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편집자 서평 (Editor’s Review)

전통의 가치 (Value of Traditional Culture)
세계적으로 인정 받은 과학적이고 독창적인 한국 문화지만, 우리 것이기에 당연하게 생각하고 미처 그 진정한 가치를 제대로 인식하지 못하는 경우가 많다. 그래서인지 막상 우리 것을 소개하게 되는 상황이 오면 난감해지곤 한다. 저자 배용준도 바로 그러한 상황에서 ‘우리 것’에 대해 무심했던 자신을 발견한다. 그렇게 ‘우리 것’의 진정한 가치를 찾아 떠나는 여정은 시작되었다.
Although Korean traditional culture is a world-recognized unique and scientific heritage, we often take it for granted just because it’s around us in our everyday routine. That might be the reason we can’t clearly introduce what it’s like to foreigners when we’re asked to do so. Bae Yong Joon also was in that position and came up with the idea of necessity to look further inside ultimate beauty of Korea.

안다는 것, 그것은 ‘미지의 것이 있다’는 것을 안다는 뜻도 된다. 알 수 없는 것, 미지의 것을 마음에 품고 살 때 그것이 얼마나 사람들에게 유익한가를 나는 알고 있다 그것은 사람을 순수하고 겸손하게 한다. 그리고 노력하게 하며 반짝이게 한다. 배움의 열의를 갖게 한다. 너무 많으면 바보가 되고, 너무 적으면 교만하게 만들지만 적당히 가지면 유익한 것이 바로 그 미지의 것이다. (p. 280)

To know something also means to know that some things are unknown. Never forgetting that some things are unknown or unknowable seems to be good for us. It makes us humble and pure. And it makes us try harder. It fills us with the desire to learn. Too much and we are made fools, too little and we are made arrogant. But in the right amount, the unknown can be good for us. (p. 280)

여행은 그것이 어떤 형태이든 우리를 성숙하게 한다. 여행을 통해 모르던 것도 알게 되고, 새로운 자신의 모습을 발견하기도 한다. 특히 무엇인가의 원류를 찾아간다는 것은 그것의 진정한 가치를 확인하여 깊이 있는 아름다움을 만끽할 수 있는 것이다. 그런 의미에서 한국 고유의 문화를 되짚어가는 이 여행은 한국 문화의 진정한 아름다움을 만날 수 있는 계기가 될 뿐 아니라 우리의 정신을 충만하게 채워주고 동시에 내면의 불필요한 요소를 비워내어 여유이라는 공간을 만들어 주면서 한 인간으로서 성장할 수 있는 기회를 제공한다. 오늘의 우리가 있기까지 과거의 흔적을 밟아가는 발걸음은 소박하면서도 정교한 한국의 문화 유산과 닮아 있다. 이 책은 눈에 보이기 때문에 아낌없는 찬사와 사랑을 받았던 유형 유물보다는 눈에 보이지 않는다는 이유로 그 모습이 점차 희미해지는 정신적 유산에 조금 더 집중한다. 김치도 담가보고 절밥도 먹어보며 우리 선조 대대로 전해 온 정신적 가치를 각각 자세한 과정을 소개하면서 전달하고자 하는 의도가 돋보인다.

Travelling helps us to become more mature beings. People get to know themselves better and figure out new things on the way. Especially, an attempt looking for origin gives us the chance to value the true beauty in itself. This journey for traditional culture supports to find real beauty of Korea. It fills in our sprit and empties our mind from abundance at the same time so we can stand on the firm ground as a whole. Every step Bae Yong Joon took to the past resembles Korean culture which implies rustic simplicity and exquisite taste. This book concentrated more to spiritual heritage than tangible assets. It is remarkable that Bae Yong Joon actually tried to make kimchi and had a meal at a temple to show how the process worked out.


일상의 아름다움 (Beauty of Daily Surroundings)
아시아의 큰 별로 우뚝 선 인기배우 배용준은 초심으로 돌아가 한 인간으로서 과거와 현재를 잇는 가교역할을 하고, 우리 전통 문화의 아름다움을 더 발전, 계승할 수 있는 계기를 만들고자 하는 바람을 이 책을 통해 구체화했다. 직접 찍은 사진들은 작가의 날카로운 시선과 풍부한 감성을 함께 보여주며 여정을 더욱 생동감 있게 전한다. 배우고자 하는 자세로 참여한 일련의 과정에서는 배용준의 따뜻하고 소탈한 면모를 찾아볼 수 있으며, 그 진지한 자세로 임하는 모습에서 책 후반에는 한 사람의 한국인으로서 부쩍 성장한 모습을 확인할 수 있다. 또한 작가는 자신의 알찬 경험을 함께하고자 여행한 루트를 책 후반에 담아놓았다.
이 책에서 눈에 띄는 점은 옷감을 염색하는 과정, 차를 덖는 과정, 도자기를 빗는 과정 그리고 술을 빚는 과정 등 우리가 쉽게 따라 하거나 심지어 관심을 가지는 것 조차도 어렵게 느껴지는 일련의 과정을 꼼꼼하게 기록해 놓았다는 것이다. 그것은 바로 ‘수박 겉핥기’식의 기행이 아닌 직접 배우고 체험한 흔적이자 독자로 하여금 진정한 아름다움의 깊이를 느낄 수 있도록 배려한 것이며 또한 희미해져 가는 전통 기법을 보전하고자 하는 일종의 사명감으로 해석할 수 있을 것이다. 덕분에 우리는 간접적으로나마 각 과정을 체험하고 그 아름다움을 진정으로 공감할 수 있게 된다.

Bae Yong Joon reified his wish to reconnect cultural beauty of past and present through this book. A Journey in Search of Korea’s Beauty vividly delivers photographs he took himself that show his accurate observation and fertile imagination. He devoted himself to every single step of the whole process with sincerity. In this book, you will see how different he seems at the end of his journey. It also includes routes he traveled, in his wish to share the experience and to promote cultural visits.
The very advantage of this book is that it contains whole process of certain parts of our heritage which cannot easily get attention nor be experienced around us. Bae Yong Joon put it on record for us to develop empathy with real beauty of cultural heritage and to preserve tradition. Thanks to his enthusiasm, we can indirectly experience the genuine beauty of Korea without actually having participated in the process.

좋은 책은 읽는 동안 독자가 작가와 함께 호흡하고 공감할 수 있고, 읽고 난 후에는 여운이 남아 독자의 생각과 마음을 움직이는 책이다. 이 책을 읽고 나니 당장 짐을 싸서 이 책을 가방에 넣고 떠나 동정춘 한 잔 하고 싶은 생각이 든다. 하지만 한편 굳이 떠나지 않더라도 주변 가까이에서 느낄 수 있는 많은 전통의 아름다움에 대해 이 책으로부터 배우기도 했다. <한국의 아름다움을 찾아 떠난 여행>은 가까이 있기에 소중함을 몰랐던, 내 삶 주변의 아름다움을 먼저 돌아보고 가치를 부여하는 계기가 되지 않을까 싶다.

Good books let readers follow and agree to the writer while reading. They also should linger in readers’ minds and encourage them to move forward after reading. Page after page, I was amazed how shallow my knowledge about Korea was and I definitely wanted to pack and leave for a cup of Donjeongchun right at the moment. But if you’re in Korea, take a good look around you before you leave and you’ll find something right there as well. I have learned that fact from A Journey in Search of Korea’s Beauty.

Foreword
Lee O-Young, Korea’s first Minister of Culture | Park Dong-chun, Research Institute of East Asian Tea Culture | Choe Kwang-shik, National Museum of Korea

The Journey Begins

Staying
01 Home Cooking | 02 Kimchi | 03 Hanbok and Housekeeping

Leaving
04 Black Lacquer | 05 Temple Stay | 06 Tea | 07 Pottery

Letting Go
08 Hwangnyongsa and Mireuksa Temple sites

Contemplating
09 Hangeul and King Sejong the Great | 10 Gyeongbokgung Palace and an Ancient Map of the Sky | 11 National Museum of Korea

Returning
12 Wine and Song | 13 Hanok

Leaving, Once Again
14 Landscape

Letters from the Road
Jeon Yong-bok, Iwayama Lacquer Art Museum | Venerable Jeongnim, Gilsangsa Temple |
Lee Hyo-jae, Hanbok ddesigner

The Journey Ends

Routes & Maps
Seoul | North Gyeongsang-do Province |
Gyeonggi-do and Gangwon-do Provinces | South Jeolla-do Province

TIP

- Staying
In this chapter, the author introduces Koreans’ staple food, including bap and kimchi, and emphasizes the beauty of hanbok, the traditional clothing, often quoted as beautiful lining. Not only that, he focuses on colors of the hanbok and guides the readers to the world of natural dyeing he has experienced.

When it comes to traditional culture, preserving it in its original form is important, but so too is using it in our daily lives. For that to happen, it has to become a toy?something that we use often and with pleasure. As Confucius wrote in The Analects, “Knowing something is not as good as taking pleasure in something.” In other words, rather than simply studying something, you should make it a part of your life and enjoy it daily. I think that even more than preserving, understanding and liking culture, we should first have fun with it. (p. 50)

- Leaving
Along with 10,000 year lasting lacquer craft and 1,000 year lasting hanji (the Korean traditional paper), we learn about traditional pottery making and about Buddhism that holds crucial part of Korean history. The writer meets artisans and monks to seek craftsmanship and courtesy that handed down through ages.

This is the first time I have ever tried writing a book. I have had my hand in every part of it, from preliminary research, field trips and photo shoots, to organizing the materials, preparing the manuscript and selecting the final photos. This project, with its tiny crew, feels completely different from the enormous production of a movie or television show. We pull over to take pictures wherever we feel like it, sleep crowded together in one room and help each other in the kitchen. We have become so close that we can tell what the other person wants just by the look in his eye, even with the staff members we hardly knew before the trip. And for every little bump along the road, there have been just as many beautiful moments. To travel truly is to take a journey?of getting to know yourself, of getting to know each other. (p. 114)

I hope Korea will become more widely recognized as a country with lots of healthy food. Because it is true. When we were little, we were told all the time by our mothers and grandmothers, “Eat it. It’s good for you.” Korean food is medicine. If someone were to ask me, “What do you think is Korean food’s competitive edge?” I would say, “It brings us closer to nature.” If we could create an image of Korea as a place where good ingredients and good food, healthful ingredients and healthful food, can be found anywhere, not only would our own lives improve, but more people from other countries would want to visit Korea to experience and learn about it for themselves. (p. 199)

- Letting Go
On an empty site, once enjoyed great honor of the great Kingdom, we reconsider past and present and make plans for future.

To see an ancient city is to be moved by its quiet beauty. There, one can escape the stress of the modern city with its sharp edges and enjoy the relaxed, peaceful pace of an older time. Cities are known for their enormous, splendid buildings that give free reign to ambition. But they can seem oppressive to those who live there. I think people become the center of attention only in a simple, restrained space. (p. 234)

I stood in the desolate field where all that remained was Hwangnyongsa’s foundation stones and was gripped by a sense of awe. The realization sunk in of the terrifying potential of human beings who cling all the more tenaciously the more barren things become. Perhaps technology in those days was better than we think, but I was still amazed by the willpower of those good men who fought to overcome so much adversity and uncertainty. (p. 240)

Unfledged yet Earnest Record of a Journey in Search of Korea’s Culture

Unfledged yet Earnest Record of a Journey in Search of Korea's Culture

"A Journey in Search of Korea's Beauty" was a yearlong project that Bae Yong Joon undertook in order to learn more about traditional Korean culture from the unfledged yet earnest point of view of one Korean, and to record in a down-to-earth way what he learned and felt in the process.He chose 13 subjects he has been interested in out of the traditional Korean culture and folded into six categories. This book is intended not only for foreign readers who would like to learn more about traditional Korean culture but do not have easy access to it, but also for Korean readers as well who are in search of this country's beauty.

<각 챕터별 간략 소개>
1. Staying: In this chapter, the author introduces Koreans' staple food, including bap and kimchi, and emphasizes the beauty of hanbok, the traditional clothing, often quoted as beautiful lining. Not only that, he focuses on colors of the hanbok and guides the readers to the world of natural dyeing he has experienced.

2. Leaving: Along with 10,000 year lasting lacquer craft and 1,000 year lasting hanji (the Korean traditional paper), we learn about traditional pottery making and about Buddhism that holds crucial part of Korean history. The writer meets artisans and monks to seek craftsmanship and courtesy that handed down through ages.

3. Letting Go: On an empty site, once enjoyed great honor of the great Kingdom, we reconsider past and present and make plans for future.

4. Contemplating: King Sejong the Great hoped for all the people to be able to read and write. We recollect dreaming King's invention, hanguel, and tangible assets from National Museum of Korea.

5. Returning: Compared to world famous wine, Korea's traditional wine takes no lower position. We take a look at traditional liquor and hanok, the traditional Korean housing which is built based upon human engineering.

6. Leaving, Once Again: The last chapter contains beautiful photographs taken by Bae Yong Joon during his journey.