I mentioned it in passing in my Summer vocab post but camping in Korea has really picked up in popularity recently. I thought it would be interesting to get into it since camping in Korea is a bit different than in Canada or the USA like I am used to.
Superstitions are a really unique part of a culture. They can be tied to history, folklore, mythology, or just wordplay! If you’re going to/living in Korea or just meeting Korean friends learning about Korean superstitions can help you avoid making awkward mistakes or offending people. Also, it helps you connect with people more and integrate yourself into the community. So here are some popular Korean superstitions from the lucky, unlucky and strange/funny!
Kim is everywhere as a surname in Korea, Koreans named Kim make up millions of the population! It’s almost guaranteed that you have come across this name enough to wonder “Why are so many Koreans named Kim?”.
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 for a 3 day celebration.
You probably already know the 4 seasons but seasons in Korean can go more in-depth than that! Following the Chinese lunar calendar Korea’s traditional calendar has a solar system for seasons too, spaced approx. 15 days apart these dates mark specific points in the seasons.
추석 also known as 한가위, is Koreas autumn harvest festival, similar to thanksgiving or other such celebrations. Its celebrated in both North and South Korea and lands on the 15/8 on the lunar calendar so it changes each year, but for 2023 it lands on September 28 – 30th.
식 is a reoccuring piece in many Korean food words and that’s because it has sino-Korean and hanja origins. 식 comes from 食 which means meal and food. So let’s get into some of the words that it comes up in!
Koreans like using 우리 to show a sense of community, but not always between them and the speaker. In English when you say ‘I went to our house’ it typically means 1 of 2 things; you and the listener live together or the person you live with is with you. Korean includes another option where nobody living with you is there; nobody even needs to live with you!
One thing about Korean many people struggle with is the dynamics between people and speech. For native English speakers; especially if English if your only language, formalities is something that doesn’t exist to a quarter of the extent as in Korean. Korean is a culture based highly around respect and knowing or understanding you position and others.
Now Koreans don’t solely use these terms for people related to them, they are used freely! People call the woman running the restaurant 이모, boys call their older friends 형, etc. These terms are used to show how close and familiar you are with others (and for the ‘aunt’ at your favourite K-BBQ to warm up to her and maybe get extra side dishes haha).