Not many Australians would doubt that Ian Thorpe is the nation’s sports hero. Every kid want to swim like him and feel proud of his name since he made the country’s image as the strongest country in water sports.

Like Ian Thorpe, in Korea, we do have Kim Yuna (김연아) who is a South Korean figure skater. You can easily see her face on tv commercials and catalogues of major corporations in South Korea.

She’s a one of a kind figure skater and her career supports it strongly. She is the 2010 Olympic champion in ladies’ singles, the 2009 World champion, the 2009 Four Continents champion, a three-time (2006–2007, 2007–2008, 2009–2010) Grand Prix Final champion, the 2006 World Junior champion, the 2005 Junior Grand Prix Final champion, and a four-time (2002–2005) South Korean national champion. She is the first South Korean figure skater to win a medal at an ISU Junior or Senior Grand Prix event, ISU Championship, and the Olympic Games. She is the first female skater to win the Olympic Games, the World Championships, the Four Continents Championships and the Grand Prix Final. She is one of the most highly recognized athletes and media figures in South Korea.

In May 2011, Kim began to host a show called “Kim Yu-na’s Kiss and Cry”. The program portrayed the challenging process of ten popular entertainers as they learned how to figure skate from professional skaters. The ten stars included comedian Kim Byung-man, singer U-Know of TVXQ, Krystal of f(x), IU, Son Dam-bi, actors Park Jun-geum, Seo Ji-suk, Lee Ah-hyun, Jin Ji-hee and speed skater Lee Kyu-hyuk.

Kim has stated that she hopes to become a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after the 2014 Sochi Games.

Her challenge and inspiration would never stop!

Ashley (Korean teacher)

[믹키] 고요한 밤 거룩한 밤 어둠에 묻힌밤

[최강] 주의 부모 앉아서 감사 기도 드릴때

[영웅] 아기 잘도 잔다 아기 잘도 잔다

[시아] 고요한 밤 거룩한 밤 영광이 둘린 밤

[유노] 천군 천사 나타나 기뻐 노래 불렀네

[영웅] 왕이 나셨도다 왕이 나셨도다

[시아] 왕이 나셨도다 왕이 나셨도다

[All] 왕이 나셨도다

ROMANISATION  

Goyohan Bam Gorughan Bam

[Micky]

Goyohan bam gorughan bam

Odume mudhinbam

[Changmin]

Juye bumo anjaso gamsa gido durilte

[Jaejoong]

Agi jaldo janda agi jaldo janda

[Xiah]

Goyonhan bam gorughan bam

Yonggwangi dullin bam

[Yunho]

Chongun chonsa natana

Gippo nore bullone

[Jaejoong]

Wangi nashododa

Wangi nashyododa

[Xiah]

Wangi nashyododa

Wangi nashyododa

[All]

Wangi nashyododa

– Ashley Jang (Korean language teacher)

Korean new Year is typically a family holiday. The three-day holiday is used by many to return to their hometowns to visit their parents and other relatives, where they perform an ancestral ritual. Many Koreans dress up in colorful traditional Korean clothing called hanbok. But nowadays, small families tend to become less formal and wear other formal clothing instead of hanbok. Many Koreans greet the New Year by visiting East-coast locations such as Gangneung and Donghae in Gangwon province, where they are most likely to see the first rays of the New Year’s sun.[2]

Tteokguk

Tteokguk (떡국) (soup with sliced rice cakes) is a traditional Korean food that is customarily eaten for the New Year. According to Korean age reckoning, the Korean New Year is similar to a birthday for Koreans, and eating Tteokguk is part of the birthday celebration. Once you finish eating your Tteokguk, you are one year older.

Sebae

Sebae is a traditionally observed activity on Seollal, and is filial-piety-oriented. Children wish their elders (grandparents, aunts and uncles, parents) a happy new year by performing one deep traditional bow (rites with more than one bow involved are usually for the deceased) and the words saehae bok mani badeuseyo (Hangul: 새해 복 많이 받으세요) which translates to Receive many New Year blessings, or more loosely, “Have a blessed New Year.” Parents typically reward this gesture by giving their children new year’s money, or “pocket money,”

Kimchi Fried Rice (Bokeumbap) is humble food that is mostly enjoyed at home, but you might also see it in some casual Korean eateries. At home, it’s a great way to use leftover kimchi that’s a bit past its prime. Quick, easy, and cheap to make, kimchi bokeumbap is simple Korean home cooking at its best.

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup kimchi, drained and chopped (preferably a bit old and sour Kimchi)
• 1/2 sweet onion, chopped
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1/3 cup thinly sliced beef/ spam/ pork/ bacon/ tuna or ham
• 3 cups cooked rice
• Salt to taste
• 1 Fried egg for each serving

Preparation:

1. If using bacon, saute briefly on an ungreased large pan and omit oil from next step. With any other meat or a vegetarian version, start with step #2.
2. Saute kimchi and onion in a lightly greased large pan over medium heat for a few minutes.
3. When vegetables begin to look transparent, add ½ Tbsp of butter, garlic, and soy sauce and saute for another 2-3 minutes.
4. Add meat or pork and continue to saute until meat is cooked.
5. Turn heat off but keep pan on burner.
6. Add rice and rest of butter, mixing to combine.
7. Salt to taste and top with fried egg to serve.
   (Serves 4)

We got married! 우리 결혼했어요 (우결)

We Got Married (우리 결혼했어요) is one of the popular variety shows on MBC. The show is directed for the purpose of how couples of Korean celebrities could show what life would be like if they were married. Each week, couples are assigned missions to complete, with candid interviews of the participants to reveal their thoughts and feelings. The variety show tells you how young couples would solve the troubles of their love and marriage throughout the interesting episodes.

The show, 우리 결혼했어요, let us think of some interesting questions which everyone would have ever thought about once such as “If I were ~ or If we are” While you watch the show, you may be confused what is real or imaginary. Now, the season 4 is still going on since the first season started in 2008. In the season 4, you can enjoy exciting episodes between new couples, Jullien Kang & 윤세아, 황광희 & 한선화 (one of members of Secret), 이준 & 오연서. Nowadays, 황광희, one of the member of ZE:A, is a budding rookie in many reality variety shows.

Shall we learn Korean past tense from the show title?

The sentence, 우리 결혼했어요, means “We got married”. It is a past tense. How to say something of what you did in Korean?

Before you move on to the next step, you need to know the structure of the Korean verbs first. All Korean verbs end in –다 such as 보-다(to see, watch), 먹-다(to eat), and 공부하-다(to study). Korean verbs are divided into two parts, stem part and ending part. The ending part is always –다.  In the word, 공부하다, 공부하 is a stem part and –다 is an ending part.

Korean past tense can be made with –았어요/-었어요/-했어요. Depending on the vowel in the last syllable in each verb stem, -았어요, -었어요 or –했어요 should be attached to the stem part. At this time, -다 ending part is deleted.

If the last syllable in any verb stem has a ‘ㅏ’ or ‘ㅗ’ vowel, -았어요 is added. For example, you can separate the verb 보다 (see, watch) into 보 and 다. 보-(stem part) has a ‘ㅗ’ vowel, so –았어요 is added. Then without –다, 보 is combined with –았어요.  So it becomes 보-았어요. It means ‘saw’.

To another verbs has other vowels excepting ‘ㅏ’and ‘ㅗ’ in the last syllable in the stem, -었어요 is combined. For example, 먹-다 which means eat, has a ‘ㅓ’vowel in its stem. So the stem part can put together with –었어요. Finally, 먹 and –었어요 become 먹었어요 which means ate.

All verbs ending in하다 become –했어요. For example, 공부하다(study) becomes 공부했어요 (studied). As you seen the title of ‘우리 결혼했어요’, 결혼했어요 comes from the basic form ‘결혼하다 (get married)’. You can use the expression ‘-했어요’ in many ways. It means “I did something”.

저는 한국어 공부했어요. (I studied Korean/ Jeoneun hangugeo gongbuhaetsseoyo)

저는 비빔밥 먹었어요. (I ate 비빔밥/ Jeoneun bibimbop meogeotsseoyo)

저는 영화 보았어요. (I watched a movie/ Jeoneun yeounghwa boatsseoyo).

Question form is simple.

“어제 뭐 했어요?” It means “What did you do yesterday?” 어제[eoje] means “yesterday”.

You can make your own answers. 저는 어제 한국어 공부했어요. Instead of 한국어, you can put anything.

저는 (math) 공부했어요. 저는 (불고기) 먹었어요. In the bracket, you may put anything.

Ok. Just enjoy learning Korean and try to use what you learn. Thank you.

Korean teacher, Sarah Yong.

The South Korean rapper returned to his homeland recently to put on a free concert at Seoul Plaza on Thursday night (04/10/12); an event that was expected to attract about 50,000, but which in the end brought together far more – a massive 80,000.

The huge concert even attracted more than 700 journalists from across the globe as the “Gangnam Style” phenomenon continues to sweep across the globe.

People were reserving their spots at the concert a full 12 hours before the concert was due to begin to ensure they got the best views.

When the concert finally began the giants screens that had been erected on the stage flashed the words: “This performance will be watched worldwide, so let’s show the whole world that Koreans have good manners.”

Seoul’s authorities wanted to put on a warm welcome to their newest global superstar, and it has been reported that the City contributed about $360,000 to the event and even extended public transportation to and from the area until 2 a.m. to ensure everyone who wanted to go could come.

Psy has become a global superstar in the past few months as his hit single “Gangnam Style” has become number one in a series of countries. The popular rapper, who is not new by any means in his homeland, had said that he was dance to “Gangnam Style” topless if he hit number 1 on the prestigious Billboard Hot 100 chart. On Thursday it was announced that it remained at number 2 for the second week running, however, the rapper delighted fans by performing his famous horse dance topless anyway.

Psy told the crowd that he was “the only singer to be called a new artist abroad after being active for 12 years.”

In addition to the 80,000 fans attending the event live, thousands more joined live streams online through Live Seoul, YouTube and YouStream. However, the servers of some crashed under the weight of traffic as more than expected numbers attempted to join the concert online.

Psy told the crowd: “I knew one day someone big would come out of Korea. I just never thought it would be me.”

In Korea, mothers do not need to prepare children’s lunch boxes since every school has its own kitchen to provide students’  fresh and healthy meals to ensure balanced diet (The fees are generally minimum and in Seoul, most of the schools provide free lunch to students.).

In general, Korean school lunches consist of rice, soup, kimchi, protein-focused side dishes that are based on meat, fish or tofu, vegetables or fruit. These foods are minimally processed and normally low fat, as other Korean dishes. Furthermore, the South Korean government is strictly controlling school meals’ (as well as children’s ordinary snacks’) sugar and fat limit, by running several campaigns and educational programs during school lunch times.

These school meals are not only making busy working mums free, but also contributing health education and providing balanced meals to fast growing Korean students.

By the way, don’t forget to say “잘 먹겠습니다 (jal meokket seumnida!)!”, before you eat meals!

Ashley Jang (Korean teacher)