Media Monday: Kim Jong-Il's Sushi Chef

This is an interesting read.  I've read it once before years ago and found it fascinating. Even though Kim Jong-Il is gone, this scooted back across my Facebook feed the other day and I very much enjoyed reading it again...it's an amazing article with a unique perspective of inside North Korea.

Read it here:
http://www.gq.com/news-politics/newsmakers/201306/kim-jong-il-sushi-chef-kenji-fujimoto-adam-johnson

Friday Fives: Five Ways South Korean Culture and "Southern Culture" are Alike

It seems like a bit of stretch, but there are a lot of ways that my "new" Korean culture and my "old" southern culture are alike.  True...the language barrier can be crippling sometimes, but day to day getting along hasn't been so difficult for me.  I think a lot of it has to do with the fact the there are several similarities between the cultures.  So, this week's Friday Fives is dedicated to my opinion on that:

1) Speak Politely to Strangers
There are several ways to speak to people in Korean: informal, formal, polite, honorific...it can be confusing.  Most books for learning Korean start with the formal and polite tones.  And honestly, most strangers respond positively to this and will typically use it to address you.  And be sure to bow (it is a sign of respect/acknowledgement)...a little bow goes a long way.

Thursday Trivia: Top 10 Weirdest Places in South Korea

This could be considered a Media Monday category, but since Thursday Trivia is meant to be a "catch all" category it fits here, too.  So, here are the top 10 weirdest places in South Korea.  Let's see how many I can get to in my travels!

Link:
http://www.koreaobserver.com/top-10-weirdest-places-in-south-korea-24161

Word Wednesday: Vowels

So, vowels are considerably easier than consonants.  First off, there are only 10 basic vowels.  Which means there are some irregular vowels, but those are pretty easy to understand too.  No fear, for today, we will just look at the basic vowels.

In Korean alphabetical order they are:

Easy, right?  Well, easier, at any rate. :)  My students told me that vowels order is one-plus-one...that is, the letter then the letter plus the "y" sound.  For example ㅏis the letter (one) andㅑ is the letter plus the "y" sound (plus one).  With me so far?

The story goes that Sejong and Company derived the vowel shapes from three components: sky (the "dot" because the sky is a sphere), earth (horizontal line because the earth is flat), and man (the vertical line, because men/humans stand upright).  Over time the "dot" has evolved to a dash, but the concept behind it remains.

Now. moving on to pronunciation:

Tasty Tuesday: Japanese Snacks

No, it's not a typo.

Yes, I know I am in Korea.

I am posting about Japanese snacks because last week, the top students in the school went on a weekend trip to Japan.  Then yesterday, two students in my first class of the day asked if we could have some time to have a small party so they could share some snacks they brought back for the class.  Well, I thought that was so sweet and kind I had to say yes.  They insisted I join in too, so here are my Japanese snacks in Korea.

Media Monday: The Honesty Experiment

This just warms my heart!

Granted Belif is a cosmetics company...one that markets itself on the concept of truthfulness.  But, still, the experiment proves why I feel so safe and secure here.  I won't spoil it, so give it a watch!

The Honesty Experiment:
http://www.allkpop.com/buzz/2014/10/south-koreans-are-tested-on-honesty-in-a-subway-experiment

Friday Fives: Five Things I Have in Korea That I Never Thought I Would Own

1. A Rice Cooker
I mean, I always thought you could JUST. COOK. RICE.  Before my return to the "motherland," I never really understood why you would even need something like this.  But I get it now.  You can make rice for the day in one go (or in my case, several days), it always turns out perfectly, and (especially for me) you aren't occupying your only stove burner with a pot of rice.  Not to mention there are fancy versions that make more than plain rice.

2. An Electric Kettle
Because, again, I always thought you could just boil water.  But again, when you only have one burner, then you hate to occupy it with the tea kettle.  Plus, it is actually more energy efficient that boiling water the old fashioned way...and in considerably less time!

Thursday Trivia: KPop versus KIndie

I'm really not a Kpop fan...there I've said it.

A lot of the reason is because (in my opinion...Kpop lovers, just my opinion) there is not much middle ground.  This girls all look like this:

And the boys all look like this:

With the notable exception of Psy.  Not to mention Kpop "bands" are a dime a dozen.  I can name 20 or so just off the top of my head and I'm not a fan.

Word Wednesday: Consonants

Let's start with the Hangul consonants.  There are only 19, and 5 of them are the "doubled" version of regular consonants.

So, in (Korean) alphabetical order they are:

The "double letters" (ㄲ ㄸ ㅃ ㅆ ㅉ) are alphabetized immediately after their "single" variant.

According to traditional stories, the consonants were developed based on the shapes of the tongue and/or the mouth as it is pronounced.

Ok, so let's work through these.  And I know there are tons of pronunciation charts out there...and you could just do a google search, but these are pronunciation tips that help me and I am just passing them along.

Tasty Tuesday: First Nepal Butter Chicken

First Nepal is this tiny Indian restaurant in the Chungdae area of Cheongju.  The decor is adorably Indian: bright colors, Hindu art, and paisley.  But for me, the real draw is the butter chicken makhani...so much so that I will suffer a 45 minute, poorly ventilated bus ride (the local buses are a bit sketchy) thorough the twisting and turning countryside just to have lunch.

The butter chicken is just wonderful!  Slightly spicy, and the sauce is so smooth and creamy...it's really one of the best things ever.  Add the fresh naan bread and some rice and, if you manage to finish the meal, you are full all day.  Even if you follow up with a marathon shopping trip.

How can explain how to get there?  I can't.  Chungdae is a bigger maze or streets, walkways, and alleys than even Hongdae.  Your best bet is to take a taxi or ask a local.  If you get off the bus at the Sachang Sagori there are lots of young college students around, most of whom should have basic English skills, that you can ask.

Or if you are just determined to go alone...get to the Lotte movie theater in Chungdae.  Go inside and take the side exit by the elevator.  Watch your step on the way down, the stairs are steep and uneven.  Turn right.  You will cross an alley/access road with a Watson's on the corner.  Its on the right almost immediately once you cross...on the second floor.

Media Monday: Well, Korea, That's Disappointing...

I would expect these kinds of shenanigans from North Korea, but SoKo, this is just disappointing...not to mention very upsetting.

This article reports that, potentially, the Kakao Talk chat app (which I use and love, btw) is being screened for negative comments about President Park Geun-Hye, particularly her handling of the Sewol Ferry incident back in April...and, potentially, prosecuting people for their comments.  This upsetting for so many reasons: invasion of privacy, limitations of free-speech, and so on.

Read the story here:
http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-29555331?OCID=fbasia

Gyeongbukgung Palace

I feel like this is really one of those "must see" things in Korea.  It was the major royal palace for a long time, but was destroyed when the Japanese colonized Korea.  It's (obviously) been rebuilt and restored since then.  So, this place is not only fascinating for me as a Korean-American, but also from an archaeological perspective.

Anyway.

First, how to get there.  Easy-peasy.  Take the Orange Line (line 3) to Gyeongbukgung Station and take exit 5.  It's literally right there.  If the historical significance and ease of access aren't enough to make you add it to your list, the subway exit looks like this:

The Royal Palace Museum and Korean Folk Museum are also right there and worth checking out (either on this visit or in the future).  They are both free (except for special exhibitions) so why not?

Now, back to the Palace.

Friday Fives: Five Things I Have Learned About Myself This Past Year

Sorry, guys...going to go a little po-mo on you (post-modern, if you didn't know).

I've been a little self-reflective in honor of my one-year anniversary in Korea and at Jincheon High School.  It's been good...it's been bad...it's been really good...and it has been downright ugly at times.  However, I can honestly say that the good has outweighed the bad and I am truly looking forward to my next year+ here.

So, in a year of ups and downs, major life changes, and small tweeks, I have learned these 5 things about myself:

Thursday Trivia: Hangul Proclamation Day

It's Hangul Proclamation Day!

I didn't plan for it to be Hangul Proclamation Day the day after I began Word Wednesday, but it happened that way.

Anyway, in 1446, King Sejong the Great (probably, my favorite monarch...as he was a man of the people) decided, "Hey, y'all, I've invented a writing system, so let's all use it."

I paraphrased that.

But, Sejong and a team of scholars did set to work developing Hangul (in it earliest incarnation) for the Korean people to use.  Before Hangul, Koreans used Chinese characters which, (I can attest) can be quite difficult for the common man to learn and use.  Only slight (and I mean super-slight) modifications have been made to Hangul ever since (and I mean, super, super-slight, like the way a character is written).

This year, 2014, is the first year for Hangul Proclamation Day to be an official, no work or school day in Korea.  Before, it has always been an "anniversary day."

Word Wednesday: Introduction to Hangul

So, really, if you are going to learn a language, you should learn it properly.  I know a lot of foreign teachers that just memorize phrases, or just "pick things up."  Which, that's all well, and good, but since my goal is fluency...and my background is Anthropology...I study language like a linguist.  That is, I focus on all aspects of the language (reading, writing, speaking, listening) as well as the nuances in speaking, gestures, colloquialisms, etc. and the origins and formation of words and phrases.  It's a busy way to study, but thorough.

Anyway, you can't possibly expect to learn Korean without Hangul.  Ok, you can, but really the system is so logical and, once you understand it, intuitive, it just makes sense that you should know it.

So, if you look at an English/Hangul computer keyboard, it looks like this:

It looks intimidating and the Hangul phonetic sounds are not on their corresponding English letters.  So, typing in Hangul can take some getting used to, but if you'll notice, all the consonants are on the left and all the vowels are on the right...so that will cut down on a lot of hunting for the right letter.

Tasty Tuesday: Beale Street Korea

Ah, Beale Street!  I really miss Memphis some days...Elvis, the Blues, Sun Studios, Lorraine Motel, Memphis Tigers, barbecue, the Memphis Farmer's Market...when I feel homesick, I feel homesick for Memphis.  So when I heard there was a Memphis bbq place hidden away in my favorite neighborhood in Seoul (already too good to be true) I had to find it.

I decided to spend Chuseok in the city (it was a 5-day weekend, so why not?) and decided that it was time to go on a food adventure.  So, after checking in and taking a quick rest, I hit the street of Hongdae to find it.

So, how to get there is pretty tricky...Hongdae is a fantastic cluster of meandering pedestrian streets, so even though these are not the directions I used to find it, they are the easiest to follow, I think.

Take the Green Line (line 2) to Hongik University Station.  Take exit 9.  Walk to the first major 4-way intersection and turn left.  Walk all the way to the end of the block.  It's a long block.  There are lots of little pedestrian walk-ways and access roads, but you'll want to go all the way up to the major road for cars...just past the park.  Turn right and cross the street (if you haven't already done so).  You'll pass the park and a few small access roads, but when you get to the first major access road turn right and go down that street.  It will be on the left.

Or if you are Hongdae-savvy, of you are facing Cocoon night club and Art Box take the road on the left, past Thursday Party and you'll run into to.

Anyway, hop on up to the second floor and have a seat.

Media Monday: North Korea Top Officials Visit South Korea

So, this could be HUGE...or it could be a lot of smoke and mirrors...or it could be nothing at all.  At any rate, top North Korean officials came to the Asia Games closing ceremony.  There's a lot of hype that this is a big step toward unification...and a lot of speculation about what is going on in the North. It will be interesting to see what happens going forward.

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/10/04/world/asia/north-korea-officials-surprise-visit/index.html?hpt=hp_t3