Shoes off. You could ask an eight-year-old what's the difference between Koreans and Westerners and receive one of two answers: 1) 몰라 2) You have to take your shoes off inside. It's funny to me because this seems so simple. Just take them off. But perhaps there's more to it. Oh there's about a million blogs, polls, forum posts, wikipedia articles, and freshman-level essays on the subject and history of taking shoes off, but what about the dilemma of when to take them off? Is it possible to offend someone by taking your shoes off when it is simply not necessary? Oil and wax papered floors are gone. Steam carpet cleaners are in. Why do we still do it? For that matter, flip flops are also a hot little topic, aren't they?... Show more

Hey everyone! matthew254 here and I've decided to reveal my true identity - my real name is "Matthew". Yes, yes, I know - shocking, right? I'm excited to join the galaxy of stars known as KoreanClass101's blogging team and can't wait to get started. First, a small introduction of sorts. I was born the same year that Star Wars: Return of the Jedi premiered and am originally from a city that neighbors the largest Army base in the world. I am currently a senior at the University of North Texas majoring in English as a Second Language for students Early Childhood through Fourth Grade. I grew up in Killeen, TX which houses over 100,000 people with an estimated 3% of the population being Korean. Doesn't sound like much, but due to Fort Hood,... Show more

Here's another very interesting 간판(store signboard) I found in Seoul, Korea. If you have any interest at all about Japan, you've probably heard of Shinjuku, a major commercial center of Tokyo, Japan. And since Japan and Korea are physically so close, you can say that EVERYBODY in Korea has heard of the name "Shinjuku" or 신주쿠, as it's written in 한글(hangul). But this store cleverly used that fact in making a not-easy-to-forget store name. Before you look at the store name, please look at the pictures below. This is 쭈꾸미(jjukkumi), a kind of octopus, but a smaller kind. 쭈꾸미 is cooked many ways, but mostly with host pepper sauce (고추장) and it's made to be really spicy hot and chewy at the same time. Great taste, and allegedly very... Show more

Hi guys! It's been a looong time since my last post, I know. Really big apologies for that, I won't make any excuses for it but life has really been eating me alive, and I'm having so much trouble balancing everything and finding time for all my obligations and other things. These past two weeks have been especially crazy; I'm still studying so I live with my parents at the moment, and they've just adopted two little girls. So two weeks ago they moved in here, and it's really sucked up a lot of our time and energy getting them settled in and adjusting ourselves to the change. I feel exhausted from it all! But things are settling now, and it's not so crazy anymore, so my fingers are crossed when I say that hopefully I'll be able to resume... Show more

Epik High (or 에픽하이) is a hiphop band made up of three members: Tablo, Mithra Jin, and DJ Tukutz. DJ Tukutz works the turntables, while Tablo and Mithra Jin rap, and all three members have a huge amount of input into the creation and production of their albums, being their own producers as well as composing the music and writing the lyrics. Unlike some other Korean artists that throw random English into their lyrics, the English that Tablo puts into Epik High's lyrics is perfect, and never just simple things or common phrases, but complex thoughts and ideas; Tablo, after all, spent many years in America, and has a Master's degree in English Literature and Creative Writing from Stanford University in California. A mix of pop and... Show more