Learn Korean

About Korea

Geography
*Over 70% of the land is mountainous.
*Eastern region - mainly rugged mountain ranges and deep valleys
*Western region - most of the larger rivers and forests
*Coastline - bays and has some of the highest tides in the world
*Eastern coastline - many sandy beaches
*Western coastline - mainly mud flats and rocky shores

Official Names
*Korea (North) - Democratic People's Republic of Korea
*Korea (South) - Republic of Korea

*Nahati ang Korea sa North at South noong 1945
*South Korea is divided into 9 provinces and 6 special cities.

People
*Population: over 46.9 million (2010 est.)
*from Mongolian race pero may halong Chinese at Japanese ang dugo nila.
*family-oriented sila, based on Confucianism kaya family-centered ang life nila

History
Breakdown:
*Three Kingdoms (57 BC - AD 668)
*Silla (668-935)
*Goryeo (918-1392)
*Joseon (1392-1910)
*Japanese Occupation (1910-1945)
*Republic of Korea (1945-present)

Social Attitudes
Korea - "the Eastern country of courteous people" (as described by Chinese long ago)
*Hindi sila masyadong demonstrative sa mga strangers. Iisipin mong suplado sila pero talaga lang silang ganon.
*Tutulungan ka naman nila if you need help like kunwari isa kang foreigner na bago pa lang sa Korea, they'd be willing to help you.

Customs (not all)
*Main festival of the year - Lunar New Year (late Jan to late Feb)
-A time for dressing up, family visits and feasting.
*Chusok Festival - fall harvest festival
-A time for returning home if possible, honoring one's ancestors, cleaning graves, and celebrating new crops.

Respect For Elders
To show respect to the elderly and those in senior years is highly regarded.

Attitudes Toward Women
*Before, sabi ni Confucius irespeto ang mga matatanda but what he actually meant was 'matatandang lalaki' so dahil Confucianism ang sinusunod ng karamihan sa kanila, they most likely did respect only the lolos (in general, hindi lang lolo nila). Hindi masyadong priority ang women or children during the old times. Sila palagi ang submissive, sa magulang, sa asawa, etc.
*Much of this has now changed dahil modern na ngayon. Kumbaga, sabihin na natin na nagrebelde ang mga babae. Some Korean women now smoke and drink, gumagawa ng kabulastugan at sila pa ang nagpa-file ng divorce. Kaya kahit yung ibang babae ay hindi karespe-respeto ang ginagawa, mahalaga pa din ang pagrespeto sa mga kababaihan.
*They all treat everyone equal now dahil karamihan din sa mga babae ay politicians, may successful na trabaho or company. I mean, those women have contributed a lot to their society.

Taboos (not all)
*Kung sa atin ang unlucky number ay 13, sa Korea ay 4 kasi same pronunciation siya sa word ng death (sa).
*The use of left hand is seen as offensive. If you're passing an object (like a glass or plate) to someone else, always do it the polite way by using both hands. If that is not possible, use your right hand.
*Do not stick chopstick upright in rice, as this resembles the way incense is burned at funerals.
*Bare feet are avoided. Koreans do most of their stuff on the floor kaya dapat spotlessly clean ito. O di kaya'y mag-socks kayo.
*Do not touch an adult on the head, or even the shoulder. It is considered rude.

Names
*Common Surnames:
1. Kim
2. Lee
3. Park
*Families distinguish themselves by their place of origin. (E.g. "Andong Kims", sa Andong nag-originate ang clan nila at nandun din ang clan shrine nila, gets?)
*Most surnames ay one-syllable lang pero meron ding two-syllable (e.g. "Sakong") at ang surnames nila ay written first in Korean language pero kung English, mas una ang given name kesa surname.
*Most Koreans have two-syllables given names. Si Park Sandara/Sandara Park ay three-syllabled while Park Bom/Bom Park is one-syllabled. Isa pong Blackjack (fandom ng 2NE1) si Mam Seoyeon! Hehe. Come back home! Can you come back home?? Eh!

Yun lang. :)

~Mam Seoyeon

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