Culture As Given

This post consists of some aspects of Korean culture that are a part of my daily life. I haven't put even close to everything here, but it's a good sample. If you like what you read, research some more :)

Music (Kpop)

• I’m being seduced by KPop...I love it! The music itself is a lot like the BSB/*NSYNC/Spice Girls that I’ve rediscovered that I like. But the boys are dressed so nicely! And the dancing in the music videos is fantastic. Sometimes the outfits don’t make sense, but the videos are just filled with them dancing and singing...no crazy Lady Gaga stuff that has nothing to do with music. Plus, one of my students gave me a bunch of music as a birthday gift today, so I will get to listen to it a lot more. So far, I really like SS501, Super Junior and 2NE1.

Fashion

• I’m amazed by what Koreans can pull off. First, there’s the shorts-over-tights thing that I see tons of girls wearing. I might have to try it before I leave. Then, there is the tights-with-socks-and-athletic-shoes/Converse thing, coupled with a skirt, dress or shorts. How that looks good, I don’t know but it’s totally acceptable to everyone (even me) and everyone does it. Next, the patterns: the other day, I saw a guy wearing 2 kinds of plaid and 1 kind of stripes...and he was totes hip. Finally, there are the boys. A majority of men here dress exquisitely and I love it. Several pieces to every outfit (which is attractive to me for some reason) and the pieces are just a little different from things you'd find at home. This blazer, for example: 

Television (K-Drama)

• I think the fact that I purchased Lee Min Ho socks while in Seoul this weekend adequately portrays how much I love this part of Korean culture.

Food

• I’ve adjusted a lot better and a lot more quickly to Korean food than I expected I would. Before leaving the US, I assumed I would get bored of having rice every meal. But there are several kinds available here (it’s not just white or fried) and it’s often used as a buffer between my taste buds and the spicy flavoring – which my mouth appreciates. (However, despite the spiciness of most of the food here, it doesn’t have a lingering taste. A lot of times, about a half hour after lunch, I don’t even remember that I had something spicy to eat. It’s nice – you know, in case I meet my soulmate here and he needs to kiss me right after I eat.) I also find myself really enjoying and even craving food that I thought was weird when Dr. Koh was feeding it to us – in particular, the dried seaweed sheets. They are so salty and yummy! I like to eat them as a snack, like crackers or chips (even though that’s not  the texture that they have or what they taste like). I also find myself craving Korean food in general; like being really excited for lunch at school (which is always delicious) or preferring traditional Korean food over pizza or fried chicken for dinner. The Office Guy at my school told me today that I "eat Korean food well", that I try everything...I take that as a compliment. However, the downfall to all of this: not only is Korean food (and alcohol) exceedingly cheap here but it’s really expensive back in the States! :( It’s easy to find a full meal here for about $5 or $6 – and side dishes are always free and refillable (and tipping is not a thing that happens here). And soju is about $1 for a 360 mL bottle...it doesn’t sound like a lot but you only need about 1.5 bottles to reach a fun level of inebriation. I’ve heard it’s upwards of $10 for the same amount in the US :/ THAT will not be fun to get used to when I return.

History

• I've really enjoyed learning about the history of Korea, especially the history of the language and the recent history of the culture (post-Korean war to the present). The language is fascinating because King Sejong, who invented it, wanted to make it as easy as possible for people to learn. As such, there are only 24 characters (unlike the thousands of Chinese) and they are very phonetic (they almost always make the same sound). The formation of words with these characters is also very consistent. Words are formed with clusters of characters and each cluster has 2 or 3 (in rare cases, 4). In addition, the symbols of the consonants were assigned based on the shapes one's mouth makes when saying them. The vowel symbols are formed according to the 3 fundamental symbols of Eastern philosophy (Heaven, Earth and Man) and each vowel uses 1-2 of these symbols to make the character. Finally (this is one of the coolest things), all of the vowels conform to the harmony of yin and yang. All of the vowel sounds in a word will be either yin, meaning the dots (Heaven) will be down or to the left of the line (Earth or Man), or yang, meaning the dots with be up or to the right of the line. So awesome! I'm still struggling with the way that these characters make words and sentences but I LOVE the origin of the language.
• The recent rise of Korea, out of the ashes of the Korean war, has become a topic that fascinates and amazes me. It's hard to describe, but take the time to watch following videos. I think you will start to understand why this country is so amazing and why I love it here. 

(watch all of the parts...it's about an hour but very worth it)