Metal is the element of gathering in and cutting back. In the five phases (오행 ohaeng) it follows earth's ripening: the harvest, the sickle, the clear cold air of October. It is the phase of deciding what to keep and what to let go.
Metal belongs to autumn and to the west, where the sun sets. Its color in 오방색 obangsaek is 백 baek, white, the color of undyed cloth, which is why Koreans were once called the white clothed people (백의민족). Of the classical virtues it is linked with 의 義, righteousness.
In the cycles, earth bears metal and metal carries water, the way cold metal gathers dew. Metal cuts wood, and fire melts metal. Two stems carry metal, the raw ore Gyeong 庚 and the jewel Sin 辛, and two branches, the Monkey 申 and the Rooster 酉.
A lot of metal
A metal heavy chart is often read as clear, principled and decisive, with a sharp edge. The tradition looks for fire to shape the metal into a tool and water to let it flow.
Little or no metal
Little metal is common and is read as a chart with softer edges, where structure comes from other places. Metal years and people can feel like a clean line through clutter.
In Korean life
White is one of the five colors of 색동 saekdong and the egg white strips of the five color garnish. The old name 백의민족, the white clothed people, reflects how common undyed white clothing was in Korea for centuries.