• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
• /
• v.10 no.1
• /
• pp.17-32
• /
• 2006

This essay has attempted to document the actual behavior patterns and the social networks related to the child delivery in the pre-industrial Korean society. We interviewed 30 women who had given birth to their first child during the 1930s and the 1940s in order to accumulate data related to son-prayer rites, prenatal care and food avoidance, sacred-string culture, and other incantation rituals. The characteristics of the social relationships with the person who had assisted the delivery and the recovery were also analyzed in terms of kinship networks. The results are as follows. First, there was a big gap between knowledge and the actual practices in birth rituals and customs. We assume that this is due to the adverse social-economic conditions at that time which may have restricted the actual performances of these customs. Second, there were almost no differences of the performance of these' birth customs between the urban areas and the rural areas. Third, the people who assisted the delivery were women who were mostly from the husband's family. Help from the wife's family were quite exceptional. Finally, it has been found out that only about half of the women who were interviewed performed the well-known custom of three-week after-birth confinement.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.549-564
• /
• 2015

This study was conducted on the head family house of Panseogong coterie of Andong Kwon clans in Daksil village, Bongwha gun, Kyungbuk: historical sources survey and field visit over four rounds were conducted from March to June 2014. In-depth interview, storytelling, and nutrition facts were used as methods of research using 49 participants, and the potentials of trend goods were the main purpose of this research. The specialties of bongwha prefecture in the Chosun Dynasty were pine nut, manna lichen, ginseng, sweetfish, and wild honey. Ritual food bulcheonwi's offerings a feature in Choongjae Kwonbeol's head family - were sacred wine, me, gang, otang, myun, myunjeok, pyunjeok, pyunchung, pyun, po, chungpomook, dojeok, sookchae, ssam, chimchai, sikhye, chogwa, silgwa, soojunggwa, etc. The ritual foods of bulcheonwi's head family house Choongjae Kwonbeol were commercialized through storytelling. Choongjae Kwonbeol's ritual ceremonies, recognized for their national royalty, were reorganized as the traditional Korean table settings, so that the Korean people could easily access them. The special meal called "Geumgyeporansang" represented the head family house foods' essence to share and serve others through the Dacshil village's natural beauty, Bonghwa's local ingredients, and festivities after the "Chungjae Gwunbal Bulchun" rituals. The ritual foods called "Cheongamjungsang", utilizing "Chungjae Gwunbal Bulchun" rituals, were represented in the form of a lunch box: such foods illustrate the classical scholar's mindset that enjoys the nature and arts through education and virtue.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
• /
• v.1 no.1
• /
• pp.1-5
• /
• 1998

Grief is the ordinarily self-limited complex of symptoms and processes that constitute the acute reaction to a significant loss. And it is the reaction of the dying as well as the bereaved. Every culture has had its own ways of grief and mourning. The definition of healthy grief and mourning, in terms of both emotional expression and the length of time it should continue, mostly depend upon the type of culture as well as the type of religion. So the manner of grief and mourning greatly differs from culture to culture. In the most of the Asian countries, influenced by Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, death is traditionally considered the most significant life cycle transition. In Chinese culture, many rituals have evolved to help family members deal with their loss, over the past five thousand years. Confucianism taught the virtues of filial piety and righteousness. These rules and many customs added since the time of Cofucius, have been loyally followed and practiced by many Asian people. However, Buddhists have different ideas. They believe in karma and reincarnation and in predetermination of one's present life by good or bad deeds in the present life and past lives. Display of uncontrollable emotion is not encouraged. Continuity of family relations after death is very important. The ancient practice of the ancestor worship is still followed in many Asian households. Many Buddhist do not practice ancestor worship; family members honor the deceased by placing a memorial plate in the temple for continued chanting purposes. The mourning rituals have been dramatically curtailed in the past 50 years. For example, political, social and economic forces have shaped the current mourning practices of Chinese in different countries. There are many clinical implications in helping Asian to deal better with the emotional strains of the experience of loss. The therapiest must respect the cultural framework through which the client perceives family losses.

• (The)Study of the Eastern Classic
• /
• no.68
• /
• pp.209-235
• /
• 2017

This study was conducted for a review of Park Se-chae's Theory of Rituals and eclectic features. He was in agreement with Song Si-yeol's allegation and Seoin's theory of rituals(西人禮論) in the 1659 controversy over propriety(己亥禮訟) and the 1674 controversy over propriety(甲寅禮訟). After that, he was cautious and criticized for Song's claims in 1683 discussion of Hyojong's sacrifices and Taejo's posthumous name. This tendency can be seen in his paper of rituals. He wrote "服制私議"(Private opinion of mourning clothes) etc. in his early life and wrote "關西昏喪契約束"(Covenant on wedding ceremonies and mourning ceremonies in the Gwanse province), "喪祭値疫痘說"(Mourning ceremonies and sacrifice when there is an epidemic) etc. in his later life. By comparing the books, we can identify changes in Park Se-chae's eclectic features. Early in life, he reviewed Gorye(古禮, Rituals of the old such as Liji) and the timely institutions(時制) on the "朱子家禮"(A book written by Zhuzi about family rituals). However, later in life, he reviewed Gorye and the Zhuzi Jiali on the timely institutions. The following is a summary of the above. His theory of rituals can be said that the eclectic features have changed from 'on Zhuzi Jiali' to 'on the timely institution'.

• Human Ecology Research
• /
• v.59 no.2
• /
• pp.169-183
• /
• 2021

The purpose of this study was to examine the association between family meals and family strengths (cohesion and flexibility) in Korean families with school-aged children. We focused on five dimensions of family meals: frequency, family rituals, communication, rules and roles, and perceptions. Our data came from 619 mothers who were married with at least one child in elementary school. Our multiple regression analyses showed that mothers reported higher levels of both cohesion and flexibility when they gave a higher priority to family meals, made family meals a ritual, had conversations on diverse topics during family meals, or experienced lower levels of meal-related stress. In addition, higher levels of family flexibility were found when a family had more structured rules related to family meals and the father more regularly participated in meal-related housework. This study contributes to the literature by understanding the roles of family meals from a multi-dimensional perspective.

• Journal of architectural history
• /
• v.29 no.6
• /
• pp.79-88
• /
• 2020

During the Joseon Dynasty, the rituals that were celebrated in the palaces were mainly held inside the palace and in the courtyard of the palace. Mats were spread on the floor of the place where the ritual was held. The mats spread in the Joseon Dynasty rituals divided the space in various ways, and in particular, they were spread in a certain form in the spaces of royal wedding, customs, and court banquet. Mats were the primary physical element that divided the royal ritual space of the Joseon Dynasty, and functioned to elevate the general space to the ritual space. In the ritual space, mats were spread inside the palace, and divided the courtyard of the palace into left and right in a symmetrical form to distinguish the hierarchy of the participants. Mats with special and white patterns were spread in the external ceremonial space and mats with flower and colorful patterns were spread in the internal ceremonial space. This was the subdivision of the Confucianism's male-female division through the mat. The pattern of the mat that divided the space of the royal family elders also meant longevity to reflect the filial thoughts of the Confucianism through the mat. Mats were a physical element for subdividing the royal family and the participants in the hierarchy of the space where the ritual is held, and it also performed a subdividing function between the royal participants. In other words, in the Joseon Dynasty ritual space, mats were temporarily spread while the ritual is being celebrated and functioned to elevate the space to a ritual space. It is confirmed that the fact that the mats were temporarily spread to divide the space into the hierarchies according to the status and were subdivided into colors and patterns to perform the function to reflect the subdivision of the royal family according to Confucianism and the statue of filial piety in the ritual.

• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
• /
• v.12 no.2
• /
• pp.153-171
• /
• 2008

This study examined university students' view on the importance of attending rituals of congratulation or condolence in social life, and the extent to which they recognized the manners of offering congratulation or condolence. It also looked into the plans and content of education on such manners required by the students. The study aimed at seeking a direction for education on the manners of offering congratulation or condolence in order to help the students acquire an appropriate conception of offering congratulation or condolence and contribute to firmly establishing a sound culture of conveying congratulation or condolence. The following results were obtained in the study. 1. One a five-point scale, university students' recognitions of the importance of attending rituals of congratulation or condolence were revealed as follows: attending condolence rituals(4.55) > attending wedding ceremonies(4.30) > visiting sick acquaintances(4.03) > attending birthday parties (3.50) > attending openings(3.47) > attending promotion or retirement parties(3.42). 2. One a five-point scale, university students' recognitions of the manners of offering congratulation or condolence in social life were as follows: the manners of attending condolence rituals(4.20) > the manners of attending wedding ceremonies(4.06) > the manners of attending promotion or retirement parties(3.9) > the manners of attending openings(3.80) > the manners of attending birthday parties(3.69) > the manners of visiting sick acquaintances(3.44). 3. One a five-point scale, university students' requirements for the content of education on the manners of conveying congratulation and condolence were as follows: education on the manners of attending condolence rituals(4.08) > education on the manners of visiting sick acquaintances(3.35) > education on the manners of attending wedding ceremonies(3.27) > education on the manners of attending promotion and retirement parties(2.96) > education on the manners of attending birthday parties(2.91) > education on the manners of attending openings(2.91). 4. One a five-point scale, university students' requirements for the plan for education on the manners of conveying congratulation and condolence were as follows: 'The education content should be applicable in real life'(4.42) > 'The education content should be easily understandable' (4.23) > 'Information or materials related to the education content should be easily accessible'(4.01) > 'The theory and actual practice of education should be taught in parallel' (3.96) > 'Education related materials should be utilized'(3.92) > 'Students' demands should be reflected when structuring the content of education'(3.91). 5. The study examined the relationship among university students' recognitions of the importance of attending rituals of congratulation or condolence, their recognitions of the manners of offering congratulation or condolence, and their demands regarding such manners. According to the results, a static relationship was found in all sub-areas, indicating students show higher recognition of practicing manners of conveying congratulation or condolence as they have higher recognition of attending rituals of congratulation or condolence in social life. In addition, higher recognition of practicing manners of conveying congratulation or condolence made them demand more for the necessity of plan and content of education on the manners of offering congratulation or condolence in university.

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

• Journal of Korean Theatre Studies Association
• /
• no.40
• /
• pp.5-27
• /
• 2010

The Korean Mask-Dance Theatre has been developed closely related to Korean Shaman rituals. As many scholars noticed, the performers of the Mask-Dance Theatre were closely related to the Shaman family. In addition, there are mask-dance performances in actual shaman rituals. and are the representative performances among them. This essay intends to compare these two mask-dance performances in the shaman rituals to the similar performance of Old Grandpa and Grandma episode in the regional Mask-Dance Theatre. This study would bring us further in proving the close relation between the shaman ritual and the Mask-Dance Theatre. is one episode, Keori, in the shaman ritual of 'Baeyeonsin-kut' and 'Taedong-kut' in the mid-west seashore area. 'Taedong-kut' is the village shaman ritual for fertility and prosperity, while 'Baeyeonsin-kut' is a private shaman ritual for a large catch of the ship. is held in the later part of the whole shaman ritual since the later part tend to be more for entertainment than actual ritual. The story of is very similar that of in Pongsan Mask-Dance Theatre of the mid-west region. In addition, some of their dialogues are very similar. Only the later part is different. These similarities indicate that the Mask-Dance Theatre, which came into being in later period than the shaman ritual, has likely taken the story motif of the shaman ritual. is also a performance in the shaman ritual of east coasts. is more elaborate and recreational than of the west coasts. is also performed near the end of the ritual, and sometimes it is not performed at all. This indicates that has little ritual meaning left. When we compare it with the regional Mask-Dance Theatres such as Keosung Okwangdae, Tongyong Okwangdae, and Suyong Yaryu, the structure and the story lines are also very similar. It is a question why only the motif of the Grandpa and Grandma isfound both in the shaman ritual and the Mask-Dance Theatre. Many other motifs of other episodes in the Mask-Dance Theatre are not found in the shaman rituals. It seems that the Grandpa and Grandma motif is related to the ur-belief in fertility. In other words, this motif seems to be originated from the old belief in the fertility couple of Chonha Taechanggun and Jiha Yeochanggun. The shaman ritual for fertility first picked up this motif, and then the mask-dance theatre also adapted this motif for its recreational purpose. When we compare with , still has more aspects of fertility ritual, while lost its ritualistic meaning and its main purpose is to develop dramatic needs. and are invaluable existent performances to prove theatre's origin in ritual. The existence of mask-dance performances in the shaman rituals shows us the transit performance between theatre and ritual.

• (The)Study of the Eastern Classic
• /
• no.73
• /
• pp.65-89
• /
• 2018

This paper was triggered by the idea that the culture of ancestral rites and the patrilocality, which entail the excessive sacrifice on the part of the wife, that eventually led to the coinage of the expression, "housewives' holiday stress," is perhaps not the age-old traditions it claim to be, but rather a recent phenomenon. The purpose of this paper is to reveal that the loss of housewife's authority is the product of "becoming yangban (aristocrats)," which was a culture that was in fashion in the late Joseon dynasty. Until the late Joseon dynasty, women, in particular, the married women maintained an autonomous life which allowed them the authority to an extent, based on their properties that they brought from and the ties that they maintained with their original family and. However, such authority of the housewives disappeared since the invasion of Joseon by Japan and Qing in the year of Imjin (1592) and Byeongja (1636), respectively, as the daughters were excluded from receiving inheritance in a desperate attempt to maintain the impoverished family after the wars. However, patriarchy based on neo-Confucian custom and convention of patriarchal clan system could not spread to the entire population immediately after the wars, as it was impossible to include everyone in the aristocratic class (yangban). It was due to the increase of aristocrats within the continued social changes that occurred after the wars that the neo-Confucian patriarchy became the norm and ethical standard in Joseon society. Also, the theory of propriety in neo-Confucianism that everyone from the emperor down to commoners must abide by the patriarchal clan system was realized through Zhuzi jiali, i.e. Master Zhu's Family Rituals, which institutionalized the system of family rites by setting up ancestral shrines in every household. For the aristocrats who lost their financial footing, the only basis they could rely on to prove their aristocratic lineage is the strict compliance with the rituals. Also, for the once commoners who turned into aristocrats one day had to emphasize the formal propriety in order to distinguish themselves from the commoners. Hence, the culture of "becoming yangban" in the nineteenth-century Joseon was what solidified the patriarchal rituals, decorum, and clan system. As a result, women have become subordinated to the husband's families, which forced the women, i.e. the housewives to serve them and sacrifice themselves for them. At times, women self-imposed such restraints on them as they led themselves into believing that it was necessary to maintain the family for their sons.