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CULTURE PASS (2% x 2=4%)

Students are required to submit two reports regarding culture pass. Students can 1) attend two Culture Pass Events or 2) attend one Culture Pass Event and participate in at least two Language Exchange Sessions. Each culture pass report will count for 2% of the final grade. Both culture pass reports are due by the last day of class, December 9th. Students can find Korean culture events in the Boston area on the BU Korean Program's Instagram page (@bukoreanstudies): https://www.instagram.com/bukoreanstudies/

Culture Pass Event Report:

Students attend Culture Pass Events organized by the World Languages and Literatures department or other cultural events approved by the professor. Students will write interesting aspects about the event in English and post a photo they took at the event on Padlet. For each event, students may describe the event, what they have learned from it, and what they thought about it in 15-20 sentences.

Language Exchange Session Report:

Students participate in at least 2 Language Exchange Sessions (50 minutes each) with students at Sogang University or Daegu National University of Education. They will write a report summarizing what they learned throughout the Zoom meeting sessions in 15-20 sentences in English. The students will post a screenshot of the online meeting participants with their names on Padlet to report along with other writings. Each session will consist of 25 minutes in Korean and 25 minutes in English. While speaking Korean, students can practice the expressions and vocabulary words they’ve learned in class. Participation in 2 language exchange sessions will be counted as 1 culture pass report. The report writeup should include the date, duration, and main topic of each session.

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Hangeul Day Celebration Report--Daria Zhang

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Hangeul Day Celebration Report--Daria Zhang

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On October 11th, we held the Hangeul Day Celebration activity in the School of Theology. We had two sections in this activity, which included three interesting presentations.

For me, the most impressive part of the first section is the guest presentation. She introduced the dialect in her hometown, Daegu, to us. I found that it's extremely different from the Korean (which I think is used in Souel) that our class had learned. We played an interesting game: we tried to match the Daegu dialect with the Souel one. I think it was fun because the tone or accent when we spoke the Daegu dialect was distinct, and I learned some words in the Daegu dialect. Other places in Korea such as Busan or Changwon also have their own dialects. Relating to my country, China, people use various dialects in different provinces, too. Although we encourage people to use Mandarin to communicate, those dialects are still worthy of knowing since they have unique characteristics from each other. The interesting fact is that sometimes we cannot understand some dialects, like a foreign language.

In the second section, the professor introduced the history aspect of Hanguel. I knew that the language was changing as society developed. For example, Hanguel abolished some vowels or consonants (such as the triangle-shaped one) and then became what we have learned now. Also, I found how some sutras or ancient records were translated from Chinese to Korean. It made me feel the connection between different languages, in another word, cultures around our world.

To sum up, I got a lot of useful knowledge about Hanguel and Korean culture from this activity. Thank you for the snacks.

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I had such a fun day at the Hangeul Celebration Day culture pass event. I met a lot of my friends there and learned a lot about the national Korean language, Hangeul. There were two sessions for the event. The first was Korean 101, where we learned a lot of beginner, conversational Korean. I found the Daegu dialect the most interesting—it was extremely fun to learn. My favorite word was 뭐꼬, which can be used in various ways depending on the context. We also had a chance to try Korean snacks and drinks. I liked the cake, although I don’t know its name, and the rice drink, but I’m not sure of its name either.

The second session was about the history of Hangeul. The professor introduced us to King Sejong, who created Hangeul, and shared his family history. He also explained the purpose of Hangeul, which was initially used by commoners since they couldn’t read Chinese. However, the push to use more Hangeul started when a war broke out between Korea and China. They needed a way to send messages across the country so that the enemy couldn’t read them even if they were intercepted. Other purposes for Hangeul included religious preaching and education for everyone. The professor also explained that some of the old Korean vowels and consonants were lost because they were used to represent Chinese sounds in Chinese literature, but are no longer needed.

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At the Hangeul Day Celebration, I learned and laughed a lot! There were presentations and short interactive presentations from three professors (and a longer lecture from the last professor). We reviewed some introductory and basic phrases in Korean, including 안녕하세요, 만나서 반가워요, and more. I also learned that 점심 is lunch! I was intrigued by the Satoori dialect and realized that BTS has a song called Satoori Rap which utilizes Satoori! I enjoyed listening to parts of it and hearing the accent. I learned that the dialect is widely accepted as "sounding tough" but this is not truthful- the people are nice. The dialect is found in Jeolla, Gyeongsang, and similar regions of Korea. The professor was very kind and funny, and proved that not all Koreans with a Satoori dialect are scary! We were taught some slang terms utilizing the Satoori dialect, and it was intriguing to guess what each phrase meant. Some options played up the "gangster" vibe which I thought was hilarious. I thought the Reply 1997 reference was cool as well. It was a lot of fun to learn a bit more about Korea and its extensive culture! In addition to all of this learning, we also were able to get some Korean snacks. I took a complimentary Chocopie and it was delicious.

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Pepero Day is celebrated on 11/11! It is a national holiday similar to Valentine’s Day where people give and receive Pepero: a chocolate-covered snack (like Pocky). Though lovers will gift Pepero to each other, the holiday is also celebrated by friends and family. It is to show appreciation and love to the person receiving the Pepero. Pepero is a snack made by the company Lotte. The original flavor of Pepero was milk chocolate, but Pepero has since evolved and created many more varieties like cookies and cream. Interestingly, not all Pepero sticks are covered with the outer coating of chocolate. Some Peperos have chocolate filling instead of the coating! It’s unknown how Pepero Day came about, or why it is specifically on 11/11. The theory is that two girls exchanged Peperos to become tall and skinny like the Pepero. Another theory is that 11/11 looks like a line of Pepero, which is why the holiday falls on that date. During the event, we coated chocolate-filled Pepero sticks in the melted chocolate from a chocolate fountain. Then we decorated the sticks with an assortment of sprinkles and set them out to dry. When they were ready, we placed them in bags and handwrote cards for the people we wanted to gift the Pepero to. The Pepero event was overall a very fun and yummy experience!! It was great to learn about this tradition and to show appreciation for some friends through a snack.

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Book Discussion: Human Acts by Han Kang--Daria Zhang

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Book Discussion: Human Acts by Han Kang--Daria Zhang

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On November 11th, Monday, we had a book discussion activity about Han Kang's book Human Acts. Although I didn't get the access to read the first chapter of this book (I don't know why...there was a problem with my BU library website...), I was still moved by this lecture from our two professors and this book. Professors first focused on some information about this book such as introducing several historical background to us. Then, students felt free to express their thoughts about this book, an efficient discussion. This book is based on the Kwangju uprising movement in 1980--a tragic movement in which students protested against military dictatorship--and talks about violence, resilience, humanity, and so on. The most impressive part was when the professor said that this work was honestly dangerous under a military dictatorship--"Your writing will endanger your life." Then, I felt an admiration rose from my heart, especially that she was a female writer. It was brave to tell the truth as a witness. I connected to the culture in my own country, and there were a number of authors who revealed the darkness and dehumanization of society in a specific time period, such as Lu Xun. I appreciate that we have those kinds of struggling and ambitious people in different countries so that we have the chance to know the history of different cultures. I remember a tiny piece of information that there was a German journalist, Jurgen Hinzpeter, who reported the massacre in Kwangju. The professor said the city was sealed and no information could get out from that place at that time. Truthfully, that made me felt that was why we need Journalism and journalists. I'm appreciated, too. To summarize, I learned a lot about Korean history, literature, and culture from this meaningful activity. Thank you to our professors and the author.

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Hanguel Day Celebration Report -- Miranda Dong

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Hanguel Day Celebration Report -- Miranda Dong

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Attending the Hangeul Celebration Event was such a fun experience for me! We began with Professor Lee reviewing basic phrases with us. Then, we transitioned into learning about Satoori, specifically the Daegu dialect, since that’s where the second professor (also Professor Lee) was raised! From watching dramas and variety shows, I thought Satoori had a more "straightforward and harsh" connotation and found it attractive. It reminds me of the Dongbei accent in China. As a huge BTS fan, seeing their Satoori rap was definitely entertaining. The dialect originates from Jeolla and Gyeongsang.

There were various snacks offered at the event, including ChocoPie, 약과, and barley tea. 약과 is actually one of my favorite snacks!

The second portion of the event was with Professor Wuerthner, who introduced us to the history of Hangeul. King Sejong pioneered the Hangeul system to improve literacy, especially among commoners, and to make writing easier. Hanja, the traditional Chinese writing system, was mainly used by elites at the time. The professor also taught us some old Korean vowels and consonants. As Hangeul progressed into the 20th century, the government heavily promoted it as part of its educational reforms. There was also an increase in the promotion of English translations in media, such as newspapers.

Overall, I found the event very educational and entertaining. I have always wanted to visit Daegu and Busan!

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Breaking Boundaries - Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong

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Breaking Boundaries - Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong

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At the Breaking Boundaries Event, the board members of the Asian Student Union and Untangled introduced Cathy to us and went over the agenda. Cathy introduced herself and began by reading an excerpt from her book Minor Feelings. The book explores the Asian American experience in a Western capitalist society. Specifically, it focuses on the United States. It offers cultural criticism surrounding race and identity.

In one part of the book, Cathy discusses the Japanese internment camps implemented in the U.S. during World War II. She explains how survivors later became allies of other minority groups. After her reading, the session transitioned into an open discussion with Dr. Rivera and Dr. Rani. They touched on topics such as the recent election. They also explored the role of Asian Americans in politics.

An interesting point was raised. Some older generations of Asian Americans harbor prejudice against recent undocumented Asian immigrants. These immigrants are seeking new lives in the U.S. This is both intriguing and surprising. My parents' generation, who also faced hardships, went through similar struggles. Additionally, Dr. Rivera highlighted a major factor in Biden's 2020 election win: the rightful anger from the Black Lives Matter movement.

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Pepero Day, celebrated annually on November 11th in South Korea, is a day to express affection among friends, family, and loved ones. The date, November 11th, resembles four Pepero sticks, thin biscuit snacks coated in chocolate, making it a perfect representation for the occasion. It's similar to Valentine’s Day, but Pepero Day is less formal and widely embraced as a fun and lighthearted celebration of relationships.

Over the years, the trend gained popularity across the country and became a hallmark of Korean popular culture. Beyond exchanging Pepero, people also give handmade treats, write heartfelt messages, and decorate cards, adding a personal and creative touch to their gifts.

At the event, I decorated cards with super cute gem stickers and fun markers. I even saw Michelle there and made her a card! She took my picture! The event was cool because they taught us about the traditions before letting us be creative. It was really fun because they were playing upbeat KPOP music and everyone was enjoying writing cards. Then, we got to coat the Pepero sticks in a giant chocolate fountain which was super cool. We got to put different types of toppings which was interesting since I didn't know that you could put other toppings like sprinkles. I realized that Pepero was very similar to Pocky! Pocky is a Japanese brand of the snack and also comes in so many different flavors like strawberry, matcha, and cookies and cream. It was a lot of fun! I gave my Pepero to my roommate who said she enjoyed it and would give it a 10/10. She also liked the note I wrote her which was super cute.

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Kamayan Cultural Showcase: Stephanie Ahn

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Kamayan Cultural Showcase: Stephanie Ahn

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I LOVED KAMAYAN!!! I'm apart of BUFSA (BU Filipino Cultural Association) and pictured is my roommate who danced in the Kamayan Cultural Showcase!!! Kamayan is an annual event put on by D1 which is an intercollegiate Filipino organization consisted of greater Boston schools such as Boston College, UMass Amherst, Lowell, Boston, Northeastern, Wellesley, and Boston University. The clubs all perform both traditional and modern dances they have been choreographing and working on throughout the semester. They also craft funny and creative videos that are projected to the whole audience. This year, BU hosted Kamayan at the Metcalf Ballroom in the GSU! I was so excited to watch all my friends dance because I know they've been working so hard. My roommate would come home after dance practice but wouldn't show me the dance to keep it a surprise. In the end, everyone did so well! I was very impressed by the dances. I thought that the traditional dances were so cool because they incorporated traditions like tinikling which is folk dance including two bamboo poles laid down on the floor as people dance around them. I got to learn a lot about Filipino culture while also having a great time! I bought my roommate and my big in the club cute little plushies to congratulate them on all their hard work!

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Kai Munoz - Distant Learning: Conceptions of Sound and Language in Japanese Sinitic Poetry

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Kai Munoz - Distant Learning: Conceptions of Sound and Language in Japanese Sinitic Poetry

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I went to a lecture on Japanese Sinitic poetry given by Professor Matthew Fraleigh of Brandeis University. The lecture specifically focused on the oral communication of tones in Sinitic poetry.

As we know, Japanese is not a tonal language, and yet, Japanese poets and the language would borrow from that of the Sinitic languages. Sinitic texts are incredibly important to the Japanese literary tradition. But as Chinese is a tonal language, there was a discrepancy in the orality of the poems. And in delivering these poems to a non-reading audience, Japanese poets struggled to vocalize the impact and importance of the tones within the writing. Hence, the Shiwa was conceived. The Shiwa was the first example of Japanese commercial journalism. Shiwas focused and reflected on the nature of Sinitic poetry and would also discuss the challenges of Japanese-sinitic poetry. One type of Shiwa was a “readable dictionary” that discussed important words and phrases and the significance of such. Professor Fraleigh conjectured that Sinitic poetry is just as important to the Japanese tradition as it is to the Chinese tradition despite it being Sinitic, as the Japanese felt it just as much. He goes on to state how foreign this Sinitic understanding is often debated. And in his belief, the Japanese have overemphasized that it wasn’t foreign to reclaim it as a part of their tradition. He says that while it is integral to Japanese tradition, it belongs and ultimately is another language. He also explored the letters between authors of Shiwas and Japanese-Sinitic poetry. A Japanese-poet had sent a letter to an acclaimed Chinese poet asking for his thoughts on his work, and the Chinese poet rejected it on the basis of the state of diplomatic relations between Japan and China.The group who delivered the poem to this Chinese-poet were paid by the Japanese-poet, and felt a pressure to receive feedback, so they paid Chinese-students to provide this feedback. Ultimately, the Japanese-poet was happy as the feedback was all praise, and did not know that this review of his work was done by a group of students, and not the Chinese-poet. This was only uncovered when the Japanese-poet’s works were later published, along with the feedback of the Chinese-poet, except the Chinese-poet then had to clarify that it was not him who had written the feedback. The Chinese-poet then went to say that he had wanted to review the work, but felt an obligation to his country and decided not to.

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On October 11, BU, along with myself, celebrated Hangeul Day. Hangeul Day is traditionally celebrated on October 9 in South Korea. There were two parts to the Hangeul Day celebration: beginner Korean lessons and the history of Hangeul. I started in the history of Hangeul session because I arrived a little late. The professor dived into the origins of Hangeul, with King Sejong. He spoke about the connection and relationship between the Chinese language and Hangeul. We also discussed how in time, certain Korean characters fell out of use. The obsolescence of certain sounds and characters is an ongoing social phenomenon that can still be seen in South Korea. I personally enjoyed this session more as I love learning about the history of Korea and getting more in touch with my roots. I also think it is a monumental and incredible task that a language can be instituted and proliferated so late into a country’s history – that is the most impressive aspect to me. The second session explored different dialects in South Korea. We learned about the Satoori dialect which holds a tougher sound. We also learned about the Daegu dialect which can be heard in Busan and Ulsan. We learned about some of the colloquial terms and slang in the dialects and how to use them in conversation. Overall I had a lot of fun learning more about Korean culture at Hangeul Day and enjoyed the Korean treats that were on the table as well.

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At the Pepero event, not only did we have a fantastic time with the activities there, but we also learned a lot about the culture surrounding the national holiday! Firstly, Pepero is a. thin, long chcolate coated stick, from the brand from the company Lotte, and has many different flavors. This holiday is also very similar to Valentines day, with the aspect of exchanging tokens of affection. The key difference is that Pepero day is a lot more relaxed, and also a day to exchange those tokens of love with friends and family! Although the origins are of the celebration are not 100% clear, there are a couple theories. Some believe that it came about when two girls exchanged Pepero on that date, they became tall and skinny. This is since Pepero is a chocolate covered snack with a thin and long shape. Others believe that the the date itself (11/11) may be correlated to the holiday, since 11/11 looks like a bunch of Pepero!. However, one thing is very clear. On this day, people take the time to show their love and care for the people around them, especially their family and friends. Of course, they typically exchange Pocky or Pepero of some sort, but they also share heartfelt messages and cards. At this event, although I didn't make Pepero, my friend and I did make a lot of cards for friends and our boyfriends! It was so much fun writing short and cute messages or drawings in the tiny cards. The colorful markers and stickers were just such an adorable touch! I personally didn't use the glitter, and a couple other decoration options, but I saw some other cards that the people around me made, and it was so much fun seeing their cards. I write cards a lot, but when I do I usually write a lot, and the small cards made me realize that short and sweet messages can be just as nice as the long ones! This was a super fun and lighthearted event, and I hope I can participate again next year as well!

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On this evening, I went with Kaitlin and we watched the movie Moss (이끼). The movie was made in 2012, and was about two and a half hours long. The two main characters are Cheon (a corrupt former detective), and Ryoo (the son of the now passed preacher). The story starts with Cheon, who is a detective trying to get a fake confession out of the preacher, through violence to boost his reputation with another closed case. However, the preacher not only does not cave and confess, but he also transforms the prisoners sent by Cheon to torture him into confession. Eventually, Cheon releases him and becomes good friends. Around this time, the preacher requests that Cheon look into a young girl named Lee, and when he does he finds that she had been raped by three men. With this knowledge, he makes sure that Lee sees that Cheon got revenge for her, by beating them all up. After this point, time skips down the line quite a bit and Ryoo (who is no longer in contact with his father) is called to the village that his father and Cheon started together. When he arrives from Seoul, it is clear to him that Cheon is the ringleader. At this point in time, Cheon is married to Lee, and has three henchmen. Ryoo suspects that there has been foul play involved in his father's death, and doesn't head back to Seoul right away which makes all the townspeople uncomfortable. As he investigates, he finds signs that Cheon may have killed his father (suspicious real estate papers). One of Cheons henchmen then try to kill Ryoo, but a fight ensues and the henchman is killed, but not before setting another henchman's house on fire. Ryoo is then rescued by Lee, but the second henchman still ends up dead. Eventually Ryoo finds evidence against Cheon for exploiting the townspeople, and the third henchman agrees to testify against Cheon, but upon hearing this, Cheon has the third henchman killed. Fortunately, Lee comes forward and agrees to testify against Cheon for killing Ryoo's father, but sadly it is because she had been raped by his three henchmen when she disagreed with Cheon's idea. The police then arrive to the town, and Cheon is confronted in the house by Ryoo, Lee, and a prosecutor. They argue over a different massacre, and whether or not it was Cheon or Ryoo's father that had a hand in it. During this, Cheon's son attempts to discard the evidence, and ends up accidentally killing himself. As the police try to arrest Cheon, he hills himself with a gun. A year later Ryoo revisits the town to see his fathers grave, and it is apparent that Lee is now the leader. He remembers that the clues he had found, were too conveniently placed, and realizes that Lee had been the real murderer, who used Ryoo to bring down Cheon so she could escape him. The movie was really long, but definetly entertaining once the plot began to pick up.

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Language Exchange Session 1- Kaitlin Cha 

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Language Exchange Session 1- Kaitlin Cha 

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On November 12th, I had my first language exchange zoom call. It was with two other people, Lena ( BU) and Yoojin (Sogang). Throughout the call, we switched between English and Korean. During this session, we did basic introductions like where we are from and what grade we're in. Yoojin is from a town a bit outside of Seoul and Lena is initially from Vietnam, but went to high school in Philadelphia. I found out that the K-Drama "Love Next Door" was filmed near Yoojin's house and she was able to see actor Jung Hae In. This was an interesting fact for me to hear because I was actually watching that show around the time of the zoom call! This brought us to the next topic of K-Dramas. We were talking about Squid Game season 2 and found out that Yoojin never watched Squid Game. Lena and I found this really surprising since the show had gained so much recognition globally. After our Squid Game discussion, we discussed what childhood shows we watched, and turns out we all used to watch Hannah Montana! We then shared our MBTI's and found out that only one of our letters were different which showed that all three of us had similar personalities! We also gave each other song recommendations. I recommended Call Your Mom by Noah Kahan, Yoojin recommended Igloo by Kiss of Life, and Lena recommended a rap song (I forgot the name). Before ending the call, we said we would start the next call off with reviewing the song recommendations.

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Language Exchange Session 2- Kaitlin Cha 

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Language Exchange Session 2- Kaitlin Cha 

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On November 22nd, I had my second zoom call with Yoojin and Lena. During our first meeting, we said we would give reviews of our song recommendations, but we actually forgot to do that. In the beginning we compared student life in American universities vs. Korean universities. I think one of the key differences we pointed out was party life. Here at BU, and most American universities, we have frat parties. In Korea, there are no frats or sororities, so they don't have much of a party culture. Yoojin was curious about dating culture in the US, so that brought us to our next topic. Going on blind dates is very popular in Korea, so Yoojin was wondering if it's also popular in the US. Both Lena and I agreed that it's definitely not as common here. Turns out Yoojin was actually going on a blind date later that night! She said her friend introduced them since they were both business majors. I hope it went well! We asked Yoojin if she's ever been to the US, and she said she's only been to Seattle and California. We then told her she should visit Boston! Though the zoom call was only supposed to be 50 minutes each, we were so busy yapping that the call went on for an extra 45 minutes!

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On November 12th, Hannah and I went to the Moss movie screening held by the Korean Literature Film Club. This movie revolves around Ryu Hae Kook who goes to his father's village after learning of his death. It's important to note that his father was a religious figure and had a lot of impact on people he met. Upon arriving at the village for his father's funeral, Ryu notices all the townspeople are acting suspicious. He suspects that his father was murdered by corrupt police officer Cheon Yong Deok, but once he started investigating, multiple of Cheon's men attempt to kill Ryu. However, Ryu ends up killing them while defending himself. Lee, a girl who got raped by Cheon's men, helped save Ryu by one of the men as well. It turns our that Cheon has been selling the townspeople land without their consent, and would kill anyone who didn't cooperate. One of Cheon's henchmen agreed to testify on his corruption, but Cheon found out about this and had him killed. Ryu finds out that his father had also found out about Cheon's corruption and tried murdering him in his sleep, but failed. The town gets raided by the police and people are questioning who is really in charge of all the corruption. In an attempt to get rid of the evidence, Cheon's son ends up killing himself while trying to burn all the evidence. The police try to arrest Cheon, but he ends up shooting himself in the head, thus closing the case and the death of Ryu's father goes unsolved. One year later, Ryu visits the village again and finds out that Lee was actually the one who killed his father because she wanted him to come to the village and investigate Cheon's case.

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Human Acts Book Discussion-- Matthew Lashley 

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Human Acts Book Discussion-- Matthew Lashley 

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On November 11, I went to the Human Acts book discussion with Prof. Yoon Sun Yang and Prof. Dennis Wuerther. Human Acts written by Korean author Han Kang, which also won the Novel Prize in Literature this year, is a fictional novel that is based on the historical event of the Kwangju Massacre. The event marked by the May 18th, 1980 Kwangju Riot, was against the Korean dictatorship in place at the time. This led to Korean military prosecution and killing of supposed communist or communist sympathizers. The novel’s first chapter follows a boy named Dong-ho who works to clean and prepare bodies of soldiers while he also looks for his friend who died in the midst of the protests. While the talk focused on such a serious and saddening part of Korean history, I found the talk so interesting and insightful on something I had never heard of before. Both BU specialists were really insightful in the background information they provided about the massacre and the history that pre-dated it as well. Prof. Wuerther was even able to show a German news broadcast from the time that, while a little graphic, really set the history into context and was able to put it into reality. I also love taking notes so being able to just listen to the talk and the questions after was really insightful in understanding how the history intertwined with the novel as someone who’s never heard or studied it. Personally I had never really sat in on a book discussion like this one, especially on university level, so as a first experience, so while I didn’t personally ask any questions  I mostly wrote notes and listened in on the conversation. There was a large section of the discussion that focused on Han Kang’s work and how her literature engages with history to tackle historical traumas,  her writing tries to bring a sense of remembrance to these topics. While the talk only focused on the first 2 chapters from the talk we got a sense of the overall themes of the book. Structurally it follows the narratives of different characters during the massacre. Written in the second person, the novel makes us as much someone having these experiences as the characters for the chapters, and really adds a feeling of being uncomfortable which Kang wants us to deal with while understanding the history. Looking at both the history and novel, while the subject matter is somewhat dark, understanding the history and background for both the novel and its author really helped feel the weight and importance of it. I really enjoyed the talk and learned so much more about the Kwangju Massacre, and even though I’m not really good at reading historical fiction I think I’ll try to read it over break.

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Korean Language Exchange-- Matthew Lashley 

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Korean Language Exchange-- Matthew Lashley 

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For my Korean Exchange Sessions I met with Sogang University student Ki Yurim. We met 2 times for 50 minutes, with 25 minutes for each language. In our first meeting on October 14th, we had the theme of music and discussed our favorite artists. While it seemed that we had different tastes in music, there was a lot of overlap in the music we listened to (BLACKPINK, LE SSERAFIM and NewJeans to name a few). We talked about our favorite kpop artists and our biases for our favorite groups. I learned that at Sogang they have a music festival where she was able to see a lots of my favorite artists. Even though I was a bit jealous it was really cool to learn about. I also learned about some of her favorite music the overlap in some other artist other than kpop. It turned out we were both fans of Billie Eilish shared our favorite tracks from her new album. For our second meeting on October 31st, we talked about each other’s school life and how they differ for each other’s respective country. I was able to learn about all the classes that Yurim is taking and little on life at Sogang. It seems the school is very rigorous as she is taking 6 classes at the moment which range from a plethora of different fields. Some interesting classes she was telling me about include her Science of Happiness and Finance classes. She’s actually studying Business and is hoping to get a job in maybe marketing as she job hunts during senior year. I was even able to learn a little on the difference on Korean college application process; while there is a large focus here on your extracurriculars and personality alongside your transcript in American applications, I learned that there is large focus on the high school exams and college exams that your take to apply which I found interesting. She also told me about the cool clubs she was in and how she started doing photography for fun after covid and was even able to show me some of her work which were really beautiful. Doing this program was more rewarding than I think I ever realized it to be. I think talking to someone in the language you’re studying can accelerate your skills and help you apply them to actually speaking. I also got to learn about how our lives are so different and similar even when being across the world and it was really nice to talk to someone I’d never be able to meet otherwise. While most of the time Yurim was the one steering conversation as her English skills are better than she let on, I was able to learn more about her life and country. I also now get to say I know someone from across the world which is so cool.

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On november 11th, I went to the Book Discussion of Human Acts by Korean Author Han Kang. The novel won a Nobel Prize in Literature and is about the events surrounding the Gwangju Massacre. Originally occuring in 1980, the novel takes place during a conflicting time in history where a majority of the population was protesting against the unfair Korean dictatorship. The novel is centered around a young boy. While the text is written in Korean, the translated version depicts a vivid image of the deadly aftermath of the Gwangju Massacre. Despite being only 15 years old, the main character volunteers at gathering sites to help clean dead bodies and search for any survivors. Even though I read the text through a translated version, I could feel the emotion and sorrow the author was trying to convey. I found it so interesting how the author contrasts the young boy's innocence with the harsh realities of society at the time. The chapter poses interesting questions about the meaning of humanity and the struggle to achieve what you believe is right. One particular moment that really resonated with me was when they played a video of a German news broadcast displaying clips of the aftermath of the Massaacre. Seeing the rows of casks and people mourning the deaths of family members was really eye opening regarding the struggles Korea was going through at the time. Overall, I really enjoyed this discussion session as the BU professors guiding the discussion were also very amazing and engaging.

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Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong - Jonny Hu

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Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong - Jonny Hu

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On 11/16 I went to a book reading event where ASU partnered with author Cathy Park Hong to discuss her new book Minor Feelings. I even received a physical copy of her book which I am currently reading! Initially, we read multiples excerpts from the novel, skipping around through different sections of the book to places the author thought were relatively impactful. In my personal opinion, the reading is quite dense, but that does not mean the writing was meaningful. Through her writing, Author Park is tackling Asian American identity and brings up various cultural criticisms to society as a whole. After the reading portion, she then transitions into a more open Q&A section, where she discusses her own experiences as an Asian American as well as addresses various questions posed by other BU students. This portion was very interesting, as I started to understand how Author Park was deeply interested in the role of American politics in shaping cultural identity. They actually mentioned the most recent 2024 election and Author Park mentioned how she is worried about the future for many Americans which I thought was very intriguing. Me personally, as a first-generation American, whose parents were both born in China, was never really involved in politics, but after hearing the perspective of Author Park and the circumstances of the most recent election, I am more open to learn more about politics.

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On oct. 10 I attended the Chinese and Japanese karaoke night.it was a unique experience that blended different languages and cultures through music. I learned how karaoke can bridge people enjoying Chinese, Japanese, and english songs. It was interesting to see how people of different background connected. It made me realize how songs can have universal appeal, even if you don’t understand the language. My friend and I scan the QR code and is on waitlist for at least 30 minutes, waiting in line. It took super long for us to wait and we choose to sing a song from a movie and I don’t remember the name of the song. (My friend picked it). I met someone new from Japan who doesn’t speak english that well and we tried to talk in Japanese. It was nice to see that everyone is having fun and meeting new people. The variety of languages creates a diversity and making it a special karaoke night. I had a lot of fun.

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On Oct 4, I attended the chinese program fall gala where students perform using chinese. I learned that performances such as 小苹果 are not only fun but also a great way to bring up the energy. It was so fun to see students sing and dance on the stage using 小苹果 as the background music. It was super impressive to see students performing traditional and modern pieces, showing their dedication to learning the language and culture. There’s one student presenting a poem that I can’t even understand as a native chinese speaker. The poem presented provided a connection to chinese literature and demonstrated how poetry can evoke such powerful emotions. I was so shocked how they can speak fluent chinese by only learning it for one semester. I went with my roommate who’s taking chinese this year and she said it was so hard for her to have to courage to perform. there’s a band performing more than 10 songs in a roll, keeping us engaged throughout. I appreciated all the hard work from the student because I don’t think i can manage it this well. I was fascinated by the variety of musical genres performed by the band and i know most of the songs. I learned that cultural events like this are important since it Forster connections as well as understanding among people from different backgrounds. Overall, this gala was very fun to watch and i can see that more and more people started to learn chinese.

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I am so glad to join the language exchange program so that I am able to meet Cyuri and Sam. We were having so much fun during the session. Cyuri also helped me a lot about Korean grammars that I still need some clarification on. We met twice during the semester because we have a lot of conflict with our schedules and the time differences here and in Korea. However, I enjoyed both sessions and we talked each time around an hour or two because we were having too much fun. It's nice to also learn new expression like Korean GenZ slang from her too. She also helped me write some phrases for my bf's birthday and I appreciated that a lot. We also plan on having zoom meeting outside of school too if our schedule permitted. Also Sam and I are planning to go to Korea next year so Cyuri promised to show me around Korea and I am so excited about it. She also said that she will visit Boston next winter too. I am looking forward to see you there Cyuri. Although it's an language exchange session but I found Cyuri already fluent in English and I think it's more like benefitting me and Sam to have this session because we constantly asking her about the Korean grammars. We feel bad but she said she enjoyed it. Cyuri also told us about the Korean political campaign that is on going right now and I am saddened to hear that. We had a session on Dec 8th and she said that she will also join the protest that night so I hope she will be safe and Korea will soon return to its peaceful day.

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Session Date: 10/08/2024

Duration: 1 hr

In my first language exchange with Erin from Sogang University, we did introductions and learned more about each other and our interests. Her English is advanced and she is currently in Pennsylvania studying in America so it was easier communicating with her. While she helped me learn more basic and daily expressions I could incorporate in regular conversations, I helped her with English conversation practice by just talking back and forth together.

For the time when we were speaking Korean to each other, I tried to use the expressions I learned in class to do a simple introduction which included my academic year, my major, my nationality, a few of my hobbies, and so forth. Erin was kind enough to teach me more expressions that would be helpful in introducing myself like saying my age which uses different numbers than the counting numbers we’re learning in class. She taught me how to say I’m currently learning Korean and also that I want to visit Korean one day. When she learned of my major, she asked about my future plans with advertising. She then taught me how to say I want to work at an agency in the future if asked about career plans.

When we were conversing in English, we had a normal conversation very comfortably. We shared common interests in K-pop and traveling so we talked about those for some time. We shared our experiences traveling to other countries as well as future plans for traveling. I shared that I was interested in doing an Asia tour and would love to visit Korea as well as Japan someday. Erin is planning to visit different states in the U.S. this year like California and NY with her friends. We also talked about wanting to improve our language skills and methods that could be helpful. She recommended I watch shows to gain more knowledge of conversational Korean. For Erin, it would be helpful to consume media in English as well. Since she is more advanced and wants to learn more slang, it might be helpful to simply converse more in English with native speakers and look through social media to learn more about the culture of Gen-Z.

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This event helped me to know deeper about Korean, which makes me feel less pressure when I learn it. In this event, I met a lot of new friends and communicated with them. In the first lecture, I learned some different dialects in Korea, they come from different regions and areas of Korea. It is interesting that their tones are different. After that, I also talked with the professor who held the lecture. She asked me how far I had come in learning Korean. I told her that I had just started to learn it, and I had just finished learning the pronunciation and some simple sentences.

In the second lecture, I learned about the origin and evolution of Korean, which were very interesting and I had never been exposed to before. The professor also told us that many Korean characters evolved from Chinese characters, and the pronunciation is similar to them, which makes learning Korean pronunciation easier because my mother tongue is Chinese. During the rest time, the rest area also prepared Korean special snacks for us, and they were very delicious. All in all, This experience was great for me and it is a good opportunity to learn about Korean culture!

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Session Date: 11/10/2024

Duration: 1 hr

In my second language exchange session with Erin, I prepared more questions on Korean that I could ask her. At the time, we were starting to learn about Native Korean numbers in class. I asked more questions on different situations we would use Native vs. Sino Korean. She let me know that Native Korean is for time and counting. Sino Korean on the other hand is for ages, dates, phone, address, measurements, money, and temperature. She gave me example sentences so I could understand the uses more. She also helped me with my grammar when I tried to make my own sentences to say to her. She was very patient and helpful with my speaking and clarified grammar points for me.

We also talked more in depth about our travel plans. Erin has plans to go on a school trip for a short time during Thanksgiving break to NY. I am from NY so we talked about activities/places she can go. I recommended that she visit Times Squares as it’s a tourist area that many people like to visit and go shopping since she said she wants to go shopping. I also mentioned that she can visit KTown. She will only be there for a day but will go back during winter vacation with her friends for a longer period of time. I will also be back in NY during the break so we talked about meeting up which would be a great chance to talk in person.

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I went to the movie screening for Moss not knowing what to expect as I didn’t read the synopsis beforehand. I was surprised because it’s a thriller mystery movie with action/violence scenes. It’s about a man that visits his father’s village after he passes and encounters the villagers there. He tries to investigate his father’s death during his stay. It’s a slow burn mystery that kept me on the hook the whole time. The movie builds suspense throughout the first half of the movie with the wary villagers and the main character trying to dig deeper into what’s going on in the village. The movie then picks up more at the end with the action. There are plot twists that surprised me at the end of the movie. The most interesting part is watching the different characters and their dynamics with each other. I’m trying to figure out the whole time which characters are working together. You’re also guessing the whole time who was the one that actually killed his father. The movie does a good job at the suspenseful moments making them very dramatic and tense to watch. It’s an older movie but I quite enjoyed the cinematography. The movie uses very dark/dim lighting and shadows to give off a mysterious and dark atmosphere. Overall, I enjoyed watching this movie as I like the thriller genre and I wasn’t expecting the plot twist that came at the end.

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The second korean cultural event I attended was a movie screening event. I like watching movies very much, so I definitely won't miss this event. We watched a Korean movie called Moss, which I had never heard of before, but was surprisingly good. It was a suspense movie, a series of stories started in a remote village. I followed the protagonist's footsteps to this mysterious village, the home of his dead father, and gradually revealed the hidden secrets of these villagers, which had a great connection with his father's death. I think the most interesting part of the movie is to see the truth come out as the development of the plot. The story is wonderful because it is with successive steps, and there is suddenly a big reversal in the ending. Besides, the story is set in a remote village, coupled with the grim picture style, the suspense effect is very good and the atmosphere is well rendered. I was completely involved in it. I also learned a profound truth from the movie: those who try to change others are eventually changed by others. In this movie, the real controller is a wicked policeman, and others are only marionettes in the hands of this policeman in the end. Finally, I tried to think about why the movie is called Moss. I think the deeper analysis should be that a person lives like moss, and the truth is stone, it is tightly covered with moss.

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Cole Paluch - Culture Pass Human Acts by Han Kang

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Cole Paluch - Culture Pass Human Acts by Han Kang

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I really liked hearing about "Human Acts" by Han Kang at the book talk. I wish I read the book before going because I didn't really understand what they were referencing sometimes. Despite this though I still enjoyed hearing about what people thought about the book and would like to read it one day. I researched what the book is about and found out more about the Gwangju Uprising in South Korea which I have never heard about before. I liked the speakers as well, I thought they did a great job at keeping the talk interesting as well as engaging the audience. They asked audience members what they thought stood out in Chapter 1 and so I also got to hear a little more about the book as well. The speakers also talked a bit about the history of Korea, such as their previous leaders, which I thought was cool to learn about. They also talked more about the Gwangju Uprising which was nice because it provided some context towards the book. Along with this we also watched a clip from a report during this time period and which I also thought was interesting because I believe it was recorded by a German reporter. The book seems very touching in the language it uses and imagery it displays. I thought this Culture Pass Event was very informational and I would like to continue to learn more about Korean history and hopefully one day read "Human Acts"

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For this particular event, I was able to experience and learn the enriching experience and content behind the book Discussion of Human Acts by Han Kang. It was so surpising to learn about how much of an impact the book had outside of Korea and how it was utilized as a sort of protest against the Korean dictatorship. I found that it was a good time to discuss amongst my peers about the book and how our own culture and history reflected some of the contents discussed within the book. I was also able to draw connections between various novel techniques to progoneate certain things such as the use of imagery to drive a message home to the audience which is similar to techniques authors use in the U.S. The book also discuses how the specific act of remembering and bearing witness can emphasize the importance of a specific event and use lyrical as well as evocative prose to depicted disturbing events allowing readers to better connect with the young man named Dong-Ho in the book

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I went to this event to explore the book Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong. I appreciated how interactive this event was as I constantly felt engaged during the entire process and appreciated the fact that the event was not just a read along. I felt as though the contents of the book were quite intriguing in the fact that it discusses more information about being an Asian American rather than telling excerpts about being an Asian living in Asia. It explores topics such as cultural appropriation and minor to major discrimination experienced. Cathy is able to convey her personal experiences well and show how her Asian American identity in shaping American politics. The fact that she is able to connect with me on a deeper level on being an Asian American and accepting our own social and ethnical identity was something cool to discuss at the event I felt extremely well connected as I know that some of the things discussed within the novel are very much likely to happen to me sometime in the future.