Guess the K-drama emoji game

Just as something a little bit different, I thought it might be quite fun to have a game for this blog post. Since this year has not been too great, it is worth having some fun, right?

Below are a series of emojis that each represent a K-drama. Keep a track of your answers and check them underneath. Don’t cheat! Then put your answers and score in the comments.

Have fun.

Questions

1. 👻 ⚔️ 👗 🏫 🧑‍🎓 👨‍🏫 🎀
2. 👺 🕴️ 🗡️ 🩸 ⏳ 💀 🔥
3. 🦗 🥊 🤼‍♂️ 🎤 🏢 💔 🏆
4. 🎎 👺 👑 🥸 🌸 💊 🩸
5. 🎼 🎵 🎹 🐶 🏘️ 🏫 ❤️
6. 🏯 🎎 ♂️ ♀️ 🥸 👘 🔺
7. 👻 🏨 🌙 🛎️ 🧳 🧍 💀
8. 👩🏻‍⚕️ 👨🏻‍⚕️ 🏫 🏥 🧠 🍹 ♋
9. 🏫 👭🏻 🏊🏼‍♂️ 🌊 🔺 ❤️ 🕵️
10. 🏫 ⛓️ 🐓 👔 📈 👩🏽‍🍳 ⚧️

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Answers

1. 싸우자 귀신아 (Hey Ghost, Let’s Fight)

Image sourced from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hey_Ghost,_Let%27s_Fight

2. 쓸쓸하고 찬란하신 – 도깨비 (Guardian: The Lonely and Great God, also known as Goblin)

Image sourced from: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5994364/?ref_=tt_mv_close

3. 쌈 마이웨이 (Fight My Way)

Image sourced from: https://asianwiki.com/Fight_for_My_Way

4. 군주 – 거면의 주인 (The Emperor: The Owner of the Mask)

Image sourced from: https://twitter.com/withMBC/status/856749949509181440

5. 도도솔솔라라솔 (Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol)

Image sourced from: https://asianwiki.com/Do_Do_Sol_Sol_La_La_Sol

6. 조선로코-녹두전 (The Tale of Nokdu)

Image sourced from: https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/93541/images/posters?language=ko-KR

7. 호텔 델루나 (Hotel Del Luna)

Image sourced from: https://asianwiki.com/Hotel_Del_Luna

8. 닥터스 (Doctors)

Image sourced from: https://mydramalist.com/photos/ndJw6

9. 후아유: 학교 2015 (Who Are You: School 2015)

Image sourced from: https://m.blog.naver.com/PostView.nhn?blogId=lauraashley1&logNo=220342594493&proxyReferer=https:%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F

10. 이태원 클라쓰 (Itaewon Class)

Image sourced from: https://www.koreatravelpost.com/itaewon-class-filming-locations/

How well did you do? Let me know below.

‘꿈’ (‘Dream’) – 김소현 (Kim So Hyun)

In this post, I want to enlighten you and help you understand the lyrics of ‘꿈’ (‘Dream’) by 김소현 (Kim So Hyun) from ‘싸우자 귀신아’ (‘Bring It On Ghost’) OST.
I chose this particular song because the lyrics are not too long and the grammar and vocabulary are fairly simple.
Please feel free to make your own notes about the lyrics, grammar and vocabulary. I find that writing out lyrics and annotating them in this way helps to explore how grammatical concepts are used in songs (which, just like in English, is a little different and vague at times).

Click on the camera point at the top of the image below to view the music video for the song.
The teal points on the left are for the vocabulary in each verse.
The orange points of the right are for the English translations for each verse.
The grammar has been annotated onto the lyrics.
The colour key is on the left side of the image.

This is a screen shot of the custom HTML (as the HTML block will not function correctly):

Also, this is the link to the interactive image, so that view all of the information: https://view.genial.ly/5fb8dd449e845a12b6ece16e/interactive-image-interactive-image

I tried to make the annotations as clear as possible. But people learn differently. So use this a resource and learn from it in any way that is best for you.

I hope you enjoy the song as much as I do. I love 김소현 (Kim So Hyun) as an actress and I fell more in love when I discovered that she has done a few OSTs for the dramas she has been in.

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Feature image source: https://ilyricsbuzz.com/kim-sohyun-dream-lyrics-lets-fight-ghost-ost/

Weather

In the above graphic, you can see the basic words for weather. Just to make you aware, besides 맑은 (dictionary form is 맑다) and the bottom two (덥다 and 춥다), all of the words are nouns. 맑다 is an adjective whilst 덥다 and 춥다 are verbs. Just you will need to conjugate them accordingly.

Example sentences

여름에는 해가 일찍 떠요
The sun rises early in summer

오늘은 구름 많아요
There are a lot of clouds today

어제의 밤하늘을 맑았어요
The sky was clear last night / yesterday’s night sky was clear

내일은 비가 올 것 같아요
I think it will rain tomorrow / it looks like it is going to rain tomorrow

저는 무지개를 아까 봤어요
I saw a rainbow earlier

엄마! 눈가 왔어요
Mum! It’s snowing / Mum! It snowed

오늘은 바람이 심하게 불는데 조심해 주세요
 It is windy today, so please be careful

저는 지금 천둥 치는 소리를 들었네요
I just heard thunder

날씨가 너무 더워요
The weather is too hot

날씨가 너무 추워서 저는 일을 할 수 없네요
The weather is so cold that I can’t work

용인 대장금 파크 Yongin Daejanggeum Park

Ever wondered what an ancient Korean palace looks like from the inside? Well, in this post, I will show you a Story Sphere of 용인 대장금 파크 Yongin Daejanggaeum Park which is one of the most known 궁전 palaces. Take a look below to see one for yourself without leaving your seat.

This is a screen shot of the custom HTML (as the HTML block will not function correctly):

Audio in the Story Sphere is from ‘해를 품은 달’ ‘Moon Embracing the Sun’ episode 3 and Agust D’s ‘대취타’ ‘Daechwita’

Also, this is the link to the Story Sphere so you can see it functioning: https://storyspheres.com/scene/8BThUqbb

I said that this is one of the most known palaces in Korea and with good reason. Personally, I find it actually stunning to look at with its beautiful colours and architecture. But that is not the reason why it is such a well known palace.
Have you watched any 사극 period Korean dramas, such as ‘해를 품은 달’ ‘Moon Embracing the Sun’, ‘군주-가면의 주인’ ‘The Emperor: Owner of the Mask’ or ‘해치’ ‘Haechi’? Perhaps you have watched Agust D’s (BTS’s Suga) music video for ‘대취타’ ‘Daechwita’? What about Stray Kids’ music video for their English Version of ‘Double Knot’? Maybe, a lesser known artist, AleXa, in her music video for ‘Do or Die’? Well, along with any others, they have all be set there.

Image sourced from: http://blog.daum.net/chojs15/3585

Does this look familiar?

Don’t believe me? Watch the music videos and some scenes from dramas below. Just a word of warning about watching the drama scenes: don’t spoil them for yourself.

1. ‘해를 품은 달’ (‘Moon Embracing the Sun’)

Episode 19, MBCdrama

2. ‘주군-가면가 주인’ (‘The Emperor: The Owner of the Mask’)

Episode 19, MBCdrama

3. ‘해치’ (‘Haechi’)

Episode 11, Kocowa TV

4. Agust D’s ‘대취타’ (‘Daechwita’) music video

Big Hit Entertainment

5. Stray Kids’ ‘Double Knot’ English version music video

JYP Entertainment

6. Alexa’s ‘Do or Die’ music video

ZB Label

Beautiful, isn’t it? The entire park is huge and hidden in the middle of the mountains and hill. If I get the chance to go to Korea, I am going here for sure.

남산 백범광장 Namsan Baekbomkwangjang Baekbom Park Square

In this post, I will be showing a 360 view of 남신 백범광장 Namsan Baekbomkwangjang which is named Baekbom Park Square of Namsan peak.
I find this park to be very pretty. The best part about this park, I think, is that it is placed right in the centre of the city. Just take a look at the map below. The mark is placed on the park square but the entire peak goes much further right:

Here is another look at the park as if you are walking there yourself.
Since the custom HTML doesn’t work, this is a screenshot of what the HTML block should look like:

Also, here is the link for the 360 image so you can experience it for yourself: https://momento360.com/e/u/4a03fc6fbead439c9850eabfded33390?utm_campaign=embed&utm_source=other&heading=0&pitch=0&field-of-view=75&size=medium

Just beautiful, isn’t it?

There is an interesting story behind how I came to find this place. Before I recently became obsessed with 사극 period Korean dramas, I watched modern dramas. I kept seeing this wall and park in a few different dramas. And thought “where is this place and why is it used in so many dramas?”. After much research, I finally found it! I found it through the Hilton hotel that is in front of it (called Millennium Hilton Seoul). The wall that I kept seeing is called 낙산 성곽길 The Fortress Wall of Seoul or Seoul City Wall. It was built in 1396 A.D. around the city of 한양 Hanyang (the name of Seoul at the time during the 조선 Joseon dynasty). It was built to defend the city and show its borders. You can look at the image below to see the entire wall:

Image sourced from https://seoulcitywall.seoul.go.kr/front/kor/sub01/course.do?gubun=A004

Some dramas that I have seen this location in

1. ‘좋아하면 울리는’ ‘Love Alarm’

Image sourced from Netflix

This is from episode 3. I think this shot is really pretty with all of the lights of the buildings in the background that contrast the elegance of the park behind the camera.

2. ‘이태원 클라쓰’ ‘Itaewon Class’

Image sourced from Netflix

This is from episode 8. I believe that this location is seen elsewhere in this drama too. But this scene shows you the location pretty well.

3. ‘싸우자 귀신아’ ‘Hey Ghost, Let’s Fight’

Image sourced from Netflix

Although they don’t quite get on the park or peak in this drama, these stairs are part of the official route to the Seoul Tower which is located on the Namsan peak.

There are plenty of other dramas, and films, that use Namsan as one of their locations. And why wouldn’t they? It is in the centre of Seoul with historical background as well as a gorgeous backdrop to match the beauty of the actors and actresses.

The History of Korea

In this blog post, I will take you through the most important events of Korea’s history since the period of the Three Kingdoms (57 B.C.) to present day.

This is a screenshot of that the custom HTML block should look like:

Also, here is the link to the timeline so that you see it functioning: https://cdn.knightlab.com/libs/timeline3/latest/embed/index.html?source=1vuBbZ54fKukfCKmiwRUeIVzXbCcZl6IXcUd1nAPLG-8&font=Default&lang=en&initial_zoom=2&height=650

I’ve not really been someone who is fascinated by history – I never really paid too much attention to it in school. But I found this really interesting to look in to. Probably because it is different to the culture that I was brought up knowing.
I thought it should be something to share with you since history is what makes a country, regardless of which country that is. I cannot say for definitely but I can imagine that every Korean school child is taught this – just like all British school children are taught about the World Wars and how we were involved.
Besides finding that information absorbing, I have found that my new found understanding has helped my enjoyment of 사극 period Korean dramas. Although I often still struggle to grasp some of the politic aspects of the dramas, I am not able to better place when the drama is taking place. For example, as I am writing this, I am watching ‘구르미 그린 달빛’ ‘Love in the Moonlight’. Without spoiling it, in episode 6, the characters get involved with the Qing dynasty. I have not watched a drama that includes them before. But thanks to the research I have done into Korean history, I was able to know about who they are and their relationship with Korea. There is also the presence of a gun in that episode. Again, I have never seen a gun in period Korean drama. So, that element helped me to understand that this drama is set after 1630s at least. After careful research into the drama, I discovered that it is set in the 1800s.
I hope that you find the history of Korea as engaging as I did. There is a lot more left to discover. But this timeline gives you the basics.