Archive for July, 2010
To Be Easy or Hard Posted by Ginny on Jul 29, 2010
To express that something is easy to do, use ~기 쉽다 이 숙제는 풀기 쉬워요 = this homework is easy to solve (이 = this. 숙제 = homework. 는 = topic marker. 풀기 쉬워요 = easy to solve) To express that something is hard to do, use ~기 어렵다 영어는 배우기 어려워요 = English is…
Traditional Korean Hats Posted by Ginny on Jul 26, 2010
No one wears them anymore, but at one point in Korean history, these hats were a common sight : The gat (갓) was a hat worn by upper class Korean men. This video is a clip from the Korean drama called Yisan (이산). If you look at the first seconds of the video, you can…
Korean Buddhist Statues Posted by Ginny on Jul 20, 2010
Although Christianity is taking control of the South Korean peninsula, there are majestic remnants of Korea’s attachment to Buddhism. The Bangasayusang (반가사유상) is a bronze statue of the Buddha. It’s sometimes compared to Rodin’s “The Thinker” because of the elbow resting on the leg. This is an old piece, originating from the Silla (신라)-Baekje (백제)…
Boryeong Festival Posted by Ginny on Jul 17, 2010
From July 17 – 25, the city of Boryeong (보령) will have a festival called the 보령머드축제 or the Boryeong Mud Festival. There are several events; all having to do with mud : The festival attracts lots of tourists and boosts the local economy. Supposedly, the mud in Boryeong is rich in minerals and moisturizes…
Ondol Posted by Ginny on Jul 14, 2010
Ondol (온돌) is a term used to describe the traditional Korean way of heating the floor. The fire to heat the floor was made in an external fireplace called an 아궁이. The pipes used to transfer the heat from the fireplace to the floor were called 고래, and the external chimney (굴뚝) (pictured left)…
Have you ever…I have… Posted by Ginny on Jul 11, 2010
To express that you have done something, use ~본 적(이) 있어요 : 유럽에 가본 적(이) 있어요 = I have been to Europe. (유럽 = Europe. 에 = to. 가 = go. 본 적(이) 있어요 = have been) The (이) is optional. In daily speech the 이 can be dropped. ~본 적(이) 있어요 can be used…
2007 Korean Oil Spill Posted by Ginny on Jul 8, 2010
If you’ve taken a look at the news, you probably know that BP has taken a lot of heat for the oil spill that occurred in the U.S. South Korea experienced a similar oil spill in 2007 : If you looked at the video, you can tell that the oil spill was gruesome. When the…