HANBOK - Traditional Korean Clothing
The hanbok has been the Korean people's unique traditional costume for thousands of years. It shows the beauty of Korean culture.
Before Western-style clothing arrived one hundred years ago, everybody wore the hanbok. Men wore jeogori (Korean jackets) with
baji (trousers) while women wore jeogori with chima (skirt). Today, the hanbok is worn on days of celebration such as wedding,
Seollal (Lunar New Year's Day) or Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving Day).
KOREAN FOOD
Korea was once primarily an agricultural country, cultivating rice as a staple food for a long time. These days, Korean cuisine is
characterized by a wide variety of meat and fish dishes along with wild greens and vegetables. Various fermented and preserved
food, such as kimchi (fermented spicy cabbage), jeotgal (matured seafood with salt) and doenjang (fermented soy bean paste)
are notable for their specific flavor and high nutritional value.
The prominent feature of a Korean table setting is that all dishes are served at the same time. Traditionally, the number of side
dishes varied from 3 for the lower classes to 12 for royal family members. Table arrangements can vary depending on whether a
noodle dish or meat is served. Formal rules have developed for table setting, demonstrating the attention people pay to food and
dining. Compared to neighboring China and Japan, a spoon is used more often in Korea, especially when soups are served.
HANOK - Traditional Korean Houses
A traditional Korean house is called hanok. Hanok sought to create a living space based on the coexistence of nature and humans.
Accordingly, the natural aspects of a traditional Korean houses range from the structure's inner layout to the building materials
which were used. Another unique feature of traditional houses is their special design for cooling the interior in the summer and heating the interior in the winter.
Since Korea has such hot summers and cold winters, the 'ondol gudeul,' a floor-based heating system and 'daecheong,' a cool wooden-floor style hall were devised long ago to help Koreans survive the frigid winters and to
make the sweltering and humid summers bearable. These primitive types of heating and air-conditioning were so effective that
they are still in use in many homes today.
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