Posts

Showing posts from January, 2024

Museums

-
Image
In keeping with the idea this was a cultural visit rather than a holiday, wet days offered an opportunity to go and see some museums whilst also exploring other neighbourhoods. This post briefly covers museums visited. I don't try and provided huge detail because that's all available on line for those interested. Rather I touch on some small or other notable points that caught my attention for whatever reason. Palaces Museum Having ventured out in spite of what turned out to be 3 days of pretty constant rain, The Palaces Museum, adjacent to Gyeongbokgung, was my first museum stop.  Sadly an entire floor of permanent exhibits was closed. However, amongst other things, I came across an excellent digital immersive rendition of a very famous exploratory narrative from the 16th Century, captured in a folding screen landscape painting of the 19th Century.  Follow the link to look at the picture more closely. Of interest, although I may be making a connection that doesn't exist, ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Music and Culture

-
Image
One particularly pleasurable aspect of my Korean odyssey is having the time to explore more deeply those things which grab my attention; in other words, learning for pleasure. This post touches on three aspects of traditional  Korean   culture that provide examples of what I mean. Gayageum The gayageum is a traditional stringed instrument which is often seen in historical dramas, either played by Kisaeng, ( women from outcast or enslaved families who were trained to  provide artistic entertainment and conversation to men of upper class ( wikipedia) ) or used by travelling entertainers. As with many Asian musical instruments and ensembles, the sounds can sometimes be difficult to appreciate for ears more attuned to western scales. However, one Gayageum player, going by her stage name of Yageum Yageum, is succeeding in keeping the tradition alive with a crossover into pop.  A Korea Times interview provides more insight  whilst this YouTube video, recorded dur...
2 comments
Read more

Language Learning Foothills

-
Image
Why Korean?  I touch on this in my Korean Wave  scrapbook site. I've not been to East Asia, and maybe that's why I've had an enduring interest in the region. Netflix recommendations introduced me to Korean dramas; Covid seemed an opportune catalyst to take on a new challenge; between Chinese, Japanese and Korean, Korean is described as a scientific language and therefore offered potentially better learning prospects; and then Netflix had me hooked.  In the course of trying to learn the language I can see how having an interest in the country and culture is to motivating the learning process. Perhaps the singularly unsuccessful British approach to language learning at school might itself learn from this simple observation. Hangul Image courtesy of KMaru Hangul was created in 1443 CE by the monarch at that time, King  Sejong,  in an attempt to increase  literacy  by serving as a complement (or alternative) to the  logographic   Sino-Korean ...
Post a Comment
Read more

What's next? Checklist?

-
Image
My first blog post was entitled 'How it started'. Why not? That seemed as good a start as any. But what comes next? Indeed, should I have a virtual story board in my mind? Should I have a schedule, with the risk that it then becomes a burden? Should I send a link out to friends and family so at least some people might read it besides myself and to elicit feedback? Or even to better understand how this platform works, looks and feels? Certainly the interface doesn't feel remotely familiar. All good questions, I think, for someone new to this blogging concept. Well, I've got some ideas, first of which is to have at least three posts published before I send out any signposts. So, if you're reading this, there is at least one post either side of this one. And if there's a flurry of comments, that will be interesting. Second, I want to avoid a schedule as far as possible, but circumstances will no doubt influence that as My Korean Odyssey progresses.  Third, I have s...
2 comments
Read more

How it started.

-
Image
May 2021, and Netflix waved a sumptuous looking Korean costume drama in my direction. A few episodes in, out of 51, and I was hooked. Riding my own Korean Wave and making best use of semi retirement / part time working, a few more, in fact more than a few, K dramas followed, to the extent I started an online scrapbook to keep track of what I'd been watching. In early 2022 I decided to start learning the language, setting myself a goal of two years of effort for which I would reward myself with a four week visit to South Korea. That visit is now scheduled for the Spring 2024, and this blog is as close as I'll ever come to keeping some kind of journal, for my own amusement and for that of any others who might be interested. 
Post a Comment
Read more