During this month I have been highly interested in Korean dishes and cooking. It required me to find all the ingredients that are commonly used in Korean dishes. I looked into dishes that were more traditional or consumed on a daily basis. Some exemplary dishes that I cooked were 된장찌개, 마라탕, 미역국, 칼국수, 수제비, 떡국. 된장찌개, soy bean paste soup, is a very popular and common dish that is served with rice. It is also easily seen at KBBQ restaurants as a side dish. 마라탕 (malatang) is a distinctive dish with Chinese paste in the soup. This dish has been a huge trend in Korean cuisine, a Chinese paste used for dry pot and hot soup pots. 미역국 is a seaweed soup that is typically served on birthdays. The one I made included small bits of beef. 칼국수 and 수제비 are very similar but made with different types of noodles. 칼국수 is made with regular flour or potato noodles that are typically thick and doughy. 수제비 is flatten noodles made with either flour or potato. The flour or potato are rolled out in sheets then ripped apart by hand, giving irregular textures. Finally, 떡국 is a rice cake soup that is consumed typically on the Korean lunar new year. I made this for my friends on that holiday with rice cake, dumplings, eggs, green onions, and seaweed.
This month, Isaac and I focused on 한자 (Hanja) which refers to Chinese characters that are used in the Korean language. Hanja influences various aspects of Korean culture such as language, literature, and education. I wanted to focus on Hanja because I remember it is one of the first things I learned during Kumon when I was a kid. Also, my father would always emphasize the importance of knowing Hanja growing up. He believed it was crucial in learning Korean.
Hanja started in the ancient times when the Korean peninsula was heavily influenced by Chinese culture and civilization. This influence and integration of the Chinese writing system happened during the 2nd century BC. It continued for centuries during the Goryeo dynasty and the Joseon dynasty until the 15th century when Hangul (the Korean alphabet) was created. But even after the creation of Hangul, Hanja is still considered for understanding and knowing the meaning and origins of certain Korean words. Even on the Korean dictionaries, we can see the reference materials on Hanja for the meaning and etymology of Korean words. Hanja also applies for personal names where certain words and characters are chosen for their meaning or auspiciousness.
Isaac helped me discover a lot of these Hanja characters and terms that are commonly used in daily conversations. Since we went over these during our meetings, I started noticing a lot more of them when I interacted with my partners and my Korean friends.
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