Here are some of the more important names and terms which are used within the text for the objects, each with an appropriate definition or explanation.

38th Parallel  – A line of latitude which acts as the border between North and South Korea.

Ashigaru – Japanese foot soldiers who fought in the wars of the late 16th Century against Korea. They were usually conscripted peasants armed with tanegashima (spears), Japanese arquebuses (long guns), or yumi bows.

Asparas –  Heavenly maidens who attended Buddha and who are sometimes to be found on large ceremonial bells.

Astronomical observatory – An observatory is a place used for watching events on land, in the sea or in the sky. An astronomical observatory is watching what is happening in the sky.

Chaebol – A chaebol is a conglomerate, or amalgamation, of a number of businesses.

Cheomseongdae – Cheomseongdae is the oldest surviving astronomical observatory in the world. It is situated in Gyeongju and was built in the 7th Century, no doubt in 633CE. The name Cheomseongdae translates from the Korean as “star gazing tower”.

Colophon – An inscription at the end of a book or manuscript usually with facts about its production.

Daimyo – An extremely powerful lord in Japanese society.

Dangiwa – The striking point on Korean bells.

Danwon-pungsok-hwacheop – These Korean words mean the Album of Genre Paintings by Danwon, which was the art name taken by Kim Hong-do.

DMZ – The Demilitarized Zone. It is a heavily defended two-and-a-half mile wide strip of land which has separated North and South Korea since the end of the Korean War.

DPRK – The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, commonly referred to as North Korea.

Entrepreneur – A person who sets up a business or businesses and is prepared to take on financial risks in the expectation of profit.

Genre paintings  – Genre is a French word meaning kind or variety and, from the 18th Century, French writers used the phrase “genre painting” to describe paintings of current everyday life.

Geobukseon – The Korean name for the turtle ship which was a type of warship used by the navy of Korea from the 15th to the 19th Centuries. The ship was so called because it was said to look like the shell of turtle.

Geongongamri – The name given to the four trigrams on the flag of South Korea. Each trigram represents one of the four fundamental elements. Geon means air, gon means earth, gam means water and ri means fire.

Goryeo – The name given to the state and dynasty which unified and ruled the Korean peninsula from 918 CE to 1392 CE.

Hakikjin – The hakikjin strategy was used by Admiral Yi Sun Sin in the wars of the late 16th Century against the Japanese. At a given signal the ships in the Korean fleet created a crescent or crane wing formation which enabled it to partially surround and destroy the Japanese enemy.

Hwacha – This was a two-wheeled wooden cart used by the Korean armed forces against the Japanese in the late 16th Century. A rocket launcher which was capable of firing up to 200 arrows at a time was mounted on it.

Hyundai – The Hyundai Motor Company was founded in 1967. It is now one of South Korea’s largest chaebols and a world leading motor manufacturing company. The Hyundai Motors Plant at Ulsan is now the world’s largest single motor production plant.

Japanese occupation – The Japanese occupation of Korea lasted from 1910 to 1945. During this period Korea became part of the Empire of Japan.

Jari Jjagi – Weaving a mat.

Jikji – The world’s oldest surviving example of a book printed using moveable metal type. Its full title is Baegunhwasangchorokbuljojikjisimcheyojeol which is sometimes shortened to Jikji-sim-chae-yo-jeol.  However, it is generally referred to as the Jikji. The book is a religious text and the full title means, An Anthology of Great Buddhist Priests’ Zen Teachings.

Joseon – The name given to the state and dynasty which ruled the Korean peninsula from 1392 CE to 1897 CE.

Jumak – A tavern or inn.

Korean Empire – The Korean Empire’s official names are the Empire of Korea or Imperial Korea. It was proclaimed by King Gojong of the Joseon dynasty in 1897 and lasted until the Japanese annexed Korea in 1910.

Korean War  – The Korean War was fought between North Korea and South Korea, and their respective allies. It began on 25 June 1950 when North Korea invaded South Korea and fighting ended after an armistice was signed on 27 July 1953.

Myeongnyang  – A battle fought in October 1597 between Korea and Japan. It is considered Yi Sun Sin’s greatest victory. This is because the Korean fleet of only 13 ships routed a much superior force of 133 Japanese warships, destroying 30 ships and severely damaging a further 30, and without losing any of his own ships.

Miracle on the River Han – Otherwise known as the “South Korean miracle”, was a period of unparalleled economic growth and this improvement in the 1960s and 1970s. The Han River runs through Seoul, and the description “miracle on the Han” has been used to mirror the economic recovery in West Germany after World War Two which has been referred to as the ‘miracle on the Rhine’.

Moveable Metal Type – A method of printing which uses separate letters and characters made out of metal, originally bronze. The advantage of this method of printing was that the individual letters and characters could be reused.

ROK – The Republic of Korea, commonly referred to as South Korea

Samhyeonyukgak – A traditional style of Korean music performed by six musicians. The instruments played are the buk (drum), janggu (hourglass-shape drum), hyangpiri (flute), sepiri (small flute), daegeum (large flute), and haegeum (Korean fiddle)

Samsung – The Samsung Trading Company was founded in 1938. It has since grown to be one of the world’s leading companies in electronics, construction and shipbuilding. Samsung Electronics founded in 1969 has now become one of the major world leaders in the production of smartphones.

Samurai – A member of the ruling military nobility in Japan.

Seodang – A village school.

Silk Roads – The name given to the routes which crossed Asia linking the countries of the Middle East to those of the Far East.

Silla – a Korean kingdom that existed between 57 BCE and 935 CE. It was located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla is sometimes written as Shilla.

Taegeuk – A Confucian icon which symbolises cosmic balance. It represents the constant interaction between the yin and yang which are the two great opposite, but complementary, forces at work in the cosmos.

Taegeukgi – The name given to the national flag of South Korea.

Trigram – A trigram is a figure made up of three whole or broken lines.

Turtle Ship – See Geobukseon

Votive Jar – A jar which usually contains a candle and is dedicated to the memory of someone.

Yangban – The ruling elite or classes, sometimes referred to as the literati.

Yin and Yang Yin – The female, cold, dark, passive power and represents Earth, rain, soft, evil, black, small, and even (numbers). Yang represents masculinity, light, and warmth, as well as heaven, sunshine, hard, good, white, large, and odd (numbers).