Another star couple has emerged in Korea and it's Kim Bum and Moon Geun-Young. I was surprised at this news, even more when I saw that Kim Bum is younger, but I'm also happy for them. I mean, it's their time to date, looking at their age. Plus it was pretty courageous of them to come out all public.
What do I mean? I heard that it's difficult especially for female Korean celebrities to date publicly because apparently, the number of fans go down. Male fans all have this fantasy of their favorite star possibly being their girlfriends and then all of a sudden their noona has a boyfriend, then to their shame, they disloyally leave them. Or something like that. Plus, it's imaginable that it's the same for male Korean stars. So you can see that it's not an easy decision to make whether you're going to go public about your dating life or not as a celebrity.
But this doesn't mean that celebrities all end up forcefully being forever alone. There are considerable numbers of married celebrities. However, it's harder for K-pop idols to date. Okay, instead of sounding all neutral I have to pitch in my own voice in this - I, too, cringe at the thought of one of my favorite boy group members dating someone. So it's not like I'm unsympathetic to K-poppers but at the same time, it's sad to me that their freedom is already virtually deprived from them but the fact that they can't freely have a love life without the consent of their agency is worse.
Unlike many SHINee fans, I was actually happy for Jonghyun when he was dating actress Shin Se Kyung, I thought they looked good together (and, I must admit, Jonghyun is not my favorite member sooooo yeah). Plus I'm happy for Wonder Girls' Sun, who is now married and very recently gave birth to her first child, for making such a big step as a K-pop idol and of course, we can't forget her agency that allowed this huge irrevocable thing. In fact, she's the first K-pop group idol to get married in this generation which brings light to what upsets me. We have older idols, for example, SHINHWA, who are all in their 30s and yet none of them are married yet. Maybe it's not their agency and status preventing them from having a love life, but that's what it seems like and it makes me feel bad for them.
Also, there are K-pop idols who've said they want to get married early. It's a common desire, I also want to get married early. But it's harder for K-pop idols to achieve this dream because, K-pop idols have the reputation of being young, so it's mighty difficult for them to be finding their significant other while busily holding concerts and promoting their next album. Plus think in the view of the fans, they want their oppas to be with them forever, not eventually quitting their job to make their own families.
So there have been gradual increase in celebrity couples or celebrities with boyfriends/girlfriends but not so much in the K-pop world. But sticking to my point, I like that more celebrities are breaking out of their shells and dating, and I'm torn when it comes to K-pop idols. It really always depends on who's dating who for me to decide how I feel about them.
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Saturday, November 2, 2013
Korean Innovations that Should Exist in America
Living as a Korean-American in America, I am met with frustrations at times because some systems will be a lot smoother for some cases. Woah. That was a vague statement. Okay, here's what I mean, there are some things in Korea that really need to be brought to America. I will talk about my personal opinions but you can also check out this video, since I agree with what they mention.
In addition to the table-bells, there's something else in Korean restaurants, where you have to go pick up the food, is this buzzer-thing that you hold on to and when it lights up and buzzes, that means you're food is ready and you should go pick it up. I have yet to see one of these in an American restaurant, I've only used these at Korean restaurants in America! *angry face* But then again to be fair, I don't know a lot of American food places where you would order and then stand around waiting for your food... Because well, the place I've been to is H-Mart, a Korean super-market in urban cities of America, where they have a food court. Wait, I've thought of an instance where these buzzer-things would come in handy!! At malls, there are food courts right? Well, you can order and pay and then sit down with your buzzer and get up when your food is ready. Hmm, but that wouldn't be efficient since food courts are full of fast food places... (Guys, I'm actually thinking of all of this as I go, sorry). I don't know, but anyway, I find these buzzer-things to be cool.
Another thing that I agree with that was mentioned in the video is the new ways of locking your doors! Seriously, when you go to Korea and see that metal keys are only used for cars, then you feel pretty outdated back at America. And it gets me wondering - how is it that Korea seems to be more technologically advanced at times?
The video mentions bank cards that can be used to pay any public transportation system, right? Here's the problem in America: public transportation itself is not widely available. Seriously, only the big cities like Chicago and New York City have taxis, buses, and subways (wait, does Chicago even have subways?), otherwise you must have a car to get to places. Maybe the dangers of teenage driving can be significantly eliminated if public transportation was brought! Okay, put down your tomatoes, I'm just saying and I know that I'm being unfair because our economy can't afford something like this and ya-di-ya-di-yadda.
(435)
In addition to the table-bells, there's something else in Korean restaurants, where you have to go pick up the food, is this buzzer-thing that you hold on to and when it lights up and buzzes, that means you're food is ready and you should go pick it up. I have yet to see one of these in an American restaurant, I've only used these at Korean restaurants in America! *angry face* But then again to be fair, I don't know a lot of American food places where you would order and then stand around waiting for your food... Because well, the place I've been to is H-Mart, a Korean super-market in urban cities of America, where they have a food court. Wait, I've thought of an instance where these buzzer-things would come in handy!! At malls, there are food courts right? Well, you can order and pay and then sit down with your buzzer and get up when your food is ready. Hmm, but that wouldn't be efficient since food courts are full of fast food places... (Guys, I'm actually thinking of all of this as I go, sorry). I don't know, but anyway, I find these buzzer-things to be cool.
Another thing that I agree with that was mentioned in the video is the new ways of locking your doors! Seriously, when you go to Korea and see that metal keys are only used for cars, then you feel pretty outdated back at America. And it gets me wondering - how is it that Korea seems to be more technologically advanced at times?
The video mentions bank cards that can be used to pay any public transportation system, right? Here's the problem in America: public transportation itself is not widely available. Seriously, only the big cities like Chicago and New York City have taxis, buses, and subways (wait, does Chicago even have subways?), otherwise you must have a car to get to places. Maybe the dangers of teenage driving can be significantly eliminated if public transportation was brought! Okay, put down your tomatoes, I'm just saying and I know that I'm being unfair because our economy can't afford something like this and ya-di-ya-di-yadda.
(435)
Thursday, October 31, 2013
The Life of a Korean-American
I want to talk about something that doesn't require me to do any research because I have sufficient knowledge on it: the life of a Korean-American. To be more specific, I'm talking about those with Korean parents but were born in America.
First off, over the years of my life, I've noticed that Koreans in Korea and Koreans in America look different. I've only lived in America but I've seen plenty of native-born Koreans both on TV and real life to know the difference. So if you put two Koreans in front of me, one native-born and the other American-born, I could probably tell you which is which. How? First off the clothes are different - Korean fashion always sets the trend for American fashion so there's going to be a difference there. Plus the skin color, for the most part, is going to be different: Korean-Americans are tanner. Actually that just goes for all Asian Americans. The last key difference is that the eyes are different, many of you are probably shocked, because you move your eyes more and put more stress to your eyes when you speak English so that shapes your eyes differently. I'm not kidding, this is a fact.
So all of the main differences above tell you this: Korean-Americans are bi-cultural and it's not easy being bi-cultural; they are different from "Korean-Koreans" and from "American-Americans". Their Korean-American parents tell them one thing while their American friends at school tell them another. They're not quite 100% alike with their people in South Korea but they're far from being alike with American-Americans.
I've seen some Korean-Americans who think they're completely American, and I've coined a term for this condition called "white-washed" (no stealing, I'm the one who made it up). Now in the previous paragraph, I'm not saying Korean-Americans are these aliens who don't belong anywhere. Oh no, that's not it at all. But what I'm trying to get across is that as a Korean-American myself, sometimes I face a kind of identity-crisis, and get a sense of loneliness. Based on my experience, you wouldn't know what I mean unless you're also bi-cultural (or perhaps even multi-cultural).
So my whole point of this excessively long blog post is that beyond all the splendor of being Korean-American, there's this sense of loneliness. Unless you're one of those lucky ones who live in a big city overflowing with Koreans. I personally know who I am and Who I belong to, but when enclosed in this world in my life, I look around and wonder how my life would be like if my parents had never come to America. Would I sit around wishing for an exciting life in a place like America or would my life be less complicated with only one culture surrounding my life? So there you have it, the more exclusive details of a life of a Korean-American, or any American-born ethnic minority.
(487)
First off, over the years of my life, I've noticed that Koreans in Korea and Koreans in America look different. I've only lived in America but I've seen plenty of native-born Koreans both on TV and real life to know the difference. So if you put two Koreans in front of me, one native-born and the other American-born, I could probably tell you which is which. How? First off the clothes are different - Korean fashion always sets the trend for American fashion so there's going to be a difference there. Plus the skin color, for the most part, is going to be different: Korean-Americans are tanner. Actually that just goes for all Asian Americans. The last key difference is that the eyes are different, many of you are probably shocked, because you move your eyes more and put more stress to your eyes when you speak English so that shapes your eyes differently. I'm not kidding, this is a fact.
So all of the main differences above tell you this: Korean-Americans are bi-cultural and it's not easy being bi-cultural; they are different from "Korean-Koreans" and from "American-Americans". Their Korean-American parents tell them one thing while their American friends at school tell them another. They're not quite 100% alike with their people in South Korea but they're far from being alike with American-Americans.
I've seen some Korean-Americans who think they're completely American, and I've coined a term for this condition called "white-washed" (no stealing, I'm the one who made it up). Now in the previous paragraph, I'm not saying Korean-Americans are these aliens who don't belong anywhere. Oh no, that's not it at all. But what I'm trying to get across is that as a Korean-American myself, sometimes I face a kind of identity-crisis, and get a sense of loneliness. Based on my experience, you wouldn't know what I mean unless you're also bi-cultural (or perhaps even multi-cultural).
So my whole point of this excessively long blog post is that beyond all the splendor of being Korean-American, there's this sense of loneliness. Unless you're one of those lucky ones who live in a big city overflowing with Koreans. I personally know who I am and Who I belong to, but when enclosed in this world in my life, I look around and wonder how my life would be like if my parents had never come to America. Would I sit around wishing for an exciting life in a place like America or would my life be less complicated with only one culture surrounding my life? So there you have it, the more exclusive details of a life of a Korean-American, or any American-born ethnic minority.
(487)
Saturday, October 26, 2013
How Koreans View America and Vice Versa
With this blog post, I would like to bring light to fellow Americans how highly praised they are by Koreans. The subject that is required for students to learn is English and that is what they study like crazy. America is the land that's wide and spacious and with so many wonders to see while Korea is the small, dense country.
I guess a way for fellow Americans to see it is this - most of us would marvel when someone says they're going to study abroad in a place like, Paris or London, right? Well, America is there up on the list of Paris and London to Koreans. Also, I don't think not many Americans realize this, but, speaking English fluently is such a great privilege because it is an international language. So I just want to shake some Americans and shout at them, "Do you know how blessed you are to speak fluent English?!?!"
Now how do Americans view Korea, as I see it? On a large scale, I think Americans immediately think of North Korea and aren't informed about how they might just have Korean products in their house. (Click here to learn more). But there is a minority group of Americans who enjoy K-pop and/or K-dramas or just the Korean culture itself and to them, Korea is the dreamland. Which is weird because I know how Koreans view America.
I got my friend this cool, colored pencil set for her birthday and the others at her birthday party were asking if it was an Asian product and I'm thinking, "Uhh...No..." And I told my dad this and he said that back in the olden days in Korea, it was cool whenever someone had a product from America but now it's the other way around. Which I know it's very true since I have experience as evidence of it, even back in elementary school, my fellow classmates were amused by my Korean hanboks and explanation of food and what not. So this shift delights me since I love Korea and although it's not every American (yet), there are my friends who are interested in Korea and daydream about their future life in Korea and it makes me very proud to be Korean. I've even met people who freaked out on me because I was the first Korean they've ever met and they loved Koreans. So Koreans as a whole all view America greatly for the most part and Americans are slowly starting to do so for Korea as well.
(422)
I guess a way for fellow Americans to see it is this - most of us would marvel when someone says they're going to study abroad in a place like, Paris or London, right? Well, America is there up on the list of Paris and London to Koreans. Also, I don't think not many Americans realize this, but, speaking English fluently is such a great privilege because it is an international language. So I just want to shake some Americans and shout at them, "Do you know how blessed you are to speak fluent English?!?!"
Now how do Americans view Korea, as I see it? On a large scale, I think Americans immediately think of North Korea and aren't informed about how they might just have Korean products in their house. (Click here to learn more). But there is a minority group of Americans who enjoy K-pop and/or K-dramas or just the Korean culture itself and to them, Korea is the dreamland. Which is weird because I know how Koreans view America.
I got my friend this cool, colored pencil set for her birthday and the others at her birthday party were asking if it was an Asian product and I'm thinking, "Uhh...No..." And I told my dad this and he said that back in the olden days in Korea, it was cool whenever someone had a product from America but now it's the other way around. Which I know it's very true since I have experience as evidence of it, even back in elementary school, my fellow classmates were amused by my Korean hanboks and explanation of food and what not. So this shift delights me since I love Korea and although it's not every American (yet), there are my friends who are interested in Korea and daydream about their future life in Korea and it makes me very proud to be Korean. I've even met people who freaked out on me because I was the first Korean they've ever met and they loved Koreans. So Koreans as a whole all view America greatly for the most part and Americans are slowly starting to do so for Korea as well.
(422)
South Korean Gag -men and -women
In my previous blog post, I talked about Korean comedy - "gag". I also talked about 'Gag Concert', but I did not tell you specific gag -men and -women.
South Korea actually has a pretty long history of its gag -men and -women, who has always been popular. But 'Gag Concert' has definitely been popularly loved these days and the gag -men and -women of 'Gag Concert' can show off fame not too unlike that of K-pop idols.
These Gag -men and -women, just like your Korean artists, have all undergone audition processes to be accepted into an agency. Just like how Korean idols are referred to as "rookies" immediately after they debut, it's the same with these comedians.
I talk about Korean Gag because it's a large part of Korean culture. The genius comedians come up with hit catchphrases or trendy items that they use on stage (such as Brownie). These catchphrases or the latest fad set by the Gag -men and -women shape the modern Korean society. But these do not just spring out of the comedians, they are formed through hours of brainstorming late into the night. I've heard of an instance when the rookie gagman of a certain corner would come up with all the jokes and ideas and then all the senior gagmen would be the ones relaying them on stage. So either way, the gag -men and -women all work hard to come up with the best performance to put on.
I don't think I explained well enough how these corners are really like in my other blog post on Korean gag. Most of the time, they are like segments of just any regular show, and this is where the gagwomen could convey the clingy girlfriend to the gagmen who is playing the role of her boyfriend. And the other rare times, a couple of them stand and tell jokes, not like, knock-knock jokes, but they also do a little acting. For example, in a corner that has recently started on 'Gag Concert' is these two men who haven't had girlfriends in the past 20 years or so and one would ask the other, "Have you worn a couple ring before?" and the other would say the "punchline" by saying, "What's a couple ring?"
So obviously, these gag -men and -women need to be able to act. Very different from the comedians on your American comedy shows like 'Comedy Central', right? At least from my very little knowledge of it. Anyway, so because these gag -men and -women are also acting, they sometimes get to play the cameos of a funny character on K-dramas. For example, maybe there's an attractive girl walking along the street and all the boys are gaping over her and these boys would be played by gagmen since they can make the most hilarious facial expressions.
I also am a fan of a number of gag -men and -women and let me spazz - they are awesome. I have to say, I like them almost as much as I like my Korean singers. These gag -men and -women have to sacrifice their image by doing silly, embarrassing things to bring laughter to Korea and I respect that. And because they do these things, they're so humble. So there you have it - how Korean gag -men and -women are.
(559)
South Korea actually has a pretty long history of its gag -men and -women, who has always been popular. But 'Gag Concert' has definitely been popularly loved these days and the gag -men and -women of 'Gag Concert' can show off fame not too unlike that of K-pop idols.
These Gag -men and -women, just like your Korean artists, have all undergone audition processes to be accepted into an agency. Just like how Korean idols are referred to as "rookies" immediately after they debut, it's the same with these comedians.
I talk about Korean Gag because it's a large part of Korean culture. The genius comedians come up with hit catchphrases or trendy items that they use on stage (such as Brownie). These catchphrases or the latest fad set by the Gag -men and -women shape the modern Korean society. But these do not just spring out of the comedians, they are formed through hours of brainstorming late into the night. I've heard of an instance when the rookie gagman of a certain corner would come up with all the jokes and ideas and then all the senior gagmen would be the ones relaying them on stage. So either way, the gag -men and -women all work hard to come up with the best performance to put on.
I don't think I explained well enough how these corners are really like in my other blog post on Korean gag. Most of the time, they are like segments of just any regular show, and this is where the gagwomen could convey the clingy girlfriend to the gagmen who is playing the role of her boyfriend. And the other rare times, a couple of them stand and tell jokes, not like, knock-knock jokes, but they also do a little acting. For example, in a corner that has recently started on 'Gag Concert' is these two men who haven't had girlfriends in the past 20 years or so and one would ask the other, "Have you worn a couple ring before?" and the other would say the "punchline" by saying, "What's a couple ring?"
So obviously, these gag -men and -women need to be able to act. Very different from the comedians on your American comedy shows like 'Comedy Central', right? At least from my very little knowledge of it. Anyway, so because these gag -men and -women are also acting, they sometimes get to play the cameos of a funny character on K-dramas. For example, maybe there's an attractive girl walking along the street and all the boys are gaping over her and these boys would be played by gagmen since they can make the most hilarious facial expressions.
I also am a fan of a number of gag -men and -women and let me spazz - they are awesome. I have to say, I like them almost as much as I like my Korean singers. These gag -men and -women have to sacrifice their image by doing silly, embarrassing things to bring laughter to Korea and I respect that. And because they do these things, they're so humble. So there you have it - how Korean gag -men and -women are.
(559)
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Korean Comedy - "Gag"
South Koreans love comedy. But the American comedy that you may be used to is way different from Korean comedy. First off, we Americans call comedians, well, comedians but Korean comedians are actually called Gag Man/Woman.
In America, there are comedy shows such as Comedy Central and there are similar shows like these in Korea as well, the most noticeable one called 'Gag Concert (개그 콘서트)'. (What does "gag" mean here? I'm assuming it's Konglish for "comedy".) Unlike Comedy Central, gag men and -women get into groups and form corners for 'Gag Concert' which is minimum 5 minutes long and they perform on stage with a live audience and it is broadcast each week on television. These corners have created numerous catchphrases and trends for Koreans to use in everyday life (of course, once the "season" of that corner is over, than the usage of whatever catchphrases that corner generated also goes away) and gag men and -women have a star status almost as much as that of K-pop stars.
I'm a weekly viewer and a huge fan of 'Gag Concert', but it is actually a fact, and not an opinion, that 'Gag Concert' is the most popular gag show out there in South Korea. There has been times weekly charts of Korean television programs showed that 'Gag Concert' was the #1 most viewed program of the week, trampling over popular K-dramas and variety shows. So do you get that 'Gag Concert' is the most popular one out there? I've seen 'People Looking for Laughter (웃찾사)' and although some of their corners were humorous, even the most humorous ones didn't quite meet the humor level of the corners in 'Gag Concert'. Well, 'People Looking for Laughter' has altogether ended the show a couple of times due to the fact that they couldn't beat the popularity of 'Gag Concert'. And now it's back again! Which I'm happy about, even though I never really watch it anymore, just because I felt bad for them. So anyway, I personally prefer 'Gag Concert' to 'People Looking for Laughter'.
Another one of these comedy shows that I've seen once - and thank goodness just once - is called 'Comic Big League (코믹빅리그)'. Oh my goodness. It was horrible. It was just a rip off of 'Gag Concert'. Seriously, can't the gag -men/-women there come up with something of their own? Even if they did, they weren't that funny. Not only that, it was more... indecent. Like, there would be too much kissing and it's like, hello, I would've watched some romance movie if I wanted to see kissing. My opinion is that 'Gag Concert' is probably most popular because they (as in the comedians there and crew) know that stuff that makes you cringe ain't funny. If the director or boss or whoever is in charge of 'Gag Concert' did allow some scandalous new corner to be showcased (and it has before), then that risqué corner would be shot down immediately and would be never seen again. Very wise of them. But although I despise 'Comic Big League', it (for some reason) must still have considerable amount of viewers because last time I check, it still exists.
Now, let's get on Korean humor: Until last year, it never dawned on me that Koreans are kind of mean when it comes to looks. A notable amount of the jokes on gag shows (plus variety shows) are fat jokes. It's not that Koreans actually make fun of fat people every time during their everyday life, but it's prominent on T.V. And honestly, we human beings have a tendency to make fun of stuff like that, so it's not just that the Koreans are cruel. But my white friend last year told me that she and her friends were watching a Korean show and they were miffed about all the jokes on appearances of this one particular gag woman that was on the show. I grew up watching this so it never bothered me, I guess, but when I heard that, my eyes were opened. Ugh, that makes me sound like it's as if I've been brain-washed to be insulting to others or something, but that's not the case! Let's not twist Grace's words, shall we?
But it's not only fat jokes that are made on these gag shows, they (well, at least 'Gag Concert') also relate to the common people by sometimes poking fun on the government (which they still have to be careful about), silly trends that have taken place, how clingy girlfriends act to their boyfriends, and stuff like that.
Now, I've never really seen 'Comedy Central' or anything like that before, but when I watch the news in the mornings, sometimes they'll show little clips of them, right? So I get a gist about what they're like. One clear difference I've picked up between American comedy shows and Korean ones is that Koreans do not swear on their gag shows. Which I like. Plus Korean gag -men/-women do a good job of steering away from sexual innuendos, especially because there are so many young viewers, even more nowadays. I'm not 100% sure if American comedy shows make a bunch of sex jokes, but it's one thing about Korean comedy shows.
(876)
In America, there are comedy shows such as Comedy Central and there are similar shows like these in Korea as well, the most noticeable one called 'Gag Concert (개그 콘서트)'. (What does "gag" mean here? I'm assuming it's Konglish for "comedy".) Unlike Comedy Central, gag men and -women get into groups and form corners for 'Gag Concert' which is minimum 5 minutes long and they perform on stage with a live audience and it is broadcast each week on television. These corners have created numerous catchphrases and trends for Koreans to use in everyday life (of course, once the "season" of that corner is over, than the usage of whatever catchphrases that corner generated also goes away) and gag men and -women have a star status almost as much as that of K-pop stars.
I'm a weekly viewer and a huge fan of 'Gag Concert', but it is actually a fact, and not an opinion, that 'Gag Concert' is the most popular gag show out there in South Korea. There has been times weekly charts of Korean television programs showed that 'Gag Concert' was the #1 most viewed program of the week, trampling over popular K-dramas and variety shows. So do you get that 'Gag Concert' is the most popular one out there? I've seen 'People Looking for Laughter (웃찾사)' and although some of their corners were humorous, even the most humorous ones didn't quite meet the humor level of the corners in 'Gag Concert'. Well, 'People Looking for Laughter' has altogether ended the show a couple of times due to the fact that they couldn't beat the popularity of 'Gag Concert'. And now it's back again! Which I'm happy about, even though I never really watch it anymore, just because I felt bad for them. So anyway, I personally prefer 'Gag Concert' to 'People Looking for Laughter'.
Another one of these comedy shows that I've seen once - and thank goodness just once - is called 'Comic Big League (코믹빅리그)'. Oh my goodness. It was horrible. It was just a rip off of 'Gag Concert'. Seriously, can't the gag -men/-women there come up with something of their own? Even if they did, they weren't that funny. Not only that, it was more... indecent. Like, there would be too much kissing and it's like, hello, I would've watched some romance movie if I wanted to see kissing. My opinion is that 'Gag Concert' is probably most popular because they (as in the comedians there and crew) know that stuff that makes you cringe ain't funny. If the director or boss or whoever is in charge of 'Gag Concert' did allow some scandalous new corner to be showcased (and it has before), then that risqué corner would be shot down immediately and would be never seen again. Very wise of them. But although I despise 'Comic Big League', it (for some reason) must still have considerable amount of viewers because last time I check, it still exists.
Now, let's get on Korean humor: Until last year, it never dawned on me that Koreans are kind of mean when it comes to looks. A notable amount of the jokes on gag shows (plus variety shows) are fat jokes. It's not that Koreans actually make fun of fat people every time during their everyday life, but it's prominent on T.V. And honestly, we human beings have a tendency to make fun of stuff like that, so it's not just that the Koreans are cruel. But my white friend last year told me that she and her friends were watching a Korean show and they were miffed about all the jokes on appearances of this one particular gag woman that was on the show. I grew up watching this so it never bothered me, I guess, but when I heard that, my eyes were opened. Ugh, that makes me sound like it's as if I've been brain-washed to be insulting to others or something, but that's not the case! Let's not twist Grace's words, shall we?
But it's not only fat jokes that are made on these gag shows, they (well, at least 'Gag Concert') also relate to the common people by sometimes poking fun on the government (which they still have to be careful about), silly trends that have taken place, how clingy girlfriends act to their boyfriends, and stuff like that.
Now, I've never really seen 'Comedy Central' or anything like that before, but when I watch the news in the mornings, sometimes they'll show little clips of them, right? So I get a gist about what they're like. One clear difference I've picked up between American comedy shows and Korean ones is that Koreans do not swear on their gag shows. Which I like. Plus Korean gag -men/-women do a good job of steering away from sexual innuendos, especially because there are so many young viewers, even more nowadays. I'm not 100% sure if American comedy shows make a bunch of sex jokes, but it's one thing about Korean comedy shows.
(876)
Saturday, October 19, 2013
Korean Expressions (Figures of Speech and Proverbs)
One of my goals for this blog is that I'll let the rest of the world know the cool things of the country I love. I'm not sure if I've been doing that well so for this blog post I want to talk about Korean expressions.
Like most countries, Korea has it's own old sayings or proverbs. These proverbs are taught to Korean students as young as those in elementary school. Unlike just regular figures of speech, these it's hard to determine the meaning of most of these proverbs which is why they're taught in schools. For example, a worm wiggles even when it's stepped on (지렁이도 밟으면 꿈틀한다) means even a nice person can snap if you push their buttons too much. You wouldn't have been able to get that meaning out of just the proverb itself, could you?
I'm not quite sure if this one is also a proverb or just an expression, I think it's the second one, but it's one of my favorite sayings - "you're pouring gasoline to a house on fire" (불난 집에 기름 붓는다) which means that you're making an angry person even angrier. I've used this saying in English and people laugh because the meaning of this one is more obvious, especially in context, even though it's not really said in English.
In a previous blog post, I talked about how I don't like how grown ups and elderly people basically have absolute authority in Korea but I do have a soft spot for the old people who would still wear their Hanboks in modern day Korea and use these brilliant old sayings and so that all Koreans, regardless of age, use them as well. Okay, I don't have sources to really back this up but at least that's what I think. What I'm trying to say is that I respect those ancestors who've really set up Korean culture and society. I want to talk more about Korean culture by also incorporating its history and just gush about the country that I love in future blog posts.
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Like most countries, Korea has it's own old sayings or proverbs. These proverbs are taught to Korean students as young as those in elementary school. Unlike just regular figures of speech, these it's hard to determine the meaning of most of these proverbs which is why they're taught in schools. For example, a worm wiggles even when it's stepped on (지렁이도 밟으면 꿈틀한다) means even a nice person can snap if you push their buttons too much. You wouldn't have been able to get that meaning out of just the proverb itself, could you?
I'm not quite sure if this one is also a proverb or just an expression, I think it's the second one, but it's one of my favorite sayings - "you're pouring gasoline to a house on fire" (불난 집에 기름 붓는다) which means that you're making an angry person even angrier. I've used this saying in English and people laugh because the meaning of this one is more obvious, especially in context, even though it's not really said in English.
In a previous blog post, I talked about how I don't like how grown ups and elderly people basically have absolute authority in Korea but I do have a soft spot for the old people who would still wear their Hanboks in modern day Korea and use these brilliant old sayings and so that all Koreans, regardless of age, use them as well. Okay, I don't have sources to really back this up but at least that's what I think. What I'm trying to say is that I respect those ancestors who've really set up Korean culture and society. I want to talk more about Korean culture by also incorporating its history and just gush about the country that I love in future blog posts.
(345)
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