Blogs

I am interested in cultural linguistics and the crossover between anthropology and linguistics. Something that I really enjoyed this semester was informally interviewing Sara on her thoughts and experiences with the French language in Morocco. I enjoyed listening to her talk about her experiences with learning French in school on top of Modern Standard Arabic AND Darija being her very first language. She says that she was "bilingual by birth", essentially saying that there was no way around her not learning a second and third language. We talked a lot about the role of colonization in her childhood and early adulthood in Morocco and what the French influence looks like in North Africa. On the other hand, Henry in our class says that in France they don't learn about the other French colonies and what happens there. Two interesting perspectives. 

If I were to conduct a linguistic study, I would focus on French language acquisition between France and a couple of other existing French colonies. I would do Morocco, maybe Tunisia, and one of the French islands in the Caribbean like Guadeloupe or Martinique. They all have very different relationships to French, and I'm interested to see how children and college students use the French language. My focus would be on younger generations to see how active "neocolonialism" is among these countries and how they use other languages in addition to French. I want to study the power dynamic of French in contrast to other native languages spoken in each country. The Caribbean would have more of a creole focus whereas in Morocco and Tunisia would have a Arabic focus. I would do a mini history lesson on French colonization in each country, and give a textbook perspective on colonization. Then, I would compare this "textbook perspective" to semi-structured interviews with French speakers in each country, Sara would be a good example. I want to know how impactful colonization was in terms of French language acquisition. Does it stand a chance to other native and local languages in each country? When I study abroad, I would love to do something similar to this. 

Sound is how people say the word whereas spelling is a conventional way to use letters that represent the make-up of a word. This is very distinct in my target language because most of the time, not all of the letters in a French word are pronounced. There can be 3-5 extra letters at the end of a French word that are never pronounced. The city "Bordeaux" is a good example. A non-French speaker would think to pronounce this as "Bore-docks" or "bore-doe-ks"; but in reality it is just "Bore-doe." Sound and spelling do not always go together and relate to one another directly. I have found this evident while studying Spanish and French at the same time. When I see the way that a Spanish word is spelled, my brain has to switch from ignoring letters at the end of the word to ignoring letters in the middle of a given word. For example, anytime I see a double "ll" or a "j", my brain has to adjust. J sounds are pronounced differently in both French and Spanish, so sometimes there can be a similar adjustment. This is still something I am learning to work through. 

https://www.frenchcourses-paris.com/french-phonetic-alphabet/ ;

The French Phonetic Alphabet has 12 vowels, 4 nasal vowels, and 18 consonant sounds. The nasal vowels stood out to me because I could immediately think about words in French where the nasal sound is prevalent (i.e vain, bain, monde, enfant, etc). Once again, I wouldn't run to immediately thinking that a language has more than six vowels, like what we are taught in school. The French 'R' is definitely the first thing that comes to mind when I think of a sound not in American English, because the 'R' comes from the back of the throat/mouth rather than the front of the mouth by your lips. For example...

- La rélation (connection) : The 'r' sound starts at the back of the mouth and the rest of the word makes its way to the front of the mouth and back to the middle with the "on" sound. 

- Revenir (to come back) : The 'r' sound is at the beginning and the end of the word. 

Producing different sounds in the French language can be difficult for me sometimes, but if I practice reading French texts out loud to myself, I see myself improving. In a French class, I am always quick to volunteering to read a passage so I can practice my pronunciation and hold myself accountable. This is something I also plan to do with Spanish as I progress in that language as well. 

Hofestede's dimensions of cultures look at how the workplace is influenced by culture. His study was conducted between 1967 and 1973 working with people from all across the world. His study overall helps travelers and people working in the international business sectors better understand intercultural communication. Canada had a strong deviation among its French-Quebec speaking populations and English speaking populations. 

Figuring Foreigners Out outlines different aspects of cultures that can separate and divide people but also brings groups of people/cultures together.  The reading observes individualist vs collectivist cultures, nonverbal communication, mono-chronic vs poly-chronic approaches to time, internal vs external ways to manipulate and shape one's destiny, and direct vs indirect communication. A lot of these concepts have parallels but also contradict one another, depending on the reader and the culture that they identify with. 

I think the Hofestede's study is prevalent nowadays because International business is a booming sector as we speak. I don't know much about business studies and how it all works, but it makes sense that at UR we have an International Business major that is combined with the study of a foreign language. I feel like my family should read Hofestede's dimensions of culture (LOL) because sometimes they struggle to understand how intercultural communication can impact both work life and everyday life out and about. 

I think that the title "Figuring Foreigners Out" comes off as a little controversial. When I hear the word "foreigner", it can have a negative and/or positive connotation depending on the context. If you actually dive into the reading, it can be a good way to self reflect on your own identity and how you communicate with people that may have different backgrounds from yourself. Some of the statements in this article can come off as euro-centric, particularly in the section about nonverbal communication. I think that it is an assessment made to be primarily used by Westerners and to analyze their interactions with non-Westerners. This in itself can be controversial/problematic because it caters to increasing the understanding of a particular group of people, especially those associated with colonization. I can see French speakers from France using this chart, but maybe not a French speaker from Africa "as much" so to speak. Just something interesting to think about: who is going out of their way to think about intercultural communication?

Languages go extinct when more generations within cultures become bilingual and slowly begin to lose connections and proficiency to their traditional languages. This is the most common among indigenous cultures around the world, whether thats Maori peoples, Aboriginal Peoples, Hawaiian peoples and others in the Pacific, the !Kung in South Africa, and other Native American tribes in modern-day United States. When languages die, this goes beyond losing connection with the language but also losing connection with the person's cultural identity and connection to a particular group. A dying language means that a group of people lost autonomy, sovereignty, and a spiritual connection to their culture. I would associate a dying language with a dying culture. Overall, we are losing a way of life from our diverse humanity.  

I think that language preservation is so cool. In a way, it feels like we are taking back the impacts of colonization and de-colonizing our world. Language preservation is also a good way to bridge linguistics professionals and anthropologists together. They are able to collaborate with native speakers to document vocabulary, grammar, structures, and incorporating other cultural practices into preserving the language. The Hebrew language was brought back to life. I think that it's success was partly the religious AND ethnic associations that the language has with people. I wonder if there are other strong spiritual and ethnic connections with other languages that have the opportunity to have a come-up the way that Hebrew has over the years. 

Modern technology is making it easier to document linguistic diversity, especially among dying indigenous languages across the globe. Native speakers are able to record audio entries to create a dictionary. The NYT article talks about how the Siletz language used among a Native American tribe in North America (Canada and through parts of Alaska) only has five native speakers left. Many have the goal to stabilize dying languages rather than using them to "conquer" the world. I like this mindset, as languages have a much higher chance at survival/complete preservation. A pool of speakers within dying languages will help keep languages like the Siletz alive. 

Before taking SDLC 105, I never considered myself to be a language learner. This course helped me explore multiple aspects of myself as a student and how I learn best. Initially, I thought that language learners meant that you had to be "good at languages." I never saw myself that way, and I still do not see myself to be "good at languages." I have a moral obligation for myself to be bilingual. This semester I have learned that I want to expand my language learning beyond just French. While I specifically focused on French speaking and learning about culture associated with the language via oral conversation, I got to learn about being multi-lingual and dipping my toes into other cultures. 

I feel like overall there is a lot of stigma when it comes to talking about culture, particularly outside of academic contexts. When I am in a classroom, I feel comfortable talking about culture and people with just about anyone. Even with my friends too. I find it more difficult to talk about culture when I am in my hometown or with family who have not traveled a lot or interacted with people outside of their communities. I am from one of the whitest parts of America, so when I tell extended family about my endeavors to speak and learn languages, as well as travel and meet new people while using these language skills, this confuses them. I tend to be educating people about culture and language learning more than having an "equal dialogue." I guess I just forget that I have to recognize that some people have been less exposed to international cultures than I have. With this, I am learning that sometimes I need to be more patient and flexible. I forget that I am not always on iTalki or at the University of Richmond. 

I have enjoyed getting to speak with Sara, my language partner on iTalki. My speaking has gone up and down throughout the semester because I am learning Spanish outside of SDLC. In the very early days of meeting with Sara, I was about a month out of coming back from France, so I was sounding pretty good. I think that throughout the semester by accent has gone down a little bit, and sometimes my pronunciation is off because I will think about pronouncing Spanish words. It has been interesting to think about how much my brain changes in order to adapt to different languages. My actual conversations with Sara have gone really well. The first half of the semester our conversations were mainly guided by her asking me written questions. Now, I feel like I get to interview her more because I feel more comfortable in my ability to ask her questions. I got to learn a lot about Moroccan culture and Sara's relationship to being a language learner too.

I think that I will continue to meet with her a couple of times a month just to keep up with her life. Next semester I am doing my first C-LAC in French, so I am trying something new to keep up with my language learning. I get to dabble in French writing again, which I have not done extensively since the summer.  I am looking forward to see how my French changes in that process. 

My favorite readings were on cultural competence and intercultural communication. I think that one of the biggest reasons why I want to learn languages is so that I can communicate with people in various cultures. It increases my appreciation for humanity and the power of language in different social contexts and how much it can change people's lives. I also enjoyed reading about syntax and learning how to make word trees because I am a linguistics minor. It was a good introduction into what a linguistics and syntax focused class will look like, as I plan to pursue taking those classes while I am here at UR. 

Overall, I would recommend this class to anyone interested in learning a language outside of a full credit class! I have recommended SDLC 105 to a few of my freshman orientees who have interest in learning languages and keeping up with their language skills. Thank you Dr. Marsh-Soloway!!!

https://urcapture.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=82b97ca3-7561-48da-8083-b0dc014fa900

I accidentally said SDLC 112 but it is for my SDLC 111 Final Presentation. 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1g5xc1WHCw8k_Uh1bMuERgFAvqPctPl5P/view?usp=drive_link

Jason%20Podcast.m4a.zip

This month I focused on all aspects of my Korean skills and took it day by day. I tried to watch at least two Korean YouTube videos everyday to continuously familiarize myself with social Korean terms and phrases. I am currently watching a lot of vlogs, cooking videos, fashion trends, and mukbangs that include social interactions among the content creators. I also started multiple new Korean shows that I could watch during break. One of the shows that I am the most excited about is Single’s Inferno 3. It is quite shocking to see how these Korean shows are becoming so big in America. I also saw a new American Netflix show that replicated a Korean show called Squid Games. 

To improve my writing skills and vocabulary using the book that we used while I studied abroad at Yonsei University. The topics that I mainly looked into are University terms. I learned a lot of terms that related to that topic such as lectures, dining rooms, and dorms. This book also helps me write in professional and formal styles. 

Another aspect that I never thought of improving on was the lyrics for songs. Because I usually listen to Korean rap songs, it has always been difficult for me to understand what they were saying. I started catching myself focusing more on the lyrics which helps me improve my listening skills. Compared to American rap, it was interesting to see how Koreans rhyme their words. I started noticing more metaphors and meanings behind the lyrics.

For my reading, I just like to go on Naver.com to find blog posts or articles on topics that I enjoy. They are usually business related articles or blog posts on celebrities. I like to highlight words that I am not familiar with to ask my language partner or my parents. Reading both blog posts and articles allows me to see how to write in both casual and formal formats. 

In my daily life I realize that my Korean is getting better through my casual conversations with my friends and family. I started preferring to speak in Korean rather than English to my Korean friends when jumping into a conversation. Other than a few words that I do not know in Korean, the conversations are fully in Korean. I also really like how I am able to teach others different words and phrases. Sometimes I even teach my parents trending slang terms and abbreviations that are new and trending. This semester was once again very productive within my Korean language learning journey. 

Over the past month, I decided that i would take my Korean learning journey into literature. But since formal literature and books were too advanced (or costly), I chose to read some Webtoons, specifically exploring popular titles like "Itaewon Class" and "Sweet Home." This venture not only expanded my Korean language skills but also provided me with a fresh and insightful perspective on Korean culture and society. Webtoons, or online comics, have become a cultural phenomenon in Korea, and they offer a unique view into the daily lives, societal norms, and emotional landscapes of the Korean people. As a language learner, delving into the narrative-rich world of Webtoons proved to be an engaging and dynamic way to enhance my understanding of colloquial expressions, informal language usage, and the nuances of everyday communication.

One of the Webtoons that left a profound impact on my learning journey was "Itaewon Class." The series, which has also been adapted into a popular Kdrama, follows the journey of a resilient entrepreneur navigating the complexities of the business world. Through the dialogues and interactions between characters, I found myself not only picking up on new vocabulary but also gaining insights into the cultural dynamics of Korean workplace etiquette and the pursuit of success in a very, very competitive society.

In addition to the language aspect, "Sweet Home" offered a different lens through which to explore Korean society. This gripping Webtoon, centered around a monstrous apocalypse, delves into the psychological struggles and interpersonal relationships of its characters. As I navigated through the suspenseful plot, I encountered a range of emotions expressed in Korean, from fear and despair to camaraderie and hope. This emotional depth added layers to my language learning experience, allowing me to absorb and internalize expressions that extend beyond everyday conversations.

Moreover, the Webtoons provided a large array of Korean culture. From the bustling streets of Seoul depicted in "Itaewon Class" to the dynamic portrayal of Korean urban life in "Sweet Home," these visual elements complemented my linguistic learning by offering cultural context and expanding my understanding of the settings in which the stories unfolded.

As the month progressed, I found myself not only improving my Korean language skills but also gaining a more profound appreciation for the diverse factors of Korean society and storytelling. Webtoons, with their vivid narratives and cultural insights, have become not just a tool for language acquisition but a gateway to a deeper understanding of the vibrant and changing world of Korean culture. This immersive journey has not only expanded my language proficiency but has also opened my eyes to the vast array of tradition and culture of life in Korea. Without a doubt, I’ll continue to keep reading other Webtoons to expand my understanding in both of these topics.

The task I am working on towards the end of the semester is focused on learning more about the sociocultural aspects of Korea through language. I have been watching historical Korean tv shows and movies that may not be completely correct but do paint a fairly accurate picture of South Korea’s history. The movie “Taxi Driver” directed by Jang Hoon is one that I have watched recently that depicts events from the Gwangju Uprising, which is a massacre that made history due to its violence in response to martial law in Korea. I also watched a film called “Battleship Island” which is about the Japanese occupation of South Korea and a particular event that occurred involving a prison break from a forced labor camp. Although the specific events that were shown in these films are fictitious, they were based on true historical events and themes which have shaped much of how Korean culture is today. Watching these films has helped me diversify my understanding of the Korean language more as I can see differences between how Korean was spoken during war times versus modern Korean. I can also see many Japanese influences in Korean vocabulary from Japan’s long occupation of Korea. By listening to dialogue in film, I have also been able to take note of how characters speak to one another like how a student talks to a professor versus fellow students and how a child talks to adults. I think watching films and tv shows in Korean has worked great for me in working towards my goals of understanding Korea’s sociocultural background as well as improving my speech. 

I also started working on a workbook called “Talk to Me in Korean” and decided to work on Level 6 which has more engaging and dynamic conversation topics such as expressing doubts and more complex topics like using the passive voice. Although the workbook is fairly difficult, I think level 6 has been a great way to add more complexity to my speech. I have been practicing topics in the book by using the conversation topics with my language partner. This learn-then-apply method has really helped cement this knowledge into my head and I hope to keep it up in the future. 

I also practice phrases and concepts I learn from watching films and reading the textbook in conversations with my parents, elders at the Korean church I attend, and other Korean students that I know who attend U of R and VCU. I think that by practicing with a wide variety of people in different states, ages, and occupations I have been able to improve the versatility of my speech as well. I think the most important part about language learning for me is to be constantly practicing and find time every day to practice either speaking or listening to Korean. Whenever I take a break from Korean, I find that it takes a while for me to start a conversation in Korean the next day. 

In the future, I intend on keeping in practice with tasks like speaking with other native Korean-speakers and making an effort to learn about Korean culture in order to see constant improvement and prevent losing the progress I’ve made this semester.

I thought it would be interesting to research what kpop fanclubs were and in the process I came across Sasaengs. Sasaengs are obsessive fans that do not respect the boundaries of their so-called “idol” and would go through any means necessary to get recognized. Their greatest motive is to be memorable to their idol instead of being lumped together with all the other fans. Sasaengs are known to invade the  privacy of their idols and their families. This phenomenon began after the 1990’s as Kpop started to gain popularity. Due to the hallyu wave, kpop idols now have foreign Sasaengs around the world.

 Some of the actions Sasaengs take to be closer to their idol include: house invasions, stalking, harassment of family members, and spreading rumors. Sometimes, they even physically assault their idol because they will get remembered by them. These obsessive fans are very thorough with their research and are able to get ahold of very sensitive information. Though sasaengs have formed a network where they collaborate at times, they usually act alone. There is a hierarchy present in this network where the sasaeng who obtains private information for the first time or who got the closest to their idol is at the top by earning the respect of the others. Aside from sharing information within their network, fans of working age sometimes enter industries that will increase their likelihood of acquiring private information on their idol or coming into contact with. Some of these jobs include working at an airline, phone companies, and banks. Sometimes, they are able to land a job with direct close contact such as a makeup artist, manager, among other staff members. Social media has facilitated their ability to acquire private information as sasaengs sell it to each other. Given that keeping close tabs on their favorite celebrities is very time consuming, it is not uncommon for these “fans” to drop out of school, sleep in internet cafes or resort to non-legal ways of making money. Seeing the extremes that sasaengs are willing to go through for a closeup with the idols, there are people who have taken advantage of it and started “sasaeng taxis”. These are taxis designed for sasaeng purposes as they will closely follow the celebrity without regard to traffic rules. These taxis typically charge $600 a day and approach sasaengs outside of venues. 

Aside from the sasaengs overpassing boundaries to be noticed, Korean fan culture has built in a place a phenomenon called “on the way home”. This refers to “organized events” by a celebrity’s fan club gaining access to information on their whereabouts or the star’s management company releasing such information to allow fans to meet their idols. These events can sometimes be barricaded with fans waiting hours for the chance to see their star in passing. Another popular Korean fan culture phenomenon is when fans rent a cafe to meet other fans and celebrate the birthday of their favorite celebrity. They usually decorate the rooms with the star’s photos, share gifts they’ve made in honor of their idol with the other fans such as bracelets or stickers with their star’s face on it.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RbSA8bkJMkfS2PpRC-ZVEbJ5IBhfF_og/view?usp=sharing

David Kim

30262888

david.kim123@richmond.edu

https://urcapture.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=4267cb33-996b-4a5e-aa8c-b0da012e14e3

David Kim

30262888

david.kim123@irhcmond.edu

I learned that being able to set my own learning curriculum and focus on the topics I want to focus on made language a much more fun and rewarding experience than any language class I’ve taken before.

I found that the most difficult part of Korean was being able to hold a full dialogue in Korean with no reliance in English. This came as no surprise, it is what I have always struggled with the most, despite having decent oral comprehension skills. Another part of learning that I struggled was with retaining vocabulary terms and phrases that I learned for the first time. I found that I had to revisit my notes throughout the semester multiple times in order to truly internalize new vocabulary.

One aspect of learning that I enjoyed very much was improving my reading and writing. After just a few sessions I could tell that I was picking up on some common Korean grammatical elements that I would have completely missed had I only been practicing my speaking and listening skills. I have noticed that in everyday life, I am able to read text messages, Instagram post captions, and other short texts more quickly. I hope to soon be more comfortable reading longer passages, perhaps by practicing with news articles and such.

Another part of learning that I thoroughly enjoyed was learning more about Korean culture and history. Learning about the history behind Hanboks and how it was deeply rooted in Korean social hierarchy and its colonial past with Japan was fascinating. Facts such as this along with what I learned about archery, martial arts, and Hangul were the highlights of my learning. I would go more in depth with Korean culture, especially with Korean history since the Three Kingdom Period. This is a shift from my initial goal to have my cultural learning focus on present day activities, hobbies, and culture in Korea for young Koreans my age. This being said I would still like to learn more about what life is like for Koreans in their 20s.

Next semester I hope that I will continue expanding my vocabulary though online resources and by practicing with my language partner. I hope that I will be more fluent in reading, writing, and especially speaking. I will make sure to have more full Korean conversations as my language learning journey continues.

My favorite in-class content from the semester was learning about the history of language families, how they evolved, and the geographic makeup of different languages. I find it very interesting how the study of language history can be closely tied to the history of how and where people moved.

Another part of class material that I thoroughly enjoyed was our study of phonetics. I think it’s very interesting how a universal set of symbols and sounds can be used to codify any language into something that anyone can read.

During the last few weeks of the semester my goal was to work towards being more comfortable speaking in full Korean conversations.

I watched videos of Korean celebrities and Youtubers to familiarize myself with casual, daily conversations. I learned new expressions and colloquial terms that I would not otherwise have seen in a textbook or academic setting. I also learned more about Korean culture by discovering celebrities I had not heard of before, such as popular rapper and variety show host Ha Dong-Hoon, also known as Haha.

I also practiced reading Korean from online Korean textbooks and learning different vocabulary from the following website: 두루책방 (xn--hu1b40go5ck8x.com). This website was especially helpful due to its structure and convenience for learning about different topics. The texts offered featured varying difficulty levels which also makes it a very convenient resource.

During my most recent Korean sessions, I practiced speaking in full Korean with no English. I found that I am able to hold a basic conversation, although I often have to stumble through certain phrases and look up terms. This being said, I am proud of my progress, although I know that I still have a long way to go before achieving the fluency I desire. My more work and another semester of this class, I am sure that I will be able to make even more progress.

Traditional Korean music is very distinctive and had its own umbrella term in Korea called gugak (국악). Gugak is not just one genre but encompasses many different musical styles such as folk music, official music for state events, traditional buddhist music, and poetic songs. Even within each of these styles exists different genres that all represent different trends and eras of Korean history. One song that is widely attributed to Korean culture is Arirang (아리랑). This song is often termed the unofficial anthem of Korea and although its exact roots are uncertain, it is thought to come from the Jangwon province in South Korea. It is a folk song with a gentle and lyrical melody with tones of longing and suffering. The title itself, “arirang,” is not a real Korean word but is a nonsensical term which implies the unique tone of the song. A very well known verse is the first verse translated as “My sweetheart is leaving alone after abandoning me | Your feet will ache terribly before walking ten miles.” Although there is no single interpretation of the song, it tells the general story of two lovers who are separated and feel sadness and longing for one another, but are eventually reunited. However, the song Arirang is a symbol with a larger meaning that represents the sufferings and strong unity of the Korean people. The song has witnessed the highs and lows of Korean history such as colonization and war but also independence and victory. The song is performed by singers and often backed up with traditional instruments such as the janggu (hourglass drum), piri (flute), and gayageum (string instrument) that give gugak songs their distinct sound. Arirang can be classified as pansori (판소리) which is a style of folk song involving a solo singer, backup traditional instrumentals, and tells a story through singing. Pansori is very important to Korean culture as it keeps the oral tradition/oral history alive. 

Another widely known gugak song is the Korean national anthem called Aegukga (애국가). The title of the song itself literally translates to “the patriotic song” or “song expressing love for one's country.” The lyrics of this song were written sometime around 1902 and the song was a part of multiple patriotic songs meant to inspire love and allegiance to the country during wartime. This meaning is clearly written in the fourth verse of the song translated as, “With this spirit and this mind, give all loyalty, in suffering or in joy, to the love of country.” The song was sung to the melody of the Scottish folk song “Auld Lang Syne” but the melody was rewritten in 1935 by composer Ahn Eak-tai. The lyrics include many important symbols of Korea such as Mount Baekdusan and the East Sea.

Korean traditional songs (gugak) play the important role of telling the story of Korea’s history over the generations as well as keeping these cultural artforms alive. There are many schools that perform gugak and children are taught many gugak songs as well in order to preserve this important musical tradition.

https://koreankulture.com/en/korean-culture/

https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/arirang-folk-song-in-the-democratic-people-s-republic-of-korea-00914

https://artsandculture.google.com/story/korea-traditional-musical-instruments-national-gugak-center-gugakwon/QQXBWFVCGDVvKQ?hl=en

https://www.mois.go.kr/eng/sub/a03/nationalSymbol_2/screen.do

South Korea has one of the most prolific drinking cultures in Asia as drinking is approached as a social act. It is very common for Koreans to drink with their teams after work to loosen themselves up and connect with each other - known as hoesik. However, it is not simply drinking - it involves cultural traditions and etiquette too. The consumption of alcohol is deeply rooted in holidays and family rituals such as lunar new year and chuseok (day of giving thanks).

 Koreans began producing their own alcohol during the Koryo Dynasy (946-943) due to the introduction to distilling liquor given the exposure to foreign cultures. During this time, the first prototypes of a popular alcohol ic beverage, soju, was created though it is still uncertain where exactly it originated from. Alcohol became more accessible under the Joseon dynasty and it is when traditional drinks were brewed using rice. Previously, it was mostly the royal family who were able to partake in drinking distilled alcohol but during the Joseon dynasty, the general public also partook. It was under the reign of this dynasty that many of Korea’s traditional liquors were created such as samhaeju and miinju. However, after Korea was colonized by the Japanese, taxes were imposed on the alcoholic drinks and they gained control over the traditional production techniques. This in turn led to the demise of traditional Korean alcohol as the Japanese began to impose their own means of producing alcohol. By the time Korea was liberated and faced the Korean war, traditional Korean alcohol had practically disappeared. In modern day Korean, drinking culture revolves around low-alcohol drinks like soju and beer as opposed to its counterparts. 

Drinking rituals are heavily laced with respect for elders and/or your superiors. Some of the customs when drinking include serving everyone drinks first and then waiting for someone to offer you a drink as it is viewed as taboo to pour your own glass. When you are accepting or pouring  a drink, bow your head slightly and you must also use both hands to sustain your glass - typically your right hand holding the glass or bottle and the left hand slightly holding your other wrist.  As a sign of respect, when drinking the glass, the younger ones should face away from the elders and use their hands to cover themselves while drinking. As a rule of thumb, the first drink should be drunk all at once. It is regarded as distasteful if you reject a drink that is offered especially when drinking with your coworkers, resulting in a culture where you drink until drunk. Studies have shown that the biggest reason why Koreans drink is to relieve stress. 

Given the high alcohol consumption rate, liver cancer along with other liver related diseases  are the leading causes of death for Koreans. Due to the heavy drinking culture, the government has started several well-being campaigns in 2007 to reduce the amount of alcohol consumption. However, these initiatives have yet to be successful.

Train to Busan is Korea’s first zombie blockbuster film that led to zombie horror becoming a well-established genre in South Korea. It premiered at the Cannes festival and was also a turning point in the careers of many well-known korean actors like Gong yoo and Ma Dong-seok. It was a box office hit garnering 80.5 million dollars in South Korea and a total of 98.5 million dollars internationally. Train to Busan was unique because it featured a zombie apocalypse on a moving train, increasing the tension and suspense throughout the film. The movie’s success aside from its sophisticated cinematography, is due to its well-developed characters and its allegories to Korean society’s issues and the Sewol Ferry national trauma. 

Some of the themes explored in this film include class divisions, capitalism, and self-destructive human behavior. These topics are most notable when the group of capitalism’s elite in business class immediately seclude themselves from those who do not appear to be at the top of the social hierarchy. The class divisions are highlighted when they refuse to save the lives of others in order to save themselves - an allegory for corporate greed ignoring their detrimental impact on the lives of others if it means they can remain at the top. The unfortunate effects of capitalism are also seen in the relationship between the main character Seok Woo and his daughter. Seok Woo is introduced as having a very successful career and then his poor relationship is unraveled since he is disconnected from his daughter and has a failed marriage. While all the daughter seeks is his love and attention, he presents her with gifts - ones she already has in their original box. After realizing his daughter’s biggest wish is to see her mom, he finally allows it and it is when they board the train. 

The film is also believed to allude to the 2014 Sewol Ferry national tragedy that occurred when a high school class was on their way to Jeju Island as part of a school trip. The ship sank due to the overloading of the ship by its owner to save money. Out of the 476 people on board, 325 of them were high school students and only 172 survived the sinking of the vessel. The majority of the victims were highschoolers as only 75 of those students made it out alive. This tragedy is particularly imprinted in Korean history due to the fact that the captain and its crew survived by escaping in lifeboats without notifying the passengers of the situation nor attempting to rescue any of them. It is also especially controversial how the aftermath was handled since the news media in accordance with the government initially reported that there were no casualties. This was alluded to in the film when the government is not actively present and power is thus concentrated in the hands of a businessman who manipulates the situation by ordering the crew around in efforts to save himself.  Koreans have noticed the connection between the blatant miscommunication between the people and those in power.

This semester, I took the SDLC 105 and 110 classes in tandem which I found to be very helpful in learning my target language: Korean. My learning activities have been made for the goal of increasing my Korean speaking fluency. When the year began, my plan consisted of speaking activities such as specific topics to talk about with my language partner that I had an interest in such as talking about school, business topics (my language partner and I were both business majors so this worked great), and about Korean modern language and trending or “meme” phrases. I really enjoyed these activities because they were already topics I was interested in and I could learn new vocabulary and grow more comfortable with speaking in Korean as well. However, I was having some difficulty with doing just the speaking activities since I was still a beginner in proper sentence structure, tense, vocabulary, and also sociocultural aspects of the language like respect and formality. The topics we learned about in class helped me to adjust and add to my language learning plan to improve these aspects of my speaking as the semester progressed.

The topics in class also helped me to gain a greater interest in certain aspects of Korean language outside of just speaking. For example, I included activities such as learning and sounding out the Korean phonetic alphabet to get better at pronunciation and forming sounds that did not exist in the English phonetic inventory. I also included more activities to supplement my grammar knowledge due to the grammar topics we learned in class by reading different levels of a Korean textbook series. I was reading “Talk to Me in Korean” and got to workbook level 3. This book also helped me learn more about vocabulary and practice speaking Korean in a real-life context. I also learned more about Korean morphemes through the activities we did in class about splitting up inflectional and derivational morphemes. I learned a lot about myself as a language learner such as how quickly I can learn if I am constantly exposing myself to the target language and trying to get exposure to it every single day. I also learned that all the aspects of a language are tightly linked like speaking, reading, and writing and I can’t attempt to master one without learning the others.

I found that my main goal changed to include learning about more sociocultural aspects of Korea because I learned a bit about it through conversations with my language partner, listening to Korean podcasts, and writing cultural posts for SDLC 110 which was helping me to learn parts of Korean language such as formality and traditional terms. I learned that removing a language from its cultural context makes it lose a lot of depth and meaningfulness so I would also like to learn more about it after this semester! I also plan on visiting Korea after I graduate (May 2025) so I hope to use what I learned from these classes in a real practical setting.