Saranghaeyo!

“FILIPINO AS A KOREAN”

When I was a kid, I dream of travelling to other places, since I really love travelling, but what I am unique from other kids who dreams to travel to different country too, is that I only dream to visit and live in Asian countries like Japan,Hong Kong, and my most dream place, Seoul korea instead of European countries.

And because of my love to the country I’d learn to love it’s people too, the Koreans. Cause I really find them cute and because I always get attracted to them,and because I really like guys who’re chinky eyed.so Every time I see Koreans and Chinese people , I fell in love with them . and I really find Koreans as beautiful  people.

And because I love Koreans , I studied their culture and started to practice them in my everyday life. I also searched for some Korean restaurants, and try to taste their foods. And after I’ve finally had the idea on how to cook or prepare their foods, I brought friends with me at home and prepared 2 to three dish to them , and I’m so glad they loved it.so everytime we have a party at home, I really add Korean dish to the menu.

The first dish I learned to prepare is Kimchi-fried rice (kimchi-fermented vegetables,and it’s really spicy) , and a cooked rice, it’s very simple to prepare this dish,(ingredients & procedure).the next dish is kimchi broth, Another Korean dish that is very common to everyone.

So after practicing to cook and how to eat like a Korean, I then wanted to taste Korean’s favorite drink, “SOJU”.

SOJU.(Soju is a distilled beverage native to Korea. Its taste is comparable to vodka, though often slightly sweeter due to sugars added in the manufacturing process, and more commonly consumed neat.

Most brands of soju are made in South Korea. Though it is traditionally made from rice, most modern producers of soju use supplements or even replace rice with other starches, such as potatoes, wheat, barley, sweet potatoes, or tapioca.Soju is clear in colour and typically varies in alcohol content from about 16.7%, to about 45% alcohol by volume (ABV) for traditional Andong soju, with 20% ABV being most common. It is widely consumed, in part, because of its relatively low price in Korea. A typical 300mL bottle of soju costs the consumer 1,000 to 3,000 South Korean Won in South Korea (roughly $1 to $3 United States Dollars). In the USA, it tends to cost substantially more – $5 or more. and in the Philippines in cost for only 100 pesos or more).

So one night , I went again to some famous Korean grills in Bacolod and ordered SOJU.

And it’s fun to experience drinking it with pure Koreans ‘cause I can really feel the thrill of being drunk.

What I like about the drink is it’s incomparable taste, that would really make you’re thirsty throat smokin’!

It’s just so perfect to drink especially if you pair it with lemon,hot kimchi,and a hot Tofu.

And my obsession did not end there, like other foreign language learners, I did also study korea’s national language “Hangul”.(Hangul-is the only language that was  invented).

So I searched for Korean language books, and searched for free online tutorials and made them printed.

It’s just great to have guiding information and useful statements in Korean for making my learning experience easy.

The Korean language is classified as a member of the Ural-Altaic family (other members of this family include the Mongolian, Finnish, and Hungarian languages.) Until the early 1400s, most documents were written in classical Chinese characters (known in Korean as Hanja). As the idiographs are difficult to learn, only the educated people could read and write. King Sejong, the 4th ruler of the Joseon dynasty (1392-1910), set up a special committee of scholars in 1443 to create a new writing system specifically suited to the Korean language. The result was Hangul (meaning 'the one script'). It originally contained 28 symbols, although 4 have dropped out of use. The alphabet has 10 vowels and 14 consonants. The consonants represent the simplified outlines of the parts of the mouth and tongue used to pronounce them. The vowels are associated with elements of the philosophy of the Book of Changes. In 1994, Discovery magazine described Hangul as the most logical language writing system in the world. The simplicity of Hangul led Korea to become one of the most literate countries in the world. U.S. novelist Pearl Buck said that Hangul is the simplest writing system in the world and likenedKing Sejong to Leonardo da Vinci. Even though Hangul is a system of phonetic symbols, it is categorized as new level of feature system, the first and the only in the world. On Oct. 1, 1997, UNESCO designated Hunminjeongeum as world archive property. Koreans commemorate the creation of Hangul each year on October 9.

For months of studying Korean successfully I learned how to write and read words in Korean perfectly. But I still have a little problem in memorizing statements in Korean and in constructing sentences.

However I’m still happy and lucky that I’ve finally had an idea about their language.

And I still continue to study it until I become good.

Everytime I’m at a Korean restos or korean’s condos, and if I see posted papers with Korean words written to it, I immediately look at it and read it,out loud!

And what’s funny about doing this, is when people starts staring at you and thinks as though you’re desperate enough and worst, insane.

And yes you’ll really look like one by doing so, yet still I continue reading it.hell I care about these kind of  people ‘cause What I think is important is I’m still learning and it’s not my fault I know how to read it and they can’t.(laughs)

Though, there are some who have such reactions but there are also people who goes’ proud and surprised that I can read and write korean.

Like one day, in my school. I was with my friends and I saw a Korean character at my classmate’s shirt.

“taekwondo” I read. And everyone turned confused and surprised that I could actually read what’s on his shirt. Some argued that it’s not Korean.”it’s Chinese” they say. And I really tried to correct them and prove them wrong. So I started taking my notes out and showed them the difference and comparison of both languages.

And I made them all believers after  I’ve finally corrected them.

So one by one, they begun asking why do I know things like these and that, and some asks for a favor if I could teach them these things.

So without hesitation I said yes and then shared my notes.

Funny isn’t it?

Now I’m done in learning how to address and greet people in Korean with the bowing gesture, serving friends with Korean’s delicious foods and beverages,.

Next is to another influence of Korean fashion to my clothing.

As we all know, Koreans are really fashionable with unique style in clothing and lifestyle.

Like they could actually wear everything, it may be in formal or casual clothing, in different styles and cuts.

So for me who tries to have the same look as them, I had my hair dyed and bought colorful shirts, fitting shorts, and funny slippers and shoes with vintage designs, a pair of glasses, and an eye definer liner.

And I really did look like a Korean after I wore everything I’ve bought.

I won’t be a certified Korean If I don’t know how to sing a Korean song.

So I, with willingness, started collecting Korean songs, and familiarized popular singers.

And I did like some of the songs and I got to memorize some of these songs.

My friend Bryan, a student and works as an English tutor (he never mentioned once before) who has an idea that I have any knowledge about Koreans jokingly referred me to his boss.

One day, I surprisingly received a call from his boss telling me that I should try applying to her as a tutor.

So I did apply and got the job, I had trainings before I was finally assigned to teach one particular student, and he’s a Vietnamese.

But after months of teaching, I resigned and continued with my studies in College.

With a long time self independently learning I could now feel, just for me, that I’m now a Korean, maybe it’s just not obvious ‘cause I really don’t look like a pure Korean, but at heart I am.

And for my dreams to continue living like a Korean, I update myself of the things I should know by logging in to www.naver.com, and amuse myself while watching Asian Tele-novels in www.mysoju.com.

…my Adventure to the beautiful country of South-Korea still continues.