Essay on The Differences between Saudi Arabia and Korea in culture
Culture plays an important role in human life and life of society. Culture is a means of accumulation, storage and transmission of human experience. Individual becomes a personality and a member of society through socialization, ie mastering of knowledge, language, symbols, values, norms, customs and traditions of his social group, his people and all humanity. Culture brings people together, integrates them, and ensures the integrity of the community. Inhabitants of each country have their own culture, traditions, language, cuisine, art and clothing. Cultures of different countries such as Saudi Arabia and South Korea are very different, although they have a number of common features.
Korean society is based on the principles of Confucianism, an ethical system that has been developed in China in 500 BC. One of the main principles of Confucianism is the principle of respect – for parents, family, friends and those who have power. Confucius also attached great importance to the ideas of justice, peace, education, reform and humanism (Rones, 2008). Many Koreans believe that extraordinary success of their country in the last decade is due to such attitude towards life. In modern Korean society, Confucianism is most obvious in the relationship between people. Five Relationships rules prescribe certain standards of behavior between ruler and patrial, father and son, husband and wife, old and young, and between friends.
Culture of Saudi Arabia is inextricably linked to Islam, as the two main shrines of Islam are situated here. Islam is a belief in one God and the Koran obliges people to serve the Lord. Five times a day Muslims pray, obeying the call of muezzin from minaret. Following another religion, dissemination of other religious literature, building churches, Buddhist temples or synagogues are prohibited (Long, 2005).
Islam prohibits consumption of pork and alcohol. Traditional foods include grilled chicken, falafel, shawarma, kebab, Koussa mahshi (stuffed zucchini) and unleavened bread – hubz. Almost all the dishes are full of spices. Coffee and tea are among the favorite drinks of Arabs. Their drinking is often ceremonial. Arabs drink black tea with the addition of various herbs. Arabic coffee is famous for its traditional stronghold. It is drunk with small cups, often with the addition of cardamom (Harwood, 1978).
The main Korean dish is rice, which goes with a variety of other dishes of vegetables, fish, seafood, soy, herbs and roots and flour products. A special place is taken by soups, often with pork, chicken, fish and cabbage with a lot of spices (Koreans, like Arabs, prefer spicy food, so there is red pepper in all their dishes). Soup is goes almost with any meal. Koreans also like meat. Today, pork and beef are the most popular among Koreans. Sea fish and other seafood are an integral part of cuisine of South Korea. They eat squid, seaweed, shells, crabs, sea cucumbers, etc.
Initially, Korean art was strongly influenced by Buddhism and Confucianism, the reflection of which can be found in traditional Korean paintings, sculptures, ceramics and porcelains, as well as in performing arts – Korean tea ceremony, Korean dance puchhechhum and “Korean opera” pansori. Traditional music is very similar to the Japanese and Chinese, with a predominance of stringed instruments. The main genres are folk music and Jonggak minsogak. There are many types of folk dances, like dancing to drum (Mugo – lively, mobile pair dance, during which participants keep drums in the neck), mask dances (talchum), dances of monks (seungmu) and spiritual cleansing dances (salpuri).
The situation with music in Saudi Arabia is very different from Korea. Its development in the past decades as a means of artistic expression was negated by the ban imposed by the Council of Ulema for its performance in the entertainment purposes. There are not many performers of folk music and songs, and all of them are men. Among the most famous music artists we can name the first pop star of Saudi Arabia Abdul Majid-Abdallah and oud virtuoso (ud) Abadi Al Johar (Long, 2005). Egyptian pop music is popular in the country. The same strict ban is imposed on the images of human faces and figures in painting and sculpture, although it does not concern photograph. Art searches are limited to creating architectural ornaments such as friezes and mosaics, including traditional forms of Islamic art.
In contrast to Saudi Arabia, fine arts are well developed in South Korea. In traditional painting we can see strong Chinese motives and elements of calligraphy, the most important feature in which are lines drawn with a brush. Most traditional sculpture is Buddhist, including statues and ornaments of pagoda. Shamanists have created wonderful pieces of woodcarving. In Seoul, there are several parks with artistic sculptures, in which modern sculptors exhibit their work. In Seoul, you can also see examples of modern and traditional architecture, including the city gates and the Chosun era Dzheongbokgung Palace (Russell, 2012).
The most important work of Korean literature is Samguk Yuza, written in the 12th century by monk Illion. Modern literature has dissident hue, many works are written by opposition-minded students and supporters of the environmental movement in Thai style. Koreans consider their language as an art form and are very proud of their font, Hangeul (Bleiker, 2002).
In turn, Saudi Arabia has no literary tradition, comparable with the traditions of the Arab countries of the Mediterranean. Perhaps the only known Saudi writers are historians of the late 19th century, the most famous of which is Uthman ibn Bishr. Lack of literary traditions in Saudi Arabia is partly offset by deep-rooted tradition of oral poetry and prose, dating back to pre-Islamic times.
The clothes of Saudis embrace national traditions and canons of Islam, avoiding excessive frankness. Clothing here is quite practical and meets all requirements of Islam. Usually men wear long shirts of wool and cotton (tavb) with Guthrie (cotton wrapped around the head). In those rare days when it is cool, men wear a cloak of camel’s hair. Women wear clothing decorated with folk ornaments and decorations made of coins, beads and pottery. Unfortunately, only members of their families may see women in all their beauty, as when women go out, they wear a black cloak and a veil to protect their modesty (Akers, 2007).
For millennia, hanbok is traditional Korean clothing. Beauty and grace of Korean culture is transmitted to the fine photos of Korean women dressed in hanbok. Before the advent of Western-style clothing in Korea about 100 years ago, hanbok was everyday attire for Koreans. Men wore jeogori (jacket) and pachzhi (pants), women’s clothes was chogornn chima (skirt). Nowadays, hanbok is worn only in solemn and public holidays, such as the wedding day, Sollal (Lunar New Year) and Chuseok (Harvest Day) (Young-Sub, 1998).
So, culture, concentrating the best social experience of many generations of people, acquires the ability to accumulate a wealth of knowledge about the world and thereby create opportunities for learning and mastering it. Society is as intellectually developed, as how fully it uses rich knowledge contained in the cultural gene pool of humanity. Culture of Saudi Arabia and South Korea are very different due to different history and influence of different religions, but universal values are inherent in both cultures.
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