Want to gift your friends or close ones some Korean-inspired gifts this Christmas? KoniKorean has compiled a list of South Korea-inspired gift ideas for Christmas 2019 based on current trends in Korea and popular Korean items overseas.
For Technology Enthusiasts: Image and Sound
With many domestic technology brands like Samsung and LG, South Korea is home to many innovative products. The items below have been especially popular in the country over the past year.
Popular Red Velvet Songs for 노래방
Sing Red Velvet (레드벨벳)'s most popular songs next time you go to 노래방 (norebang, or Korean karaoke)! Red Velvet (레드벨벳) songs in the table below are ordered from most to least recent. Recent songs may be unavailable at your local 노래방 if the machines have not been updated. To determine the column to use for your karaoke session, look at the manufacturer of the karaoke machine either on the machine itself, on the remote, or on the interface. You should see two letters, either TJ or KY; use the corresponding column in the table below to add the song to the queue and start singing! See more detailed instructions on Korean norebang machines.
List of Korean Movies in the Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Film Festival (Festival de Cannes) is one of the most prominent film festivals in the world, with its top award (Palme d'Or) being considered as many as the holy grail of cinema. South Korean cinema has increasingly produced many cinematographic gems that have been competing for the Palme d'Or over the last two decades, with 기생충 (Parasite) by 봉준호 (Bong Joon-ho) ultimately being the first Korean movie winning the Palme d'Or of the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. Despite the growing popularity of South Korean movies, it is still challenging to find comprehensive lists about recent Korean movies that have been entered in prestigious film festivals.
Popular South Korean Drinking Games
One aspect of South Korean culture becomes very apparent after a few days in the country: the drinking culture is pretty developed. Alcohol made in South Korea is cheaply available in most convenient stores, and drinking establishments are open late at night/until early morning. South Koreans use alcohol to socialize and have developed many drinking games to do so. These games are especially popular among college students and in the army.
Tricky Pronunciations of the Consonant ㄹ (Rieul)
In Korean, the pronunciation of ㄹ and consonants preceding or following it, such as ㄱ (기억, giyeok), ㅂ (비읍, bieup) or ㅁ, differs from the 한글 reading. Because of rules of assimilation of ㄹ to ㄴ after nasal consonants, the pronunciation of ㄱ, ㄹ, and ㅂ needs to be accounted for these changes. This post lists some of these uncommon pronunciation transformations; comprehensive pronunciation rules can be found in Korean: A Comprehensive Grammar by Jaehoon Yeon and Lucien Brown (Routledge Edition).
Pattern V/Adj-은/는 척하다: To Pretend To V/A
Verb/Adjective (V/A)-은/는 척하다 is commonly used in spoken and written Korean to express "to pretend to (V/Adj)." It can also be translated at "to make it look like (V/Adj)" in more complex sentences (see examples below).
The pattern is written differently depending on whether the word in front of the pattern is a verb or an adjective:
- For verbs, present tense: V-는 척하다 regardless of the 받침 of the verb, using common conjugation rules. E.g., 모르다 → 모르는 척하다, 놀다 → 노는 척하다, 읽다 → 읽는 척하다, 넣다→ 넣는 척하다.
- For verbs, past tense: V-ㄴ/은 척하다. E.g., 모르다 → 모른 척하다, 놀다 → 논 척하다, 읽다 → 읽은 척하다, 넣다 → 넣은 척하다. See Note 3 for a usage note.
- For adjectives: A-ㄴ/은 척하다. E.g., 똑똑하다 → 똑똑한 척하다, 이쁘다 → 이쁜 척하다.
Examples
Verbs
Adjectives
Example Dialogue
빅터: 준형아, 잘 생긴 척하지마! 너 정말 못생겼어!
Pattern V/Adj-은/는 척하다: To Pretend To V/A
Verb/Adjective (V/A)-은/는 척하다 is commonly used in spoken and written Korean to express "to pretend to (V/Adj)." It can also be translated at "to make it look like (V/Adj)" in more complex sentences (see examples below).
The pattern is written differently depending on whether the word in front of the pattern is a verb or an adjective:
- For verbs, present tense: V-는 척하다 regardless of the 받침 of the verb, using common conjugation rules. E.g., 모르다 → 모르는 척하다, 놀다 → 노는 척하다, 읽다 → 읽는 척하다, 넣다→ 넣는 척하다.
- For verbs, past tense: V-ㄴ/은 척하다. E.g., 모르다 → 모른 척하다, 놀다 → 논 척하다, 읽다 → 읽은 척하다, 넣다 → 넣은 척하다. See Note 3 for a usage note.
- For adjectives: A-ㄴ/은 척하다. E.g., 똑똑하다 → 똑똑한 척하다, 이쁘다 → 이쁜 척하다.
Examples
Verbs
Adjectives
Example Dialogue
빅터: 준형아, 잘 생긴 척하지마! 너 정말 못생겼어!
Book Review - Your First Hanja Guide
Your First Hanja Guide is a 한자 (hanjja, or Chinese characters used in the Korean language) reference book co-written by the staff at Talk to Me in Korean (TTMIK). This book is one of their few books aimed both at their intermediate and advanced learners of Korean and is meant to be an introduction to common Korean words of Chinese origin used in everyday language.
Popular BLACKPINK Songs for Norebang
BLACKPINK (블랙핑크) songs in the table below are ordered from most to least recent. Recent songs may be unavailable at your local 노래방 if the machines have not been updated. To determine the column to use for your karaoke session, look at the manufacturer of the karaoke machine either on the machine itself, on the remote, or on the interface. You should see two letters, either TJ or KY; use the corresponding column in the table below to add the song to the queue and start singing! See more detailed instructions on Korean norebang machines.