ABSTRACT
Korean Taoism is deeply immersed in the Korean indigenous philosophy of Pungryu whose central value is the naturalness usually associated with spontaneity and creativity and the Han-seeking national spirit described as the primordial state of all things. Pungryu is essentially a notion of living in harmony or becoming one with nature. It refers to a lifestyle of living naturally like the way 'the wind' blows and 'the flow' goes, representing a harmonious way of life in tune with nature. Features of Pungryu have been found, in ancient times, typically in shamanic ceremonies that celebrate nature through group dancing, singing and playing. The term Pungryu first appeared in the ninth century in an epitaph written by a noted Confucian official, philosopher and poet Choe Chi-Won in the Silla Dynasty. The contemporary version in Chinese letters became known when Choe Chi-Won, a scholar in the Silla Dynasty, found the scripture on a tombstone and translated it into Chinese characters.
