Archive for 'Uncategorized'
Hangover Soup Posted by Ginny on Jul 22, 2009
In Korea, the common cure for a hangover is Hejangguk (해장국). Hejangguk (해장국) can be made in different ways. The people of Seoul have a tendency to mix together denjang (된장) or soybean paste with kongnamul (콩나물) or sprouts, mu (무) or radish, bechu (배추) or cabbage, junbok (전복) or abalone, and kumbulgunsek (검붉은색) or…
South Korean President: Noh Mu Hyun Posted by Ginny on Jun 19, 2009
The recent suicide of ex South Korean President, Noh Mu Hyun (노무현) has received 24 hour coverage in the South Korean press. The suicide came as a shock to most people and thousands paid their respects to the deceased president by laying flowers on his tomb. For those of you who don’t know Noh Mu…
Memorial Day Posted by Ginny on Jun 7, 2009
June sixth is celebrated as 현충일 or Memorial Day in South Korea. It’s a day to commemorate the soldiers who have died while serving in the military. It’s especially for the soldiers who have died in the Korean War. In some ways, the Korean War has been overshadowed by the Vietnam War. Despite only lasting…
Buddha’s Birthday Posted by Ginny on May 25, 2009
This year, May is the month of Buddha’s birthday. This day is called 석가탄신일, also called 부처님 오신 날, or 사월 초파일. For those who may be unfamilar to Buddhism, the Buddha refers to Prince Siddhartha Gautama. He is considered a spritual man who attained englightenment. Prince Siddhartha came from a wealthy family. He was…
Spoken versus Written Posted by Ginny on May 22, 2009
A lot of people think that the Korean language is phonetic, meaning that words are pronounced exactly as they are written. This is true to some extent, but there are cases where there is a discrepancy between the way Korean is read and the way it’s written. When a riul (리율) or ㄹis placed next…
Consonants Posted by Ginny on May 15, 2009
If you want to spell out a word in Korean, you’ll need to know what each character is called. Luckily, the vowels are just called by the way they sound, but the consonants actually have a name. ㄱ – giyok (기역) ㄲ – ssang giyok (쌍 기역) ㄴ – niun (니은) ㄷ – digut (디귿)…
Vowels Posted by Ginny on May 10, 2009
Did you know that there are 10 simple Korean vowels? I’ll try and give you an idea of what these vowels sound like; with examples of words that contain these sounds in English. However, the best way to learn these vowels is to hear them over and over. 아 – “a” like in father 야 –…