Korean Language Blog

In Korea, Lunar New Year (설날; transliteration: “Sohl-nahl”) festivities have come and gone. It’s been more than a week since 설날, but since this traditional holiday’s essence is family and community, Koreans will continue to ask each other, “How did you celebrate Lunar New Year?” or, “How do you celebrate New Year’s Day?” (“당신은 어떻게 설날 기념하나요?”; transliteration: “Dangshin-eun eotteohge sohl-nahl ginyeomnayo?”)

• Black dragon = 흑룡 (transliteration: heugl yong)
  Black dragon year = 흑룡 해 (transliteration: heugl yong hae)

• A useful list of Korean Lunar New Year greetings is posted below and on my Scribd account: http://scr.bi/ApdZkF.
• And, easy to follow directions for 윷놀이 are posted on my Scribd account: http://scr.bi/zVfWU0 . (Note: 윷놀이 is a traditional Korean game played on 설날. It is played with family, and is popular with kids and adults alike.  윷놀이 is played with four wooden sticks, four tokens, and a board. Playing this game ensures harmony with nature, as the sticks represent the four seasons.)

I hope you enjoyed 설날 as much as I did—I embed myself into as many 설날 activities as I could this year. On my quest to be “more Korean”, I did the following:

• Cooked 떡만두국; duk mandu guk
  (Details & a recipe are listed in our previous blog article titled, Korean New Year: A Traditional Soup Recipe.)
• Wore a new outfit
  (It is customary in Korea to wear a new outfit on 설날 for “new beginnings”!)
• Cleaned my home
  (It is customary in Korea to clean your home on 설날 Eve.)
• Brought my shoes indoors
  (Bringing shoes indoors on 설날 Eve prevents restless spirits from “filling shoes”.)
• Played 윷놀이 with a group of adults and children!
• Wore a Hanbok, i.e., tried one on!
  (Most modern South Koreans will not wear a Hanbok on 설날, but parents will often dress their young children in Hanboks on 설날.)

If you have any questions, or if you would like to share your thoughts or photographs with this community, please post them on this blog—or send me a “tweet” via Twitter. You might meet a new friend! : )

P.S.  Next week, I will write about Korean Calligraphy!

Now, enough with the serious posts and on with the fun posts!  Today I’m going to talk about everybody’s favorite subject: alcohol.  (Well, maybe not everybody’s favorite!)  Since this is a Korean blog, let me introduce an alcoholic beverage native to Korea.  It is called soju (소주).  Soju (소주) is mainly made from rice, but other starches such as potatoes and barley are sometimes used as well.  Soju (소주) is usually clear in color, but some are fruit flavored and have artifical dyes that make them look red or green.  The South Korean government prohibits the alcohol content of soju (소주) to be above 35%.  As a result, many sojus (소주) contain an average of about 20% of alcohol content.

Moreover, Korea is what I call a drinking culture.  Now, I’m not saying that Korea is a nation of alcoholics!  What makes an alcoholic?  Well, I’m not sure, but Koreans don’t really have the stigma attached to alcohol like Americans do.  What I mean is that soju (소주) is often a medium for people to bond in situations they would not normally have the opportunity to do at work.  Employers and employees in Korea sometimes work overtime shifts without extra pay.  Naturally stress and fatigue builds up, creating a need for people to let their hair down.  Sometimes an employer may offer to treat his employees after a long day of work.  Usually, employees accept, because accepting an offer to drink is seen as accepting someone’s trust and friendship.

The concept of going drinking with your employer may seem like an odd concept to Americans.  In American society, there are certain boundaries carved out between one’s personal life and work life.  In Korean society, these boundaries are less distinct.  If you’re someone who likes to drink, you’ll do fine in Korea.  If you’re not a particularly tolerant drinker like me and you refuse to drink often, you may offend some of your co-workers.  Just to be polite, I would suggest that you take at least a sip and perhaps apologize with a jesonghapnida (죄송합니다) which means I’m sorry in Korean.  You may also want to add, surul chal mot heyo (수를 잘 멋 해요) which literally means “I don’t really do alcohol well” with the intended meaning being that you aren’t an avid drinker.

If you do decide to go out drinking with your boss, here are some alcohol etiquette rules you should follow.  When you pour a drink for your boss, make sure both hands touch the bottle.  If both hands don’t touch the bottle, at least place your left hand on your right arm with your right hand pouring the drink.  Using both hands is a sign of respect so remember to do that.  Also, remember that it’s a bit direct and frank to drink with your face toward your boss.  When you bring the glass to your lips, make sure you turn your head away from your boss at least 45 degrees away from your boss.  Think of this way: since Koreans have a tendency to sit close together, drinking with the your face toward the other person would allow the person to see and hear you gulp down your drink, and that is just not an attractive sight!

So, have fun drinking and don’t forget to say konbe (건배) which means cheers!

Jungme kyoron (중매 결혼) is an arranged marriage.  Traditionally Koreans son bayo (손 봐요) or go on an arranged date or meeting with a potential marriage partner.  Son bayo (손 봐요) literally means, to look at one’s hand.  Son (손) means hand.  Bayo = (look at, see).  It dates back to the time when fortune tellers would “read” their clients’ palms to foretell of the future.  In the same way, these arranged dates or meetings are used  to determine whether the other person is suitable as a marriage partner.   While jungme kyoron (중매 결혼) is an arranged marriage, it does not necessarily mean that one is forced to get married to a person he or she doesn’t like.  There is considerable latitude over mate selection.  Often people will go on several dates set up by a jungmejengi (중매쟁이) or matchmaker. 

The jungmejeni (중매쟁이) hooks people up with similar backgrounds by considering such factors like educational status or hakbol (학벌) and the family’s social status and wealth.  Of course many other factors are considered but these are the main two that are valued.  Koreans do not generally feel comfortable marrying “below” themselves.  Marrying “below” themselves would disrupt the social hierarchical system influenced by Confucius, not to mention the snickering that would be followed by such a marriage.

Nowadays, many Koreans are preferring to marry by love (연애 결혼) or rather are preferring to forgo marrying people based on their hakbol (학벌).  While many South Koreans are choosing yuhne kyorlhon (연애 결혼) it should be noted that parents are still actively involved in the marriage selection process.  A parent’s approval of a potential mate is key to whether a marriage will take place.  It is not unusual for Korean couples to break up if one or both of the families do not agree to the marriage.  In many ways choosing a mate is not a decision made by two people but rather a communal decision made by families.  If a person goes against a parent’s will, that child may be disowned.  As a result, the marriage process is not an easy process. 

Once parents give their approval, some couples choose to hold a yakonshik (약혼식) or an engagement ceremony.  These ceremonies are much like a real wedding ceremony.  Yakonshiks (약혼식) involve inviting guests in large ceremonial halls, with food catered and an exchange of rings.  Yahkonshilks (약혼식) are a big deal and they are understood of as a serious expression of intent to walk down the aisle.  Therefore, people do not casually break up with each other if they are engaged.  Much time and money is wasted if couples were to break up due to cold feet or uncertainty.  In sum, marriage is not a light matter in Korea and with the divorce rate rising in Korea, it will probably continue to be a serious issue.