심포지엄 한국미의 심층 구조 : 한국 전통미학사상의 구조 = The Structure of Korean Traditional Aesthetic Thoughts

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Is there Korean aesthetics, indeed? If there is, in what sense does it exist? And what is its content? We have not considered seriously on these questions. We could raise the similar question as following: What makes arts to become worthy of Korean art? It is not easy to explain the basis which makes any work of art as Korean art. If it is Korean art, it is obvious that the style should have a continuity with the Korean artistic tradition historically, and that the maker should be conscious of this continuity above a certain level in his process of production. Aesthetic thought is the manifestation of human spirit, and the history of aesthetics develops connecting with the politics, society, culture and religion which shapes the world view of each period. Korean traditional thoughts are basically Shamanism, Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism. Accordingly, the contents of Korean traditional aesthetics are divided into Shamanistic, Buddhistic, Confucianistic and Taoistic aesthetics. Nobody doubt on the value and vitality of Korean aesthetics. But it is not suitable to insist that we should find necessarily the uniqueness and exclusiveness of Korean elements. Such insistence comes near bring into being the narrow-minded nationalism and distorts our view of world. It is important for us to understand and evaluate the aesthetic achievements of our ancestor in the historical context. Moreover, we should recognize and elucidate that our aesthetic tradition is closely connected with the generality and universality of aesthetics. Korean aesthetics is necessarily defined and influenced by its cultural context, so we should inspire the vividness into it by aiming at the higher universal validity. We could indicate a few of traits of Korean traditional aesthetics as follows. Firstly, it lays stress on the inner beauty of mind rather than sensual beauty of appearance. Secondly, Korean aesthetic consciousness tend toward the beauty of simplicity, plainness and lightness, different from gorgeousness, magnificence and extravagance. Thirdly, the value of beauty and art is considered as its practical role for the contribution in human life, not for self-satisfaction of the artist or appreciator.