Review: Korean Works & Days

Korean Works & Days by Richard Rutt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Richard Rutt was a Catholic (and Anglican: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Rutt) priest who lived in Anjung, Korea, and in this book he recorded the village life he witnessed and which, unbeknownst to him (or maybe he had an inkling), would pretty much disappear within a few decades. 

This book, written in 1964, is choc full of many little tidbits about old Korean traditions and ways of life. Like how the older men would grow their pinky fingernails out, witnessing the exchange of poetry and wordplay (using Chinese characters). 

It also seems pretty critical of the "kye" rotating credit system, which is interesting since the last book I read about it (Yogong: Factory Girl) seemed to be in favor of it. 

Some other interesting points:

Hearing how Suwon was back then

"This is the kind of village where they understand all twelve flavours in an ox's head"

"On the 7th day of the 7th moon they celebrate the star Vega under the name of the Spinning Maiden" (this must be the Qixi festival)

"Chuseok's Korean name is Han-gawi" (I Never knew this)

"Like most Korean villages, ours has a chop-house run by a family of Shantung Chinese"

The festivals were fascinating, and probably don't exist anymore ("dance and wrestling festival")

No mentions of Taekwondo, but it mentions traditional Korean wrestling, which reminded me of Sumo wrestling (or more like Schwingen, as we had back in Switzerland)

He mentions a memorial for Sin Suk-chu, who I had never heard of before (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shin_Suk-ju)

"Korea knows no tea" - Interesting statement (p. 144)

The naming conventions are fascinating, and I don't remember encountering nearly this many issues in the 1990s (then again, I was in Seoul)

"I know a high school boy who did not even know his mother's surname until I told him" (p. 149)

One man refused to pronounce a certain character correctly because it was the personal name of the first King of the Joseon dynasty. 

Some books he mentions that I would like to read in the future:

J.R. Moose: "Village life in Korea" (1909)

J.S. Gale: "Korean sketches" (1899)

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