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The
Korean-Arts¡¯
Monthly* Newsletter
For January 19 2007
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Happy New Year from everyone at
Korean-Arts!
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New items:
Wood Business Card Cases
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We have recently added a new line of
lacquered wood business card cases with inlaid designs of flying cranes, the
symbol for immortality; wild orchids, plum blossoms and bamboo, symbols
representing the Four Gracious Plants in Korean lore, or more commonly known
as the four seasons in modern times. Plum blossoms represent
courage, the wild orchid stands for refinement, and bamboo represents
integrity. Read more about the four seasons symbols here! The boxes have the
designs inlaid into the lid and a lacquered finish
over rice paper that gives them a unique look. The inside is lined with felt
for an added touch of elegance. See
all the new card cases here or all our new items here!
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New Items: Stainless Business Card Cases
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Business card cases for people on the
go! These stainless steel cases come in four new designs including a pair of ducks
pictured to the right, which stands for the both a premiere ranking, and
happiness in marriage because ducks mate for life, a pair of peacocks design,
which also is a revered animal in Korea because they mate for life. The other
designs are the Four Gracious Plants
although
they are now more commonly called the four seasons, and include plum blossoms which represent courage, the orchid which stands for refinement,
chrysanthemums which are a sign of a productive, and fruitful life, and bamboo
which represents integrity. These symbols are believed to bring these
gracious qualities to the bearer of the card case as well. The final design
has the symbols for long life and happiness written in Chinese script which
was the sole writing system in Korea until the 15th
Century when King
Sejong invented the Korean alphabet.
The inside cover of the cases is polished stainless and doubles as a mirror. See
the new stainless card cases here or all our new items here!
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New Items: Jewelry
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This is the month of the wrap, a
necklace that is open on the ends and wraps around the neck to the desired
length. We have three new styles; the Mother
of Pearl Crystal Wrap to the left which has two discs of mother of pearl
and a bead necklace interspersed with colored synthetic crystals, the Black
Pearl Wrap, which has two discs of white-pearlescent mother of pearl, and
a necklace with pearls from shades of white to black, and the Agate
Butterfly Wrap with two butterflies made of agate on the ends and a
necklace of amethyst, green onyx and
other stones. See
them all here!
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 ¡¡Valentine¡¯s Day
Sale
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We have stocked up on our hearts, as
they always seem to be popular at this time of year, and put them on sale to
boot. All three of our heart-shaped pendants, three styles of couple¡¯s cups,
wedding couple dolls and our most popular items, the wedding ducks are on
sale at 25% off the regular price until February 14th. Supplies
may be limited so order early!
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Wedding ducks are not only popular at
weddings but after the wedding as well. They play an important part in the
Korean wedding ceremony and after the wedding,
the ducks are placed in a conspicuous place in the house, and their position
tells of the state of the relationship; nose to nose means things are peachy
and tail to tail means the couple is probably having a
tiff.
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We have heard rumors that wedding
couple dolls have a similar meaning but their positioning indicates a
somewhat more amorous intent, but we are not sure we believe it. In any case,
they are cute, and they are on sale as well. They make great wedding favors.
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Couple¡¯s Cups are a set of cups with one cup being slightly larger
for the man and the other, smaller and more dainty for the woman, a little
old fashioned perhaps, but cute nevertheless. See all our on sale items
here!
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Korea, and particularly
Seoul, is dynamic, there
is no doubt about it. When you walk around the city you can feel the energy,
we think even more so than many other large cities. Well, if the energy is
high on normal days, that energy is multiplied tenfold during the New Year¡¯s
Eve celebration. The New Year is an important time in Korea and Koreans celebrate the lunar New Year by braving gridlock traffic
to travel to their hometowns and gather with their families. The lunar New
Year changes each year on the solar calendar, and this year the holiday starts on February 17, New Year¡¯s day is on the 18th and the 19th
is a day off too. The solar New Year, on the other hand, is celebrated
with a little more vitality. Hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions,
of people, gather at Jong-gak,
the historic bell near the city center where pop concerts and shows are
performed all
evening until the midnight hour
when the mayor
of Seoul, rings the bell and by doing
so, rings in the New Year.
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We have been to Time¡¯s Square, we have
seen the fireworks exploding the length of the world¡¯s tallest building in
Taipei, but none of those compare to the scene at Jong-gak at midnight on December 31st.
Virtually every person has a roman candle, which are sold by the armload all
along the streets, and as the hour
approaches more and more people begin firing them. At exactly midnight, the sky is aflame
with fireworks, the air is thick with smoke and the
result is
the most spectacular fireworks display you are likely to ever
see. We wear hats and protective glasses and recommend you do the same should
you go. If you happen to be in Seoul near the end of the year, it is a show that should not
be missed. If you cannot make it, check out the video. It is a bit on the
large side at 6.5mb but only takes about 10 seconds to
download on a
high speed connection - Korea has the highest
speed broadband connections in the world so we are a bit spoiled. For those with a dialup connection it may take too long to
download. View
the video here – enjoy!
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Sincerely
The Korean-Arts staff
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*Generally, we send a newsletter
every month, but may delay it until we have new items or specials.
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2002-2007 Korean-Arts.com All rights reserved.
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