한국문화소개 09

[inner culture : han vs. hwatbyung] As already mentioning han before, we need to know the differences of the concepts between han and hwatbyung.

Byung in Korea is disease. DIS+EASE. Something bothers you in your life: physically and mentally. In the case of Hwatbyung, it gnaws your body and spirits.

But when it comes to han, it can vary in intepretation from anger to sorrow; it can lead to hwatbyung or the supreme form, the pure essence of art named as katharsis of han. Hwatbyung is pathological but han can be changable into other affirmative & positive forms; mastering art and literature.

If you want to know more about this, I strongly recommend to watch the movie called Seopyunje. Seopyunje is the genre of Korea's traditional sound in the west-southern area of Korea while Dongpyunje is in east-southern. Seopyunje showcases traditional singer family lives while demonstrating the affection and influence of han all through two generations.

Based on the film of Seopyunje, fixed desire of han can make you down while you can live your life if you master your desires which could manipulate your purity, integrity, & sincerity or be manipulated by others' desires, which means our lives and desires are intangibly intermingled and strongly interconnected as karma(action) in the Buddhist term.

Sometimes han has continually stopped your life from going in the easy way, leading to your ending up with hwatbyung. Meanwhile you will be a struggling but steady han master in your life.

Like shame and guilt in psychology, han and hwatbyung are anti-active to each other and interdeveloping each other. Only the fixed mental stage of yours can risk and jeopardize your life.