KoreanClass101.com Blog

The Month of May in Korea is often called Family Month. There's Children's Day, Parent's Day, and Teacher's Day. Korea takes Mother's Day to a whole different level! On these days you give your Children, Parents and Teachers gifts to show them how much you appreciate them. Children often benefit the most with candy and money being popular gifts. Teachers get quite a lot of gifts as well as they have many students and parents to receive gifts from. And that's why the month of May is called Family month in Korea! Well... did you learn something new about Korea? If you did, you'll be glad to know that you'll learn cultural tidbits in every single lesson at KoreanClass101.com! In every lesson, not only will you learn Korean that will... Show more

Are you a fan of Epik High? Over at KoME we're in the final stages of putting together a video shoutout for Epik High and MYK, consisting of videos, pictures, and messages from fans. You can participate in English, or in your native language. If you're interested in taking part, you can check out the project here. Submission deadlines are May 10th but if you really want to take part but need a few extra days then just email me and I'll wait for you. So, YG Entertainment have a new group. Marketed as the 'female Big Bang', 2NE1 first appeared not too long ago, promoting one of the new LG cellphones. The promotion campaign involved the catchy song Lollipop, which they performed with Big Bang, and an accompanying MV. Although I quite... Show more

Children's Day. May 5. Again with the Love Day reference, this holiday is dedicated to the cute little monsters that plague the countryside and cities. It was founded by the Korea's answer to Dr. Seuss back in 1923. Its fascination by well-written foreigners knows no limits. Pack up the aspirin because it's going to be a long day... Thought Korean kids were spoiled? Today you are so right. Today, Korean children are calling the shots. Highways packed, zoos overcrowded, ice cream screaming for its life...poor little vanilla never had a chance...there will be sweets consumed today. Oh yes. There will be sweets. Speaking of spoiled, it might benefit everyone to take a moment and analyze why exactly this is the case. I mean, by... Show more

Key Money. The Korean real estate system is tricky in and of itself, and the renting system alone is enough to pique your interest. Galbijim has a great writeup. Instead of paying a set monthly rent, apartment owners might ask for anywhere between half to two-thirds (or more) of the value of the unit for the year - all in one lump sum. Imagine paying a full year's worth of rent all at once. Now consider that standard rent is usually only 10-15% of the unit's market value per month - now try the 전세 rate of 50 to 75% of that same unit's value. Oh, and make it more than a year - typical contracts are for two to three years. Ouch. Want the key? Pay the money. Starting to see one of the many reasons why young Koreans stay at their... Show more

회식 Company dinner. Rule #1) count on 소주. Lots of it. Serious. Just look at what happens when I type "회식" into Google Image. Food and alcohol - get used to it. This cultural event of course has a deep cultural context that should never be ignored. I encourage those seeking to understand the Korean mindset to venture into the past. Either way, in the present, soju is plentiful, cheap, and widely available. Soju has been around for a while and there's no sign of it stopping - however it is getting weaker in alcohol content as the years pass. Soju is typically drunk at such company diners but certainly other spirits are involved, too. However, I get the impression that beer is not exactly a masculine choice for alcohol. I've been... Show more