33 Keys to Decoding the Korean Wave, Hallyu 

#9 In the Land of the Morning Calm  

Korea Through the Lens of Abbot Norbert Weber (1925)

 

*한류를 이해하는 33가지 코드 #9 고요한 아침의 나라  <한국어 버전 Korean version> 

 http://www.nyculturebeat.com/index.php?mid=Focus&document_srl=4076436

“In the Land of the Morning Calm” (1927) directed by Abbott Norbert Weber (with Korean narration, St. Benedict Waegwan Abbey presentation) / Portrait of Abbot Norbert Weber

https://youtu.be/hSRcqbKzRUY

 

“When the Germanic peoples were still running around in the forest, Joseon was already a highly cultural people, and it was a country that invented the printing press long before Germany.”

 -Abbott Norbert Weber OSB (Order of Saint Benedict) (1870-1956)-

 

Abbott Norbert Weber from Germany, who was staying in Joseon during the Japanese colonial period, witnessed the beautiful culture of Koreans. He captured familialism and filial piety, funeral customs, exchange of labor, drinking and dancing, weaving, making earthenware jars and straw sandals, temples, and high education enthusiasm and even Hyehwa-dong wineries. The oldest film set in Korea, “In the Land of the Morning Calm” (1927), seems to foreshadow the K-Wave 100 years later.

 

 

“In the Land of the Morning Calm” (1927) directed by Abbott Norbert Weber (with Korean narration, St. Benedict Waegwan Abbey presentation) / Portrait of Abbot Norbert Weber  YouTube 

 

Peeking into an era, is there any art as vivid as a movie? The first Korean film was “Fight for Justice,” directed by Kim Do-san, produced in 1919 during the Japanese colonial period. The film has been lost, and the story is not known. The 1926 hit film “Arirang,” directed and starring Na Woon-gyu, also has unfortunately been lost. The oldest film that has survived in Korea is Ahn Jong-hwa’s “Crossroads of Youth” (1934), a silent film about the love, betrayal, and revenge of a brother and sister who moved to Seoul from the countryside. Sound films have been produced since 1935 in Korea.

 

However, a silent documentary film shot years before "Crossroads of Youth" exists as a crucial record of Korea's cultural and historical landscape. 

 

Abbott Norbert Weber (1870-1956) of the  Benedictine Congregation of St. Ottilien in Germany, visited Joseon in 1911 and 1925. During his first visit of four months, he recorded the culture and life of Joseon people with still cameras. After going back to Germany, he wrote two books about Korea titled “Im Lande der Morgenstill  / In the Land of the Morning Calm”(1915) and  “In den Diamantenbergen Koreas / In the Diamond Mountains of Korea,” 1927. 

 

In 1925, on his second visit, he returned to Joseon equipped with a 35mm movie camera. Weber traveled around Seoul, Mt. Geumgangsan, Wonsan, and Yeongil in the North for five months, and, like a cultural anthropologist, he recorded the lifestyle of Koreans, capturing images of their agriculture, customs, manners, and home craftsmanship and the missionary work of the priests, preserved in a 15,000-meter length film.

 

After returning to his Abbey in Germany, Weber edited his film to fit his book “In the Land of the Morning Calm.” The completed silent documentary film “In the Land of Morning Calm” was screened in over 100 theaters in 1927, including the Museum of Anthropology in Munich. After that, the film was apparently lost. Fifty years after the first screening, it was discovered by accident in 1977 during the construction of the basement of a monastery near Munich. During World War II, the Nazis had occupied St. Benedictine Abbey, but the film was unharmed.

 

 

“In the Land of the Morning Calm” (1927) directed by Norbert Weber, OSB (Korean version)

 

Director Abbott Norbert Weber’s documentary “In the Land of the Morning Calm” vividly captures Korea in 1925, preserving images of vanished sites such as Jangansa Temple in the Mt. Geumgangsan (burned during the Korean War), Dongsomun Gate and Baeogae Market (now Dongdaemun Market) (destroyed in the 1920s), as well as women weaving on looms, old men making straw sandals, people who enjoy dancing, and  missionaries recreating a traditional funeral with their own money. It includes various aspects of Koreans and Korean culture.

 

“In the Land of Morning Calm” was aired on KBS-TV with Korean commentary in February 2010 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Society of St. Benedict’s entry into Korea, and was released on DVD. It’s also available on YouTube.

 

 

Abbott Norbert Weber (left) with a missionary 

  

The Saint Benedictine Society is a men’s Christian religious Order that lives by praying and working according to the teachings of saints. It was first introduced to Korea in 1909. For missionary work, the Society established a monastery and a school in Hyehwa-dong, Seoul, and later founded a monastery in Wonsan and Yeongil in the Gando area to promote the religion. On the way home to Germany in 1925, Abbot Weber is said to have taken with him an album of the paintings of Gyeomjae Jeong Seon (1676-1759), the master of Joseon's true landscape painting.

 

Years passed, and in 1975, Professor Yoo Jun-young of Ewha Womans University, studying in Germany, wrote a thesis (Chong son, Ein Koreanischer Landschaftsmaler aus der Yi-Dynastie / a Korean landscape painter from the Yi Dynasty) on the album of paintings by Gyeomjae, which contributed to the return to Korea of the paintings as a permanent loan currently in the collection of the National Museum of Korea. 

 

The filmmaker and Abbott Norbert Weber, who warmly portrays the Korean people during the Japanese colonial period, passed away in 1956, spending his last years in Tanzania, Africa.

 

 

Joseon people in “In the Land of the Morning Calm” (1927) 

 

“In the Land of the Morning Calm” (1927) directed by Abbott Norbert Weber OSB

 

“I say ‘Taihan Manse!’ to this country that is disappearing. I say goodbye to this nation. As a nation, this country is falling apart. To this warm-hearted nation, I say goodbye over the waves. My feelings are complicated. It’s like burying a nation in a grave and returning home after leaving a funeral procession behind.” 1911

-Abbott Norbert Weber OSB- 

 

When Abbott Weber was leaving Joseon in 1911, he wrote this on the boat. On his first visit to Joseon, he went to Sincheon, Hwanghaedo, to visit the home of the independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun (1879-1910). Ahn died by hanging in 1910 after the assassination of Hirobumi Ito, the first Resident-General of Joeson, at Harbin Station, China, in 1909. Abbott Weber comforted the bereaved after Ahn’s death, and took some photos of them. 

 

 

“In the Land of the Morning Calm” (1927) directed by Abbott Norbert Weber OSB

 

In the documentary Webber draws a map of Korea and Italy on the blackboard, saying, “Joseon is similar to a peninsular country in Europe.” He was also fluent in Chinese characters. In 1925, the capital city of Seoul was crowded with streets, and Mt. Bukhan was a mountain rising in the clouds. He said “Koreans are a nation that dreams of entering into its splendor rather than conquering nature.”

 

 

 

“In the Land of the Morning Calm” (1927) directed by Abbott Norbert Weber OSB

 

The Abbot marveled at the abacus (Joopan in Korean) along with the scenery of Seoul Baeogae Market (now Dongdaemun Market). The abacus appears in even the smallest transactions. He called this abacus “a machine with secrets.” He paid attention to the high-class culture with the sharp wisdom of Koreans. Abacus, money, and stamps are examples.

 

He also paid attention to the spirit of Koreans. Weber was particularly fascinated by Korea’s beautiful tradition of filial piety. “According to a Confucian tradition that has lasted for more than a thousand years, submission, obedience,  and recognition of authority are what Koreans learn from their families from birth. Gratitude and respect for ancestors and adults is a part of life that deeply touched me. Humility is a good soil for Catholicism to take root.”

 

It was evaluated that rice farming is a high-level community culture that has matured through familialism and labor. Farmers dancing happily after harvest, swings at various holiday festivals, and yoot-nori  can be seen as a nation that enjoys drinking and dancing.

 

Abbott Weber explained the home manufacturing process in detail, saying that the pottery (hangari in Korean) during the Japanese colonial period was a “sacred relic of the persecution era.” In addition, the weaving process in which the wives made cloth with thread was shown in the documentary. 

 

 

 

“In the Land of the Morning Calm” (1927) directed by Abbott Norbert Weber OSB

 

He also showed the people’s keen interest in food, clothing and shelter in Joseon, comparing straw sandals (Jipsin in Korean), which were “people’s shoes” in Korea, with Japanese clogs (Geta in Japanese). Koreans wear straw sandals that fit their feet so that they can walk gracefully, while Japanese people force a slow gait that is dragged by wooden sandals hanging from a string between the toes. “Almost all Koreans know how to make their own sandals,” he said, impressed by the dexterity of Koreans.

 

Webber also praised the hanbok, Korean traditional clothing, worn by children. “It is a seductive dress as beautiful as a spring flower. The soft white of an anemone and the shy purple of violets are harmonious like red flowers in blue . It is a feast of colors that only the fresh energy and joy of spring can create by magic.”  

 

 

“In the Land of the Morning Calm” (1927) directed by Abbott Norbert Weber OSB

 

Although he was a Catholic priest who went to Korea to do missionary work, he gave a detailed introduction to Korea’s indigenous beliefs and Buddhism. Abbott Weber traveled to Mt. Geumgang and filmed Gwangmokcheonwang, Damuncheonwang, Jeungjangcheonwang, and Jigukcheonwang at the Daeungjeon Hall of Jangansa Temple, where the four kings guard the gates, and heard the monk’s sutra and the sound of bells. The Abbott confessed, “The elegant roof covering the altar, the portraits of the monks ... I have never felt so lacking and embarrassed anywhere in the world.”

 

He went to Baekhwaam Temple Cemetery, Maaebul Sambulam, and also met with Buddhist nuns who were practicing in seclusion. Then, he explained Korea’s Maitreya faith in connection with Catholic Messianic thought. He said, “The temples in Korea are beautiful and noble. Although Joseon was a Confucian country, I realized that Buddhism is much more powerful in my life. Buddhism has always been on the side of the people.” 

 

 

“In the Land of the Morning Calm” (1927) directed by Abbott Norbert Weber OSB

 

In a rural village, he found a Seonghwangdang with a sacred pile of stones and a tree dedicated to the village's guardian god, Seonang. Calling it 'miracle tree' and 'magic tree', Weber explained, "Folk beliefs teach that the root of all diseases is the devil."

 

In Korea, religion is closely related to death. Weber recreated Korean funeral customs in Hamgyeongdo. He wrote, “The elaborately constructed funeral process is a noble act to preserve the tradition of ancestor worship. Koreans wear mourning clothes for two years after the parents die.  “The heart that cares deeply for parents (hyosungsim in Korean) is an honorable national soul of Koreans, and beautiful customs must be protected,” he said, describing the funeral process in detail over 10 pages.

 

 

“In the Land of the Morning Calm” (1927) directed by Abbott Norbert Weber OSB

 

The Saint Benedictine priests believed that they should absorb the indigenous culture in Joseon. Weber deftly adapted to the Korean lifestyle of sitting crossed-legged (Korean aristocrats’ legs), eating spicy kimchi with chopsticks and drinking makgeolli (Korean rice wine), smoking the bitter Korean tobacco, and sleeping with his head on wooden pillow in a hot ondol (Korea underfloor heating system). 

 

The missionaries established Soonggong School as a technical academy to help Koreans overcome poverty during the Japanese colonial period. Catholicism, too, had to be a guide to escape from ignorance and poverty. The priests believed that the long-standing poverty of Koreans could be solved through labor, technology, and community.

 

 

“In the Land of the Morning Calm” (1927) directed by Abbott Norbert Weber OSB

 

It is surprising to discover that there was a winery in Seoul, as well. To make wine for Mass, Saint Benedictine missionaries brought grape seeds from Germany and they were planted on the hillside of Hyehwa-dong Monastery by missionary Eugenio, a gardener, in 1925. Germany’s representative wine is the white grape Riesling, but because it has to be red wine for Mass, was it Pinot Noir? The war destroyed not only Mt. Kumgang temple but also the vineyards. The priest also set up a horticultural training center at Soonggong School and taught agricultural techniques imported directly from Germany.

 

 

 

“In the Land of the Morning Calm” (1927) directed by Abbott Norbert Weber OSB

 

The St. Benedictine Order worked to improve the welfare of Koreans by establishing schools and hospitals. The documentary also features embroidery vocational training at an orphanage, sports day at Haesung Elementary School (an affiliated school in Wonsan), and students solving arithmetic problems in class. Abbott Weber confessed that he was deeply moved by Koreans’ high zeal for education. Through the missionary work of Abbott Nobert Weber and the Order of St. Benedict, the number of believers in Daemok-gu, Wonsan reached 14,000 in 1927. After the martyrdom of Korea’s first priest, St. Andrew Kim Taegon (1821-1846), the Benedictine missionaries planted the seeds of the gospel and bore the fruits of the mission. This would have been the guiding light and comfort of the Koreans during the Japanese colonial period. 

 

Remarkably, Abbot Norbert Weber appeared to have glimpsed traits that would later define the Korean Wave, long before most Koreans recognized their own cultural potential. His intellectual depth, sensitivity, and compassion for the Korean people and their culture remain extraordinary.

 

 

Sukie Park

A native Korean, Sukie Park studied journalism and film & theater in Seoul. She worked as a reporter with several Korean pop, cinema, photography and video magazines, as a writer at Korean radio (KBS-2FM 영화음악실) and television (MBC-TV 출발 비디오 여행) stations, and as a copywriter at a video company(대우 비디오). Since she moved to New York City, Sukie covered culture and travel for The Korea Daily of New York(뉴욕중앙일보) as a journalist. In 2012 she founded www.NYCultureBeat.com, a Korean language website about cultural events, food, wine, shopping, sightseeing, travel and people.

 

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33 Keys to Decoding the Korean Wave, Hallyu 

Beyond BTS, Parasite & Squid Game 

 

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