마리솔 --> Marisol in Hangul

Hello again! Welcome to week two!

I realized that I may not have done the best job introducing South Korea to you all. This week I decided to focus on giving you all some background knowledge.

We will go over:

• Where is South Korea? What does their flag look like?
• What language do they speak?
• What do they eat here?
• Who lives here?

I live in Seoul!

Where is South Korea?

South Korea is part of the Korean peninsula, South from North Korea. To the East, they have Japan and to the Northwest, China. Their flag looks like this:

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Their flag symbolizes harmony of the universe! The white background is harmony and peacefulness, the blue is yin, and red is yang. The black dash lines in each corner represent: sky, land, fire, and water.

What language do they speak?

People in South Korea speak Korean! It's based on their alphabet called: Hangul. Their alphabet was actually created by King Sejong, the fourth king of the Joseon Dynasty. This was really important for the Korean people because before Hangul, people read and spoke using Classical Chinese. Many people were illiterate due to the lack of education and difficulty of Chinese characters. It is described as the 'proper sound to teach the people' and contributed to the decline in illiteracy. Hangul is considered the easiest alphabet to learn! Can you believe I learned it in a week? Just don't ask me to say anything because sounding out words is much different than actually knowing the language.

What do they eat?

When having a typical Korean meal, you can usually find: rice, kimchi, soup, and side dishes. Rice is so important to the Korean people! It goes with everything. Same with Kimchi and other traditional side dishes like pickled radish, bean sprouts, and sweet potatoes, pickled onions, and many more. If I told you that kimchi is spicy fermented cabbage with fish sauce, would you try it? Have you tried Kimchi before? If you're okay with spicy food, it is really yummy! I hope you try it at least once!

Next I'll show you a few common dishes that you would find in Korea...

Kimchi Stew with rice and five side dishes

Bibimbap - Rice topped with vegetables, an egg, and meat (if you want)

Jeon - savory vegetable pancake and assorted fried vegetables

Korean Barbecue - meat of your choice with lettuce and side dishes

                                

Fried Chicken - eaten with side dishes and dipping sauce

NEXT: Common Street Food

Upper right: (kimbap) rice and veggies wrapped in seaweed. Bottom right: (jeon) vegetable pancakes. Upper left: (tteokbokki) spicy rice cake. Bottom left: (bulgogi) marinated then barbecued meats.

Many of your asked me what my favorite food was here in Korea. I forgot to mention that I don't eat meat! When I eat out, I usually seek Korean food. My favorites are jeon, kimbap, bibimbap, and tteokbokki! Ramen is also a must have. However, there are times when I have had enough eating out. That's when I make myself beans and rice. p: (enjoy my primitive emoji) 

American Food!

Is very popular here! Some things are harder to find and more expensive, like peanut butter, but there are many American restaurants. They sell burgers, fries, sandwiches, whatever you're craving! I should mention that there is a Burger King, McDonalds, Taco Bell, and Starbucks down the street from my University. Imported products - products brought in from other countries - can be more expensive, but are definitely available, you just have to look for them! 

Who lives here?

Traditionally, South Korea has been described as a monoculture, meaning that the country is made up of mostly Korean people. Korea recently became a developed country which has increased their business, political power, and tourism! Many people have begun moving to Korea either because of the job opportunities or just because they like it here. From what you have seen so far, do you like Korea? 

When I first came, in the back of my mind I really wanted it to be like a drama! I had to be real with myself and admit that dramas are exactly that: dramatizations. They do a really great job of making Korea look appealing. Don't get me wrong, I love Korea so far, but it is important not to get too caught up with what popular culture and media shows you because they are showing you what they know you want to see. Would you say that life in the United States is exactly how they show it in tv shows? 

I will cover Korean Popular culture in another post. I know many of you are excited about that! To give you an idea of the traditional culture, I think it would be worth it to attach some photos. 

Hanbok - Korean Traditional Dress

Samgomu - 3 drum dance

Buchaechum - Traditional Fan Dance

Talchum - Traditional Mask Dance

Pansori - one person drama

Aniri = singer is many people

Balim = Fan as form of expression

Gosu = drum creates mood

Chuimsae = audience reacts to drama

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayGl-igrwy8

In this video, the BTS intro incorporates Samgomu, Buchaechum, Talchum, and the traditional music of Pansori (in that order). Please enjoy.

I hope this week was interesting! Your teacher mentioned you were all learning about the development of language, culture, arts, and the early cities of the Western Hemisphere. I figured this mini lesson on Korea would be a good start. South Korea is one of those countries with such a rich cultural history, I can assure you that we have barely scratched the surface. :D

Questions:

What interests you about South Korea? 

What food do you want to try?

What did you think of South Korea before today? Did anything change?