Hard-working and intelligent, the Korean ethnic group lives in Northeast China. They wear brightly colored and uniquely styled clothes and adhere to distinctive customs about eating habits, sacrificial rituals and funeral ceremonies. In particular, they have built many unique residences which show their customs and culture clearly.

Villages and Culture

Most people of Korean ethnic group inhabit Jilin, Liaoning and Heilongjiang provinces. In the areas above, particularly Yanbian region, they have developed farming, forestry, animal husbandry, sideline occupation and fisheries. Yanbian region is known as a land of rice and a production spot for flue-cured tobacco. Yanbian cattle are regarded as one of the top five improved yellow cattle breeds in China. Both ginseng and pilose antler in Yanbian region are famous at home and abroad.

Their villages are mostly located on flat land near mountains. In their villages, dwellings have a style of their own - a roof with a slope on all four sides, a house partitioned with wooden boards, rooms opening onto the doorway, a brick or stone bed at floor level and a fire way under the bed.

Most of the villages of Korean ethnic group in Yanbian region date back to the mid-19th century, when Korean refugees immigrated into the northern bank of Tuman River and began the cultivation of land. They demonstrate emigration culture, farming culture and the formation process of the Korean ethnic group.

The people of Korean ethnic group have preserved their own traditional style of architecture, eating habits, festivals, rites and games. They are famous in the world for their interest in sports and their skills in singing and dancing. Men like wrestling and playing football, while women like springboard games and playing on swings. There are many kinds of Korean dances, such as long drum dance (Chang Gu Wu), sword dance (Dao Wu), fan dance (Shan Wu) and wizard dance (Wu Wu).

Under the influence of the Han culture, the residences of the Korean people are similar to those of the Hans in some aspects. However, they have their own characteristics which meet the requirements of Korean lifestyle.

Residences

Early habitation behaviors of the Korean people living in Northeast China were recorded in the History of the Three Kingdoms, composed over 1,700 years ago: "All family members, old or young, men or women, live in the same house - a tomb-shaped adobe house with a thatch roof and overhead windows." The Korean people formed their own architectural style about 1,000 years ago. Although different in roof shapes, building materials and indoor structures, all the houses have one thing in common: whitewashed walls. White is the favorite color of the Korean people.

Because of instability in settlements during ancient times, the Korean people used to build houses with adobe and wood; today, they still follow such a tradition. Without wings, yards or enclosing walls, Korean houses help facilitate communication among family members and neighbors.

Generally speaking, a Korean house has a hip with a middle part as flat as a board and two tilted ends like cranes about to fly. It also has a huge roof characterized by whitewashed contours, flowing curves and graceful cambers, which distinguish it from a Han or Japanese house with a huge roof.

Traditional houses have lattice doors and delicate panes. Although different in length, width and shape, all the panes are graceful and well-organized, which is uncommon in Northeast Asia.

Being the same size, sliding doors and windows are similar to one another. The windows can also be used as entrances. There is a saying which states: "For the Korean people, windows are just like doors." The panes are narrow in a vertical dimension and wide in lateral dimension; both the doors and the windows are long and narrow. As a result, the low houses seem delicate and graceful. Inside the room, there are built-in cabinets with sliding doors, which are used for keeping clothes and bedding, thus making the room spacious and tasteful.

Korean residences retain a strong style of those in the Tang Dynasty (618-907AD). In the daytime, the rooms serve as living rooms; in the evening, they serve as bedrooms. Although simple in style, residences in the Tang Dynasty contained inexhaustible appeal and poetic inspiration. Today, there are no residences built in the Tang Dynasty, but we can imagine the lifestyle at that time through Korean residences.

Heated Beds

When entering a traditional Korean residence, one will see a large heated bed. The area of the bed takes up about two thirds of the total area of the residence. Large in size, the bed functions well in heat transfer; inside the room it is very warm in winter.

Heated beds are the main activity spot for Korean people when they are inside the room. On the heated beds, relatives and friends will sit around a table and have a drink together; women do some needlework; children play with one another. In Yanbian region, there is Zao Kang (a heated bed used for cooking). Its lower part is below the level of the ground; its surface is covered with boards. The boards, the kitchen stove and the surface of the heated bed are the same height. It is said Zao Kang is very clean and works well.

In the past, Korean people put reed mats, sorghum straws and corn straws on the surface of the bed. Today, they use fiber boards, yellow boards and artificial patterned leather instead, which are more attractive, durable and convenient to clean.

The heated bed is so large that family members and guests have to take off their shoes and put them at the door before entering the room. This way, they could keep the room clean. Inside the room, they usually sit on the heated bed. The Korean people put great stress on etiquette. For instance, on the heated bed, men have to sit cross-legged, while women have to sit with two legs on one side.

Why do the Korean people build such large heated beds? It might be relative to the distinctive features of their work. "A large heated bed makes a room warm." The Korean people work in paddy fields all year long and it is cold in the early spring, making them vulnerable to rheumatism. Under such circumstances, they have a crying need for a warm residence after work.

Today, there are still a large number of traditional Korean residences with black tiles and white walls in Yanbian Korean autonomous prefecture. In the early morning light, smoke curls upward from kitchen chimneys in small villages; there are many small residences with black tiles standing out against the white walls; the Korean people work hard in the field. Korean residences in Northeast China and their cultural connotations are closely connected with the living environment, daily work and life habits of the Korean people; the Korean ethnic group is a unique people with a long history and splendid civilization.