Pusan? Busan? Taegu? Daegu?

Last year on May, I went on a military mission as a translater in Gwangyang, Korea for months. One of my US Army friends asked me, "Why did Korea change its names of places?" "What do you mean?", I said. "I know Busan used to be Pusan, and Daegu, Taegu..." Then I got the point.

"Oh, It didn't change names. Names are still same but the expression... I mean......."

There is a specialized way called 'Romanization System'() for Korean expressions of foreign languages based on alphabets in Korean, due to Koreans using just one mother tongue. I know the system has had various issues related with all around Korea, among scholars and citizens. So I will talk about a little 'chaos' around certain pronunciations and expressions.

It has been a history of confusions between the 2 different systems in the past and of now. The Romanization System in the past was based on phonology, the linguistic study of speech sounds in a particular language. In plain words, it is academically right at least.

For example, when Koreans pronounce '', they think it is Busan. However, when Americans listen to the sound of Koreans reading '', they think it is rather similar to Pusan than Busan.

In Korean, '' and '' are bilabial (two-lip) consonants. Koreans tell one from the other owing to if it is aspirated.

But in English, [b], [p], [v], [f] are them. If somebody asked an English user why [b] is different from [p], he or she would answer that [b] is voiced, but [p] is unvoiced.

According to phonology, it is hard for English speakers to understand voiced sounds spoken unvoiced by Koreans, who are not used to tell voiced sound from the unvoiced. Instead, they are used to aspiration which isn't that 'decicive' in normal English conversations.

Let's come back to the system. Koreans are supposed to express English pronunciation with it. That is, they should speak [b], [p], [v], [f] with '' and '' when they speak in Korean. Doing 4 with 2 seems uneasy.

Since the Romanization System has been set in 1984--the first national scheme was set in 1959--many Koreans have felt uncomfortable for those Pusan and Taegu. Because they thought [pusan] is just [pusan], not [usan] as well as [taegu] is not [aegu].

That is, Korean people imagine the pronunciation as [] (aspirated p) exactly, not [p] (non-aspirated p), when they see the alphabet 'p'. The same rule goes with the alphabet 'd', too.

So, New Romanization() was released in July 2000. it substituted Busan and Daegu for Pusan and Taegu. Koreans got to feel comfortable. However, English speakers could not only find any 'voiced [b]' from that 'Busan', but also voiced [d] from Daegu.

It comes down to this. Koreans think aspiration important but, English speakers consider voicing more. The New Romanization is rather for Koreans to recognize English in Korean more conveniently.


*For those who are interested in the international phonetic alphabet (click here)
*Busan is the second biggest city in Korea.
*Daegu is one of 6 metropolitan cities in Korea.

Disappointed Chopstick Pride

I had felt proud a bit of myself using chopsticks before. As I saw my chopsticks picking up a very tiny bean up on the dinner plate, I used to be fascinated by my skillful fingers like Wing Biddlebaum's from the novel "Winesberg, Ohio" of Sherwood Anderson.

On a Saturday, years ago, I volunteered for a goodwill guide for a group of 4 Americans. After showing Changdeokgung (Palace), a tourist site, I lead them to Sadong Myeonok in Insa-dong, Seoul, a famous restaurant where is good to have lunch together. As we were waiting on what we ordered (Mandu Jeongol), I imagined they might have troubles with using chopsticks so that I prepared my own instruction to show them how to use chopsticks.

Meal was served, and I was about to 'begin' to teach it.
However, 3 of them already knew how to use them. And then, those 3 taught the other for sure. It took only 2 minutes for the last man to get used to it. I just saw what was happening out of my plan, and sealed my lips just glancing at the chopstick genii.

I thought chopstick world is all about Asians only. Yes. It is. According to the Chosun Ilbo, about 1,500,000,000 people are using chopsticks in the world. And more than 80% of it is by Koreans, Japaneses, Chineses. But I couldn't help admitting their chopsticks for fun almost looked like mine for more than 20 years.

As a matter of fact, there are differences of chopstick achievements between Koreans. I am in a poorer group. Because I don't follow the known 'FM' (field manual) correctly. While in the desirable method 4th finger should support second chopstick, I support it with 3rd finger. Chopstick users might know how big difference it causes. I can't pick up 'a grain' of rice with my way even though I can do any bigger thing than that. However in reality, many people think it is enough if chopsticks can help eating at least. So less people are trying so hard to be 'expert level' chopstick user with the 'best' method. DJ DOC, a korean group, sang in the song "Dance with the DOC."(lyrics / song) like below.

젓가락질 잘해야만 밥을 먹나요
잘못해도 서툴러도 밥 잘먹어요
그러나 주위사람 내가 밥먹을때 한마디씩 하죠(너 밥상에 불만있냐?)
옆집 아저씨와 밥을 먹었지그아저씨 내 젓가락질 보고 뭐라 그래
하지만 난 이게 좋아 편해 밥만 잘먹지 나는 나예요 상관말아요
Can we have a meal only if we are great at chopsticks?
Even bad or poor at them, there's nothing to deal with my meals.
But when I have a meal people around me say a word 'Do you feel any bad at the dining table?'
I had rice with the man (Ajeossi) next door.
He blamed my chopstick using.
But I like it and feel this way comfortable. No problem at all.
That's just me, myself. None of your business YO!
(translated by me, the rest omitted)

I still prefer my way to the way it is originally supposed to be.
In my chopstick life, I feel uncomfortable only when needed to pick up 'a grain' of rice that normally doesn't happen a lot. But I will toss this job to my children to do it correctly^^a.

Here comes the correct chopstick use. (source: How to use Chopsticks)


1. Hold the stationary stick with slight pressure between the second
joint of the thumb and the index finger.
Support it with the ring finger and little finger.


2. Hold the moving stick between the thumb, index and middle fingers as you would hold a pen.


3. To open the ends of chopsticks, lift the middle finger up.
If you can't do it, please push the supporting point of the ring finger with the other index finger.


4. Drop the middle finger down to shut the ends of the chopsticks.
If you can't do it well, please push the supporting point on the ring finger with the other index finger.



OK, heroes. Let's show your skillful chopstick movement and dissappoint other Koreans!

Important Guests

Though I'm ready to go bed now at the end of a very tired day, I have to leave some lines before sleeping.

I was so surprised that 2 comments were added to my post for real.

Because I didn't believe somebody who I didn't invite comes here.

One was the first person who left a comment to me in my blogging life.

I might not forget today of Paul's the first comment.

I would be very happy if my first reader would come time to time.

The other was the one named Joel.

Let me see, where do I know the name...............

I want to say more stories that I recall now, but I'm too much sleepy to type. I'll just make it short. Yawn......

1. Last year, I was working with US Army as a ROKA(Republic of Korea Army) soldier.

2. Then, I really enjoyed reading 2 blogs--flying yangban, about joel.

3. Those have really moved my heart to make me decide to start a blog in English.

4. The host of one of them came to leave a sharp message.

5. I say Hooah...





Zzz.........

Only Male Babies Can Show What

A few years ago in the States, a Korean lady who had a lovely grandson so loved him that she humored his little symbol. An American saw that and made police to take care of it. She was accused for child abuse. How sad it is. (I agree what Joel said--"this might be an urban legend.")

In Korea, grandparents can show how they think their grandchildren cute as touching a little 'teenie winnie'. This custom is disappearing slowly but it's still not a 'crime' at all. Korean parents who politely want to show they have a 'boy' would let their infants naked or barely-naked with a T-shirt on. They think it looks natural and OK as a baby. Then others can see if the baby is a boy. Nobody worries then.

Most Korean parents have a prejudice that 'a boy is required at least'. Because there is tradition 'the memorial service' for ancestors in Korea, which can be performed by only male. Traditionally, once a daughter gets married, she was considered to help not her original family's memorial service but her husband's. A boy rather than a girl should be 'the man' to take care of the parents. Those are a few reasons why a boy can show that he's a boy on public--actually parents make him to do so though.

This is absolutely against the gender equality of today. However, I still hear the stories about the families with children as daughter-daughter-son or daughter-daughter-daughter-daughter-son. You might guess why now--they just have been a long long way to have one 'the at-least' son.

Road to being smart: university rush

Do you remember what 'Sa-nong-gong-sang' is about? If not, you may refer to the link right with the title.

The thing is, office workers have been considered as the most valuable.
Korean students ready to go to high school need to choose the type of it.
One is to go on to university of college, the other is to go on to the business world just after the end of high school.

There is an issue when students choose the type. Korean parents still have a tendency to look 'business, industry, commerce' down while. They also have a prejudice that smart students must go to university. They would think their kids (even at the end of teen) should normally want to go to university, as that is the only one way to be a winner.

Once the students choose where to go, another choice should be taken when they are about to be in the 2nd grade of high school. Liberal art track, or science track. The former course is to prepare a grounding for university majors like business administration, economy, language, psychology, etc. The latter is to do it for majors such as math, engineering, science, etc. Then, bloody competitions begin.

As far as I know, Americans don't think 'everybody wants to go to university'. But Koreans do. The way of thinking from the past still works. It causes way of life. Many Koreans admit that there is 'a few' ways to have a succesful life. So, young children are 'strongly recommended' to think about how to defeat others, although it is too early for them to do it. People have different talents to do different roles in society. That's what it is supposed to be like. But Korean parents' enthusiasm for their children's education is one of the highest in the world on average. They usually don't stop stressing their children as they excuse "All is for them. I can't help it."

There is a national exam named College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) on November every year for all those who are in 'such' high schools getting students ready to go to university. Somebody calls it the Korean SAT. It looks OK despite some diffecences. On the D-day, almost everything looks focused on the test. airports halt not to make noises annoying the exam takers in the listening part of it. Business people start working later then normal to lessen traffic jam to let students be on time for the test. Each high school's 1st, 2nd graders show cheering performances in the early morning in front of the test place. Imagine how festive the scene! After the CSAT, many exam takers feel they failed to achieve what they wanted. So they decide to try it again next year. While they try once, twice, three times again, one, two, three years--or more and more!

Oh, it's been longer so far than I expected, that's it for today.