Archive for January, 2011
Seowon Posted by Ginny on Jan 31, 2011
There are many seowons in Korea. A seowon (서원) was a Confucian school that also served as a shrine to those who followed Confucius ideology. Here are some famous seowons in Korea. The Dosan Seowon (도산서원) was a famous Confucian academy. The Dosan Seowon was like a boarding school where students studied, ate and slept…
Beautiful Beaches! Posted by Ginny on Jan 27, 2011
Right now it’s the winter season in South Korea. Oh how I wish the spring season would come soon! Thinking of spring made me think of what I would do when the spring season rolls along. The first thing I would do is to go to as many Korean beaches as possible. Have any of…
Traditional Korean Flutes Posted by Ginny on Jan 25, 2011
There are different types of traditional Korean flutes that are still enjoyed and played today. Let’s take a look at some of them: The Daegeum (대금) is a large and thick flute that is very hard to play. The Daegeum has a mechanism called a ‘buzzing membrane’ that gives this flute its special sound. The…
Carrot Song Posted by Ginny on Jan 22, 2011
There is a cute Korean children’s song called 당근 쏭 (Carrot Song). The word 당근 is used as a pun in the song. 당근 can mean ‘carrot’ in Korean, but it can also mean ‘of course’ in Korean. Here is a video that you can sing along to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfVpzvZeKJA 나 보고싶니 (Do you miss me?)…
Korean Movies of 2010 Posted by Ginny on Jan 19, 2011
It’s still not too late to make the commitment to learn Korean! One way you can do this is by watching Korean movies. If you’re not yet comfortable with your listening skills, you can still enjoy watching Korean movies by making sure there are subtitles. That way, if you come across any words or phrases…
Admiral Yi Sun Shin Posted by Ginny on Jan 18, 2011
Admiral Yi Sun Shin (이순신) is a respected and famous navy hero among the Korean people. There is a monument in Seoul of Admiral Yi. Around the monument is a fancy water display held in honor of Yi’s control over the Korean seas: Admiral Yi is known for blocking Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s several attempts to invade…
Treasured Written Records Posted by Ginny on Jan 15, 2011
Written documents are perhaps more important than physical artifacts, because these written artifacts can tell us the history, and significance of how things were in Korea back when there were no electronic ways to preserve these records. Hunminjeongeum (훈민정음) was an instruction manual to help people read and pronounce hangul (한글). Before the introduction of…