Korean spicy sauce there and wait for a long time, the sauces’ taste changes to be better. In my opinion, how Korean people still uses Jangdokdae is the most important example to show that Korean still lives in traditional way.
Photo #7- Bulgogi (Food)
Photo #7
Bulgogi is one of famous Korean traditional food, and many foreigners usually eat this when they visit Korea. I decided to show this picture because I thought the food is one of the most important cultural parts, which shows how people in the culture have lived. The materials of this food is soy sauce, beef, mushroom, and some vegetables. The history of Bulgogi has been very long because it has been one of Korean traditional food, which has been enjoyed by Korean ancestor. Have you ever heard about KimChi? Even though Kimchi is the most famous Korean food, I would like to share the picture of Bulgogi because I have met many friends from another countries, who did not really prefer Kimchi’s smell. Therefore, I thought Bulgogi could be the most international and traditional Korean food, foreigners can enjoy eating.
As all photos show, Korean culture is based on balance between traditional and modern human life. Gyeongbok palace, DMZ, Kangwondo,Jangdokdae, and Bulgogi shows how Korean still keeps their own traditional ways to live while “Hi Seoul Festival” and Han river park shows how Korean enjoys their life in modern ways. As I already mentioned, Seoul is the best place to see both ways of human life; you can really enjoy their own traditional culture and modern culture there once you visit Korea.
Photo citations
Photo #1, 5, and 7 : taken by me.
Photo #3: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Typical_evening_in_Han_river_park_Seoul.jpg
Photo #4: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Foreign_Secretary_at_Korean_Demilitarized_Zone_(20476077332).jpg
Photo #6: https://www.google.com/search?q=Jangdokdae+creative+commons&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjSg8-GidnSAhUB5CYKHdEvCQ4Q_AUICCgB&biw=1308&bih=725#tbm=isch&q=korean+Jangdokdae+creative+commons&*&imgrc=04-PjQpVc5EkxM:
2 Responses to “how Korean lives in traditional and modern way”
Andrea Bittle
Several missing photos! I wanted to use this to show my students as we are studying Korea.
Liz
Thank you for letting us know. The links from some of the original photos were no longer working, so I replaced those photos with new ones. I hope your students enjoy the photo story!