In publishing the book

1. Wishing for the well-being and happiness of life: The art of auspicious and omnipotent

Samshin Seondo and Jaradol - Dreaming of the Heavenly World
Phoenix and Dragon - Hoping for Heaven's Praise and Auspicious Message
Ethical Text - Reasons to Be Blessed
Sehwa - Wishing you a safe and happy new year
The Art of Wall Painting - Defeating Ghosts and Fraud

2 Comforting and Seeing Off the Dead: Funerals and the Arts of the Underworld

Tomb Murals - Decorating the Afterlife
Funeral goods - items for the deceased
Funeral Decorations - Decorating the Departure
Neungyeok Sculptures - Honoring and Protecting the Former Kings
Gammoyeojaedo - Where Ancestral Spirits Reside
Buddhist Funeral Art - Representing Rebirth in Paradise and Impermanence and Anatta

3. Order in Direction and Direction: The Art of the Space Surrounding Life

The Humanities of Direction - Symbolic Systems of East, West, South, and North
Facing Direction and Left Facing Direction - The Order Contained in the Facing Direction
Left and right and inside and outside - the principles of setting space
Spaces that defy order

4. Embodying the Principles of the Universe: The Art of Astronomy and Constants

Cosmological Models - Inspiring Astronomy in the Humanities
The Sun and the Moon - Revealing the Yin and Yang of the Universe
Stars - govern human life and fortune
Constants - The principles of the universe contained in numbers

References
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The hearts of the ancient people who prayed for peace and happiness in life

People of old believed that invisible evil spirits and ghosts threatened life.
To prevent this and bring in good fortune, various symbolic devices were installed everywhere, from palaces and temples to the homes of common people.
The main gate was decorated with a painting of a tiger or a gate god, and the roof of the temple's main hall was decorated with tiles with scary-looking ghost faces to prevent evil spirits from entering.
In the private sector, they would hang a rope made of pine branches, red peppers, and charcoal at the village guardian shrine to prevent evil spirits from entering.
In the royal tomb, a stone beast stood to guard the rest of the deceased.
These symbols, which were mobilized in all spaces surrounding life, including paintings, sculptures, and buildings, were auspicious and evil-fighting devices intended to prevent disaster and bring in good fortune.

It was believed that fortune and misfortune ultimately stemmed from human actions, and that these actions led to the influence of heaven.
In other words, auspiciousness was not a simple superstition or decoration, but an order that connected the desirable life of humans with the will of heaven.
Ethical characters that express virtues such as filial piety, loyalty, and courtesy in writing are also representative examples of folding screens.
This idea is also clearly expressed in the Sehwa that was drawn and hung at the beginning of each year.
Rather than being a simple decorative painting, Sehwa was a device used in wall paintings to pray for a year free from disease and disaster.
Phrases like ‘Ipchundaegil’ (立春大吉) and ‘Geonyangdaegyeong’ (建陽多慶) and paintings of magpies and tigers contained wishes for happiness and safety.

Gilsang originated from the desire to protect life rather than from splendid artistic achievements.
People of old considered it desirable to live a life according to the laws of heaven, and sought peace and happiness in it.
From the signboards in palaces, to the decorations in temples, to the small talismans in homes, the wishes of people in the past for peace and happiness in life are all connected like a single code.
These traces continue to this day in New Year's greetings and small decorations placed in the home.
Ultimately, good fortune is a universal desire for well-being and happiness in life.

What kind of being was a ghost?
Korean symbolic codes that have become global pop culture codes

The success of K-Pop Demon Hunters (hereafter referred to as 'K-Pop Demon Hunters') clearly demonstrates how Korean shamanistic traditions can function as a global cultural code.
The 'honmun', which appears as an important setting in the work, is similar to the concepts of auspiciousness and banishment explained above.

So, what kind of being was a "demon"? Rumi, the protagonist of "Kedeheon," is both a being that catches ghosts and a ghost herself.
Are ghosts benevolent or evil? According to "Symbolic Codes of Traditional Art," "ghosts are so obscure that they cannot be seen," making it difficult to answer in a single word.
However, we can guess its complex nature through the various expressions that appear in our language life.
“In expressions like ‘even ghosts don’t know’, ‘even ghosts can’t look down on them’, and ‘they hit like ghosts’, ghosts are omnipotent beings.
When you say 'the ghost helped you', the ghost becomes a guardian.
When we say, "The ghost is crying and leaving," the ghost is an emotional being, and when we say, "The ghost is coming out," the ghost is an evil being that lives in a dark and gloomy place.
Also, if someone behaves badly and you say, "He's acting like a ghost," then this ghost becomes a vicious and malicious being that causes harm.
In the phrase 'exorcising a ghost', a ghost is an object that must be exorcised.
“But the work of exorcising that ghost is also done by another ghost.” (p. 133)

In this way, ghosts were ambivalent beings where good and evil coexisted.
So, while people were afraid of ghosts, they also accepted them as beings that were deeply involved in their lives.
Perhaps the reason why 'Kedeheon' appeals to people around the world today is because the work's Korean symbols are well connected to the fear and awe of the invisible, and the universal desire to find meaning and order in life through them.

'Balin' originally meant removing the chock of a cart wheel.
The ancient people's attitude toward death

In order for the cart to roll, the chock in front of the wheel must be removed.
'Balin' (發?) originally meant removing the chocks [?] of a cart wheel.
However, the fact that this act came to be used as a term for funeral procedures is related to the ancient people's view of life and death.
Our ancestors believed that the road to the afterlife after death was long and difficult.
So, to ensure that the deceased does not lose their way and can follow the right path, they buried a wheel-shaped pottery in the grave.

Park Ji-won (朴趾源, 1737-1805), a Silhak scholar of Joseon, used the expression “a chariot pointing south in the underworld” in his book “A Map of the Way to Learn.”
'Jinamgeo' means 'a cart pointing in the right direction'.
In ancient times, when the emperor was fighting Chiyou, the thick fog that Chiyou had created caused the soldiers to lose their direction and become confused. This legendary object is said to have been created by the emperor to guide his soldiers.
It is said that since the Jin Dynasty, this carriage has been used as a tool to straighten the path of the emperor's procession.

This idea was transferred to funeral rites, and 'Bal-in' became a word used to pray for a straight and peaceful path for the deceased as they depart for the afterlife after the funeral.
It gives us a glimpse into the traditional idea that death is a separation for the living, but the beginning of another journey for the deceased.
The desire to guide those who set out on a journey to the right path is contained within it the symbolic philosophy of the ancient people's views on life and death, connecting life and death.

The gate plaques of Changdeokgung and Changgyeonggung Palaces, moved by the Japanese, are still intact…
Things Missed During the Cultural Heritage Restoration Process

In traditional architecture, 'inside' and 'outside' were not simply inside and outside, but were important concepts that revealed the subject and order.
The king's residence or political space was designated as 'inner', and the surrounding area was naturally designated as 'outer'. In accordance with this order, the gate's signboard, the munak, was hung on the outside so that people entering from the outside could see it.

Looking at the “Donggwoldo” (東闕圖) produced in 1827 (the 27th year of King Sunjo’s reign), we can see that the gate of Changdeokgung Palace’s Sukjangmun was originally hung on the east side so that people entering Injeongjeon could see it.
However, the current signboard of the Sukjangmun Gate is hung on the west side.
How did the location of the gate change? “At the end of the Joseon Dynasty, when Emperor Sunjong lost his royal power and took refuge in Changdeokgung Palace, Huijeongdang became the inner palace.
Around 1908, the Japanese government opened a new road to allow the royal carriage to easily enter from Donhwamun Gate to Huijeongdang through Jinseonmun Gate and Sukjeongmun Gate under the pretext of promoting the convenience of Emperor Sunjong.
In this process, the Woldae in front of Donhwamun was demolished and Sukjangmun was made to function as the gate leading to Huijeongdang.
It is presumed that at this time, the Japanese moved the plaque to the west of the gate in accordance with the direction of entry into Heejeongdang.” (pp. 202-204) During the restoration project of Changdeokgung Palace, the Sukjangmun Gate was restored with the plaque hanging in the same condition as during the reign of King Sunjong.

The gate of Changgyeonggung Palace's Binyangmun Gate, which should have been hung on the east side, is currently hung on the west side.
According to the 『Gunggwolji』, the center of the direction of this area, that is, the place designated as ‘inner’, was Haminjeong.
The name 'Binyang' (賓陽) is derived from the phrase 'Inbinchulil' (寅賓出日) in the Book of Documents, which symbolizes the direction of 'east' where the sun rises and the energy of life begins, suggesting that Binyangmun is the east gate.
In light of the traditional internal and external order and symbolic system of defense, it is appropriate for the Binyangmun Gate to be hung in a location where people entering Haminjeong can see it, that is, on the Myeongjeongjeon side.
This is not simply a problem with a single signboard, but a distortion that goes against the internal and external order and the concept of direction that traditional architecture possesses.

The sun and the moon, the Big Dipper and the North Star…
The sky descending into paintings, sculptures, and rituals

To the ancients, the sun, moon, and stars were not simply celestial bodies.
This light of the sky, called Samgwang (Three Lights), was a symbol of the yin and yang of the universe, eternity, and the fate of mankind.
In particular, the North Star and the Big Dipper were considered stars that governed human lifespan and fortune, and the Seven Stars Board and Seven Stars Painting buried in tombs were devices to pray for the eternal rest of the deceased.

An interesting fact is that the Chilseong belief, which was originally unrelated to Buddhism, was introduced into temples during the Joseon Dynasty.
As temples suffering from financial difficulties under Joseon's policy of suppressing Buddhism and promoting Confucianism accepted shamanism as a practical solution, the North Star and the Big Dipper were transformed into Buddhist iconography.
In this way, the Buddha of the Light of the Earth and the Seven Buddhas became familiar objects of faith for the public to pray for longevity and good fortune.

The stars were also connected to politics.
In the Analects, Confucius compared the North Star to a ruler, saying, “If (the ruler) practices virtue, even if the North Star remains in its place, it will be like the stars protecting him.”
The concept of 'Gongbuk' (拱北) originated here and came to mean that if the king conducts good politics, his subjects and people will naturally follow him.
This is precisely why there are quite a few gate towers and pavilions with the name "Gongbuk" throughout Korea, such as the Gongbukru of Gochang-eupseong, the Gongbukru of Gongsanseong in Gongju, and the Gongbukmunru of Jinjuseong.

If the West read science from the stars, our ancestors read the order of life from the stars.
For people of old, looking at the stars meant understanding the order of the world and the path of humanity.