One of my learning goals is to learn more about the culture and history of South Korea. I am accomplishing my cultural goals through the cultural posts, while focusing on the historical aspects during my sessions with my learning partner.
One of the major events in the history of South Korea is the Korean War that started on June 25, 1950. This date is so important that in Korea, they call this day “yook eeh-oh,” which is simply this date translated into Korean. When they reference the war, they simply say the date in Korean because it is known as the name of the battle. This was interesting to learn because I am used to calling it the “Korean War” and not by the date. Also, on another note, the president during this time was Lee Seung-Man, who was appointed by the U.S. and became the first president of South Korea!
Since this event is quite significant in South Korea, they have a specific word called “ee-san ga-jok sang-bong,” which translates to “family unification for separation by the Korean War.” This was to represent the certain days that allowed the unification of families who got separated into North vs. South Korea during the times of the Korean War.
Overall, it was interesting to learn more in depth about the history of the Korean War because all I ever learned about it is what they taught in U.S. history during high school. I only knew the dates and what generally happened, so it was nice to learn even more, during the semester!
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