The ABCs of Korean Culture

By Natalie Cho, Elliot Arzel, and Ethan Woo

A is for Art
South Korea has a variety of art
and a fraction of it is music. A
genre of Korean music is K-Pop,
which consists of hip hop, rock,
and electronic music with a
similar feel to American songs
but in Korean. Many teenagers
and young adults listen to K-
Pop around Asia and this music
is even starting to target the
American market. A popular
singer, is RAIN, an international
superstar who is a singer,
dancer, and movie actor who
has starred in a number of
movies such as, "Speed Racer",
and "Ninja Assasin".
B is for Buildings
Korea has a rich history of
unique architecture. The most
famous type of Korean
buildings are their Buddhist
temples. These temples are
elegantly painted, made of
wood, are built with no nails,
and have sculptures of
Buddhist symbols that adorn
them. These characteristics
make Korean Buddhist temples
unique. The pictures shows
one of the many Korean
Buddhist temples. (Beopjusa)
C is for Communication
Communication is
typically used in South
Korea through
Westernized methods
such as calling, texting,
and e-mailing. An average
teenager sends 2000 text
messages a month (in
America, a teenager
sends 85 text messages a
month), which is an
extremely popular medium
of communication in South
Korea. (Text)
D is for Dress
Most people in South
Korea garb themselves in
Western-style brands such
as 'Abercrombie and Fitch',
'Forever 21', 'H&M', and
'Nike'. However, on
special occasions, people
wear Korean traditional
outfits known as han-
boks. For men, a han-bok
is a loose fitting tunic with
trousers. For women, a
hanbok consists of a
lengthy yet colorful dress.
(Fashion)
E is for Economy
South Korean economy has
progressed unbelievably rapidly
and has made remarkable
progress in a very short period
of time. The biggest employer in
South Korea is LG, a major
manufacturer of electronic
products and telecommunication
company. The picture shows
one of the many products LG has
made: the Lollipop phone. (LG)
F is for Family
Family is valued very highly in
Korean life. The father
is typically the master of the
family and he is the one who
provides all the necessities of
life for his family. In addition, a
child's number one priority is to
their parents. Due to Confucian
influences, respecting the
elders in the family is valued
very highly. In fact,
disrespecting your elders is
considered one of the worst
acts one can commit. (South
Korea: Language)
G is for Government
The Korean government allows their
citizens certain democratic rights
through a very Western style
government mixed with Chinese
influences. In other words, this
means that people have influence
over the government's actions
through freedom of speech and
press. In addition, the government is
very similar to that of America as they
have a Supreme Court, a president,
and a Legislative branch. The picture
is one of the current South Korean
president, Myunk-Bak Lee. (South
Korea Government)
H is for History
The Korean history is not a very
pleasant one, in fact, it is full of
war. In 1910, Japan seized
control of Korea during the
expansion of Japan. The
Japanese controlled Korea for 35
years, and abused Korean
citizens for their own benefit
through hard labor and harsh
punishments. Afterwards, two
superpowers controlled different
parts of Korea which started the
Korean war and eventually
caused it to separate.
I is for Icon
South Korea, from pop stars
to politicians, has many icons,
but one who would bring an
immediate response would be
Kim Yuna. Kim Yuna started
off as just a girl learning how
to skate but grew up to be a
professional, Olympic figure
skater. When she won a gold
medal at the Vancouver
Winter Olympics in 2010 she
achieved world fame because
South Korea had never gotten
a medal in figure skating,
much less a gold one.
 J is for Jobs
The average person makes a
living in South Korea by
manufacturing automobiles and
ships, doing steelwork, making
consumer electronics, and
helping with
telecommunications. These
occupations make up the
majority of the South Korean
job market. South
Korean factory workers can
assemble a cell phone in a
matter of seconds and one out
of a million of those cell phones
is defective. The picture shows
factory workers hard at work.
(South Korea: Job)
K is for Knowledge
South Koreans value
knowledge and find it of
vital importance and as a
result, about four percent
of South Korea's GDP is
spent on education. Ninety
seven percent of the
population is able to read
and write and the average
South Korean spends a
total of seventeen years in
school. In the picture, you
can see hardworking
students in a classroom.
(CIA)
L is for Language
The Korean language, also known
as Hangul, plays an important
role in Korean people. King
Sejong finally developed Hangul
in the mid 15th century. This
language is spoken in both North
and South Korea, but North
Koreans prefer to call it
Chosongul. Although Hangul is the
main language, there are a few
second languages taught in
schools such as English, Chinese,
and Russian. (South Korea
Language)
M is for Movement and Migration
There are a number of ways to
get around in South
Korea. Driving is a very common
way of getting from one place to
another, although many people
can not afford cars. This is why
public transportation, such as
buses or subways, are very
common since they are cheap,
fast, and experience little to no
city traffic. International
transportation by airplanes are
also fairly popular since there is
a mass of international visitors
and emigrations. (South Korea
Transportation)
N is for National Pride
South Koreans love their country
and as a result, they would stand
up and fight for it. In 1919, the
Koreans grew frustrated with
Japanese rule so they campaigned
to get their freedom back. As a
result, Korean nationalists led an
enormous, peaceful
demonstration which led to the
death of 2,000 people as well as a
jailing of 19,000 others. In this
photo, South Koreans wave their
flags high above, representing
their country. (Ahmad, 381)
O is for Organizations
South Korea has many
organizations but the
most known one is the
Korean military or (ROK).
The ROK is the largest
military branch in South
Korea. Men must
complete 21 months of
military service in a
certain amount of time. It
is a very well equipped
army and it is one of the
best in Asia.
P is for Population
South Korea may not be the
biggest country, but it does
have a enormous population
of 48,754,657 people. South
Korea has one of the top
ethnically and linguistically
homogeneous population
although many people
emigrate to countries such as
China, the United States, and
Japan. Additionally, the
northwest, southeast, and the
plains south of the Seoul-
Incheon area are most
populated. (South Korea)
Q is for Quality of Life
Due to South Korea's
amazing economy, most of
the people are happy and
extremely healthy. Most
people have very
successful jobs, can afford
housing, heat, electricity,
and medical bills. South
Korea has clean water, and
plenty of food to eat due to
trade. Korea is a bustling
city with many public
buses, cars (including
taxis), trains, and planes.
R is for Religion
In South Korea, their Constitution
provides freedom of religion. Foreign
missionaries and religious groups do
not need to be licensed nor do they
need to have a registration
requirement. Furthermore, the
Government does not authorize the
teaching of a certain religion in
public schools, although private
schools are certified to advise
religious activities. About twenty six
percent of South Koreans
are Buddhist, twenty six percent
are Christian, forty six percent are
atheist, and two percent are affiliated
with other religions. (Religion)
S is for Status
Most people in South Korea
consider themselves in the
upper middle class or middle
class. They base their social
class on the level of
education (such as a college
=
graduate) compared to those
with primary education.

STATUS
(Culture) There is a huge
variety of people in South
Korea; some with lots of
money, and some without
any money.
T is for Taboos
In South Korea, manners are
important. For example,
when you enter a house, you
MUST take off your
shoes. To wear your shoes
inside a house is
considered both dirty and
disrespectful. (South Korea:
Culture)
U is for Urban or Rural
South Korea is mostly
made up of cities as more
than 70% was urbanized by
2000. However, South
Korea has a small
percentage of rural area of
twenty three percent by
2000. South Korea has
many cities such as Seoul,
the capital city, Pusan, and
other big cities. The
pictures shows one
example of a huge city in
Korea known as Seoul.
V is for Vacation and Recreation
South Koreans mainly enjoy
soccer and their traditional sport,
tae kwon do, which is a kind of
martial art that developed 2000
years ago and was meant for self
defense and a type of Korean
sparring match known as ssrium,
a very simple and physical
game. An opponent tries to force
the other person to the ground
by grabbing their belt. If a part of
the body above the knee touches
the ground, the other person
wins. (Recreation)
W is for Way of Life
Many rich people in South
Korea hire maids to do the
work of everyday life and to
take care of their children.
The maids wash the clothes,
usually in a washing
machine, and sometimes
cook dinner when the
parents can't come home in
time. However, it's often the
mother who takes care of
the shopping.
X is for X Marks the Spot
The Korean Peninsula is a
very mountainous and
rugged place.
70% of the Korean
Peninsula is covered by
mountains and forests. To
the east, there is the Sea
of Japan, to the south,
there is the Korean Strait,
and to the west, there is
the Yellow Sea. The DMZ
which divides North and
South Korea is along the
38th parallel.
Y is for Yum
Korean people normally eat
rice, a sort of soup, and
kimchee with every
meal. The sorts of soups
either involve a sort of salty
broth with meat and
vegetables or a stew of
beans or another sort of
vegetables. Kimchee is a
pickled cabbage spiced with
garlic, onions, peppers, and
shellfish sauce. The meal
above consists of rice,
kimchee, and a fermented
bean soup. (Woo)
Z is for Ztuff
Chopsticks are traditional
and modern utensils used
mainly by East Asia and
Asian restaurants. They
are used to grab
different kinds of foods
like a fork. They come in
pairs and are small thin
sticks of wood or plastic.
They are held by one
hand in a certain way so
that you can grab the
food easily.
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