Korean Language Blog

It’s harvest time in Korea, and autumn (October to early December) is the only season persimmons are plentiful. If you live in Korea, you will see them being sold everywhere—from outdoor markets, grocery stores, to subway stations. For about 1,000 won, you can buy four to five persimmons. An affordable and healthy treat, persimmons are rich in potassium, magnesium, and vitamin A.

A persimmon 감, or the transliteration “gam”, is a Buddhist symbol of transformation. Before the persimmon is ripe, it’s green and very bitter. But, it changes its color to a vibrant orange and is very sweet when ripe. This “bitter to sweet” symbolic fruit is mostly eaten when ripe.

There are two types of persimmons found in Korea. One type is a hachiya persimmon 떫은감, or the transliteration “tteolbeun gam”; this translates to “sour persimmon”. A 떫은감 has a deep orange flesh, is acorn shaped, soft, and is often mistaken for a tomato at first glance. Once ripe, it’s soft and sweet with a lot of pulp. Eating one can get a bit messy! You can bite right into one, mash a few up, or make jam.

Another type is a fuyu persimmon 단감, or the transliteration “dan gam”; this translates to “sweet persimmon”. A 단감 has a light colored orange flesh, is round with a flat bottom, and has a crunchy pumpkin-like flavor. You can eat them when they are almost ripe, with or without its skin. The fuyu persimmon is my favorite variety because it’s eaten like an apple and isn’t as messy and sticky as the hachiya.

Fuyu persimmons were in full bloom this autumn on Dobong Mountain, a popular hiking destination near Seoul.

Even if you don’t care for persimmons, their rich colors definitely “spice up” Korea’s landscape in a beautiful way! Persimmon trees 감 나무, or the transliteration “gam namu” are found throughout Korea, particularly in mountainous regions.

Many Koreans eat ripe and dried persimmons. Year round, Korean markets and grocery stores carry dried persimmons 곶감, or the transliteration “got gam”. The word 곶 translates roughly into the English definition, “to skewer”. The traditional way to dry persimmons is on skewers; think: shish kebob persimmons! 곶감 are very sweet! You can also  use dried persimmons to make a popular dessert punch called 수정과, or the transliteration “sujeong-gwa”. 수정과 has a spicy ginger, cinnamon flavor; it’s revered as an acid-reflux and nausea reducer. Emily Kim of www.maangchi.com has a very easy to follow YouTube video and step-by-step instructions on how to make this traditional Korean tea: http://bit.ly/TLS8a.

Enjoy the last days of autumn! I am drinking a hot cup of 수정과!

Below are keywords and a correlating sentence. For simplicity, the progression from one word, to two words, to a simple sentence is listed below.

One word—
Persimmon:  감 ,”gam”

Two words—
Persimmon tree:  감 나무 , “gam namu”

A simple sentence—
“A persimmon tree is beautiful.”, “감나무 가 아름답다”, “Gam namu ga aleumdabda.”

References: Photos provided by Kelly West Mars Photography.

As the weather gets warmer in Korea, people begin to look forward to the beautiful flowers that will bloom in the spring.

In Korea, people have traditionally associated the beginning of spring with the blooming of forsythias. In Korean Forsythia is called genari (개나리). Up close these flowers are yellow and have four petals, but from afar they look like a sea of ‘gold’.

Another flower that Korean people associate with spring is the Azalea or jindale (진달래). Jindale flowers are purplish to pinkish. When they are scattered across a wide landscape, the brightness of the purple/pink really makes the area pop with color.

The national flower of South Korea is the Rose of Sharon or the mugunghwa (무궁화). In addition to being beautiful’ mugunghwa’ means ‘everlasting flower’ (無窮花). The mugunghwa is supposed to represent the eternity of the South Korean nation.

Back when Korea had a royal family, the symbol of the Korean royal family was the peach blossom or the boksoongagot (복숭아꽃).  Peach blossoms are pink and have five petals. From afar, they are sometimes confused with azaleas. However the buds of the peach blossoms are quite different from azaleas.

There are some useful Korean proverbs that you can use in everyday life. These proverbs are high frequency proverbs, so you’ll probably hear them a lot if you haven’t heard them already.

Korean proverbs often use very vivid and extreme situations to prove a point. This proverb below is one fine example:

하늘의 별 따기(Haneulwi byeol ddagi)

(하늘 = sky. 의 = possessive particle. 별 = star. 따기 = to pluck)

This proverb means, “To pluck a star in the sky.” It’s used to describe an impossible situation or obstacle. The sky is a metaphor for something that is hard to obtain. Since it’s not possible to pluck a star from the sky, it is also used to describe that something is not plausible or realistic.

Korea used to be primarily an agricultural society. As a result, there are a lot of proverbs using food as a means to make a point.

콩 심은데 콩나고, 팥 심은데 팥난다 (Kong simeundae kongnago, pat simeundae pat nanda)

(콩 = soybean. 심다 = to plant. 팥 = red bean. 나다 = to become/to grow)

This proverb literally means “soybeans grow from where soybeans are planted; red beans grow from where red beans are planted.” This proverb is used in situations where someone is surprised that something happened when it’s obvious as to why it happened. For example, if you paid for something for little cost, it unreasonable to expect that this item is of better quality or that it will last longer than a more expensive item.

Before Korea became a modernized country, much of the land that was not arable was uncultivated and often the habitat of wild animals. As a result, certain animals like wolves, tigers and even bears lived in close contact with the people of the village. Lots of Korean proverbs feature animals as a metaphor for making a point about something important.

 This is a proverb that talks about monkeys. In Korean folklore monkeys are clever creatures that get into trouble for their cunning ways. The monkey is often portrayed as being overconfident and pays for this overconfidence by falling into a trap.

원숭이도 나무에서 떨어진다 (Weonsungido namueseo ddeoleojinda)

(원숭이 = monkey. 도 = even/and. 나무 = tree. 에서 = from. 떨어지다 = to fall)

This proverb literally means “Even monkeys fall from trees.” Since monkeys are considered very adept at climbing and swinging from tree to tree, it’s not very often that monkeys fall from a tree. Therefore this proverb is saying that even experts (monkeys) can make mistakes (fall from a tree). This proverb is used when someone acts arrogant or overconfident. In a way, this proverb is used to tell someone “even you’re not immune to mistakes,” or “you’re not always going to be perfect.” It’s not really a nice thing to say about someone, but if someone told me this proverb I would consider it a complement, because that would mean that I was viewed as some kind of an expert!

As you can see, proverbs are a good way of learning about Korean culture. Moreover, Korea is not as agricultural or rural as it used to be, but these proverbs are still widely used in daily situations.