1) Traditional Korean house

Korean houses use an underfloor heating system called "ondol" which keeps the floor warm so that residents can spend the long winter days inside when the wind is cold and snow falls. Koreans also use "maru", a wooden floor outside the rooms, to spend the summer when it is hot, humid and rain falls. The "ondol" system was developed in cold northern regions, the "maru" in hot southern regions. Koreans today still sit on the floor when they are at home. The materials used to build traditional Korean houses are wood, earth and stone, all easily found in nature. The house structure and the roof is usually made of wood, but grass (straw-thatched roof house) or baked eaves (eave-tiled house) are used to cover the roof. The walls and floors are built with a mixture of earth and stones, and the floors are covered with clay and layers of paper pasted on the surface.

* In selecting the site for a house, Koreans usually chose a spot where the cold wind from the north could be blocked, and in southern regions, places where it was easy to farm. Koreans usually preferred houses facing south, and accordingly, they installed the front gate on the southern side of the house, built a low fence around it, and planted nut or fruit trees in the yard.

2)Straw-thatched roof houses

Once a year after the harvest, villagers used to work together to weave straw thatching to be placed over the roof. During winter, they lit a fire in the fireplace, and mainly spent the time indoors, and on the cool "maru" during summer. They mainly sat on the floor, and guests were taken to the "sarangbang", the male quarters or a reception room for entertaining male guests. It was customary for the owner of the house to sit on the lower side of the room and the guest on the upper side. Since Korea has been a farming nation for a long time, farming houses usually had "sarangbang", an inner room or women's room called "anbang", a terrace for keeping soy sauce crocks, a well, a stable, a pig sty, a hen house and a dog kennel. In a corner of the yard was the outdoor privy, and a compost corner for keeping the fertilizer and compost to be laid on rice paddies and fields. The inner room for the lady of the house and children, the men's room, and the kitchen usually come to view when one steps into the yard through the front gate.

3)Eave-tiled roof houses

Eave-tiled roof houses, so-called due to the presence of eave tiles on the roof, were built by prosperous people. As in thatched houses, there was always a terrace for keeping soy sauce crocks, a well, a stable, a pig sty, a hen house and a dog kennel, and in a corner of the yard, the outdoor privy and compost corner. The difference was that the inner room and the men's room were not built under the same roof; the inner quarters for women and children, and the male quarters called "sarangch'ae" were built separately, resembling two houses in a single yard. People serving in high government positions also had an ancestral tablet hall called "sadang" in their homes. Bigger houses sometimes boasted as many as 99 rooms.

1) Women's Hanbok

The Korean costume is called "hanbok". Have you ever worn hanbok before? Do you have one at home? Then take it out and place it on the floor.

Hanbok, when spread widely on the floor, has no parts that crinkle. That's because the cloth width produced during the manufacturing process is used intact, and sewn in the form of a plane in an effort not to waste an inch of the cloth.

Another difference between hanbok and Western attire is that hanbok has no measurements. It is produced in a loose form, styled with pleats and tied with a string so that both large and thin people can wear it. It is also comfortable to move in since it does not fit tightly.

Men's Hanbok

Men also have to wear a variety of clothing: "paji" or loose, baggy trousers, a vest over a jacket, then an outer coat called "magoja", finally "turumagi", the top coat if it is winter..

Now, let's take a look at how the trousers are worn and how "taenim", or knots are tied around the ankles to fasten the bottom of the trousers.

One should take care not to wear the pants backwards since it is easy to confuse the front with the back. The larger of the four pieces of cloth ???applied on the trousers should be downward, if worn properly. Now, fold the surplus cloth at the waist from right to left, and tie it with the waist band. Fold down the ends of the band which stick up.

To tie the knots around the ankles, first press the hem of the trousers against the inner anklebone, and pull it outward. Wrap the hem around the ankle. The hem should encircle the ankle, coming to rest against the outer anklebone when finished. Wrap the knots around the ankle twice, and tie them in the form of a butterfly against the inner anklebone.

1) Story of Dan-gun

In the ancient past, the God of All and ruler of Heaven had a wise son called Hwan-ung. One day, the prince beseeched his father, "Please let me go and rule over that beautiful land down there." The king granted his son's wish, and allowed him to descend to earth with three Heavenly Seals and 3,000 celestial helpers. Hwan-ung descended from Heaven to a birch tree on Mt. T'aebaek and became the king of the land. There were also three ministers serving the king: the minister of wind P'ungbaek, the minister of rain Usa, and the minister of clouds Unsa. The three ministers, with the help of 360 officials, educated the people in the ways of farming, medicine, weaving, fishing and judging between good and evil.

In a cave next to the birch tree lived a bear and a tiger who wished to become human. Hwan-ung was moved by their ardent prayers, and decided to help them. "Do you really wish to turn into a human being?" he asked.

"We will do anything to make that happen." "It will not be an easy task, turning into a human!" King Hwan-ung said. "We promise to endure any hardship," the two beasts answered. King Hwan-ung gave them both 20 barrels of garlic and five bundles of mugwort, saying, "Don't look at the sun for 100 days, and you will become human when you have eaten all of the sacred food." The bear and tiger took the garlic and mugwort, and retreated to the cave.

In a cave next to the birch tree lived a bear and a tiger who wished to become human. Hwan-ung was moved by their ardent prayers, and decided to help them. "Do you really wish to turn into a human being?" he asked.

"We will do anything to make that happen." "It will not be an easy task, turning into a human!" King Hwan-ung said. "We promise to endure any hardship," the two beasts answered. King Hwan-ung gave them both 20 barrels of garlic and five bundles of mugwort, saying, "Don't look at the sun for 100 days, and you will become human when you have eaten all of the sacred food." The bear and tiger took the garlic and mugwort, and retreated to the cave.

The bear, however, followed the king's instructions faithfully. When the 100th day arrived, the bear was transformed into a beautiful woman. She married the king and had a son, Tan-gun, who later became the founder of Korea. Tan-gun, who grew up to be a wise and powerful young man, built an altar on top of Mt. Mani on Kanghwa Island and performed a ritual to God. He also asked his father, "I wish to create a new nation of people called Paedal." The king allowed Tan-gun to become the ruler of a new nation. Tan-gun, with many followers, left his father's castle and journeyed south along the Taedong River in search of a new land. He designated today's P'yongyang as the capital, and called it Wangkum Castle. The nation, called Tan-gun, continued to exist peacefully for 2,300 years.

2) The sun and the moon

Once upon a time, there was a brother and a sister who lived with their mother in an isolated house deep in the mountains. One day, the mother went to work in a village beyond the mountains, and received rice cakes in return for her labor. She was crossing over the valleys when a large tiger suddenly appeared before her. "Errr! What is that you're carrying on your head?" "They are rice cakes for my children at home." "I will not eat you if you give me one!" So the mother threw him a rice cake.

The tiger continued to eat the rice cakes one by one, and in the end ate the mother as well. The tiger was still hungry, however. It put on the mother's jacket and skirt, and went to find the isolated house in the mountains to eat her children. The children, unaware of the unfortunate fate of their mother, were wondering why she was so late. They became anxious, locked the door, and waited silently. Then the tiger knocked on the door. "Children, mummy's home! Open the door!" But it was not the voice of their mother. "That's not my mother's voice! Push your hand inside the key hole!" said the brother, becoming suspicious. The tiger pushed a paw inside. The paw was hairy and had long nails like a sharp rake.

"Mummy, I want some water," the brother said, peeping out through a crack in the door. "Gosh, look at that! I can see a tail." The brother and sister realized it was a tiger impersonating their mother. Scared, they sneaked out through the back door, and climbed up a large tree by the well. The tiger broke down the door, and jumped into the room. "Now, where did they run to? Errr!" The tiger went to look for them, and saw the children reflected on the well water. He stuck out his tongue, trying to gulp the reflection of the children. The sister found it very funny, and laughed loudly. At the sound of her laughter, the tiger looked up and found the children up on the tree. "Children, children, how did you get up there?" "We greased the tree with sesame oil and climbed up." The foolish tiger took sesame oil from the house, and applied it on the tree and tried to climb, but of course, he kept sliding down. "Children, children, how did you really get up there?" "We used an ax as a step!" The younger sister said, with a giggle .

The tiger then brought an ax, and used it to climb up the tree. As he came near, the two children prayed to God. "Please god, let down a metal rope if you want to save us, and a rotten straw rope if you would have us dead!" In answer, God sent down a metal rope. The two children climbed up the metal rope to Heaven. The tiger, in his haste, prayed for the wrong thing. "Please God, let down a rotten straw rope if you want to save me, and a metal rope if you would have me dead!" In answer, a rope came down from the sky. "There it is," the tiger said, and grabbed the rope to climb up. The rope broke midway, and the tiger fell onto a millet field and died. The millet is bright red in color today, stained with the tiger's blood which sprouted when it fell down to earth. God told the two children who had reached Heaven, "The brother is to become the sun and the sister the moon to shine over the world." "But I am a girl and frightened of the dark, so please let me shine during the day," the sister said. God granted her wish, and turned her into the sun to shine over the world during the day.

We will compare and contrast between the traditional table manners and the modern table manners. Traditionally, the males were served their meals first. It was also the females job to cook and set the tables.
Females would sit by their husbands to make sure that they had everything they needed for a pleasant meal. Only after husband is finished, then can the female and her children eat.
The table manners have changed a great deal from this tradition to a more modern tradition.
Presently, all the family members eat together at the same time. It is not unusual to see everyone help out. This even includes the husband.
There is one tradition which has not changed. This is that the oldest person starts the meal first. In this case, the rest of the family can only eat after the oldest person has eaten a spoonful.
A major difference between Korean and Western table manners is that there is rarely any conversations during meals.
There are instances where a person will eat loudly to show that the food is prepared well. It is interesting to not that this in not considered to be rude.
it is considered to be rude if one leaves the table before the elder finishes. Staying put until the oldest person is finished is considered a basic concept of Korean table manners.
Contrary to the western style of eating cakes or ice cream, Koreans enjoy seasonal fruits.