Things Korean - O-Young Lee

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on the other hand, it is not only easy to get through the front gate, but into the whole rest of the home.

      If you want to understand how the stubborn individuality of the Koreans can coexist with their strong proclivity towards collective thought and action, you have only to consider the walls they live inside.

      A Long, Long Bamboo Pipe

      Dambaetdae

      Koreas long-stem bamboo pipe, the changjuk, has got to be the longest pipe in the world. Chang means long, and juk means bamboo, so you can imagine what it looks like just from its name. In reverse proportion to the western pipe, the changjuk has a tiny bowl, the size of a big thimble, and a long, long stem.

      Take a closer look at the Korean pipe and you can learn a lot about East and West. When you consider the importance of the bamboo in Korean culture, it is no mystery why the Korean pipe is bamboo. The bamboo is one of “the four gentleman" who are exclusive members in a form of Korean classical art. (The other three gentlemen, by the way, are the plum, the orchid and the chrysanthemum.) these four depict a certain aspect and principle of Confucianism, the intellectual and moral foundation of Korean culture. The principle which the bamboo embodies is the straight and firm rectitude of the Confucian scholar. The straight stalk signifies fidelity to one's principles, and its hollow center denotes humility. In the words of one Confucian scholar, the bamboo, which is neither tree nor grass, avoids the extremes of both tree and grass, and roots itself in the moderation of the golden mean. It is firm like the tree, yet yielding like grass. One classical poet, therefore, said that he might be able to manage without his favorite dish a long time, but he could not survive even a moment without beholding the bamboo.

      The changjuk pipe, rather than being made from bamboo, is bamboo. In this way it manifests the beauty inherent in the ham-boo even more than does either the Korean flute or cane, which are made from bamboo. It is long and slender, just as we conceive of the bamboo, and, with the exception 01 its bowl and mouthpiece, needs no additional parts to perform its function. It has even gone and hollowed itself out for us.

      The image it imbues is basically different from the western pipe, artificially bent and hollowed as it is. Put the bamboo pipe in your mouth, draw on it, and listen: you hear that soft zephyr wafting through the bamboo grove. And the smoke curling from its bowl...the mist is rising there in that grove.

      There is good reason for the pipe's length. Our culture is oriented toward the elderly. In the western pipe we have the youthful image of sailing the seas in search of adventure; compare this with the image our pipe conjures, of the elderly gentleman reclining quietly with his long pipe, reciting a few delectable lines of classical poetry. While there is nothing more cumbersome than trying to handle this three-foot pipe when you are out and about, there is no greater joy than sitting at home in one's room, as the elderly will, and spending some time with the changjuk.

      A wonderful thing it is for the elderly. He does not have to stir to use the ashtray over there across the room. With his bamboo conductors baton he can instruct his servant to fetch it. And he has his scepter to brandish for instilling in mannerless youth some respect for authority.

      There is yet another reason for its length. It improves the quality of the smoke. The bamboo pipes long stalk gives the smoke time to cool off and drop its bite. And long before modern medicine ever discovered the harmful effects of nicotine Koreans were eliminating it on its way up through that long stalk. It was obvious to us long ago that the longer the smoke has to travel, the less harmful it will be.

      The Korean bamboo pipe. That faint sound of an old gentleman clearing his throat is really the wind stirring in the bamboo grove. And the smoke rising from that small bowl is really this old gentleman's long，thin white beard.

      The Magic Mat

      Dotjari

      Everyone has heard of that marvelous carpet in the Arabian Nights. To a Korean, though, there is not really anything so marvelous about it.

      Originally, a carpet is not something one carries around, and so to hear about a carpet which travels from place to place would ordinarily excite the imagination. The Korean rush mat and straw mat. however, move about all the time; they were never intended to stay in one place. The basic function of these mats is to The rolled up or laid out as the occasion requires, and to fly through the skies of the mind in creating the spot that is just right for its rider.

      Probably anyone who can call himself a Korean has had the experience of flying through these skies on a straw mat. When the long summer sun has finally set and evening descends over the front yard, the fragrance from the bonfire protecting us from mosquitoes settles all around like the soft darkness. It is time to spread out the straw mat. At the instant the mat is spread, this yard of bare earth becomes a highland meadow of old central Asia. We see the Big Dipper through the gaps between the drifting clouds, escape the pull of gravity, and there we are. floating up into the sky. And as long as we keep reflecting on those stars up there, this spot originally imbued with the sweat and tears of everyday life turns into a wonderland of dreams and transcendent repose.

      The straw mat, which turns a patch of hare earth into a meadow, and transposes a place where people have been trampling hack and forth all day into a spot where one can recline in peace, is man's creation for outdoor use. In the same sense we can say that the rush mat, ever so much softer and delicate, is man's magic for indoor use. It arranges the space there according to our changing needs and gives new meaning to whatever spot it occupies.

      The rush mat creates space of a very different cast as far as it extends. It starts with the physical senses. When we unroll it the combined scent of sedge and the human body fills the air. It gets this scent from its absorbency, which in turn comes from the firm tree and the soft grass which compose its dual nature.

      The rush mat has a synesthetic quality to it. in that its invigorating scent stimulates our senses of sight, smell and touch.

      In this one space on the floor now appears a floral design, and when we occupy this space we are in a universe to ourselves. No matter how small this rush mat, the continuous weave design under the flower design extends this new universe to infinity.

      The beige tone of the mat's underlying weave blends in with that yellowish varnished paper floor covering unique to Korean homes, and ensures that there is no abrupt break to assault the eye where the mat gives way to the floor, as we see happen so often with the carpet. The tone of this basic weave is as natural as nature itself, so that even when we are sitting on its floral design, rather than getting any feeling that we are going to crush those flowers we feel we are sitting in among them.

      The rush mat also offers pleasure to the ear. Listen to that subtle sound that is made when you move on the rush mat. A fresh, crisp sound, like rumpling ramie.

      The changes caused in the senses are a result of that change in the nature of the spot the mat has created for us. It is an ideal spot, a small miracle. A guest visits, so we roll out a rush mat—in even the most prosaic spot—and that spot is transformed into a banquet for our guest. At another time, a place of work will become a place of rest. One may be playing cards at one moment, but a change of mats can easily change the card game into a memorial service

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