The Korean Culture Notebook

Read a Jikji label in three parts: what the book contains, how it was printed and what each date means. This guide gives U.S. readers a practical worksheet for separating the 1377 printing date from the 2001 UNESCO registration year. Contents 1. Separate what the book says from how it was made 2. Printing year and registration year answer different questions 3. A worksheet for a museum or online collection visit 4. Questions first-time readers ask 1. Separate what the book says from how it was made Jikji is a useful starting point for reading Korean book history because a short label can contain several different kinds of information. UNESCO identifies the registered item as the second volume of an anthology of Buddhist Zen teachings compiled by Baegun in the late Goryeo period. It describes printing with movable metal type at Heungdeok-sa in Cheongju in July 1377. The teaching anthology is the content. Metal type is the production method. Cheongju is the place identified in that acco...