Also I'm a leftist (of the Marxist/communist type) and a Friend/Quaker (RSOF), so right-wing politics, racism, homophobia, terfs, ableism, etc. aren't welcome here~
Also the numbers in between the stations are the minutes it takes to get there from the current station. It takes 2 minutes to μμ§λ‘3κ°, 6 minutes to μ₯μ(in the other direction), etc.
Took me until about halfway through college before I realized βstudyβ means βplay with the material in a variety of ways until you understand itβ and not just βread the assigned chapters and do the homeworkβ and I think that probably should have been discussed at some point prior to that.
(I've been here anonymously long enough; gotta dox myself to brag about klhc γ γ )
I got asked to help with translation stuff at next year's CSI, so I'm gonna start studying by translating Eng > Kor (which I never do) and focusing on dance-related vocab~
Iβve been in the US for the past couple of weeks, so I havenβt been posting. My Jan. monthly post is late but Iβm flying back home tomorrow and will be doing some studying during the rest of my vacation time~
1μΌ - μν΄ / New Year: The first day of the new year is a holiday, just like in lots of other countries!
6μΌ - μν / Sohan: One of the 24 yearly divisions, this is when the cold sets in.
20μΌ - λν / Daehan: Another of the 24 yearly divisions, this is the coldest time of the year.
Not much going on this month~ I just have a couple more weeks of work and then it's winter vacation!
7μΌ - λμ€ / Daeseol: one of the 24 seasonal divisions; this is the day said to have the heaviest snowfall (we'll see if it's true this year...)
22μΌ - λμ§ / Dongji: the longest night of the year aka the Winter Solstice (fyi this word also means "comrade")
25μΌ - μ±νμ (ν¬λ¦¬μ€λ§μ€) / Christmas: the Christian holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus...but in Korea it's more about having a nice date with your significant other. You can see lots of decorations around and people have end of the year parties, but there's basically no mention of Jesus/Christianity and it's not an important "family holiday" the way it is in the US, for example. Also, it's a red day!
I'm almost positive I posted about this before, but it still makes me giggle, so here it is again!
In Animal Crossing, there's a character named Sahara who visits your island/town sometimes. She's a foreigner who doesn't really speak your language. It's neat to see how that's handled in Korean!
The biggest thing is that she is terrible at verb endings and basically never uses them correctly lol
Today (literally right now since it's 11am here) is the day of the college entrance exams aka μλ₯!
I saw this cool news story about this one boys' school in Seoul that does a huge celebration for their 3rd year students (the test takers) the day before:
μλ₯ λͺ» λ³Ό μκ° μλ€ // There's no way you can't take the Suneung
Destruction of Labor - Livelihood - Democracy - Peace
Yoon Seok-Yeol regime, resign!
Inherit the spirit of martyr Jeon Tae-il
(Sorry, I don't know how to make these slogans sound good in English lol...)
Who was Jeon Tae-il?
Jeon Tae-il worked in Seoul Peace Market (μμΈννμμ₯) in the mid-late 1960s doing sewing & other odd jobs. Although there were laws meant to protect the rights of workers, they weren't enforced. Workers were routinely forced to work unpaid overtime, injected with drugs to keep them awake, and suffered health issues like TB due to the unsanitary environments they had to work in.
In 1969, after learning about the laws, Jeon Tae-il started the first labor organization in the market, λ°λ³΄ν (the Fool's Association), to educate the other workers about their rights. However, the government under dictator Park Chung-hee responded by cracking down harder on the employees trying to organize.
On November 13th, 1970 Jeon Tae-il set himself on fire and ran through the streets to bring attention to the terrible working conditions. He was 22 years old.
His death was a catalyst for people to unite in the struggle for workers' rights. Factory workers began forming unions and slowly the laws have been enforced/changed to protect workers. The struggle isn't over, though, so every year since 1988 the μ κ΅λ Έλμλν/National Workers' Rally has been held in Seoul.
Wow I totally forgot about this month's calendar because there's basically nothing going on...so I'm adding in a couple of socially important dates (to some of us) that aren't shown on holiday calendars~
8μΌ - μ λ / Ipdong: one of the 24 seasonal divisions, this day marks the beginning of winter~
16μΌ - λνμνλ₯λ ₯μν (μλ₯) / College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) aka the Suneung: 3rd (final) year high school students & graduates take this exam on the 3rd Thursday of November and it's a huge event. The exam starts at 8:40am and many schools & businesses open later to reduce morning traffic (my school will skip 1st period). There are more buses & subway trains running in the morning, and police have been known to escort test takers so everyone can arrive on time. Planes don't fly overhead during the English listening section to prevent distractions. Family members, teachers, and other high school students often stand outside the schools to cheer on the students as they go inside in the morning & when they come out in the evening.
As for the test itself, there are 6 sections: Korean (κ΅μ΄), Math (μν), Korean History (νκ΅μ¬), English (μμ΄), another foreign language/classical Chinese (μ 2μΈκ΅μ΄/νλ¬Έ), and other subjects (νꡬ) where students choose two options from one category: social studies (political science, ethics, etc.), sciences (biology, chemistry, etc.), and vocational education (agriculture, industry, etc.; only for vocational school students). There are also some options/elective topics within other sections, like math & Korean. So the test isn't exactly the same for all students!
Only History is mandatory, but most candidates take all the sections except another foreign language. Students decide which subjects/topics to take based on their university plans. Different schools/majors expect applicants to take different subjects. If you don't get a good score, you can retake it the next year.
20μΌ - μμΈ μ¬λ¦½μ΄ μΆμ²¨μΌ / Seoul Private Elementary School Lottery Day: In Seoul, private elementary schools use a lottery system for admissions and they all do the lottery on the same day. There are a bunch of rules around applying and how the actual lottery is done. Previously, parent & child had to attend the lottery in person, which meant you had to choose one school in the end, but this year I think it'll be online and parents can choose 3 schools? Anyway, due to the lottery, private elementary schools don't have class on this day!
22μΌ - μμ€ / Soseol: one of the 24 seasonal divisions, the day snow begins to fall~