For my final presentation, I plan to research Korean skincare and how it has been affected by the culture and language in Korea. Korea has always been known for its skincare, but in recent years, it has become even more popular. I want to look more into the culture of it and where its history began.
After doing some research, I found out that skincare has been around since the Silla Dynasty, and it was popular amongst men and women. Its popularity was because the clearness of your skin was important socially. Those with clearer skin were of a higher social class, and it was also believed that, overall, they had better health. Beauty standards have always been very important in Korea, and an extensive skincare routine helped them to reach that level of clear skin. Especially in ancient Korea, many herbs and oils were used on the skin.
I will be able to connect Korean skincare to the culture because I can further develop the history of where the skincare originated, what was used, and what beauty standards were tied to it. Regarding connecting it to language, I will be able to learn many new Korean words for different skincare items, along with ones that relate more to the culture. 영육일치사상 pronounce yong-yook-il-chi-sa-sang, was a word used in the Silla dynasty that basically meant someone with a beautiful body has a beautiful soul residing within. This is one of the phrases that I have already been able to learn. The 삼국유사 or Samguk Yusa was a historical book that also attested to the importance of beauty in Korean culture.
Other than a few historical words, many of the words I learn will be modern ones to describe Korean skincare today. 스킨케어, pronounced seukinkeoe, is the word for skincare. Another is 로션, pronounced rosyon, which means lotion. These are only two examples of many words that I will learn as I continue researching this topic.
Although I do not currently have this in my learning plan, I could ask Emily if we could work on a few words that relate to Korean skincare. This will help me to understand the pronunciation of the new words that I am learning. In addition to that, I could do some of my reading practice by trying to read labels or names of different skincare items. The other way that I could practice my Korean while connecting it to language and the culture is by watching YouTube videos that talk about the ancient culture, or by watching get-ready-with-me videos by Korean creators. The get-ready-with-me videos will give me a more informal approach to learning the language.
Replies