Folk Games

Subak, Taekwon-Do

Taekwon-Do is a national art of attack and defence using nimble movements of the legs and hands. There are over 3,200 kinds of major movements in Taekwon-Do.

Judging by vivid portrayals of this art in murals in Koguryoperiod tombs, Taekwon-Do has a long history and tradition. At that time it was called subak (hand-striking art). It was an art of hitting or striking an opponent and checking his attacks with the bare hands. In the latter period of the Ri dynasty (18th- 19th centuries) the use of the legs developed, which was called taekkyon. In the Pyongyang region it was noted as nalpharam (agile action), mainly depending on the use of the fists, kicking and head-butting.

Today Taekwon-Do has spread all over the world. Taekwon- Do contests are divided into demonstrations of patterns, contests, and displays of power and special skills. During displays of power the performer chops pine-wood boards in two with the edges of his hands, feet or heels. The special skill of Kim Sin Rak (Rikidozan), a professional wrestling champion in the 1950s and 1960s, was his so-called "right hand of justice", which corresponds to the "hand-knife".

Wrestling

Korean wrestling, or ssirum, has a long history. Two contestants strive to throw each other to the ground, using various grips and holding a strip of cloth bound round the other's left thigh.

It is an official event of the annual people's sports meeting. Murals in a tomb in Jian County, Jilin Province, in China (dating from the late 4th century) and Changchuan tomb No. 1 (mid-5th century) in the same region, both of which belong to the Koguryo period, give a vivid portrayal of wrestling in those days. This shows that wrestling has a long history.

A good wrestler was called yongsa (brave man) in the Koryo period. Wrestling became a staple contest at the Tano Festival and Harvest Moon Day, held in May and August, respectively.

At wrestling contests an ox is traditionally presented as the top prize. The wrestler who wins the contest leisurely returns home, riding the ox which is garlanded with flowers, and followed by the fellow-villagers who have cheered him on. Nowadays, national TV wrestling contests are popular with TV viewers.

Tug of War

The tug of war was traditionally held on the day of the first full moon of the year by the lunar calendar and in some provinces at the Tano Festival or Harvest Moon Day. Now it is held in any place and at any time without special preparation. Formally, the tug of war was held by teams representing rival villages. It used to involve many contestants and several thousand supporters. The tug of war between villages began with the "minor tug of war" by boys 12 or 13 years old, at the beginning of the year. It was the prelude to the main contest, a preliminary contest between villages. As it exerted a psychological influence on the outcome of the major tug of war, all the villages showed a great interest in it. After the preliminary contest, the young winners made a round of the village singing the song of victory and carrying their rope and that of the losers on their shoulders. The contest was continuously performed every evening till the night of the 12th-13th of January, and the villagers cheered their young contestants, by beating gongs and playing on a kind of trumpet called saenap.

\ The main tug of war between older people was held on the 14th of January by the lunar calendar. The rope prepared for the purpose was some 50-60 mm thick, and 30-40 metres long. The contest was held on a meadow on the boundary between two villages. The main tug of war was participated in by several hundred contestants from both villages and watched by all the members of the two villages.

On the day of the contest, people start gathering in the morning, led by people holding banners and a peasant band in colourful clothes and boys and girls dancing to the music. The sound of the peasant band, the excited cheers of innumerable spectators and contestants putting forth their strength seem to shake Heaven and Earth. At the heads of both teams, the team leaders command their teams and supporters, with a flag in his hand. The winning team takes its rope and the losers' and make a round of their village with the band playing in the van.

This contest, which the Korean people have enjoyed from olden times, is now widespread as a cheerful folk contest, as it displays the united might of the collective and helps build up physical strength and endurance. It is now held in any place and at any time. On public holidays high-ranking cadres of the Party and the State take part in this contest together with the working people.

Jumping Seesaw

Jumping seesaw is a contest in which two women, standing at opposite ends of a long board, balanced in the middle, compete to jump higher, coming down heavily on the board. Tradition says that in the olden days women, who were kept indoors almost all day long, practised jumping seesaw in order to get a glimpse of the world outside the wall. At any rate, it has long been a custom for women to dress in colourful clothes and get together on the lunar New Year's Day and on the 15th of January by the lunar calendar every year and enjoy seesawing till late in the evening.

This sport helps build up leg strength and increase lung capacity, and trains the body through balancing and the practice of accurate rhythmic movements. As an exercise involving the whole body, it helps to improve one's figure. Various jumping seesaw stunts performed by the national circus are popular among spectators both at home and abroad. Jumping seesaw is peculiar to Korea and has a long history. As for neighbouring countries, it was practised only in Ryukyu (Okinawa), Japan, having been introduced there from Korea.

Swinging

Swinging is a contest in which a person standing on a bord held by two ropes hanging from a certain height tries to swing as high as possible, by swinging forward and backward. Swinging contests are so much part of the Tano Festival as to be almost synonymous with it. With the approach of the festival, everywhere in cities and rural villages people swing on swings suspended from willow or pine trees or from crossbars placed between pairs of tall poles in places with a good view. Single swinging and double swinging are practised. The swinger whose foot touches a bell hung high in the air wins the contest.

Unlike jumping seesaw, swinging was practised in other countries, too, but was not so widespread as in Korea, where from olden times swinging contests were held across the country, and especially in the northwestern region. The swinging contest at the Tano festival in Pyongyang was particularly famous. Now it is an event in national contests.

Janggi, Korean Chess

Chess is a fascinating game with countless varieties of moves which sharpens one's thinking faculty. It is played in every country but differs from country to country in the form of the chessmen, the number of chequered squares on the board and the method of play.

It is the custom with the Koreans that the poorer player moves first. Also the older player always uses the red pieces, while the younger player uses the blue pieces. This is out of respect for elders.

The skill of Korean chess is diverse and complicated. It is said that a whole lifetime is needed to master the skill.

Yut

Yut is a game in which the players compete with each other by moving markers on a board according to the patterns in which four sticks thrown in the air fall. In the old days, yut was played at the end of the year and the beginning of the next year. Now it has developed into a mass game which is played by all, young and old, men and women, in any place and at any time, to say nothing of during public holidays.

The four yut sticks thrown in the air fall on their obverse or reverse sides, so they give rise to five patterns. When three sticks fall on the obverse sides and one on the reverse side, this is called do, and is given one mark. When two sticks fall on the obverse sides and the other two on the reverse sides, it is called kae, and given two marks. When one stick falls on the obverse side and the other three on the reverse sides, it is called kol, and given three marks. When all the sticks fall on the reverse sides, it is called yut or sshung, and is given four marks. When all the sticks fall on the obverse sides, it is called mo, and given five marks. The board has 29 positions. The positions are said to have been marked in imitation of constellations.

The winner is the first to complete the required rounds of the board by moving his or her markers on the board, according to the patterns in which the sticks fall. Here the skill of throwing sticks in the air is important; what is more important is to use one's brain and watch the board attentively in order to make good moves. It is a widespread pastime, because it is a game many people can play with interest.

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Family Life

In accordance with the ethical teaching handed down from our ancestors, in Korea special emphasis is placed on filial piety. This includes supporting one's parents with devotion, nursing one's sick parents with care, and holding sacrificial rituals in memory of deceased parents. These wholesome manners and customs are epitomized in the self-sacrificing behaviour of the heroine of the Korean classical novel The Tale of Simchong and in the tradition of women severing one of their fingers to transfuse their blood to their ailing husbands or parents.

Great care is shown when choosing a wife for one's son, as a dutiful daughter-in-law is supposed to pay great attention to the well-being of her parents-in-law, thus ensuring harmony within the family.

The custom of the son, particularly the eldest son, supporting his parents is still prevalent in Korea.

In olden times if one had no son, one adopted a child with the purpose of ensuring that memorial services for one's ancestors were held without interruption and the family line was carried on, as well as of having someone to whom to hand over one's property and by whom to be supported in one's old age.

The custom of adopting a son or daughter in Korea has undergone a radical change. It has become a social trend that young people of the rising generation bring up orphans as their own children and support childless old folks as their parents. It is now no rare occurrence that girls voluntarily marry disabled soldiers and take care of them, dedicating the springtime of their lives to them. These new relations of upbringing and support are attributable to Comrade Kim Jong Il, who has established new human relations of single-hearted unity by taking good care of the old generation of revolutionaries and by doing his best to bring up the bereaved children of fallen comrades as successors to the revolution.

When a baby is born, a name is given to it. It is the custom with the Koreans that the surname, which is placed first, follows the bloodline of the father. So daughters, to say nothing of sons, always keep the surnames of their fathers even after marriage. The surname is usually of one syllable while the given name usually consists of two syllables. The syllables of the name have definite meanings. One of the two syllables of the given name is common to, and indicates, the same generation of close relatives to which the owner of the name belongs. The common syllable of the name is applied up to first cousins, making it possible to tell quickly which generation kinfolk belong to.

The most important birthday celebration is the one that children arrange for the 60th birthdays of their parents. In the past, a man, who lived to be 60, was considered to have lived long. Therefore his children would hold a big banquet on his 60th birthday, wishing him an even longer life in good health. On that day they would present newly made garments to him and set a ceremonial feast table for him.

The table was also called a table for feasting the eyes on, so it was set with a greater variety of dishes and was more spectacular than a wedding table. The intensity of filial piety of the children was said to have been estimated by the number of dishes and the height of the food piled up on the table. After setting the table, the children, relatives and friends would each present a cup of wine to the guest of honour and make a deep bow to him or her.

The celebration of one's 60th birthday is one of the good manners and customs of the Korean people, who respect their parents and take good care of them.

Comrade Kim Jong Il sees to it that 60th birthday spreads are arranged in the name of the country for the people who have devotedly worked for the country and the people, as a reward for their meritorious service. He also ensures that 70th and 80th birthday spreads are sent to people who have worked until they reached 70 or 80 years of age.

It is a duty based on the Korean sense of obligation and ethics to hold memorial services for the dead and pray for their souls. The memorial service held on the first anniversary of a person's death is called sosang. The memorial service held on the second anniversary of a person's death is called taesang or samnyonje (memorial service in the third year, because it is held in the third year after the death). Besides sosang and taesang, the memorial service which is held on the day of the ancestor's death every year is called kije. Kije is held at the dawn of that day.

On folk festival days, people hold memorial services to pray for the repose of the souls of their ancestors. Memorial services on folk festival days are distinct from other memorial services in that sacrificial altars are laden with special food eaten only on that day. To cite a few examples, people offer rice-cake soup on New Year's Day and rice cakes steamed on a layer of pine needles on the Harvest Moon Day. The memorial service is usually held in the house of the eldest son or the eldest grandson in charge of the memorial service. So on New Year's Day and on the Harvest Moon Day all the relatives gather in the house of the eldest son.

Nowadays in Korea, people hold funeral and memorial services in a simple and modest manner, remembering the deceased with reverence.

People see on their TV screens Comrade Kim Jong Il bowing respectfully to Comrade Kim Il Sung, the eternal President of the Republic, lying in state in the Kumsusan Memorial Palace at dawn on the Day of the Sun (President Kim Il Sung's birthday, April 15.), July 8 (the day of the President's death.), and on New Year's Day. Republic Founding Day, Harvest Moon Day and other national holidays every year. They also watch the endless waves of people paying homage at the President's bronze statue on Mansu Hill, the Revolutionary Martyrs Cemetery, the Patriotic Martyrs Cemetery in Pyongyang and the patriotic martyrs' tombs in the provinces. This is the modem form of the good manners and customs inherited from our ancestors, which have been carried over and developed to a higher level of significance in our era.

The etiquette of salutation differs from country to country. In Korea it is a long-established custom for people to bow to each other, in stead of shaking hands, when they meet.

Juniors make a deep bow to their parents and other elders among the members of the family and relatives. When one makes a deep bow, one falls on one's knees, and the hands touch the ground. So deep bows are usually made indoors.

Outdoors, people usually bow in a standing position. The extent of the bending of the upper part of the body shows the relation of the junior to the senior. The deeper the bow, the more respectful it is. When Korean people meet others who are their equals in age, they only make slight bows to each other and exchange words of greeting. It is regarded as good manners and an age-old custom in Korea to offer hospitality to guests. From olden times Korea has been known as an "eastern country of great courtesy". Everyone visiting Korea will feel kindness and warm hospitality.

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Costume

Among Korean garments, the women's costume, which consists of chima (skirt) and jogori (blouse) and has a long history, is particularly graceful and beautiful. It is a costume with a typical Korean flavour. The appearance of women wearing chima and jogori of a graceful and soft same colour agreeable to the modern aesthetic sense, or in long chima and jogori with pleasing fringes of the same colour as that of the chima is in fine harmony with the natural environment. They are evocative of the fairies in the heavens.
Korean women's costume is characterized by harmony between white and black colours. Korean women enjoy wearing white jogori and black chima, which harmonize and give the impression of vividness, neatness and gracefulness. The Korean national costume is generally of jade-green, light pink, cream, light green or other light and bright colours. Particularly, white costumes are prevalent. The white clothing is associated with the founder-king of the nation, Tangun (his original name Paktal symbolizes the sun, namely, brightness) and with the national sentiment of being fond of cleanness and purity. In the past, ethics strictly ordained that white clothes should be worn during periods of mourning and at memorial services. Thus white costume became to symbolize the Korean nation. Hence the Korean nation came to be called the "white-clad folk" or "white-clad nation".
The collar and strings of the Korean women's jogori are important parts symbolic of the Korean costume. The collar attached to the band surrounding the neck is made of white cloth. It is the first thing to attract the eye and stresses the impression of neatness and vividness of jogori. The collars of jogori of any colour are always made with white cloth. The two long cloth strings are designed for adjusting jogori. They bring the peculiar form of the Korean costume into relief. They rustle rhythmically at any slight movement or in a breeze. When Korean women feel shy, worried or distressed, they often fiddle with the strings, which cover up their awkward movements unaffectedly. The strings not only serve the purpose of fastening jogori and as ornaments but also help women behave and maintain their posture in a natural manner in their daily lives.
Notable among ornaments is the ornamental dagger worn by men. The beautifully ornamented dagger was used for protection as well as for ordinary, practical purposes. In olden times the ornamental dagger was given as a wedding gift or on the attainment of adulthood, out of wishes for happiness of the man concerned or for his protection from all kinds of misfortune.
Comrade Kim Jong Il said that the many triplets being born these days are a good omen for the prosperity of the country and made it a rule that when multiple births occur ornamental daggers are presented to boy babies and gold rings to girl babies in the name of the country. All parents of triplets and quadruplets are provided with new houses and all the expenses for the upbringing and education of their children are borne by the state.

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Dwellings

The architectural form of graceful, sloping roofs whose edges are slightly raised like the wings of a crane presents an original beauty that can be seen only in Korean-style houses. The hip-saddle roof, which forms a beautiful contour in line with the geographical and natural features of the country, its environment and the national emotion and taste of the Korean people, is a basic form of tiled roof and gives an impression of majesty and lightness. It is symbolic of Korean architecture. Typical examples of Korean architecture are the Grand People's Study House in the central part of Pyongyang, which has big granite pillars and 25 blue-tiled hip-saddled roofs overlapping in the shape of a flight of cranes in the blue sky, the People's Palace of Culture, the Pyongyang Grand Theatre and the Okryu Restaurant.

The ondol heating system is integral to traditional Korean dwellings. Similar to the Roman hypocaust system in the ancient West, the heat from the fireplace in the kitchen is led through flues under the floor to heat the living quarters. The traditional way of relaxing at home for the Koreans is to relax on a matted- or papered-floor room, and not lounge on beds, couches or chairs. In an ondol-heated room, the place nearest to the fireplace is the warmest part of the room and the place furthest away is the coldest. Old people like to sit on the warmest part of the floor. It is a revered custom among the Koreans for guests to be given the seat of honour (the warm place nearest to the fireplace in winter and the cool part of the room in summer). It is considered good manners for younger guests to decline the seat of honour.
As the Koreans live in ondol-heated and papered-floor rooms, people take off their shoes outside before entering the room.
The ondol-heating system typical of the Korean nation and having a long history, is now widely used in the highrise buildings in cities.
In olden times people chose as sites for their houses places surrounded by hills in the east, west, south and north, which were supposed to be guarded by the Blue Dragon, White Tiger, Red Bird and Turtle-Serpent, respectively. In addition, a stream or river should complete the auspicious site by flowing in front on the south side of the house. This aspiration, enshrined in the ancient superstitious practice of geomancy, reflects the modest desire of the Korean people to lead happy lives in houses built on fertile places which command pleasant views and are inhabited by good-hearted people. The thatched huts, in which the common people of Korea had lived for thousands of years have been pulled down in the rural villages of Korea. Nowadays, people live in neat and charming modem villages. However, care is still taken to build multi-storeyed apartment houses on the south-facing or sunny sides of slopes, in deference to ancestral tradition.

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Foods

The usual diet of the Koreans consists of boiled cereals, soup, kimchi (pickled vegetables) and stew made of vegetables and meat.
The custom of using boiled cereals as the staple food was established long ago because rice, foxtail millet and barley suitable for cooking have been grown in large amounts all over the country from early times. Wheat was raised in the southern part of the Korean peninsula in ancient times, but before the 15th century its consumption was limited. The side dishes in the usual diet of the Koreans are mainly soup, kimchi and stew made of vegetables and meat. Boiled cereals are traditionally taken together with soup at every meal all the year round. As a Korean saying goes, "Cooked cereals may be taken without side dishes but not without soup." This is because bean paste and soy sauce, indispensable in making soup, were used as the main seasonings from early times.
As compared to soup prepared using Western cuisine techniques, Korean soup uses a wider range of cooking methods, ingredients and seasonings. The real taste of soup depends on the taste of the liquid part. So attention is paid to making the liquid part nutritious and tasty, rather than to the solid ingredients.
The Koreans consider that the real taste of a meal cannot FOLK CUSTOMS be appreciated without kimchi. It is a dietary custom peculiar to the Koreans that kimchi is always served in all seasons, although other dishes may not be always served. Kimchi is a nutritious foodstuff which is fermented by lactic acid bacilli and abounds in various kinds of vitamins and microelements. It plays an important role in neutralizing the acid humours with alkali ones for the Koreans who eat boiled cereals as their staple food. The taste of kimchi represents a culinary art peculiar to each family, which is handed down from mother to daughter to such an extent that it can be said to show the level of cooking skill of the housewife. Kimchi, called the "masterpiece of Korea", is characteristic of Korean cuisine.
Stew is a side dish containing vegetables and meat boiled in a thicker soup, and seasoned and salted appropriately.
In the diet of the Koreans bean paste and soy sauce are indispensable basic seasonings and, at the same time, important subsidiary foodstuffs. As a Korean saying goes, "The taste of food means the taste of bean paste and soy sauce." Bean paste and soy sauce determine the taste of almost all the dishes. Particularly, bean paste is a nutritious subsidiary food. Foodstuffs basically made of Korean soya beans called "meat growing in the field" and their processing techniques are called "soy food culture". Paste made of soya beans holds an important place in it. Korean bean paste was introduced to Japan in the 5th century. The Japanese bean paste, called miso, derives its name from miljo, a dialect word of the Koryo period.
Specialists in cookery worldwide appreciate the tonic nature of Korean dishes. This can be traced back to the old days, when the Koreans constructed their diet on the principle that "medicine and food have the same origin." Hence, the names of many Korean dishes are prefixed with the term "medicinal". To mention a few, among the varieties of cooked rice, there is boiled medicinal rice prepared with glutinous rice mixed with honey, jujubes, dried persimmons, pine nuts, chestnuts and sesame oil; among the varieties of rice cake there is medicinal rice cake, prepared with white-rice and glutinous- rice powders steamed with chestnuts, jujubes, dried persimmons, pine nuts and honey, and dyed light pink, green and yellow with the juice of Schizndra chinensis, Angelica gigas powder and pine pollen; among cakes, there is medicinal cake made of flour kneaded together with oil. honey and wine, and fried; among drinks, there is medicinal wine for the promotion of health; and among seasonings, there is a condiment which not only harmonizes the taste of food but also is taken in small doses for curative purposes.
Korea has four clearly distinct seasons spring, summer, autumn and winter and diverse seasonal foods. These originated in the seasonal festivals associated with firming.
A typical Korean table is set with one spoon and a pair of chopsticks for each diner. It is a traditional custom of the Koreans that all members of the family sit around a table laid with various kinds of dishes and seasonings on a heated floor and eat warm food, using spoons and chopsticks. Children, juniors or hosts do not begin to eat before parents, elders or guests take up their spoons and chopsticks, and the former do not put down their spoons and chopsticks on the table or rise from their seats before the latter do so. Instead, they wait, placing their spoons and chopsticks on their soup bowls till the latter finish their meals and put down their spoons and chopsticks. They observe this protocol out of respect for elders and guests.

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Language and Letters

The Korean people use unanimous language and letters. The Korean language has been nurtured and enriched through a time honored history to develop homogeneity and purity on this land. Phrases are profoundly abundant and diverse in expressions to rank the high position in language. Korean language consists of 40 vocal sounds: 21 vowels and 19 consonants. Korean language is clear in pitches and sounds beautiful. It is able to pronounce and write down any foreign language.

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Literature and Art

Literature and art in the DPRK perform a mission as a textbook for life that educates the popular masses in a revolutionary way and inspire them for creative labor and as a weapon for struggle.
A large number of cultural facilities such as Mansudae Art Theater, People's Palace of Culture, Moranbong Theater and East Pyongyang Grand Theater have been built so as to provide creation and artistic activities for writers and artistes and fully satisfy the high cultural demands of the people. In terms of literature and art creations, creations by broad sections of the people are encouraged on equal terms with professional writers and artistes. In all areas of film, literature, opera, drama, fine art, music, dance and acrobatics, a great number of works of high ideological and artistic value reflecting revolutionary traditions and present lives have been created.
The Grand Mass Gymnastics and Art Performance "Arirang" is a showcase of highly developed literature and art of the DPR Korea.

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Science

Scientific and research work makes a big contribution to the socialist construction and promotion of well-being of the people. There are a lot of disciplinary academies and research institutes such as the Academy of National Science, the Academy of Social Sciences, the Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the Academy of Educational Sciences and the Academy of Medical Sciences. Scientific and research institutes put primary efforts in solving problems raised by revolution and construction and prospective scientific and technological questions.

In particular, research work is gaining momentum on areas of great significance in increasing the Juche character of the industry such as more efficient use of fuels and developing industries relying on local raw materials aimed at making the national economy more Juche-oriented, modern and scientific.

Scientific and research institutes have achieved a lot of successes by opening up new scientific and technological fields suited to actual conditions with its own efforts and technology dependent on local raw materials.

The successful launch of "Kwangmyongsong No.1" an artificial earth satellite mounted on "Paektusan No.1" of multi-staged transport rocket manufactured by the scientists and technicians of the DPRK in August Juche 87 (1998) is a clear evidence that its science and technology have reached the high standard.

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Education

The education system of the DPRK is the most popular one which the state takes full responsibility for educating the entire people free of charge. The system largely consists of full-time education system and while-working study system.

The former system has categories of 11-year universal compulsory free education comprising 1-year pre-school compulsory education and 10-year compulsory school education and higher education consisting of colleges and universities. College or university students are granted scholarships.

The latter system is that workers are involved in education at factory special schools and colleges as well as in the network of correspondence and night-time education while working. It is free as well. Schools are evenly distributed in dwelling districts.

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