#KOREAN CULTURE

[a-scary-lack-of-common-sense]

I will never stop playing dress-up with these little silly billies

Dolled them up in traditional Korean clothing :)

[imakatperson22]

Most unbelievable thing about this show is that Chimney, raised by native Korean parents and then semi adopted by more Asian parents (I think they’re Korean too but I can’t find anything on the wiki confirming), wears shoes in his house and acts confused when their nanny discourages him from doing it.

[overwatchfanskinarchive]

Hanbok Ramattra and Zenyatta by WIT_DAT_PAWA (1, 2)

[koreanling]

Learn Korean with Korean Children’s Shows

Many children’s media is easily accessible too, with a lot of shows officially uploaded to YouTube for free so you don’t have to hunt down resources or pay for a specific subscription or platform. They are great for beginner practice because of the easy-to-follow plots, simple dialogue, and story!

Hello Jadoo – 안녕자두야 The plot focuses on a young girl in Seoul and her antics with friends and family.

The Youtube channel Learn Korean with Jadoo is a good resource, with both Korean and English subtitles (with subtitle options for more languages too!) in short 10min episodes.

Pororo the Little Penguin – 뽀롱뽀롱 뽀로로 The most popular recent Korean children’s TV show, Pororo has hour-long episodes uploaded to YouTube for free as well; but the official channel doesn’t come with English or Korean subs so keep that in mind.

Dooly the Little Dinosaur – 아기공룡 둘리 A late 80s to 90s Korean kids’ TV show, Dooly is also an official South Korean citizen

Anpanman – 안판만 Popular children’s show about a bread superhero, it’s Japanese but still big in Korea (and dubbed in Korean), also referenced in the iconic BTS song

Pinkfong 핑크퐁 No doubt you probably know “Baby Shark”, which craze was started by the Pinkfong channel originally in Korean and then into English. They have a bunch of Korean songs and short stories on their channel.

JunyTony 주니토니 Channel about animated twin wizards with animal friends, who go on magical and musical adventures, using their spells to save the day.

yearimTV 예림TV This YouTube channel has many short stories and songs like the others, but also has a focus on traditional Korean stories.

[a-pop-of-korean]

Semester in SK: Korean Curse Words

안녕하세요 여러분! I’m sharing yet another Instagram post with you all--this one is about a bunch of Korean curse words! Very silly, I know, but curse words are a big part of any language and can be fun to learn about! Of course, be careful when using these and please do not use them often--I’m just sharing them for fun and so you can recognize them if you hear them :) I hope you enjoy! 화이팅!

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[kippeo]

I'm a frog 🐸

난 개구리야.

In Korean there are few ways to say "I" depending on particle and polite speech level.

The most intimate used only among close friends and family, younger people than us or our subordinates is to say about yourself as

나+ -은/는 (particle) ➡️ 나는 (난 abbreviated form)

나+ -이/가 (particle) ➡️ 내가

On the other hand, when someone is older than us, is higher in the "hierarchy" (workplace, school) or we want to keep our conversation more polite and more respectful or we aren't so close (strangers) with each other, is better to use:

저+ -이/가 (particle) ➡️ 제가

저+ -은/는 (particle) ➡️ 저는 (전 abbreviated form)

Abbreviated forms like 난 or 전 are often used in colloquial speech. Particles can be omitted (but only in colloquial speech) and we say just 나 or 저

However, when we say 저 without any particles, this can have another meaning like "over there".

[dropthedemiurge]

Some language comments for Gray Shelter [Episode 5], just like I promised!

"Do whatever/however you want to. (literally: 'Do it the way your heart desires') You do things how you want to anyway."

"I'm sorry" - the translation is correct, it's just it's funny how Yoondae's level of apology to his friend he just lashed out at last time + he wants to ask him for HELP, and all he says is: 미안 (mian). The most informal and short way of apologizing possible. He's so teenager-minded still.

Even when he asks "Can I leave my stuff in your dad's warehouse?" it comes out grammatically more of a demand, like 'Let me do that'. Yoondae is talking like someone who has a lot of walls and doesn't reach out to people, he doesn't talk kindly but he's honest and straightforward and he cries easily but he's very angry about it.

I especially love his facial expression, even when he's at his most miserable, he'll make it everyone else's problem, as if being pitiful is the worst thing that could happen to him. "I have no one else I could ask for help but you >:(("

Fun fact about Korean's sentence structure, when you quote someone or express your thoughts, you put your sentence this way: "quoted phrase" and then + "that's what they said/what i thought/etc". So oftentimes, I see Kdramas use that trick when characters say a phrase... and then take it back with "that's someone else's thoughts" or "that's what you thought I'd say, right? LMAO". It's funny how the translators' way of transferring this was using the word "Sike!" xD

"It wasn't a mistake to me." "If it wasn't a mistake, then [what]? Since you started talking [about it], let me ask you. So what if it wasn't a mistake? What do you want to achieve with me?" "Can I do anything about it? In the past or now, you're the one who runs away and avoids me. I asked you, can I make a decision (do I have any choices)?" "You made the move but you want me to decide? Fine, then. Let sleep together once and end it once and for all. Go wash up first. I don't have time, I only left office for a short time."

The way they both care about each other but their dialogues and words are very sharp and bitter almost all the time, especially here, aaaah. That's the contrast that hooked me for all these 5 episodes. Soohyuk doesn't swear but he's talking to Yoondae very harshly and emotionless here, and for Yoondae harsh talk is the default, it's like Soohyuk is lowering his manners to talk on his level, to provoke him (or maybe that's also how he distances himself from the discovery that Yoondae has feelings for him).

And Yoondae is holding back his frustration and tears, but he understands the way such words were aimed to hurt him, so instead of lashing out back at Soohyuk, as he probably wants him to, he swallows and unusually calmly, almost softly says: "Let's talk when you can be honest. Because I will shut up and wait for you."

And it makes Soohyuk stand there in shock and contemplate.

I'll add next scenes in READ MORE since this post is getting long!

Here's the moment when the boss asks their youngest employee to write something more 'trendy' for their marketing text xD It's very true that trends in Korea come and go very quickly, they also love to invent new terms and phrases all the time. Like "MZ slang", there are many phrases, and the one trendy phrase the boss uses as the example is 킹받네 (king-pad-nae) which literally written as 'receive the king' but means "I got angry" - but with a teasing/playful subtext, like friends could say each other 'ah you're so cute, it makes me angry'.

If I'm not wrong, this phrase was widely used like 1-2 years ago and not really in its trendy peak as well right now but kudos to boss to even learning it xD And it's funny how translator chose to (I assume) use "[living in my head] rent-free" phrase as a substitute. Another fun fact, they ended up using some trendy lingo in their ad that translator gave us as "no cap!" but that part of phone msg was so blurry, I couldn't see which exact Korean phrase they ended up using x)

"Hyung, if you have any ask for help, say so. For you, 2 million... No, I'll try to give you until 3 million won in any way."

Can I just say that we had this character for one moment and I'm so not ready to let him go, I want Jeongwan to have his own storyline and everything and he's too sweet and also caring for strangers/his colleagues, and so he stole the spotlight for me xD

Yoondae said there's no food at home. But also, as you can see, there is: beer, water, rice that you can cook in the microwave, kimchi for a side dish and some other microwaved food. According to my Korean friends, typical Korean person (poor like student) can survive if they have rice, kimchi and also ramyeon. That's their the most basic food. Just a fun fact. xD

Also he was on his third can of beer, and he already made a drunken longing call on the verge of tears to Soohyuk, lying about being hurt and bringing trouble just so he'd return home. "Is that okay with you?" - just shoot me, please. :')

"I called [the cleaning service/you] to tell you to stop it [sleeping outside of home]" "Let's have that dinner [that I promised you] today. Wait for me."

After days, Yoondae was ready to give up, he "tricked" Soohyuk to return home just so he could tell him he'll move out and stop pushing any talk. And then, Soohyuk brought up the dinner (the feelings) that he kept avoiding. No wonder Yoondae looked so struck and confused. It just gave him his hopes back (and viewers too, but we probably should've known better with this kind of series haha)

Interesting cultural context: they are getting samgyeopsal - grilled meat, chosen by Soohyuk because Yoongdae said there wasn't anything he wanted to eat. And usually, the youngest one has to set the cutlery and grill meat, out of respect for the seniors. And here we see that Soohyuk is the one choosing the place, menu and even grilling the meat and pouring soju for Yoondae.

Once again, it shows that despite Yoondae's emotions and pleads, he is not mature enough, he is not ready to focus on other people. We know he can't plan his own future, he doesn't know what to do, and we see where their relationship stands now - Yoondae is still more of a burden than an equal partner to Soohyuk, and Soohyuk is more of a parent.

Even when they drink soju (in Korean drinking etiquette usually you don't drink alone, you toast together and drink together), notice how they don't even clink their glasses together, then Soohyuk is the only one drinking and Yoondae wants to follow him but puts the glass back. He's taking a shot later, when Soohyuk grills the meat again. They are totally unsynchronized at this point of their lives, and it's painful to watch.

"I said he [my father] was dead because that's the truth/reality for me. There was no other [hidden] meaning. I didn't plan to lie to you."

"I moved out completely. If I don't organize my life starting from doing this, then I don't think I'll be able to live like all the other [normal] people."

The fact that Yoondae started thinking about improving his life (the word 'organizing'), immediately made Soohyuk stop in surprise. So he started asking what does the normal life like others mean to him, hopeful to find that equal adult footing from Yoondae... but Yoondae's thoughts stopped there. And Soohyuk offered his own goal and life meaning: "to have a place to go back to, that's enough for me".

Here's when Yoondae thoughtfully agreed with him: "It's important to have a home", and took the meat tongs from Soohyuk, saying how high-maintenance he is. Yoondae embraced that realization, he took the responsibility (even a small cultural gesture) and even though Yoondae nagged him, Soohyuk smirked. Because it wasn't a completely hopeless situation. And Yoondae proved it, by saying how eating like this and going home together is his normal life as well. (and yet they were still unsynchronized until the very end! we can't have happy ending yet)

AND HERE IS WHERE I HAVE TO MAKE A SECOND POST! Because tumblr only allows 30 images in one, and I can't stop screenshotting the last conversation so I'm going to make another post that you can find in 'gray shelter comments' or 'dropthemeta' tags (upd. or here's the link to the post!)^^

[vaporwavegothicstudio]

We're looking for a sensitivity reader: South Korean culture/folklore + experience with the transgender and plural communities.

Hi, Tumblr- we're a small game studio making a game about a haunted South Korean jjimjilbang. However, our team's writer is a white American and no one on the team has lived in South Korea.

We're trying to do our research and make sure we portray South Korea and its ghost folklore respectfully, but we're also uncomfortably aware that we have just enough information to potentially wind up writing something gross.

We need a sensitivity reader who's familiar with South Korean culture, the trans community (in both SK and the US), and the plural community, so that we can make sure we're not wildly off the mark with what we're choosing to portray.

We're willing to discuss compensation, though we can't offer much.

Thanks, and have a lovely day!

-- Mal

[cutebat]

Hii!! I’m an anon from Korea 🇰🇷!! I saw your chuseok art of your character and I loved it so much! I really love this because I don’t see a lot of Korean characters even in comics.. anyway thank you for this art!!!!

First of all, I want to say thank you for liking my art and appreciating the Korean culture!

I agree that there isn’t a lot of Korean representation in media (in my opinion) which makes me happy when people show love for Korean characters especially with mine (who is Korean).

So, in thanks, here’s some more of my Batgirl wearing more hanboks!

(Please do NOT steal my art!)

[chu-diaries]

140 days of productivity: day 23/140

I will always remember this day as one of the best of my life. I started my day waking up around 5:30 am to wait for the release of Hello, World. I've been talking about the album all day here, so I'll spare you any more rambling on about it. I basically listened to the album all day, but there were times when I needed an extra dose of power and self-confidence, and Pineapple Slice is exactly that track for me.

I sold more candles, made some deliveries, and worked on my lecture material about suicide prevention. I had a quick meeting in the afternoon and also edited a video of me wrapping a candle as a gift.

My husband and I also went out for Korean food to celebrate our wedding anniversary, and I loved it! Our bulgogi noodles were delicious, and we ordered a Japanese beer to go with it. The atmosphere was nice and they played Love Shot by EXO! I was so happy I cried. I'd never heard EXO in a restaurant before. When we got home, we watched One Piece and I slept really well.

💥: day 17/29

💧: 1,2 L

🏋🏻‍♀️: 🚫

🏃🏻‍♀️: 2287 steps

🕯️: sold candles + updated sheets + bought new supplies + took care of my social media account + edited institucional videos (4 h)

🪘: 🚫

🇰🇷: speaking practice (30 min)

📚: 🚫

🎧: pineapple slice - baekhyun

📺: one piece ep. 571-573

🛑: 3 days pick free

💊: omega 3, vitamin c and iron supplements

[aja-aja-hanja]

All about Hanok, the Korean traditional home, using the oldest surviving example of the Maeng clan haeng-dan! It is an example of architecture from the beginning of the Joseon dynasty (start:1392) which has been maintained according to the old way of building.

The name 행단 refers to a place with a gingko tree, which makes reference to Confucius teaching pupils under a gingko tree. In Joseon, Confucian culture became a main part of the national culture, replacing previous national Buddhism in Goryeo dynasty.

[a-scary-lack-of-common-sense]

When AI is so prevalent everywhere nowadays that even Death starts to invest in cheap grim reaper robots /j (that keep eventually gaining sentience and becoming spiteful and lost spirits but shhhh, that's too much lore)

Inspired by the Korean folk lore of Death: 저승사자- a psychopomp deity who's job is not to judge or kill, but to simply guide newly deceased souls to the afterlife. They are traditionally depicted wearing a black (한복) hanbok with a black (갓) gat.

[asian-folk-wardrobe]

[overwatchfanskinarchive]

Fox Spirit Lifeweaver by Miki (babymiss_t)

[seahdalune]

i wish people knew about the traditional Korean* bat patterns

(*China also uses bat patterns, but the examples shown here are all Korean because i'm not as confident on finding authentic Chinese pieces)

because the hanja for bat (蝠, "bok") sounded like the hanja for fortune (福, also "bok"), bats were used as a symbol for fortune and prosperity!

[ddaome-kr]

🍜Cold Noodles -냉면

🧊🍜

Hey friends! If you are living in the northern hemisphere, its starting to get hotter isn’t it? As summer is just around the corner, the restaurants in Korea are getting ready with their seasonal menus. And the most common dish is cold noodles. Naengmyeon translates directly into 'cold noodles' and is therefore a type of dish. So all different kinds of naengmyeon which I will be introducing should be referred to as naengmyeon. However, when one orders naengmyeon at a restaurant, a specific dish is usually referred to: the one made with buckwheat noodles and clear broth. A fun fact about naengmyeon is that it is considered to be the first dish to be actively delivered. On ‘Yijaenango’, it writes, “on July 1768, after taking the ‘gwageosihum’(national official exam), we ordered anngmyeon the next day.” This history of nangmyeon delivery extended its legacy to the late Joseon dynasty and Japanese regime when it led the culture of eating outside one’s home. Another fun little fact is that it is also known to be the first dish to use artificial flavoring. Naengmyeon also represents a sad aspect of Korean history. The northern part of the Korean peninsula was most known for its naengmyeon due to its colder climates, more suitable for the dish. Pyeongyang even had a ‘naengmyeon street’ where restaurants specialized in naengmyeon lined up in one place. Since the Korean War, the refugees from the North opened restaurants and ate naengmyeon missing their home where they could not return. This is why, naengmyeon is usually served during the South and North Korea Summit and at the family union events. By Sunny

Here's a link to our Instagram post as always!