[Korean Grammar] Grammar Ques. 나, 난, 날?

19 Jul

F E E D B A C K :)

It’s been a really long time since I’ve posted! I’ve returned to post again (finally!) and this time I’ll be posting on basic Korean grammar and the language itself. This post may be a little too hard for those who don’t know how to read Korean, so make sure you know how to read Korean before diving into this post. I hope this post helps some of you out there :) Oh, thank you for all your nice comments!

G R A M M A R   F A Q

Ques. What is the difference between 나 and 난? And also 너, 넌 and 널?

To explain this we have to go right into the basics of Korean. To start off with, Korean is a SOV form language (compared with English, which is SVO form language). SOV basically means subject-object-verb. Here is an example.

ex) 고양이는    생선을    먹는다.
         The cat      a fish        eat    (I added the articles ‘the’ and ‘a’ for convenience)
        Subject      Object    Verb

It may sound weird but that’s the basic grammatical structure of a typical Korean sentence. Now compare it with English…

ex) The cat     eats     a fish.
       Subject    Verb    Object

Now you get it, right? For Korean, the object follows the subject and then the verb. Here are some more  examples.

ex1)       독고진은        구애정을        좋아한다. 
              Dok Go-jin     Koo Ae-jung      Likes
                 Subject            Object               Verb
       Translation: Dok Go-jin likes Koo Ae-jung.

ex2)          박봄은      옥수수를      먹는다.
               Park Bom       Corn             Eats
            Subject          Object         Verb
             Translation: Park Bom eats corn.

Pretty simple, huh? But then you think, how do you know what the subject is and what the object is in a Korean sentenceIf we write ‘the cat’, ‘a fish’ in that order, although it’s unlikely, couldn’t it mean the other way around? To explain this, my next explanation is about particles!

If you noticed in each sentence,  there was a 은/는 at the end of the subject and for the object there was always a 을/를 behind it.

고양이     독고진       박봄

생선     구애정      옥수수

은/는, 을/를 are some examples of particles. There are also some other particles like 이, 가, 도, 만, 까지 etc. In Korean grammar there a lot of particles. But if I were to explain all of them, it’d take more than one post (which would be much too long!) so I’m just going to explain some of the more basic ones briefly. And as you can see in the examples above, particles are always positioned at the end.

Particles 은/는, 이/가 are located at the end of the word that indicates the subject of the sentence. Particles 을/를 are located at the end of the word that indicates the object of the sentence. Simple, isn’t it?

But what is the difference between 은 and 는, 이 and 가, 을 and 를 you ask? It depends on whether the last letter behind the particle has a consonant at the end or not. If there is a consonant present we use 은, 을, 이 but if there isn’t a consonant we use 는, 를 and 가. You’re thinking what does that mean, right? What’s a consonant? It’s actually really simple. Look at the examples below.

1. 은/는  (indicates the subject of a sentence*)
ex1) 고양이는    
The last letter behind the particle ‘는’  is  ‘이’. 이 does not contain a consonant at the end. It contains a vowel “ㅣ” but this isn’t important thing here. The thing is that there isn’t a consonant at the end and that’s all we need to know. Therefore we use 는. If you don’t know what I’m saying look at the next example.

ex2) 독고진
The last letter behind the particle ‘은’  is  ‘진’. 진 contains a consonant “ㄴ” at the end. Therefore we use 은.

Are you getting the hang of it? It’s not as hard as it seems. Just check to see if there is a consonant at the end or not. If there is, use the ones that have ‘ㅇ’ (은, 을, 이)  and if there isn’t, use the ones that don’t have ‘ㅇ’ (는, 를, 가). AND REMEMBER! This applies to the particles 은/는, 이/가, 을/를 not to the whole Korean language. The topic is about choosing the right particle!

But why this difference you ask? It’s because it’s hard to pronounce if it’s the other way around. Either the sound clashes way too much or it sounds way too gappy. So.. 

고양이  (WRONG)  — sound way too gappy   –> 고양이  (RIGHT)

독고진  (WRONG) – clashes way too much  –>  독고진  (RIGHT)

This applies to the other particles 이/가, 을/를 as well.

2. 이/가 (indicates the subject of the sentence)
The last letter behind the particle ‘가’  is  ‘이’. 이 doesn’t have a consonant at the end. Therefore we use, 가.

The last letter behind the particle ‘이’  is  ‘곰’. 곰 has the consonant “ㅁ” at the end. Therefore we use, 이.

3. 을/를 (indicates the object of a sentence)
The last letter behind the particle ‘를’  is  ‘수’. 수 doesn’t have a consonant at the end. Therefore we use, 를.

The last letter behind the particle ‘을’  is  ‘정’. 정 has the consonant “ㅇ” at the end. Therefore we use, 을.     

“ㅇ” is a special consonant in that it likes to take up the sound of the consonant before it. This is is why ‘은, 을, 이’ are used with words that have a consonant before it. “ㅇ” doesn’t clash as much.

* In the case of 은/는 there are some other grammatical usages, which I won’t go in depth in this post. If I ever do go in depth, it’ll be in another post.

If you want to practice, here are a few exercises. Try them out. Answers are at the bottom.

@ Choose the correct particle between 은/는.
a. 영희
b. 소문
c. 생선
d. 컴퓨터
e. 볶음밥
f. 이

@ Choose the correct particle between 이/가.
a. 젤리
b. 식당
c. 초밥
d. 코코아
e. 병원
f. 치즈

@ Choose the correct particle between 을/를.
a. 토끼
b. 사슴
c. 호랑이
d. 곰
e. 개
f. 팽귄

ANSWERS (Highlight to view): 는/은/은/는/은/는//가/이/이/가/이/가//를/을/를/을/를/을

Okay, so back to the topic. We finally answer the question: What is the difference between 나 and 난? And also 너, 넌 and 널?

Because it’s difficult to understand the answer to this question without knowing the stuff I mentioned beforehand, my explanantion got a little long. Please bear with me.

나 VS 난?

나 pronounced na means ‘I’ or ‘me’

.. but what does it mean when we say 난?

난(nan) is simply the shortened form of 나는(naneun). 나는 is 나+는.
나 is I or me and 는 is a particle indicating the subject of the sentence.

나 itself means ‘I’ or ‘me’ but depending on the particle following it, it can either be a subject or an object in a sentence. Say for example,

치즈를 싫어해.    naneun chizeureul shireohae
I don’t like cheese. (“I” here is the subject)

강아지는 나 좋아해.    gangajineun nareul joahe
The puppy likes me. (“me” here is the object)

.. and 나는 and 너를 in these sentences can be shortened to 난 and 날.

 치즈를 싫어해.    naneun chizeureul shireohae

강아지는  좋아해.    gangajineun nareul joahe

It’s just that simple. The same goes for 너, 넌 and 널.

너 pronounced neo means ‘you’

너는 neoneun = 넌  neon           used as a SUBJECT in a sentence
너를 neoreul = 널 neol            used as an OBJECT in a sentence


Not very hard, is it? Well then that’s it for this post!
I’ll be back with another grammar question next time. Hope you enjoyed it! Cheers!

[K-drama] Secret Garden – Kim Soo Han Moo?

16 Mar


Wow, I didn’t expect so many people to see my blog and comment. =D Thank you for all your nice comments<33 I read every single one of them and I’m sorry if I didn’t reply much (I had to be occupied with academics and stuff, but I did read them all =D!). I really appreciated it! Well, school’s started so I don’t know how frequently I’ll be able to update and post, but I’ll try whenever I get the time to. Much luff to you all<33 ^___^

K I M  S O O  H A N  M O O ?

I would like to answer the question that somebody had about the ‘poem’ Hyunbin(Joo Won Kim) of Secret Garden said. Kim Soo Han Moo… etc.

Before I explain further, it’s actually not actually a ‘poem’ like most people had suspected. If I remember correctly, it was a name given to a child in a fable where an old couple didn’t have a child for a long time and finally had their wishes granted. They gave their child that name to ensure that they lived very long. It’s also the lyrics of a song called ‘큐티한걸’ (kyutihangeol — It could either mean “Cute girl” or “Very cute”.. the title looks ambiguous but I think it’s “Very cute”) by Cutie Honey(큐티허니) a female singer. So this is how the name goes..:

김 수한무 거북이와 두루미 삼천갑자 동방삭 치치카포 사리사리센타 워리워리 세뿌리카 무두셀라 수름이 허리케인 담벼락 서생원에 고양이 바둑이는 돌돌이…


Long, huh? Now there’s even a meaning for this name as it consists of many phrases. Here are their meanings…

김 수한무 (Kim Soo Han Moo): As many of you know, many Korean people have Kim for their surnames. Here in Kim Soo Han Moo, the surname is Kim and the name is Soo Han Moo. Soo Han Moo means immortal. In Korean it literally means ‘there is no limit to his/her life span’ (목숨에 한계가 없다 moksume hangyega upda).

거북이와 두루미 (Geo Bukgi Wa Doo Roo Mi): Geo Bukgi, which means turtle and Doo Roo Mi, which means crane are one of the ten things known to have long life spans. We call these ten things with longevity as being part of the 십장생(十長生, ship jang saeng), which literally means “Ten, long, life” in Hanmun — Korean Chinese characters. There are however differences as to how many things there are (some say there are twelve) and what those are.

삼천갑자 동방삭 (Sam Cheon Gab Sa Dong Bang Sark): The name of a person (called Dong Bang Sark) who lived in ancient China in Sam Cheon Gab Sa (三千甲子) for 18000 years. He’s known to be a legendary person who lived a very long life.

치치카포 (Chi Chi Ka Po): The name of a person in Africa who lived very long.

사리사리센타, 워리워리, 세뿌리카 (Sa Ri Sa Ri Sen Ta, Weo Ri Weo Ri, Se BBu Ri Ka): They are all names of legendary people who lived long lives.

무두셀라 (Moo Doo Sel La, Methuselah): A person in the Bible who lived until the age of 969.

구름이 (Goo Roomi): 구름(gooroom) means cloud and it symbolizes longevity. Clouds are one of the 십장생(十長生, ship jang saeng) as mentioned before.

허리케인 (Heo Ri Kae In): 허리케인(Heo Ri Kae In) means hurricane. I think they put hurricanes after clouds to show that hurricanes are much more stronger in a relative sense because they blow away the clouds. I think it’s meant to be some kind of comparison showing how much stronger hurricanes are than clouds.

담벼락 (Dam Byeo Rak): 담벼락(Dam Byeo Rak) means wall. It’s another comparison to the hurricane mentioned before meaning that a wall will not break down when a hurricane comes.

서생원에 (Seo Sang Won eh): 서생원(Seo Sang Won) is a very nice/polite way of saying ‘rat’(쥐, jwee). But in this case, the rat here is humanized(anthropomorphism related stuff)**<READ THE EDIT AT THE BOTTOM>. 서생원(Seo Sang Won) is supposed to be stronger than a wall(담벼락, dam byeo rak) because it can dig a hole in it.  에(eh) means at, on, for etc.. Why it has an ‘at, on, for’ at the end, I do not know.. but maybe it’s because of the next word which is…

고양이 (Go Yang ee): 고양이(Go Yang ee) means cat. Now some of you are getting the picture, right? Cats are another comparison to rats because well, cats are the predators of rats. Hence: CATS >>> RATS. For a rat, there is a cat. I think that’s why the 에(eh) was there. Things don’t look so good for the rat.

바둑이는 (Ba Du Ki Neun): 바둑이(ba du ki) means spotted dog. The 는(neun) at the end means is. The fate of the cat doesn’t look so good either.

돌돌이 (Dol Dol ee): 돌돌이(dol dol ee) is a name for a dog. Cute, huh? So the name of the spotted dog is 돌돌이(dol dol ee).

There you go! If you think about it.. the lyrics and the title of the song don’t really match, and the lyrics seem to go more off topic as the song goes on. But at least this strange song worked for Joo Won ee, right? Next time, I’ll try posting on drama dialougues. For now, thanks for reading! : )


20110319 EDIT: 서생원 is not a rude way but rather a nice way of saying rat. The 생원(saeng won) in 서생원(suh saeng won) means 관료(kwan ryo), which means bureaucrat/government official. If you put 서(seo, 鼠), which means ‘rat’ in Hanmun in front 생원(saeng won), it’s means rat in a polite form. This explains the anthromorphism stuff. You’d only use bureaucrat/government official for only people, but here it’s using it for a rat. However, this word is not commonly used.


13 Jan


1. 최선이야? 확실해? (Chwesuneeya? Hwakshilhae?)
Is this the best you can do? Are you certain?


* 최선 (chwesun)
means the best, one’s best

ex) 최선을 다 하자 chwesuneul da haja

ex2) 최선이야 chwesuneeya

* 확실 (hwakshil)
means 1. certainty, authenticity, 2. reliable, trustworthy
확실하다 (hwakshilhada)
means to be certain, sure, positive, definite

ex) 아직 확실하지 않지만 회의는 다음 주로 미뤄진 것 같아요
ajik hwashilhaji ahnchiman hweuineun daeum jooro mirwejin got gattayo
(Long sentence, huh?)

ex2) 확실해 hwakshilhae
I’m certain.


2. 내가 원래 이런 말 잘 안하는데…
naega wonlae eerun mal jal anhaneundae…
I usually don’t say these kind of things…

* 원래 (wonlae)
means originally, naturally, from the first etc.


ex) 사장님은 원래 신경질이야
sajangnimeun wonlae shinkyungjileeya
Our president is usually hot-tempered. (LOL)

ex2) 회의는 원래 월요일에 하기로 되어 있었는데 미뤄졌어
hweuineun wonlae wolyoile hagiro dweuh isutneundae mirwejeosseo
The meeting was originally on Monday but it got postponed.


ex) 주원이와 라임이의 몸은 원래대로 돌아왔다.
juwoniwa laimieu momeun wonlaedaero dorawatda
Ju Won’s and La Im’s bodies switched back to normal.


ex) 원래부터 터프한 여자였다.
wonlaebuteo teopuhan yeojayeotda.
She was tough from the beginning
(OR she was tough originally from the start
OR she was originally a tough person)



주원이: 길라임은 언제부터 예뻤나? 작년부터?
Joowoni: Gillaimeun unjaebuteo yebeotna? jaknyunbuteo?

And don’t we all love that scene, dawww.
언제 means when and 작년 means last year.

3. 그러니까 내가 안 반해?
geuronika naega ahn banhae?
So isn’t that why I cannot not like (someone)?

* 그러니까 (geuronika)

ex) 그러니까 내가 가지 말랬지
geuronika naega gaji malletji
So isn’t that why I told you not to go?


A: 이번 아이디어는 너무 식상해
eebun aidiuhneun neomu shiksanghe
The ideas this time are all boring.
B: 그러니까 (내 말이..)
geuronika (nae maree)


A: 현빈 너무 멋있다니까!
B: 그러니까 내 말이!

* 반하다 (banhada)







ex) 그 남자 너무 멋있어! 그러니까 내가 안 반해?
geu namja neomu musisseo! geuronika naega ahn banhae?

ex2) 그는 너무 친절해서 반할 뻔 했다.
geuneun neomu chinjeolhaeseo banhal bbun haetda


엄친아, 엄친딸
Umchinah, umchinddal



ex) 채린이 엄친딸이래! 너무 부러워!
Chaerinee uhmchinddaleerae! Neomu bureoweo!


Secret Garden's Best Scene from Ep3

길라임은 언제부터 예뻤나? 작년부터?

Anyways, tune in for next time. Cheers!

[K-drama] Secret garden OST Lyrics : Baek Ji Young – That Woman (백지영 – 그 여자)

15 Dec

I’m currently watching Secret Garden (which is like the best k-drama I think I’ve ever watched in my life! *screams* /fangirlism) 

Here are the lyrics for Baek Ji Young’s ‘That Woman’ and I added a little hangul lesson at the end. If you take the lyrics, credits are appreciated. Enjoy!


Baek Ji Young – That Woman (백지영 - 그 여자)

한 여자가 그대를 사랑합니다
han yeojaga geudaerul saranghamnida
One woman loves you

그 여자는 열심히 사랑합니다
geu yeojaneun yeolshimi saranghamnida
She loves you with all her heart

매일 그림자처럼 그대를 따라다니며
maeil geurimjacheoreum geudaereul ddaradanimyeo
Everyday she follows you like a shadow

그 여자는 웃으며 울고있어요
geu yeojaneun ooseumyeo oolgoisseoyo
She is laughing but crying

얼마나 얼마나 더 너를
uhlmana uhlmana deo nuhreul
How much more How much more

이렇게 바라만 보며 혼자
ireokae baramahn bomyuh honja
Must I gaze at you like this alone

이 바람같은 사랑 이 거지같은 사랑
ee baramgateun sarang ee geojigateun sarang
This meaningless love, this miserable love

계속해야 니가 나를 사랑 하겠니
gyaesokhaeya niga nareul sarang hagaetni
Must I continue for you to love me

조금만 가까이 와 조금만
jogeumman gakkai wa jogeumman
Come closer a little bit more

한발 다가가면 두 발 도망가는
hanbal dagagamyun doo bal domangganeun

널 사랑하는 난 지금도 옆에 있어
nul saranghaneun nahn jigeumdo yeopae isseo
I who loves you, even now I’m at your side

그 여잔 웁니다
geu yeojan oomnida
That woman is crying

그 여자는 성격이 소심합니다
geu yeojaneun sunggyukee soshimhamnida
That woman is very timid

그래서 웃는 법을 배웠답니다
geuraeseo ootneun bubeul baewotdamnida
So she learnt how to laugh

친한 친구에게도 못하는 얘기가 많은
chinhan chingooaegaedo motaneun yaegiga manheun
There are so many things she cannot tell her closest friend

그 여자의 마음은 눈물투성이
geu yeojaae maeumeun nunmultuseongee
That woman’s heart is full of tears

그래서 그 여자는 그댈
geuraeseo geu yeojaneun geudael
So that woman said she

널 사랑 했데요 똑같아서
nul saranghaetdaeyo ddokattaseo
loved you because you were the same

또 하나같은 바보 또 하나같은 바보
ddo hanagateun babo ddo hanagateun babo
Another fool, another fool

한번 나를 안아주고 가면 안되요
hanbun nareul anajoogo gamyun ahndweyo
Won’t you hug me once before you go

난 사랑받고 싶어 그대여
nan sarangbatgo shipeo geudae yo
I want to be loved, my dear

매일 속으로만 가슴 속으로만
maeil sokeuroman gaseum sokeuroman
Everyday in my heart, in my heart

소리를 지르며 그 여자는
sorireul jireumyeo geu yeojaneun
I shout out

오늘도 그 옆에 있데요
oneuldo geu yeoppae eetdaeyo
That woman is beside you even today

그 여자가 나라는 걸 아나요
geu yeojaga naraneum geol anayo
Do you know that woman is me

알면서도 이러는 건 아니죠
arlmyunseodo eereoneun geon anijyo
Don’t tell me you know and are doing this to me

모를꺼야 그댄 바보니까
moreulggeoya geudaen babonikga
But you won’t know because my dear, you’re a fool

얼마나 얼마나 더 너를
uhlmana uhlmana deo nuhreul
How much more How much more

이렇게 바라만 보며 혼자
ireokae baramahn bomyuh honja
Must I gaze at you like this alone

이 바보같은 사랑 이 거지같은 사랑
ee babogateun sarang ee geojigateun sarang
This foolish love, this miserable love

계속해야 니가 나를 사랑 하겠니
gyaesokhaeya niga nareul sarang hagaetni
Must I continue for you to love me

조금만 가까이 와 조금만
jogeumman gakkai wa jogeumman
Come closer a little bit more

한발 다가가면 두 발 도망가는
hanbal dagagamyun doo bal domangganeun

널 사랑하는 난 지금도 옆에 있어
nul saranghaneun nahn jigeumdo yeopae isseo
I who loves you, even now I’m at your side

그 여잔 웁니다
geu yeojan oomnida
That woman is crying


Hangul Lesson

1. 바람 (baram)
I noticed a few people who wrote 이 바람같은 사랑 as this love like the wind. Of course, 바람(pronounced ba-ram) does mean the wind. However, in this song 바람 is used in a different meaning. 바람 here is used as a metaphor. It means that this love is meaningless, pointless, vain.. etc.

To use 바람 meaning wind, you could use it like this:

ex 1) 밖에 바람이 많이 부네요.
(bakge baramee manhee buneyo)
It’s very windy outside
(If I translate it literally it means, the wind is blowing a lot outside)

ex 2) 바람이 너무 차가워서 얼굴이 아프다.
(baramee neomu chagaweoseo ulgulee apuda)
The wind is so cold that my face is stinging.
(It literally means, the wind is so cold that my face hurts! Meaning that the wind is really THAT cold)

바람 also means, ‘wish, aspiration, etc.’

ex 1) 나의 바람은 올 겨울에 남자친구가 생기는 것이다.
(nauei barameun ol kyeouleh namjachinguga saenggineun goshida)
My wish this winter is that I get a boyfriend.

2. 매일 속으로만 가슴 속으로만

매일 속으로만 가슴 속으로만
maeil sokeuroman gaseum sokeuroman
Everyday in my heart, in my heart

Even though the words seems different you might wondered why I’ve written heart twice, right? Well, 속(sok) and 가슴(gaseum) literally mean, ‘inside, inner’ and ‘chest, heart, breasts’ respectively. But since it’s referring to a person’s feelings in a song, it’s literally referring to their heart.

Now, for those who wonder if it’s okay to use the word that also means breasts in a song, then I can assure you that it’s okay. WHY? Because in a song it talks about one’s feelings! and nobody could possibly think that it could mean that, right? Well then here’s a sentence using 가슴(gaseum) as breasts. Hint: guys say this a lot.

와! 저 여자 가슴 진짜 크네!
(wa! jeo yeoja gaseum jinjja keune!)
Wow! Those woman’s breasts are huge!

Now, here you couldn’t possibly think that it means ‘chest’ or ‘heart’, right? The words mean different in each contex, but most of them are obvious as you can see in the example above. So no need to worry, okay?

3. 눈물투성이

그 여자의 마음은 눈물투성이
geu yeojaae maeumeun nunmultuseongee
That woman’s heart is full of tears

눈물-투성이(nunmul-tuseongee, added a hyphen for convenience) means ‘full of tears’. 투성이(tuseongee) means ‘full of’. It can refer to an object or a person. There is a similar expressions like 눈물투성이, which use the word 투성이(tuseongee).

ex 1) 상처투성이 (sangcheotuseongee) meaning ‘full of scars, hurt’. It can refer to real scars and wounds or it can refer to one’s heart. If you want to make it so that it refers one’s heart, you can use it like this.

ex 1-a)
내 마음은 상처투성이야
ne maeumeun sangcheotuseongeeya
My heart is full of hurt

ex 2)
full of mud

ex 2-a) 흙투성이의 신발
heuktuseongee eui shinbal
Muddy shoes
(We’re not talking about your average muddy shoes but REALLY muddy shoes that is completely covered in mud)

ex 3) 주근깨 투성이
jugeunggae tuseongee
full of freckles

ex 3-a) 그녀는 정말 주근깨 투성이야
geu nyeoneun jungmal jugeunggae tuseongeeya
She really has a lot of freckles
(Literally translated it means: She’s is really full of freckles)

Well I hoped you enjoyed today’s post! I’ll be posting more on Secret Garden, which is now my most favorite subject of all time. Tune in for more next time! 바이!

I cannot be bothered 귀찮아 (gwi-chana)

1 Aug

It’s the summer right now and the heat is making a lot of people lazed out in Korea. Though lots of people go to the beach to forget the sizzling weather, some stay at home and relax. In this weather, if there are lots to do, most people won’t be bothered. Instead they’ll say 귀찮아 죽겠어 gwi-chana  juk-gesseo, which literally means ‘I cannot be bothered to death’ or ‘I cannot be bothered, I may die doing it’.

귀찮아 gwi-chana means ‘I cannot be bothered’ in Korean. Someone says it when they cannot be bothered to do something. Usually the task they are supposed to do requires a lot of heave-ho and it’s tiring, so they don’t want to do it.

귀찮은 일 gwi-chanin il is a bothersome task or a task you cannot be bothered doing.

~아 죽겠어 -a juk-gesseo is a very common phrase used in Korea. It basically means I cannot (do/be something) to death or in other words, you could/may die doing or being something.

아파 죽겠어   apa  juk-gesseo I’m so ill/hurt I could die

배고파 죽겠어   be-gopa  juk-gesseo I’m so hungry I could die

짜증나 죽겠어   jja-jeung-na  juk-gesseo I’m so angry I could die

힘들어 죽겠어  heem-deul-eo  juk-gesseo I’m so exhausted I could die

This phrase is a negative one. You’ll never hear anyone say they might die from being too happy or joyful, etc. Though you may be able to use it as a positive phrase, it’d just sound strange. The thing that you could ‘die’ from is shown as a negative thing.

Here’s another one for the weather:

더워 죽겠어   deo-weo  juk-gasseo It’s so hot I could die

‘I could die because I’m etc.’ is seen as a negative phrase. Though some don’t mind, some see it as very negative and pessimistic. Using it too often would probably make you a complainer. All the phrases mentioned above are informal. You wouldn’t want to use these phrases in front of your boss or in formal situtaions. Using it when you’re with friends or family is much safer.

About the title: Kimchi and bab

30 Jul

This is my first post here at Kimchi and Bab (kimchinbab). This blog is about Korea’s language, culture and what not — usually about language and culture. I’ll be blogging on a whole range of topics and forgive my ramblings if I ever do ramble.

First, here is the hangul for kimchi and bab:

김치 kim-chi
밥 bab

Kimchi is a side-dish made of cabbage that is pre-salted and later mixed with chilli powder and fish sauce or salted seafood(젓갈 jut-gal) — hence the smell. Depending on place, person or season, leek(부추 bu-chu), radish (무 moo), oysters (굴 gool), etc can also be put in. Kimchi is known for its spicy taste and after it is made, it is usually fermented (you can eat it straightaway if you want). The taste of kimchi is richer after it is fermented.

Bab is basically rice. White rice is the main source of rice but you can also put mixed grain(잡곡 gab-gok), chestnuts(밤 bam), glutenous rice(찹쌀 chap-ssal) or beans(콩 kong) for a different taste. Mixed grain gives the rice a slight purple color when you’ve made it. Rice is used in all sorts recipes.

So. why is it Kimchi and Bab? Well, in Korea, kimchi and bab is the staple food of Korea. Without it, most people won’t go for long (at least I can’t). A good example of this is overseas students. Though a lot of overseas students say that they won’t miss their mom’s cooking when they go outside Korea, in the end they do. But above all the things they miss, they miss eating kimchi and bab. When they get their taste of kimchi they usually cry tears of joy.

Younger children these days have a tendency not to eat kimchi because it’s too spicy (or for other reasons) or it tastes funny, etc. Most parents encourage their children to eat kimchi because it is known to keep the body healthy. But whenever their moms try to offer some at the dinner table, the younger children’s first instinct is to run away. Some children stubbornly refuse bab and kimchi and eat snacks instead but it usually drives the parents crazy.

Because the taste of kimchi ranges by the person who made it, some people don’t eat kimchi just because it doesn’t taste like the kimchi they are accustomed to. I know some people who don’t eat any other kimchi other than their mom’s kimchi. The taste of kimchi varies by the person who made it. The taste also differs from place to place. There are many different types of kimchi. Another popular kimchi is mul kimchi (물 김치 mul means ‘water’), which is basically a mild tasting kimchi with a refreshing and crisp taste. There is barely any spicy taste. Mul kimchi is popular among children and adults, and it is usually eaten during summer when it is hot.

There are lots of kinds of kimchi but my favorite has to be ‘just kimchi’. Though there are many types of kimchi but the one is that is popular everywhere and even overseas is the hot and spicy one. It has another name, baechu kimchi (배추 김치 baechu means cabbage) to tell it apart from the other types.

When I was younger my mom would try to feed me kimchi. If it was too spicy she’d wash it in water or if it was too big to eat, she’d cut it into strands using her chopsticks. Most moms do the same thing. When I was little I didn’t like how the cabbage tasted in my mouth because it felt stringy and smelt grassy but the habit of refusing kimchi slowly disappeared as I found out how tasty kimchijjigae (basically a kimchi stew) and kimchibokkeumbab(a recipe that deliciously fries rice with kimchi) was. Now I cannot live without kimchi.

I hope that you enjoy your stay at Kimchi and bab. :)



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