Blogs

Since the last biweekly journal, I have had one session with Jenna and another with Jimin. On February 20th, I joined a group that Jimin taught and learned a lesson on Korean idioms. She explained to us that they were different than the proverbs we previously learned because proverbs are sayings people say while idioms are phrases that have a meaning of its own that is different than the direct meaning of the individual words that make up the phrase. Jimin would write each phrase on the white board and we would all read them out loud together. I thought it was interesting that most of the idioms mentioned body parts such as the eyes, nose, or hands within the phrase. I was able to recognize more idioms than proverbs. One that stood out to me was “손이 크다” which directly translates to “hands are big” but actually means to be generous or to over prepare for an occasion. My mom would use this one very often and people would use this idiom to describe her. Many of the idioms we went over focused on describing the personality of a person while the English idioms I am familiar with tend to describe situations and how a person acts. Similar to the proverbs, I thought that the direct meaning of the idioms were pretty funny, but unlike the idioms, the direct translations all made sense in a way. The idiom, 코가 납작해지다 directly means that one’s nose is being flattened but the actual meaning is to be shamed by someone or refers to one’s self confidence being lowered. I was able to guess several of the idioms right away. An example is 코가 높다 which directly means that someone’s nose is high. When I imagine that, I think of someone proud and it actually is used to describe someone who is arrogant.

The following Tuesday my group and my language partner Jenna watched a short Korean drama called “XX”. After watching two episodes, we discussed how different it was compared to other TV series in Korea. It was about how two people (one a head bartender and the other a owner of a bar) meet after ignoring each other for five years because one slept with the other’s boyfriend. The setting was unique and the problems that kept rising were fairly real which made this show more intriguing. Throughout the episodes, the idiom 바람 피우다 came up multiple times. It directly means to avoid the wind but really means to cheat on someone. I was excited to hear that phrase because I had just gone over common idioms five days before and I was learning how it was used in a sentence by watching the show. The subtitles were on, but I didn’t necessarily need them when the characters were talking. The only part I used the assistance was when they were discussing business and corporations. Watching the show also helped me practice listening because they were talking fast and I had to focus so that I could catch everything they said. Overall I thought I learned more about how native Korean speakers talk in their everyday lives using more complex phrases.

For this week, after finishing watching the Oscar awarded movie "Parasite", we dig deeper into the plot, the meaning and the interpretation of scenes and the story. Therefore, my language partner and I had a conversational interview based on this topic and particularly how I felt about the movie. 

영화 어땠어요? (Do you like the movie?)
재밌었어요. 영화 좋아해요 (I really like it and it is a great and super informative movie)

어떤 점이 재밌었어요? (What do you think was interesting about the movie?)
그 집에서 일하던 도우미분이 복숭아 아르레기가 있으셨는데 복숭아 가루를 주변에 부으며 사모님에게 아주머니가 폐렴이 있다하며 속였어요

(It is when they spill the peach powder around the servant and try to get her fired.)

기생충이 어떤 뜻인줄 알아요? (Do you know what "Parasites" mean?)
이 영화에선 기생충은 가난한 가족입니다 부자 가족한테 의존하며 속입니다.(Biologically speaking, parasites are organisms that live on or in a host organism and get their food from or at the expense of their host. In the movie, the Kim clan, and the former servant's family are parasites who get money, food, and shelter from the Park's while the Park's is the host.) 

Then, after finishing discussing the movie, we turned our gears and started to learn more about sentence structures and how to say verbs and write them in different tenses. For sentence structures, in Korean, sentences consist of either a “subject + verb” or a “subject + object + verb.”  For example, I like bananas (바나나 좋아해요). Bananas, the subject will be put in the first place and the verb "like" is put at the end. Another example can be, I do not like to study (저는 공부한느걸 싫어해요), using Korean sentences rules, the sentence will be translated as "study I don't like". Furthermore, we discussed how to express verbs in different tenses, including past tense, future tense and present tense. For the verb "watch 보다", for example, the past tense will be Watched 봤다, the present tense will be Watching 보고있다 and the future tense will be Will watch 볼거다. For the verb "eat 먹다", we have Eating 먹고있다, Ate 먹었다 and will eat 먹을거다. For the verb "like 좋아하다", we have liking 좋아하고있다, liked 좋아했다 and will like 좋아할거다. After seeing these examples, patterns of changing tenses can be found evidently. When applying these verbs into sentences will be like I will go to sleep at 9 PM
()저는 9시에 잘거에요) and last week, I watched the movie “Parasite” with Raymond (저는 지난주에 용준이랑 기생충 봤어요). For next week, we will formally expand these topics about Korean sentence structures and grammar and I'm looking forward to learning them. 

For this cultural post, I want to talk about a Korean movie that won four Oscar awards -- 기생충(Parasite). This movie is influential because it depicts and reflects realistically the gap between the rich and the poor in Korea. Parasite’s message isn’t particularly subtle; the meaning is right there in the title. Parasite tells the story of a poverty-stricken family, the Kims, who cunningly place themselves in the service of the Parks, an obscenely wealthy household who have been unknowingly harboring a stranger in their basement for years. The basement-dwellers could be easily viewed as parasitic, along with the Kims; the two families rely on the Parks for income, food, and shelter, and enter their house deceptively, aggressively competing with each other. Parasite outlines how the working class are forced into conflict against one another, fighting for scraps, while families like the Parks live a comfortable life, fueled by the labor of the many individuals working beneath them. The Parks are not depicted as villains, but in their naivety and casual entitlement, their parasitic nature is laid bare. The rainstorm that floods the Kim’s house with sewage, followed by the extravagant birthday party for a spoiled child, being raised to believe he is an artist (while being taught by a genuinely talented artist) clearly illustrates the imbalance.

What surprises me the most is knowing that Kim clan is not the only "parasite" in the house but the former servant is a "parasite" as well. This movie shows conflicts and disparity between different classes of people throughout and subtlely without telling a word that Kim's are poor and Park's are rich, this information is all shown by small details and the surroundings. There is one specific scene where father Kim is introduced by his daughter to the Parks as a driver, he is sitting outside of a glass room waiting for the Park finishing the meeting. The clear border between glasses is considered as the gap between the rich and the poor in Korea. The rich will also be powerful, superior and "big" in society just as the size of the image of Park comparing with that of father Kim. It also implies that the poor are trying to cross the borderline and draw food, money and shelter from the rich. 

Cultural%20Post%202.docx

Sikhye:

Maesilcha:

When the term “K-pop” is brought up in a conversation, most people associate this term with groups like BTS, Blackpink, Big Bang, and Psy. Each and everyone of these groups and individuals have become global sensations, performing for events like Coachella, Daily Shows, the Grammys, and etc. People love these groups for their aesthetically pleasing music videos, uncontainable energy in rhythm and melody, and beauty. While these artists have played a significant role in paving a path for interaction between Korean and American culture, they account for only a small percentage of the many great artists that perform in Korea. After further investigation into Korea’s entertainment industry, I have found several amazing ballad and r&b artists that the rest of world is missing out on.

            I want to start providing some insight into the Korean ballad artists because ballad is my favorite genre within the whole industry. My favorite ballad songs are sung by Park Hyo Shin who is considered one of the legendary singers in Korea. He is able to sing songs very softly using techniques that he derived from pop, choir, and musical genres. Like many Korean ballad singers, Park Hyo Shin’s songs evoke feelings of sadness, loss, heartbreak, and all the words that you can use to describe someone’s sadness. I’ve talked to many Korean natives about this and they state that Korean songs are embodiments of Han, “a concept of an emotion, variously described as some form of grief or resentment that has been said to be a characteristic of Korean culture” (Wikipedia). This characteristic originated during the Japanese occupation of Korea, which inspired Koreans to unite “through a sense of shared suffering” due to “turbulent modern history” (Wikipedia).  I believe that this cultural characteristic may resonate with the African Americans and their inspirations and emotions behind soul music. “According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is music that arose out of the black experience in America through transmutation of gospel and rhythm” (Wikipedia). I found the similarities between the two music styles to be very interesting because I am a avid listener of both genres. Somewhat detracting from the flow of this paper, I would like to recommend a few songs for everyone to listen to. Everyone who is somewhat interested in Korean music should start listening to Wild Flower, Breath, Goodbye, and The Day by Park Hyo Shin.

            The Korean music genre also includes Korean R&B. The artists in this genre produce content with all kinds of messages. These messages include sadness, heartbreak, money, love, power, dreams, random thoughts during the day, and even the kinds of food they’re craving. The most importance of Korean R&B songs are rhythm and “chill” vibes. I would like to recommend artists and songs from this genre as well. The songs are Sleep Talk by Zion. T, Wiing Wiing and Hooka by Hyukoh, Gold by offonoff, and Any Song by Zico.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul_music

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_(cultural)

Assignment downloaded as PDF: 

110_%20Cuture%20Artifact%20%232.pdf

Culture%20Post%20%231.docx

          In the future, I hope to work in South Korea’s fast-paced economy. In order to do so, I must learn technical terms that pertain to this industry (which I have written down as one of my objectives in my learning plan). While learning the special vocabulary is significant, I believe understanding the underlying values and beliefs of the culture is crucial in helping me fully immerse into the industry. For example, in Korea, filial piety is highly valued. In addition, the idea of obedience to family, hard work, protection of the family is also something I want to learn more about. And most importantly, I want to know more about the professional work environment and understand the attitudes and beliefs of common South Korean employees. In Korea, social gatherings (회식) are very common for employees and I know that they are basically seen as another mandatory meeting. However, this meeting is used to impress your boss, get closer to your other co-workers, and e.t.c. I hope to know more about the work culture in Korea, so I can be wary about my actions and manners. 

Recently, a Korean drama called “사랑의 불시착（Crush landing on you）” just ended. It was very popular, and I also watched some episodes with my language partner. The set of this drama was very interesting because it was set in North Korea, which was very different from other classic Korean dramas. This drama is about the love story between a wealthy woman who comes from South Korea and a soldier who comes from North Korea. This wealthy woman came to North Korea because she suffered from a hurricane, and her paraglider was blown into North Korean territory. She was found by a North Korean soldier, and this soldier protected her while she was in North Korea. She stayed in a village near the border. When she saw the village for the first time, the backwardness of the village shook both her and me. Also, later in the series, those north Korean soldiers who knew her and went to South Korea with her were all shocked by the prospect of a developed South Korea. The rapid development of South Korean society is something they have never experienced in their own country. This also made me think of the reason why North Korea is so different from South Korea. Therefore, I did some research on the difference and relationship between North Korean and South Korean.

The first thing made me interested and also the most obvious was the difference between language. Actually, South Korean language and North Korean language are essentially the same, but with subtle differences. So people can easily distinguish these two lanuages from two perspectives . Firstly, from the perspective of 음성(intonation), South Korean has a higher and softer tone, while North Korean is lower and harder. Secondly, from the perspective of 어휘(vocabulary), North Korean are much more “domestic” than South Korean. South Korean has a richer and more dynamic vocabulary because of the degree of social development. South Korean accept more loanwords. Foreign words like "와 이 프 (wife), 나 이 프 (knife)", which has the similar pronunciations as English, in South Korean language never appear in North Korean language. North Korean generally just said "안 해 (wife), 칼 (knife)".

Due to the differences in political and economic systems, the two countries also have great differences in the current culture. North Korea is relatively closed culturally because of its relatively closed political system. People's vision is limited and mind is not open. With little economic development, there is a relative lack of culture. But North Korea still values education even in tough economic times, and many of its children are versatile. South Korea is different. South Korea's economy is developing well, and people have a broad vision and an open mind. In particular, the development of literature and art in South Korea is remarkable. This is evident in industries such as film and television in South Korea. Such differences also have led to many 탈북자（North Korean defectors）.

As I mentioned in my bi-weekly journal, my final cultural presentation will have the same topic. I will include more details and comparison in my final presentation.

From the reading, I realized the type of competence I have in the Korean language is basic interpersonal communicative skills (BICS) instead of a cognitive/academic language proficiency (CALP) because I have the communicative capacity to function in daily interpersonal exchanges while I lack a certain dimension of proficiency outside of interpersonal contexts

The introduction of the four different subcategories of CC––grammatical, discourse, sociolinguistic, and strategic competence––in addition to the subcategories under them was useful and interesting to know while reflecting on my competence in Korean. As the reading continued, I learned more about the different necessary components of knowing a language, speaking a language, and understanding a language. One language student will not fully know, speak, and understand a language by simply studying the grammar or cultural context only. As I look back to the main part of this assignment/discussion post, I know that I want to learn and improve my Korean because of my genuine interest in Korean culture. I grew up watching Kdrama and I also listen to Korean music more than American media. As someone who is both Korean and American living in America, it is important to make sure I know the cultures I identify with. In order to deepen my language and cultural studies of Korean, I planned to study/have studied Korean proverbs, idioms, slang, and general history in addition to modern-day customs. To do this, from a language standpoint, I not only need to develop grammatical competence but strategic competence in the language and the functions of the language forms. I think my plan to learn these topics will help me understand the target culture in addition to learning new words and phrases. 

When watching any historical Korean drama, one can notice the elegant traditional clothing worn by each character. The name of these garments is called hanbok; “han” meaning Korea and “bok” meaning clothing. They were worn on a daily basis as they were considered normal clothes centuries ago, but are now only worn during special occasions. In ancient times, clothing was a way to distinguish between the wealthy class and the commoners. The royal family and other upperclassmen would wear hanboks made from ramie cloth for the warmer times and silk for the cooler times of the year. Those with lower social positions only wore hanboks made of cotton since they were much more affordable. The color of the hanbok was another way to symbolize social and marital status. Children and girls would wear bright colors, while older men and women would wear muted hues. Women who were not married would wear yellow and red dresses while married women would wear green and red. Specifically, if the women had sons, she would wear navy. The rich would wear a wide variety of colors while the poor were limited to white or other lighter colors. Patterns were also woven into hanboks to represent that individual. Peony flowers were for wedding dresses, pomegranates represented a desire to have children, while lotus flowers stood for nobility. Particular symbols such as the dragon or tiger were set aside for only the royal family or high ranking officials. When females decide how to style their hair, unmarried females will fix it into a long braid while others will tie their hair into a low bun to symbolize that they are married.

Nowadays, hanboks are not regularly worn except during celebrations, festivals, or important occasions. One of the first examples I can think of is during the Lunar New Year (seollal) in which mostly just the children are dressed in their hanboks and do a traditional bow (sebae). This bow is usually done by the younger members of the family to the older members. When bowing, they will wish those receiving the bow a happy new year. In return, the older members will give the younger ones advice and very frequently, cash. Furthermore, many couples will take their wedding photos in their hanboks as well as wearing them to the wedding party. During the wedding, it is traditional that the mothers of the couple wear hanboks. Lastly, in Korea, the 1st birthday of a child is significant (along with the 100 days celebration). The babies are dressed in their hanboks for this special occasion in which their family and close friends wish them a bright, prosperous future. 

Although they are not the everyday wear in Korea, Korea offers hanbok rentals so that anyone can try them on and take pictures with the beautiful scenery. Many youth kids will go with their friends to experience this along with many other tourists. The Korean hanbok has gone to various changes throughout the year and have even made it to some fashion show catwalks.

SDLC%20110%20Cultural%20Artifact%20%232.docx

June Choi

Dr. Soloway

SDLC 113

February 23, 2020

SDLC 113 Cultural Post #2

            As it is my last semester of college, and due to my recent encounter with the new Yeonsei exchange, student, I thought it would be fitting to look deeper into the differences between Korean and American college cultures. In the US, the academic portion of college life involves a lot of essay writing, sports, and other extracurricular activities. Tuition is rather high, especially for private institutions that demand around 60,000 dollars per year if one does not receive scholarships or grants. In Korea, the academic life of a student mainly involves studying for a midterm and a final exam and doesn’t normally involve many daily assignments. Additionally, switching one’s major after entry is rather difficult compared to colleges in the US. Tuition in Korea is also much cheaper than in the US. Regarding the housing culture, in the US, many students live in campus dorms at least for their freshman year. Some opt to live in apartments nearby school for the additional freedom or for financial reasons. In Korea, it is common for students to rent a “one room” rather than live in a dorm, as dormitories are not that common in Korea. I found this to be a very interesting difference, as I feel that the dorm culture in the US shapes a lot of the activities that students can do, as well as the type of relationships that the students form. Due to the dorm-heavy housing in the US, at least based on my experience, I quickly became close to my hallmates in the beginning of the year. It is also very common for US college students to engage in school activities together or hang out in their dorms together due to the proximity of all of the students. On the other hand, as Korean college students mostly live in “one rooms” off-campus, it is common for them to meet up outside of the college boundaries and instead to meet up at nearby restaurant or café. As for fashion culture, in the US it brings no surprise to see students dressed in gym clothes or comfortable attire. Many college students prefer to have a relaxed look instead of dressing up for school. On the contrary, fashion is highly valued in Korean college culture, and thus both male and female students often put more effort into their daily appearances and outfits. Finally, for student activities, college in the US are dominated by Greek culture, or the association with fraternities and sororities. These are where students can feel “included” and make many close friends. There are also many clubs, especially those that support racial and sexual diversity. In contrast, colleges in Korea do not have Greek culture, but they do have clubs. There are “OT’s” (orientation) and “MT’s” (membership training), which are two of the largest events for clubs to get together and build relationships. Finally, due to the hierarchical aspect of Korean culture, it is common for underclassmen to be cautious around and very respectful towards upperclassmen. I found this aspect of Korean college culture to be very bizarre and hard to understand as college students normally only have a maximum of 3 years in age difference. Additionally, I thought that the “MT” and “OT” culture seemed like a lot of fun and wish that there were large events like that in US colleges. Personally, I think I like the dorm culture in the US better because it reduces a lot of stress concerning finding affordable housing in time for the school year, and it also eliminates a lot of worry about safety and makes meeting friends at any time of the day much more achievable. I found that watching some youtube videos on college life in Korea to be very enlightening and entertaining as it was a direct and raw look into one’s life as a Korean college student. I think studying abroad or even just living in Korea for an extended period of time would definitely help my language and cultural learning. However, I’m not sure if I’m ready for that just yet. Below is a link to some of the Korean college student youtubers that I watched.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReQGOf8Sg34

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0Wt0NjlcBE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHxAsMVT0Pc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuJEkryWUK4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hueb91TcB0Q

For my second cultural post, I decided to watch a professional Korean basketball broadcast of an all-star game three years ago. Everything is in Korean except for the title of the YouTube video. The title of the video is, “KBL All Star Full Game Highlights,” and is around ten minutes long. They separated the two teams as Seniors and Juniors, compared to the NBA where it is the Team X and Team Y. Based on the speaker, the game is being held in Busan in South Korea. The highlights go by quarter to quarter starting from the tip off. It was interesting to see some English words being used during the broadcast, such as “fadeaway” and “all-star.” It is interesting because they pronounce it as a Korean word with different characters and syllables, but it sounds like the English word. Most of these “English” words I am hearing are cognates in the Korean language. It was cool to see common phrases such as “catching fire” in Korean. I was able to understand what the broadcaster was trying to say based on the context clues and words like fire in Korean. What I have recognized in the KBL league is that the fans are much louder and more enthusiastic to simple three-pointers or simple dunks when compared to NBA fans. This might be due to the fact that the NBA has much crazier and athletic dunks when compared to the KBL. Another cognate I heard a lot was “double clutch,” which is referring to the movement in the air while taking a layup. It is kind of weird hearing it because the broadcaster emphasizes the syllables of “double clutch” a lot stronger than the other words in the sentence. I feel like the broadcaster tries to emphasize every cognate too much, so it sounds weird. Similar to the NBA, there are a lot of ads on the court in the KBL broadcast. There are banners are such on the floor in Korean that advertise big name companies in Korea. What is interesting is that the advertisements are not as flashy or colorful as the NBA ones. They are simple and sleek and doesn’t really obstruct the view of the game. Overall, I think there was a lot of things to learn from this video. By comparing the similarities and differences between the KBL and NBA all-star game, I was able to understand a little more about Korean culture. The biggest thing is that the KBL is not as popular in Korea as the NBA is in America. Basketball isn’t really a big culture in Korea, and you could tell by the amount of advertisements and the amount of people in the stands. Furthermore, I was able to gain a better sense of a Korean broadcaster accent and learn some new sports terminology throughout the video. I was also able to read some of the banners and advertisements that showed up throughout the video and it was cool to finally be able to read and understand the words.

            The recent outbreak of COVID-19 has caused a national epidemic, where people are in fear of contracting the virus. The virus had been claimed to have originated in Wuhan, China, more specifically in a seafood market that was known to sell other exotic animals. The virus became a national health crisis once the numbers of infected individuals skyrocketed and the death toll began to rise. Preventative measures have been taken, where China has been quarantined, and any other location or people that are infected. Currently, the strive for vaccines and treatments are being researched, but no immediate treatment is available for the public. As a result, people are being forced to endure the viral infection and are only being treated for their symptoms.

            For this cultural post, I want to talk about an incident that caused the massive surge of COVID-19 infected people to rise in South Korea. The image (top) shows a woman in a mask walking by a branch of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony. The founder of this church, Lee Man-Hee, claims to have witnessed God in a vision and claims to be the second coming of Jesus. This is a significant claim in the Christian community, and as a result, many have deemed this church as a cult. Though the origin is yet unclear, a member of the church contracted the disease and managed to spread the disease at an alarming rate. Today, the South Korean government announced 169 new coronavirus cases and two more deaths. Currently, there is a total of 602 cases and six deaths in total in South Korea. As a result, the South Korean president, Moos Jae-In, took initiative and raised the national threat level to “red alert.”

            To take preventative measures to limit the spread of the coronavirus, a petition was signed to dissolve the church of shincheonji temporarily. As a result, the church spokesman, Kim Si-Mon, told the public that its 1,100 churches have closed and that the churchgoers were told to refrain from external activities. The president claimed that this is not an infringement of religious freedom, but rather a necessary step to prevent further contamination of the disease. Luckily, the church agreed to comply and be cooperative with the Korean government as they said that they can understand the public worries.

            In a recent investigation, investigators have been able to identify a 61-year-old churchgoer as patient-zero. She supposedly refused to get tested and lied about attending services. It is said that in one of the major services, there were potentially 1,000 people that could have been contaminated, which would explain the massive surge of coronavirus cases. This manipulation and deceit have caused a backlash within the Korean community, and stigma regarding these people have begun to arise. Discrimination against shincheonji members have begun to arise, and people are now afraid to associate with the church.

This is not surprising, because recently, the number of Korean cults has become more and more identified. With various new churches forming, and even with the previous Korean president, the cult mentality is very strong in Korea. Once again, for this culture post, I wanted to talk about the recent activities that have been occurring in Korea.

News article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/south-korea-orders-temporary-shutdown-of-messianic-church-linked-to-more-than-half-the-countrys-coronavirus-cases/2020/02/23/728278f0-5650-11ea-8efd-0f904bdd8057_story.html

Although my family has lived in America for the past 15 years, my parents still find difficulty communicating in English. Therefore, attending hospital visits, parent teacher conferences, and other types of meetings were a challenge because native speakers talk fast in varying dialects. In all of these cases, we would request for an interpreter which would make all the difference for my parents because they could easily understand and communicate; this also impacted me because I didn’t have to be the one responsible for interpreting. After seeing how one person can impact another just by helping them communicate, I became interested in becoming an interpreter. I also plan on being a doctor in America so I would like to interpret at a hospital. Since the healthcare system greatly differs from each country, I would like to learn Korea’s format along with the medical vocabulary. Knowing what to say and how to say it within the context while being aware of the culture of Korea is not something that I am proficient in because I still have trouble reacting and finding the words for the right occasions. I have basic interpersonal communicative skills in Korean because I am able to exchange conversations with others, but am not proficient beyond that level. In hospitals, doctors say things in a certain way to support the patient. As an interpreter, I would need to analyse the conversations carefully to repeat what the doctor not only said, but how they said it. I plan to gain grammatical competence and become comfortable speaking in more complex situations.

Afghan Star is a musical talent program in Afghanistan that started in 2005. It is similar to the American Idol in which contestants who are singers, compete for a cash prize and record deal. This program is open to all ethnic groups, genders, and languages across Afghanistan. Every year a group of 3-4 judges travels to the most popular cities in Afghanistan where they hold auditions and select the best contestants. The program broadcasts on Tolo Channel, one of the prominent TV stations in Afghanistan. 

Since its inception in 2005, Afghan Star has served as a vehicle for social and cultural change in Afghanistan, gaining attention from all around the world. For the longest time Afghanistan has been associated with violence, war and extremism, however, this show serves as a reminder of hope, growth, and development in the region. In 1996, the Taliban had outlawed singing, however, after the fall of the Taliban, this show opened the door for people to follow their passion for music once again. 

Competing in this program is not without struggles because there are people who are against women’s participation in the show. The documentary called “Afghan Star: In Afghanistan, You Risk Your Life to Sing” demonstrates the ongoing struggle between societal norms and modernity. At one point, this documentary shows the moment where a female contestant, Setara, lets her headscarf slip while singing. This incident caused an uproar in the nation, leading to people saying that “Setara should be killed”. 

Regardless, over time this program has brought the Afghan nation together and has normalized musicianship in society after decades of censorship. Additionally, Afghan Star continues to serve as a platform for national identity. Usually, discrimination is a big part of Afghan society due to ethnic division and tension. However, Afghan Star provides the forum for people to come together as Afghan, nothing more and nothing less. It’s through this show that folk songs, classical songs and new styles like rap and rock are introduced to people. In 2018, it was the first time that a woman won the competition by getting the majority of the votes. Her success was an affirmation that Afghanistan is on the path to a better future for all, especially for women and minority groups. 

Today, millions of Afghans both in and outside the country tune in to watch this show and vote for the contestants. I have been away from my country, Afghanistan, for about 5 years now. However, during the Afghan Star season, I watch the show on Friday nights and even participate in voting for the contestants. A few of my favorite Afghan singers are the production of this program whom I got to watch compete, grow and develop into successful artists. The reason that I wanted to write about this program is that it’s a perfect example of a cultural identity that brings people together regardless of gender, ethnicity, and language. Additionally, I use this program as part of my language plan to stay in touch with the Afghan culture through music.

Here is one of my favorite artist who is a rapper, Jamal Mubarez. The woman is a prominent artist in Afghanistan. Her name is Ariana Sayeed. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FB-6mXLPxo4&index=14&list=LLSFx3Zy6PQPv8Td0l93nsYQ

Sources

Rainer, Peter. “Review: Afghan Star”. The Christian Science Monitor. 2009. https://search.proquest.com/docview/405564047?pq-origsite=summon&accountid=14731&selectids=10000008,1006323

Osborne, Charli. "Afghan Star: In Afghanistan, You Risk Your Life To Sing." Library Journal, vol. 135, no. 6, 1 Apr. 2010. Gale Literature Resource Center, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A223749154/LitRC?u=vic_uor&sid=LitRC&xid=f89ad9ae. ;

After watching Parasite and seeing how well renowned it has become, it got me interested in other Korean films. I’ve watched a few Korean so far and they have been very good. I wish I heard about how good the Korean film industry years ago. After doing some research online about Korean movies, a movie that was frequently brought up was Train to Busan. Train to Busan is an action/thriller about zombies taking over Korea. This movie frequently showed up on lists of the best Korean movies and was very popular when it was released, not just in Korean but in many other countries. I’ve heard my Korean friends mention it before, but I never watched it.

Overall, I think that it was a really good movie. It was definitely an exciting movie that involved a lot of action, with characters constantly having to fight zombies. I’m not much of an action kind of guy, but I actually enjoyed watching it. This was my first experience with a Korean action movie, so I didn’t know what to expect. So far, I’ve only watched Korean movies that are dramas or rom coms. I was impressed with the Korean film industry and I think that they do a good job with action movies as well. I would highly recommend this movie to all movie lovers, or anyone who is learning Korean.

Watching Train to Busan, and Korean movies, in general, has given me good practice with Korean. I try my best to pick up on the words I have learned so far. As I learn more Korean vocabulary and watch more Korean movies, I find myself understanding words more often, which is very encouraging. Being able to understand words in a foreign film, without the use of subtitles, is oddly satisfying and fulfilling. It shows the progress that I have made so far in my studies. I’ll try to watch Korean films and television shows as much as possible since I’ve had a great experience watching them so far.

I think watching this movie has been another good experience with Korean films. Korea isn’t really viewed as a country known for its movies, but in recent years, it has definitely been building a reputation. I think that this has been able to give me a better understanding of Korean culture. There is a large emphasis on entertainment in Korea. Although their shows and movies may be different than what we see in American television or movie theaters, it is just as good. This past couple of years, the Korean music industry has become a worldwide phenomenon, with groups like BTS and BLACKPINK. It’s been clear that the Korean music industry has been able to make the leap to America and other countries, and I think that the Korean film industry is capable of making that leap as well. They have already taken a huge step in the right direction with Parasite, especially after they won four Oscars this year. Train to Busan has played a role in helping the Korean film industry move towards becoming a worldwide phenomenon and I am happy to be able to see it develop.

This article is pretty thought-provoking for me to learn more about the deep meanings and functions of languages. One of the main things I notice is communicative competence which is the aspect of languages that enables people to convey and negotiate meanings within specific scenarios. Also, one of the competences defined by Canale and Swain's work is sociolinguistic competence which means that individual has to be familiar with the social context and rules of specific language to better communicate and make appropriate negotiations of meanings. For my target language, Korean, one of the aspects I find most related to this is the informal and honorific languages in Korean. When talking about someone superior in status, a speaker or writer must indicate the subject's superiority by using special nouns or verb endings. Generally, someone is superior in status if he or she is an older relative, a stranger of roughly equal or greater age, an employer, a teacher, a customer, or the like. Someone is equal or inferior in status if he or she is a younger stranger, a student, an employee or the like. The use of wrong speech levels or diction is likely to be considered insulting, depending on the degree of difference between the used form and the expected form. All verbs and adjectives can be converted into an honorific form by adding the infix -시- (-si-) or -으시- (-eusi-) after the stem and before the ending. For example, 가다 (gada, "to go") becomes 가시다 (gasida) and 형 (hyeong, "a male's older brother") becomes 형님 (hyeongnim). It's with these different forms of words that enable people in Korean society to better understand each other in a polite and respectful way and these transformations should be memorized to communicate with Korean people within their social context. 

During the last couple of lessons with my language partner, we learned about a few different topics including the pronunciation of the last consonant in a syllable, drinking culture, and school life.  The last consonant is called the ‘받침’ which can have one or two consonants on the bottom of the syllable.  We went over the rules and exceptions that explain how to pronounce the 받침 in combination with the beginning of the following syllable.  For example, the word ‘같이’ meaning ‘together’ is pronounced like katchi.  But when you separate the syllables, it’s ‘kat’ and ‘i’.  This concept was mostly a review because I had come across vocabulary words such as these before and knew the pronunciation.  But I had never gone over the rules, so I learned some new patterns as well. 

To bring in some culture and vocabulary, we studied the drinking culture as well.  It is interesting because there are so many detailed customs that are a part of ‘drinking’.  People don’t drink alone, it’s always in a group.  Someone else pours your drink and you offer to pour others’ drinks.  There is specific food that accompanies the drinks that everyone enjoys.  I am fascinated by the group dynamic and how connected everyone is in the process of either going out or going to someone’s house to drink.  If a superior is present, there are several other rules the younger people must follow.  You offer your superior a drink first and there are certain hand positions for giving and receiving the drink.  When clinking glasses, make sure your glass hits lower than your superiors and then turn away from them as you drink.  Next, place your glass on the table after your superior has done so.  These are all rules to show respect for elders and are especially important when drinking with someone of a higher position than you at work or with older family members.  It was very interesting to learn about this as it is very different from the American drinking culture and is useful to know for whenever we visit. 

In the next lesson, we practiced a conversation about school and classes.  I was familiar with some words and sentence structures, but many of the sentences had more complex grammar structures.  It was difficult for me to understand these, so I asked my language partner if we could go over the grammar in the conversation next lesson and practice producing sentences to better our fluency.  I don’t want to only focus on receiving the language because producing takes a lot more practice to master.  I think I am getting better at understanding the general meaning of sentences when presented with them, but there are several particles that add nuances that are difficult to pick up on.  We will go over these in our next lesson, so I am hoping this will clear up the parts of the sentences I could not understand.