Art and Culture

This book, the 25^th in The Spirit of Korean Cultural Roots series, is an historical examination of the background to the formation of traditional Korean villages along with their functions and characteristics.

In some cases the tradition of a village is continued in harmony with historical development but in other cases it changes and sometimes disappears. Belief in the superiority of Western civilization resulting from rapid modernization has led to negative assessment of traditional elements and thus accelerated the decline of traditional villages. Under recognition of the unquestionable value of tradition, this book explores human settlements with a long history that have continued to the present time, shedding light on their nature and compositional characteristics according to their location, form, and function.

Chapter 1 examines the development and decline of the capitals of past Korean dynasties based on their ruling ideologies or belief systems. Chapter 2 describes the function and role of specialized villages such as the detached palace village near Seoul, villages round shrines, scholars' villages, and grave keepers’ villages. Chapter 3 is about regional fortress villages, which were centers of local rule, while Chapter 4 looks at villages at ports and ferry crossings with strong military or transportation functions. Chapter 5 gives an historical explanation to the formation of villages around shrines where religious rites were held, and Chapter 6 explores how the Korean ancestors adapted to the natural environment and exploited location factors to carve out their lives in farming villages, mountain villages, and fishing villages.