Korean translation, 년[neon,nyawn]: year



Korean translation, 년[neon,nyawn]: year




To whoever is looking at this blog, know that while although one of the functions of this blog is to inform others of my time here, I also use this blog as a way to document what I am doing in Korea for myself. I do this so that come a year, two years, ten, twenty from now, I can look back and remember some of the the amazing people I met, the places I went and the meaningful experiences I had.

Why am I in Seoul, anyways?

Why am I in Seoul, anyways? I'm studying language in Seoul for the year through the National Security Language Initiative for Youth operated by the U.S. State Department. While in Seoul, I attend a local Korean high school as a regular Korean student and have intensive language classes three times a week at an international institute in Seoul. My school is a digital media vocational school. Both in school and in many other settings, I am often the only American they have met and almost always the only Jew. As such, I have an important role, not only as an American or a Jew, but as The American and The Jew. Because of this, I have been prone to some alarming, but insightful questions. Like when it was drizzling outside, weather that does not necessarily warrant carrying an umbrella, but being asked by my host brother, "Do all Jews not use umbrellas?" I am constantly being put in new situations. I make mistakes sometimes. Like when I clearly asked for "not spicy," however later realized, tears in my eyes, that the woman's shocked expression when I ordered "meh-un tteokbokki" was not from my Korean ordering skills, but was because I had probably been the first foreigner to specifically ask for the spiciest food on the menu. These year as the non-umbrella-carrying-spicy-food-eating-American-Jew living in Seoul has been exhausting and exhilarating, but a year of experiences I will bring with me for the rest of my life. .

Drawing Connections

Seollal is the Korean Lunar New Year. Wait, the lunar new year? It sounds really familiar. Oh, right--Rosh HaShannah! I began to draw some connections between the two celebrations. On eruv Seollal (the night before Seollal), I bought some round bread and honey, traditionally eaten on the Jewish New Year to symbolize having a 'sweet' new year, to share with my new host family.

Rosh Hashannah
  • September-ish
  • Honoring god 
Seollal
  • Late January/early February 
  • Honoring ancestors

Rosh Hashannah and Seollal

  • Lots and lots and lots of food. 

Some Seollal customs: 
  • Visiting your kohyang, hometown (traffic jams) 
  • Bowing to grandparents, chol
  • Giving gifts to grandparents
  • Dressing in hanbok to honor elders/ancestors
  • Receiving gifts from grandparents
  • Eat tteokkuk, rice cake soup 

But my Seollal education began before Seollal itself. Last week I volunteered at the Mapo Youth Center with elementary school students. It was one of the first times I was able to learn with and from the students at the same time. We both learned how to chol, bow.
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American Soil

A Day at the United States Embassy in Seoul
Some facts:

  • When it was built after the Korean War, it was the tallest building in Korea. As it stands now, it is surrounded by high rises and skyscraper-hotels. A perfect reminder to those working in the Embassy that as the world around us changes, we must change. We must change our actions and our policy as the world's leaders shift seats and new players call for a new set of rules. 
  • The Embassy in Seoul is one of the largest American Embassies around the world. It consists of two grounds- one the embassy and the other an American Cultural Center (where the Thanksgiving dinner took place). 

We met with two foreign service officers: A former journalist and a former NGO worker were Americans who had led a career in journalism and NGOs, respectively, before entering the foreign service. It was interesting to note how complex the embassy was. How each department is in and of itself its own bureaucracy.

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A Private Tour: Suwon

Suwon is located about an hour south of Seoul. The most famous attraction in Suwon is the Suwon Hwaseong, or fortress walls. Originally built in the 18th century, the fortress was destroyed during the Korean War and only restored in the late 1970's. Getting to Suwon is extraordinarily simple because it lies on the main subway line, line 1. 

I look up from the book I was reading (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) and realize I am the only  one left in the entire subway and that the cars were no longer moving. I wait and wait some more. Sure enough about ten minutes later I hear the engines rumble and the train starts to move again. Before it reaches the next station, I see an ahjumma coming towards me. We are alone in the cart. I ask her what happened and she told me the subway had made its last stop and we were all supposed to get off.  We both laughed. There was nothing else to do. So we laughed. 

I get to the station minutes before the tour is scheduled to leave and as such am running through the terminal to find the tourist information desk where I can pick up the tickets. The reservations were made by our kind university student mentors who are helping us conduct research for a winter break project. 

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