• Cross-Cultural Studies
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• v.27
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• pp.105-122
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• 2012

This article aims that Chinese characters represented in Korean films have been explored for historical consideration of Korean's viewpoint on Chinese from early modern to the present day. During Japanese colonial period, Chinese had been hateful and feared by most of Korean because Korean had been acted high-handedly by chinese in early modern time and had covertly regarded chinese as threatening competitors in economical part of the colony, refered to the chinese characters represented in the films, For the Lover(1928) and Secret of Chinese Street(1928). Chinese had been called as enemy forces in Korean movies, such as Marines are Gone(1963), Dragon competed with tiger(1974) made with Korean battle field setting and Manchuria setting developed a Korean independence movement, after Korean War in the 1960-70s maintained the cold war system in the World. According to analyzing chinese characters depicted in Failan(2001), A Good Rain Knows(2010), Korean public have a friendly attitude with contemporary Chinese as China has been the great trade partner of Korea with interdependent relationship after 1992, the year of Korea have established diplomatic ties with China.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.53 no.1
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• pp.184-203
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• 2020

The Confucian ruling class of the Joseon Dynasty regarded Buddhist rituals as "dangerous festivals." However, these Buddhist ceremonies facilitated transitions between phases of life from birth till death and strengthened communal unity through their joint practice of the rites. Ritual spaces were decorated with various utensils and objects that transformed them into wondrous arenas. Of these ornaments, Buddhist paintings served as the most effective visual medium for educating the common people. As an example, a painting of the Ten Kings of the Underworld (siwangdo) could be hung as a means to illustrate the Buddhist view of the afterlife, embedded in images not only inside a Buddhist temple hall, but in any space where a Buddhist ritual was being held. Demand for Buddhist paintings rose considerably with their use in ritual spaces. Nectar ritual paintings (gamnodo), including scenes of appeasement rites for the souls of the deceased, emphasized depictions of royal family members and their royal relatives. In Chinese paintings of the water and land ceremony (suryukjae), these figures referred to one of several sacred groups who invited deities to a ritual. However, in Korean paintings of a nectar ritual, the iconography symbolized the patronage of the royal court and underlined the historicity and tradition of nationally conducted water and land ceremonies. This royal patronage implied the social and governmental sanction of Buddhist rituals. By including depictions of royal family members and their royal relatives, Joseon Buddhist paintings highlighted this approval. The Joseon ruling class outwardly feared that Buddhist rituals might undermine observance of Confucian proprieties and lead to a corruption of public morals, since monks and laymen, men and women, and people of all ranks mingled within the ritual spaces. The concern of the ruling class was also closely related to the nature of festivals, which involved deviation from the routines of daily life and violation of taboos. Since visual media such as paintings were considered to hold a special power, some members of the ruling class attempted to exploit this power, while others were apprehensive of the risks they entailed. According to Joseon wangjo sillok (The Annals of the Joseon Dynasty), the Joseon royal court burned Buddhist paintings and ordered the arrest of those who created them, while emphasizing their dangers. It further announced that so many citizens were gathering in Buddhist ritual spaces that the capital city was being left vacant. However, this record also paradoxically suggests that Buddhist rituals were widely considered festivals that people should participate in. Buddhist rituals could not be easily suppressed since they performed important religious functions reflecting the phases of the human life cycle, and had no available Confucian replacements. Their festive nature, unifying communities, expanded significantly at the time. The nectar ritual paintings of the late Joseon period realistically delineated nectar rituals and depicted the troops of traveling actors and performers that began to emerge during the seventeenth century. Such Buddhist rituals for consoling souls who encountered an unfortunate death were held annually and evolved into festivals during which the Joseon people relieved their everyday fatigue and refreshed themselves. The process of adopting Buddhist rituals-regarded as "dangerous festivals" due to political suppression of Buddhism in the Confucian nation-as seasonal customs and communal feasts is well reflected in the changes made in Buddhist paintings.