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A random Internet search several weeks ago yielded a new Korean language resource for kids (or beginners). But when I inquired about the products, they hadn’t been released yet. Now the products are ready for release and last week I received a review copy of the first DVD in the series, as well as the flashcards and posters that accompany it. The language program is byDino Lingo, and it can be found at DinoLingo.com.

The first DVD in the series (and the one I reviewed) is the Greetings and Animals Set. Included are the DVD (which is about 35 minutes long), a poster, a fold-out booklet, flashcards, calendar, and a parents’ guide.

In the DVD animal names are repeated in Korean several times, as are common phrases such as hello, how are you, and it is a …. . Toward the end of the video there are little quizzes with the phrase “what is this” asked in Korean and time given for the child to answer.

My son is 6 and really enjoyed the DVD. Some of the cartoons are little silly, which of course he loved. The flashcards are business-card size, which I actually like since they are easier to take with us and quiz while we’re out and about.

The two things I would suggest are more for the parents than the kids. Since the program is recommended for children 7 and under, the written stuff likely won’t affect the kids. First, I would suggest that the Parents’ Guide include a list of the phrases and greetings that are said throughout the DVD. The poster, flashcards, etc., are wonderful at sharing the words for the animals, but unless you’re already familiar with the Korean language, you might be a little lost when the greetings and phrases are being said. UPDATE: I’ve just heard back from Dino Lingo that are working on adding a guide for the greetings and phrases. Yeah!

Second, I don’t believe the romanization follows the current standard for putting Korean sounds into English. This isn’t a huge bother for me because I personally hate romanization and think it hinders rather than helps in learning Korean since so many of the sounds just don’t correctly translate. In these products all of the animal names are written in hangul on every piece. So my suggestion is to ignore the romanization on the products; they’ll likely not help you pronounce the words and phrases correctly in Korean.

What will help is the pronunciation, which is right on (I double checked with our Korean exchange student). And if you stick with reviewing the hangul as you listen, you’ll begin to pick up the sounds that each hangul character makes.

The Greetings and Animals DVD set is available now and can be purchased from the web site DinoLingo.com. The full set (5 DVDs) should be released in the a few weeks, according to the company.

So if you’re looking for a Korean language resource, you should check it out. You can see a clip from the Greetings and Animals DVD on the web site. I’m sure our son will be watching this one regularly.

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So Monday, my exchange student, my son, and I will do a Seolnal (lunar new year) presentation for our student’s class. Since I know lots of families give presentations around this time of year, I thought I’d share what we’re doing. The class is upper elementary, but this presentation idea could be adapted for any age class, I think.

First we’re doing an introduction, which will include a brief history of Korea (how it’s 5,000 years old vs. the US being only 238 years old, and how for most of that time it was one country). During the introduction we’ll hand out maps of Korea that we found in one of the curriculums listed in the bar at right.

Next, we’ll give a brief “class” on the Korean language. We’ll explain how and when the alphabet was developed, show the kids the alphabet (and give them handouts of the alphabet), and teach them to say hello and thank you in Korean

Since our exchange student is only here for a year, she’d like to talk to her classmates about how the schools in Korea are different from schools in the US. She’ll talk about the school year being different, as well as how their school days are different.

Then we’ll give an overview of holidays in Korea, talking about how some are similar (like Memorial Day and Independence Day) and how some are the same (like Christmas, although it isn’t widely celebrated). But we’ll focus on the two main holidays of Chuseok and Seolnal. We’ll explain how these are family holidays and that families travel for several hours to be with their families and honor their ancestors.

We’ll tell them on Seolnal Koreans eat a special rice cake soup, play games, and the children will do a special bow in front of the oldest family member, for which they receive money.

We plan for our student and our son to demonstrate the sebae bow and then have all of the students try it, for which they will receive sebae ton in the form of chocolate coins.

Then we’ll teach the class how to play yut nori. Since you play yut nori in teams so I’ll lead a team and our student will lead a team. Once the game is over, we’ll have the students make their own yut nori set using craft sticks and buttons. We’ll have the rules of yut nori and the game boards printed out already so each student can take their set and play at home.

At the end of the presentation, we’ll have a Korean snack for each student which we’ve decided will be a ChocoPie with a Korean flag tooth pick stuck in it.

I’ve also recommended some books that the kids could read on their own if they want to know more. The titles include: The Kite Fighters by Linda Sue Park, The Next New Year by Janet Wong, and New Clothes for New Year’s Day by Hyun-Joo Bae.

Honestly there are so many things to include that it was hard to narrow it down. But since the presentation is going to be on Seolnal, I thought it would be best to stick with a general overview and then specifics for the holiday. We’re all looking forward to the presentation, and hopefully the class will enjoy learning a little bit about a different culture.

 

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Just a reminder that Seolnal (설날), also known as Lunar New Year, is early this year. It’s Monday, Jan. 23–one week from today. Again this year our family won’t get to have a whole day celebration since the husband’s magazine is on deadline that day and our exchange will be in school.

But we will have tteokguk (떡국), the traditional rice cake soup eaten on this holiday that allows you to turn a year older; we’ll play yut nori; and the kids will do sebae and receive sebae ton. All of these traditions have been written about on this belong in previous years and can be found by looking through the Holidays category.

This year on Seolnal we’ll also do a presentation on Korea for our exchange student’s school class. I’ll be posting more about this presentation in the coming week to you some ideas about things to do during school presentations.

Until then, 새해 복 많이 받으세요! We do hope you all receive many new year’s blessings.

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Looking for a unique way to take in Korea during your visit? Consider Koreastay through Korea Toursim. It’s a homestay program in which you are staying with a Korean family during your visit.

This is definitely something our family would consider doing. What an interesting way to become immersed in Korean culture and life!

For more information you can visit: http://asiaenglish.visitkorea.or.kr/ena/AC/AC_EN_4_10_1_1.jsp?md=ena

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So awhile back I posted a recipe for gungjung tteokbokki (궁중떡볶이), which is a favorite in our house. Gungjung tteokbokki is the palace version of this dish, which is now more famous for being spicy than savory. Spicy isn’t tolerated so well in our house yet (our son’s only 5) so this non-spicy works great for us. And the original recipe I’ve used for more than a year was good enough until a month or so ago the PTA at our Korean school made the dish. Suddenly my gungjung tteokbokki paled in comparison.

In fact, their version was soooooo good that I asked the PTA president for the recipe. As expected, I received this description “put a little oil, garlic, soy sauce and sesame oil in a pan…”–aren’t Korean cooks famous for winging it (or maybe that’s just great cooks in general). So while my cooking has improved immensely in the last few years, I’m still not really comfortable making a new recipe without knowing the amounts to use. But at least now I knew what ingredients I should be looking for in a recipe.

A few nights ago, I finally had the opportunity to try a version of the PTA’s gungjung tteokbokki. I based my recipe off this video from the Jeonju University food service department, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibB-sf8HlFc, but as usual I tweaked it some. Mainly I tripled the recipe from what is on the video. They use only 20 pieces of tteok (rice cake); I used a 2 pound bag. But I didn’t triple the sugar because they just seemed like too much. My version is listed below.

I cooked this while the kids were at taekwondo and when they came home they were amazed by the smell. Then I think these two kids ended up eating at least a pound of the tteok all by themselves. I was hailed as a great cook, as good as our exchange student’s grandmother (which I doubt, but it was sweet of her to say). I hope your family enjoys it as much as mine did.

Gungjung Tteokbokki, 2 Thumbs Up Version
In a large bowl mix:
9 Tbs. soy sauce
3 Tbs. sugar
3 Tbs. garlic, minced
3 tsp. sesame oil
pinch of pepper
pinch of sesame seeds
1 1/2 c. water
Stir together well; add in tteok, stir until well coated. Let sit for 30 minutes.

In a medium bowl, mix together:
1 1/2 Tbs. soy sauce
1/2 Tbs. sugar
1/2 Tbs. garlic
1/2 tsp. sesame oil
pinch of both pepper and sesame seeds
1/4 c. water
Stir until mixed together well, then add 1/2 pound to 1 pound of ground beef (what I used) or sirloin strips, thinly sliced. Again, mix up until meat is well coated. Let sit for at least 10 minutes.

Slice one medium carrot, 1/2 large onion, and two green onions.

Once meat has marinated for at least 1o minutes, add meat and its sauce to a preheated pan. Once it’s begins to boil, add in carrot, onion, tteok, and sauce tteok has been in. Boil, covered, until tteok are soft and liquid is reduced by about half. Add green onions and cook for another minute or so.

Serve.

2 pound bag tteok, cylinder shaped

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Happy Millennium Pepero Day from our house to yours

Not that I ever need an excuse to eat chocolate, but if you do here’s your excuse for the day. It’s Pepero (빼빼로) Day!

November 11 was chosen (by the company, I think) as the day to share this delicious treat with family and friends. And today being 11/11/11, it’s like the biggest Pepero Day of all Pepero Days and is being called Millennium Pepero Day.

This Korean holiday is easy to celebrate. Go to the Korean market. Purchase some Pepero. Give packages to your family and friends.

Nothing to it. Rumor has it that Pepero (the company) sells more Pepero sticks on Pepero Day than they do on all of the other days of the year combined. That may be true, but Pepero (especially the almond variety for me) is enjoyed throughout the year at our house.

So eat up and enjoy this very special once every one thousand-year commercial holiday.

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I’m always looking for great resources that will help my family and to pass along to you. This blog is one of my new favorites. It’s http://konglishbaby.blogspot.com/.

This mom shares links to Korean children’s songs, posts about great Korean language apps, and shares vocabulary you can use with your kids.

It’s an awesome resource so I encourage you all to check it out.

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So our family is loving Korean school. We go every Saturday and learn about language and culture. And our teacher shares some wonderful Internet resources with us that I’ll, in turn, pass along to you.

Today I’m sharing an alphabet pronunciation site that our teacher assigned us as homework. And it’s an excellent resource! Heres’ the link: http://kr.infant.kids.yahoo.com/infantzone/index_pop.html?service=hangeul&mode=popup_viewer&contents_list=6545

On this site you’ll find a chart of the Korean alphabet. Along the top are the vowels; along the left side are the consonants. When you click on any of the letters, you’ll hear it pronounced by a native speaker. Then the interior of the chart combines the consonant and vowels sounds. Those combinations are what makes this chart great since some of the sounds change when they are said together.

This is a great place to start if you’re learning the language or just good practice if you’re well on the way with your Korean.

 

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Oct. 3 is National Foundation Day (romanized as “gaecheonjeol”) in Korea. Legend has it that Gojoseon, the first state of the Korean nation, was formed on the third day of the 10th lunar month in 2333 BC. But today, for convenience sake, the foundation of Korea is celebrated on the third day of the 10th according to the solar calendar.

“Gaecheonjeol” means “Heaven-opened Day,” which fits the legend of Dangun coming down from heave to establish the Korean kingdom.

The earliest record of the Dangun legend is found in the Samguk Yusa, or Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms, which is a collection of legends, folktales, and historical accounts. It was compiled at the end of the 13th century. I’ll likely post more on the Samguk Yusa at a later day.

As I mentioned last year, you can find this legend numerous places online or possibly in children’s storybook form. Our son loves the story of the tiger and bear and how one became human. It would be great day to read the account of Dangun and if you have the right cookie cutters, make cookies in the shapes of Korea, tigers, and bears.

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Well, since I’ve recently joined the land connected to apps (previously I had a phone that would only make calls; so 20th century ), I’m getting to enjoy some of the language resources that my friends have been using. As I continue to get connected, I’ll share what I’m finding, but if you have kids, this one is a must.

The iPhone app is Korean language flashcards featuring Pororo. You can find it by searching for this 뽀로로 첫 낱말놀이 in the app store.

It goes over several categories of words, like words used at home, colors, animals, and numbers. It’s really cute and I think most younger kids would enjoy using it. A great way to begin building a vocabulary.