Yonsei Korea

Home

Many Interesting Rooms in Korea
By Park Jee Yeon

One of the most outstanding features in Korea is "room" culture. Many rooms, which are called "bang", in Korean exist in Korea for people to enjoy. First, "no-rae bang" is a singing room. It usually has a sofa, a television, and a Karaoke with two microphones. A person who sings stands up in the middle of the room and starts singing, reading the lyrics of the song on art TV. Second, a "PC bang" is where people use computers to surf the internet or play games such as "Star Craft." Printers and scanners are also available. Third, "video bang" is a very popular place for couples to go on a date in Korea. Rather than going to a theater, couples come here to enjoy a movie just for the two. Theaters are always crowded and noisy with people to see movies, but "video bangs" are comfortable and cozy, exclusively for the couple. The last room, the "zim-zil bang", has suddenly boomed very recently. It is almost same as public bath and sauna, but there is more than just taking a bath. It is usually bigger than public bath because taking a bath is just a minor thing here. The main fun part of the "zim-zil bang" is enjoying variety of steams from different rooms with friends and family. For example, one room is heated with all the walls covered with mud which is well known to be good for the body. Some of the other rooms' walls are covered with amethyst or jade. Friends and families come in groups and choose a room according to their tastes and stay in a room for about four to five minutes. In general, four to five minutes is appropriate time to get soaked with sweat but it differs from person to person. "Room" culture shows Koreans' character very directly. Koreans are very active and talkative when with intimate ones. On the other hand, Koreans are very shy with strangers. "Bang" is a very excellent place to only be with ones who you like and have fun with without thinking and caring about other people.

Drinking Custom of Korean University Students
By Gu Hannah

Korean university students compulsively and excessively consume alcohol. Koreans believe that people who drink heavily reveal their strong power and social skills. From this belief, Koreans take urging companions to drink a lot for granted. In the case of students who are in the middle of becoming mature adults, unwilling drinking appears even more frequently. At the beginning of the semester, welcome parties for new students disclose and issue chronic problems related to compulsory drinking. First, forced drinking by elder students gives wrong conception to freshmen: drinking a lot is a virtue. Namely, the atmosphere of drinking is irresistible, and younger students should swallow alcohol reluctantly. This code of action is widely associated with male students. For one thing, senior-junior relationships, further strictly applied among men. They have a mantra, like ¡°the more we drink together, the closer we get." In addition, male classmateds want to display their ability to keep in touch with friends and drink the night away. Second, the compelling dfingking atmosphere can be torture to those with a weak tolerance. They should know their drinking capacity and control themselves. However if a person with low tolerance tries to put down his or her beer glass while others still continue, he or she would receive a bad impression such as a breaker of the gay and merry company. In this situation, to quit drinking for caring of health is almost impossible for all aware of their own maximum capacity of receiving alcohol. Due to forced and unreasonably excessive drinking, the original reason for getting together has disappeared. Koreans no longer regard drinking not a means to improve relationships (help people talk further and bring chance to get along later on) but a purpose itself aimed at nothing, just focusing on quantity of empty beer bottles.

The Difference Between Korean and American Culture
By Shin Gaeun

Korean culture differs from American culture in manners and expressions of language because they have different historical and cultural backgrounds. First, Koreans tend to not hug or kiss each other. Because Koreans were under the influence of Chinese Confucianism for a long time, Koreans do not prefer personal physical contact, instead Koreans greet with a low and humble bow to adults or shake hands with people the same age. In addition, when big holidays such as New Year's Day, Koreans dress up traditional clothes (Han-bok) and bow on ceremonial occasions to grandparents, parents, uncle and aunt. Next, contrary to American culture, Korean culture has different table manner. Americans use a fork and knife when they eat, but Koreans use a spoon and chopsticks. Americans enjoy bread made from wheat and the form of bread is lump, so it is easy for them to hold bread with hand. On the other hand, Korean staple food is boiled rice. Because this boiled rice is too sticky and hot to hold with hand, Koreans use spoon to eat meal. Chopsticks were introduced from China long time ago, and Koreans use them to pick up side dishes such as Kimchi and Kalbi. Kimchi is Korean representative food made from radish, cabbage, spiced with garlic and ginger. It is very hot and spicy to foreigner at first time. Kalbi is boiled short ribs flavored with soy sauce. This food is popular to foreigners, because Kalbi is delicious and not spicy, so it is easy to them to eat Kalbi compared with Kimchi. And then Koreans do not use both hands in general when they have a meal, Americans often care to make use of both hands, for example, bread in the left hand and fork in the right hand. However, Koreans tent to use one hand at the table. If someone grips a spoon in the left hand, take chopsticks in the right hand, he or she will be the target of criticism because of bad etiquette. Finally, Koreans use various linguistic expressions according to listener's age. For example, Korean language has term of respect (an honorfic), so "meal" is either "jinji" for the old, "siksa" for the adult such as parents, "bob" for the same age or the young. In addition, complicated inflections follow after verbs to show speaker's emotion and intension or tense in Korean language. Unlike English has been simplified inflections and word endings, Korean language has kept complicated inflections for a long time. Like this, Korean culture has some different aspects with American culture in manners, linguistic expressions.

The World Cup 2002 as the First Party
By Kim Jarim

The enormous street celebration during the World Cup 2002 played an important role launching a party culture in Korea, which had been deterred for historical reasons. On the one hand, the older generation had no time to enjoy themselves, and no chance to experience a party culture. In the first half of the century, Korea was under Japan's control, and Korean traditions were prohibited including Han-Gul (Korean alphabet). In addition, with the disastrous Korean War in 1950, many Koreans starved to death. From the 1960s, the political dictatorship continued until "the 6.29 Declaration of Democratization" in 1987. Before 1987, in the name of anti-communism, even the smallest freedom was not allowed for the Koreans politically and socially. Instead, people were forced to devote themselves to the economic growth; for example, they worked at a low wages in a terrible labor environment and almost twelve-lasting hours to lower the price of the products. Also, the working hours were almost twelve hours a day.
On the other hand, the younger generation, who grew up in a westernized culture, are very individualistic. As a result, many of them feel that to have a party together is not only old-fashioned, but also, waste of their precious time. For them, private time and space are very important, and they usually spend time watching the television or surfing Internet in their own rooms instead of getting together. However, with the street celebration during the World Cup 2002, the Koreans experienced "enjoying themselves together" through the party. For the old generation, a game had been nothing but a competition because what was important in Korean society had to be tangible: for example, the GNP (Gross National Product), the number of the buildings, and a ranking in the big Games like the Olympics. With the World Cup Celebration, they learned how to "enjoy themselves." The young generation, also, got to know about the feeling of "enjoying together." They found that supporting the Korean team, enduring the tension during the game, and sharing the joy of victory together, were very great and cheerful. As the first big party in the modernized Korean history, the World Cup 2002 had an effect on the Koreans to absorb themselves with others in a joyous mood.

A Change of the Korean Families
By Lee Sohyun

Korean modern families are different from traditional ones in many respects. First, modern families are usually smaller than traditional ones. One of the reasons is that traditional parents wanted to have many children, especially sons, because sons could farm in the busy farming season, and they could succeed the parents' generation in patriarchal society. Another reason is that after a couple married, the woman began to live with the family of her husband, so almost all families consisted of more than three generations. However, in modern Korean society, married couples live independent of their parents. For this reason, their families consist of only one or two generations. Second, women's status in modern families is higher than that in the traditional ones. In Korea, as Koreans followed Confucian thought, only men were treated as important members of families while women's status was still lower than men's. Women could not marry again even if her husband had died, but it was common that a husband had several concubines whether his wife was living with him or not. However, nowadays, women can divorce and remarry as freely as men. Third, dual income families, which did not exist in traditional society, are common today. In the past, wives stayed at home doing housework. On the
contrary, 51% of married women earn money now[1]. Dual income is favorably received by not only women but also men because it contributes to their families' financial circumstances. In conclusion, Korean families have changed a lot in size, sexual equality and economy.

-----------------------
[1] Chosunilbo 7.2.2002

Excessive Yearning for Good Colleges in Korea
By Cho Won Jae

Almost every highschool student in Korea spends most of a day studying for the exam for the college except for a few hours of sleep, having little time to do anything he or she likes. This is because Korean society attaches too much importance to academic background. The first reason of this attachment on good schools is that college education has an significant meaning in Korea. A person is often judged by the college he or she has graduated from. Many people think that those who have graduated from good college are more able, and some even believe that they are more ethical than those who have not. Another reason for struggling for good colleges is that school ties still play a significant role in getting a job or improving social position. Passing national exams has been the way toward both richness and honor for more than a thousand years in Korea, so the preference for famous colleges is partly a result of traditional careerism. Lastly, Korean educational system itself makes students yearn for good colleges even more. Only students with the high score, required for entering a good college, are beloved in school. As a result, for many students, good colleges have been vain aims for their self-esteem. Without reforming these situations, Korean teenagers will have to keep spending their precious time, which should be full of hope and dream, competing stressfully with their friends in the classroom.

Drinking Customs of Korea
By Choi Go Un

The drinking customs of Korea reflect the traditional culture and features of Koreans. First, they show that Koreans like to become intimate with others, band together, and want to feel a spirit of cooperation or think that they play the important role belonging to their group or society. Koreans often have drinking parties to become friends, maintain human relations, and cultivate mutual friendship. By talking about their private life under the influence of liquor and singing together loudly, they can make friends with each other easily. Second, the drinking customs also express the traditional customs of Korea that Koreans have to behave to others politely, especially to elder people. In Korea, when young people are old enough to be able to drink liquor, they learn the rules of etiquette about drinking from the eldest person in the family. For example, when the young receive a liquor glass from the elder, he or she must sit on their knees, hold a glass in both hands, and then drink turning their head aside. Third, Koreans drink a lot of alcoholic beverages rapidly, so they tend to get drunk in a short time. That is because Koreans are generally short-tempered and want to finish what they begin at once. Two drinking styles that show these characters are "Bomb wine" and "One shot." First, for a bomb wine, people throw a glass of foreign wine such as whiskey or brandy into a cup of beer, mix them together, and drink. Second, a one shot is also the way of drinking that people fill alcohol to the brim fully and drink entire at once. In conclusion, these Korean's drinking customs are due to their traditions, characters and culture.

Tokaebi
By U Hyun-kyung
Tokaebi is the Korean traditional ghost which reflects and affects Korean spirit. First, Tokaebi is the imaginative ghost, and Koreans created many stories about Tokaebi like special birth and appearance, and spread the stories orally. Koreans usually said that Tokaebi was born from the washtubs and broomsticks that people threw away or the Korean brass coins that people had not used for a long time. In addition, people describe him as a masculine and powerful ghost. Tokaebi has a colorful and severe face and great stature, so he looks weird although he resembles people. Moreover, some people say that he has a horn on the top of his head, or has only one leg. Second, Tokaebi and Koreans are alike in some respects, which shows Korean's disposition and desires. He likes to eat, drink, dance, and sing and sometimes takes delight in doing mischief. For example, he provokes a passer-by to wrestle, which means that Tokaebi reflects Korean's disposition to enjoy themselves. In addition, it has occult power to inflict punishment upon undutiful sons and misers and to give fortune and money to those who are good by using the club with thorns. If Tokaebi strikes the ground with his club saying what he wants, it appears in front of him immediately. Thus, Koreans regard him as the existence of abundance and justice which Koreans value. Finally, Tokaebi affects Korean's spirit past and present. In the Chosun Dynasty (about 600 years ago) Tokaebi was created and regarded as masculine ghost, and young women did the exorcisms of him, and it emancipated women from strict manly Confucianism society even for a while. In addition, many tales about Tokaebi were created and transmitted from generation to generation. For instance, the stories about Tokaebi say that not only if someone wears the cap of Tokaebi, he or she is transparent, but also if someone obtains the club of Tokaebi, he or she can make everything with it. Koreans use the idiom expression with Tokaebi. For instance, when Koreans walk uninhabited and out-of-the-way and feel fear, they say, "Tokeabi is likely to spring at me." To know about Tokeabi as traditional ghost is to understand Koreans more.

What "Meeting" is all About
By Sung eun Chae

A "meeting" is a special type of blind date that lonely Koreans, mostly in their twenties, go out on with their friends. This peculiar dating custom follows a typical course. First, the "ju-sun-ja," which means the connector, gathers a male and a female group of same sizes, usually between three to five people. The connector should consider if the group members' appearance and academic background are at a similar level. This kind of matching attract people to participate in the "meeting." In the arranged meeting place, such as a bar or a coffee shop, the connecter introduces each group to the other. Meanwhile, the members of the "meeting" carefully search for an attractive person who would make a good match for themselves. After the icebreaker is over, the connector stays just for a while to observe the progress of the "meeting", then leaves. During the "meeting," people take part in several "meeting games" to create a friendly and comfortable atmosphere. For example, the "image game" is a game that people ask questions in turn, such as ¡°Who seems to get the worst grades among us?" Right after a question, people point to the corresponding person, based on the person's first impression, with their chopsticks. The person who gets the most points has to drink a full glass of beer or a small glass of so-ju, a traditional Korean liquor. If someone is pointing to an individual too often, the frequent points can be presumed as a sign of interest towards her/him. If the games are boring, the groups move to a "noraebang," which means a "singing room." In the singing room, people choose songs and sing to the accompaniment of a music machine, which shows the words of each song on a large screen. A person who sings well can easily draw a lot of attention from the opposite group members. Throughout the games and singing, each person chooses someone whom she/he is interested in. At the end of the group date, the person who has someone in mind asks for the cellular phone number of the person she/he has chosen for further contact. On the other hand, if there is nobody attractive, they lightly think that it was an enjoyable day with some interesting people. In spite of the awkward setting, "meeting" is very popular in Korea and many couples get together through it. "Meeting" is a way for a lonely single person to meet interesting people all at once, and one of them might be the lover you have always dreamt about.

Liberation of Red
By Cho Yeonjin

South Koreans at last overcame their phobia of the color red during the 2002 World Cup. In fact, the bias stemming from the color's association with Communism had been felt much more seriously here than in other parts of the world because of the confrontation between South and North Korea. For this reason, in the old days, most people in this country hesitated to wear red clothes. However, surprisingly, they wins popularity among South Koreans after the World Cup. Not only the supporters of the Korean national soccer team, known as the Red Devils, but the Koreans cheering on the streets turned out in millions wearing red caps and red shirts, painting the streets, plazas and stadiums around the country red. Furthermore, more than five million red shirts sold across the country during the World Cup period. The second remarkable phenomenon is that red does not necessarily carry a political connotation any more. In the past, South Koreans called North Koreans the "ppal-gaeng-i," or "the Reds" which implied the meaning of they were opponents to be watched and attacked. In fact, the dictatorship in the 1980's had abused these words to point out the counterforce in order to entrap them, so it was a taboo word. Nevertheless, the meaning of the word "red" changed after the World Cup. For instance, "Be the Reds" was the slogan of the supporters of the Korean national soccer team. Finally, red became the symbol of the Korean potential energy instead of the deep pain and fear from the Korean War. Red had reminded South Koreans of the mortal wound of the Red aggression before the big event. However, now, red symbolizes Koreans' peculiar passion and power. The foreign news reported that Korean "red energy" contributed to Korea team's advance to the semifinals. Koreans, themselves, also believe that red power helped their dreams come true. In conclusion, South Koreans liberated the red color from the stigma long attached to it with the World Cup fever.

Drinks as a Lubrication of Social Bonds
By Lee Ji Young

Drinking functions as a catalyzer in maintaining social relationships among Korean university students. First, it represents a person`s ability to have a large circle of aquaintances through drinking parties. As social gatherings revolve around drinking, the sociable students who add to the fun of the party are popular among seniors, who are older than you, and juniors, who are younger than you. The extroverted students tend to advance their careers because the strong ties among seniors and juniors at the universities continue after joining adult society. Second, drinking helps students to find true friends. When students are intoxicated, they get to know each other better because they confess their worries, pain and dreams. The quarrels reconciled through "boozing" solidify connections between friends much more strongly. Third, drinking parties are the best chances for male students to declare their love for female students. As people consider alcohol to include some ingredients that promote pheromones, the hormone of attracting the opposite sex, drunken men are attracted to women like a moth to a candle . Alcohol gives men energy and courage to confess their love because people become shameless under the influence. In conclusion, drinking has a positive influence on the strong social bonds among Korean university students.

Passion of Korean Education
By Park Won Suk

Koreans spend much more money on education than another country in the world. As the reason of this fact, the first reason is that the university is very important in Korean social structure. In Korean social structure, if people do not graduate from one of the famous universities, they cannot succeed, get honor and earn much money. Therefore, to enter good universities, Korean parents spend much money on education. Then, many parents make their babies watch the English VCD and go abroad to learn English. Most Korean high school students must study hard to get high scores as competing with their friends. Even, before the exam students regard their friends as an enemy. The second reason of enormous educational cost is Korean parents' mind. Korean parents could not study in school because of the poverty, so it is their inferiority complex. Korean parents intend to be satisfied with their children's success, so they force their children to study hard. Consequentially, students become selfish and have competition as virtue. Students pass only to memorize facts, so they cannot think deeply and create their own idea. Students have much stress and do not excercise during their school life, so they are weak and some of them are have mental disease such as depression. There are many well-educational institutes in Gang-nam. People who want to have opportunity to be educated high level move into Gang-nam, so The price of Gang-nam estate is too high. This village become over-invested place. The biggest problem is that wealth transmit from generation to generation. The poor children cannot be educated privately while the rich children spend one million won in a month to learn math, English conversation, piano, violin, painting, soccer. It is not fair competition. Therefore, the social atmosphere expanding educational cost worsen people's equal right.

Why Korean University Students Neglect Their Studies
By Choi Hyejin

Many Korean university students tend to study less than their highschool years when they get into a university. The reason why students go to college is to learn their field of study deeper. In Korea, however, most university students do not study harder than when they were highschool students. First, they study less than their younger years because many Korean students are tired of studying in highschool, especially when they are seniors. In Korea, many people believe that what university he or she graduate from tells the person's ability. Therefore, highschool students have to do their best to get a good score on the national academic aptitude test. As a result, once they start to learn at a university, they prefer hanging out all day to studying hard. Second, Korean universities do not have very strict rules for neglecting one's studies. For example, professors give an 'F' grade only to someone who is absent for many classes, so failing a course is very unusual. That is, if a student just attend classes but does not study for class at all, the student can pass the class. Maybe we can understand this situation by thinking that even professors understand the hardship of studying in highschool, but the problem is this generosity makes students study less. Moreover, in Korean society, entering a university is connected directly with the academic degree. In other words, although they do not study hard, they are supposed to get a degree after 4 years. According to these reasons, many Korean university students neglect their studies than high school students and spend their time drinking and having fun.

The Korean Word "Ajooma Spirit" Represents Strong Vital Energy for Life
By Sung Min Sun

The Korean word Ajooma, an abbreviation and a friendly form of Ajoomeoni, is used not only as a general name but also as a joking expression in Korean society. Originally, the word Ajooma was used to call a woman who is a relative of one's mother or brother's wife when the speaker is a man. Ajooma also means an ordinary married woman, such as "Mrs." in English. Today, however, Ajooma has also born a metaphorical meaning to describe people's peculiar pattern of conduct like seeking seats on the train or going anywhere to get free items. In these cases, in addition to the fundamental usage, the word Ajooma is usually expressed as "Ajooma
Spirit," and used for a person or for people regardless of age and even sex. For example, when I am standing with my friends along the platform waiting for the train, as soon as the subway train arrives with the announcement, "..The train is arriving now, please step back for a while," our attentions converge on the train inside to find where to sit. The door opening, we dash into the train and occupy the seats that we had an eye on. Then we say to ourselves, chuckling and looking at each other on the seat, "We are Ajoomas, we show true 'Ajooma Spirit'!" In that way, the expression "Ajooma Spirit" means an eagerly single-minded attitude to gain a seat. Sometimes the attitude even makes one, usually woman, throw their bags on seat to preoccupy it. The image of Ajooma Spirit also floats before our eyes when we see a group of married women come in crowds from all quarters, usually to a department store, to grab the chance for getting free or cheaper items such as thank-you gifts from the store. Likewise, Ajoomas in "Ajooma Spirit" usually haggle over the price of an article with the merchants.
In that way, Koreans do not usually describe Ajoomas in "Ajooma Spirit" favorably. However, "Ajooma Spirit" has its origin in some unavoidable historical and social reasons. Above all, the old generation, who initially formed the image of "Ajooma Spirit," may have lived relatively poorly lacking in the necessary articles of life. In addition to that, the will to live as a wife and mother in a family, doing chores standing on their feet or bent everyday, activates Ajoomas' vital energy for life outside of home. In conclusion, today the Korean word Ajooma has formed a peculiar meaning as "Ajooma Spirit" that represents common and rather amusing characteristics of a group or an individual. Perhaps because of the characteristics and origins, Koreans feel "Ajooma Spirit" as a friendly expression that reminds us of our mother's generation and strong vital energy for life.

To Eat It or Not?
By Kim Hyung

Whenever Korea holds the international events, foreigners blame Koreans for eating dogs. However, foreigners should not despise the food of another country. Some of misconceptions about dog meat are followings. First, foreigners claim that Koreans think of such a bright, cute and friendly pet as their food even if they raise it with love for a while. However, Koreans do not eat pets such as poodle, Yorkshire and Jindo. Unlike their thoughts, Korea has farms which raise dogs only for food. Second, foreigners assert that all of Koreans enjoy eating dogs. Yet, most women dislike eating dogs because dogs are not their taste and they just feel disgusted.
Finally, foreigners suppose Koreans eat dogs as often as kimchi. Contrarily, dogs are perceived as special food for energetic life in mid-summer, not as daily food. In conclusion, every country has its own unique culture of food which other countries do not have. Therefore, anyone should not accuse someone of eating certain food just because they do not have it. Additionally, Korean government should also revise the law for it to make public to foreign countries rather than to hide one of our cultures.

Home