KOREAN ART

visual art produced on the Korean peninsula and traditionally characterized by simplicity, spontaneity, and naturalism. A number of artifacts, including pottery and bronze and iron objects, indicate the early influence of China on Korean art. There is also evidence that Scythian, Siberian, and other non-Chinese cultures had an effect on the design and decoration of certain objects. The long history of continual Chinese influence on Korean culture began with the establishment in 108 BC of Chinese colonies in northwest Korea, the best known of which, Lolang, was the centre from which advanced techniques in pottery making and iron smelting spread throughout the peninsula. The first major period of Korean art during recorded history is that of the Three Kingdoms (c. 57 BCAD 668). Northernmost of the Three Kingdoms was the Koguryo kingdom (37 BCAD 668), into which the Buddhist religion was introduced from China in AD 372. This development (together with the subsequent conversion to Buddhism of the Paekche [18 BCAD 660] and Silla [57 BCAD 668] kingdoms) brought about a flowering of the arts on the Korean Peninsula, and, until the 15th century, Buddhism remained the major source of inspiration in Korean visual art. Except for several small Buddhist images, little remains of the religious art of Koguryo. A number of striking polychrome wall paintings that are from the Koguryo kingdom exhibit a dynamism unique to Asian art of this early period. The Paekche kingdom, which also produced notable tomb paintings, was first to use granite in the construction of pagodas. Three stone pagodas from this period still stand. Paekche also produced the most naturalistic and most typically Korean buddhas of the period, characterized by what has come to be known as the Paekche smile. The representative arts of the Silla kingdom in the southeast are the decorative arts (particularly jewelry and royal regalia) and a hard, grayish, unglazed stoneware that is entirely Korean in style. The combined forces of the Silla king and the Chinese emperor brought down the Paekche (660) and Koguryo (668) kingdoms, ushering in the era that came to be known as the Unified, or Great, Silla period (668935). One consequence of Silla ascendency was that the centre of artistic development moved to the southeastern portion of the peninsula. Granite pagodas, typified by the well-preserved Pulguk Temple east of Kyongju, were built throughout the region. Sculpture, also of granite, reached its peak of naturalism in the early 8th century; thereafter its quality declined. Four extant cast-bronze bells and many other bronze objects of this period reveal that bronzework was also of outstanding quality during the Unified Silla. Architecture, sculpture, and painting that was produced during the Koryo period (9181392) largely reflect the styles that were current in the Chinese Sung dynasty (9601279), and most of the art of this period is considered to be inferior to that of the Unified Silla. Notable exceptions include exotic theatrical masks, printed books (chiefly Buddhist texts) of unexcelled quality, and porcelain with a celadon glaze. The first period of Koryo celadon (10501150) is characterized by a concern with the depth of the secret celadon colour, a greenish blue with a deep, lustrous tone. The Sung regarded the Korean mastery of celadon glaze as one of the 10 best things in the world. From 1150 to 1250, Korean potters further perfected a remarkable technique of inlaid celadon that was unique to Korean pottery of the 12th to the 15th century. The development of inlaid lacquerwareactually a polish-expose techniquealso took place during the late Koryo period, as did the creation of some outstanding bronze censers and mirrors. The renewal of the arts that occurred during the Choson (Yi) period (13921910) was due in part to the spread of Confucianism. Decorative arts in particular reveal a more spontaneous, indigenous decorative sense than do those of the Koryo period. Many buildings of the Choson period remain standing, the largest of which is the Kyongbok Palace in Seoul. Paintings of the Choson period largely imitate northern Chinese painting styles. Certain painters, however, did attempt to develop a distinctly Korean approach, using non-Chinese techniques and taking Korean landscapes and genre scenes as their subjects. Decorative arts, especially the making of pottery and porcelain, flourished during the Choson period. Punch'ong potterya simplified form of slip-decorated celadonwas in great demand by Japanese masters of the tea ceremony. During the 15th century, white porcelain became popular among Koreans for daily use as well as for Confucian rites and ancestor worship. Near the end of the Choson period, Western and Japanese influences were becoming more evident. The Japanese occupation of Korea (191045) had a profound impact on all of the Korean visual arts, and after 1945 many of the traditional media for the visual arts vanished into an increasingly international style.