The Standard is being helped through K-Beauty emporium Olive Young, which despite it being nearly midnight, is heaving to such a degree that this lanky Englishman is in danger of being trampled underfoot by young Koreans.
asserted
Englishman → help → Koreans
Beauty never sleeps, and neither does Seoul.
asserted
Seoul → sleep → ?
With its Blade Runner ad screens and public Pop Art and hip shoppers, you might say it’s the modern equivalent of Swinging London, given its worldwide cultural impact.
uncertain
it → say → impact
K-Pop, K-Drama, K-Beauty, Squid Game, Parasite, Park Chan-wook, Son Heung-min (Spurs’ loss is advertising’s gain), K-Pop Demon Hunters… South Korea is booming.
asserted
Korea → boom → ?
Yet in this city of the future, history is never far away, as we are discovering on a trip deep into the country with the curators of a new exhibition called Korea at the British Museum to discover the creative heart and soul of the nation.
asserted
we → discover → nation
It becomes apparent that today’s K-everything is a continuation of 2,000 years of creative excellence — and a triumph over many scars.
asserted
everything → become → scars
“The show covers 300BC to 2019, but even though it’s a long period, there are certain patterns you see — Korean resilience and creativity,” says Sang-ah Kim, the lead curator, “because Korea neighbours China and Japan, they always adopted new technology and culture — but they transformed it.
asserted
they → cover → it
That kind of pattern survives.
asserted
kind → survive → pattern
[K-pop] is not the traditional form of Korean music but they found some new system of pop to show the world.
asserted
they → find → world
HEARTFUL OF SEOUL
Seoul is surrounded by mountains.
asserted
Seoul → surround → mountains
Tigers would once roam down from the forests and pick off residents, though they remained a national symbol of courage and mischief, both crucial to Korean identity.
asserted
they → roam → identity
During the Japanese occupation from 1910 to 1945, the occupying forces hunted and wiped out the tigers — an attack on national pride — and demolished most of the old palaces and public buildings.
asserted
forces → occupy → palaces
But since the 1990s, many have been restored, including the Gyeongbokgung “Strands of the national identity are everywhere, with innovation at the core” Palace in the centre of Seoul, now back to its original 1395 good looks.
asserted
Strands → restore → looks
Young Koreans are posing in Hanbok national dress for TikTok videos as we’re taken around what was the first royal palace of the Joseon Dynasty, a neo-Confucianist era that lasted to 1897 renowned for its veneration of education and refinement.
asserted
that → pose → education
Goofiness too; stone animals stick out their tongues and mock the solemnity.
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animals → stick → solemnity
The king would sit in the centre of this image of harmony and authority, and showed how art can convey not just power but values.
asserted
art → sit → power
K-Pop Demon Hunters featured the same throne room image in one scene and trendy pop culture seems duty-bound to support historical appreciation.
asserted
culture → feature → appreciation
At the National Museum of Korea, BTS member RM is featured on captions drawing young fans’ attention to certain pieces; he is a huge artefacts fan.
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he → feature → pieces
Behind the scenes, items bound for the exhibition in London are being meticulously worked on.
asserted
items → bind → London
Sang-ah’s job is to pluck a selection from a vast archive donated by the late Samsung chairman Lee Jun-hee.
asserted
job → pluck → chairman
It includes gold and copper wings that were once attached to a crown — Jenny from Blackpink wore something similar in one of her videos — and a pair of gilt bronze burial shoes that look like Fendi Crocs.
asserted
that → include → Crocs
Back out in the museum itself — complete with robot guides to interact with — the other project curator, Yoojin Kwak Choi, takes us through the Celadon Gallery.
asserted
curator → interact → Gallery
Examples of this legendary ceramic style are bound for London, and she explains that its distinctive blue-green colour was developed in the unified Silla period (from AD 676 to 935) and was enough to even make the Chinese jealous.
asserted
Chinese → bind → 935
“It’s a subtle colour, very elegant and could only be achieved with perfect control of the glaze and the firing environment.”
uncertain
It → ’ → glaze
With motifs of the lotus flower appearing, they showed the turn the nation had taken from early Shamanism into Buddhism.
asserted
nation → appear → Buddhism
THE BUDDHA SPEAKS
A bullet train ride south takes us to Gyeongju, a city that was once the capital of the Silla kingdom.
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that → take → kingdom
Here the large burial mounds, almost Teletubbies esque in colour and size, sit amid the bustle of restaurants and coffee shops.
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mounds → sit → restaurants
As Silla gave way to the Goryeo Dynasty, Buddhism reached its apotheosis in Korea, and out in the mountains near here are some astonishing results.
asserted
results → give → mountains
The Haeinsa Temple is a World Heritage Site on Mount Gaya, and sports shiny reception lounges and cutting-edge research laboratories.
asserted
Temple → sport → lounges
Yet the main treasure housed here, the Tripitaka Koreana, seems to be preserved more by faith than technology.
asserted
treasure → house → technology
The Tripitaka is a collection of Buddhist texts engraved on to 80,000 wood blocks between 1237 and 1248, but is housed in a simple wooden building.
asserted
Tripitaka → engrave → building
In fact, as the charismatic director here, the Venerable Kyung Am, tells us as we are granted a rare look inside, the building utilises a clever mix of materials in the floor to ward off damp and vermin, while the architecture keeps the temperature cool.
asserted
architecture → tell → temperature
Still, he readily states that its remarkable preservation is, because, “we believe it is protected”.
asserted
it → state → ?
His assistants pull out a couple of blocks, they are in remarkable condition — enough to tingle your spine.
asserted
they → pull → spine
But even these national treasures are outdone by a subsequent visit to the Seokguram Grotto, on Mount Toham.
asserted
treasures → outdo → Toham
Up in the forest, this grotto houses a huge statue of the Buddha, and we are given special access to walk around it.
asserted
we → house → it
Korean craftsmanship and faith, suddenly come together: the construction of the inner chamber where this Buddha sits is such that the hush inside is not silence, but a vibration; truly, the statue feels alive.
asserted
statue → come → chamber
After those centuries of glorious dynasties, the Japanese occupation followed, and when it ended in 1945, the country was divided in two.
asserted
country → follow → two
Almost immediately the Korean War followed, which killed one in 10 Koreans.
asserted
which → follow → Koreans
Back in Seoul, the kids are all flocking to see Damien Hirst’s show at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art.
asserted
kids → flock → Art
…and 23 more, not listed.
The Aporia
