□ The National Folk Museum of Korea (Director: Shin, Kwang Seop) published the English version of "Encyclopedia of Korean Seasonal Customs" as an attempt to promote the Korean folk culture.
Symbol of the Korean Folk Culture, Seasonal Customs translated in English

□ The publication of "Encyclopedia of Korean Seasonal Customs" English version began with the publication of the Korean version. "Encyclopedia of Korean Seasonal Customs" in Korean was originally published from 2004 to 2007 in 6 volumes consisting of the first lunar month, spring, summer, autumn, winter and index covering the seasonal customs symbolizing the Korean folk culture. With 2,267 headwords, "Encyclopedia of Korean Seasonal Customs" is truly a specialized encyclopedia on the Korean folk culture. The newly published printed edition of the encyclopedia is the result of revised and edited content from 2,267 headwords down to 230 words with 650 photographs for an easier access for the international audience. Timothy Tangherlini (UCLA) and Chae Ria (Seoul National University) took the responsibility of English editing.

□ "Encyclopedia of Korean Seasonal Customs" follows the yearly cycle of the Korean seasonal customs and chapters are largely divided into spring, summer, autumn and winter with corresponding seasonal holidays and terms for each lunar month. Also, for the user's convenience, the sections on how to use the encyclopedia, sample page, headword notation and index are reinforced. By marking the headword and the index in English, Korean and Chinese characters, the inquiring headword can be searched more efficiently using different methods.
Korean Seasonal Customs, Strength of Korea and Korean

□ The deepest strength of a country is in its culture. Korea's economic and technological advances are widely recognized in the world. However, the true strength of Korea, the Korean culture, especially the folk culture of the ordinary people is not yet well known. In case of the Korean cultural centers abroad, publications to promote Korea are limited to mostly about the information on travel, national treasure and general culture. It is difficult to find a publication in English to aid a thorough understanding of the Korean folk culture. Therefore, the National Folk Museum of Korea decided to create the English version of "Encyclopedia of Korean Seasonal Customs" to promote the true strength of Korea, 'the culture of Korea'. This encyclopedia will also play an important role in comprehending the Korean culture as a part of the two-way communication in the multi-cultural society. As the world audience begins to understand the Korean culture, the status of Korea is also expected to rise.

□ Korean seasonal custom is the strength of Korea and Korean. Up till 1960's, the center of one's livelihood was the agriculture. Korean seasonal customs refer to various rituals and games taking place in a farming or a fishing community, wishing for peace and prosperity by a family or a village on the lunar seasonal holidays and terms. Seasonal customs can be understood as the cultural phenomenon of Korean's unique way to overcome adversities in life. Through the communal rituals and games, a family or a village could share the hardship of the labor and strengthen the solidarity. Also, the farming technique utilizing the season and the seasonal term shows the conscious effort to coexist with the nature. In such ways, the communal culture and the harmonious coexistence with the nature became the strength of Korea and Korean of today.
Continuous Publication of Encyclopedia in English

□ "Encyclopedia of Korean Seasonal Customs" is the first volume of "Encyclopedia of Korean Folklore and Traditional Culture". Prior to the printed edition, in December 2009, the English web edition of "Encyclopedia of Korean Seasonal Customs" (http://folkency.nfm.go.kr/eng) began its service for the wider audience.

□ The National Folk Museum of Korea is currently in the process of publishing "Encyclopedia of Korean Culture and Traditional Culture" (8 volumes in total). Following the publication of "Encyclopedia of Korean Seasonal Customs", total of 7 volumes of encyclopedia of Korean folk religion, folk literature, rituals in one's life, food, clothing and shelter, livelihood techniques, folk art, folk society are in the plan to be published. The online edition of each encyclopedia is to progress in conjunction with the publication of the printed edition. By continuing the publication of the English version of encyclopedia of the Korean folk culture, it provides an opportunity to share and learn about the Korean folk culture with the rest of the world.

 □ For more information please contact An, Jeong-yun at Folk Research Division
 (☎ 02-3704-3202)

 □ http://www.nfm.go.kr/Data/daPub_view.nfm?seq=1120