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The existence and use of Korean honorifics is an example of how culture, social structures, and linguistics complement and interact with one another. The use of honorifics is common, if not socially mandatory, to show varying levels of respect between Korean speakers of different ages and social statuses (TVTropes). While watching Korean shows, I would regularly hear characters using honorifics like 씨, which is attached to the end of someone’s name to show that speaker is of the same or lower social status than the person spoken to, unless, as TVTropes points out, it is use at the end of a surname which would then indicate that the speaker is of a higher social position than the person spoken to. The use of honorifics is not limited to the expression of social status, it is also a way to express sentiment and the relative relationship of the speakers: the use of honorifics is dependent on the relationship that the speakers have with one another as “vertical distance (gender, age) and horizontal distance (the degree of intimacy)” directly influence the use of honorifics (Ku iii). This serves to show the importance of the use of honorifics in daily conversations: if executed incorrectly, one may be considered rude and disrespectful.

Bibliography

Ku, Jeong Yoon. Korean Honorifics: A Case Study Analysis of Korean Speech Levels in Naturally Occurring Conversations. Australian National University, 2014.https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/bitstream/1885/12376/1/Ku,%20J%20Y%20Masters%20sub%20thesis%202014.pdf.

TVTropes. “Useful Notes / Korean Honorifics.” TV Tropes, http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/UsefulNotes/KoreanHonorifics.

During my meeting with my learning partner earlier today, we reviewed the way in which one introduces oneself in Korean. I learned how to verbally introduce myself and how to show respect by bowing when first greeting someone. When my learning partner was teaching me how to bow, I became curious into the cultural foundations behind Korean bowing customs. As such, this post covers some findings related to bowing customs as explored in Tony MacGregor’s “Tips on Korean Custom of Bowing”.

Macgregor references Christy Yoo, the leader of a program aimed at teaching about Korean cultural traditions, to supply very useful advice to foreigners: bow when bowed to, as this custom is used in everyday greeting. At times, it is even coupled with a hand shake to compliment the respectful gesture.

The history of bowing in Korean predates the introduction of Buddhism and Confucianism into the Korean peninsula and while Buddhism and Christianity have significantly influenced present-day Korean customs and traditions, Confucianism is the philosophy that relates most to Korean bowing customs and etiquette. Confucianism has and continues to influence the way in which people behave towards each other, particularly as “it stresses duty, loyalty, honor, filial piety, respect for age and seniority and sincerity” (Macgregor). As the author points out, it is for this reason that age and seniority must be considered when interacting with others in Korea because one must measure the kind of relationship one has with another person to then allot appropriate amounts of respect that would be expressed by bowing or through other forms of etiquette. Furthermore, the general rule for bowing is: “the younger person or the person in a lower social position is expected to bow lower than the senior person, but the senior person initiates the bow” (Macgregor).

Also, the type of bow one should do is dependent on situational contexts: for instance, when apologizing, one “bows at about 45 degrees with the head lowered lasting for about the count of three” but the bow may last for a longer period of time or it may be deeper if the offense is significant (Macgregor). Other times, “the person will kneel and bow so deeply that his forehead touches the ground” to express gratitude, as done in Korean Weddings when the newlyweds express thankfulness to their parents and families (Macgregor). Moreover, Yoo points out in Macgregor’s article that because South Korea has become more international, visitors in the country should not be distraught if they incorrectly perform customs: Koreans tend to be forgiving of foreigners and are typically understanding of Western practices.

Bibliography:

MacGregor, Tony. “Tips on Korean Custom of Bowing.” The Korea Times, 29 Apr. 2008, http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2018/05/177_23339.html.

For the first two weeks, I learned to introduce myself in Korean. Here is a write-up of my self-introduction. I talked about my name, my school year, my age, and my major.

안녕하세요

저는 이시 왕 이에요. 저는 올해 21살 이에요. 그리고 중국 사람이에요

전공은 회계학 이에요.

감사합니다. 

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This is a really short clip of me saying "I've been learning Korean for a semester" in Korean, which I figure might be a phrase that will come in handy for me.

I thought this would be a good artifact to show my handwriting in Korean. I liked finding videos of word sets, such as ones about food and restaurants like this one and practice writing them before I made online flashcards of them. My handwriting in Hangul has improved a lot over the semester.

It has been a really fun semester as an independent language learner. It reinforced that I love exploring new cultures and that learning new languages can really help me do that. Knowing a language gives you a unique insight into the culture with which it coincides rather than trying to learn about it from a more distant point. I found out that there are many ways to learn a language. I obviously learned English without much thought, it was the language spoken in my home and school growing up. I started learning Spanish in a classroom taught by American teachers in an American school. We used textbooks, flashcards, etc. I started learning Korean using primarily online resources such as Duolingo and Mango, which are different than the traditional textbook method. I also worked with a language partner, whereas with Spanish I didn't have the same exposure to native speakers at the beginning of my language learning.

            As nice as it was to have the flexibility to learn Korean on my own, I would be lying if I said I didn't struggle with prioritizing it with my other school work. Sometimes it was hard to sit down and devote the hours needed to learning this language when I had deadlines in other classes. It was also more difficult to keep up with my weekly goals without a professor making me. One the other hand, I enjoyed this freedom because I never felt I was wasting my time learning something I would not find useful. I focused on Korean vocabulary I found relevant, and only learned using tools I enjoyed and found productive. If I were in a traditional classroom, this may not have been the case. I may have been doing assignments I wasn't as interested in just because they were part of a textbook or something.

            I did enjoy learning about the linguistics part of language learning. It helped me recognize that different languages have different parts of speech and sentence structures, but they can still be broken down. Breaking down sounds and grammar rules helped me recognize patterns in Korean that I was able to apply to my learning and help me become a more adaptive and communicative learner. I especially liked the readings about bilingualism and how becoming a polyglot is not as daunting of a task as one may think. This encouraged me that it would be possible for me to make significant strides in learning Korean even as an adult autonomous learner. I hope to continue my Korean studies and eventually visit the country with my family and experience the language and culture firsthand.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bZkp7q19f0

This is the link to the song Gangnam Style that came out a couple years ago and got really popular in the U.S. I thought it would be a good artifact to show my listening skills because this came out when I was in high school and didn't know any Korean. Now I can read the translation of the title (Gangnam Style / 강남스타일) and even though I can't understand the lyrics I now recognize that (Oppa / 오빠) which is sung a lot in the song is the word for older brother, but also used for male friends or boyfriends in Korea. Also he sings about a girl a lot and uses the word (Yeoja / 여자) which I now recognize as well.

For my first learning artifact, I took a screenshot of me having a conversation with my friend in Korean asking what he's doing now.

He said he's studying in library and I asked him which floor he's on. He said he has a Math test and I said good luck!

The in-class cultural presentations were very interesting and it was cool to see which elements of their respective languages' cultures my peers were interested in. Some were socially focused (gender roles), some more historical (Turkey's alphabet transition), and some more cultural (holidays in Bangladesh). It reinforced the fact that culture is such an integral part of a country or group of people who speak a language. It adds daily elements to their lifestyles that make their group unique. It also showed that there are so many elements to each culture and the entire culture cannot be summed up in one presentation. For example, I did mine on university life in Korea, but I could have also done gender roles, history, holidays, etc. like my peers did for their target languages, which would have shown a totally different element of Korean culture. This was shown in the other Korean presentations, in which the focus was so different from mine that I learned a lot even though I was studying the same target language. There were also similarities, as in Yixi's presentation on Korean work culture, she showed that the terms for elder/more experienced worker vs younger/less experienced worker were the same terms I used in my presentation that refer to upper- and underclassmen.

The family is a very important element of Korean culture. Most households are two-generation because children usually live with parents until marriage. In addition, many people live with their elderly parents. Traditionally the eldest son inherits the largest portion of any inheritance in the family, but a law was past in 1989 making family inheritances split equally between all sons and daughters. Marriage is a very important institution in Korea. Many people meet spouses through school, work or arrangements from relatives and friends. A marriage is a union not only just two people, but also their families. Divorces and remarriages used to be very uncommon in Korea, but have become more common over time. The family hierarchy is crucial as Korea is an elder-focused culture. Utmost respect should be given to parents and grandparents, whereas in some Western cultures, these relationships can be more casual.

Eastern culture stresses cyclical time more than Western, that usually values a linear timeline. Nations rise and fall, people go in and out of good and bad times, etc. As Korea has become increasingly Westernized, there has been an increased emphasis on schedules in schools and businesses. The American idea that "time is money" does apply in Korea as they are notoriously hard-workers, but they often put in extra work to keep a competitive edge rather than earn more money. Punctuality is very important in Korean culture as people tend to work long days and keep very busy.

I personally learned a lot about my own culture during the cultural presentations. I really liked Diego's and Jessica's presentation on Korean marriages and Korean universities. I did not know so much went into traditional Korean marriages and I also did not know a lot of the terms he used in Korean. For Jessica's presentation, I did not know that Korean universities had OT (orientation trainings) and were very close with their own department. I kind of wish American universities had OT because I feel like I do not know a lot of people in my own department. I think OT will also be very useful to freshmans who have a hard time socializing with others. 

Korean attitude about time is very different compared to America. There is a saying that Koreans run on Korean time because we are known to be consistently late to everything. In fact, in Korea it is common to even be an hour late to appointments with friends. And instead of picking an exact time to meet up, many friends will give a rough estimate of what time they should meet up. It is not really known why Koreans have such a relaxed attitude towards time, but there are some speculations that there are historical influences. 

For the cultural presentation, I plan to present on the beauty standards of Korea. Korea is known to have very high and unrealistic beauty standards. It is to the point that beauty can even dictate the success of your life and career. Therefore, I would like to present on what their beauty standards are and possible why their beauty standards have become so high. For my learning goals, I would like to learn more about Korean history and Korean government/economic and social issues. I would like to look into this because I believe that the high beauty standards do stem from historical influences but also issues with Korea's current social and economic outlook. 

The Korean alphabet is called Hangul (한글) and was created in the 15th century by Sejong the Great. Before the 15th century, Koreans mainly used Classical Chinese. Hangul is comprised of 24 alphabets and has 19 consonants and 21 vowels. The letters are grouped into syllabic blocks, both vertically and horizontally. The Korean alphabet and writing system are usually very straightforward. With pronunciation, the way it is spelled is usually the way it is pronounced. There are little to no irregularities in the language. There are 4 types of sentence order in Korean: subject + noun, subject + verb, subject + adjective, and subject + object + verb. 

Koreans have a very collectivist mind set. Therefore, family matters are taken very seriously in their culture. In fact, many times when a person achieves something or does something wrong, their family will also be praised or criticized. Additionally, when a son or a daughter is financially stable and married, it is normal to have in-laws or parents move into their house until they pass away. Leaving your parents at a nursing home is often looked down upon. This is very different when compared to America. America has a more individualistic mindset compared to Korea. 

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This is a picture of a journal entry I did in class. I talked about my day and how it went.

This artifact shows a text conversation between me and my mom. I say "Hi mom" to her and she answers with "Hi, how was your exam today? Love you!" and I say "It was good. Goodnight!" I think this demonstrates both reading and writing ability. I had to break down her answer and use some WordReference in order to fully understand, but I recognized the word for "today" and "exam." Texting has been a cool way to write in Korean online without using a Korean keyboard I have to copy and paste, like on my computer.

The language teacher workshop was interesting because I had to come up with a concept that would show what I had been learning, but in a way that the other students might actually take something away from it. It was hard to explain a concept, even if it was as basic as the one I did, and expect that any of it would stick for them. I taught basic vowels, which was the first concept I learned, so I thought it would be a good thing to teach for my workshop. I think the biggest difficulty I ran into was time. It took me a while to learn the concept myself, even though it is very basic to me now. To try to relay these concepts to my peers, I first taught it to them using both visuals and sounding out the vowels. Then I had them try to write out the symbols and sound them out as they did it. I figured this was a way to appeal to different types of learning. Then I used Kahoot to see if they remembered any of the concepts, which added pressure to the learning process. If I were to teach a semester-long course, I would probably try to adopt the strategy of teaching the concepts in many different ways to try to appeal to different types of learners.   

One interesting thing about Korean culture is their tattoo culture. Having a tattoo in Korea is not illegal however they are still looked down upon. Many times, people would associate people with tattoos as being a delinquent or part of a gang. In fact, celebrities would even need to cover up their tattoos before going on live shows. Another interesting fact is that there are a lot of illegal underground tattoo parlors in Korea. This is because it is illegal to give a tattoo unless a person has a doctor's license. Having a doctors license in Korea is especially hard because competition in Korea is already extremely high. Therefore, a lot of people who have a doctor's license would rather be a doctor than open up a tattoo parlor.