Episode 9: Korean UNESCO World Heritage Sites PT. 1 (한국 유네스코 세계문화유산)

안녕하세요, hello, so welcome to another episode of Learn Korean and Korean Culture. This week, we're going to be talking about Korean UNESCO World Heritage Sites. And this will be done in two parts, so we'll be discussing three particular sites today. And you know, these are very beautiful and very valuable to Koreans and Korean culture and our nation. So yeah, stay tuned if you'd like to learn more about these different sites and what makes them so beautiful and so valuable to us. Yeah, then let's get started. 그럼 시작합시다! And a quick reminder to follow along with a vocabulary list that's linked in the description below if you'd like to see what kind of vocabulary we'll be covering today. And also a quick reminder, if you are interested in making a donation, here is a link also in the description and all this donation will be used for us to help promote the podcast and to continue providing these episodes and resources for you guys. Yeah, then let's get started. So first, let's break the word down. 한국, UNESCO, 세계, 문화, 유산. So 한국 is Korea, UNESCO is UNESCO, 세계 means world, 문화, culture, and 유산 is like heritage sites. So 한국, UNESCO, 세계, 문화, 유산. So we'll be talking about the cultural heritage sites to, specific to Korean today. So the first of them is 석구란, 그리고 불국산. So 석구란 is a grotto, and 불국사 is a temple. And these are both located in 토함산. So 토함산 is a mountain. So 산 means mountain, so this is literally like 토함 mountain. So they're both in 토함산, and 신라시대, 불교유적이에요. So 신라시대, so 시대 means like a time period, and 신라시대 is like a synod dynasty in Korea, 불교유적, so 불교 is Buddhism, and 유적 is like artifacts. So 석구란 and 불국사, so this grotto and temple are both artifacts of Buddhism from this synod dynasty, from 신라시대, and there is a Buddha statue that's really famous because 불상 있어요, and 불상 means Buddha statue, and there's a picture of this actually in the vocabulary list if you'd like to take a look at that. So there's this great big 불상, this Buddha statue, and this statue is actually facing the sea, because 바다를 바라보고 있어요. So 바다 is ocean, 바라보다 is to like look at or like to face towards 있어요. So there's this beautiful temple and also this very famous 불상, this very famous statue of Buddha that is facing the sea, 그리고 불국사는 774년에 지었어요. So 774년 is the year of 774, 지었어요, so it's like to build. So this 불국사, this temple was actually built in the year of 774, which is obviously a really long time ago. So this is a really important artifact that tells us a lot about history and back in like the not even like the 1300s, like this is like more than a thousand years old. So it tells us a lot about like around then about the 신나다이너시, and this is designated a UNESCO World Heritage sites for a few reasons. So first, 첫 번째는 건축, 그리고 종교, 그리고 예술적인 가치. So 건축 is building, 종교 is religion, 예술적, so it's like arts, 예술적인 가치, so 가치 means value. So there's a lot of value in both the way it was built, 건축, and also its religious significance, 종교, and also 예술, so art, so how beautiful it is and the architecture that was used. So this site actually is known for its 독특한 건축미, 독특한, 독특하다 is like unique 건축미, that's like building style. So this grotto and temple is also known for its kind of unique building site. 그래서 이것들 덕분에 세계 문화 유산이 되었습니다. So thanks to all of this, it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. And you know, if you search up pictures or if you're looking at the vocabulary list, it's a very, very beautiful place, and there's, you know, it's in the middle of a mountain, so there is like nature, there's trees, flowers, and there's also this beautiful like architecture of this temple and this great statue of Buddha. So I would highly recommend visiting, you know, it has both like historical significance, it was built a very long time ago, and also religious significance, and it's also known for its very unique architecture. And this is something that I say that you need to go in person and really see, and you can't really appreciate the, how beautiful it is just from pictures. So if you ever go to Korea, consider dropping by to Tohamsan, where this is located, and you know, seeing what 척고람 and 불국사 are really like with your own eyes. And this next one is 조선광으릉. So that's the 조선 Royal Tombs. And this is something that I think is really underappreciated, and you know, when you look at the picture and the vocabulary list, you might be thinking that they just look like normal hills, you know, just grass and just like a bump in the ground. But they aren't hills and they're actually tombs. So you can actually walk inside of these. And that's where the bodies of the 조선 Royal Tea were laid to rest. 18개 지역에 흩어져 있어요. So 18개 지역, so 18 different regions, 흩어져 있다, spread out. So these Royal Tombs are spread out over 18 different areas. 그리고 오색이 걸쳐서 만들어졌어요. So 오색이 is like 500 years, five centuries 걸쳐서 만들어졌어요. So these Royal Tombs were all built over a period of 500 years, which is a lot of time. And you know, that's older than the United States. So again, these Royal Tombs also have a very large historical significance, especially concerning the 조선시대, that period of 조선. 그래서 조선시대 왕과 왕비를 묻었어요. So 왕 is king, 왕비 is queen. So 묻다 is like to bury. So you know, they would bury the kings and queens, the 왕과 왕비 in these Royal Tombs from the 조선 Dynasty. 그리고 조선 왕은 아름다운 자연 속에 있어요. So 아름다운, so beautiful, 자연 nature 속에 있어요. So it's within like very beautiful nature. And if you refer to the picture, you can see like there's grass and trees. So it's very, very beautiful, very peaceful. Last time I went, I remember we like just went on a walk throughout the tombs and visited some of them to see what it's like inside. And they've converted some of the tombs to be kind of like a museum style, where you can walk in and they have displays of explaining what this king or queen that was buried here and who they were and some of the artifacts from the 조선시대 that these royal people might have used. So yeah, it's really great. And if you're interested in kind of like the history of Korea, then I think this is a really great place to visit. So the last one that we will be talking about today is called 종묘. And 종묘 is located in Seoul, and Seoul is the capital city of South Korea. So what exactly is 종묘? 조선시대, 왕과 왕비를 위한 사당이에요. So during the 조선시대, during the period, time period of 조선, this was a shrine for deceased royalty. So like 왕 or 왕비, so like king or queen. And what's really special about this 종묘? 보존 상태가 우수해요. So 보존 is like preservation, 상태 is like state. So 보존 상태 is like the state of preservation. 우수해요. So 우수하다 is like to be amazing, like this 종묘 was preserved really, really well. And not only that, 중심 건물과 앞마당이 하나가 되는 게 특별해요. So 중심 건물, that's like the middle part of the building, the main part of the building, 앞마당, so 앞마당 is front yard, 하나가 되는 게, so they become one, 특별해요. It's unique, so it's special because it had a kind of different architecture for its time where the front yard and the main building would be connected and come together. And 종묘 is also really, really, really long, 아주 길다랑 건물이에요. So it's shaped a little bit differently and it's actually thought to be one of the longest buildings in Asia when it was built. And inside the 종묘, there are 방, so 방 is like room. So 방은 묘식이에요. So the rooms that were like used for like royal shrines and they would hold memorial service for dead royalty at these 종묘. And you know this 종묘 is located in Seoul, so the capital of Korea. And if you ever visit Seoul, which most people do if they visit Korea, you know you can consider dropping by 종묘 and you know they actually have like services of these, what these like memorial services look like. So they will hold these and if you go. So those are the three that will be covering this episode. And we'll go over a few more next time. And of course reminder to fill out the suggestions form if you have any suggestions for future podcast episodes. And we'll see you next week. 그럼 다음 주에 봅시다.