KoreanClass101.com Blog

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

This has been an interesting week. Last week we sent Michael home. He was ready to go. As soon as he got home he was headed for a week long field trip to 제주도. We Skyped with his mother before he left. She missed him a lot but it looks like she had to wait another week before she got to see him. We, on the otherhand, just sent our oldest daughter to Korea. She will be there for the next seven weeks. She is doing a "service project" for school credit here where she will be volunteer teaching at an elemetary school, helping out with English instruction. Her first day will be tomorrow. She is feeling a bit overwhelmed with the lack of English interaction already. Not understanding anything that is said around you can be headache inducing,... Show more

I've been a bit of a lousy orphanage volunteer these days. I am taking a class 3 nights a week, and buy with some other appointments on 2 days, so I haven't been spending the kind of time I used to at the orphanage. In a way, that's OK since I will be leaving in August, and to kind of gradually make my exit it probably the healthiest and safest thing for those kids. But on the other hand, I've really missed them! During a recent long weekend, I planned to spend the whole day with the orphans. They were going to some nearby beach. However, my friend Josh and I had to leave separately, and subsequently got stuck in a enormous traffic jam. Because of the holidays that week, the roads were absolutely jammed. We left the center of... 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

This picture also happens to have been taken in 신촌, and 신촌 is not only a major entertainment district but also a neighborhood that are surrounded by four universities (연세대학교, 홍익대학교, 이화여자대학교, 서강대학교). And if you go near a univeristy in Korea on a weekend, you can easily see something like this. What do you think it is? Why would somebody do this? Where does it lead to? These *marker* lines are usually used for guiding people from the 지하철역(subway station) or from 캠퍼스 안(inside the school campus) so that they can easily find the right 술집(bar) or 모임 장소(meeting point) for a reunion. :) While it's funny when you think about all the work that has to go into making this long long line (one line is usually 400m ~ 500m long or even... Show more