Etiquette dictates that at dinner parties, a man should always talk to the woman on his left during the first course, and right during the main course.
Carrots used to be purple.
Swedes have a word for a man who visits prostitutes - torsk.
Brain tumours can be diagnosed by a handshake.
Short men are more likely to be jealous.
The most frequently used term of abuse in schools is "gay".
The Olympic torch is designed to withstand winds of up to 65km an hour and stay alight in rain up to 50mm an hour.
About 86% of fathers attend the birth of their children.
The language of space is English.
Sloths aren't lazy.
You can lessen jet lag by not eating.
Syria has the world's largest restaurant, seating 6,014 diners.
Pigs can suffer from mysophobia, a fear of dirt.
Pears sink while apples float.
White Americans are 14% more likely than other ethnic groups to survive cancer.
Faking one's death is known as pseudocide.
Pet dogs can catch human yawns.
A rooftop luggage carrier increases fuel consumption by 20%.
Misheard song lyrics are known as mondegreens.
Twenty-three wedding cakes were made for the nuptials of Charles and Diana.
E-mail addresses beginning with "A", "M" or "S" get more spam than those starting with "Q" or "Z".
Texting impairs drivers more than alcohol.
Kenyan women eat stones.
Henry V invented passports.
Stars make noise.
Police use curry to hasten the re-emergence of swallowed drugs.
from: news.bbc.co.uk
Friday, January 2
Thursday, January 1
Tuesday, December 30
Soju (소주)
I'm sure you've already seen this green bottle in korean drama and movies ;)
Soju is a distilled beverage native to Korea. Most brands of modern soju are made in South Korea. Though traditionally made from rice, most major brands supplement or even replace the rice with other starches such as potato, wheat, barley, sweet potato, or tapioca (called dangmil in Korean). Soju is clear in color and typically varies in alcohol content from about 20% to about 45% alcohol by volume (ABV), with 20% ABV being most common. Its taste is comparable to vodka, though often slightly sweeter because of the sugars added in the manufacturing process.
Etiquette when drinking Soju:
Soju is usually drunk in group gatherings while eating, unmixed and portioned into individual shot glasses. It is against traditional custom in Korea to fill one's own glass. Instead, it must be filled by someone else at the table. This promotes a spirit of thoughtfulness and camaraderie.
In Korean culture, using two hands to offer and accept items is considered an act of respect. Accordingly, if one's glass is going to be filled by a superior, one should hold the glass with both hands. Similarly, when pouring soju for an elder, one holds the bottle with both hands.
To pour a drink, hold the bottle in the right hand with the left hand touching the right forearm or elbow; this peculiar arm position originated from the practice of holding back the sleeve of the hanbok so that it wouldn't touch the table or the food.
Similarly, when receiving a drink, rest the glass in the left palm and hold it with the right hand, perhaps bowing the head slightly to show additional respect. You can also hold the glass using the same hand positions as when pouring. Pouring and receiving with just the right hand by a senior, or between equals, is common in normal situations.
Koreans often say "one shot", a challenge to everyone in the group to down their glass in one gulp.
A glass should not be refilled unless completely empty and should be promptly refilled once empty; it is considered rude to not fill someone else's glass when empty.
Some special rules apply when drinking with someone of much higher status, i.e. greater age or rank. When drinking in front of elders (people older than you), the junior is expected to turn away from the elder first. Drinking the shot while directly facing the elder is considered disrespectful.
On occasions, an elder gives an empty soju shot glass (usually his/hers) to an equal or junior. A junior may also offer an empty glass to a senior after they have established a closer relationship.
Giving the glass implies that the person is going to fill it and wants the receiver to drink it. It is not obligatory to finish the drink immediately, but it is impolite to place the glass on the table without at least pretending to drink from it.
After finishing the entire glass, it should be returned and refilled. It is not necessary to return it immediately, but holding it for a long time is considered rude, as it deprives the giver of his glass.
Among friends of equal social status, it is not necessary to use both hands while pouring or receiving a drink, but may be done out of habit or politeness, or if the situation is considered a particularly formal one.
trivia:Soju was entered into the online Merriam-Webster Dictionary in 2008 and will be included in the printed edition September 1, 2008. Soju is now one of only a handful of Korean words that have entered the English lexicon (others being "kimchi", "taekwondo", and "hangul"). Merriam-Webster dates the word's appearance in the American English lexicon at 1978.
for Soju recipes visit this site
text from: wikipedia.com
Soju is a distilled beverage native to Korea. Most brands of modern soju are made in South Korea. Though traditionally made from rice, most major brands supplement or even replace the rice with other starches such as potato, wheat, barley, sweet potato, or tapioca (called dangmil in Korean). Soju is clear in color and typically varies in alcohol content from about 20% to about 45% alcohol by volume (ABV), with 20% ABV being most common. Its taste is comparable to vodka, though often slightly sweeter because of the sugars added in the manufacturing process.
Etiquette when drinking Soju:
Soju is usually drunk in group gatherings while eating, unmixed and portioned into individual shot glasses. It is against traditional custom in Korea to fill one's own glass. Instead, it must be filled by someone else at the table. This promotes a spirit of thoughtfulness and camaraderie.
In Korean culture, using two hands to offer and accept items is considered an act of respect. Accordingly, if one's glass is going to be filled by a superior, one should hold the glass with both hands. Similarly, when pouring soju for an elder, one holds the bottle with both hands.
To pour a drink, hold the bottle in the right hand with the left hand touching the right forearm or elbow; this peculiar arm position originated from the practice of holding back the sleeve of the hanbok so that it wouldn't touch the table or the food.
Similarly, when receiving a drink, rest the glass in the left palm and hold it with the right hand, perhaps bowing the head slightly to show additional respect. You can also hold the glass using the same hand positions as when pouring. Pouring and receiving with just the right hand by a senior, or between equals, is common in normal situations.
Koreans often say "one shot", a challenge to everyone in the group to down their glass in one gulp.
A glass should not be refilled unless completely empty and should be promptly refilled once empty; it is considered rude to not fill someone else's glass when empty.
Some special rules apply when drinking with someone of much higher status, i.e. greater age or rank. When drinking in front of elders (people older than you), the junior is expected to turn away from the elder first. Drinking the shot while directly facing the elder is considered disrespectful.
On occasions, an elder gives an empty soju shot glass (usually his/hers) to an equal or junior. A junior may also offer an empty glass to a senior after they have established a closer relationship.
Giving the glass implies that the person is going to fill it and wants the receiver to drink it. It is not obligatory to finish the drink immediately, but it is impolite to place the glass on the table without at least pretending to drink from it.
After finishing the entire glass, it should be returned and refilled. It is not necessary to return it immediately, but holding it for a long time is considered rude, as it deprives the giver of his glass.
Among friends of equal social status, it is not necessary to use both hands while pouring or receiving a drink, but may be done out of habit or politeness, or if the situation is considered a particularly formal one.
trivia:Soju was entered into the online Merriam-Webster Dictionary in 2008 and will be included in the printed edition September 1, 2008. Soju is now one of only a handful of Korean words that have entered the English lexicon (others being "kimchi", "taekwondo", and "hangul"). Merriam-Webster dates the word's appearance in the American English lexicon at 1978.
for Soju recipes visit this site
text from: wikipedia.com
sweetest things I find in Kdrama
-he gives her his coat when its cold
-he holds her hand when he knows its freezing
-he carries her on his back when she's drunk
-she gets to sleep on his shoulder
-he gives his hanky when she cries
-he wipes her tears
-he holds her hand when he knows its freezing
-he carries her on his back when she's drunk
-she gets to sleep on his shoulder
-he gives his hanky when she cries
-he wipes her tears
My Tutor Friend Lesson II
Plot summary:
Junko crosses the ocean and goes to Seoul as an exchange student and to look for her love, Woo Sung. She stays at a guest house in Korea, but she doesn't like the left vacant rooms and the land lord decides to give his son's (Jong Man) room for her to rent. Jong Man goes sleep at his room without knowing that Junko was there, they then discovered it when they woke up in the morning. Junko pays for her Korean lessons in advance to Jong Man's father that forces Jong Man to teach her. Junko went to the military training camp where she thought Woo Sung was but she didn't found him and got back home crying. Jong Man comforts Junko and they end up drinking and fall asleep together on a bench. She later then accidentally meets Woo Sung and invites her to go out, at that night, she was invited by Woo Sung to come with him and his friends to a trip but then she rejects to come. Junko has secretly signed for Jong Man in a boxing tournament in school which Jong Man has years ago stopped due to the severe damage he has done to his foe in one of his fights. He gets persuaded by Junko to join the tournament but then he gets beaten up and losses. Junko has to go back to Japan because her father got sick. Jong Man then follows her in Japan and shows up in Christmas eve. He came as an exchange student in Japan :)
*It was really a nice movie! Try watch it! ;)
photo from: kdramadrama.com
Monday, December 29
South Korean Etiquette
There are some quite interesting dining rules that are followed as regards South Korean etiquette. If you'd decide to visit Korea, these would be a great help for sure:
- South Korean etiquette involves some very strict rules regarding who should sit at specific spots at the dinner table and it is best to wait till you are told where to sit. Don't commit a social blunder by making a dash for the empty seat beside the pretty lady.
- According to the Korean etiquette the eldest person at the table eats first. So don't pounce on your food as soon as he/she arrives, however famished you might be.
- Practice saying "no" when dining out in South Korea. This is because South Korean etiquette dictates that the first offer of the second helping should always be refused. (this a bit confusing...... i can't rephrase it...)
- Don't give rise to the frowns and the raised eyebrows by pointing your chopsticks.
- Don't leave your chopsticks sticking out of the rice bowl. This is a definite no-no, as this is funeral ritual.
- However comfortable it may seem, don't use your hands to pick up food.
- Table manners in South Korea say that you don't leave anything on your plate. Indicate that you are full by keeping your chopsticks on the chopstick rest or on the table.
- Etiquette in South Korea says that you pour each other drinks. Understandably so, for Korea is a generous and giving society where the people don't just help themselves.
- If someone senior to you is extending you a drink, you should adhere to South Korean etiquette and accept it with both hands cupped on the glass. More importantly, you are expected to drink with your head turned sideways, away from your senior.
- This is for the juniors. Ensure that you keep the glasses of your seniors always full; a good way of being in their good books.
There are some other do's and don'ts in South Korea that would help you in your dealings, both personal and professional, with the Korean locals. Here:
- Always remove your shoes when entering a South Korean house. There are also some restaurants where you are supposed to enter bare feet.
- Being half-an-hour late is acceptable in South Korea. Now this is probably one thing that is sure to bring on the smiles, especially for those flouting the hands of the watch is a habit.
revised post from: asiarooms.com
- South Korean etiquette involves some very strict rules regarding who should sit at specific spots at the dinner table and it is best to wait till you are told where to sit. Don't commit a social blunder by making a dash for the empty seat beside the pretty lady.
- According to the Korean etiquette the eldest person at the table eats first. So don't pounce on your food as soon as he/she arrives, however famished you might be.
- Practice saying "no" when dining out in South Korea. This is because South Korean etiquette dictates that the first offer of the second helping should always be refused. (this a bit confusing...... i can't rephrase it...)
- Don't give rise to the frowns and the raised eyebrows by pointing your chopsticks.
- Don't leave your chopsticks sticking out of the rice bowl. This is a definite no-no, as this is funeral ritual.
- However comfortable it may seem, don't use your hands to pick up food.
- Table manners in South Korea say that you don't leave anything on your plate. Indicate that you are full by keeping your chopsticks on the chopstick rest or on the table.
- Etiquette in South Korea says that you pour each other drinks. Understandably so, for Korea is a generous and giving society where the people don't just help themselves.
- If someone senior to you is extending you a drink, you should adhere to South Korean etiquette and accept it with both hands cupped on the glass. More importantly, you are expected to drink with your head turned sideways, away from your senior.
- This is for the juniors. Ensure that you keep the glasses of your seniors always full; a good way of being in their good books.
There are some other do's and don'ts in South Korea that would help you in your dealings, both personal and professional, with the Korean locals. Here:
- Always remove your shoes when entering a South Korean house. There are also some restaurants where you are supposed to enter bare feet.
- Being half-an-hour late is acceptable in South Korea. Now this is probably one thing that is sure to bring on the smiles, especially for those flouting the hands of the watch is a habit.
revised post from: asiarooms.com
Sunday, December 28
Samtaeguk - 삼태극
A samtaeguk is a traditional Korean pattern and visual image which represents Korea. This pattern is widely used as decoration on fans, gates of Korean-style homes, artifacts, and folk crafts.
text from: olympic.org
photo from: wikimedia.com
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