Detail

`The regular postage stamp of 1 Won will be issued with a scene of the farm dance, the most primitive and traditional Korean folk dance, as its design. The farm dance is a farmer`s group dance performed to the accompaniment of various primitive instruments such as drums, gongs and other brass instruments. The music thus played by the dancers by themselves as thye dance is heard from all over the farm lands in the country on the ocasion of harvest, seed planting and other festivities. Listening this joyful music, the farmers forget their fatigue and carry on their work happily. When the farmers start to their work places in the morning and on their way back home after finishing their day`s work in the evening the music is played in a slow tempo, but as the day`s work nears the end it goes faster to enhance their last moment spirit. The farm dance, which well represents the pastoral and peace-loving emotion of Korean people, is believed to have been originated long before the Three Kingdoms Period and is played as one of the typical Korean folk dances at the present. The Buddhist scriptures of 3,000 years ago which was translated, annotated in Chinese character and compiled in a great series is called Dae Jang Kyung. Ever since its completion of edition, various countries had undertaken to publish the scriptures in order to popularize and preserve them. This series of Buddhist scriptures is also called Eighty Thousand Dae Jang Kyung for it is made of 80,000 printing blocks. These wooden printing blocks were engraved during the reign of King Hyun-Jong, Koryo Dynasty, as a symbol of national defense against the invation of Ku-Lan, a state in Manchuria, by the force of Buddhist spirit. The original series of printing blocks, which took more than 30 years to complete, was destroyed during the Mongol invasion and the present 80,000 Dae Jang Kyung preserved in Haein-sa Temple are those engraved again during the reign of King Ko-Jong, Koryo Dynasty. The Dae Jang Kyung is, indeed, one of the most remarkable Buddhist accomplishments in Korea. It not only represents well the national emotion of that time but also is a masterpiece of art incomparable to all others of its kind in the world in their faithful contents, correct and pricise Proof-reading. In order to introduce the treasure of Korea, which can be well said to be a treasure of the world, widely to the public, the picture of Dae Jang Kyung has been adopted as the design of forthcoming issue of 40 Won regular postage stamp.`