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Showing posts from January, 2022

Why are there so many homeless people around Seoul Station?

 You may notice quite a few homeless people around Seoul Station. A lot of visitors ask me, “Why are there so many homeless people here?” One of the biggest reasons goes back to 1997, during the Asian Financial Crisis. In Korea, we usually call it the IMF Crisis . A lot of companies went bankrupt, unemployment rose very quickly, and many people suddenly lost their jobs and income. Some people eventually lost their homes as well. And many of them came to Seoul Station . Why here? Because this was one of the main places to find day labor and temporary jobs , and it was also the main railway station if they wanted to go back to their hometowns. But some had no money left and nowhere else to go, so they stayed around the station. That is one reason Seoul Station became one of the main gathering places for homeless people after the 1997 crisis. Then another thing happened. Once many homeless people were here, churches, charities, NGOs, and the government started providing help here. Th...
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Kimjang in Korea.

Kimjang Kimjang means Korean culture of making kimchi in late fall for the winter. It has been listed as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2013. Just before winter Koreans would make large amounts of kimchi and store it underground for fermentation. On kimjang days which is making kimchi, all the neighborhood people come together to prepare an immense amount of kimchi that will last through the winter and share it amongst each other.  Why do we make kimchi a lot?  We make kimchi a lot since enough has to be made for the entire family to eat every meal during the winter. Kimchi enjoyed year-round on Korean tables. In the past, the only side dish people had to eat for 8 to 9 months was kimchi. That's why people used to spend 3-4 months of wages to make that much kimchi.  Nowadays, it's difficult to do kimjang in the city. it's easier and cheaper to just buy kimchi.  How to store the kimchi longer.  In the past, Koreans preserved their kimchi in earthen jars b...
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Problems with Korean age system

  In Korea, Ahead of the presidential election, candidates are making several campaign pledges. Among them, a promise to change the Korean age system into an international standard is attracting people's attention.  The Korean age system is a little bit different from the international age system that calculates how many years and months a person has lived since his or her birthday.  Korea has a unique way of counting babies as being age 1 from birth. That means everyone in Korea already becomes a year old at birth. This is the idea that time in a mother's womb is also considered a part of life.  People already treat their baby in the womb as a human. So Koreans give their baby a name during pregnancy to call the unborn baby before the baby is born. (=Taemyeong) It is also the unique culture of Korea to give an unborn child a name and call that name from the time she is in the womb.  However,  the Korean age system got a problem during the Covid-19 period. ...
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The year of the black tiger / What tigers mean to Koreans.

There have been many ups and downs in 2021. The year 2021 was the year of the white cow which is an animal that symbolizes honesty faithfulness and patience and 2022 in Korea is the year of the black tiger.  Tigers are nowadays the most endangered animals but five Siberian tigers (=Quintuplet tiger cubs) was born at Yong In Zoo (Inside the Everland amusement park). This is a really rare case, tigers usually produce a litter of 2~3 cubs. In celebration of 2022 New year, they were introduced to the public for the first time after their birth and many people visited the zoo to get feel tiger's spirit or energy. Symbol of Korea.  The tiger symbolizes bravery and strength and was considered as a mountain guardian for the Korean people from ancient times. Therefore, people would have paintings or talismans of tigers to defeat misfortune or drive evil spirits away.  The tiger of Korea has long been with Koreans from the very beginning. A tiger also appears in the founding myth o...
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North Korea election system.

Is there an election in Korea?   Yes, North Korea also has elections. In North Korea,  Voting is mandatory for anyone above the age of 17 or over regardless of their gender or occupation. The turnout of the North Korean election is always almost 99.9% and votes were 100% in favor of the ruling party.    North Korea ballot.  Why is turnout 100%?  Here's a funny thing. Each voter has been given a ballot paper with a single name on it which they then place in a ballot box located out in the open. No marking no choice in candidates.  Voters cast their ballots publicly and election wins are always landslides.  While there are private voting booths, few people use them crossing out a candidate's name. A nybody who crossed out a candidate's name and abstaining are both considered acts of treason.   Who will North Koreans vote for?  The election for d eputies to the supreme people's Assembly and  provincial governors, mayors, and other ...
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