The contemporary culture of South Korea developed from the traditional culture of Korea which was prevalent in the early Korean nomadic tribes. By maintaining thousands of years of ancient Korean culture, with influence from ancient Chinese culture, South Korea split on its own path of cultural development away from North Korean culture since the division of Korea in 1945. The industrialization, urbanization and modernization of South Korea, especially Seoul, have brought many changes to the way Korean people live. Changing economics and lifestyles have led to urbanization—a concentration of population in major cities (and depopulation of the rural countryside), with multi-generational households separating into nuclear family living arrangements. Today, many cultural elements from South Korea, especially popular culture, have spread across the globe and have become some of the most prominent cultural forces in the world.
Literature
Prior to the 20th century, Korean literature was influenced by Classical Chinese literature. Chinese calligraphy was also extensively used by Koreans for over one thousand years in Korean literature. Modern literature is often linked with the development of Hangul, which was created by the fourth king of Joseon Sejong the Great and promulgated in the text Hunminjeongeum. The publication of the Korean alphabet in 1443 was a surprise to many as there are no records of King Sejong working on it, concluding that the king was doing it in secret. This move was initially made to help spread literacy from the dominant scholarly-official class, the yangban, to the common people— including women. Before the creation of Hangul, the common text being read was Hanja, which are Chinese characters; only those from wealthy families who could afford an education were able to learn it. Furthermore, like any other language, Hanja was not able to capture the entire meaning of words that were spoken in Korean, so it was hard to decipher what citizens were attempting to say. Hangul, however, only reached a dominant position in Korean literature in the second half of the 19th century, resulting in a major growth in Korean literature.
In modern poetry, there were attempts at introducing imagist and modern poetry methods particularly in translations of early American moderns such as Ezra Pound and T. S. Eliot in the early 20th century. In the early Republic period, patriotic works were very successful.
Lyric poetry dominated from the 1970s onwards. Poetry is quite popular in contemporary South Korea, both in terms of number of works published and lay writing.
Journalism
South Korea has 10 main newspapers and 4 main broadcasters. Top daily newspapers are The Chosun Ilbo, JoongAng Ilbo, and The Dong-A Ilbo. The Hankyoreh is a left-leaning newspaper. KBS, MBC, SBS, and YTN are the main TV channels, and EBS is used for student and adult education.
Other magazines are K Scene Magazine, JoongAng Ilbo, Yonhap News Agency, and OhmyNews. The Korea Times, The Korea Herald, and PRKorea Times are English language newspapers for foreigners.
Foreign influences South Korea has for almost a millennium been significantly influenced by China as well as by various neighboring Asian countries to a lesser extent. In recent years, there has been some influence by the Western world, mostly in food. This has changed peoples' eating habits as well; many people now also eat Western and other Asian foods in addition to traditional Korean food. Pizza is one of the favorite foreign foods among South Koreans, though it tends to differ from the pizza served in the west with an Asian tinge, often featuring corn, sweet potato, mayonnaise, bulgogi and various other ingredients. Many hamburger, fried chicken, coffee, and ice cream chains are also very popular in South Korea. While tea remains a highly popular traditional drink, Coffeehouses operated by 12 major brands increased to up to 2,000 locations in 2010, and the term "coffice" ( 커피스) was coined to describe using a cafe as an office.
Japanese pop culture was banned for decades in South Korea (though not effectively) reaching Korea by way of satellite television channels and youth culture films and magazines. Back in the year 2000, South Korean youth were reading manga, listening to Japanese rock and rap, and fashion in Korea shared similarities with Japanese street fashion trends from Harajuku and Roppongi. The ban on Japanese pop culture imports was lifted in 2000.
Traditional culture Pansori
Pansori is a form of traditional musical art within Korea that dates back to the Joseon dynasty (1392–1897), "pan" meaning an open space where individuals come to gather and "sori" meaning sound. Pansori performances consist of a singer and a drummer, the singer sings out the story using special techniques that require years of training, and the drummer producing beats to help the story flow and also to support the singer. Members of the audience are also encouraged to take part in the performance and support the singer.
The purpose of Pansori was to tell tales and stories to individuals who would take the time to listen since most stories range from three hours to eight or nine hours from start to finish. There are five traditional stories that are performed for audiences, but since pansori is mostly orally transmitted, there have been many stories lost throughout history. Each story contains a theme, whether it be about filial piety, love, or the sorrows of individuals releasing their "han". "Han" is an emotion within a person that is negative and usually is tied with grieving, regret, or resentment.
Chuseok
Chuseok, also known as Hangawi, comes from the agrarian era of Korean society, and is considered one of the biggest holidays for the Korean people. Historians believe Chuseok originated 2000 years ago, and was originally a festival that held a weaving competition. Chuseok is recognized as a public holiday, which allows for work to be suspended until the celebration is over.
The holiday is held on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Lunar calendar. It is a celebration of the Korean peoples' ancestors and is used as a time to give thanks for a good farming season. Chuseok lasts for 3 days, and it is a time spent with family to eat tradition food and play tradition games. Songpyeon is traditionally eaten during this time, and is a rice cake that contains a filling.
Seollal
Seollal, also known as the Korean New Year, is a holiday that marks the start of a new year on the Lunar calendar. The Korean New Year typically falls sometime in January or February. It is believed that Seollal originates from the 3rd century. Evidence of the first Korean New Year can be found in a document titled Samguk yusa. During the Japanese colonization of Korea, Seollal was prohibited from being celebrated, but then became an official holiday sometime between 1945 and 1950. Seollal is now recognized as a public holiday, and work is suspended until the holiday has ended.
Seollal is a time for family members to honor their ancestors and spend quality time together. Korean ancestors are honored during this time through special rituals, and families get the opportunity to enjoy games and food together. It is very common for Korean people to celebrate Seollal by playing a game of Yut Nori. Tteokguk, or rice cake soup, is typically eaten during Seollal, and it is believed that one will turn a year older after eating the soup.
Architecture
Korean architecture is characterized by naturalistic tendencies, simplicity, and economic feasibility of forms. Sharp angles, strong lines, steep planes, and brilliant colors are all avoided. It typically creates a quiet atmosphere.
Technology
Cellular phones
An estimated 98% of South Koreans own mobile phones and use them not only for calling and messaging but also for watching live TV, viewing websites and keeping track of their online gaming statuses. South Korean corporations include Samsung and LG.
Many South Korean phones feature TV broadcasting through Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB), which now carries seven TV channels. Over one million DMB receivers have been sold, and providers like KT and SK Telecom have provided coverage throughout many parts of major cities.
South Korea won the LG Mobile World Cup, a texting competition run by LG Electronics.
Video games
Online games Korea has many e-sports athletes. As perceptions of games have changed, the Korean game market has grown in size and popularized. Korean companies are expected to spur the mobile e-sports industry, or m-sports.
History Video games in South Korea have been growing in popularity since the mid-1980s, however it was not until the early 2000s that their popularity skyrocketed. Their sudden growth was due to immensely popular games, such as "Starcraft 2", "League Of Legends", and "Lineage II". Since then, the Gaming industry in South Korea has been steadily growing every year. Its projected market revenue for 2018 is US$10.5 billion.
Growth in popularity The introduction of those games in the early 2000s, as well as the introduction of several new international tournaments, like The World Cyber Games, Electronic Sports World Cup, and Major League Gaming, have allowed the video game industry to grow at a much faster rate. In these tournaments, competitive games would be played for large prizes, some being as much as US$1 million. The tournaments are very popular in South Korea, and attract a large viewership. Researchers have estimated that the eSports industry will reach US$1 billion in revenue by 2019.
PC bangs Video games are very popular in South Korea, but not everyone is able to afford the gaming PCs necessary to play popular games. These high upfront costs have led to the growth of the "PC bang" industry. Translated as "PC room", PC bangs are public cafés that let customers play popular PC games on powerful, high-end computers at a low cost per hour. There are currently around 25,000 PC bangs in South Korea alone, with hourly rates that ranged from $0.44 to $1.30 per hour . The success of this low-cost model has led to the rise of PC bangs as a popular hangout spot among students, and they generally serve as a place to meet people with similar gaming interests.
Addiction
As video gaming is becoming much more popular in South Korea, it also bring up worries of the welfare of the nation's youth. Video game addiction has been a concerning issue with in the South Korean government. Considerable amounts of funds have been invested into programs and campaigns to reduce this issue. One action that the government imposed was the "Shutdown Law". This law prevents anyone aged under 16 from playing online from times 10pm until 6am.
Popular media StarCraft, the PC real-time strategy game, was the most popular televised game in Korea. Games are often broadcast on TV stations such as MBCGame and Ongamenet. These tournaments are usually broadcast live and have sizable crowds while they are recorded at shopping malls like COEX, in southeast Seoul. Professional StarCraft players can command considerable salaries in Korea, and are usually noted celebrities, such as Lim "BoxeR" Yo-Hwan. In recent years, professional video gaming in South Korea has branched out away from just Starcraft into a variety of different titles, including Dota 2, League of Legends, Starcraft 2, Battle Ground, and Overwatch.
South Korean food and food culture
Korean food, or hansik, is characterized by a clear distinction between the main dish (rice, noodles, etc.) and the side dish (called banchan), diverse recipes, a balanced mix of animal and plant products, and fermented foods. The Korean people have also believed that food and medicine share the same origin, following the adage that "food is the best medicine."