Korean New Year vs. Chinese New Year

8:00 am

Korean New Year is NOT the same as Chinese New Year….

But it is similar. And everyone has a tendency to refer to the Lunar New Year as Chinese New Year. Although, it’s no wonder because China has the world’s largest population!

Not to mention that the traditions of Chinese New Year are just fun with dragon dances, fireworks, and the like!

However, it is not entirely correct to refer to the Lunar New Year as Chinese New Year, because many other countries also celebrate the Lunar New Year. And one of those countries is the Republic of Korea! [Read more…]

Seollal (Korean New Year) is Next Week! It’s Time for Tteokguk!

8:00 am

Seollal 설날 (Korean New Year) is Next Week!

That means it’s time for tteokguk 떡국! Tteokguk is the yummy traditional rice cake soup that’s eaten on New Year’s Day. The round shape of the rice cakes symbolizes money, because the roundness are like coins. And the white color of the rice cakes symbolizes purity, as in starting fresh for the new year.

It’s also a tradition to eat it to symbolize turning a year older since everyone simultaneously ages a year on New Year’s Day, according to how Koreans calculate age. (I know that’s kind-of confusing, so I cleared it up here.) So often, you’ll hear people asking if you’ve eaten tteokguk, because you’re not officially a year older until you have. But if you ask me, that’s a reason for me to never eat tteokguk ever again! Forever young! …But tteokguk is so tasty…. Meh, what’s in a number?! Enjoy the soup! 😉 [Read more…]

The 2018 Winter Olympics Start Tomorrow!

8:00 am

The 2018 Winter Olympics Start Tomorrow!

This time it’s in PyeongChang in the Republic of Korea! And it’s about 80 miles east of Seoul. I’m told it’s a beautiful mountainous area and cold…frigidly cold!

This Winter Olympics seemed kind-of shaky with everything that’s going on with North Korea. There was talk of countries pulling out if North Korea was going to participate. And North Korea seemed iffy about letting their athletes participate. So it was a whole thing! [Read more…]

How to Make a Cute Kiss-Kiss in Korean T-Shirt

8:00 am

How to Make a Cute Kiss-Kiss in Korean T-Shirt

I wanted to make something cute for my toddler for Valentine’s Day. It had to be easy, quick, and something he could wear any time of the year.

Well, one of the cutest words in Korean is “ppo-ppo” (뽀뽀), which means “kiss” or “kiss-kiss” in Korean. I think it may technically be slang, but who cares? It’s adorable when a little kid says it!

So I decided to put this saying on a t-shirt using my super handy dandy Silhouette Cameo! It’s easy to make and you can do it too!

Don’t worry if you don’t have a Silhouette Cameo though. You can use freezer paper instead! The difference is that with the Silhouette, we’re printing the design right onto a sheet that will get ironed on to the fabric; whereas, with freezer paper, we’re making a stencil to fill in with fabric paint. The stencil won’t have as much detail as the Silhouette print but it’s MUCH easier and cheaper to do and it’ll still be adorable! [Read more…]

A Memory from a Korean-American Childhood – Seollal (Korean New Year)

8:00 am

A Memory from a Korean-American Childhood – Seollal (Korean New Year)

In case you didn’t know, Seollal (sometimes known as Seolnal) is Korean New Year. It spans three days and this year it’s February 15th through the 17th.

It’s a major holiday in South Korea and it’s typically celebrated by getting together with relatives (even the extended family!). Roads and airports will be jam packed with travelers just as the grocery shelves will be packed with fruit gift sets. It’s a lot like what Christmas is here in good old U.S. of A. So it appears holiday travel traffic is pretty much universal. 😣 [Read more…]