Yanran Li's Posts (42)
Sort by
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UNX9qm8ztamh9q9jgFUod0ZRKW1hcYb7/view?usp=share_link
This month, in addition to continuing to concentrate on the TOPIK vocabulary list, we will also be reading news items and watching Korean movies without subtitles. Vivian showed me an interview with the five characters from the drama The Glory, who are the five antagonists that bullied the protagonist. Since we both watched The Glory and thought it was incredibly intriguing, she showed me the interview. In the video interview, they discuss the exciting things that took place during filming, and at the end of the segment, each of them creates a poster of another cast member. Kim Hieora, who played the role of Lee Sa-ra in the drama, stated that because Lee Sa-ra was a drug addict in the drama, she made it a point to study many individuals like Lee Sa-ra and discovered that they were all extremely thin, acted erratically, and had bad complexions. She also mentioned that she made it a point to observe many people like Lee Sa-ra. Consequently, during filming, she mimicked the mannerisms and appearance of drug users on purpose, engaged in physical activity, and drank less water than usual. During the portion of the activity in which they were going over the poster, each of them wrote down what it was that they wanted to say to the other, but none of them knew what the other had written. At the same time, both of them put down how much they liked the other. On the posters, each individual also estimated the mbti of the other person, and I was astonished to see that three of the five persons had "I" as the initial letter in their mbti. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, or MBTI for short, categorizes individuals into one of 16 distinct "types," each of which is identified by a unique combination of psychological characteristics and a four-letter code. The first letter of the code may either be a "E" or a "I," and the letter "E" refers to extroverts while the letter "I" refers to introverts. It took me by surprise because each individual appeared to be highly talkative and articulate. Vivian asked me if I had taken the MBTI exam, and I responded that I had. I then asked her to guess my initial letter, and she guessed correctly, identifying myself as the letter "I." Although the results of this test will tell the person doing it, whenever they are accessible, what kinds of individuals with particular MBTIs are not compatible with mine, I believe that this test can only be used to provide a broad categorization of people's personalities since, after all, there can't possibly be just 16 types of people in the entire world.
This semester Vivian and I have been watching videos about foreigners living in Korea and I have been watching a lot of Korean variety shows. I find that Koreans often act cute to new acquaintances of their own age or to slightly older people. I noticed that Koreans often act cute to new people their age or slightly older, so I asked Vivian about this and she told me that this phenomenon is called aegyo and is very common in the social culture of young Koreans. So I did some research about Aegyo and I found that Aegyo is a term used in Korean culture to describe a behavior or expression of cuteness, often used by women or girls to show affection or to express their charm. The term is derived from the Korean word "ae" (애), which means "affection" or "love," and "gyo" (교), which means "acting" or "behavior."
Aegyo is a virtue that is highly valued in Korean society since it is considered to be an appealing attribute, particularly in women. It is believed to be a means of demonstrating humor and charm, and it is frequently used in social contexts to communicate affection or to lighten the mood. In Korean culture, the concept of aegyo may be expressed in a variety of ways, such as via the use of high-pitched voices, adorable movements, and humorous emotions. Pouting, blowing kisses, and speaking in a childlike voice are all instances of aegyo that are used often. This conduct is frequently accompanied with overly dramatic facial expressions and body language, such as flicking one's eyelashes or pressing one's finger to one's face. Although in Korean culture aegyo is most commonly associated with ladies and young girls, its practice is not restricted to either gender or any age range. Aegyo is not exclusive to women; men and boys can practice it as well, and it is regarded favorably in people of both sexes. As a form of communication for the intimacy and affection that exists among friends and members of the same family, aegyo can also be employed.
It is unclear where the practice of aegyo first began in Korean culture; nonetheless, it has emerged as an important aspect of contemporary Korean society, notably in the field of entertainment. It is common practice for Korean superstars, both male and female, to make use of aegyo as a promotional technique in order to attract a following among their devoted followers. In spite of the fact that aegyo is widely considered to be a desirable and lovable feature in Korean culture, it has been critiqued for being responsible for the perpetuation of gender stereotypes as well as the promotion of infantilization. Some opponents contend that the emphasis on cuteness and childish conduct can be damaging to women and promote the cultural expectations that women should be submissive and dependent. They say this is because the focus on cuteness and childlike behavior reinforces the idea that women should act like children.
However, supporters of aegyo claim that it is a harmless and amusing way to express oneself, and that it may be empowering for women to embrace the more charming and playful part of themselves. They further contend that aegyo is not exclusive to women, and that males may participate in aegyo without being seen as weak or subservient even though it is traditionally associated with women.
This month's meetings follows the same structure as those held the previous month. We watched 영국남자’s video of them having a picnic by the Hangang river with an actor and singer from Canada named Henry. Henry was a former member of the popular K-pop group Super Junior in Korea, but in 2013, he transitioned into a career as a solo artist. Because they are all foreigners living in Korea, they have a lot in common in the video, such as exchanging information about their lives when they first arrived in Korea and the ways in which they have improved their Korean language skills, and they both agreed that making friends with the locals is the best way to improve your ability to communicate in Korean. Vivian also mentioned to me that the Han River flows through Seoul, and because of this, there are wonderful parks and bike routes on both sides of the river. As a result, many people in Seoul like having picnics in the parks that are located along the Han River. In point of fact, not just in their videos but also in many variety programs and plays that I've watched, it's common practice to shoot young people strolling along the Han River and going into convenience stores to buy hot dogs and ramen.
The most recent television series produced by Netflix, titled "The Glory," which depicts the narrative of the victim's retribution after 18 years of enduring humiliation and being forced to abandon school, will be the primary topic of discussion at our meeting this month. The Glory has two seasons: the first season focuses on explaining why the heroine's revenge came about and how the Bullying Five coerced her classmates, the context of the bullying, and all of the preparation she did for final revenge; the second season focuses on the actual revenge of the heroine, unraveling the mystery of the death of a bully that happened at the beginning of the second season, and then the mutual suspicion and suspicion of the bullying gang, revealing the weasel in their group Vivian and I were the first ones to see the episode, and afterward we had a lengthy conversation about the storyline as well as our opinions on bullying in Korean schools. It broke my heart when I read about bullying in schools in reports from China that were published in the press. The news report did not specify the facts and what the teachers and school did to improve the situation, but according to the play, the teacher was on the side of the bully, which was highly frustrating. The news report did not describe the details and what the teachers and school did to improve the situation. "The Glory" is a drama that focuses on many major topics that Korean teenagers are now struggling with, and I believe that it is a thought-provoking drama because of this. The portrayal of bullying in schools is particularly poignant, as it highlights the necessity for more awareness, education, and aid for people who have been mistreated.
On March 10th Netflix released the second season of The Glory, which tells the story of the victim's revenge after 18 years of suffering humiliation and being forced to quit school. Vivian and I both watched the episode first and we discussed a lot about the plot and how we felt about bullying in Korean schools. The first season focuses on explaining why the heroine's revenge came about and how the Bullying Five coerced her classmates and the context of the bullying; The second season focuses on the actual revenge of the heroine, unraveling the mystery of the deaths in the drama, and then the mutual suspicion and suspicion of the bullying gang, revealing the weaknesses of human nature between trust and distrust.
In addition to the core topic of retribution, this drama concentrates on the terrifying school bullying, where the victim is forced to leave the school in disgrace after the instructors form an alliance with the kids and gain greater authority. The drama explores the problems of Moon Dong-eun, one of the major protagonists, who is plagued by memories of being harassed in school. The show illustrates how bullying can have an effect on a person's mental health as well as their relationships with others and how those impacts can remain long after the bullying has ceased.
Statistics indicate that over 70% of pupils in Korea have experienced bullying at school, which is a severe issue. Bullying may have catastrophic repercussions on a person's mental health, including anxiety, sadness, and in severe cases, suicidal thoughts. The portrayal of Dong-eun's experiences with bullying at school in "The Glory" emphasizes how critical it is to confront this problem and offer assistance to individuals who have been bullied.
I also looked at the main reasons why bullying occurs in Korean schools. The high academic pressure that students are subjected to, which can foster a competitive and stressful atmosphere, is one of the key contributing reasons. Competition in other spheres of life, such as sports and extracurricular activities, might develop as a result of the pressure to succeed academically and land a good career. Lack of knowledge and instruction about the problem is another element that fuels bullying in schools. Bullying is a problem that many schools and teachers struggle to address, and there is sometimes a stigma and culture of silence around it. This may make it challenging for children to come forward and ask for assistance, which may make the issue worse.
In addition to bringing attention to the problem of bullying in schools, "The Glory" also conveys a message of hope and fortitude. With the help of their friends and loved ones, Moon Dong-eun and other characters in the series are able to overcome obstacles and accomplish their objectives. In order to counteract the damaging consequences of bullying, the program emphasizes the value of developing solid connections and fostering a sense of community.
I consider "The Glory" to be a thought-provoking drama that focuses on many significant themes that Korean youth are currently dealing with. The depiction of bullying in schools is especially moving, underscoring the need for more awareness, education, and assistance for individuals who have been bullied. The series conveys a message of optimism and support for young people in Korea and emphasizes the significance of fostering a safe and encouraging environment for all pupils by increasing knowledge of this problem and promoting stronger action to avoid it.
During our meeting earlier this month, Vivian and I went over all of the grammar and vocabulary that we had learned over the course of the previous semester and rehearsed a great deal of dialogue that is used on a daily basis. She showed me a YouTube channel called "영국남자 Korean Englishman," which was started by two people named Josh and Ollie. The first thing that we did was watch a video that showed them going to the Korean singer HaHa's barbecue restaurant and having a conversation with him while they were eating. Because Josh and Ollie are both from other countries but have lived in Korea for a significant amount of time, their Korean is highly fluent, and their pronunciation is really good for my listening practice. This is helpful for me because native Korean speakers often have an accent and talk very quickly. During the time that the movie was playing, Vivian prompted me to jot down the phrases that I was able to comprehend as well as the terms that I was unable to grasp but was interested in learning. They discussed the drinking culture in Korea as well as the errors that they had made when they first came in Korea since they did not comprehend the culture. This was the first time I had any exposure to the drinking culture of Korea, and it was at this period that I learnt things like how younger people are expected to pour wine for older people and how it is customary to hold the bottle of wine in such a manner that the label of the soju bottle is covered by the palm of your hand when doing so. In addition, while clinking glasses, the glass held by the younger person should not be higher than the glass held by the elder person, and the younger person should drink with their side to the table rather than their back to it.
In addition to watching films in Korean with Korean subtitles, I also attempted to read and comprehend a Korean news story on the actor Song Joong-ki's second marriage. Together with Vivian, I did some work to dissect each word and make an effort to comprehend the significance of each phrase in light of its grammatical construction. Reading the lines of a television play was much easier for me to do than reading the written words in the news. This is because the lines were written in a more conversational style than the written words in the news, which also had more complicated syntax and vocabulary.
In accordance with the plan that I drafted at the beginning of the semester, Vivian and I intended to study around forty new words from the Topik vocabulary list each week. During our weekly meeting, we would discuss the correct pronunciation and application of each new word that we had learned. The following time we get together, Vivian will explain the meaning of the terms in English, and I will respond in Korean. In addition, I have an assignment to complete outside of class in which I am required to watch the reality program "Single's inferno" and then compose five statements describing how I feel about the show's characters or the storyline.
Recently I watched a TV series that showed a lot of scenes of Korean wizards doing things and worshiping gods. I know a lot of Asian countries believe in Buddhism and Taoism, but I was curious if Korea has its own god, so I did some research on the Korean pantheon, which is often referred to as the Korean mythology, is an intricate hierarchy of deities, goddesses, and spirits that the Korean people have venerated for many years and continue to do so now. The pantheon of Korea is firmly ingrained in the history and culture of the nation, and it represents the norms, values, and beliefs that are prevalent throughout Korean society. The gods, goddesses, and spirits that make up the Korean pantheon may be broken down into these three primary classifications. Every god or goddess is said to possess their own special set of qualities, powers, and myths. Hwanung, the god of heaven and the creator of Korean civilization, is one of the most well-known deities in the Korean pantheon. Dangun, the fabled builder of the first Korean kingdom, and Gwan-eum, the goddess of mercy and compassion, are also among the most well-known deities in the Korean pantheon.
The Korean pantheon also contains a variety of spirits and otherworldly animals, such as the dokkaebi(도깨비), which is a form of goblin; the kumiho(구미호), which is a nine-tailed fox, and the jangseung, which is a wooden totem pole that is used to ward off evil spirits. Shamanism, Buddhism, and Confucianism are just a few of the cultural and theological traditions that have had an impact on the Korean pantheon over the course of its history. The practice of shamanism is an age-old custom that may be found in certain regions of Korea even in modern times. The practice of shamanism is predicated on the ideas that everything in the natural world is endowed with spiritual energy and that many different types of spirits have the ability to have influence over human events.
Buddhism was first brought to Korea in the fourth century and immediately had a huge effect on the nation's culture as well as its religious practices. A great number of Buddhist deities, such as Gwan-eum, were included in the pantheon of Korean religion. In addition, Confucianism, which places an emphasis on social harmony and moral principles, had a part in the development of the Korean pantheon. The Korean pantheon has also been shaped by historical developments and political shifts over the country's history. During the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), Confucianism became the dominant ideology, and many of the ancient shamanistic and Buddhist ideas were suppressed. This occurred because Confucianism was seen as superior to the other ideologies. However, a significant amount of the Korean pantheon has been passed down through the ages and continues to play an essential role in the culture and identity of the Korean people today.
The Korean pantheon has served as inspiration for a large number of poems, paintings, and sculptures, among other forms of literary and artistic expression. The tales of the Korean gods have been told from one generation to the next for centuries, and a good number of these tales have made their way into the folklore of the country. In recent years, as part of a larger push to recover and appreciate ancient Korean culture, there has been a resurgence in interest in the Korean pantheon. This has resulted in the creation of new cultural events and festivals that put the spotlight on the exceptional cultural legacy of the country.
It was the first Korean class this semester. I carried on with my studies of Korean with Vivian. At the beginning of the first lesson, we spoke about the strategy that we are going to use to learn Korean this semester. Both of us had the idea that the primary focus of this semester would be on honing my conversational abilities in Korean rather than on learning the grammatical rules that are specific to Korean. Without a doubt, we will keep referring back to the Topik 1 vocabulary list in order to expand our vocabularies. Every time we get together for class, we will continue to deepen our dialogues further. The greatest option would be to have the class entirely in Korean, much like the other language programs offered at the University of Rochester. Because I did German in my freshman year, and because I was able to adjust to that method of class very well, I am extremely eager to attempt that mode. Therefore, I believe that having the entire class in Korean will significantly boost our effectiveness. The vocabulary words and grammatical rules that we acquired in each lesson are going to be put to use in conversation, and they will also be written down for future reference.
The Topik 1 vocabulary list is not going to be the only resource that we use. In order to enhance my reading abilities in Korean, I plan to read Korean newspapers and online news sources. Not only can I enhance my reading abilities by reading the articles that Korean people often read, but I can also gain insight into what is trending in South Korea and how the Korean written language is evolving over time. In the beginning, Vivian and I decided that K-pop and entertainment would be a good article topic for this semester. We think that a person's interests are the single most important factor in their level of motivation to learn. Another objective that we spoke about was getting rid of the need for subtitles when watching Korean dramas and television shows. In order to accomplish this objective, the task that we are going to carry out is going to involve selecting a few reality shows and learning the lines that are included in the various listening practice issues.
Vivian and I had intended to study and accomplish all of the aforementioned things by the end of this semester. It is my hope that the majority of our gatherings will be held in Korean. I feel that if I accomplish this, I will be able to make significant headway in my study of the Korean language. Along with going over our objectives and preparations for the next semester, Vivian and I also had a great time learning about the new year in Korean culture. Because the beginning of the Chinese new year occurred during the past weekend, I thought it would be a good idea to study the beginning of the Korean new year. Learning about the cuisine that people in Korea consume and the traditions that they observe throughout their new year was a very interesting experience. The enormous amount of food that Korean people had to prepare for their new year, either to celebrate with their families and friends or for the sake of worship and to get blessings, left an impression on me. Additionally, there were a number of parallels between the practices that are observed throughout the New Year in China and Korea. As a result, I had no trouble comprehending the rationale behind the reasons why Koreans partake in particular kinds of activities or prepare particular kinds of cuisine during their new year. My first piece devoted to culture will include a more in-depth discussion of the new year celebrations in Korea.
During the meeting, Vivian and I watched a youtube video about teaching British high school students to read Korean in a day. Through the video I got to know the origin of the Korean alphabet and some interesting tricks in memorizing the Korean alphabet. I also searched for more information after the meeting.
King Sejong the Great devised the Korean alphabet, typically referred to as Hangul, as a distinctive writing system in the 15th century. Hangul is a phonetic writing system with 24 letters that communicate sounds, in contrast to other Asian writing systems like Chinese or Japanese, which rely on complicated symbols. Other Asian writing systems include Chinese and Japanese. Because of this, it is much easier to learn and apply, which is one of the reasons why it is still used as Korea's official writing system today. The development of Hangul, which made it possible for the general population to become more literate, is considered to be one of Korea's most significant cultural achievements. Only scholars and nobles could grasp the difficult Chinese characters employed at the time, hence they were the only ones who could read and write before Hangul. On the other hand, the Korean writing system known as Hangul was designed to be straightforward in both its acquisition and its use in order to promote increased education and literacy across the country.
But there was significant controversy concerning the creation of Hangul. At the time, Chinese characters were viewed as a signal of great culture, and many academics resisted the introduction of a new, inferior writing system. Some even went so far as to set fire to newly printed books featuring Hangul printing. King Sejong and his adherents persevered in the face of these challenges, and ultimately, Hangul was generally accepted as the country of Korea's official writing system.
Hangul is currently a crucial component of Korean society, being taught in schools and used often. It appears in sources like newspapers, novels, television series, and even Korean fashion and design. In actuality, a number of Korean fashion designers incorporate Hangul in their designs, integrating it into patterns, logos, and even clothes. The visual attraction of Hangul is one of its special traits. The letters are created to be easily recognizable and visually stunning, and they are usually compared to little works of art. The simple and beautiful letterforms are supposed to have drawn inspiration from the human body's curves and lines.
The method that Hangul represents Korean language and culture is another unique element of the alphabet. For instance, the letter forms are patterned by the lip and tongue motions needed to enunciate the sounds they stand for. This underlines the relationship between language and identity and reflects the centrality of speech and communication in Korean culture.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/106dsIwqEbjDfYd2x09W7Uj9KZlxotoEX/view?usp=sharing
Korean cuisine has been utilized for millennia to maintain the body's balance and offers a wealth of health benefits. Food and medication are frequently viewed as being the same. According to the concept that "health begins with food," medical treatment should be tried if no improvement is noticed after initially attempting to treat all ailments with diet. One of the key words to understanding traditional Korean food is fermentation, a metabolic process that helps food to “mature” so that it can be stored for a longer period. The foods that best represent the tradition of fermentation developed in Korea include doenjang (soybean paste), ganjang (soy sauce), gochujang (chili paste), and jeotgal (fermented fish sauce). The fermentation can take anywhere from several months to several years.
Doenjang된장 paste is a fermented soybean paste similar to miso. The fermentation process of the doenjang paste neutralizes the toxins and anti-nutrients that soybeans contain. Doenjang is salty in taste and is related to the kidneys and bladder. Doenjang is a cheap source of protein. Fermented soy paste, the most essential condiment of Korean cookery for more than 2000 years. It is rich in flavonoids, linolic acid, vitamins, minerals, and hormones. It is anti-cancer and prevents cardiovascular disease
Gochujang 고추장 is a traditional Korean condiment made by fermenting a mixture of soybean malt, salt, and chili pepper powder with a blend of powdered rice, barley, flour, and malted barley. The spiciness of gochujang is good for the lungs and large intestine and gives energy. Gochujang has been a part of traditional Korean cuisine since the sixteenth century. Gochujang aids digestion so is great to eat with meat or food that is harder for the body to digest. Capsaicin, a substance found in chili peppers, is known to reduce body fat. Gochujang is used in Korean dishes such as bibimbap (rice with vegetables), tteokbokki (rice cakes in hot sauce), gochujang stew, and bibimguksu (noodles with vegetables).
Kimchi 김치 is fermented spicy cabbage and is the most famous Korean dish. Well-fermented kimchi is sour, so is beneficial to the gallbladder and liver. Kimchi has vitamins A, B, and C, and it contains Lactobacillus, a probiotic similar to that found in yoghurt. Probiotics aid digestion, boost the immune system, help to efficiently use vitamins, and filter out bad bacteria or toxins. They are also linked to reducing cholesterol. In 2003, when(SARS) was spreading throughout the world, foreign media reported that the Korean people were safe from SARS because they eat kimchi, which triggered global attention to its efficacy. In 2006, Health Magazine, an American monthly, selected kimchi as one of the world’s five healthiest foods.
The Korean medicinal food culture has been coming from the idea of Yak Sik Dong Won 약식동원, meaning food and medicine share the same root. The Korean culinary culture preserves its aim of producing healthy food with traditional cooking methods, cooking technology, basic principles, and knowledge. In contrast to today’s foods which are said to be good for health with fabrication and vague rumors, the Korean culinary culture has a structure that is proven and supported by medical and scientific data.
During this month, besides reviewing previous materials at the beginning of each meeting, I start learning commonly used question words in Korean and trying to form a complete questioning sentence.
When learning English, the first couple of question words we learn must be “who, what, when, where, and why”, so we start with learning how to say those 5 words in Korean. Who is “누가/누구”, what is “뭐”, when is “언제”, where is “어디”, and why is “왜”, I remember those really quickly as I always hear them while watching Korean dramas and reality shows. When forming a simple question like “why is there” or “what is there”, just add “있어” after the corresponding question words. For example, “왜있어” means “why is there”. When asking “what to do” or “where to do”, just add “했어” after the corresponding question words. For example, “뭐했어” means “what you do”.
Later I learned when asking questions in Korean about “how many”, we have to obey a rule which is related to the object we are referring to. In English, when we ask about people we just say “how many people” and if we want to ask about items we could say “how many items”, we always have to point out what we are asking for. There’s the same in Korean, there are different words for different kinds of objects we are referring to. Generally, “how many” in Korean is always “몇”, the difference appears when asking about different objects. When asking “how many people,” we say “몇명”, and when asking “how many items” we use “몇개”. It is quite obvious that “명” refers to people and “개” refers to items. However, the difference between English and Korean is that in English when asking “how many bags” and “how many desks”, it only has to change the words. In Korean, “bags” and “desks” are in the same category which is “item”, so when we have to use “몇개” in the question. For “how many bags”, we say “몇개 가방”, we don’t say “몇명 가방” since “명” refers to people. Besides words for items and people, I also learned “마리” is for animals, “권” is for books (also used for magazines, comic books, textbooks, and so on), “시” is for time, “살” is for age, “번” is for frequency, “일” is for the date, and “층” is for the floor. After learning these questions words, I’m able to write many questions. At the beginning of the last two meetings, I shared 5 questions I wrote with Vivian and she said my grammar is mostly correct and taught me the correct way to form a more complex question. For example, I wrote the question “how many books are there in your bag?” (몇권 책 가방있어?), the correct sentence should be “가방에 책 몇권있어?”, where I should put the object “bag” at the first since that is the object I mainly want to refer to and have the question word “몇권” at last before the verb “있어”.
The past Halloween, there was a serious stampede in Itaewon, and many reports about Itaewon say that the TV drama "Itaewon Class" has attracted a large number of tourists, so I went to watch this drama, it's produced by Netflix. At the beginning of watching this TV series, I did not know what it wanted to express, but as the story progressed, I was deeply attracted, not only because of the story but also because of the character characteristics of the protagonists. The first two episodes of the series made me feel very sad. The hero's father died unexpectedly when he was at school. He wanted to avenge his father but was sent to prison. After two years in prison and seven at sea, he came to Itaewon to open a bar and want to avenge his father in a proper way. I admire the way the hero holds fast to his beliefs in the face of all kinds of adversity, and always holds out hope for a new life. However, what attracts me most in this drama is not the hero's experience and success process, nor the love story between the hero and the heroine, but the supporting actors in the drama, as well as the character and life experience of the heroine.
The heroine doesn't appear until the third episode. When she faced the campus violence, she directly posted the video exposure on the network, using her identity as an SNS blogger with 760,000 fans, set off the network's public opinion, and let the abusive girl suffer the network violence. In addition to being decisive and tough, the heroine has an IQ of 162 and is good at everything. She is not only gifted but also has a clear mind. After confirming her heart for the hero, she gave up the offer from a top university without hesitation and decided to help the hero realize his dream. One thing I really like about the heroine is that she not only knows what she wants and how she should do it, but she's also pretty sure she can do it.
Although many people dislike the supporting actress, they think she is selfish and scheming. But I think this character is actually the most real one on the show, and she shouldn't be hated. Because she, like most ordinary people, is hesitant, cowardly, selfish, and insecure when faced with a choice. Unlike the hero and heroine, most people in the world are like the supporting actress. On the face of campus, violence does not have the courage to stand up to help the bullied, in the face of others to provide huge free help will choose to accept, in the face of choosing "to protect themselves" or "to help others" will always choose the former. I also like the supporting cast, which includes rich people and prison inmates, transgender people, and mixed-race people. Everyone's past is different and they have their own difficulties in life, but they are working hard for the future.
Besides watching this drama, I also went to learn more about Itaewon. About why it was named “Itaewon" One theory is that because it was originally a military camp where American troops stationed in South Korea after the Korean war, many military families lived there, including many mixed Americans and Koreans. At that time, in South Korea, which had long emphasized the single nationality, people could not accept children of mixed race, so they were called "freaks". Therefore, the original meaning of Itaewon was freak’s yard. Later, the name was changed to today's "Itaewon" because it took a homonym. Everyone who works in the bar of the hero has been or is being, regarded as a "freak" or an outcast by most people in this society. But in the bar, they not only got the equal opportunity to work but also made concerted efforts to reform the store and open the business together. No one worked for the boss, they all worked from the heart for themselves, and they helped each other grow together.
During this month, with reviewing previous material at the beginning of each meeting. We go in-depth into words for weekdays and counting, also memorizing words on the list provided by TOPIK, which is a language test like TOEFL.
Besides the questions that we learned last month “How are you today?” and “How’s the weather?” another basic question that could be asked during a conversation is “What day is today?”, we began to learn words for each weekday and Vivian also taught me an easy way to memorize it. The words for each weekday in English follow a rule that every word ends with “day”, Korean words for each weekday also follow that rule, instead of “day” it has “요일” at the end of each word. Monday is “월요일”, Tuesday is “화요일”, Wednesday is “수요일”, Thursday is “목요일”, Friday is “금요일”, Saturday is “토요일”, Sunday is “일요일”, and every word for a weekday in Korean is formed by 3 letters or characters, the only difference is the first character. So an easy way to remember is it takes out the first character and remember them in order as a sentence, like “월화수목금토일”, every time just count through the sentence and add “요일” after the character could give the words for the specific weekday. While practicing the pronunciation of weekdays, Vivian point out a mistake that I always made, which is some times I forget to give the last consonant of the previous character to the later character. For example, when pronouncing the Thursday “목요일” (Mogyo-il), since the second character “요” is in the form of starting with a vowel, so the last consonant of “목”, which is “ㄱ”, should be pronounced with “요”(Mo-gyo-il). Vivian explained to me that the reason we should pronounce it in this way is to maintain consistency. Later I also learned the word tomorrow “내일”, yesterday “어제” and today “오늘". An interesting point is the word for “the day after tomorrow” is simply double the first character in tomorrow “내일” and gets “내내일”.
There are two ways to count numbers in Korean, so we learned them one by one. The first way we learn is commonly used when talking about dates, prices, and phone numbers. For me, I think it’s easier to remember than another way since within 100 I only need to remember 1-10, which is “1일 2이 3삼 4사 5오 6육 7칠 8팔 9구 10십”. When I want to say for example 22, I just have to combine 2이 and 10십 to get 20이십, then add 2이 after it to get 22 이십이. For numbers over 100, just have to remember how to say hundred and thousand and combine the number I need to form the words. Another way of counting numbers is more complicated, the formation of the words for numbers over 10 doesn’t like the way in previous counting way, I have to remember every number’s Korean words. This second counting way is used when expressing age or ordering food in a restaurant.
I tried Hanbok when I was traveling in Korea. It was really beautiful, which made me want to know more about Hanbok. Hanbok is the traditional clothing of the Korean nation. It was not originally what it is now, because of the Tang dynasty’s strong influence and culture exported, and Korean clothes were the exact same style as those of the tang dynasty. But from the beginning of the Ming dynasty, Korea gradually changed in the clothing of that time, and then developed to Hanbok. The change is mainly reflected in women's clothing. The belt of the blouse is gradually moved from the right side to the middle, and the waistline is also gradually moved up to form the current short top. Men's clothes basically only added their own national aesthetic on the basis of the clothes of the Ming dynasty, and only made subtle adjustments.
The color of Korean clothing can represent identity, and with the change of seasons, the color of Korean clothing will also change. Except for important festivals, the Korean people will generally wear white Hanbok, so white is the basic color of Hanbok, Korea is also known as the "white-clad nation.”
Hanbok is made up of many parts. The 저고리 (jeogori) is a basic upper garment of the Hanbok, which has been worn by both men and women. Men usually wear the 저고리 with a 바지 (baji) or pants while women wear the 저고리 (jeogori) with 치마 (chima) or skirts. It covers the arms and upper part of the wearer's body. 바지 (baji) refers to the bottom part of the men's Hanbok. It is the formal term for 'trousers' in Korean. Compared to western style pants, it does not fit tightly. The roomy design is aimed at making the clothing ideal for sitting on the floor. 치마 (chima) were typically made from rectangular cloth that was pleated or gathered into a skirt band. This waistband extended past the skirt fabric itself and formed ties for fastening the skirt around the body.
Hanbok is classified according to its purposes: everyday dress, ceremonial dress, and special dress. Ceremonial dresses are worn on formal occasions, including a child's first birthday, a wedding, or a funeral. Special dresses are made for shamans and officials. Nowadays, Hanbok is only worn on festive occasions or special anniversaries. But since it is a formal dress, most Koreans keep at least one Hanbok for special times in their life such as weddings, 추석 (Korean Thanksgiving), and 새해 (Korean New Year's), Children wear Hanbok to celebrate their first birthday (돌잔치).
The color of the Hanbok symbolized social position and marital status. Bright colors, for example, were generally worn by children and little girls, and muted hues by middle-aged men and women. Unmarried women often wore yellow 저고리 (jeogori) and red 치마 (chima) while matrons wore green and red, and women with sons wore dark blue 저고리 (jeogori). The upper classes wore a variety of colors. Contrastingly, commoners were required to wear white but dressed in shades of pale pink, light green, gray, and charcoal on special occasions.
Patterns were embroidered on Hanbok to represent the wishes of the wearer. Peonies on a wedding dress represented a wish for honor and wealth. Lotus flowers symbolized hope for nobility, and bats and pomegranates showed the desire for children. Dragons, phoenixes, cranes, and tigers were only for royalty and high-ranking officials.
During the past month, we learned a lot of things. Since my goal for this course this semester is to learn daily words and commonly used words, so that I could be able to understand the Korean drama or reality show I watched easily without the captions, also I wish to be able to communicate with native Korean about basic things, like greeting, ask directions and order food. So we start with some commonly used adjective words and combine them with their antonym, for example, a word is good “좋아” and bad “나빠”, another word group is long “길어요” and short “짧아요”. We learned a total of 8 groups, and for easy memories, Vivian test me every 4 groups by saying a word’s English, and I say that word in Korean, and I correctly answered most words. In this way, I think having a little quiz while learning new words really helps me memorize, more than that, memorizing words with their antonym is really useful and can help me form a stereotype. After memorizing those words, Vivian taught me several daily greeting sentences, like “How are you today?” (잘 지냈어요?), and I can just reply with the words good “좋아” and bad “나빠” that I just learned.
After learning the commonly used adjective word groups, and focusing on my goal, Vivian start to teach me some commonly used words to describe the weather and how to use those words. We first learned the words rain “비” and snow “눈”. To be able to use those words in conversation and to express “It’s raining” and “It’s snowing”, Vivian introduce the verb “와”, which means “falling”. Combining the weather with the verb gives us “비와” and “눈와”, which could be used to answer the question “How’s the weather today?”(날씨 어때?). Since the answer to the previous question we learned is simply a word, I had a question about why instead of just answering the weather words, we have to add a verb to answer this question. Vivian explain to me that the way we have to do this is if we just answer “rain”, it does not mean it is raining and will make the other person confused. Later we learned the words fog “안개”, sunlight “햇빛” and moonlight “달빛”. For those words when we describe the weather we add “있어” to the end, which means “have” and combine it with the words, for example, “햇빛 있어” means “There is sunlight”. For the word “lighting 번개” we learned a special verb to describe it, which is “처”. Add those together give us “번개 처”, which means “There’s lighting”, but here “there is” is not like “there is sunlight”, because lighting doesn’t continuously appear in the sky, it shows up and disappears, so the verb “처” is used here to give a sense of suddenly show up.
Every week after class, since I like to watch Korean reality shows, my homework is to write down words I don’t know while watching an episode of a reality show and share them in class. In this way, I learned a lot of words for food and ghost in Korean.
Yanran Li
Bi-weekly journal 1
During these two weeks, I met my language partner Vivian and we made a general plan for Korean learning for this semester. Since the last time I learned Korean was in 2020, and I have not learned and applied Korean for a long time, we start with reviewing the alphabet, trying to master the writing and reading of 40 phonetic symbols. Because Korean is made up of phonetic symbols, you can read any Korean you see as long as you master the pronunciation and writing of phonetic symbols, even if you don't know the specific meaning. Writing Korean is more complicated than reading Korean because some words sound similar and beginners can easily confuse some words. Therefore, my primary goal is to be able to accurately read out the Korean I see, and accurately identify and write down the Korean I hear. At the same time, pronunciation is also very important. Korean has something in common with Chinese and English and Japanese, which is convenient for learners to learn, but it still needs a lot of practice to speak authentic Korean. Korean has a special pronunciation structure, and the position of the tongue is very important in pronunciation. While we reviewing the alphabet, I found out that although I have already learned those alphabets once, I still make some wrong pronounce. All wrong pronounced alphabets are related to the double alphabet, and the pronunciation of these characters is an important part of learning Korean. Take ㄱandㄲfor example, the previous one is “giyeok” and the last one is “ssang giyeok”. “Ssang” means double, so “ssang giyeok” pronounced higher than “giyeok”, and there are 5 pairs of alphabets like “giyeok” and “ssang giyeok”. Therefore, it is necessary to explore each pronunciation slowly during practice, which will be of great help in the future.
The second part of our meeting is to try to list all vocabulary I know and write it out. Words are very important when learning a language, and they are the basis of future learning. My learning goal this week is to get familiar with all the sounds of the alphabet, watch an episode of a Korean TV series, and learn how to express a sentence in Korean. When learning a language, it is not good to only master the theory, using it in real life is important. You can learn a lot from real communication. It is important to find problems in time and correct them. I also like watching Korean TV series, and variety shows and listening to Korean songs. After I’m able to accurately read out the Korean I see, and accurately identify and write down the Korean I hear, I would start watching some clearly spoken Korean TV series or news and turn off the subtitles. Local news in South Korea may be spoken very fast. If I cannot understand it, I will try to gradually increase the speed from slow to normal. I will try my best to achieve the learning goals and expand more cultural knowledge.
Recently, I was watching a Korean TV series that just started. In the TV series, I saw a lot of historical buildings in South Korea, so I wanted to know more about them. On my previous trip to Seoul, I visited the Gyeongbokgung Palace, and there is another important historical site in Seoul that I failed to see, Jongmyo Shrine. Jongmyo is the oldest and most authentic of the Confucian royal shrines to have been preserved. Dedicated to the forefathers of the Joseon dynasty (1392–1910), the shrine has existed in its present form since the 16th century and houses tablets bearing the teachings of members of the former royal family. Ritual ceremonies linking music, song, and dance still take place there, perpetuating a tradition that goes back to the 14th century. These buildings in jongmyo are usually asymmetrical in position, but they are symmetrical as a whole.
According to the space and importance of the order, the main hall and longing hall eaves, the height of the roof, and the thickness of the columns are not the same. The number and thickness of the columns increased with the number of worshiped gods, resulting in a unique size and shape of the interior space. Although the main hall is the longest wooden building in Korea, the overall style and decoration are relatively simple. There are two special paths in jongmyo, one for the soul and the other for the king. The pavements of the two roads are paved with black brick and stone, which makes them different from ordinary roads. The path of the king was slightly higher than that of the left and right sides. Only the king and his son could walk in the middle, and the officials walked on the left and right sides. This shows the dignity and authority of the temples in South Korea.
The main activity held in jongmyo is sacrifice, so sacrificial music is indispensable. In every jongmyo ritual, there are songs and dances to pray for peace and development of the country and to praise literature and martial arts. In the sacrificial ceremonies of Korean ancestors, "musicians" in red robes made beautiful music with instruments such as stone, metal, wood, leather, and silk. While playing the unique sacrificial music, some exquisitely dressed people offered wine and offerings to their ancestors, while other young dancers, dressed in scarlet, stood in a neat square, slowly bending and swaying in a simple and restrained dance. On the first Sunday of each may, the descendants of the Korean royal family hold a ceremony in Seoul to honor their ancestors and their great achievements. In 2001, jongmyo ritual and jongmyo music was listed on the representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity by UNESCO.
China also has the same function as the jongmyo building, which is the Tai temple. In contrast to the complex and ornate Chinese imperial temples, Seoul's jongmyo temple is characterized by a long facade, simple décor, and few colors said to embody the Confucian spirit of simplicity. In terms of the architectural arrangement, the main feature of jongmyo in Seoul is that it is built according to the natural terrain, so it is not like Chinese architecture to have a unified central axis. From the appearance, there is no unity in the main palaces, but the building successfully achieves the unity of the whole by cleverly utilizing the concepts of order and moderation.
