Fun Times in Korean Class!

Normally on Tuesday and Thursday nights I struggle for 2 hours to learn the Korean language by trying to understand and translate what is being said.  Learning a new language is difficult.  Learning a language without translation into your language is extremely difficult.  And to be honest, I don't actually learn Korean without English translation.  I simply learn Korean without English translation from the teacher.  When we are to do independent work or if I'm extremely lost and confused, I turn to my English speaking friends in the class and we work together to translate what is being said and what we are supposed to be doing.  And if we cannot understand by pulling from what each of us already know, then there is always Google translate :)  I have definitely learned a lot of Korean.  I can read more than I can hear or than I can speak.  I know that its improves class by class.  I get excited when we have a dictation test and I only miss a few and only miss those because I missed 1 vowel in each sentence.  I feel accomplished when I look back on where I started about 6 weeks ago.  However, at the end of every class I am tired.  It takes effort to learn and my brain is very tired by the end of the 2 hours, even with a break in the middle!

Well this past Thursday we had a break from all the language learning to learn about the culture!  It was a lot of fun.  We had to pay 2,000 won to participate which is less than $2.  Our classes are free so this is quite a minimal fee in my opinion.  I would have paid more, especially after attending.  When we arrived they had Hanbok for us to wear.  Hanbok is the traditional Korean dress.  This is still worn for weddings, funerals, baby's first birthday party, and other special occasions.  They told us in the presentation though that as recently as 60 years ago these were being worn full time, but since then Koreans have transitioned to wearing Western style clothing.

The beautiful Hanbok I got to wear.

My friend Karla and I enjoying the chance to wear Hanbok.

Karla, Mario, and I with our Hanbok outfits.  They are the most helpful to me in Korean class!  We all met at orientation in August at Jeonju.

A closer view of the Hanbok.

And the beautiful embrodiery.

When the class started, I was excited because they were speaking English and Korean.  I felt bad that some in the class don't really speak English and only speak some Korean so I'm not sure how much they liked it.  

Our culture teacher for the night.
Her Hanbok was beautiful!

The class was designed to give us an overview of Korean history.  One of the first statements really stood out to me.  They said the in all of Korean history dating back to at least 2300BC Korea has never invaded another country.  I find this simultaneously amazing and credible.  Knowing a little of Korean people and their mindset in life, I do not see them as people to go out to take over lands of other peoples.  Instead it seems that they would more likely live in harmony for years on end without invading others lands.  The founding philosophy of Korean during the Choson kingdom, the first kingdom in Korean history, was "to live and work for the benefit of mankind."  I was told early on when I arrived that Korea differs significantly from America because it is not an individualistic society. It does not think what is best for me but instead thinks what is best of the country.  They think collectively in a way.  Essentially, Koreans see themselves as one large family and they think along those lines.  What is best for the "Korean family" not what is best for me and my individual family.  I think this started in the beginning based on the founding philosophy.  They did things for the collective not for individuals from the beginning.  

After briefly talking about the Choson kingdom, they moved on to the Bronze Age.  During this time they showed a movie about a bronze mirror that was made during this time.  Essentially, they don't know how ancient Koreans made it was such uniformity and precision because they cannot seem to duplicate it even today.  If I can find the movie, I will share it because it was very fascinating.

Because of limited time, we quickly moved onto a next major accomplishment of ancient Korean, the sacred bell of King Songduk.  Amazing video and so insightful to the intelligence of Koreans.  Check out the video here.  Look down the list to the one about the sacred bell of King Songduk.  It's about 20 minutes long but quite insightful if you have the time.  I was impressed.  Then again I love to learn about culture and history so it would naturally be something I like :)

Of course there was some time given to the Korean alphabet Hanguel.  This is what I am learning.  It was the last alphabet system created and the whole process of creating and how and why it was created was documented.  It is the only alphabet that is so highly documented in its creation.  It was created so that all people of Korean could learn to read and write in their language.  It was made to be easy to learn.  The basic consonant sounds are written in a way to mimic the shape of the mouth when you make the sounds.  From there they add additional strokes depending on how intense the sound created is. The vowels are created based on a philosophy of harmony of man, universe, and earth as well as a philosophy of ying and yang.  

Along with alphabet they also mentioned that Korean developed a moveable type years before Gutenberg's printing press.  The moveable type looked like it used Chinese characters as this was what was used before the invention of Hanguel but either way it was moveable type for printing.

After learning about a lot of history, they briefly showed some artwork.  We did not have time to learn about any artwork beyond the bronze mirror and bell.  They did make an interesting statement though.  They said that artwork from a culture and people group is the best historians.  Essentially it shows their passions and their heart.  There is much that you can learn about the people from artwork.  I hadn't thought about this before, but it seems very logical and true.

They also touched on some specifics of culture that as foreigners we are aware of.  For example. Korean take of their shoes before entering a house and typically wear indoor slippers.  This is because they eat and sleep in the same areas.  Their desire is to keep the area as clean as possible which means taking off shoes that were outside and only wear slippers that are worn in the house.  Many Koreans also ask very personal questions when first meeting you.  For example, it is common to be asked your age and if you are married when someone first meets you.  They do not mean offense by this.  Instead they are gathering information so they know how to properly address you when speaking.  Koreans have a formal and informal language and it varies based on the person's age and marital status.  They simply want to be respectful in how they respond to you.  

We also learned how to do a bow that is performed by children to their grandparents or possibly parents at the new year.  Below is a video of some classmates learning how to do the bow.  I did not participate because 2 of my friends were so I videoed and took pictures for them.

Finally, we learned about the technological advances of modern Korean which are extensive.  You are all mostly likely aware of Korean companies Samsung, LG, Kia, Hyundai.  But was I learned and was completely shocked by is the Hyundai does not only manufacture cars, but also ships!  They are the world's best ship builders!  For something like 20 years they were awarded World's Best Ship based on a ship they made for that year.  Incredible.  I had no idea!

The night ended with pictures, Korean snacks, and a free book!  It was an incredibly fun night and so insightful.  It made me want to learn even more about Korean history and culture.  I am thankful they have this as a component of our Korean class.