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About Jirye Artists' Colony
Jirye Artists' Colony, owned
by Kim Won-gil, composed of
the traditional houses such
as his native house, a Confucian
learning-house, and an ancestral
worshipping house that had been
at the site of The colony
is the only example in Korea
that, taking advantage of old
houses for 'productive preservation',
is used for creation or research
for artists and scholars.
We often hear people say
about Korea as 'the land of
the morning calm.' However,
no place in the country other
than here can provide a truly
calm place where the environment
meets people friendly and where
people can meet people in a
peaceful atmosphere.
Traditional
Korean Lifestyle Harmonized
With Nature
By Cha Joon-yup Constributing
Writer
Jirye Artist Town. a 45-minute
drive mostly on an unpaved road
east of Andong City in Kyongsang-pukto,
is nestled in the midst of rich
mountainous flora and pristine
forests.
Overlooking the meandering
Naktong River, the town is deemed
as one of the very few ecological
habitats in the southern half
of the Korean peninsula.
Visitors to the town, located
exactly opposite the much-publicized
"Hahoe Maul", can
get a genuine taste of traditional
Korean living culture in harmony
with untainted nature.
The birth of the town traces
back to 1990, when a cluster
of traditional Korean houses
fo the "Kim" clan,
originating from Uisong in Kyonsang-pukto,
was threatened to become submerged
due to the construction of a
huge dam. Built in 1663, the
traditional Korean houses were
then located 200 meters below
the town.
Their move to the present
location was the fruit of lonely
but strenuous struggles fo five
years by Kim Won-gil, who gave
up his faculty seat at Andong
University to save them for
posterity as well as to use
them as a creative ground for
artists. He also intended to
help foreign tourists get in
touch with the genuine aspects
of traditional Korean culture.
The culturally rich houses
were relocated to the town shortly
before the dam's completion
in 1990.
Traditional Korean houses
called "Hanok" can
be easily assembled and dissembled.
Besides local visitors, foreign
tourists, mostly cultural and
anthropological scholars, occasionally
visit the town to appreciate
the history of the Land of the
Morning Calm and take a look
into the nature-friendly traditional
Korean living style.
Most of all, they are impressed
by ancestral family rites conducted
over 10 nights a year. They
are also allowed to taste and
take with them food offered
to ancestors after the rites.
The town will offer a camp
for teenagers, both local and
foreign, on Aug. 1~5, to give
them a chance to experience
traditional Korean living.
For further info on Jirye
Artist Town, visit the homepage(www.jirye.com)
of send an e-mail to (webmaster@jirye.com)
of call (016-502-2590)
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