Archive for April, 2009
Election Day Posted by Ginny on Apr 29, 2009
This year North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Il (김정일) was unanimously re-elected to office. His sons were also appointed to high government posts as well. Big surprise there! The voting system in North Korea is basically the voting system elementary schools use to pick the class president. There are two boxes, one in favor of…
Korean Saying of the Day Posted by Ginny on Apr 26, 2009
Have you ever heard the phrase, kung dong i ka mu gop da (궁둥이가 무겁다)? Let me give you a hint: it’s a phrase having to do with etiquette. Here’s bigger hint: It literally means, the butt (or the rear) is heavy. It’s a phrase used to describe someone who refuses to leave the host’s…
Black Day Posted by Ginny on Apr 23, 2009
February 14th is Valentines Day. March 14th is White Day (화이트 데이) and April 14th is Black Day (블랙데이). February is when girls give chocolates and other gifts to boys. March is the month where boys give presents to girls. April is the sad month where singles go out and commiserate how they didn’t get…
The Three Kingdoms Posted by Ginny on Apr 20, 2009
Did you know that before there ever was a South and North Korea, there were three large kingdoms in what is now present day Korea? It’s true. Long before the Korean nation, Korea was nothing more than a conglomerate of three strong powers. This period is called the shikgukshide (삼국시대) or the Three Kingdoms Period…
Korean Street Food Posted by Ginny on Apr 16, 2009
I am craving Korean street food so badly! Korean street food are cheap, packaged in a portable way and usually served warm. 호떡 is a Korean pancake made of flour, water, sugar, yeast, milk, brown sugar and cinnamon. The batter is poured on a griddle in the shape of a circle. 호떡 tastes sweet. The…
Counters Posted by Ginny on Apr 13, 2009
Here are some Korean counters. Counters are words like “piece of paper” or “year’s old” that you attach to numbers to indicate sets or numbers of items/people/animals, etc. 별 : items of clothing 대 : vehicles, cars, machinery 과 : lessons 권 : volumes of books 장 : piece of paper 마리 : animals 병…
Korean Dialects Posted by Ginny on Apr 10, 2009
The standard South Korean dialect is based on the Seoul (서울) dialect, while the North Korean dialect is based on the Pyongyang (평양) dialect. Seoul (서울) and Pyongyang (평양) are the capital cities of the two respective countries. Although the standard North Korean dialect uses a different intonation and has a slightly different pronunciation system than…