Hi! Recently, my class was tasked with writing a Ted Talk about something important to us. One classmate did hers on researching before getting a pet, another did his on overfishing, but I did mine on Korean Culture, since I am half Korean. Here are some of my favorite parts form my script!
Hi! I am half Korean and my mom is full Korean. It isn’t immediately clear, however, but there are some clues. For example, in my closet, I have a hanbok! That is what you call a traditional Korean outfit.
So next, let’s move onto food! There are all kinds of Korean food, but I think the most famous kinds are kimchi and Korean BBQ! Kimchi is a side dish of salted and fermented vegetables, and is usually spicy. I personally am not a huge fan of kimchi, but try it out and let me know if you like it! Korean BBQ, however, is one of my favorites. It is a way of grilling beef, pork or chicken. In restaurants in Korea, there will usually be gas or charcoal grills built into the dining table so the meat can be grilled in front of you! It’s pretty cool.
Let’s talk about Seollal! Seollal is the Korean New Year. It is on the same day as Chinese New Year because it is based off of the Lunar Calendar! Even though I personally do not celebrate it, I do know about it. The most important part of the Seollal celebration is the ritual honoring your ancestors. The ritual is called charye which is where the females of the household prepare food for the reverence, or respect, and the males present the food to the ancestors. The final step of the ritual is called eumbok, where the entire household gathers together to eat the food. This step allows ancestors to bless the household for the upcoming year.
So, last up, I thought it would be fun for me to teach you all some basic Korean words. First up, we have hello. You say this two ways: 안녕하세요 and 안녕하세요 (annyeong and annyeonghaseyo). Annyeong is hi and annyeonghaseyo is hello!
I hope you learned something new, and thank you for coming to my Ted Talk! <3