Traditional Korean culture includes court and folk dances, ink paintings on mulberry paper or silk often depicting landscapes and flowers, ceramics like blue-gray celadon pottery, traditional hanbok clothing, cuisine centered around kimchi and rice, and games like baduk. Modern Korean culture features K-Pop music, popular television dramas and films reflecting Korea's division, karaoke rooms called noraebang, professional eSports like StarCraft, and a literature tradition linked to the development of the Korean alphabet hangul.

1. Culture of South Korea

2. Traditional Culture Dance : There are 2 forms of dance, court dance and folk dance; common court dances are jeongjaemu performed at banquets, and ilmu, performed at Korean Confucian rituals. Jeongjaemu is divided into native dances (hyangak jeongjae) and forms imported from Central Asia and China (dangak jeongjae). Ilmu are divided into civil dance (munmu) and military dance (mumu). Paintings : There is a tendency towards naturalism with subjects such as realistic landscapes, flowers and birds being particularly popular. Ink is the most common material used and it is painted on mulberry paper or silk. In the 18th century indigenous techniques were advanced, particularly in calligraphy and seal engraving. Ceramics : The history of Korean Ceramics is long and includes both Korean pottery a later development after the traditional use of coils and hammered clay to create early votive and sculptural artifacts. During the Three Kingdoms period, pottery was advanced in Silla. The pottery was fired using a deoxidizing flame, which caused the distinctive blue grey celadon color. The surface was embossed with various geometrical patterns. In the Goryeo period jade green celadon ware became more popular. Homes : Traditional Korean houses can be structured into an inner wing (anchae) and an outer wing (sarangchae). The individual layout largely depends on the region and the wealth of the family. Aristocrats used the outer wing for receptions, poorer people kept cattle in the sarangchae. The inner wing normally consisted of a living room, a kitchen and a wooden-floored central hall. Floor heating (ondol) has been used in Korea since prehistoric times. The main building materials are wood, clay, tile, stone, and thatch. Clothing : The traditional dress known as hanbok ( 한복 , 韓服 ) has been worn since ancient times. The hanbok consists of a shirt (jeogori) and a skirt (baji/chima). The traditional hat is called gwanmo and special meaning is attached to this piece of clothing. Hanbok are classified according to their purposes: everyday dress, ceremonial dress and special dress. Ceremonial dresses are worn on formal occasions Cuisine : The main crops in Korea are rice, barley, and beans, but many supplementary crops are used. Fish and other seafood are also important because Korea is a peninsula. For ceremonies and rituals rice cakes are vital. Kimchi is one of the famous food in Korea. Fermented recipes were also developed in early times. These include pickled fish and pickled vegetables. Games : Baduk is the Korean name for what is known as Go in English. This game is particularly popular with middle-aged and elderly men. There is a Korean version of chess called Janggi, based on an old version of Xiangqi. Yut is a popular family board game enjoyed throughout the country, especially during holidays. Ssireum is a form of traditional wrestling. Other traditional games include pitching arrows into a pot, tuho and a game of stick-tossing (jeopo). There are also stone fights (seokjeon), swing riding (geunetagi), masked dance drama, and a ball game (gyeokku).

3. Modern Culture Music: K-Pop (Korean Pop) is a musical genre consisting of electronic, hip hop, pop, rock, and R&B music originating from South Korea. In addition to music, K-pop has grown into a popular subculture among teenagers and young adults around the world, resulting in widespread interest in the fashion and style of Korean idol groups and singers. Cinema: Since the success of the Korean film Shiri (Shiri was a film about a North Korean spy preparing a coup in Seoul) in 1999, Korean film has become much more popular, both in South Korea and abroad. Many Korean films reflect the unique circumstances of the division of Korea. Dramas: Korean television and especially the short form dramatic mini-series colloquially called "dramas" by Koreans have become extremely popular not only in Korea alone but also outside of Korea. Dramas were foremost among cultural exports driving the Korean Wave trend in Asia and elsewhere. The trend has driven Korean stars to fame and has done much to boost the image and prestige of Korean popular culture. Dramas showcase a wide range of stories, but the most prominent among the export dramas have been romance and historical fantasy dramas, with many based on Japanese mangas (comics).

4. Modern Culture Karaoke: most commonly called "Noraebang" ( 노래방 , literally, "song room") in Korea. Noraebang consist of multiple rooms containing karaoke equipment, usually rented out for time periods. Games: In recent years games, both online games and the traditional board game baduk have become a significant part of Korean culture StarCraft, the PC real-time strategy game, is by far the most popular televised game in Korea. Game tournaments are usually broadcast live and have sizable crowds while they are recorded at shopping malls like COEX, in southeast Seoul. Professional StarCraft players can command considerable salaries in Korea, and are usually noted celebrities. Literature: Often linked with the development of hangul, which helped spread literacy from the dominant classes to the common people, including women. Hangul, however, only reached a dominant position in Korean literature in the second half of the 19th century, resulting in a major growth in Korean literature. Sinsoseol, for instance, are novels written in hangul. In modern poetry, there were attempts at introducing imagist and modern poetry methods particularly in translations of early American moderns such as Ezra Pound and T. S. Eliot in the early 20th century. In the early Republic period, patriotic works were very successful. Lyric poetry dominated from the 1970s onwards. Poetry is quite popular in contemporary South Korea, both in terms of number of works published and lay writing.

5. Sources http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Korean_culture http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noraebang http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K-pop