Briefly About Hangul

So today's Hangul Day in Korea and many of those who learn Korean language know that Hangul is a Korean writing system (Korean alphabet). Official name of Hangul is Hun-min-jeong-um (means "correct sounds for instruction of people"), and it was invented by King Sejong, who was the fourth king of Joseon Dynasty of Korea.

Hangul as other alphabet consists of consonants and vowels. There are 19 consonants:

 and 21 vowels. Vowels consist of 10 simple ones and 11 more complicated combinations.

Consonants of Hangul were designed based on pictographic principles of 5 basic consonants [k/g], [n], [m], [s], [o]:

It's very easy to read Hangul by combining Cs+Vs in a syllable and sometimes it's short and convenient comparing to other languages, for example:

 

Did you know?
Hunminjeongum manuscript was registered as a 'UNESCO Memory of the World' in 1997 and the 'UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize' was created in 1989.

It's Chuseok

Chuseok (Korean: 추석), originally known as Hangawi (한가위, from archaic Korean for "the ides of August"), is a major harvest festival and a three-day holiday in Korea celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar. As a celebration of the good harvest, Koreans visit their ancestral hometowns and share a feast of Korean traditional food such as songpyeon and rice wines such as sindoju and dongdongju.

Happy Korean Thanksgiving Day to Everybody :)

I am Ready to Face Typhoon Bolaven

I've never seen in my life any natural disaster and I don't want to, but it seems like I don't have a choice. I prepared for the upcoming Typhoon Bolaven, I just did what everyone were told to do in Korean news.

Here is the news in terms of the typhoon so please see the below.

"President Lee Myung-bak called for thorough measures Monday to minimize damage from a powerful typhoon approaching South Korea as concerns grew it will likely be the most devastating storm to hit the country in a decade. Packing gusts of 50 meters per second, Typhoon Bolaven was moving northward from waters off the Japanese island of Okinawa on Monday morning, and South Korea is expected to come under the direct influence of the powerful storm later Monday. "Related agencies should swiftly provide various information to the people and make thorough preparations in advance to minimize damage, especially to ensure there won't be human casualties," Lee said during a meeting with his secretaries, according to spokesman Park Jeong-ha. 

The most fatal typhoon this decade in South Korea was Typhoon Rusa in 2002. After making landfall on the southern part of the country with a maximum wind speed of 33 meters per second, the typhoon caused 246 deaths and 5.1 trillion won (US$4.49 billion) in property damage."

Preventive Measures:
1. After run some water over a newspaper, please papering a window.
2. Please close gas valve.
3. Please prepare some emergeny medicine.
4. Please charge your cellphone battery.
5. Please park your car at basement garage.
6. Please prepare flash light and some food.

My Random Pictures

I React to Gangnam Style

I was so busy doing my work and study, so that I didn't have much time to follow K-pop trends. I noticed that everyone using phrase "Gangnam Style". I was like, what is that? o.O I knew Gangnam as a very prestigious area in Seoul, where "all trendy and rich people live", but what's the Gangnam Style? And then finally I heard the song, which is in my opinion opened a new era of K-pop. At first time when I saw it on youtube my reactions to the video was same as these teens reactions:

I didn't like it and liked it at one time. It's so different from the other K-pop music! It's so random, but it's truly catchy! And the fact that this video went viral on the internet in a few days and many American pop stars "tweeted it" it makes Gangnam Style, so Gangnam style! LOL Enjoy the Gangnam Style!