South Korea has transformed from one of the poorest nations after the Korean War of 1953 to becoming the world's 12th economic power, yet it simultaneously preserves its rich cultural heritage through UNESCO-recognized sites like Gyeongju's Silla kingdom tombs and temples, traditional practices such as the Festival of the Lanterns and hanji paper making, and unique cultural elements like the haenyeo diving women of Jeju Island, demonstrating how a nation can achieve rapid economic development while maintaining its cultural identity.
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Earth Untold: South Korea | Hidden Tales from the Land of the Calm Morning | Free DocumentaryAñadido:
The Democratic Republic of South Korea has become the world's 12th economic power.
From being among the poorest after the terrible Korean War of 1953, the land of the morning calm, as it is often called, is now one of the four dragons of Asia, along with Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan.
Design and architecture are striking examples of the dynamism which drives it, while it nevertheless guards its traditions and its very rich history.
>> [music] >> Seoul is the fourth richest [music] town in Asia, enormous, unnerving with its 11 million inhabitants.
The South Korean capital spreads on both sides of the River Han, around which the 1988 [music] Summer Olympic Games were organized.
Since then, the town has undergone rapid expansion and modernization.
Town Hall Square is a good example of what Seoul has become today.
The old town hall building is now capped by an ultra-modern construction.
Gwanghwamun Square pays homage to one of the nation's heroes, King Sejong, inventor of the Korean alphabet.
At the back of the square, we see the imposing portal of the Gyeongbokgung Palace, one of the most important of Seoul's palaces.
The portal is guarded by soldiers dressed and armed in the style of the era when the palace was the center of power.
Three times a day, the guard is changed in a colorful ceremony which was reintroduced in 1966.
>> [music] >> Built in 1394 and then reconstructed in 1867, it's the most important of the five palaces of the Joseon Dynasty.
Largely destroyed in a fire during the Japanese invasion of 1592, then abandoned, it was restored for the first time in 1867 before being partially destroyed once again by the Japanese between 1910 and 1945.
Since 1990, the Korean government has launched a major restoration program.
Above the temple, the village of Bukchon was intended for important dignitaries and nobles under the Joseon Dynasty.
Some of the houses are over 600 years old and are still occupied, and their prices reflect the prestige of the area.
>> [music] >> After having razed to the ground the old districts in order to give Seoul the look of a modern metropolis, the Koreans realized rather belatedly that they were losing a large part of their architectural heritage and lifestyle.
Some of these dwellings have been completely restored, while new ones have been built from traditional plans and with traditional materials.
A little lower down at Samcheong-dong, ancient and modern live harmoniously side by side, despite the fact that most of the old houses have been converted into cafes and tea rooms.
At the foot of Jongmyo, the old people meet to challenge each other at Chinese calligraphy, poetry, or to play the game of janggi, a Korean form of chess.
Since 1990, Chinese characters have practically disappeared in favor of the Korean alphabet, leaving a whole generation bereft of their points of reference.
The traditional rice paper is rarer and more expensive nowadays, so they use newspaper.
The Jongmyo Sanctuary, dedicated to the spirits of the kings of the Joseon Dynasty, is a site of great importance to the Koreans.
>> [music] >> The spirits are believed to reside in a hall of tablets of sacred wood, hidden from the sight of visitors. [music] The tablets are spread through 19 rooms, representing the 27 kings who reigned there between 1394 and 1928.
>> [music] >> Seoul is very forward-looking as far as architecture goes.
In 2010, it was named UNESCO Town of Design.
This nomination indicates a recognition of the vast cultural heritage of the town, its creative potential, and its strong and innovative commitment in terms of building techniques.
It's in the business district, Samseong-dong, around the COEX, the exhibition and congress center, that the most spectacular and ambitious buildings are concentrated.
These Korean conglomerate headquarters and even the shopping malls designed by internationally renowned architects demonstrate the speed with which the country has evolved in the last 50 years, from one of the poorest in Asia to one of the leading economic powers.
One of the most spectacular creations is in the Dongdaemun [music] Design Plaza, a UFO all curves, which is considered to be the greatest building of its kind in the world in three dimensions.
Completed in 2013, this giant hub of culture, encompassing several halls, was opened in the spring of 2014.
Created by the architect Zaha Hadid, it required 45,000 aluminum panels, all of different shapes. Over and above the technical achievement, all the other materials used were chosen with great attention to environmental issues.
The complex houses museums, exhibition halls, a design laboratory, as well as 60 or so leisure and cultural activities.
A noteworthy [music] homage is paid in this space to Kansong Munhwa, who saved several Korean national treasures during the Japanese [music] occupation.
In the evening, the districts come alive, especially the one around Myeong-dong, which is an immense open-air shopping center where hypermarkets, small stores, and specialty food vendors are found cheek by jowl.
The stands offering octopus or dried fish with a sauce that complements the proper delicacy are very popular.
The industry around the now famous K-pop covers very commercial music groups and generates merchandising that adolescents are crazy about.
>> [music] >> The Changdeokgung, one of the five palaces built by the Joseon Dynasty, is also known as the Palace of Prosperity.
It dates from the 15th century.
After it was destroyed by the Japanese, it was rebuilt and became the principal palace until 1872.
It was in the throne room that all the ceremonies took place.
The private apartments were situated further back alongside the gardens.
At the beginning of May, Seoul prepares to celebrate the anniversary of the birth of Buddha.
Every temple will be very busy celebrating each in its own style, so the event is commemorated nationally a few days earlier. It's the Festival of the Lanterns, backed mainly by the monastic order of Jogyesa, that was created during the Japanese occupation in 1941 to preserve Korean Buddhism from any Nippon influence.
It's an event which is open to all, not just for Buddhists.
It's meant for the whole population.
It's for Buddha's birthday.
The Festival of the Lanterns used to take place in the Temple of the Three Lanterns during the Koryo period.
And since then, it has become a national event, more and more open.
And since the Chosun era, it's not only religious, today it's one of the country's most important events.
There are prayers throughout the day.
At nightfall, groups form in each district to meet up at the departure point of a gigantic procession.
The role of the lanterns made of traditional hanji paper is to transmit the message of peace and harmony.
It's also an occasion for women to dress in the hanbok, the traditional Korean costume.
All the Jogye monks are also there at the start of the march.
After hours of preparation, the procession slowly moves off.
According to the Buddhist religion, the lantern which lights up the shadows is a metaphor for the wisdom which illuminates the world.
For this reason, the lighting of the lotus lanterns represents a very important ceremony, signifying respect to Buddha.
These traditions are more than a thousand years old.
There are about 40 types of lantern.
The biggest ones move around on floats of different forms, such as the melon, the garlic, and the lotus flower.
Each form represents a particular wish.
A melon for fertility, a carp for success, a tortoise for health and long life.
Some people bang with wooden batons on the moktak, a Buddhist percussion instrument, to the rhythm of the chanting of sutras.
After the procession has followed the route across the town, the main groups associated with the Temple of Jogyesa meet within its walls for a last meditation.
At weekends, the crowds of Seoul residents mingle with tourists from all over Asia in the streets of the Namdaemun and Myeongdong district.
The Gwangjang Market is also well known, but no doubt more so for the abundance of culinary experiences it offers with a minimum of pretension.
You sit at tables close to the mobile kitchens serving traditional dishes such as bindaetteok, a wonderful savory pancake made of lentils and soya, bibimbap, rice mixed with vegetables, or hotteok, pancakes filled with brown sugar.
As is true elsewhere in Asia, street food is a must for every visitor.
Now it's time to leave Seoul and head south to the valley of Gucheondong and the first mountain ranges.
The altitude is not great, about a thousand meters for the highest peaks.
But what impresses [music] is the dense vegetation.
This is the setting for the National Center of Taekwondo in an estate of two square kilometers.
That gives you an idea of the importance [music] the government accords to this Korean martial art, an important source of Olympic medals.
The buildings are worthy of the best sports centers.
The facilities were designed to attract not only regional, but international teams, who can spend several weeks here training in optimal conditions under the guidance of Olympic champions such as Kim Gyeong-hun.
The art of Taekwondo was born in 1950 with the fusion of several disciplines.
More than anything, it's a way of demonstrating a good attitude in sport.
It's not a competitive sport where you do battle. It's rather a way of being, a Korean state of mind.
The biggest building, the arena, can accommodate nearly 5,000 spectators during major meetings.
It's also used for spectacular demonstrations for the general public.
>> [applause] >> We continue our journey towards the east coast, [music] Jeonju, the cradle of the Chosun or Joseon Dynasty, the last and the longest surviving of the Korean dynasties.
To the south of the modern town is the village of Hanok, named [music] after its 800 traditional houses or hanoks.
This is the greatest concentration of old houses in the country.
>> [music] >> The inhabitants try to maintain a traditional way of life.
Even though a fair number of these houses are now restaurants, tea houses, or guest houses.
They offer amazing breakfasts.
>> [music] [music] >> The town has temples as you would expect, but also a Catholic church built by a French missionary.
In South Korea, Catholics represent more than 10% of the population.
At Jeonju, the traditional method of making paper, the famous hanji, has been preserved. They take the bark of the Broussonetia papyrifera or paper mulberry tree, and after boiling the fiber, they beat it for a good hour.
From that point on, it's the skill of Song Gong Ho that makes the difference, filling the frames which when rolled and dried become sheets of hanji paper.
In the old days, this paper was used for calligraphy, for books, and also for painting.
Machines now do the bulk of the work.
So, nowadays, it's only made by artisans for creating lanterns or storage boxes.
The paper stays all night in this press, weighted with big stones.
The other thing of which Jeonju is proud is bibimbap, the national dish, which is said to originate from Jeonju.
Madam Ahn Myung has brought the preparation of bibimbap, originally a very simple dish, to an extremely high level of sophistication.
The ingredients that are in the little bowls, they're natural, no pesticides.
To flavor them, we add different sauces.
Sauces are a necessary and essential ingredient of Korean cooking. Sesame oil, spicy sauce, garlic, sesame, hot peppers.
Even if the basic ingredients are natural, you have to add these spices and sauces.
You have to add some kimchi, of course.
It enhances the flavor of the dish.
There are more than 15 bowls that we're going to mix together in the pot.
Bibimbap is created by mixing all these ingredients, and each time we mix it, we get different flavors.
>> [music] >> Near the center, the little town of Geumsan is known throughout the country.
Here, they grow a plant which is precious all over Asia, and in particular, its root is what attracts everyone's attention.
Beige in color with hairy roots at the ends, it sometimes [music] takes on strange shapes. This is ginseng.
It has been cultivated for the past 1,500 years in South Korea, and it's [music] said to have a thousand therapeutic uses.
It takes at least 4 years to grow a root of any significance. [music] Ham Seong Ho is one of the scientific experts who study closely the evolution of ginseng cultivation.
The most important benefit is to protect the body from all potential illnesses.
Ginseng contains saponins, which reinforce the immune system against viruses. It contains many active ingredients.
Geumsan is the nerve center for ginseng, a business worth more than $4 billion.
There's a market wholly reserved for it, where growers come to negotiate their crop with wholesalers or clients.
Big state companies like Daedong Korea obtain their supplies directly according to their needs. First, the roots are carefully washed, and for red ginseng, the most prized variety, roots 5 to 6 years old are then steamed and dried in the sun.
After sorting and grading, red ginseng sells for 1,500 euros per 300 grams.
It's exported worldwide, even though South Korea uses the major part of the volume produced.
The powerful ginseng corporation finances a very modern laboratory, which enables them to project future applications.
The main innovation on which we have worked recently is an anti-diabetic product, which we have developed from ginseng.
We find ourselves now on the south coast, more temperate, but also more humid, level with Boseong.
As we move towards the first foothills, we come upon the most famous tea plantations in the country.
Especially in the valley of Hadong, where tea originated in South Korea.
This is where Choi Young Seok took over the estate from his father, an estate which was set up by his grandfather.
It produces a very subtle, refined tea, bought by connoisseurs all over the world.
In the Jirisan mountain range, he farms plots of land at more than 900 m altitude, the highest in the country, on some of which wild tea plants grow.
My tea plantation >> My tea plantation is at a very high altitude. Does that give it a special taste?
Yes, this plot of land is not very exposed to the sun.
So, the tea doesn't have a very bitter taste.
No, the tea has a variety of sweet aromas.
The harvesting is done before the rainy season at the end of May, and only the young shoots are picked.
In the small factory, the tea is placed in a large wok for 4 minutes.
What's the temperature now?
Now, it's about 300.
How long must it stay like that?
I would say 4 minutes. Yes, about 4 minutes.
The process must be very precise so as not to burn the leaves and simply take away the bitterness.
The leaves are then rolled for the first time by hand on a rice straw mat before going back in the wok.
Then, they are rolled once again.
>> [laughter] >> After that, the tea will dry out for several hours like this.
The last operation before packing is to sort the tea in order to remove the bad leaves and the remaining little twigs.
This green tea, the Woojeon, is very delicate and is only offered in quite small quantities.
Not far from there, near Suncheon, in the temple of Seonamsa, tea occupies an important place in the daily lives of the monks, who've been studying sacred texts there since 529.
Chinese monks were the first to have understood all the benefits of tea, which could help them with their meditation.
The object is not to drink tea for nourishment or for the to drink tea for nourishment or for the pleasure it gives, but to keep the mind as clear as possible and to be in the best frame of mind for meditation.
Of course, our bodies need it, too, but not just for the taste.
It's to assist meditation.
The temple produces its own tea from a plantation above the buildings watered by a natural spring.
The water from this spring is of the purest quality, which is of prime importance in the preparation of tea.
Each basin filled from the spring has a particular use.
The first basin is reserved for prayers to Buddha.
This one is used for drinking and to prepare rice. The third basin we use to wash our faces.
The water from the fourth basin is used for washing clothes.
In spite of the apparently dilapidated state of the installation here, the monks produce excellent tea.
Suncheon is a town on the south coast which hosted the international gardens exhibition in 2013, and this has transformed it into a permanent park.
But the major attraction of the town is its proximity to the coast.
>> [music] >> It's a coastal estuary, which is registered on the list of exceptional wetland areas.
To guard against the pressure of new construction and of vegetable growing, the government has implemented important investments since 2006, enabling the bay to be protected.
The fields still have the advantage of a fertile soil of the finest quality.
>> [music] >> Korean cuisine uses many green vegetables and they're always in great demand.
The bay is composed of a 3.5 km long estuary [music] and 2,000 hectares of wetlands and reeds.
The natural salt [music] pans play an essential role in the purification of the The bay's [music] waters are a first-rate reproduction site for mollusks, crabs, and fish.
And on the surface, a nesting place for birds such as hooded cranes and spoonbills, which make a stopover here during their migration.
>> [music] [music] >> On the edge of the town, the ancient fortified village of Nagan has also been preserved.
Dating from the Chosun era, it was surrounded by ramparts to protect the village from Japanese pirates.
Today, these houses of clay and stone roofed with reeds still contain private residences, but also artisans and guest houses, thus giving it a timeless air in close proximity to the modern town.
We now travel further south to the country's largest island, Jeju-do, a volcanic island favored as a holiday destination by Koreans.
We must quickly leave Jeju City, the capital of the province, to appreciate the whole extent of the volcanoes.
The extinct volcano Hallasan has [music] 360 satellite volcanoes, not to mention innumerable lava tunnels which run between them.
The island is classified a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
>> [music] >> Certain craters, such as the Sangumburi, have been totally protected and have become nature reserves, where one can see reptiles, deer, and birds.
Not to mention the vegetation, which includes many varieties of plants facing extinction and which have found a safe haven here.
At dawn in the meadows, some people have been at work for a while already, bent towards the ground.
They're searching for a plant which only grows in the wild and which cannot be cultivated.
It's gosari, which when it's dried and cooked is used in salads and soups and which gives off a fragrance similar to that of mushrooms. It's sold at a very high price on the markets.
And of course, you have to know where gosari grows if you want to pick it, and many locals are passionate about it.
All the middle of the island was shaped by volcanoes. It's a subtropical zone where mandarins, pineapples, and oranges are grown, and rapeseed and vegetables, too.
But although the stony soil prohibits rice growing, in several places one can find very good tea.
This landscape has inspired many artists, the most spectacular site being no doubt the park of stones created by Paik Un-Chul in 2006.
The theme of this park was based on the legend of Seolmundae, the grandmother who created the island and who tells its story through its rocks and stones.
There are also open-air galleries with works inspired by the surroundings.
These harubang are totems placed in front of each house to protect its inhabitants from evil spirits.
But the island had no need of man's handiwork to fashion its incredible coastline.
Here, it was volcanic pressure which formed these almost perfect columns.
The southwesterly coastline is as dramatic as you could wish for, studded with a few magnificent waterfalls falling directly into the sea.
The most spectacular volcano which forms an isthmus is the Seongsan Ilchulbong on the east coast.
All around it, the elders still gather shellfish and seaweed at low tide.
A good dozen varieties of seaweed are used in cooking.
The crater is 5,000 years old. Nowadays, it's protected by a controlled area for visitors.
The volcano, one of the major sites of the island, attracts many visitors.
The crater is 182 m high and 600 m in diameter [music] and is a geological curiosity, its interior bowl being almost perfectly Within, there are six rare plants and more than 220 other [music] species, an amazing ecosystem.
At its foot, there's the fishing ground of the diving women, the haenyeo.
These sturdy women gather seaweed, shellfish, crustaceans, sea urchins, octopus from under the water, and they share the product of their fishing in a cooperative.
They use rudimentary equipment, knives, nets, and harpoons.
They're capable of staying underwater for 2 minutes and of diving as far down as 20 m.
This activity requires great physical endurance, even though most of them are 60 years old or more.
There were still 30,000 of them in the 1950s. Now, they number only a few thousand.
These days, the young ones leave the island to go and work or study on the mainland.
Girls don't want to be divers nowadays.
The youngest one here is 46.
The produce of their catch is offered for sale and is prepared and consumed right there, served by the divers themselves, who spend their days in wetsuits to the amazement of Chinese tourists.
>> At Jeju City, the boats returning at dawn from fishing trips unload their catch at the wholesale market quayside.
Although the sight is still impressive, the sea's declining resources have led the government to encourage fish farming.
After sorting, most of the catch goes to the mainland.
The rest is sold directly to the consumer.
The auction works on the practice of secret bidding. The wholesaler notes his offer on a small slate, which he then gives to the auctioneer.
Behind the fish market, there's a vegetable market where large quantities of the commonest traditional vegetables are to be found, such as the giant white radish, the moo, which is served with many dishes.
But it's the Chinese cabbage, known here as kimchi, that Koreans eat the most.
It's fermented for several weeks in brine before being spiced with hot pepper.
Back on the mainland, still in the south but further east this time, we're at Daegu, one of the largest towns in South Korea, one of whose specialties is to produce and market medicinal plants.
Here we're at the warehouse of the wholesaler who supplies a large part of the market.
80% of the population still use medicinal plants to treat themselves.
They do sometimes also resort to using chemically produced medicaments.
Demographic expansion associated with modernization makes it harder and harder to grow these plants.
But we keep trying to maintain the cultivation of these products even if it is difficult.
All around this street, doctors of traditional medicine prescribe cures which are prepared in dispensaries like this one.
The assistant is mixing together several plants and roots for a cure to improve blood circulation.
The patient will boil the preparation for 3 hours when he gets home.
It's 3:30 a.m. in the temple of Girimsa.
Every morning, a monk recites sutras while moving around between the buildings.
Then he starts up a sound ritual which precedes the morning prayer.
>> [music] [music] [bell] >> This morning, it's the father superior who's conducting the ceremony, with on his right the lay people who work in the temple and who also join in the morning prayer.
In another building away from the rest, a monk chants mantras for the souls of the dead which wander around for 49 days after the date of death.
For this occasion, the faithful come to the temple to give the names of the departed.
As with all the great temples, Girimsa was built away from any town, in the wilds [music] and on the side of a mountain.
In spite of its size, it houses only 11 monks.
In addition to the morning prayers, they meditate four times a day for 2 hours.
>> [music] >> A little further west, Gyeongju [music] is a town of note in the history of South Korea. A large number of tombs and temples are concentrated there, such as here in the park of the tumuli, where there are 23 tombs of monarchs of the Silla kingdom and their families.
Modeled on the Egyptian pyramids, many of them have been the source of important archaeological finds.
The temple of Bulguksa is no doubt one of the most important for the Koreans.
Classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it dates from 775 and contains many national treasures.
Its imposing print on these stone walls is a masterpiece of the golden age of Buddhism in the Silla kingdom.
The quality of its construction and the great talent of the painters, particularly where they worked on the interior paneling, are witness to this rich epoch.
A little lower down, uncovered by extensive archaeological excavations in 1974, the complex of the Anapji Pond was a minor palace of the Silla kingdom.
Mostly used by the prince, which was later transformed into a pleasure garden and reception area decorated with rare flowers.
On the plains around Gyeongju, at the beginning of the month of May after an often severe winter, they prepare for the planting out of rice, which will be harvested in the autumn.
Rice has been the source of wealth of several important [music] families in the region of Andong, particularly in the village of Hahoe.
This village, laid out in the shape of a lotus flower, dates from the 16th century under the Joseon Dynasty. And since then, it has been owned for the greater part by the Yu clan, an important family which still owns much of the land.
This village, listed and preserved, is home to several actors and prominent politicians.
But it's becoming more and more of a living museum, and the young people prefer to go and live in big towns rather than perpetuate this lifestyle.
>> [music] >> At the entrance of the village, Kim Dong-pyo's workshop keeps alive the tradition of making masks.
After the rice harvest, festivals and shows are organized for which people wear these traditional masks.
For the last 35 years, the master craftsman has been fashioning these traditional portraits in orinam wood, and they're still very much sought after.
All the figures are equally important.
These masks are considered to be part of the national heritage.
I think that the mask of Yangban, a nobleman, is one of the greatest of them.
The masks are listed in the 121st position of Korean national treasures.
I don't make anything new. I don't create. I maintain a tradition.
The master craftsman works to order, and some of his pieces cost more than 500 euros. Now 63 years old, he has trained several apprentices who will carry on the tradition.
Here we come to the end of our journey around the land of the morning calm.
A nickname which is far from being a cliché, but which does not wholly convey the real South Korea.
Although the temples awaken at dawn in lantern light, although the tea plantations and the paddy fields exude a feeling of peace, there is another South Korea, just as fascinating, which like Seoul abounds in creativity and dynamism.
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