by Abbie Hamilton
For me South Korea is a dream place, a perfect fantasy that actually exists. How did I fall for this place? Well it’s all quite simple; ‘pop culture’. Young people are interested in pop culture and that's why when I was introduced to Korea as a college freshman I found out that there is a place that I would love to visit and learn more about their people. My friend that introduced me to Korea told me to watch a series called "She Was Pretty" and instantly I fell in love with it.
In Korea these series are called dramas and they consist of 20 or less episodes that are published throughout the span of year consistently. People who are conditional about Korean dramas are usually fans of Korean music as well. I’m sure you’ve heard of Gangnam Style before; this song was popular around the year 2013. In the western world Korean music is called Kpop/Korean Pop music, which I’m also a fan of. I wanted to know more about this group of people and why they were so connected and loving towards each other.
I started to learn Hangul/ the Korean language and writing system so I could connect with them on a different level. I did connect with the culture more when I started learning Hangul. I found out that they have assigned names given to you based on respect for that person or their status in society. They would call an older woman ‘Ajumma’ and older men ‘Ajusshi’. Younger siblings would call older siblings Hyung and Noona. You guessed it right Noona an older sister and Hyung is for older brother.
Further in my freshman year I met a Korean girl and I used the opportunity to call her Noona when we got closer and she really liked it. She loved the idea that I was learning her language and she treated me just like a Noona would. While learning the language I also learned some history about Korea and which is quite beautiful.
About 5 centuries ago a very famous king named King Sejong created Hangel; which is the Korean writing system.In Hangul there are 24 characters, these characters are taken from Chinese characters. King Sejong said that an illiterate man could learn Hangul in the span of a day. I guess King Sejong was right. I learned the 24 characters in less than an hour and was able to slightly read Korean sentences.
Hangel is still used today and Koreans can read messages from there history of five hundred years. I just find that astonishing. I think that all I have learned after discovering the Korean culture is that, a country is probably far away but it’s the effort you make to connect that make them seem to be close to you as a next door neighbor. I advise you to explore and find a country that you're curious about and you might learn something life changing. For now 잘 지내 Jal Jinae (take care).
In Korea these series are called dramas and they consist of 20 or less episodes that are published throughout the span of year consistently. People who are conditional about Korean dramas are usually fans of Korean music as well. I’m sure you’ve heard of Gangnam Style before; this song was popular around the year 2013. In the western world Korean music is called Kpop/Korean Pop music, which I’m also a fan of. I wanted to know more about this group of people and why they were so connected and loving towards each other.
I started to learn Hangul/ the Korean language and writing system so I could connect with them on a different level. I did connect with the culture more when I started learning Hangul. I found out that they have assigned names given to you based on respect for that person or their status in society. They would call an older woman ‘Ajumma’ and older men ‘Ajusshi’. Younger siblings would call older siblings Hyung and Noona. You guessed it right Noona an older sister and Hyung is for older brother.
Further in my freshman year I met a Korean girl and I used the opportunity to call her Noona when we got closer and she really liked it. She loved the idea that I was learning her language and she treated me just like a Noona would. While learning the language I also learned some history about Korea and which is quite beautiful.
About 5 centuries ago a very famous king named King Sejong created Hangel; which is the Korean writing system.In Hangul there are 24 characters, these characters are taken from Chinese characters. King Sejong said that an illiterate man could learn Hangul in the span of a day. I guess King Sejong was right. I learned the 24 characters in less than an hour and was able to slightly read Korean sentences.
Hangel is still used today and Koreans can read messages from there history of five hundred years. I just find that astonishing. I think that all I have learned after discovering the Korean culture is that, a country is probably far away but it’s the effort you make to connect that make them seem to be close to you as a next door neighbor. I advise you to explore and find a country that you're curious about and you might learn something life changing. For now 잘 지내 Jal Jinae (take care).