The division between North and South is one that is very apparent in Korean culture. Whether it's politicians campaigning on their stance on North Korea, or talk shows with North Korean defectors, South Korean culture is very wary of their neighbor. I read this article: http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2016/01/31/464798910/south-koreas-newest-tv-stars-are-north-korean-defectors and watched some of the dating show that was attached with it. It was very interesting to see the power dynamic between the North and South Koreans, but they seemed to interact in a pretty friendly and normal way. Even though both countries may be wary of each other, it seems to be the case that the Korean people do not resent each other for past events.
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Koreans have an interesting way of talking about numbers. There are two numbering systems: the Sino-Korean system, which is derived from Chinese, and the Korean numbering system. When one refers to a length of time using a word derived from Chinese, the Sino-Korean numbering system is used. On the other hand, when Korean words are used to describe lengths of time, they use Korean numbers.
The numbers themselves are really easy to put together. Once you know 1-10 and each 10th number, you just put the words together to construct other numbers. For instance, 21 is just the word for 20 followed by the word for 1.
The power of language within a culture is invaluable. Language helps communication and expression in a culture. Korean serves as the primary language for over 80 million people. Its structure is unique, but has drawn comparisons to other Asian languages. The Korean alphabet is composed of 14 consonants and 6 vowels and can be written horizontally and vertically. In regards to linguistic aspects, Korea is known as a traditional country. Therefore, it is common for Koreans to have a calm and relaxed demeanor when speaking.
Overall, Korean proves to be a language that is very intertwined with its culture. As Korea continues to progress, the language and culture will evolve. It will be interesting to see how things change in Korea.
I am currently planning on studying French while developing learning skills in the SDLC 105 course. At the moment, my goal is to learn introductory phrases to start off conversation. Although I would also like learn grammar to structure these phrases, I am more focused on the developing the ability to carry on a conversation with the native speakers. I believe that this first step would give me a solid foundation in learning future materials.
My goal for Week 3 was to learn Hangul, the Korean alphabet. As of now, I’m still in the process of learning it, and I don’t mind the pace at all. I actually want to spend more time learning it well the first time, because I think it’ll make future lessons easier. Funny thing is that my textbook also does not used any romanized Korean, only Hangul. Therefore, I need to learn Hangul fast in order to start reading the chapters and proceed with my learning plan. Luckily, I also found a neat interactive site for learning Hangul that I posted on my diigo, but I’ll also include the link below. Other resources that I’ve been using to learn Hangul include the “Introduction to Hangul” chapter in my Korean Made Simple book and lots of YouTube videos.
Interactive Hangul learning website: http://www.indiana.edu/~koreanrs/hangul.html
My goal of this week was learning the basic alphabet of Korean. I looked up some Youtube videos and found the best one to learn alphabet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usnBCakV2dc
Besides, I also try to immerse myself into Korean and always watched Korean videos while I was walking or running in gym.
As we all know, language is a mirror of culture. Language always reflects many aspects of the culture of a country in which the language is used. Korean culture is embedded in Korean and it is easy to tell when we are learning it.
One of the obvious characteristic of Korean is its polite forms. Korea is traditionally regarded as the country of courteous people in the East. Korean possesses several different expressions for the same word, ranging from simple polite forms to extreme polite form. People have to choose the appropriate word according to a person whom you are speaking to. I think this is the reflect of culture of filial duty to elder people and of bureaucratic culture. In addition, Korea also has the body language differs from other countries. Bowing is the traditional way of greeting and departing in Korea. For example, when giving or taking something from a stranger, someone older, someone of higher status, or someone with whom you have a formal relationship (such as a co-worker) use not one hand but two. If it is difficult to use both hands, you can take the object with your right hand as your left hand holds your right forearm.
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:
Based on the Levels of Competence and Can-Do statements, I’m currently between Novice High and Intermediate Low in Korean. I can participate in conversations on a number of familiar topics using simple sentences, and can handle short social interactions in everyday situations by asking and answering simple questions.
My goals:
1) Use Korean to handle tasks related to personal needs (schedule an appointment, request services)
2) Talk about my daily activities and personal preferences
My goal is to reach Intermediate Mid level where I can use a series of sentences and exchange more information in Korean.
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:
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
