Laughing. Ah, a universal form of communication. Laughter. How could anyone possibly screw this one up? I mean, it must be the same everywhere you go, right? Leave it to Korea to make things backwards. Other than the standard laugh that occurs when something funny happens, Koreans (to include other Asians) might also laugh when embarrassed or nervous. But here's the thing, it looks like it's funny...but it's not. Scenario: A foreign businessperson approaches his secretary and asks why the report he asked for is late. She responds by quietly laughing. She just remembered that he asked for it yesterday. So, in embarrassment, she does the one thing that will surely make him upset. She has grin on her face. He looks like he's ready to... Show more

The Presidents of the Republic of Korea. 대통령. This can be a hot topic because people of different backgrounds and age groups differ heavily on how each president is remembered. Moreso, with each new president, former presidents are remembered somewhat differently. For that matter, there are criteria for judging presidents. Korea has a relatively short democratic history and an even shorter "real" democratic background. In just sixty years, there have been over 200 major political parties come and go. Also, one of the obstacles democracy faces in Asia stems from long-standing authoritarian tradition. Add to the mix Korea's not-that-far-behind agrarian and colonized history and you've got a recipe for political instability. But, far... Show more

Yesterday 빅뱅 (Big Bang)'s leader G-Dragon released his first solo album Heartbreaker. As one of 빅뱅's two main rappers, G-Dragon has been praised before as an up and coming songwriter, having been involved in the composition process for 빅뱅 songs 거짓말 (Lies, which was the group's breakthrough single), But I Love U, rock-rap 빅뱅-No Brain collaboration Oh My Friend, and Strong Baby. With some super catchy and pretty solid tunes under his belt, it comes as no surprise that all eyes were on this solo album and that expectations were pretty high. What do you think of Heartbreaker, the titletrack of the solo album? There's been some very mixed reactions. I, personally, find the song enjoyable and catchy, even though it's nothing too... Show more

Metal Chopsticks. It's not exactly a Korean meal without the deliciousness touching a little stainless steel. The evolution of the chopstick is here and now. Gone are the wasteful wooden or flimsy plastic sticks. We're talking streamlined cutlery goodness: Chopsticks 2.0 for the masses. For sure, it's a curious conversation topic for some time now. But, truly, the history behind such a common eating utensil is actually pretty interesting. Enough to make a great lesson plan with some great facts at the end (take note of page three). In fact, it's been rumored that former President 박정희 (Park Chung-Hee) is credited with introducing metal chopsticks to Korea. I would venture to guess that many Westerners would never think twice... Show more

Chuseok is a festive holiday in Korea and last for three days. It is also called Hangawi and is celebrated on the fifteen of August or the 15th day of their lunar calendar. It is a harvest festival that takes place around the Autumn Equinox like other harvest festivals do. The celebration begins with the Korean people visiting the ancestors in their hometown and sharing their traditional cuisine with each other. This holiday has historic values to the Korean people as it represents the third king’s reign of the third Kingdom of Silla. During this time, there was a contest of weaving among two teams. The team that won had to treat the other team to a feast of traditional food. Some believe that its origin came from the... Show more