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In Korea, to use one hand to do something is considered to be rude. So stop doing it.
Seriously. But don’t go all out and use two hands to accept liquid hand sanitizer or anything like that but the primary receiving and giving of anything from cash to paper handouts should be done with both hands*. Think of it as a redundancy - if one hand freaks out and shucks you, you still got the other one. You never know when you’ll need the strength of two hands…
Seriously though it’s just one of those cultural nuances that is important and sometimes overlooked. The most common mistake comes from the use of the left hand only. That’s just nasty.
I kid. Come on now, who really thinks about which hand we use? In a Western setting, I never care about it other than in a handshake. If I want to hand something over or receive something, I just do it with whatever hand is most convenient. If I reach for some cash out of my wallet, I’ll hand it over to the clerk without thinking about if I’m using the dirty left or the royal right. I think back to a classroom setting when a teacher hands out papers to the front row and the students are to pass back the handouts to the student behind them. I usually just took one and naturally passed the papers backwards with my left hand while I read the new handout with my right hand.
But, I can appreciate the Korean emphasis on hands. In America, if someone tried to shake my hand with their left hand instead of their right, I might not be overtly offended, but I would be a little perplexed.
But two hands? All the time?
*Sort of. If you’re going to use one hand to pass something, and you’re of sufficient social status, use the right hand only. Otherwise, use both hands to be the most polite. More commonly, use your left hand to support your body - almost as if you point to your elbow with your fingers whilst your palm rests on your upper stomach. Support your elbow but don’t make it into a Klingon rite of passage - make the effort and your politeness is conveyed.
One can easily tell who’s the top dog and who’s the 신입사원 at the drinking table simply by taking a look at the pouring style. Always pouring with the right hand, look at the left hand of the person pouring. The closer the left hand is to the wrist, the more respectable the person is being. No left hand support equals friendship in the sense that two hands are not required.
So what have we learned? Like any culture, there are certain normative expectations associated with politeness. What surprises me is how a firm handshake is not required. I feel like I’m crushing the hands of Korean people I meet simply because I was taught that a nice firm handshake was a way to convey security, trust and friendliness. Likewise, two hands (or one hand supporting the other) conveys humbleness, submission and respect.
Want to get your hands on more Korean hand gesture goodness? Then listen to everyone’s favorite married couple and go eat your kimchi.
Stop. Ask yourself “What blood type am I?”. Chances are you’re a foreigner in respect to Korea (seeing as how this is an English language blog written for the benefit of foreigners) and that you probably answered with “I don’t know”. More importantly, you might have thought “why should I care?” The short answer? You shouldn’t. But don’t be surprised if other people do.
Well I’m here to lay it on the line. It does matter. Kind of.
See, this whole idea behind looking at someone’s blood type originates from a Japanese belief that blood type determines temperament, compatibility, and pretty much everything else that defines someone. Apparently your blood has been yakking it up. What does it say about you?
This sounds like fun! Let’s compartmentalize the entire planet, shall we? Fall in line and take a look at one of four possible blood personalities that exist:
(for visuals, a chart can be found here)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - Type O - Enter the strong willed, athletic, self-confident power-mongering natural born leaders of society. These goal-orientated risk-takers are ambitious and full of desire. Not surprisingly, they can also come off as ruthless, insensitive, arrogant and bossy. Oh they sound like fun at parties /end sarcasm.
Type A - These conservative, patient, considerate people are a little hesitant to trust people but eventually follow social order and customs as they seem apparent. Being a natural introvert, these perfectionists punctually get the job done whilst not making waves or hurting anyone’s feelings. Their reserved nature sometimes is misinterpreted as uptight, stubborn and obsessive. Cross these types of people only with a solid exit plan.
Type B - These peace loving, tree hugging, passionate, individualistic free spirits are not inhibited by normal social cues. These liberals don’t like to be told what to do and thus prefer to optimistically think outside of the box. Unfortunately, their self-centered nature can make them seem a bit forgetful and irresponsible. In a social-ordered society like Korea, these people probably seem out in left field, if you know what I mean.
Type AB - These calm, cool, rational thinkers make excellent critics and analysts. They are adept at being in control of their emotions and functioning in harmony with other people. Their indecisiveness can give off an unforgiving, critical and disconnected vibe from time to time. They probably can empathize with you, but they also probably don’t care.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
After reviewing, take a look at this commercial compilation staring everyone’s favorite Korean hip hop group. Can you spot the character traits?
This pseudoscience is alive and well in Korea and has taken a new form: Phenotype discrimination. Oh yes. You have B? Seat’s taken. Can’t sit here.
Also, as you can imagine, Korea draws from a very different genetic pool than America. In America, it’s almost equally common to have either O or A blood type. However, in Korea, like the rest of Asia, draws far more from the B blood type pool than any other. Strange considering the stigma attached to such a blood type. Especially B type men. So, we’ve either got a lot of rebel B types running around in secret in Korea or blood type doesn’t matter. Ah… nature versus nurture… my old friend.
Hell, I don’t even know my own blood type…hold up screw let me check. UPDATE: I’m type A. go figure.
Further reading? I like this paper because it’s translated from Korean to English and it features some modern native beliefs about blood type. Also, this post deals more with the Korean advertising giants that use blood type to sell just about anything - even fruit. This article is based more on Japanese culture, but is still worth a good read on type compatibility in relationships (semi-NSFW). And to round things out, here’s a super cute cartoon strip about blood types and how they affect kindergartners. Precious.
In conclusion, many of young Koreans laugh at the idea of using ABO blood type to determine a possible life partner. That being said, it sure might make a couple happy to know that they aren’t in one of the”B” type relationships. *shudder* Take it as you would any other predictor - it’s followed by some, ignored by some, and followed religiously by some. Where do you stand?
I won’t even waste words with this one, when the video needs no words. At all.
Epik High should parody more movies. This was amazing XD
So excited for their album [e], and very sad that it wasn’t on iTunes yet when I rolled out of bed this morning.
I’m not normally one who favours subgroups more than the actual main group, but in the case of Super Junior the opposite is true for me. I love their Chinese subgroup, Super Junior M, so much more than I have been loving the main group in recent months.
Super Junior M is made up of 5 members from the main group: 동해 (Donghae), 규현 (Kyuhyun), 한긍 (Hangeng, also known as 한경 (Hankyung)), 려욱 (Ryeowook) and 시원 (Siwon). The remaining 2 members, Zhou Mi and Henry, are members of only this subgroup and not the main group, although Henry has worked with Super Junior in the past as the violinist for the first single of their second album, 돈돈.
They released their first album last year, a mix of Chinese versions of previous Super Junior songs, as well as new songs, and now they’re gearing up to release a mini-album. I’m quite excited about the mini-album, and I am loving the main single from it, Super Girl:
And last but not least, something that I meant to share a couple of weeks ago but everything else just kept on getting in my way and I didn’t want to make some hugely long entry …
There are a lot of movies that have just come out or are coming out over the next few months that I am really really looking forward to seeing, and hoping that I can find someone to drag to the cinema with me since I don’t like watching movies alone. But if I had to pick just one movie to see out of all of them, and it was the only one I would be able to see, I would without a doubt be picking Ninja Assassin. It’s got ninja, it’s got badass fighting, and it’s got the sexy talented hunk of a Korean guy that is 비 (Bi, also known as Rain, and 정지훈 (Jung Jihoon)). What other reason could a martial arts/ninja/action/blood-and-guts/Korean loving girl need?
I’m certainly not convinced that the movie’s plot is going to be all that great, but when I watch a movie like this I watch it for the action, and the stunts, and all the crazy ass stuff that goes down in crazy ninja fights.
And when the lego version of the trailer is pretty badass all by itself, call me crazy but then I think we’ve got a winner.
The history of dog as a food source goes way back to the dog days of summer, known as 삼복 or 복날. These three days had a prescription to beat the heat - fight fire with fire, so to say. Fight the heat with a hot dish. Makes perfect sense. See, I’m much more inclined to eat 콩국수, but that’s just me.
If it’s eaten nowadays, it’s usually in the form of 보신탕 which is said to be a great overall virility booster. But then again, 복분자 is supposed to do the same, but I end up just getting sleepy.
It really gives new meaning to the ‘dog days of summer’ doesn’t it? (oh come on, how couldn’t I make that reference in this post?) Although the tradition of eating hot food on 복날 is still practiced, a great alternative is the delicious 삼계탕. A chicken is still socially acceptable to eat, right?
What it all comes down to is just a cultural difference. Case in point: In America, it gives no one pause to eat cow. But, it’s not nearly as common to do so in India. Likewise, to eat a dog in America is considered uncivilized and culturally taboo. In Korea, it kind of is, too, but not as severe a taboo. But look around. Historically and geographically, have you seen mass pastures for cow grazing in Korea? Then why would it be just as common to eat cow in Korea as America? The amount of dog meat actually consumed in Korea is not well-documented but it has been estimated as low as 5% and as high as 30% of the population who have eaten the dish. So, Lassie is still man’s best friend. Even in Korea.
Personally? I’m not against the consumption of any animal. Keep in mind I’m a former vegan. It’s all a matter of perspective. It’s easy to judge some other country’s diet and say “that’s disgusting” and for them to go ahead and say the same about yours. But that doesn’t get anyone anywhere. While I am not up to trying ultra-exotic foods like this guy, I’m culturally sensitive enough to know that what I consider abso-frakin-lutely delicious is at the bottom of someone else’s food ladder. Not everyone thinks 된장찌개 is heaven-sent. But, I try to look at “strange” food as I do with beer. Some beers seem better suited to clean the heads of gold clubs overnight instead of being consumed, but I respect someone else’s choice. Just because my buddy is drinking a Beck’s Dark doesn’t make him a bad person. In the end, it’s all the same. Beer is beer and food is food.
UPDATE: AAK wrote a nice, lengthy writeup recently, too. Funny how we both used the same basic title though my article was written back in June. Here’s a self-imposed compliment - great minds think alike, right?
I’ve only recently found myself getting into JYP Entertainment R&B boyband 2PM. 2PM was originally part of the 11 member group One Day, but in the end JYP split them into two: the seven member R&B/dance focused 2PM, and the four member ballad focused 2AM.
2PM is made of 재범 (Jaebum, also known as Jay), 준수 (Junsu), half-Thai half-Chinese 닉쿤 (Nichkhun), 택연 (Taecyeon), 우영 (Wooyoung), 준호 (Junho), and 찬성 (Chansung).
Their debut single was 10점 만점에 10점, released in September last year, and although it was a decent enough song it wasn’t until earlier this year and the release of their second mini album, 2:00 PM Time For Change, that their popularity really took off. Again & Again was a definite hit, snagging the group their first Mutizen Song awards on music shows.
I found Again & Again much better than their earlier songs, but it wasn’t until they started promoting 니가 밉다 that my attention was caught.
My friend soon got me watching MBC’s Idol Show with her, where 2PM were hosts for the third season, and that was pretty much what sealed the deal for me. 2PM were fun, crazy, and their personalities were everything that I look for when I want to watch something entertaining. And omg don’t even get me started on the lolz that was Wild Bunny.
But it looks like I might have found a love a little too late.
The beginning of this month brought about two things: the first anniversary of 2PM, and the revealing of some comments that Seattle-born leader 재범 made on myspace in 2005, when he was still a trainee. The comments were made to friends when he was 17/18 years old, and said he hated Korea, and that he wanted to come back home - which isn’t all that surprising if you consider the fact he had only just gone to Korea, and had left behind everything and everyone he knew in order to pursue his dream of being a singer.
When the comments were revealed, 재범 issued an apology, explaining why he said those things but also taking responsibility for his actions. Netizens clamoured for 재범 to be removed from 2PM, but JYP issued a statement that he would not be taking 재범 out from the group.
To the surprise and shock of many 2PM fans, 재범 announced the following day that he would be leaving the group. As of right now there’s still a lot of question marks about what’s going on. Has he left 2PM for good? Is he just taking a break? He has said that he is returning to America to study music, but there hasn’t yet been any word on what he’ll be doing after that.
Fans of 2PM, known as Hottests, have been doing all they can to show their support for 재범 and their understanding.
But this brings me to what I really wanted to talk about: Netizens.
If there is one thing about Korea’s entertainment industry that I hate, it’s the netizens. Netizens exist in all cultures, for sure, but it seems that their voice is perhaps loudest in Korea. So many things are dictated by what the netizens are saying. Netizens see everything, hear everything. They are everywhere, and there is no tiny detail that escapes their notice.
Netizens scare me (and BaekGa of Koyote feels the same way). I honestly feel sorry for anyone who is famous in Korea, who has to deal with such a vindictive bunch of people who have seemingly nothing better to do than hide behind their PC screens and pick at anyone and anything. And they get vicious, fast.
Netizens have driven people to suicide before with their comments and accusations and rumours. They have no boundaries at all. This time around, they created suicide petitions against 재범, saying that he should kill himself because of things he had said.
Seriously, who does that?
And who digs through 4+ years of myspace comments just to find some dirt?
The sad thing is that I’ve been into the Korean entertainment scene for long enough that I’m no longer even surprised by what the netizens do or say anymore. The disgust hasn’t yet worn off, but the surprise certainly has. And I wonder, sometimes, about the people behind the hateful comments. How old are they? What do they do? Why do they spend so much time on criticising people who work harder than they probably ever will in their life? Is it jealousy that drives them to it? Boredom? Are they too young to know any better, or bitter because they are too old to be able to turn their lives upside down and go chase a dream, too weighted down by regrets of missed opportunities?
It is sad that such a vibrant and entertaining part of modern Korean culture can have such a dark side to it.
On a much lighter note, hiphop trio Epik High (에픽하이) will soon be releasing their sixth album! [e] is going to be as much an overdose of awesome as their fourth album Remapping the Human Soul was, with 2 CDs packed full of 30 tracks. I am so excited.
And look at this funny teaser they’ve done for it:
Anyone else seen the Korean monster movie The Host? XD
One of the most tongue-in-cheek moments that expatriates have to share is the beauty that is fan death. So cast away science and come with me on a fanciful journey to discover why exactly these sweet little fans are harbingers of death.
To understand fan death is to understand that there are several different theories as to why four small moving blades equal certain death. The more scientific sounding, the more convincing. Also, consider the fact that Korean homes are, in general, smaller than Western homes. Also, it gets crazy hot in Korea. But, enough about me (puns are just rolling today) let’s talk about the theories. But keep in mind, I’m way late in posting this. These comedic claims have long been the fascination by foreigners. Here’s an article from 1997.
One such theory involves hyperthermia. Fan blows on person, person gets hot, fan blows recirculated hot air over person, person gets more hot. Repeat. But don’t get sold on the theory because another theory claims the exactly opposite: hypothermia. Fan blows on person, person gets cold, fan blows recirculated cold air over person, person gets more cold. Repeat.
Soak that in.
Another involves carbon dioxide buildup if left directly facing a person’s body for a prolonged period of time. This hits home for me. Tangent: All of the men of my family have this “bad” habit of sleeping with like a half dozen or so electric fans on at night. Even in the winter. It’s true. I always have a few fans on in the room when I sleep. I like the wind, the white noise from the fan, the circulation - so much so that I have trouble sleeping at night if I don’t have at least one fan facing me. Even in the winter. So, to my future wife, here’s a heads-up - sorry to be a little weird about fans. Bundle up, honey.
There’s also some pretty outrageous beliefs which I think have all but disappeared - only to be replaced with more experts professing the true reason why you’re going to die in the quiet comfort of your own bedroom. Some of these older theories include the fan blades cutting and mincing oxygen particles leaving nothing to be inhaled but fragments of air. Think sloppy seconds for your lungs. Another goofball theory is that the fan death rumor was created by the government in a scheme to reduce consumer electricity demands. My personal favorite is the vortex theory: the fan creates a partial vacuum in the room causing you to suffocate.
Sure, it’s pretty ridiculous. Conservation of matter demands a much stronger machine in order to effect change to the surrounding air pressure. Translation? An oscillating floor fan is not powerful enough to create a vortex.
So, by and large, sorry to disappoint, but fan death is fake. Rest assured (haha, get it?) you will not die in your sleep from that little plastic round guy that makes your voice sound awesome when you talk really close to it.
But I can see the connection. Honestly. News: A man is found dead in his apartment. The cause of death is not readily available. Neighbors get curious and see the paramedics working. Neighbors ask what happened are are met with “We’re not sure at the moment” but the wise old neighbor down the hall confidently proclaims “Must have been the fan”, which, as it turns out, is still running. *Dun Dun Duuun* Now, two independent events (mysterious death and fan running) are linked. But for this story to work, you would have to conclude without any real logic or method. Or just be an idiot.
Remember the Simpsons episode where Homer wanted to buy Lisa’s rock? The one that keep tigers away? In it, Homer proclaimed that because of the Bear Patrol and no bear in sight, the Bear Patrol must have been working like a charm. Lisa applies the same logic to conclude that a random rock keeps tigers away (after all, there were no tigers). Sure, I butcher the comedic timing, but this comparison is not unlike fan death and reinforcement over decades. A mysterious death in the summer results in media hysteria and “experts” claiming to watch out for the warning signs of fan death. The vicious cycle continues.
It’s comical but also kind of real in a small margin. So long as a certain number of factors are played in. For example, the EPA recommends not to use an electric fan in an enclosed room without outside ventilation during warm weather. This makes sense, as the warm air being circulated essentially acts like a turbo oven pushing ever-increasingly warmer air across your body which could possibly result in either asphyxiation or hyperthermia. It’s a stretch but an understandable concern. I’d like to think that the person trapped in the room wouldn’t be held against their will - just open a window. But to be fair, this argument for the validity of fan death has already been made and is one of the best written articles on the subject. But I wonder when will the debate be truly solved?
I have the utmost confidence that Korea will continue to make strides in the area of scientific research and development. Others are seeing hope, too. And far be it for me to criticize Korea or any other country for its false claims on anything. It’s easy to be convinced by anything if one hears about it enough in the news - be it ridiculous claims about English teachers or vengeful electronic fans. I believe that any group of peoples are influenced by not only their own beliefs but also reinforced by their own media, too. Before Americans get too quick to judge Korea for some backwards-thinking theory on common household appliances, I would like to just say one thing:
Hello!
Thanks to everyone who has been following us on Twitter!
Here at KoreanClass101.com we think that Twitter is great for communication and sharing information. We also think it makes for a powerful learning tool! So starting today, we’ll be introducing Korean vocabulary and phrases daily on Twitter that follow a set theme.
The third theme will be words that are related to transportation.
For each mini lesson, you will get one noun or verb, and then one or two sample sentences showing you how the word can be used.
Remember G-Dragon’s solo effort Heartbreaker? Well my favourite fanboy and good friend Alex has arranged a contest where he will be giving away several copies of the album. You can check out the contest here! There’s 4 copies of the album to be won from 4 different categories, as well as a copy of 2NE1’s debut album. The contest closes on October 1st and winners will be announced a few days later.
SM Entertainment (the engine behind TVXQ, Super Junior, SHINee, SNSD) have recently unveiled their newest project - a five member girlgroup by the name of f(x) (에프엑스). f(x) consists of members 빅토리아 (Victoria), 크리스탈 (Krystal), 엠버 (Amber), 설리 (Sulli), and 루나 (Luna).
Since I’ve been preparing to move away to go to university in London, I’ve been too busy these past few weeks to really keep up with anything that’s going on in the music scene right now. But I would have to live on a completely different planet to have not known about the existence of f(x), since they seem to have got a lot of attention leading up to their debut and everyone seems to be talking about them.
I personally don’t see what all the fuss is about. Their debut song, LA chA TA(라차타) is alright; definitely not the worst debut song in the world, but I’ve also heard better. It sounds a bit like 주문 -MIROTIC- meets 소원을 말해봐 (Genie). And the girls themselves look alright too (and of course every teenage girl who claims to be bisexual has a huge girl-crush on the one that looks like a boy, whatever her name is - can’t girls like pretty girls? what is with this obsession of liking girls who look more like boys? everyone should just be in love with 이효리 instead).
Check out the music video for LA chA TA(라차타) below:
So what do you think? Were you impressed? No? Me either. But it looks a little bit more promising than some of the other recently debuted girl groups, so I’ll keep an eye on them and see where it goes.
In news that excites me WAY more, is the return of the husky, soulful voiced 박효신 (Park Hyoshin). You might remember 박효신 from back in December, with his Hwang Project song The Castle of Zoltar. Things have been fairly quiet since then, which sadness me a lot because 박효신 has such an amazing voice and I wish he had been more active since his 2007 album The Breeze of Sea: The Ballad.
There’s a teaser floating around for his upcoming song 사랑한 후에 and album Gift, although since the teaser is really just the two main acting leads being emo, it’s not much of a teaser and doesn’t really give much of an idea what to expect. But since it’s 박효신 I think it’s pretty obvious that we can all expect one of his trademark ballads in that gorgeous voice of his, and that alone is enough to get me excited for his comeback.
Gift should be released early this month, and there’s plans for him to hold a concert in October to celebrate his 10th anniversary since debut.
