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The Korean linguistic aspects: 

South Korea is a slightly hierarchical society. This means that people accept a hierarchical order in which everybody has a place and which needs no further justification. It is considered  a collectivist and feminine society where focus is on “working in order to live”, managers strive for consensus, people value equality, solidarity and quality in their working lives. South Korea is one of the most uncertainty avoiding countries in the world. It maintains rigid codes of belief and behavior and are intolerant of unorthodox behavior and ideas. There is an emotional need for rules because for Koreans time is money; people have an inner urge to be busy and work hard, precision and punctuality are the norm, innovation may be resisted, security is an important element in individual motivation. People live their lives guided by virtues and practical good examples. When greeting someone older, Koreans bow their heads a bit to indicate respect. A lot of their body language is performed to show respect for the other person because for Koreans, respecting others, especially their elders, is very important. 

My learning goals this week was to learn classroom/life survival language, greetings, farewells, and introductions. I accomplished these goals by: meeting with my language partner on Saturday, watching YouTube videos, talking to my Korean friends in order to practice, using BYKI, Rocket languages online resource, Mango Languages and using these two online sources: 

• http://blog.thearrivalstore.com/travel/15-korean-phrases-learn-first/
• https://www.90daykorean.com/quick-korean-phrases-for-the-esl-classroom/

My goal for this coming week is to review the basic conversations I learnt last week on Mango languages and move to the next one. Also I am going to keep learning Korean food culture by watching the Englishmen in Korean program on youtube. As I have lunch appointments with my Korean friends this week, I will try to speak the new words I learnt to them and we will talk about the food and fashion culture in Korea as well. I am also looking forward to start learning writing character this week. I hope that I could recognize the Korean characters with the phonetics that I already knew. 

Korea has its own cultural etiquette in business world and daily life, separate and distinct from western countries. In corporate culture,"Yes" is not necessarily “yes.” Koreans avoid saying "no." So people try to phrase questions in a manner that doesn't require a "yes" or "no" answer. For example, instead of saying "Could we sign the agreement by next Friday?” people would say "When is the earliest date that we could expect to sign this agreement?" Also, building trust and relationships is vital to establishing a successful business relationship in Korea. This requires patience. Koreans prefer to do business with people they know. Therefore, the first meeting is to establish trust, and business should not be discussed.

In the case of body language, direct eye contact between junior and senior business people should be avoided, because this is seen as impolite or even as a challenge. And always pass and receive objects with your right hand (supported by the left hand at the wrist or forearm) or with two hands to show respects. 

There is also a special highlight for women in the cultural etiquette that Korean women behave differently from Western women. For instance, Korean women usually nod slightly and will not shake hands with Western men, while western women may offer their hand to a Korean man. Besides, foreign women may have difficulty doing business in Korea, because Korean men generally prefer to negotiate with men although women are becoming more accepted in the Korean business place. Last but not least, Korean women would wait for Korean men to make the first move instead of "lady first" in Western culture.

Children's Day (Eorini nal) is a South Korean national holiday celebrated on May 5. It was founded by the Korean children's writer and storyteller Bang Jung-hwan in 1923 as a way to instill a sense of independence and national pride in children. Eorini nal highlights the dignity of children and their need for love, care, and respect. It is also a day to honor parents who have contributed to improving the lives of children. 

On this day, families celebrate with various fun programs for children. Parents often dress up their children and take them to national parks, amusement parks, zoos, or to the cinema for a full day of fun and games. Children receive gifts and money from their parents as well.

My learning goals for this week were to review and learn the Korean grammar. I found a great website called How to Study Korean that provides lessons beginners as well as intermediate level students. The site consists of 5 units with 125 Lessons, and I have reviewed Lessons 1 - 8. This site was great for I was able to work on my pronunciation as well as my spelling. I also found some helpful Youtube videos and started watching some Korean variety shows, which helped me learn a lot of abbreviations and slangs in Korean. 

How to Study Korean:

http://www.howtostudykorean.com/unit1/

This week I want to be able to do introduce myself, formally and informally. I will practice introductions and farewells that I learned on Mango.  I will hopefully meet with my language partner this week. My artifact for the week will be an Audacity recording.

There are many differences between American and Korean body language. One of the most commonly known differences is the difference in greetings; it is custom for Americans to shake hands while Koreans are known to bow. Eye contact is viewed in America as giving attention and respect to a person while speaking, in Korea it is considered rude or a challenge if a person makes direct eye contact. Another important difference that a foreigner may easily overlook is the way Koreans intentionally use both hands to pass an object to another person, whether it is by holding the object with both hands or holding the object in the right hand and supporting with the left hand. When it comes to the drinking culture in America, it is normal for a person to pour his/her own drink. But in Korea, it is culturally appropriate to offer pouring drinks to others. Continuing with the drinking culture, you must also turn to the side while drinking if you are younger than the person you are drinking with.

Here are some pictures as well as a link to a YouTube video showing some basic body language. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBKaG9QvSUg 

Jjimjilbangs (찜질방)  are public baths that are commonly found in Korea. The word, "찜질방"  is a combination of two words, "찜질" (poultice) and "방" (room). A 찜질방 is separated by gender and consists of not only a variety of hot tubs varying in temperature but also showers, traditional saunas called hanjeungmak (한증막) and massage tables. These days, a 찜질방 will commonly have additional services such as unisex areas consisting of a snack bar, ondol (온돌) or under-heated floors which are designated sleeping and lounging spaces, TVs, exercise rooms, ice rooms, heated salt rooms, PC rooms, karaoke rooms, and much more. Jjimjilbangs are open 24 hours and a common weekend getaway for families as well as an overnight sleeping place if needed. They are enticingly cheap, costing only around 6,000-14,000 won which approximated to around $6-$14 a night.

Right as a person enters a 찜질방, she pays and receives clothing to change into.The clothing is often color coded according to gender. After paying, the person is taken to a changing room separated based on gender where she places her shoes in a small locker. Usually a person would shower first before entering any baths or saunas. In a 찜질방, public nudity is acceptable and a norm as it is, in fact, a bath house. A popular service in a 찜질방 is a scrub by an attendant who will scrub a person’s entire body to remove dead skin. After showering and bathing, a person will usually then head to the communal area to relax, eat, or sleep. A random but interesting cultural trend that is only done in a 찜질방 is wearing a sheep-head towel which is shown below. 

 Hard boiled eggs are the staple food that can be found in any jjimjilbang

My learning goal for this week is to gain a better grasp on when to use the correct particles in sentences. I will achieve this goal by watching the YouTube videos I found previously and also reading reference sources I discovered online. I will also practice this in writing by texting to my parents only in Korean this week so I may apply what I gain from watching videos and reading resources. I will also begin a daily journal in which I will write a few sentences in Korean about each day.

The Korean language has different grammar and vocabulary depending on the level of formality in a situation. In Korea, age difference and social position (”job status”) often take precedence over social ranking in Korea. Formal speech is called "jondaemal" (존댓말) and familiar/informal speech is called "banmal"  (반말).

Honorifics are used with “jondaemal” and are used to differentiate between the formal and informal speech. Words like –yo and –seumnida are often added at the end of a sentence to show respect. Jondaemal is more directed to adults, seniors and acquaintances. Banmal, on the other hand, is less formal, but not necessarily disrespectful. Banmal is often used between friends of the same age or to people who are younger than you. Banmal in Korean literally translates into “half-words” in English, and it can be viewed as disrespectful in certain situations.

Below is a Youtube video that discusses when and how to use honorifics:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsfuwvjIeTg

As mentioned in the reading, different cultures have different notions of personal identity. In Korea, older people are accorded with honor. Therefore, anyone older or of a higher status must be addressed with honorifics, even among acquaintances and strangers. The use of honorifics reflects the differences in social status between speakers and is often used to show respect.

Koreans also heavily rely on nonverbal communication and behaviors. First, Koreans greet by bowing. Posture is extremely important, and bowing should occur from the waist, not just the head and neck. One of the main cultural differences between many western countries and Korea is that direct eye contact in Korea is viewed as impolite. Thus, it is often only reserved for people who they are familiar with. Also, when receiving or giving something, Koreans use both hands to show respect.

Below is a Youtube video that compares American gestures and Korean gestures that I found useful and interesting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPub2vF4zlA