KoreanClass101.com Blog

I am not very familiar with the financial side of things at the orphanage.  The are working on a new building, and apparently still fundraising for it.  But periodically lots of other gifts show up.  Occasionally, all of the kids will have new shoes...the same kind.  Right now, there is a stack of roller blades.  One of the first graders showed me his pair (which is really twice the size of this foot) and got very defensive when I asked him if they were really his.  I tried to ask about the size thing, and he started screaming.. "괜찮아!" Most often the donations are food.  One day a box of mini ice-creams from Baskin Robins arrived.  Another time it was Dunkin Donuts.  Occasionally, each kid will get a veritable treasure chest of junk... Show more

Hi everyone. I'm back with another picture of a Korean bar/restaurant but this time I've labeled this post under "Travels in Korea" instead of "Humor in Korean" because it's not so much about 'humor' this time. :D Here's a pic of a small bar that's located between the two subway stations 강남역 and 논현역 in Seoul. If you look at the name of the shop, it's CASTLE PRAHA. And for those who travel to Korea and see this and wonder "Why Prague?" or think "The owner of this bar must like Prague very much", I'd like to introduce to you a nice Korean TV Drama. Here's a link to the MV of the theme song of the drama : And here's the link to the official webpage of the drama : The drama was such a hit in Korea in 2005, and from 2005... Show more

Another "artist review" from me! Thankyou to everyone who left comments on the post about Drunken Tiger, and I hope those of you who hadn't heard any of Drunken Tiger's stuff enjoyed it ^^ This week, I thought that I would do one of my favourite artists. In fact, this is actually my favourite group in the entire world. They are a six member boyband, are fast approaching their 10 year anniversary, and are Korea's longest lasting boyband. They are... 신화 (Shinhwa)! 신화 consists of six members: Eric, Lee Minwoo (이민우), Kim Dongwan (김동완), Shin Hyesung (신혜성), JunJin (전진) and Andy. Apart from Eric, all members have released solo work, and Eric and Dongwan have side careers as actors. Overall, they are incredibly successful as a group as well... Show more

As you know, this past week was New Years. We celebrated fairly simply by having some friends over for dinner. The family is a couple similar to myself and my wife; that is an American husband and a Korean wife. They have one son, six years old. The wife is from 대구 (경상도). Until recently her parents lived with them but they have returned to Korea to live now. When the son speaks Korean, he usually speaks in 경상도 사투리. He learned most of his Korean from his grandparents so his 말투 is very hard to understand. His mom's 사투리 is also difficult to understand even for my wife. Like our children, he seems much more comfortable speaking English. We had 떡국, 불고기, 김치, 빈대떡, 쌈장, 쌈 and rice (of course). The cooking was different from what my wife... Show more

Today I'd like to share something else that sometimes bothers me about the orphanage. Last time, I talked about the sanitation of the home. Thanks for your replies! Living in Korea has certainly taught me to look at things with different eyes. So much of what goes on here is related to culture, and it is easy to draw conclusions about right or wrong. I am trying to figure out how to walk the line. Today's issue though is as much about culture as it is about staffing crunch at the orphanage.  Social services isn't a very glamorous job anywhere in the world, and I'm sure it is hard to find high-quality employees to care for the children at the orphanage.  Ideally there would be 2 adults to watch the 22 elementary boys that I work... Show more