General Information About Korea
General Information About Korea
Hello Friends!
In this post, I would like to talk about general information about Korea.
Some of you may or may not heard about the country, Korea.
Our blog will cover many interesting contents about Korea,
and here we start with basic information!
Where is Korea?
The Republic of Korea is located in the eastern part of Asia.
Neighboring with China and Japan, Korea peninsula is located between the East Sea in the east and the Yellow Sea in the west.
Language of Korea
Hangeul is composed of 14 consonants and 10 vowels. Five main consonants (ㄱ, ㄴ, ㅅ, ㅁ, ㅇ) imitate the shape of lips and tongue, and three main vowel (•, ㅡ, ㅣ) symbolize the sky, the earth and mankind respectively.
October 9 is designated as Hangeul Day, to memorialize and celebrate the invention of the alphabet. In addition, UNESCO inscribed Hunminjeongeum Haerye; The Hangeul Manuscript, on the Memory of the World Register in 1997.
National Symbols of Korea
National Flag (Taegeukgi)
Taegeukgi is the name of the national flag of Korea.
The flag is composed of white background symbolizing peace and purity, taegeuk mark symbolizing the harmony of yin and yang on the center, and on each corner, four trigrams called ‘geon, gon, gam, and ri’ symbolizing all of the movements of objects and events in the universe.
The taegeuk mark surrounded by four trigrams which characterize continual movement, balance, and harmony.
©독립군가보존회
National Anthem (Aegukga)
Aegukga means the song expressing love towards the country.
Aegukga had undergone several changed until the current form had introduced. Current form was rearranged by Maestro An Eik-tae in 1935 and adopted by the Korean Government as the national anthem.
Korean Holidays
Seollal (Lunar Calendar, January 1)
Seollal, as known as Lunar New Year’s Day, is one of the most important holidays in Korea. During Seollal, people put their best clothes, bows to the elders(saebae), and feast with specially prepared foods(tteokbuk) with their family.
* Saebae: Koreans take bows to the elders on Seollal. Elders, after receiving bows, give words of blessing with New Year’s cash gift.
* Tteokguk: Korean eat tteokguk(rick-cake soup) to celebrate the new year in the morning of Seollal. Koreans say eating tteokguk means adding another year to your life.
Chuseok (Lunar Calender, August 15)
Chuseok, as known as Korean Thanksgiving Day, is one of the important holidays in Korea. During Chuseok, people celebrate another successful harvest year. A family gathered for memorial rituals(Charye), at graves of their ancestor. During Chuseok, Korean make Songpyeon and feast with family.
* Charye: Memorial ritual to pay respect to the ancestor.
* Songpyeon: A half-moon-shaped rice cake made by filling rice dough with a mixture of sesame seeds, chestnuts, beans, and more.
Liberation Day (August 15)
The day commemorates Japan's acceptance of the Allies' terms of surrender in 1945 and the following liberation of Korea.
Independence Movement Day (March 1)
The day commemorates the Declaration of Independence proclaimed on March 1, 1919, while under Japanese colonization.
Memorial Day (June 6)
The day serves to honor the soldiers and civilians who have given their lives for their country. While memorial services are held nationwide, the largest ceremony takes place at the National Cemetery in Seoul.
Hangeul Day (October 9)
Hangeul Day is a commemoration held to remember the creation of Hangeul, the country's native alphabet as proclaimed by the publication of Hunminjeongeum on this day in 1446.
Comment us if you have any questions!
See you soonJ
Reference: Korea Tourism Organization and Naver
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