Who is 을지문덕(乙支文德)?

Today on the Korean Lab Web site I read about 乙支文德(을지문덕) 장군, a Koguryo general who supposedly destroyed 1.13 million Chinese troops in battle in 612 A.D. (Sometimes the figure is quoted as 2 million troops.) In the story a reference was made to the 요하江 (Liao He), a river in present-day China where the battle started; then to 압록강, the river on the present-day border between China and Korea where Koguryo troops retreated to; and finally to 淸川江(청천강), a river farther south of 압록강, just north of the city of 안주, where Koguryo troops made their last stand and where the Chinese army was defeated. I was curious to know where 청천강 was, so I searched the Web looking for a good map of Korea's rivers.

I found 청천강, but I did not find a good map of Korea's rivers. I did find a pretty good Map of North Korea, though. I also found a interesting Web site for elementary school students that talks about some of important people in Korean history, including 乙支文德(을지문덕). The name of the site is 역사인물: 초등 사회 학습.

One of the things that trips me up when listening to or reading Korean are references to Korean people and places. When I hear the names of people and places I do not know, I get confused because many times there are no explanations for the names. The commentator or writer just assumes that any Korean with at least an elementary school education knows the person or place and the story behind it. When Koreans hear the name, 을지문덕, they automatically switch their brain to the "history mode" and already have a general idea of the story that will follow. Foreign learners of Korean, on the other hand, may hear the word 을지문덕 and think it is some kind of Korean rice cake. By the time the foreigner figures out that the commentator is talking about history, not food, the program is half over.

I think it is important that non-Koreans learning the Korean language also learn about the important people in Korean history, on a level at least as good as Korean elementary school students. I think it will greatly improve their listening comprehension. Here are some lists to start with:

• List 1
• List 2
• List 3
• List 4

Is your mind (마음) getting enough to eat?

Today I read "책 이야기" in one of the third grade, elementary school textbooks on the Korean Lab Web site. The story itself was nothing special, but some of the expressions in the story reminded me that Koreans and non-Koreans say things differently. I am not talking about the differences in languages, but the differences in the way we express ourselves. For example, here are some expressions from the story that caught my eye:

• 동화책이나 위인전기는 우리들을 즐겁게 해주고 마음을 살찌게 해줍니다.
• 또는 책 속의 主人公과 對話를 나누며 마음껏 상상의 날개를 펴 보기도 합니다.
• 늘 책을 가까이 하고 所重히 하는 습관을 길러야 하겠습니다.

Most of the expressions we learn in elementary school probably stay with us for the rest of our lives. I have a feeling that the three Korean expressions in red type above also stay with Koreans for the rest of their lives, and are probably so woven into their minds and language that they might find it difficult to express the same thoughts in a different way.

Maybe the key to learning to speak Korean as naturally as Koreans do is to follow the same path they use to develop their speaking patterns. Instead of writing special textbooks for non-native Korean language learners, maybe all that is needed is to annotate Korea's elementary school textbooks with grammar and vocabulary notes for non-native Korean speakers. Then when Koreans and non-Koreans speak with each other in Korean, they would literally be on the same page.

Can you solve these math problems?

Math

1. 학생 11명이 군사놀이를 합니다. 4명이 기관단총을 가지고 나머지는 자동보총을 가졌습니다. 자동보총을 가진 학생은 몇명입니까?
   
   Eleven students are playing soldier. Four students have submachine guns, and the rest have automatic rifles. How many students have automatic rifles?
   -
2. 김정일화 화분이 12개 있었습니다. 새로 4개를 더 거져 왔습니다. 모두 몇개 이겠습니까?
   
   There are 12 pots of Kim Jong-il flowers. Four more new ones are brought over. How many will there be?

First Year Korean

• 꼬마땅크 나간다
  우리땅크 나간다
  미국놈 쳐부시며
  꼬마땅크 나간다
  
  The baby tank goes out
  Our tank goes out
  Defeating those American (jerks)
  The baby tank goes out

The Textbook Museum is a fairly interesting site.

What do Koreans associate with spring?

I am now reading the elementary school, third grade textbooks on the Korean Lab site. I still enjoy the stories and poems, but I miss the audio that was in the first and second grade books. I really liked the voice of the woman who was reading them.

In one of the third grade textbooks, there is a cute little story called 즐거운 봄 동산, which talks about the coming of spring and some of the things associated with it. While reading the story, I realized that these kinds of children stories play a big part in shaping the thoughts of adult Koreans. When Korean adults hear the word, 봄 (spring), all kinds of images will probably flash before their eyes. They will probably see skylarks (종달새), heat haze (아지랑이), weeping willows (수양버들), butterflies (나비), azaleas (진달래), forsythias (개나리), and mountain streams (개울).

When Koreans hear 봄, they probably will not only see the above things; they will also see their movements, hear their sounds, and smell them. The skylark will be singing in a "thin voice" (가느다란 목소리), the weeping willow will be dancing "wavily" (너울너울), the heat haze will be dancing "waveringly" (하늘하늘)," the butterfly will be "fluttering" (나풀나풀) around, the pink azalea will be giving off the "fragrance of spring" (봄 냄새), the stream running down from the valley will be singing a "gurgling" (졸졸) song. They probably will also see a sunny "hill" (동산) where all these signs of spring come together. Koreans will probably see, hear, and smell all these things because of stories they remember from elementary school, because of stories like "즐거운 봄 동산."

Koreans have an advantage over you and I (non-Koreans) when they speak in Korean about spring. Of course, they have the advantage of Korean being their mother tongue, but they also have the advantage of having the images and descriptions of a Korean spring in their heads, images and descriptions that were planted there years and years ago in elementary school.

What is a 상현달?

On my way home from school tonight, I looked up and noticed a half moon (반달). The line of the moon was slanting to the right, from bottom to top. Knowing very little about the lunar cycle, I starting wondering if that meant the moon was waxing (달이 차다) toward a full moon (보름달/망월) ○ or waning (달이 이울다) toward a new moon (신월/삭월) ◙. I decided to satisfy my curiosity by checking a lunar calendar when I got home . Well, I am home now, and here is what I have found out.

Today is October 11 by the solar calendar (양력), but it is only September 9 by the lunar calendar. Since there are twenty-nine and a half days in a lunar month, that means it takes about 15 days for a new moon to wax to a full moon, and another 15 days for it to wane from a full moon to another new moon. Since today was the ninth day of this lunar month, that means the moon is waxing toward a full moon. In fact, since today is the ninth day of the lunar month, that means the moon is already more than half way toward a full moon.

Since there is both a waxing phase and a waning phase, that means there are actually two half moons (반달) in a lunar month. The half moon that occurs during the waxing phase is called the "first quarter moon," and the half moon that occurs in the waning phase is called the "last quarter moon." In Korean, the first quarter moon is called 상현달, and the last quarter moon is called 하현달.

Here are the four moon phases in Korean and English

신월(삭월): new moon
상현달: first quarter moon
보름달(망월): full moon
하현달: last quarter moon

All right, but what are 초승달 and 그믐달?

초승달 and 그믐달 are crescent moons. 초승달 is the crescent moon that forms at the beginning of a lunar month, and 그믐달 is the crescent moon that forms at the end of a lunar month. For example, on Day 2 of a lunar month one would see a 초승달, and on Day 28 of a lunar month, one would see a 그믐달. That means that the end of one crescent moon and the beginning of another is only a day or two apart.

Crescent moons bow inward. That means that a moon will remain a 초승달 until it waxes to its first half moon, which I mentioned was 상현달 in Korean, and "first quarter moon" in English. In English, we refer to a 초승달 as a "waxing crescent moon." Likewise, a 그믐달 will begin when the moon wanes past the second half moon mark, which I mentioned was 하현달 in Korean, and "last quarter moon" in English. After it passes that halfway mark, it appears to bow inward again and becomes a "waning crescent." It will remain a 그믐달 until it disappears into a new moon(신월/삭월), which is when the moon is completely dark.

So, if crescent moons bow inward, what do we call moons that bulge outward? In English, we call them "gibbous" moons. The moon between a first quarter moon and a full moon is called a "waxing gibbous moon," and the moon between a full moon and a last quarter moon is called a "waning gibbous moon." So what do Koreans call a waxing gibbous moon and a waning gibbous moon? Well, they call them 상현달 and 하현달, respectively.

Notice that 상현달 and 하현달 each have two meanings. 상현달 means "first quarter moon" and "waxing gibbous moon. 하현달 means "last quarter moon" and "waning gibbous moon." In other words, a 상현달 begins with and includes the first half moon and continues to the full moon, and 하현달 begins with the full moon and lasts until and includes the second half moon. Confusing? Well, maybe this list will help:

new moon: 신월(삭월)
waxing crescent: 초승달
first quarter moon: 상현달
waxing gibbous: 상현달
full moon: 보름달(망월)
waning gibbous: 하현달
last quarter moon: 하현달
waning crescent moon: 그믐달
(next) new moon: 신월(삭월)

Here is an interesting link that shows the phases of the moon and their Korean names:

Phases of the Moon

Who is beyond the mountain?

Here is another poem from the elementary school, second grade textbook on the "Korean Lab" Web site:

山너머엔 ----- 尹 伊 鉉

山너머넨 누가 있길래
붉은 해님
살몃 잡아당기나?

산너머엔 누가 있길래
재잘재잘 참새 떼들
불러다 잠 재우나?

산너머엔 누가 있길래
해 같은 보름달
쏙 밀어 올리나?

Beyond the Mountain ----- Yun I-hyeon

Who is beyond the mountain
tugging stealthily on the crimson sun?

Who is beyond the mountain
calling to bed the chattering flocks of sparrows?

Who is beyond the mountain
pushing up suddenly a moon as full as the sun?

Why do clouds want so much?

Here is a poem from the elementary school, third grade textbook on the "Korean Lab" Web site.

풀씨를 위해 --- 李昌健

봄하늘 구름은
빨리 봄비가 되고 싶다.

땅 속 촉촉히
젖어 들고 싶다.
바위틈 촉촉히
스며들고 싶다.

흙 속에 묻혀서
바위틈에 끼여서
지금 막 눈을 뜰
이름 모르는
풀씨를 위해.

For the Grass Seed ----- by Lee Chang-geon

The cloud in the spring sky
is anxious to become spring rain.

It wants to go into the ground
and make it wet.
It wants to seep into rock cracks
and make them damp.

Buried in the dirt
Squeezed into the cracks of rocks
For the unknown grass seed
Just beginning to sprout.

Why do I like simple poems?

Here is another poem from the elementary school, second grade textbook on the "Korean Lab" Web site.

눈 온 달밤 -------어효선

펑펑 쏟아지던
눈이 그치고

눈위에 보름달이
솟았습니다.

하얀 눈 위에
하얀 달빛.

낮보다도 더 환한
눈 온 달밤.

A Snowy Night ------ by Eoh Hyo-seon

A heavy snow has fallen,
A full moon soars above it.
White moonlight on white snow.
Even brighter than the day
This snowy, moonlit night.

What does 달다 mean?

I am still reading and enjoying the stories in the second grade textbook on the Korean Lab Web site. Even though I have studied Korean for a long time, I am learning many little things about the language from the site. In fact, I am beginning to think that one reason non-Korean adults have such a hard time learning Korean is that they are trying to get into the big words too quickly, skipping over the little words that Korean children start with. Maybe, we could learn Korean much faster if we pretended to be Korean children, imitating their play and their language. Maybe the best Korean language teacher is a Korean child and the best classroom a room full of toys and picture books?

Today, the word 달다 came up in a story entitled, "김장," winter kimchi-making. Here is where it was used:

아빠, 엄마, 이모, 할머니는 그 매운 배추 속박이를 잡수시며, "어! 달다!" 하고 말씀하셨습니다.

Tasting the hot kimchi stuffing for the cabbage, my father, mother, aunt, and grandmother said, "어! 달다!"

What does 달다 mean here? At first, I thought it meant "sweet," which is one meaning of 달다, but why would someone describe spicy kimchi stuffing as "sweet"? I think even the child in the story was confused by the word 달다. Anyway, I looked up the word and found that 달다 can also mean, "tasty," which is what I think they were saying in the story.

By the way, "김장" is one of the stories written by a child.

What does 철요 mean?

철요 means the same as 요철, which means "unevenness" or "irregularities." Why do I mention this? Because I like the Chinese characters for 철요:

-----凸凹

What is like a 박꽃 (gourd flower)?

Today on the Korean Lab site I read some of the stories in the textbook for children in the second grade of elementary school. Specifically, I read stories supposedly written by children, themselves. While reading the stories, I realized I was looking into the mind of a child and, like a gourd flower, suddenly started to smile.

In one story entitled, "내 친구 기형이," I was reminded of the anxiety I used to feel as a child whenever I would go across the street to ask my best friend, Mark Carter, to come out and play. I was always worried that his father would answer the door. He father was not a mean man, but he had a gruff voice and was much stricter than my father. For example, Mark had to always answer his father with "Yes sir" or "No sir." It is funny how we forget most of our childhood anxieties.

Also, here are the thoughts of 김서영, just a little girl who loves her mother:

우리 엄마

곤히 잠드신 엄마 얼굴에 주름살 참 많기도 해라.

공부 잘 할께요. 말씀도 잘 듣고요. 나도 모르게 엄마 손을 꼭 잡았다.

엄마는 박꽃처럼 환하게 웃으시며 나를 꼭 안으셨다.

My Mom

On the face of my tired, sleeping mom, there really are many wrinkles. I promise to study hard, and I will obey you. Before I knew it, I was grasping her hand. Mom smiled at me, as bright as a gourd flower, and hugged me tightly.

How does the vine find the fence?

I am really enjoying the children's poems on the Korean Lab Web site. They are simple and innocent. Here is an example:

호박 덩굴 by 손길봉

호박 덩굴 끝에는
눈이 있지요.
울타리를 보고서
찾아가지요.

호박 덩굴 끝에는
손이 있지요.
울타리를 붙잡고
올라가지요.

Pumpkin Vine by Son Gil-bong

At the end of a pumpkin vine
there is an eye.
It sees the fence
and moves toward it.

At the end of a pumpkin vine
there is a hand.
It grabs the fence
and climbs up it.

Is there a quick, easy way to learn Korean?

In the Korea Times article, "School Offers Quick, Easy Way to Learn Korean," the reporter introduces a new school for non-native Korean language students that uses the total-immersion concept by offering on-campus dormitories and seven hours of instruction a day. The school is located in the facilities of the Academy of Korean Studies in Bundang, just south of Seoul.

The program seems to focus on beginning learners since there are only three 4-week course levels offered. The school claims to be able to teach in only four weeks what is taught in other 10-week programs (probably referring to the Yonsei Korean Language Institute regular program) .

The price seems good since it costs only 1 million won for one month's lodging and 180 hours of instruction. Food is not included.

The program sounds interesting, and if I were just beginning my study of the Korean language, I would probably go for it, especially if I were coming to Korea for the first time and had no place to stay. One thing that may not be attractive to some is that the Academy of Korean Studies is pretty much out in the boonies, at least it was the boonies when I was working there part-time in 1982. As for me, I consider that a good thing since it would help me focus on my studies. After you finish the three levels at the school, then you should have enough Korean to come out and face the real Korea. However, do not be fooled by the title of the article. There is no such thing as a "quick, easy way to learn Korean."

Here is a link to the Web site mentioned in the article:

The Korean Language-Culture School (한국어문화교육원)

Who is 이상?

이상 is one of Korea's most famous authors. I only remember reading two things written by him, 날개 and 황소와 도깨비. I did not care much for "날개," but I liked "황소와 도깨비." Maybe the reason I liked "황소와 도깨비" was that it is a children's story, which is fun and fairly easy to understand. Since 이상 is such a famous author, I may try to read more of his stuff later, when I find the time. As for 금오신화, by 김시습, I may have to wait a few more years before I try to tackle that one.

Update: The links do not seem to be working now. If the links do not work, go to the site's "Title Index" page and choose from the links there. Just look for the titles listed below. Maybe the site is designed to force people to go through its own menu to reach the pages?

Works by 이상

12월 12일, Epigram, 공포의 기록, 권태, 김유정, 날개, 단발, 동해, 병상 이후, 봉별기, 실락원, 실화, 약수, 종생기, 지도의 암실, 지주회시, 지팽이 역사, 환시기, 황소와 도깨비, 휴업과 사정

Work by 심훈

그날이 오면

Work by 나혜석

경희, 규원, 회생한 손녀에게

Work by 김시습

금오신화

What is "Korean Lab"?

"Korean Lab" is a great, great, great Web site that provides Korean Language (국어) textbook content for Korean students in the first grade of elementary school through high school. Of course, non-native Korean language learners can use the site, as well.

I have added Korean Lab to my "Links" section, so just click on the link to go to the site and then choose either 초등학교 (Elementary School), 중학교 (Middle School), or 고등학교 (High School) from the menu. Next, choose the textbook for the Year and Semester you want to begin with. After that, choose the story you want to read. The first and second grade textbooks have audio that reads the stories for you. When you finish a page, click 다음페이지 to move to the "next page" of the story. It is a great resource.

I think I will start with grade one in elementary school and work my way up.

No 몸나다 in my Kor-Kor dictionary?

Today, I came across the expression "뭄둘 바 모르고," which I had never seen before. I suspected it might be a misspelling of "몸둘 바 모르고," so I looked it up in my computer-based dictionary. As I suspected, there was no 뭄두다. Then I looked up 몸두다 and found it in my Korean-English dictionary, but then I noticed that there was no Korean-Korean definition for the word. By the way, 몸둘 바를 모르다 means "do not know what to do with oneself," which seems like a useful expression.

Curious about why 몸두다 would be in my Korean-English dictionary but not my Korean-Korean dictionary, I checked the Yahoo! Online Dictionary to see if was there. It was not in Yahoo!'s Korean-Korean dictionary, either, but was in its Korean-English dictionary. Then I checked to see if 몸나다, which means "gain weight," would show up in my Korean-Korean dictionary. It was not there, either, though it was in my Korean-English dictionary. After that, I decided to see how how many other pure-Korean verbs use 몸, which means "body," to make a new verb. Here is what I found:

몸가지다: 1) become pregnant; 2) have the menses
몸나다: gain weight
몸달다: fidget; fret; be eager or anxious
몸담다: be employed in; work for
몸두다: stay in; find shelter with; stay with
몸바치다: sacrifice one's life
몸받다: work in place of an elder or superior
몸져눕다: take to one's bed; be ill in bed
몸풀다: 1) give birth; 2) relieve one's fatigue
몸하다: have the menses

The words in red have a Korean-Korean definition, but all the others do not. I am not curious enough to search for the conventions used in my dictionary, but I would guess that the words not defined in my Korean-Korean dictionary are still not completely accepted as standardized forms. I think they were included in the Korean-English dictionary for the benefit of foreign learners. The words, of course, are just a combination of a verb and the noun, 몸, which either acts as the subject or object of the verb, depending on the verb. Koreans have probably come to drop the subject or object marker so frequently that the verb and the noun are now pretty much seen as one word. I think some Korean-Korean dictionaries already recognize 몸두다, 몸나다, and the others as new words, and it is probably just a matter of time when all Korean dictionaries will.

Here are the original structures of these one-word 몸-verbs.

몸을 가지다: 1) become pregnant; 2) have the menses
몸이 나다: gain weight
몸이 달다: fidget; fret; be eager or anxious
몸을 담다: be employed in; work for
몸을 두다: stay in; find shelter with; stay with
몸을 바치다: sacrifice one's life
몸을 받다: work in place of an elder or superior
몸이 져눕다: take to one's bed; be ill in bed
몸을 풀다: 1) give birth; 2) relieve one's fatigue
몸을 하다: have the menses

Uterine Cancer Risk Greater for Women than Men?

Tonight (Oct. 5), KBS Newsline did a report on the increasing number of women smokers in Korea. The report said that female smokers faced a higher risk for certain cancers than male smokers. Specifically, the report stated that female smokers faced 2 times the risk for lung cancer and 3 times the risk for breast cancer, uterine cancer, and heart disease.

I was surprised by those numbers because I had expected the risk for breast and uterine cancer to be more than 3 times higher for women than men.

Here is a transcript of the relevant section of the news report:

담배 독성 물질은 남성보다 상대적으로 지방이 많은 여성의 체내에 훨씬도 잘 흡수합니다. 때문에 흡연 여성들의 폐암 발병률은 남성에 비해 2배 이상 높고 유방암, 심장병, 자궁경부암 등에 걸릴 위험도 3배 이상 높습니다.

By the way, there does seem to be more Korean women than men smoking in the stairwells of the college where I teach. This pisses me off because the building is supposed to be a no smoking building. However, the administration does not seem to take it very seriously. Here is a notice I found posted in one of the stairwells:

담배를 피우지 마세요. 혹시 피우면 바닥에 꽁초를 버리지 말고 침을 뱉지 마세요.

Don't smoke, but if you smoke, don't throw your butts on the floor or spit.

Here is the link to the KBS Newsline report. Choose the October 5 program.

Gerry Bevers 

Anyone know the son of Idesia Polycarpa Maxim?

Anyone know the son of Idesia Polycarpa Maxim? He has a straight back, sturdy legs, and is willing to support almost anyone. People affectionately refer to him as the "son of 의(椅)." If anyone sees him, do not hesitate to approach, take a seat, and relax.

Do we really need 長(장) as a radical?

長(장) is a Chinese character that means "long." It is also one of the 214 radicals in a Chinese dictionary (옥편). Radicals are the character headings that are used to sort the thousands of characters in a Chinese dictionary. Characters under a radical heading use that radical character as part of its composite structure, similar to how words that begin with an "a" would be found under the letter "A" in an English dictionary. A radical character also can be used as part of another character without being the radical for that character, similar to how "a" can be used in words that are not listed under the letter "A" in an English dictionary (e.g. "cat"). The interesting thing about the radical 長(장) is that there are no Chinese characters listed under it, at least not in my Chinese dictionary.

Why are there no characters under the radical 長(장)? Why make it a radical if it does not organize anything, except itself? Why not just put it under another radical, such as 衣(의)? Can't it be made to fit? Were there once characters under 長(장) that just disappeared over time? Also, 長(장) seems like a very nice character, so why does it appear in few other characters? I can find only four functional characters that make use of 長(장), and none of them use it as their radical. Here they are:

帳(장) curtain; screen
張(장) stretch; display; sheet
脹(창) to have a full stomach; to be swollen
漲(창) to fill up