설날 is where it's at. Hey, it wouldn't be KoreanClass101 without a culture class on this holiday. You might be wondering why this new year is not on the same day as our traditional new years party in the West. Because just like all other complicated math concepts in Korea, this holiday is based on the lunar calendar and not the solar calendar. The solar calendar is what we receive in the mail for free from the ASPCA and the like. The lunar calendar is what changes from year to year. Here's a 2009 list of solar and lunar holidays in Korea. So, if it seems like Koreans were late to your New Years party by a few weeks, that's the problem. Plus, solar new year is not as big of a deal in many Asian countries, not just Korea (excluding... Show more

Last week a new artist debuted and since I quite liked the song, I thought I'd share the MV of it with you all. The artist's name is 태군 (Taegoon), and it looks like he's going to be leaning towards the dance/R&B style of pop that's pretty popular right now. This song is called Call Me, and it's not all that amazing, it's pretty standard fare but I quite liked it anyway: The rather emotionless/possibly robot guy with a gun is 김재중 of 동방신기. I found it a rather random appearance! Apparently the two are friends, and 김재중 was helping to pimp his friend's debut out a bit. 태군's dance style actually reminds me quite a bit of 비, even some of the scenes remind me a lot of 비's MVs. Anyone here familiar with 비 and thinks the same? A few of... Show more

Here's a hint - we're in round two of something similar now. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is essentially the world's loan shark working to stabilize international exchange rates and provide temporary financial relief. It actually reminds me of that Korean monthly lottery that some older women play: Everyone donates something like 50$ every month to a pot and a random name is drawn until all names have been drawn. Whoever's name is drawn gets everyone's money for that month. I mean, technically, no one wins or loses anything - the money is just shuffled around indefinitely - but it seems like you win the lottery for that month. The IMF works kind of like this (read: not at all like this) but just make all participants... Show more

소녀시대, or Girls Generation, is a girlgroup that it seems you either love, or hate. They are often compared to the Wonder Girls (another love-or-hate situation, apparently), a comparison that I think is unfair - to both groups. Their music style is vastly different, as is their image. The plans their companies have in store for them is also incredibly different, and while on the surface pop is pop, if you look deeper then you will see that they are in fact being geared towards certain specific goals and niches. JYP has his sights set on America for his 5 member girlgroup, while SM Entertainment is quite content to keep their 9 girls doing their thing at home. One thing both groups do have in common though, is their fair share of fans and... Show more

화투, 고스톱, Go Stop, 花鬪, 花札, Hanafuda, Sakura, Higobana, Koi-Koi Whatever you know it by, this game is not for the weak minded. Think poker with about 20x the rules. This game is known in several different countries by different names but the basic rules of the game are the same. I liken the rules to Monopoly - there's house rules, official rules, regional rules, etc. I usually end up playing 화투 differently each time, it seems. Go-Stop is usually played during 설날 and 추석 but certainly makes it into a regular game night in Korea. There's a certainty that every night of the week someone in Korea/Japan/Hawaii/Your mom's house/etc is playing the game. The history of the game originates in Japan where gambling with traditional four... Show more