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Goodbye to 2023 and hello to 2024! 2023 was quite eventful for me, I started Koreanling and I’m really so happy and thankful to see how much it has grown in under a year; thank you all for your support! I hope 2023 has been a good year for you and that 2024 can be even better.

In South Korea the focus for the Lunar New Year is family. With everyone gathering together, paying respects to the elders and ancestors, and of course eating good food! For 2024 the Lunar New Year is Feb. 10 but people gather for the day before and after as well to make it a 3 day celebration.

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Now we’re in prime winter time! Cozying up by the fire with hot chocolate, going ice skating, making snowmen, and more. Where I am this winter there’s not as much snow as I’m used to so it doesn’t truly feel like winter yet haha. Anyway, here is some nice Korean winter vocab to get you ready for the season!

겨울: winter
눈: snow
눈송이: snowflake
눈덩이: snowball

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Happy December! December is a big time for holidays and celebrations worldwide and Korea joins in- though the celebration in Korea is a bit different. South Korea also celebrates Christmas but instead of the traditional focus on family, the focus is more on romance similar to Valentines!

Korea already had big family celebrations like Chuseok and the Lunar New Year when Christmas was introduced by the west so it didn’t take off as a family event. While Christmas has a big focus on family, and especially making it magical for children, Koreans made it into a romantic celebration instead. Interestingly though, it is a national holiday; so unlike other couple-focused days, everyone gets the day off from work and school!

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If you’ve been learning about terms for outer space in Korean you might have noticed 성 pop up multiple times, 성 has Sino-Korean origins and uses the hanja 星 which means a star or planet. You’ll especially see it for planets in our solar system which all, excluding earth, end with 성 and have their own meaning for their names!

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Time for some quick grammar! The Korean present participle ‘~질’ can be attached at the end of a word and attaches the meaning of ‘act of using/doing’.

What is a Korean Present Participle?

A present particle is basically a suffix that turns a word into a current action, much like the English suffix ‘~ing’! The specifics in the linguistics can go pretty in-depth and might be a bit confusing but depending on the word and the context it’s in adding ‘~ing’ can change a verb to act like a noun, or adjective, or change the verb tense.

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Knowing some common or interesting Korean idioms is a fun way to take your Korean to the next level! Idioms or 관용구 are phrases that people use to express something more than their literal meaning. You’ll hear and see them everywhere; from TV and movies, music, books, and daily conversation. Some common English ones can be “once in a blue moon (very infrequently)”, “break a leg (good luck)”, and more.

Idioms come from anything; old folklore, traditions, culture, etc. So while being a creative or fun way to express something they can also give you some insight into Korea itself! For example, a lot of idioms have to do with rice because of how important it is to Korea and its history. To see more expressions check out my post about metaphors as well. So let’s get into some common Korean idioms and expressions to use!

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