Jo Mar 7, 2022
Kim Hwang Won was a well-known poet in Koryo. Touring the scenic spots in our country, he composed a number of poems about the beautiful scenery.
One summer he climbed the Moran Hill to the Pubyok Pavilion overlooking the beautiful mountains and rivers in Pyongyang. Gazing at the Taedong River of translucent blue skirting round the Chongryu Cliff and the Walled City of Pyongyang, and East Pyongyang spread out endlessly in mist, he just stood still for a long while, enchanted by the magnificent view.
(I have never seen such wonderful scenery before!)
He was lost in appreciating the beauty of the landscape.
He was maturing his idea of a poem for a good while with his arm on the pillar until finally he started driving his writing brush catching the eyes of a crowd of people surrounding him.
Even though he wrote down a few lines at a go without difficulty, he was prevented from carrying on.
After some minutes of looking down from the pavilion with the brush in his hand, he made another attempt. However, he found it more and more difficult to continue with the poem. When he looked far down at the translucent blue waters of the Taedong River from the Pubyok Pavilion, he felt as if he was standing on the pavilion in “the Palace of the Sea God”, which sprang high above the sea, and looking over the Tongdaewon Field veiled in mist made him feel like standing on the balcony of “the Palace in Heaven” floating over the clouds. He found his talent was far from the charming scenery that struck him with a fresh impression everytime.
All of a sudden, he broke the stem of his brush and wept smacking his hand down on to the floor.
“Ah, I am not talented enough to depict the beauty of Pyongyang!”
Lamenting over the lack of his talent, he continued weeping until late at night before he left there. Later, the people in Pyongyang kept his unfinished two-line poem hanging on the pillar of the pavilion and at present it is seen on the column of the Ryongwang Pavilion. That is Kim Hwang Won’s unfinished poem “On the Pubyok Pavilion”.
The reason why they hung his poem on the pillar of the Pubyok Pavilion lies in the fact that they wanted to be proud of the beauty of Pyongyang generation after generation, which even a famous poet could not find enough poetic words to depict as well as the fact that it was well-written.
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Jo Mar 3, 2022
Hunminjongum, invented in the 15th century, is the national alphabet of our own.
As it is literally interpreted into “correct sound for teaching common people”, it means “a fine alphabet to write the correct sound for teaching common people”.
Our people had used Ridu characters (Chinese characters used for their sound values to write Korean particles, endings and auxiliary verbs in order to facilitate the reading of Chinese texts) since the period of the Three Kingdoms, when Hunminjongum, the most advanced alphabet, was invented in 1444.
In those days King Sejong commissioned several scholars at Jiphyonjon (supreme research institute in the feudal Joson dynasty) like Jong Rin Ji, Sin Suk Ju, Song Sam Mun, Choe Hang, Pak Phaeng Nyon, etc. to do research into making characters.
They succeeded in making our own characters in January, 1444 (December, 1443 by the lunar calendar) and made it public to the world as Hunminjongum.
When it was invented, it consisted of 28 letters, with 17 initial sounds and 11 medium sounds.
It has several superior properties.
It makes it possible to give a vivid expression of our feelings at will as well as to express all sorts of sound in letters
Moreover, it is easy to learn and use as it is based on a scientific principle and on a certain system.
The invention of Hunminjongum is of great historical significance since it not only provided possibility to establish the standards of the national language and to ensure the oneness of our linguistic life but also demonstrated the scientific wisdom of the Korean nation, developed the national culture and further enriched the heritage of our language culture.
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Jo Feb 18, 2022
Learning and concentration are closely connected. High concentration supports successes in study.
To improve concentration, pupils need to form a proper habit just when they start studying, that is, when they are in the first or second grade at primary school. The concentration of pupils at this age does not last long but soon fades away.
Pupils with low concentration are not be able to pay attention to the teacher, and when they study at home, they spend about an hour doing homework that needs only 10 minutes or so.
Parents should try to create an environment to make their children concentrate on their study before they get started.
To improve the concentration of primary school pupils, parents should subdivide the stages of study to make them active.
The stages of study are divided into 5.
Stage 1: Make clear what they have to do.
Before study, you should ask your children questions like “What are you going to do today?” or “What is your homework?”.
If they answer, “I have no idea.”, you should not tell them immediately what to do but instead lead them by making them check their homework books or asking necessary questions.
For example, “What do you have to do before you practice playing the accordion?” will remind them of what to do. Then they come to realize what homework they have to do.
Stage 2: Make a study plan.
After deciding what to study, they have to plan how to do their homework. By asking questions like “How long will it take you to do homework?” or “Which homework are you going to do first?”, you can encourage them to predict how long it will take and to make an effective plan. If they have too much homework, you can help them break it into several parts lest they feel bored and tired.
You should grasp how long your children can keep their concentration steady in order to split homework suitable for their concentration time. If your child can concentrate for up to 10 minutes, you should give them homework that can be done in 10 minutes. After that, you let them take a break before you get them to study for another 10 minutes with fresh concentration. You should lengthen their study hours gradually. Do not regard 10 minutes to be too short. You should make them study for a long time within the range of their concentration.
Stage 3: Keep to the plan.
When they have decided what and how to do, they can start studying. When they are studying, you do not need to talk to them often. However, as soon as you notice that they are likely to deviate from their early plan, you have to awaken them with questions such as “What are you doing now?” or “Check if there is none missing.” so that they can keep to the plan. When they take a break, you can check what they have done. If they finish their task earlier than planned, you should praise them.
Stage 4: Recollect.
When they have finished their homework, questions like “What was the most difficult part in your homework for today?” or “Before you close your book, make sure you do not have anything missing or wrong.” can be followed.
This will help you know and your children look back on how well they did their homework. This is another step of revision. Even though they have loads of wrong answers or fail to have a full understanding of what they have learnt, you must not get angry with them.
Stage 5: Lavish praises.
A primary school pupil with low concentration might yield to various kinds of temptation. Therefore, in order to help them go through these 4 stages smoothly, you have to praise and encourage them as much as possible. In this way, they will find it happy to study with confidence and to keep up with their plans.
For example, you can make them have confidence in study, saying, “I am so happy to see that you are trying hard.” and so on.
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Jo Feb 14, 2022
Kang Po (late 13th century – early 14th century) was a famous astronomer and a mathematician in Koryo.
He found a solution to a biquadratic equation which was not found until the 19th century in Europe. Thus, he made the most advanced and correct calendar in the world of those days “Susiryok” (a primitive calendar) and even a numeration table for easy correction of them.
Those days when farming held an overwhelming proportion in the economy, it was of vital importance to make a calendar that showed correct subdivisions of the seasons.
At that time people used a lunar calendar where there were 354.370 5 days in a year, so after 33 years there was a gap of about 1 year between solar and lunar calendars. Therefore, it was impossible to figure out which season a particular month belonged to.
In order to overcome this shortcoming, lunar calendars had to undergo a huge mathematical calculation for the correction of seasons
Nevertheless, limited mathematical knowledge of those times made it difficult to upgrade calendars every year.
Kang Po, who passed the state examination in 1294, volunteered to shoulder the heavy burden of making a calendar.
He made a correct calculation of the orbit of the sun according to the 24 divisions of the year, on the basis of which he succeeded in making a new correct calendar called “Susiryok”
Not satisfied with this, he decided to find a system of calculation for easy and constant correction of existing calendars.
With painstaking studies and efforts, he discovered his own original formula which is now known as x4＋ax2＋bx＋c＝0, and formed a numeration table “Susiryokripsong” necessary for calendar correction.
People in the neighbouring countries expressed their admiration and envy, saying that this was the very world-shaking miracle and that Koryo was a great power of culture.
The Yuan Dynasty not only introduced his new Susiryok as it was but also published his numeration table in the book “Taedongthonggwe”.
Having devoted all his life to improving a calendar, he wrote a book “Susiryokchopbopripsong”, where he made known the secrets of his calendar in 1343.
This is the oldest one of all the astronomy books known to the world so far.
It was not until the 19th century that Hono, a British mathematician, obtained a biquadratic equation. Kang Po was indeed a world-famous astronomer and a great mathematician.
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Jo Feb 10, 2022
Sin Sa Im Dang is a famous female painter and the mother of a great scholar Ri Ryul Gok.
Sin is her last name and Sa Im Dang is her pen name. She was born into a ryangban (aristocratic) family in Kangrung, Kangwon Province.
Her father, Sin Myong Hwa, despite his excellence in learning and virtue, kept himself from the service in the government.
Instead he remained jinsa (a person who has passed the primary state examination only) all his life devoting himself to the education of the rising generation. Her mother Mrs. Ri was simple and honest, yet strict and generous in the education of her children.
Sin Myong Hwa had no sons but five daughters, the second of whom was Sa Im Dang.
Having started studying when she was a very small child, she was good at everything like composition, penmanship, painting, embroidery, etc.
Especially, she was brilliant at painting. At the age of 7, she caught people’s admiration by painting a landscape and grapes with An Kyon, a famous painter in the 15th century as her model.
This was such a progressive style of painting as a number of contemporary artists were immersed in painting exotic scenery and 4 noble characters (Japanese apricot blossom, orchid, chrysanthemum, bamboo)
Her masterpieces still found include “Eggplant”, “Grapes”, “Mallard”, “Mandarin Fish”, “Heron in a Pond”, etc.
Her paintings were so lifelike that when she put out a painting in the yard, cocks and hens flocked together to peck at the insects in it. When a woman was worried about her borrowed skirt soiled in a wedding, Sa Im Dang painted a delicious-looking bunch of grapes on it. These stories show the distinct creative personality of a fine warm-hearted woman artist who loves her life and is rich in national emotion.
Her patriotism and profound humanity were also reflected in her poems and education of her children. At the age of 19, she got married to Ri Won Su, who was working as a kamchal, a position pretty low in official rank. Soon afterwards, her father died and she moved to Hansong for a married life with her widowed mother left alone. She never forgot her native village and her mother.
One day she was pleased to visit her mother after a long time. After some days of pleasure and happiness, she had to part from her mother. With tears in her eyes, she composed a poem on Taegwan Pass (a big pass across the road from Kangrung to Hansong) looking over her native village and yearning for her mother
As a fine mother, she paid a great deal of attention to the education of her children.
She had 4 sons, all of whom she exercised strict control over with fixed quantities of study every day so as to bring them up to be talents serving their country.
Her children, under the influence of their mother, studied hard to become famous. Among them, her third son Ri I (pen name – Ryul Kok) was distinguished.
From the age of 3, he learnt to read and at the age of 8 he composed a poem, thus startling people. Having passed the primary state examination at the age of 13, he consecutively served in various government posts for over 30 years. During this period he proposed a number of patriotic measures for developing the country and strengthening the national defense. Besides this, his fame as a great scholar reached far-away Ming and Japan. Her youngest son, Ri U, who inherited delicate penmanship from his mother, was also a noted calligrapher.
Sin Sa Im Dang, a famous woman artist and a mother who brought up their children to be able talents, passed away at the age of 48.
Although she failed to produce works of art based on reality, which showed her social and class limitations, she managed to paint beautiful lifelike coloured pictures contrary to the subjective black and white drawings that reflected the hobbies of feudal rulers of that time.
This served as a notable contribution to the development of realistic Korean painting.
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Jo Feb 7, 2022
Josonjol (Korean bow) is admirable greeting etiquette whereby people can fully express mutual respect and politeness with sincerity. It is one of the good manners and customs of our people, who have had observed noble and elegant proprieties from olden times.
Chairman
The term jol (bow), which means “bend one’s back” or “lean forward”, is a pure native word of our country that is indicative of greeting etiquette peculiar to our nation.
Josonjol, the traditional greeting of the Korean nation, is divided into sonjol (a bow in standing position) and anjunjol (a bow in kneeling position).
Sonjol, which is made outdoors, is subdivided into deep, common, and half bows according to greeting partners and the degree of bending.
For a deep bow you bend your body down by almost 90 degrees in standing position, for a common bow you bend your back by about 45 degrees, and for a half bow you just bow your head slightly.
Deep bows were made to the people to whom you had to pay your greatest respect such as the elderly and older ones higher in the degree of kin relationship, common bows were exchanged between people of the same age or those including relatives by marriage who had to treat each other with due courtesy although they were not very old, and half bows were made by older people in return for the bows by younger ones.
There were no differences in the way of making sonjol for men and women, and the deeper you bent your upper body, the more courteous it was regarded as. On the contrary, if it lasted too long for courtesy, it might be considered rude as it looked like a silent tribute for the dead.
When they met on the street, Korean people used to either bend their upper bodies or bow their heads in accord with their greeting partners to show respect before they exchanged words of greeting, which shows noble praiseworthy greeting manners of their style they have observed.
Anjunjol is also subdivided into deep, common and half bows according to greeting partners and the degree of bowing heads. It is for indoors and it differs from sonjol for men and women.
As deep bows were regarded as the most courteous one, they were usually made on ceremonial occasions and to people of high social status for the greatest courtesy.
Common bows were usual in everyday life and usually made on the New Year’s Day or to the elders, the relatives in the same degree of kin relationship and the people they first met. In the case of men, however, deep bows were made on the New Year’s Day while common bows, not deep ones, were often made on their wedding days or 60th birthdays. Similarly, deep bows as well as common bows were common for children on the New Year’s Day. That is why a common bow was regarded as similar to a deep bow in terms of courtesy in the past.
Half bows were made by seniors in acknowledgement of juniors’ bows, and also between people on intimate terms. They simply bowed their heads slightly in kneeling positions .
As mentioned above, you could see that although there are many greeting manners in the world, none of them is clearer than josonjol, which is varied in different places and on different occasions.
How our country could be widely known to the world as a country of courteous people in the East is also attributable, to some extent, to the fact that Korean people had created and constantly developed such admirable greeting etiquette.
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