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Posts Tagged ‘korea’

Language Monday: Korean

Monday, June 4th, 2018

June 4, 2018

Korean is the official language of both North Korea and South Korea. Most language scholars place it in the Altaic language family, which includes Mongolian, Turkish, and, according to some scholars, Japanese. Korean and Japanese share a similar grammatical structure and vocabulary, but not all scholars agree that the two languages are related. Korean also shares much of its vocabulary with Chinese, and it is often considered a link language, one that is related to all neighboring languages of the area.

The flag of South Korea features a circular emblem on a white background, with black symbols in each corner. The circular emblem, which is half red and half blue, represents the balance between complementary forces in nature. The white background stands for peace. The symbols in the corners come from an ancient Chinese book of philosophy called the I Ching. They represent four traditional elements—heaven, water, earth, and fire. They also represent the four cardinal directions and the four seasons. Credit: © Archivector/Shutterstock

The flag of South Korea.
Credit: © Archivector/Shutterstock

Korean, like Japanese, uses speech levels (also known as speech styles). Speech levels mean speakers use different vocabulary depending on the level of intimacy (closeness) with the person to whom they speak. For example, an adult would use different words when speaking to a child than when speaking to their boss. Korean is an honorific system, which expresses respect by the use of particular nouns, verbs, and honorific suffixes (endings). Certain suffixes are added to words when talking to someone who is older or considered one’s superior.

North Korea's flag has a horizontal red stripe between two thin white stripes on a blue background. The flag of North Korea have a red star that represents Communism. © Julia Sanders, Shutterstock

The flag of North Korea.
© Julia Sanders, Shutterstock

The alphabet of the Korean language is known as Hangeul (also spelled Han’gul) in South Korea and Joseongeul (also spelled Chosongul) in North Korea. This alphabet is a phonetic writing system in which each symbol or letter represents a particular sound. It was developed in the 1440′s in the court of Sejong the Great, one of the most famous kings in Korean history.

Click to view larger image South Korea. Credit: WORLD BOOK map

Click to view larger image
South Korea.
Credit: WORLD BOOK map

Before the invention of Hangeul, Korean people had adapted Chinese characters for writing in Korean. Today, Korean is sometimes written in a mixture of Hangeul and Chinese characters. About 60 percent of the words in the Korean vocabulary are Chinese in origin. About 35 percent are native Korean, and about 5 percent are foreign loanwords (words that come from other languages).

Click to view larger image North Korea.  Credit: WORLD BOOK map

Click to view larger image
North Korea.
Credit: WORLD BOOK map

Loanwords in Korean mostly come from the English language and include words referring to modern technology such as  컴퓨터 (keompyuteo) computer and  인터넷 (inteones) internet. Baseball, a very popular sport in Korea, has some familiar terms as well: 스트라이크 (seuteuraeekeu) means strike; 아웃 (ahoot) means out; and 홈런 (homereon) is home run. A few Korean words appear in English, including the martial arts of  합기도 (hapkido) and 태권도 (taekwondo), and such delicious food items as 비빔밥 (bibimbap), 불고기(bulgogi), and 김치 (kimchi).

Tags: korea, korean, language monday, north korea, south korea
Posted in Arts & Entertainment, Current Events, History, People | Comments Off

The Moon Festival

Wednesday, October 4th, 2017

October 4, 2017

Today, October 4, people in Asia and other places celebrate a holiday known as the Moon Festival, also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival. The holiday is one of three major festivals on the Chinese calendar. The other two are the Chinese New Year, also called the Lunar New Year, and the Dragon Boat Festival. The Moon Festival is also celebrated in Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and Vietnam, and worldwide by people with heritage in these countries. The festival takes place around the September equinox, the date of equal day and night that marks the end of summer and beginning of fall in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Chinese lunar calendar, based on cycles of the moon, the seventh, eighth, and ninth moons make up the autumn season. The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the eighth moon. On this day, a full moon marks the midpoint of the season. Because this year’s festival falls near China’s National Day (October 1), the holiday celebration there (which usually runs three days) runs a full week from October 1 to October 8. National Day commemorates the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949.

Traditional Chinese lanterns light up for celebrating the mid-autumn festival, also known as moon festival on Sept 16, 2016 in Hong Kong. Credit: © Lee Yiu Tung, Shutterstock

Oversized traditional Chinese lanterns illuminate the waterfront of Hong Kong, China, during the annual Moon Festival (also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival). Credit: © Lee Yiu Tung, Shutterstock

The origins of the Mid-Autumn Festival are interwoven with Chinese myths and legends. The festival is often associated with romance. According to Chinese philosophy, there are two principal forces of nature, called yin and yang. The moon embodies yin, which is associated with feminine qualities and with darkness. Thus, the Mid-Autumn Festival or Moon Festival is a women’s festival and is celebrated at night. Traditional Chinese poets sing of the beauty of the Moon Goddess or bemoan her loneliness on the moon. According to folklore, young women can make their wishes known to the “old man in the moon,” hoping that he will assist them in finding a suitable marriage partner.

Special pastries called moon cakes are traditionally served during the Mid-Autumn Festival in Asian countries. Credit: © Shutterstock

Delicious moon cakes are traditionally served during the Moon Festival (also called the Mid-Autumn Festival) in Asian countries. Credit: © Shutterstock

People eat special pastries called moon cakes during the Moon Festival. The origin of the moon cake is unknown. The cakes are first mentioned in texts that date to the Tang dynasty, from A.D. 618 to 907. The cakes are baked into round shapes to resemble the full moon. They are usually filled with bean, lotus seed, or almond paste or dried fruits and nuts. The cakes often include a golden egg yoke in the middle to represent the moon. Families celebrate the festival with a shared meal and moon cakes. They then view the full moon together at night and recount tales related to the moon. In imperial China, the emperor viewed the mid-Autumn moon from a special palace.

During the festival, many people try to see the image of a rabbit that is said to be visible on the moon. According to a popular tale, the god Sakra disguised himself as a Brahman (priest) and announced to a group of forest animals that he was hungry. When the animals heard his cry, they brought him their food and begged him to accept their hospitality. The rabbit, however, who was an incarnation of the Buddha, said that he ate only grass and had nothing worthwhile to offer but his body. The rabbit then leapt into a nearby fire to complete the offering. Before doing so, he shook himself to remove the insects in his fur, explaining that he had no right to take their lives. Sakra revealed himself and praised the rabbit for his self-sacrifice and compassion. He placed the rabbit’s image on the moon to serve as a shining example for all. This popular story has been adopted in the Chinese Taoist (also called Daoist) tradition, where the main character is known as the Jade Rabbit.

Tags: china, japan, korea, mid-autumn festival, moon festival, taiwan, vietnam
Posted in Current Events, History, Holidays/Celebrations, People | Comments Off

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