East Asia Culture of the Korean Peninsula

The inhabitants of the Korean peninsula developed their own distinctive culture under constant influence from other ethnic groups. Cultural elements adopted from Eastern Siberia in prehistoric times, and later from China, were reworked and domesticated to become distinctively Korean. The result is a culture with a level of integration rarely found elsewhere in the world. In modern times, Korea was colonized by Japan, then split in two after independence and rapidly modernized. In today’s world, Koreans are actively advancing into other parts of the world, and people of Korean descent can be found living outside Korea. Spiritual worlds, everyday life, recreation, and knowledge are the themes of this exhibit, which introduces the multilayered history and energetic character of this culture.