Uncategorized – All About South Korea (한국에 관한 모든 것)

All about Korean Fashion (한국 패션에 대한 모든 것)

Fashion has always attracted everyone’s attention. It is an art to depict ourselves in our unique way. It can open our minds and can change the beauty standards of a society. As we evolve so does our thinking and our fashion trends.

As you all know that South Korean fashion is majorly known for being expressive and reflecting a sense of individuality. In recent years the Korean Wave has started affecting the fashion trends, as K-Pop stars have started making appearances into the Pop world.

For a long time, South Korea’s focus was on cheap, fast – but covetable – fashion. That’s likely to change as the country pushes to nurture its fashion designers and bring them to an international audience. Punk-rock brand Steve J & Yoni P, high-streetwear designer Juun J and hard-femme designer Kathleen Kye of KYE have started breaking through global barriers.

When K-pop or K-dramas starts to wear something, no matter the origin of the label, people suddenly believe that’s the style of K-fashion. That’s the power some of the Korean artists have, they absorb global influences, redefine them and then create the image that South Korea is a cool fashion destination to the rest of the world.

Over-sized Cardigans

Gone are the days when we would reject any oversized clothing. We no longer stress the right fit because loose clothing has become trendy. Korean people are known for wearing oversized clothes, and one such type of clothing is cardigans.

Oversized cardigans are a major hit in South Korea and are quickly gaining popularity in the west. The beauty of these cardigans is that they give you absolute comfort, allowing your body to breath and move around easily.

Sneakers with socks

If you had been doing this all this time, you might have accidentally or willingly caught up to the Korean wave. Koreans love wearing sneakers; they love it more when sneakers are accompanied by a pair of smart-looking ankle-length socks.

You do not need to hide those socks away under your jeans. The fashion trend allows you to confidently flaunt those shoes and socks with your best dresses and skirts. When you try it, you will see that the combination works with almost every casual outfit and even makes you look cool.

Get It Checkered

Korean dramas show women wearing checkered clothes, be it dresses, skirts or pants. Anything with checks is loved by Koreans. One of the Korean fashion trends which have taken over the world is the growing inclination towards wearing checkered clothing.

This obsession is not limited to women. Men have become increasingly interested in wearing checkered outfits. K-dramas tend to experiment with fashion, and you would see men wearing checkered suits or carrying checkered handkerchiefs.

Ruffle tops

If there is a type of tops that go along with almost every situation, then that type is certainly ruffled tops. Adding volume and grace to the entire look, ruffle tops have become a major hit everywhere. However, Koreans tend to hold them dearly.

Ruffle tops are elegant and create feminine movements that are loved by the women. These tops are very commonly shown in dramas and viewers have started wearing them too. These tops go with skirts, jeans, and pants very well and make you look pretty and perfect!

Accessories

Korean loved to accessorize way more than anyone. They tend to accessorize with almost everything they wear. They keep in stock all kinds of accessories, ranging from butterfly-shaped hair clips to a bunch of rings, to suit the needs of every outfit they wear.

One of the essentials is to keep hair clips. It is very common to see K-stars accessorizing their outfit with a nice hair clip. Every hair clip comes with some creative design. So guys create your look and enjoy reading our blog.

All About Korean Beverages (한국음료에 관한 모든 것)

There are a countless number of reasons to visit Korea – whether it’s the art, the fashion, or the food, there is truly something for every visitor to make a trip to Korea an amazing experience. But the most important thing that people forget to talk about is their amazing drinks.
Like Korean meals and Korean snacks, Korean drinks are all interesting and different from one another and from drinks in other countries.

ALCOHOLIC DRINKS

Soju(소주) is the national drink of South Korea. It is a clear spirit that was initially made from grain, particularly rice, and is now also made from sweet potatoes or barley. It’s a bit similar to vodka (around 20% proof) and is the cheapest beverage on the menu. There are many soju cocktails available, all of which will get you drunk unusually quickly.
Soju inclines to result in a mean hangover, even if you’ve only had a little. Takju (탁주 시), is a Korean rice wine, and ginseng wine, which is more luxurious but generally has a better taste.
The utmost popular kinds of beer in South Korea are western-style lagers – Cass, Hite, and OB. These three are fairly light and cheap.

TEA

In South Korea, tea or cha refers to numerous types of herbal tea that can be served hot or cold. Not certainly related to the leaves, leaf buds, they are made from various substances, including fruits like Yuza Tea(Yuja-Cha, 유자차) or Goji Tea(Gugi-Cha; 구기차), flowers like Chrysanthemum tea (gukhwa-cha; 국화차), roots like Root tea (Ssanghwa-cha, 쌍화차), and many more flavoured teas like Green Plum Tea, Green Tea.

COFFEE

In Korea, coffee is considered modern while tea is believed to be old-fashioned and common. Koreans generally drink coffee after lunch or in the evenings while chatting with friends. The most common coffee drinks in Korea are iced Americanos and Lattes. Also for having caffeinated milk for a go, Coffee milk(커피 우유) is the drink that one should go for. It is coffee infused with milk and is a perfect drink for a much needed extra energy.

PUNCHES

Hwachae (화채) is a universal term for traditional Korean punches, made with various fruits or edible flower petals. The fruits and flowers are soaked in honied water or honied magnolia berry juice. In modern South Korea, carbonated drinks or fruit juices are also normally added to hwachae.
Omija-hwachae (오미자화채) or magnolia berry punch is a sweet and tangy punch made with magnolia berries. The reddish-pink punch is generally served throughout the Summer. Other fruits and flower punches that are made in South Korea are watermelon punch or Subak-hwachae (수박화채); Strawberry Punch or talgi-hwachae (딸기화채); Yuja punch or Yuja-hwachae (유자화채), and many more.

RICE DRINK

Sikhye(식혜) is a traditional Korean rice drink that is so sweet that it is often served as a dessert. This Korean drink is usually made of cooked rice, which gives it an exciting texture. It is often served as a meal in some restaurants in South Korea. Sikhye is believed to help digestion, as it contains nutritional fiber and anti-oxidants. It was often served to royalty after meals to help them with digestion.

All About Korean Traditional Fashion (한국 전통 패션에 관한 모든 것)

Each country has its own history, culture, art, tradition and fashion. It has it’s own traditional folk costumes and clothes which resemble the spirit of its tradition and cultural customs. South Korea is a country that values it’s culture and customs greatly.

South Korea’s traditional clothing has its roots extending back at least as far as the Three Kingdoms Period (57 B.C. – 668 A.D.), as demonstrated by wall paintings in tombs dating from this period. In traditional outfits, Korea’s most famous traditional attire is called “hanbok” and it symbolizes the beauty of Korean tradition.

The top part is called a jeogori it’s a blouse-like jacket with long sleeves with the men’s version being longer, stretching down to the waist. Women wear skirts which is called (chima) while men wear baggy pants called (paji). Commoners wore white, except during festivals and special occasions such as weddings. Clothes for the upper classes were made of bright colors and showed the wearer’s social status. Foot gear, jewellery, and headdresses or hair pins are few accessories that completes the outfit.

The Korean hanbok signifies one of the most visible characteristics of Korean culture. Nowadays formal and casual wear are visibly influenced by the modern and western styles, while traditional hanbok is still worn during special festivals and celebrations.

Due to its rich historical value, hanbok became the reflection of Korean cultural heritage and art. As a matter of fact, hanbok is so valuable to Koreans that they even established an official ‘Hanbok Day’ in order to encourage people to wear it. Even people can be find on the streets wearing traditional clothes, as an exhibition or simply because of fashion.It shows the love they have for their culture and how much they respect their history and tradition. If you get a chance to wear hanbok do try it.

All About Korean Food (한국 음식에 관한 모든 것)

In recent years South Korea has become well known for its technology than its food. However, thanks to its mouth-watering delicacies, which has become a universally known and things has started to change.

Food in South Korea is focussed around rice and soup accompanied by a meat or fish dish, with many sides. Some dishes won’t seem too strange to a western palate –seasoned rice and vegetables or roasted meat, while others may at first be too spicy or simply distasteful but still many people tend to fall in love with Korean cooking. Some common ingredients used in Korean dishes include sesame oil, doenjang (fermented bean paste), soy sauce, salt, garlic, ginger, pepper flakes, gochujang (fermented red chili paste) and napa cabbage.

Kimchi

Kimchi is a salted and fermented vegetables traditional Korean side dish. Kimchi is loaded with vitamins A, B, and C, and has “healthy bacteria” called lactobacilli, which is good (found in yogurt) and it helps with digestion, plus it seems to help stop and even prevent yeast infections, according to various studies.

It’s made with a mix of napa cabbage, radish, onion, garlic and a variety of fermented spices, it is chilled before consumption. It is a low-fat and high-fiber salad that can be preserved for a long period in the refrigerator or any cool place, contrasting fresh vegetables and dairy products, and its flavourful taste makes people drool. This is why this pickled salad has accomplished to leave its trail over Delhiites in summers. 40 pounds of kimchi is consumed by the Koreans at an average of a year.

Soups and stews

Budae jjigae, a type of jjigae, made with ham, sausage, spam, baked beans, kimchi and gochujang

The amount of soups and stews in South Korea is absurd. The main difference between soup and stew is that Soups are known as guk ortang, while jjigae usually means stew.

In Korean culture, soup is served as the main course, as a supplement to rice along with other banchan ( a communal name for small side dishes served along with cooked rice in Korean cuisine). Guk is made with meats, shellfish, and vegetables; Tang is a more of a formal soup serves as a main course dish and Jjigae are thicker and heavier seasoned stews. Some of the popular types of soups and stews are: Gomguk (곰국) or Beef bone soup; Seolleongtang(선릉 탕) or Ox bone soup; Yukgaejang( 육개장) or Spicy beef soup; Kimchi-jjigae(김치 찌개) or Kimchi stew; Budae jjigae(부대 찌개) or sausage stew, etc.

Noodles

Japchae, a Korean dish made with marinated beef and vegetables in soy sauce and sesame oil.

After Kimchi, Noodles are what popular in South Korea. Noodles in Korean cuisine are jointly referred to as guksu in native Korean. Janchi-Guksu (장치 국수) or banquet noodles is a Korean noodle dish consisting of wheat flour noodles in a light broth made fromanchovy and sometimes also dasima. They are called banquet noodles because they are the speciality for birthdays, weddings or auspicious occasions because the long and continued shape of the noodles are thought to be associated with the bliss for long life and long-lasting marriage.

In Korean traditional noodle dishes are Naengmyeon or raengmyŏn is a dish of long and thin handmade noodles made from the flour and starch of various ingredients, together with buckwheat, potatoes, sweet potatoes, arrowroot starch, and kudzu. They are served best when cold, Bibim-guksu or spicy noodles, a cold dish that is made with very thin wheat flour noodles called somyeon with added flavours, is one of the most popular old-style noodle dishes in Korean cuisine and is very popular during summer. Kong-guksu or in other words noodles in cold soybean soup is a recurrent Korean noodle dish served in a cold soy milk broth.

All About K-Pop (K-Pop에 관한 모든 것)

“K-Pop” a word that many of us are familiar with now but that wasn’t the case 30 years ago. K-pop is an abbreviation used for Korean pop or Korean popular music. It is a musical genre consisting of electronic, hip hop, pop, rock, and R&B music originated in South Korea. K-pop has now even spread outside of Korea through Psy’s “Gangnam Style” and BTS, more and more people are starting to learn about K-Pop. K-Pop is not just Korean pop music but there are other genres too. It all started in 1989 when Lee Soo Man founded SM Entertainment which later became one of the biggest entertainment companies in South Korea. In 1992, a group called Seo Taiji and Boys debuted and changed the Korean music industry. They fused the English language in their lyrics and dance moves into their music videos which were the beginning of modern K-Pop. In 1997, Park Jin Young founded JYP Entertainment. In 1998, Yang Hyun-suk, a former member of Seo Taiji and Boys founded YG Entertainment. These three entertainment companies are also known as the “Big 3” in South Korea because of how big and popular they are.

In 1996, SM Entertainment created a boy group called H.O.T (Highfive Of Teenagers) and they are one of the first idol groups. They are also one of the pioneers of the Hallyu/Korean Wave. Korean Wave is an increase in the global popularity of Korea’s entertainment in other countries. H.O.T ventured into the Chinese market with its Chinese album and made K-Pop known in China. There were also other K-Pop groups along with H.O.T which are S.E.S, SechsKies, Fin.K.L, g.o.d., Shinhwa, etc. Kwon Bo-ah also known as BoA, also from SM Entertainment, broke into the Japanese market with her Japanese album in 2002 further increasing the Korean Wave. In the early 2000s, groups that debuted in the late 1990s began to disband like H.O.T and then came along TVXQ. TVXQ, a five-member group, debuted in 2003 and was another group that was created by SM Entertainment. TVXQ became successfully and increased the awareness for K-Pop. They were a hit and became popular in Japan and China. At this point, the Korean Wave is aimed at the Asian market so far.

Many more K-pop groups began to debut after TVXQ. Super Junior (2005), Big Bang (2005), Kara (2007), SNSD (2007), 2NE1 (2007) are just a few of the groups that debuted after the disbandment of the K-pop groups in the late 1990s. The groups further increased the popularity of K-Pop and the Korean Wave into other Asian countries. “Gangnam Style” by Psy was the fastest video to reach 1 billion views on Youtube in 2012. K-Pop became widely known because of Psy especially the horse dance in Gangnam Style and further increased the Korean Wave. BTS, one of the most popular K-Pop groups at this moment, was the first K-Pop group to perform at the BBMA in 2017 and made K-Pop more well known in the American market.

All About Korean Culture (한국 문화에 관한 모든 것 )

Culture of South Korea (한국 문화) Korea is a small peninsula situated between China and Japan. South Korea or the Republic of Korea or Hangul (남한), is a country with over 51 million people in the East Asian nation on the southern half of the Korean Peninsula. The capital of South Korea is Seoul, it is the fifth-largest metropolitan city in the world. It’s citizens enjoy the world’s fastest Internet connection speeds along with the world’s second-best healthcare system, resulting in the third-highest health adjusted life expectancy in the world. It’s the world’s 5th largest exporter and 8th largest importer, South Korea is a global leader in many technologies and innovation-driven fields. The 21st century has made South Korea mainly renowned for its globally influential pop culture such as K-pop and K-dramas. Korea is greatly influenced by Chinese and Japanese cultures. Buddhism and Christianity are the main religions. Buddhism is the religion in Korea with the most followers and its teachings have a great impression on Korean lifestyle, culture, and art. Korean people are friendly and outgoing, but they still are very conscious about their social status which is seen in their mannerisms and behaviors. They follow certain traditions which include the ethical code of conduct in social life and showing respect to the elders and family. Koreans also believe in honesty and loyalty and follow certain codes of conduct while meeting, eating, praying and even celebrating. The values of cooperation, respect for elders, and respect are highly valued by the Koreans. When people in other cultures shake hands, Koreans bow. They bow as a sign of gratitude and respect to the person they are meeting. Family is the most vital part of Korean society and the father is the leader of the family. They also believe in a ranked structure and children help their parents and must obey them and show respect to the elders. As Confucius’s teachings have a deep influence on Koreans lives, they believe in duty, loyalty, honor, and sincerity. That’s why children live with their parents after they became adults as they believe they must take care of their parents. Education is highly valued in Korean society and parents try hard to provide the best possible education to their children. Korean festivals are full of life, colors, and joy, and they are celebrated all over the year. Most celebrations and festivals are associated with harvest and family.