For some people, Korea and Japan are often undistinguishable in many ways. However, though the countries are juxtaposed, there are many aspects that differ, from their living environment and way of thinking to their attitude toward culture. The Japanese garden, in particular, is different from the Korean garden.

The Japanese also revered rocks, and even venerated them as gods because they believed that they linked the world of gods with men. Japanese gardens are enclosed by a wall inside which mountains, the sea and forests are artificially landscaped. The human can be felt not only in the ponds, bridges and man-made constructions, but also in natural objects such as trees. In order to ensure that nature did not get out of hand, most of the trees planted in Japanese gardens were the slow growing variety.

Why interfere with nature? In a nutshell, that is the general attitude that Korean had toward their gardens. Thanks to the abundant hills, rocks, trees, and water in the environment, the basic elements needed to creat a garden already exist. Korean gardens tend to try to preserve nature in its purest form, which is why they are simple and unforced. The foundations of a Korean garden can be found in the ancient tradition of revering nature. The ultimate goal was to make the garden more nature than nature itself. The gardens are, for the most part, filled with broad-leaf trees, with a few evergreens here and there, Japanese gardens tend to be filled with evergreens because they do not change with the seasons. Yet Korean wanted to feel the changes in nature and embrace them. Man cannot alter the flow of the seasons but can choose to live in harmony with them.

 

                                                                                                Source of article; THis is Korea( NewRun)

                                                                                                                              by Choi,Jungwha& Lim, Hyang-ok