SEFOO Monthly May 2014 | Page 5

8

7

9

10

10

BY Li-Hsien Yang

Click the images to view larger

First question to ask

The question that comes right after "What's your name" is "How old are you?" In Korea, age is very important as the language is based on gender and age. You have different word choice when speaking to different people and attach with honorific when necessary. In the picture below, can you tell who should speak honorific to whom?

Korean characters (Hangul)

There are a couple different versions of how Hangul was created. A Korean friend of mine according to his history class, it was created based on the location of pronunciation.

For example, "ㅁ", /m/, was like the two lips was closed. "ㄱ" /g/, sound from the velar.

The national color

In Korea, the most popular color is "WHITE" (it is also considered the national color).You see people wearing white color everywhere on the street! Back in time, around 15th century, the King of Korea did not like people to wear colorful outfits. Plain colors were preferred, especially white. Picutre: Jeju Airline attendants in white uniforms.

Days in Japan & Korea

The spoons

Take a closer look of the spoons in Korea! They are longer than other spoons from other countries that I know! The main reason is that it is considered rude when you hold your rice bowl while eating (the bowl has to be on the table), therefore, you need LONG spoon to assist you with eating.