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Korea lies in the northeastern part of the Asian
continent. It is located between 33
degrees and 43 degrees in Northern Latitude, and 124
degrees and 132 degrees in
Eastern Longitude. China , Russia and Japan are adjacent
to Korea . Local time is nine
hours ahead of GMT.
The Hangang River flows through Seoul, the capital
of Korea, and serves as a lifeline for
the heavily concentrated population in the central
region of modern Korea, just as it did
for the people of the ancient kingdoms that developed
along the river.
Considering its territorial size, Korea has a relatively
large number of rivers and streams.
These waterways played a crucial role in shaping the
lifestyle of Koreans, and in the
nation's industrialization. In the southern part of
the peninsula, the Nakdonggang River
(525 km) and the Hangang River (514 km) are the two
major waterways.
The Hangang River flows through Seoul, the capital
of Korea, and serves as a lifeline for
the heavily concentrated population in the central
region of modern Korea, just as it did
for the people of the ancient kingdoms that developed
along the river.
Although much economic difficulty was endured immediately
after the Korean War
(1950-1953), a distinct “Korean Economic Development
Model” was put into practice
to increase exports and bring about a leap in economic
growth in the 1960s. With
such rapid growth, Korea’s role in the global community
has also become more
significant, holding such international events as
the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, 2000
Asia Europe Summit Meeting, and 2002 FIFA World Cup.
With a concentrated
investment in science and technology, Korea ranks
number one in the world in terms of
the supply of high speed Internet.
Seoul belongs to the Temperate Zone, characterized
by four distinct seasons. Summer
is hot and humid, while winter gets cold and dry.
Spring and fall are excellent seasons
to travel in Korea, being neither too cold nor too
hot. During the month of October
and beginning of November, Seoul is autumnal, boasting
crisp air and clear blue skies,
and the average temperatures range from 14.8°C(58.6°F)
to 21.1°C(70°F). It is the
best time of the year to visit Korea, and the mountains
are covered with colorful
autumnal foliage. It is recommended to bring a sweater
or a jacket. In morning, dawn
breaks at about 6:30 A.M. and dusk is around 5:30
P.M.
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The Korean Language: Hangeul |
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Hangeul was invented in 1443,
during the reign of King Sejong. It is composed
of 10 vowels and 14 consonants. Hangeul has 11
complex vowels,5 glottalized sounds, and 24 basic
Hangeul letters. The chart below representsthe
24 Hangeul letters and their romanized equivalents.
The Hunminjeongeum,a historical document which
provides instructions to educate people using
Hangeul, is registered with UNESCO as World Documentary
Heritage.
UNESCO awards a ‘King Sejong Literacy Prize',
every year in memory of the inventor of
Hangeul. |
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| English
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Korean |
Korean
Pronunciation |
| How are you? |
안녕하세요 ? |
Annyeong-haseyo? |
| Thank you. |
감사합니다. |
Gamsa-hamnida. |
| Yes. |
예. |
Ye. |
| No. |
아니요. |
Aniyo. |
| I am sorry. |
미안합니다니. |
Mian-hamnida. |
| I enjoyed the meal. |
잘먹었습니다. |
Jal meogeot-sseumnida. |
Please give me some
more of this . |
이것 더 주세요. |
Igeot deo juseyo. |
| The check, please. |
계산서 주세요. |
Gyesanseo juseyo. |
Do you take credit
cards?
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카드로 계산할 수 있습니까? |
Kadeuro gyesan halsu
isseumnikka? |
| How much is it? |
얼마입니까? |
Eolma-imnikka? |
It is ________ won.
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
30,000
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_________원 입니다.
오천
만
만오천
이만
삼만
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_________ won imnida.
O-cheon
Man
Man-o-cheon
I-man
Sam-man |
| Where is the rest room?
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화장실 어디입니까까? |
Hwajangsil oedi-imnikka?
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| Goodbye. |
안녕히계세요. |
Annyeonghi gyeseyo. |
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Life Style |
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 Food
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A diverse array of foods
and dishes can be found throughout Korea . Korea
was once
primarily an agricultural nation and Korea have
cultivated rice as their staple food since ancient
times. These days Korean cuisine is characterized
by a wide variety of meat and fish dishes
along with wild greens and vegetables. Various fermented
and preserved food, such as kimchi
(fermented spicy cabbage), jeotgal (matured seafood
with salt) and doenjang (fermented soy
bean paste) are notable for their specific flavor
and high nutritional value. The prominent
feature of a Korean table setting is that all dishes
are served at the same time. Traditionally,
the number of side dishes varied from 3 for the
lower classes to 12 for royal family members.
Table arrangements can vary depending on whether
a noodle dish or meat is served. Formal
rules have developed for table setting, demonstrating
the attention people pay to food and
dining. Compared to neighboring China and Japan
, a spoon is used more often in Korea ,
especially when soups are served.
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Clothing |
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Women's hanbok is comprised of a wrap-around skirt
and a jacket. It is often called
chima-jeogori, ‘chima' being the Korean word for
skirt and ‘jeogori' the word for jacket. Men's
hanbok consists of a short jacket and pants, called
‘baji', that are roomy and bound at the
ankles. Both ensembles may be topped by a long coat
of a similar cut called ‘durumagi'. Hanbok
worn today are patterned after those worn during
the Confucian-oriented Joseon Dynasty
(1392-1910). Yangban, a hereditary aristocratic
class based on scholarship and official position
rather than on wealth, wore brightly colored hanbok
of plain and patterned silk in cold weather
and closely woven ramie cloth or other high-grade,
light weight materials in warm weather.
Commoners, on the other hand, were restricted by
law as well as finances to bleached hemp
and cotton and could only wear white, pale pink,
light green, gray or charcoal colors
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Traditional Korean Residence |
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A traditional Korean house is called ‘Hanok'.
Hanok sought to create a living
space based on the coexistence of nature and humans.
Accordingly, the natural aspects of a traditional
Korean house range from the structure's inner
layout to the building materials which were used.
Another unique feature of traditional houses
is their special design for cooling the interior
in the summer and heating the interior in the
winter. Since Korea has such hot summers and cold
winters, the ‘ondol gudeul', a floor-based
heating system and ‘daecheong', a cool wooden-floor
style hall were devised long ago to help
Koreans survive the frigid winters and to make the
sweltering and humid summers bearable.
These primitive types of heating and air-conditioning
were so effective that they are still in use
in many homes today. |
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