Located in the southwest of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island is famous for its Hallasan, the highest mountain in South Korea, and its 360 Oreums, the world greatest colonies of parasitic volcanos spreading along the ridge, together with its superb na...
Located in the southwest of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island is famous for its Hallasan, the highest mountain in South Korea, and its 360 Oreums, the world greatest colonies of parasitic volcanos spreading along the ridge, together with its superb natural scenery that is composed of beautiful mountains and seas.
In recent times Jeju Island has been recognized by its unique island values of natural landscapes and therefore designated by UNESCO as a biosphere reserve, as a global geographic park, and as a world natural heritage, thus becoming a world popular tourist destination. In addition, connected with its world natural heritage, Olle Roads have formed islanders’ consensus and realized economic values.
From the aspect of geographical features, Jeju Island is a volcanic island formed through volcanic eruption and lava extrusion. Its land mainly consists of basalt and trachyte, and the rainwater coming down on it permeates through the ground and then gushes out on the seashore. And many blood vessel-like brooks are dry streams only flooding with a torrential downpour and have caused a lot of troubles for farmers.
The wind blows violently and takes a heavy toll on crops. Stones are scattered all over the place, thus resulting in a barren and ironic environment for human beings. Located far away from the main land, this isolated island that is encircled by seas cannot but undergo many ups and downs by the high-handedness of settlers and foreigners, Mongol’s invasion and Japanese raiders’ pillage.
Jeju islanders have survived these harsh circumstances via their invincible spirits, built their lives on the basis of their unique three nothing principles Such Jeju islanders’ unique spirits as no thiefs, no beggars and no gates.
, janang Thrifty living-oriented frugality.
spirit and labor exchange-based community culture, and expressed their elbow grease and hopes via the lyrics of work songs―a kind of folk songs.
Jeju’s unique geographic and environmental elements have created ‘bat ballineun sori’―a technique of primitive work songs―via its forefathers’ wisdom of life, thus making farming on the land possible by means of tramping its ddeun ddang Crispy volcanic ground with no soil consistency.
of volcano ash soil down hard by driving a herd of grazing horses and cattle to the field, in order for the seed sowed in the field not to be blown about. As a means of living, islanders have dived into the cold sea at the risk of their life and collected sea food, while singing ‘haenyeo (female diver) songs’ with which they could overcome the toughness of life.
Jeju islanders, who could not escape from ever-continuing work, have been very busy in cultivating a field, milling and diving into the sea as a female diver. In this course of life, they made work songs a part of their everyday routine and expressed their feelings via a same tune of diverse lyrics, thus creating many unique work songs.
In Jeju folk songs, there are all the things and aspects of Jeju islanders’ life on the whole, including such their primitive and unique modalities of living as natural characteristics, history, folklore, production, economy, society, religions and culture, together with their method of production and way of thinking.
Via making the lyrics of work songs an occasion of communication, Jeju islanders have given shapes to their individual life, such as their perception of songs, view of life, view of fate, poverty and property. At times, they have expressed their emotional aspects of life via monologue narrations.
Nature and daily routines have become the subject material of folk songs. Via the lyrics of work songs as a self-regulating function of purification and as a main body of spirits on which they could establish themselves firmly by making it a sense of moral norm-oriented self-esteem, they have comparatively projected their appearance of life into nature and then described it in a literary manner. In this vein, work songs seem to be orally transmitted literature which containing the literarily describing philosophy of life.
Different from other regions, Jeju islanders have carried out group work and fair distribution, based on labor exchange-based community culture, and there has been no division of work between man and woman and young and old. So women did what men had to do at times, and old persons did what young people had to do at other times. Different from other regions where such a customary family structure as the oldest son lives with and supports his parents exists, there was no prestige and subordination even between parents and children in Jeju Island. In this vein, even until today, old persons in Jeju Island do not depend upon their children and play the role of bread winner for themselves, Song Seong-dae, 『The Origin of Culture and Understanding of it』, Papyrus, 1997, p. 382.
as far as they can.
This study examined the transmission strategy of work songs in Jeju Island, which contained Jeju islanders’ identity and value, who rebuilt their lives via solid will and self-esteem under barren natural circumstances.
In this vein, this study suggests the consistency of policies and the necessity of systems, in order for the lyrics of work songs in Jeju Island, which composed of Jeju islanders’ way of living and unique language, to systematize its internal values that presenting Jeju islanders’ identity, and then create economic values as tradition-based traditional cultural contents, based on a spiritual/cultural value as a traditional cultural asset in Jeju Island, on a socioeconomic value as a natural asset-connected intangible cultural asset, on a intangible value of which scarcity disappearing, and on an external value as traditional method reproduction-oriented cultural contents that comprising tradition and modern in a manner of transcending time and space.
In addition, the investigator presents a strategy of not artificial but natural transmission through stepwise learning by linking it to regional infrastructure-based teaching hall lecture programs, Jeju Work Song Transmission Education Hall’s transmission education programs, and practical farming experience in Jeju Work Song Study Facility, in order for it to be firmly established as a universal culture everybody can enjoy.
Work songs in Jeju Island, which keep up a hub of culture in Jeju Island under its unique geographic conditions and then present Jeju islanders’ way of living on the whole, are traditional cultural assets consist of unique language of Jeju Island, have been orally transmitted via foregoer’s wisdom of life, and have the value of transmission. In today’s world, strategies of making the most of traditional subject material-based performing contents have been worked out via the network of communication.
If work songs in Jeju Island, which reflect Hallasan, a unique ecologic repository of Jeju Island, and such cultural elements as Jeju language―a spirit of Jeju Island, female divers and stony culture, Jeju gut and thatched houses in Jeju Island, and highlight forefathers’ life, are recreated as traditional cultural contents in connection to its natural heritages, it seems to be possible to transmit its original cultural values, realize tourism-oriented economic values, and materialize not artificial but natural transmission of unique traditional culture in Jeju Island, to future generations.