Blogs

This month, Farida and I continued meeting three times/week and our topics included family, public places, and animals/pets. I am feeling a lot more comfortable speaking in Indonesian and have noticed a decrease in my usage of English. I also feel that a lot of gaps in terms of vocabulary and grammar have been filled. For example, the words manja and sepi. For manja, I have heard this word being used by my family growing up, though I only had a sense of its meaning and never knew its true meaning/translation. My family often used it when my siblings and I were lazy, or when our pets acted clingy. As a result, I knew the context/when to use it, but could not express it in English. Its actual translation is “spoiled,” which makes sense, though I still feel as if the Indonesian-English translation does not 100% align, as manja mostly refers to childish actions. As for sepi, I had always thought it meant empty or not crowded, though it actually means “quiet” and is used to describe places (not people). Another grammar point I learned, though I am still mastering is the passive form. Since I am a heritage speaker, I have been aware of its usage in Indonesian, but never internalized the fact that it is indeed the passive form. An example is makan, which means “eat” and its passive form is dimakan “eaten.” So passive form is created by adding the prefix di- to a verb. Even though I know its meaning, I still have trouble using this in regards to the appropriate subject/object, though it is something I am working on.

Recently, Farida has also incorporated video assignments as homework. She would give me a few questions or a prompt after our last class on Thursday, which would be my assignment due over the weekend. I would have to film a video with my answers to practice speaking (the first requirement was ~2 minutes, and the most recent one was 3-5 minutes). My first video was about an article I read about Indonesian celebrations and my second one was about an animal I like but cannot keep as a pet. In general, I usually do not film videos for any of my classes and I personally do not like to be in front of the camera, though I found these assignments helpful! Of course, they took several takes as I would either forget what to say, make too many mistakes, etc. but I found that I learned a lot from the process and the videos themselves. I became more conscious of words I tend to repeat/overuse, filler words, and my pronunciation. One example is my use of the word terus which literally means “continue,” though it is often used in the context of “and then…” much like a transition word. I never noticed how much I tend to say this, and I am glad I did, because there are better, more precise words I can use in place of it. Another example is the 'tu' sound found in many Indonesian words such as: satu (one) and itu (it). I realized that when I pronounce these words, I use a harder ‘t’ sound, which makes it sound more like a ‘d’ sound. I never realized this before and was only made aware through listening to my speaking in the videos.

An aspect of the class that I appreciate is Farida’s use of meaningful conversation. I am also taking a Teaching ESL class this semester (which by coincidence, Farida is also taking!) and we went over the importance of meaningful activities. These activities are ones that incorporate aspects of the learners’ lives in order to make lessons engaging and relevant. I found that in most of our speaking classes, Farida tends to center the conversation around our personal lives, so there is more substance to the conversation, and we are able to talk about our own interests, experiences, etc. I definitely enjoy this more than, for example, speaking about general topics that we have little interest in or no opinion about.

Throughout the past month, I have been able to practice all aspects of learning a language: reading, writing (handwriting and typing!), listening, and speaking. For reading, I have begun to read a Korean children’s book called “잘 자요, 달님,” which means “Good night, moon.” I read each line aloud to my language partner, and together we talk about what the line means, its structure, and any words or grammar rules I have not learned yet. I find that this is a great way to learn simple vocabulary words, as well as basic grammar. My language partner and I have also been doing a fun activity to practice listening and writing. Jannette says a word or phrase in Korean and I handwrite or type what I hear. (I got this idea from Talk to Me In Korean, which is a great resource!) This is also a good exercise to learn new vocabulary. It is particularly interesting to learn words that are not spelled the way they are pronounced. For the most part, Korean words are spelled exactly the way they are pronounced (unlike English words). However, there are a few exceptions. It is helpful to have me hear those types of words before seeing them so that I really remember how they are supposed to be pronounced. In all of the exercises I do with my language partner, we practice speaking so that I become more comfortable with pronunciation and sounding like a native speaker. One particularly helpful tip Jannette gave me was to lower my voice at the end of my sentences. Often, new language speakers have an upspeak at the end of their phrases, which makes them sound confused. In some cases, it can change the meaning of the phrase entirely. There are some phrases in Korean which can be spoken as a question or an answer depending on the pitch at the end of the phrase. If I have an upspeak, the person I am talking to may think I am asking a question when I mean to be giving an answer.

I am finding that learning a language is a challenging and humbling experience. I feel proud when I am able to read or spell a word correctly. Learning any new language is certainly challenging, but I am enthusiastic and committed because of how personal the language and culture is to me. In addition, I enjoy learning about connections between the Korean language and culture. One well-known aspect of Korean culture is respect for elders, and this is evident in the language. However, I also find this confusing because I may know a phrase in its informal tense but not the formal version. This is something that I want to build on in the future: learning when and how to use an informal/formal tense.

Overall, I think the activities that my language partner and I are doing are effective and enjoyable. Moving forward, I want to continue to improve my reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills. I also hope to learn more about living and working in Korea, as I am interested in doing so one day.

Koreans celebrate Seollal (설날) on the first day of the Korean calendar. Seollal is also known as the Korean Lunar New Year. The first day of the Korean calendar falls on the 1st day of the 1st month of the lunar calendar, and it generally falls around the end of January to the beginning of February. This year, Seollal was recently celebrated on February 12 in South Korea. However,  people generally celebrate for three days: the day before Seollal, the day of Seollal, and the day after. 

The food Koreans generally eat in the morning of Seollal is tteokguk (rice cake soup, 떡국). Tteokguk consists of sliced rice cake, broth (usually beef), dried seaweed, beef, dumplings, egg jidan (sliced egg crepe), and cut-up welsh onions. People eat tteokguk on Seollal because it marks the day that you turn a year older. Younger kids tend to try to eat multiple tteokguk to grow up faster, but there is no actual research done on whether that works or not. Some other common foods are jeon (Korean pancakes with chopped vegetables), japchae (glass noodles with meat and vegetables), fish, galbijjim (braised short ribs),  and many more. 

Koreans play different Korean Lunar New Year traditional games when they gather with their family. There are two popular games to play: yutnori (윷놀이) and Go Stop (고스톱). Yutnori is a traditional Korean board game with four wooden sticks. The wooden sticks are rounded on one side and flat on the other. There are at least two teams, and the goal is to move your team’s piece around the board. The team throws the wooden sticks and moves according to how the wooden sticks landed. Everyone in your team needs to finish the route on the board before the other team. Go Stop is a Korean fishing card game played with a hwatu (화투) deck. The main goal of the game is to score a predetermined number of points (3 or 7) and either call a “go” or “stop.” When you call a “go," the game continues, and the number of points increases. However, calling a “go” has a risk of another player winning the points themselves. If you call a “stop,” the game ends, and the caller collects what they have won. Adults typically play Go Stop while children and adults play yutnori together. Some other popular games are jegichagi (제기차기) and paengi (팽이). 

On Seollal, Koreans gather with their relatives and family members wearing hanbok (한복). Hanbok is traditional two-piece clothing worn for formal occasions. While wearing the hanbok, people deeply bow to their grandparents, parents, uncles, and aunts, which is known as 세배 (sebae). There are two different ways of bowing to your elders. The first way is the way that men bow. They put their left hand on top of their right and put their hands on their chest. They bend their left leg and then their right leg and put their palm and elbows to the floor for about five seconds. Then, they stand up with respect. The second way is typically the way that women bow. Women also place their right hand above their left hand. Then, they put their hands on their forehead and bend their left leg and then their right. Then, they sit down on their foot and bend their body about 45 degrees. After about five seconds, they stand up with respect. While bowing down, you have to say 새해 복 많이 받으세요, which is directly translated into “I hope you receive a lot of luck in the new year.” After they bow to their elders and show their respect, the elders give sebae don, also known as pocket money, in silk bags or an envelope. 

To learn more about Seollal, there are links below with more information

Sebae: https://youtu.be/jNK_FAUAsmo 

Dates of Seollal: https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/south-korea/seollal-holiday-2 

https://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/ATR/SI_EN_3_6.jsp?cid=941952 

https://asiasociety.org/korea/seollal-korean-lunar-new-year

Spelling is the act of forming words through combinations of the language alphabet. Sound is the vibration that we hear through our ears, and it only deals with the oral aspect of the language. Being able to distinguish the different sounds in my target language is just as important as learning how to spell in my target language. Language learners learn their intended language through hearing the language over and over again. Listening to the language allows you to know the sounds that are incorporated into forming the language into what it is, and knowing the difference can improve my language-learning efforts. 

In Korean, there are 14 consonants and 10 vowels. The 14 consonants are ㄱ,ㄴ,ㄷ,ㄹ,ㅁ,ㅅ,ㅇ,ㅈ,ㅊ,ㅋ,ㅌ,ㅍ,ㅎ. The 10 vowels are ㅏ,ㅑ,ㅓ,ㅕ, ㅗ,ㅛ,ㅜ,ㅠ,ㅡ,ㅣ. There are also double consonants and double vowels. Double consonants are ㄲ,ㄸ,ㅃ,ㅆ,ㅉ and double vowels are ㅔ,ㅖ,ㅐ,ㅒ,ㅘ,ㅝ,ㅟ,ㅢ,ㅚ,ㅙ, and ㅞ.  Korean has 19 phonemes. The phonetic inventory of Korean consists of bilabial, alveolar, palatal, velar, and glottal. The only phonetic under the glottal is the consonant ㅎ, which would be the [h] in IPA. An example of the bilabial, fricative and aspirated sound would be ㅍ [p]. An example of alveolar, fricative, aspirated sound would be ㅅ[s]. Finally, an example of a palatal and affricate sound would be ㅈ [ts].  The majority of the consonant sounds are affricate and are either lax, glottalized, or aspirated. 

One important aspect of the Korean sound system is voicing. Korean obstruents are voiceless when the word is initial. However, when the consonant is in the middle or the end, it becomes voiced. All vowels and the nasal consonants which are ㅁ,ㅇ (final), ㄴ, ㄹ are voiced. However, the rest of the consonants are voiceless when they are at the beginning of a word. For example, in 바보(babo)[pa̠ːbo̞], the initial ㅂ is voiceless while the final ㅂ becomes voiced since it is in between two vowels. The same goes for the word 안녕 (annyeong) [a̠nɲjʌ̹ŋ]. The initial ㅇ remains voiceless, while the final ㅇ is voiced, and you could hear the 'ng' sound. In the second example, I used the ㅇ consonant, which is pronounced as 'ng' when it is voiced. 

Because my first language was Korean, I think I can already tell the difference between the sounds.  Therefore, I think I can discriminate differentiated segments in my listening and produce these sounds in my speech. I do remember when I was learning English, no sound represented [f] in Korean. I had the most difficult time trying to pronounce words like "farm" or "pharmacy." I pronounced farm as “parm” like the parm in parmesan cheese and pharmacy as “parmacy.”

During the past month I met my language teacher weekly. I wrote my weekly diaries and got corrections. I noticed that I am having trouble with when to space my korean words. So I looked up some rules for spacing korean words and found out that there should be a space between every word except for particles and auxiliary words. Subject particles come in two forms as 이 and 가. For object particles I would add 을 to words ending in a consonant and 를 for words ending in a vowel. For location particles I would add 에서 behind words so for example I had to write “I was sleeping in my dorm” which is 기숙사에서 잤다 I would add the 에서 behind dorm (기숙사). There are also topic particles such as 는 added behind a vowel and 은 added behind a consonant. Another rule is applied to numbers where numbers would be spaced every 4 order magnitudes. Lastly, for writing many single words, they are spaced in succession and are allowed to be grouped semantically. 

In one of my classes this month, my language partner and I went over some proverbs and idioms in korean. The first proverb we learned was (열 길 물속은 알아도 한 길 사람 속은 모른다) This means no matter how deep the water is we know how deep it can be however, we never truly know the heart of a person. The second prover is (동에 번쩍 서에 번쩍) which presents the action of moving just as fast as how the other person is startled. The third one we learned was (사촌이 땅을 사면 배가 아프다) this translates to “when your cousin buys land your stomach hurts” I think this is a popular one used in South Korea daily. The proverbs mean that you are jealous that your cousin or the other person got something. The fourth proverb I learned was (물이 깊어야 고기가 모인다) this means you have to be warm in order for other people to like you or your plate has to be big in order for others to follow you. Lastly, we learned the proverb (개구리 올챙이 적 생각 못 한다) this translates to “a frog can’t think of the time it was a tadpole” it has a meaning where people do not remember the time they were poor after they become rich. 

Out of the idioms we went over, I knew most of them because I heard it when I was living in South Korea. But one idiom that I learned was 눈코 뜰 새 없다 which translates to no time to lift your eyes or nose. This has a meaning that you are so busy in life that you don’t have time to look up. I really like this one because I am currently connected with the literal words. This month I was so busy with my college classes that I did not have time to look up and enjoy the things around me.  I think idioms are so interesting how they are just words or very short sentences that have a deeper meaning to it.

Hello everyone and welcome back. The school year has finally solidified, and schedules have been set. I have continued to work on my ASL education, and every week I can feel my understanding of the language expanding.

Over the past month, I have been working with Reba individually on Friday mornings and, on Tuesday evenings, Reba, Susmita Nibras, and I all meet together. Because I have taken ASL for several semesters now, much of the information that is covered is a review and not entirely challenging. For example, last week we reviewed colors and question words. Although I appreciate the review, this aspect of the Tuesday meetings can feel frustrating as the difference in our ASL comprehension is very clear, and sometimes, it feels as though my ASL education has slowed down. However, this past year has taught me even though the situation may not always be the greatest, one can often find what they are looking for if the perspective is changed. As such, I have changed my perspective to one that looks at this as an opportunity to act as a translator. I have acted as a translator in the past from time to time, but never really constantly. This requires me to clearly articulate the information Reba is conveying to the other students and from the students to Reba at a fast rate. I find that my ASL grammar is still not as strong as I would hope, but during my  Friday sessions with Reba, we often work on grammar and more complex aspects of the language. I then try and use what I have learned from these Friday sessions in my Tuesday sections. Additionally, within the past week, Kaye has begun joining our Tuesday zoom sessions. Acting as a translator was great practice for my ASL, but I feel as though I could not effectively communicate Reba’s instructions and the student’s questions as well as Kaye's. Her presence has decreased the amount of stress placed on me during those Tuesday classes, and for that, I am thankful. Additionally, as Kaye translates for Reba and the other students, I am continuing to improve my vocabulary! If there is a sign I do not recognize Reba using, I can often determine the sign’s meaning as Kaye will verbalize the sentence. Whichever aspect of Reba’s signing I do not understand is then inferred to be the novel word.

I do feel that it is important to discuss some of the issues that have been occurring with the class and meeting. At the start of the month, when all the students and Reba joined together on the zoom, we experienced many technological issues. One of the biggest issues was that Reba was unable to access the “Gallery” view on zoom that allowed her to see all the students at once. In response, she could not get a visual of all the students and their signs. This proved to be extremely challenging as I tried to help her navigate the software, but doing so in another language was extremely difficult. Thankfully, Mary was able to visit Reba one day and guide her through how to operate the program appropriately. Since then, communication during lessons has improved! However, another problem that we had to face was the effects of icy and snowy weather. These conditions resulted in a decrease in internet speed, or even in some cases, the entire rescheduling of lessons due to the loss of power. Sign language is such an interactive and personal language, and the effects of COVID-19 and weather have a clear impact on the ability to learn the language. But, we have to pursue and adapt! So, that is was we did! I am hopeful that most technical issues have been solved and to continue my education in ASL.

Christianity has made significant impacts across the globe through Judeo-Christian ideas such as the concepts of Imago Dei, a concept that all humans are created in the image of God, and the New Commandment, a commandment Jesus gave to his disciples telling them to love one another as he loves them. These ideas have been the foundations of not only the democracy of the United States but also the democracy in South Korea. The first encounters of Christianity in South Korea occurred during the late Joseon Dynasty which was around the 1600s. A diplomatic military official by the name of Yi Gwang Jeong brought many Christian theological books written by an Italian Jesuit named Matteo Ricci who was employed as a missionary in China. Due to the many liberal and democratic ideas within Christianity, the royalty of Korea saw it as dangerous and began to persecute and kill the believers of Christianity. However, during the more tolerant years of the late 19th century, the first Protestant missionaries arrived in Korea in 1884. The first protestant missionary to enter Korea was an American missionary and physician named Horace Newton Allen. Horace and the other protestant missionaries who came after him planted the seeds of Christianity in Korea through the building of churches, hospitals, and translating the Bible into Korean. According to the 2015 South Korean Census, 19.7% of Koreans are Protestant, and 7.9% are Catholic. 

During the Japanese rule and the Korean War, Christianity boomed and rose in numbers. The democratic ideals of Christianity appealed to South Koreans when the opposition was motivated by communist ideals. Foreign missionaries also encouraged the opposition of the communist government hoping for the democratization of Korea would lead to better lives for South Koreans. Christianity has also had huge influences on the development of women’s rights. Before encounters with Christianity, Koreans held dear to Confucian principles which support a patriarchal society. This teaching was fundamentally challenged by imago Dei and the thought that everyone was equal in Christ: Galatians 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” These ideas also challenged the divine rights ok kings and emperors and pushed for a more fair society. Christianity also has influenced the lives of many Korean-Americans as well. In fact, a study conducted in 1990 by Won Moo Hurh revealed that almost ¾ of all Korean immigrating to America were either Protestant or Catholic. In fact, there are more than 4,400 Korean churches in America! These Korean churches allow Korean Americans to have fellowship with other Koreans while in America. Korean churches often allow the members to make essential connections to find jobs and find places to live which are important tasks for immigrants. Korean churches in America also allow for the preservation of Korean culture and language in the U.S. I can confirm this as I have attended Korean churches in Ohio and Virginia!

For the second cultural artifact, my friend and I went out to eat at a Korean restaurant the past weekend for dinner. The Korean restaurant was called “New Grand Mart” and had a variety of Korean dishes that my family as made in the past. Before going to the restaurant, I studied the history and culture of Korean food. I found that Korean families traditionally have “bonchon” or sides that accompany their main dish. Similar to America, where we have mashed potatoes with our Turkey for Thanksgiving, Korean food culture always has many sides that accompany main dishes like meat or rice. For food, I decided to order Jja-Jang-Myun, one of the most popular noodle dishes in Korea. Derived and influenced by Japanese cuisine, Jja-Jang-Myun is a black bean noodle dish that had a sweet and flavorful taste to it. Attached is the picture of the dish. The food to the right of the dish is the “bonchon,” or the sides that come along with it. It came with Kimchi, pickled radish, and sliced onions. Ordering the food in Korean was very exciting. The conversation went something like this (in Korean).

Jiwon: Hello! How are you?

Cashier: Hello, what would you like today?

Jiwon: May I get one order of Jja-Jang-Myun

Cashier: Would you like sides to come along with it?

Jiwon: Yes please, and can I get extra pickled radish on the side?

Cashier: No problem! Total is 6.50. I will call your number when your food is ready.

It was very interesting to order food in just Korean by myself. Although there were some words that I couldn’t understand, I was able to understand the general sentences and ideas the cashier was telling me. The food was really good and filling. Most everyone in the restaurant was Asian and spoke Korean. I spoke to one individual on what they ordered and what their favorite dish was. It was really cool being immersed in a Korean environment. I also recognized the accents of the cashier and the other customer. They had a pure Korean accent that I couldn’t replicate. I also looked around the store for other Korean snacks and candy with my friend. There were really interesting, and I even recognized some of the snacks that I used to eat when I was young. The experience of going to the restaurant and Korean store was really fun and interesting. Learning about different foods and different Korean candy and snacks was cool and how they differed with American foods and snacks. Also, the radio station and music in the restaurant and store was in Korean, so I felt like I was fully immersed in a Korean community. The fact that there was a Korean community present in Richmond was really fascinating and I was proud to be a part of it. In the future, I will definitely revisit New Grand Mart for the food and the atmosphere. I may even cook some Korean dishes myself in the future. In conclusion, the general experience was very enjoyable. I felt like I was learning the Korean language without trying to learn specific vocab words.

https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-returns-9-ancient-korean-artifacts-south-korea

Recently, the 9 of the Joseon Dynasty’s national royal seals were returned by ICE to South Korea. Of the nine, two seals of the Joseon Dynasty, the “Daegunjubo” was created in 1882 by the royal seal was made in 1740 and returned to the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA). The emperor’s seal is classified by the CHA as a national treasure of South Korea.

The Daegunjubo is a “guksae”, and official state seal made in King Gojong’s rule. The royal seal is a ceremonial seal created during King Yeongjo’s rule and is called the Royal Seal of Hyojung. 

The Daegunjubo is a relatively small seal, measuring 7.9 centimeters in height, and 12.7 centimeters long and is a silver seal with turtle shape on top. The Daegunjubo is recorded as being called the “Gojung Sillok” (Annals of King Gojung), “Seungjeongwon Ilgi” (Diaries of the Royal Secretariat) and “Ilseongnok” (Daily Records of the Royal Court).

The Royal Seal of King Hyojung is a gold seal whose height is 8.4 centimeters tall and 12.6 centimeters long. King Yeongjo created the eobo, aka the royal seal, to present the title “Bright Righteousness and Correct Virtue” to King Hyojung in 1740 after King Hyojung died. It was used ceremonially for coronations of the king and queen and for something like an act of good deeds or valor. It is said that the eobo is enshrined with the ancestral tablet of the king or queen after their death to symbolize the continuity of the dynasty and the validation of the royal family. The eobo is also used in state affairs such as foreign diplomatic documents and in that case, it was referred to as the “guksae”. 

The eobo in documents was usually used for the king’s written orders of the day, which is called “Hongpae” and ‘Baekpae” and is like a diploma of passing the state exam for high ranking officials and “Yuseo” which was a written command for regional officials and so on and so forth. There were many written commands by the king, but it is rare to find a seal of the crown prince that writes commands in proxy of the king. 

On the Daegunjubo, there was an inscription that had “W B. Tom” on it, but it is theorized that it might have been a foreigner who got the seal somehow and then later inscribed his name on the seal. There was no prior practice of inscribing foreign languages on the seals so it is hypothesized that it was more of a “damage” than a true inscription, but otherwise, the both seals are in good shape.

In total, there were 412 guksae and eobo made in the Joseon Dynasty and the Korean Empire, but there are still 73 missing. A man named Lee Dae-Soo, a Korean-American had the two seals and decided to donate them to the CHA and the Korean government. 

The CHA made a statement saying that they will try to make sure all the missing artifacts of Korea return to Korea. 

The other five are signets of the Joseon Dynasty’s Royal Court. These signets were used to officialize books or paintings using these signets in the Joseon Royal Court.

My Learning Plan

Where are you now?  What can you do?  What do you know?

Use the Levels of Competence document and the LinguaFolio® checklists to assess your current abilities in your language.  For more information, see the SDLAP Wiki.

Interpersonal Communication  - B1

Interpretive Listening - B1

Interpretive Reading - A2

Presentational Speaking - A1

Presentational Writing - A1

What is your ultimate goal?  What is your goal for this semester?

What do you want to be able to do with this language at the end of this semester and in the future?

 I want to be able to write and type and understand professional documents and to understand a higher level of comprehension in Korean (ie political debates, national news).

 I want to learn proper grammar and syntax and more vocabulary and be able to read books of varying difficulty: easy fiction novels to in depth conversations with the author.

 I also want to be able to translate from Korean to English and vice versa in writing, and conversation and understand cultural aspects of Korea as well and certain differences between Korean-Americans and native Koreans.

What tasks will you complete and what activities will you do this semester to meet your goals?  How will you document and evaluate your progress?

Novice learners should consult the ‘Language Tasks’ page of the SDLAP Wiki and incorporate the required tasks in their learning.  Be as specific as possible when planning activities, e.g., “I will watch YouTube videos to learn how to talk about the family.” or “I will consult a grammar text to learn about possessives.”  Make sure you include some tasks that are relevant to your interests, e.g., “I will learn to understand soccer commentary.” or “I will learn to talk about the stock market.”  Culture and language are, of course, inseparable.  It is expected that all your language will be culturally appropriate and that every task will contribute to your cultural competence.

I am currently working with my tutor Somyung Kim and classmate Rachel in learning Korean. I am focusing on the written portion: grammar and syntax. I want to focus on spelling, vocabulary as well as sentence structures. My level of speaking and comprehension is at a B1 level. My writing and reading skills are more at an A2 level. I would like to raise those two things up to B2 and if possible, C1. 

I am currently working on a daily diary in Korean and getting those edited weekly. I also watch a show or movie and write a reflection of that in Korean. I plan on texting Somyung and my parents more in Korean than in English and they already text me in Korean so the reciprocating part is not a problem. I will try to speak only in Korean to my Korean classmates in SDLC and as well as Somyung. I will also write to them in Korean. I will text my Korean friends and family members more often and hopefully can get corrected and learn as a part of my daily life. I will try mock email Somyung an “official” email and letter as if in a company setting. I want to try reading children’s books in Korean, as in fictional books such as Harry Potter and gather new vocabulary words, but perhaps start off a little lower in difficulty. I also want to be able to translate from Korean to English and vice versa. I would also like to get culturally aware of Korea and learn Korean history as well.

I could do other activities as strategies to study language better such as making skits and or making a poem or song to help make it easier to learn or to challenge myself more. I could also try learning proverbs and idioms in Korean as a fun activity and translate the meaning. I could also get a rule to speak in Korean for a full 24 hours excluding sleep of course. 

A way I could see how effective my learning is and how well I am retaining the information and lessons is to assess myself after a week of these activities and challenges. Either done by my tutor or simply done by myself, but the questions provided most likely by my tutor. 

I will build on what I have already learned by reinforcing it by reading these books and then writing my diary and getting them edited and rewriting my diary with the edits and corrections. For my strategies, if I find that these activities don’t work, I will try the more traditional way of worksheets and workbooks and having them corrected by Somyung and redoing them until I get them correct by second nature. 

So far, I’ve felt embarrassment from not being able to just know Korean like the rest of my Korean friends around me. I feel a little frustrated with the lack of knowledge of writing in Korean and how long it takes me and how many repetitions of getting it wrong before I get it correct! I lack patience, I am aware, but I didn’t realize it took me this long to learn something as I am used to picking things up pretty quickly…

I’m so far successful in sounding comfortable in Korean, but in terms of writing and typing and texting I am not so good at it… Which is what I am primarily trying to work on.

Learning about language structures has helped me to better plan the kinds of methods I will use to accomplish my learning goals. For example, I’ve been working on learning the alphabet which has focused primarily on learning to say the sounds correctly, which encompasses phonetics (Jean Aitchison 8). I found the diagram to be very helpful in giving me a direction for what aspects to hone in on in my language learning; however, it is important to recognize that focusing solely on each aspect of language structure as “levels” as this can diminish the interrelationship between various facets of language (Crystal 181-182). I think of it as the levels move from the center outwards, each facet of language utilizes the skills from the inner levels beneath it. In other words, my current language learning of the phonetics of Korean will set the foundation for my future learning goals relating to syntax, which involves forming words and phrases (Jean Aitchison 10). It was also really interesting to consider the ways that language is intertwined with other areas of study and the functioning of our lives. Of all the disciplinary approaches to language, I think I have a preference for sociocultural linguistics as I’m really interested in learning about Korean culture and being able to interact with native speakers as I plan to visit Korea one day. So far, I think watching a Korean drama called Sky Castle with my learning group has helped me to apply this approach to language learning as I got to see interactions between native Korean speakers in the context of their cultural norms regarding the competitive nature of their educational system. Once I improve my language skills in Korean, I would love to incorporate stylistics and explore traditional Korean literature, and possibly anthropological linguistics someday as I’m planning to pursue a career in healthcare and have an interest in serving abroad. In addition, to prepare for our upcoming assignment to teach our classmates something in our target language, I plan to utilize applied linguistic methods in my presentation. 

As a child, my first formal lessons in language started with phonetics specifically learning the sounds and written expressions of the alphabet. Obviously, there is some informal exposure to vocabulary, phonetics, and syntax before any formal education. This informal exposure allows for an unintentional interdisciplinary approach to language learning. By beginning to learn a language as an infant, there is an emphasis on natural, unproduced speech especially as babies pick up words from their caregivers. However, when approaching a new language later in life, some of that informal and natural exposure disappears as the language learner must rely on more formalized exposure to the language via classroom lessons or lengthy textbooks. My goal is to diagram the language learning exposure of babies and children in order to replicate its methods in my own learning process. Crystal’s method of working through semantics towards grammar seems to align with the language learning exposure of babies and children. Instead of learning conjugation or the purpose of adverbs, the learner can actually begin to acquire the building blocks for grammatical rules. By starting with semantics, the learner can take on a less formal learning process as they can focus on observing language production while not having worry about following grammatical formulas. Additionally, by first focusing on semantics, the learner may be able to inherently pick up certain grammatical rules such as feminine versus masculine words or the general rule for plural nouns. In favoring semantics first, I plan to continue to listen and watch Slovak media in order to note common words and phrases. (As an added bonus, I believe this strategy will also help in culturally competency.)

In my target language, I focus on a lot of semantics, phonology, and syntax. Since I have previous experience with the Korean language, I did not have to focus as much on phonetics. Semantics will help me improve my reading comprehension and spelling skills. Focusing on syntax allows me to know the set of rules that create sentences. Since I struggle with figuring out which vowel/double vowel to use in Korean, focusing on my phonological skills will help me develop my reading and spelling skills. Overall, through the combination of semantics, phonology, and syntax, I believe it formulates a holistic and strong foundation for my understanding of the Korean language. I mainly give preference to semantics over the other disciplinary approaches because this is the area that I want and need to improve on the most. 

Before I read this reading, I thought that grammar was the most important aspect of language learning. However, in “How to Investigate Learning Structure,” the author ends the reading with “begin with meaning as it becomes easier to explain what grammar is all about.” This previous sentence taught me that meaning is the first and basic step of learning a new language because you examine how meaning is expressed and understood within the target language. Then, you can focus on how to structure and create meaningful expressions properly. Finally, through the medium of linguistic transmission, you can figure out how people convey meaningful sentences through communication. I think that my learning plan is on the right track of where it should be. I am focusing on expanding my understanding of vocabulary through radio shows, articles, and blogs, while also finding and learning the specific grammar areas I am struggling in.

This week we looked at and studied Chuseok in Korea. Chuseok is known as Korean Thanksgiving. Chuseok is usually celebrated on September 19^th but it lasts for three days. Traditionally, Koreans go to their ancestral hometowns to spend time with their family. They usually celebrate by making a lot of food. One desert food in specific that is popular is songpyeon. Songpyeon is made of rice and dough filled with sesame seeds and red bean paste. Chuseok is also a day of gift-giving. Koreans give gifts to family members and friends to show appreciation and respect. Some examples of gifts include fruit, meat, and gift sets of beauty products. Chuseok originated to bring luck to the annual harvest for farmers in colonial Korea. Jenna and I learned fifteen words this week that is related to Chuseok. We also watched a video on Chuseok. It was really cool to see the tradition occur as a documentary film. I was happy to learn about Chuseok and it will definitely help me understand my Korean culture better. I will be able to talk to my grandma about Chuseok in Korea and she will definitely tell me her stories. Jenna and I also had a discussion on the stuff we learned so far. We took around 20 minutes talking about the video we watched about Chuseok. There were some questions I had, like what a specific phrase during the video meant in Korea. We also took time to share what we found interesting from the documentary and how Chuseok was similar and different from Thanksgiving in America. Both holidays celebrate a historical event or tradition. I hope to continue learning new traditions and holidays every week with Jenna. She has done such a great job in helping me understand and learn new traditions in Korea. The other lesson during these past two weeks, we took it easy and watched a video about the basics of politics. We saved most of the details in politics of Korea for next week, but we went over the current parties in Korea and the current president in Korea. We also talked about conservatives in Korea, similar to republicans in America. Because a lot of Korean ideals are based on democratic ideals of America, the political system in Korea is similar to ours. I hope to learn more about the political system in Korea next week with Jenna in class. I will report on more in the next bi-weekly journal. So far, I am proud of what I have learned about Korean culture. I remember when I was young, my family would celebrate some of these holidays, but I would never really know what it was based on. Learning about traditions and Korean culture has taught me a lot about myself and my family. It is amazing to see how all of it connects. One thing I want to add as a goal for this semester is to learn more about the healthcare system in Korea. I currently take HCS100 and that would connect well with learning about healthcare in Korea.

The Coreana Cosmetics Museum is located in Sinsa-dong, southern Seoul and is the only museum in Korea that traces the history of traditional Korean cosmetic culture (spacec.co.kr). Founded in 2003, the purpose of the museum is to preserve traditional Korean culture and to improve the understanding of the history and trends of Korean cosmetic culture (spacec.co.kr).  The museum displays various cultural and modern artifacts of cosmetic and beauty products such as cosmetic containers, makeup tools, fashion items (spacec.co.kr). In its permanent exhibition, you can learn about the chronological history of Korean cosmetic culture and view traditional cosmetic materials such as cleansers, powders, mirrors, combs, and powder jars from the early United Silla period (668 A.D.) to modern times (spacec.co.kr). It also showcases products from its neighboring countries of Japan and China, which have had early influences on traditional Korean cosmetics (spacec.co.kr). The Coreana Cosmetic Museum also features special exhibitions that change periodically, which display a theme in line with traditional Korean beauty aesthetics. I found it very interesting how these exhibitions were not solely about makeup or other cosmetic products, they also included clothing accessories such as hats (GAT), decorative items (the current exhibition is “The Beauty of Blue and White Porcelain”), exploring the daily lives of working women, the art of paper-making, etc. These exhibitions creatively showcase various perspectives of different values in Korean culture -- such as dignity, respect, labor, youthfulness, etc. -- as well as the values of different groups and social status. 

It was interesting to learn about how much traditional Korean values for beauty have become such a prominent aspect of Korean culture and how that has transformed today’s cosmetic world. I would always hear great things about Korean beauty products on social media, which prompted me to learn more about the traditional values that ignited it all. Although the use of makeup and ideas of beauty have originated early on in various cultures, in traditional Korean society makeup was seen as care for not only the external self, but the internal as well (koreatimes.co.kr). Koreans believed that a good appearance could affect one’s inner self, so Korean men and women cared a great deal about how they looked (koreatimes.co.kr). When makeup was first introduced in Korea during the Three Kingdoms Era, the beauty standard was a round face, thin eyebrows, and hairdressing, which was influenced by Chinese culture (glamourflare.com). Everyone regardless of rich or poor status was absorbed into makeup during this time, with the look of a noblewoman or maid becoming the ideal image for women’s appearance (glamourflare.com). Overtime, face powders made from lead became a groundbreaking invention for cosmetics and used widely throughout the Korean traditional societies (glamourflare.com). As makeup became more widely used, beauty and luxury became sought after ideals for Korean women, which has become a major problem in the present day with hyper-fixation on outward appearance and cosmetic surgery in Korea (medium.com). Today, Korea has been described as a very classist country with extremely high standards of beauty, which some believe is a destructive norm that is further perpetuated by Korean society through celebrities such as K-pop artists and entertainers, and even job and school application processes that ask for a picture of the applicant (medium.com). Learning about this history and present-day values of beauty through the perspective of Korean culture will be helpful in future interactions with native Koreans. It’s important to be informed about things that people value in their culture as one’s outward appearance can really impact someone on a more personal level than what it may appear to be in casual conversation, so it’s important to keep in mind and be mindful of these societal influences when addressing such topics in conversation. 

Sources:

http://www.spacec.co.kr/en/museum/museum1 

http://koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/culture/2013/01/135_129776.html

https://glamourflare.com/blogs/reviews/the-history-of-korean-cosmetics#:~:text=Men%20in%20the%20Joseon%20Dynasty,personality%20and%20a%20faithful%20woman.

https://medium.com/invisible-illness/the-destructive-effects-of-south-koreas-beauty-standards-65c810b6290f

In learning a new language, it is important to understand the cultural norms regarding communication behaviors for that society. For example, the way people interact with each other in their society can impact their way of communicating and relating with others; such as in individualist societies that focus more on self-interest and live separate lives compared to the rest of society ,as opposed to collectivist societies that function as a part of a larger group and have more shared experiences and therefore more focused on maintaining good relationships (25). Whether a culture is more individualist or collectivist has a great impact on communication, because societies where people have more shared experiences don’t have to rely much on verbal communication to relay a message; therefore there may be nonverbal cues and nondirect messages of communication that may be confusing to those outside of their culture (91-92). I also found it interesting mentioning the cultural values of time, since I don’t typically think about how norms regarding time impact the way we communicate with others. I found the measures of the Hofstede Dimensions of Culture to be interesting, as I’m not sure how exactly you can quantitatively measure how much a certain country demonstrates various attributes/values in their culture such as masculinity, forward-thinking, and uncertainty avoidance. I think this could be unreliable to measure as it does not take into account the multiple cultures within one country, which may have different cultural norms from others. While I agree that all cultures vary on the spectrum of these measures, I’m not sure how accurately this could be quantified. I believe the ideas in the readings are very relevant to learning about Korean Culture as Western Cultures like in the United States are more individualist, and although there may be similarities I know Korean culture emphasizes respecting those older than you, so there are definitely cultural norms of communication that differ greatly from those in the U.S.

Sky Castle or SKY 캐슬 is a South Korean Drama that focuses on the politics and interpersonal relations between several families that live at a luxury neighborhood aptly named Sky Castle. Each parent wants their children to succeed at life and improve their standing and reputation at any costs. The neighborhood is one that is limited even among the higher class citizens and wealth itself is not sufficient to join their ranks. The drama explores how South Korean culture glorifies wealth and encourages cutthroat behavior among the youth in education. I currently have only watched the 1st episode but the drama grasped my attention at nearly every moment. But not every person in the show revolves their life around this wealth/politics; some of the younger kids have shown their discontent with the status quo and have considered running away to escape this overbearing lifestyle. On the contrary, some kids have been shaped by this environment so much that they really do believe in the traditional definitions of success that the parents and the community emanate. This disparity between the young opinions is a reflection of greater conflict in South Korean society. Although this is just a drama, the situations that it depicts are actually reality for many Korean students. Their lives are determined by the education that they receive and the connections they have. Perhaps because of this societal pressure, South Korea has one of the highest suicide rates in the world. In the show, parents try to get their kids into Seoul National University, the best university in the country. Although they themselves are wealthy professors and doctors, they also have expectations to raise a family that is successful through numerous generations. We see in the first episode how these unrealistic expectations go back to even before their marriages and creates a tumultuous relationship to watch. Their materialistic mindsets contrast with the people who live out more simple lives albeit less comfortable financially. The drama briefly touches on this satirical nature of the neighborhood in that one of the housewives is confused that someone outside of their community is unwilling to communicate with them despite the assumed benefits of such connections.

I am looking forward to seeing where Sky Castle goes plot wise since the first episode was left on quite the cliffhanger. Additionally my expectations for this drama are quite high because it was recommended by many other people and it is the second highest rated Korean drama in cable television history. As a result of its commercial success, Sky Castle is the recipient of many awards ranging from Best Director to Best Drama Series. Sky Castle is currently a drama that I am watching with my learning partners so that we can dissect the drama and see what parts of relevant and reflective of South Korean culture. I will try to avoid spoilers and justly will not reveal anything significant in this review but I would suggest anyone who is studying Korean or just interested to check out Sky Castle. 

For my cultural posts, I decided to focus on Slovak art history as a way to connect my current studies with my Art History major. Throughout my art historical education, I have learned about everything from Tōdai-ji, the Buddhist temple complex in Nara, Japan, to the vivid frescoes of the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, Italy. However, I have not had much exposure to Central or Eastern European art history. Additionally, it is important to note that like many other academic fields, art history still focuses on a largely westernized canon and viewpoint; the field of art history requires a further expansion into cultures throughout the world, not just frescoes from the Vatican or paintings by French masters. In observation of this lack of diversity in my art historical, I am choosing to study significant paintings, architecture, and other artistic media to Slovak culture.

My first focus is on Banskoštiavnická Kalvária, a 18th century Church compound. As I studied this architectural compound, I found that the naming among sources is very inconsistent. Some of its names include “The Calvary Church”, “The Baroque Calvary”, “Banská Štiavnica Calvary”, “Calvary in/of Banská Štiavnica”, “Banská Štiavnica Calvary Complex”, “Kalvária” and “Kalvária Banská Štiavnica”. For the sake of consistency, I will refer to the complex as “Kalvária”. The compound was erected in 1751 and sits on a hill in the Central Slovakian town of Banská Štiavnica (translated to “City of Silver”). Banská Štiavnica is known for their silver-mining boom in the 18^thcentury, becoming a major source of profit for the Kingdom of Hungary. The compound is especially notable for its Baroque style and its views overlooking the entire town of Banská Štiavnica. A Jesuit priest named Francis Perger convinced the town of Banská Štiavnica to erect a Calvary complex on Sharfenberg Hill (Sharp Hill) in the middle of the Štiavnica volcano. This church/calvary complex was specifically created to worship the Passions of Christ and enhance the emotional connection between a suffering Christ and Christian pilgrims. It was built and funded through donations from the Emperor, the poor, and everyone in between. The compound includes three churches, nineteen chapels, and a sculpture of the Virgin Mary. The Upper Church sits atop the highest point on the property, looking over Banská Štiavnica. Throughout the complex, there are intricate frescoes, paintings, and sculptures depicting important scenes and figures from the Bible. Kalvária became an important pilgrimage site as the complex boasted seventeen stations of the Cross rather than the traditional fourteen stations. The creator of the complex increased the number of stations by including stories from before Christ’s condemnation. Around 2007, advocates for Kalvária created the Calvary Fund and began to restore the Church after years of disrepair from the battles of WWII, neglect during Communist Rule, and a failed restoration attempt in the 1980s. Today, Kalvária continues to be a highly important pilgrimage and religious site as citizens of Banská Štiavnica use the complex for religious holidays and festivals.

Kalvária reminded me of some of the buildings I saw during my visit to Bratislava. Throughout the city, I saw Baroque-style buildings with bright colors, accentuated curves, and golden accents. The Holy Trinity Church in Bratislava really reminds me of Kalvária due to its pink coloring and prominent coat of arms above the church’s entrance.

360-degree views of Kalvária: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72LwfAtHJh4 ;

Aerial photograph of the entire compound

Upper Church of Kalvária

The Holy Trinity Church: Shot during my trip to Bratislava, SK

Sources:

https://visitworldheritage.com/en/eu/calvary-church/55eebda8-789d-457f-a6cf-392e9b9dd126

https://www.kalvaria.org/zakladne-info/

https://www.wmf.org/project/banská-štiavnica-calvary-complex

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BV_2uL9eFo

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/calvary-of-banska-stiavnica

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/calvary-of-banska-stiavnica

Figuring Foreigners Out focused on developing tools to measure differences in individualism, fatalism, nonverbal behaviors, conceptions of time, and directness of communication throughout cultures. Dr. Hofstede’s tools focused on measuring differences in equality, individualism, masculinity, tolerance for uncertainty, dedication to traditional values and behaviors in indulgence. Ultimately, both of these resources offer quantifiable tools to understand very abstract concepts such as culture, individualism and fatalism. However, I am curious about this quantifiability and its margin of error. Obviously, some of these measurements are easier to control than others especially Dr. Hofstede’s Power Distance Index. Scholars can easily look up numbers on wage inequality, wealth gaps, and much more to understand inequalities in wealth and power. But I would love to know a little bit more about these scholars’ research in determining the correct range for each country. What resources (word-of-mouth, scholarly texts, interviews from people of each culture, etc.) do they use to make these judgements? What are their margins of error? How often do they adjust for changes within specific cultures?

Curiously, during my last tutoring session, Adriana and I talked about the state of the Coronavirus in our native countries and its representation of typical cultural behavior. I asked Adriana if most Slovaks were following the rules by wearing their masks and adhering to stay-at-home orders. Adriana told me that most people closely follow the rules and usually do not deviate from collective behavior. She explained that hundreds of years of outside, authoritarian rule created a culture of collectivism and fervent adherence to the law. In contrast, I told Adriana about the almost toxic sense of American individualism and dedication to personal freedoms. Though individualism and personal freedoms can be very important values, they are detriments to public health efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus in the United States. I mentioned that some Americans, especially white, middle-class Americans, view themselves as exceptions, as above wearing masks and staying at home. For better or worse, the United States’ resistance to observing pandemic rules perfectly demonstrates the problematic nature of American individualism and our failure to care for the greater good.