KIMCHI

Kimchi is a traditional fermented Korean side dish made of vegetables with a variety of seasonings. It is often describe as “spicy” or “sour”. In traditional preparation kimchi is often allowed to ferment   underground in jars for months at a time. Consisting of fermented chilli peppers and vegetables with   hundreds of varieties made from napa cabbage, radish, scallion or cucumber as a main ingredient. 

Kimchi also has many different kinds depends on the main ingredients. Different types of kimchi were traditionally made at different times of the year, based on when various vegetables were in season and also to take advantage of hot and cold seasons before the era of refrigeration.

Although the advent of modern refrigeration including kimchi refrigerators specifically designed with precise controls to keep different varieties of kimchi at optimal temperatures at various stages of fermentation has made this seasonality unnecessary, Koreans continue to consume kimchi according to traditional seasonal preferences.

The best testing kimchi is stored in room temperature for an average of six months to reach its full flavour.  It is a popular side dish but is also often used as an ingredient in cooking other popular Korean dish, including kimchi chigae (kimchi soup) and kimchi bokumbop (kimchi fried rice).

FOR Recipes

KOREAN WEEDING CEREMONIES

In ancient times, weddings (Honrye) were held in the bride's yard or house. The groom travelled by horse to the bride's house and after the wedding ceremony took his wife in a palanquin (sedan chair) to his parents’ house to live. The bride and groom wore formal court costumes for the wedding ceremony. Ordinary people were permitted to wear the luxurious clothes only on their wedding day. Hand lanterns are used for lighting the way from the groom's home to the bride's home on the night before the weeding.

Traditionally, the groom's family would carry a weeding chest filled with gifts for the bride's family. Weeding geese area a symbol for a long and happy marriage. Cranes are a symbol of long life and may be represented on the woman's sash. Pair of wooden Mandarin duck carvings called weeding ducks are often used in traditional weeding ceremonies because they are represent peace, fidelity and plentiful offspring.

Weeding Attire

Korean traditional costume is Hanbok, which is made by white cotton, silk or scratchy coarse fabric called hemp. The bride would wear a short jacket with long sleeves with two long ribbons attached, and to be tied in the front and a full length, high-waist wrap around skirt. Boat shaped shoes made of silk are worn with white cotton socks. The bride’s attire might include a white sash with significant symbols or flowers. A headpiece or crown may also be worn. For the groom, a traditional jacket, trousers, and an overcoat are worn. 

Weeding Feast

The size of the wedding feast differs from one to the other. These days, a big feast would present a buffet with variety of food and desserts, and a rather small feast would serve thick-beef soup with rice and kimchi. 

KOREAN SPA

Jjimjilbang a large, gender-segregated public bath house in Korea furnished with hot tubes, showers, Korean traditional saunas and massage table. Jjimjil is derived from the words meaning heated bath.

However, in other areas of the building or on other floors there are unisex areas, usually with a snack bar, heated floor for lounging and sleeping, wide-screen TVs, exercise rooms, ice rooms, heated salt rooms and sleeping quarters with either bunk beds or sleeping mats. Many of the sleeping rooms can have themes.

Usually Jjimjilbangs will have various rooms with different temperatures to suit guests' preferred relaxing temperatures. The walls are decorated with different woods, minerals, crystals, stones, and metals. Most jjimjilbangs are open 24 hours and are a popular weekend getaway for Korean families.

 

KOREAN STYLE GREETINGS

Bowing has been an important element of Korean culture. The type of bow varies depending on the formality of the occasion. The sabae is a very formal bow performed on a very formal occasion such as wedding days, funerals and traditional holidays. A vital part of in rituals honoring one's ancestors.

Although traditionally only men performed sabae as part of charye/ jerye, the rituals honoring ancestors, both women and men make the formal bow at weddings and etc. Sabae involves going on down on both knees and banding toward the floor.The numbers of bows performed depend on the occasion (often 3 times)

Let's Learn How to Perform 'Sebae'

1. Hand positions

Women, usually she places her right hand above the left hand, and vice versa for the man. To express grief at funerals, women place their left hand over their right hand and the opposite for the man. However, when performing sebae, the woman places her right hand above the left hand, and the man places his left hand above his right hand.

2. Man’s Sebae

 

1. Place one's left hand above the right. Stand up straight with your hands resting in front of the lower abdomen (right below the navel).
2. Raise both hands to the chest.
3. Place both hands on the floor as you bend your knees.
4. Bend your upper body and bow your head.
5. Once your head touches the back of your left hand, stand up by raising your right knee first.
6. Raise both hands up to your chest once more before returning your hands to their natural position.

3. Women’s sabae

There are two ways of observing sebae for women: simplified jeol and formal jeol. Simplified jeol is commonly performed in everyday. However, the formal jeol is usually performed for showing respect to elders on special occasions such as wedding ceremonies or other formal events.

i) Simplified Jeol

1. Place your right hand above your left hand. Stand up straight with your hands resting in front of your lower abdomen (right below the navel).
2. Release your hands naturally as you bend your knees and sit.
3. Rest your hands in front of your knees, placing them at shoulder's width. Then bow your head as you bend your upper body.
4. Take your hands off the floor as you raise your upper body.
5. Resume your standing position with your hands in front of your lower abdomen.

ii) Formal jeol

1. Raise both hands up to your eye level with your head slightly bowed and eyes on your feet.
2. Sit cross-legged with your hands still raised in the above position.
3. Bend your upper body about 45 degrees.
4. Stay in this position for a couple of seconds before getting up. Maintain your hands in the original position at all times.
5. Resume your standing position with your hands in front of your lower abdomen.

Once you have finished performing 'sebae', you can sit back down and listen to the well-wishing comments from your elders. Then, enjoy the delicious Seollal tteokguk (rice cake soup) with all your family members, and later, play folk games together like yunnori.

Tip: How to Tie One's Hanbok Ribbon

The ribbon hanging in front of the woman's Hanbok is called the 'otgoreum' and it has a specific way of tying it. Let's learn how to tie the woman's otgoreum.

1. Hold the two ribbons strings, both long and short, in your hands.
2. Cross the ribbon strings, placing the short string on top of the long string.
3. Wrap the short string around the long string with its end facing the ceiling.
4. Fold the long string and place the folded string on top of your right chest. This shape is called the 'gori'.
5. Wrap the shorter string around the gori and make a knot.
6. The knot should not be too tight, and the loop should be parallel to the ceiling.

KOREAN TRADITIONAL CLOTH

HANBOK

Hanbok means the traditional unique clothes of Korean people since long before. Hanbok is made with proper room and it makes the people who wear them feel very comfortable because Hanbok have enough space that don’t restrain the body. And a combination between straight line and curve of Hanbok, which look like to express Korean nature as it is, show beauty as well as elegancy, so renowned French daily magazine ‘Le Monde’ praised highly the Hanbok as ‘costume of wind’ with indicating plenty silhouette and waving line which are wrapping the curve of human body.

  


HISTORY OF HANBOK

Hanbok was already adjusted in the Ancient Gojoseon Dynasty according to the literature and the history of Hanbok began in earnest from the Age of Three State. The shape of Hanbok in early stages is found in Ancient Goguryeo era Muyongchong Tombs Mural, and it is recognized that the original form of Chima (skirt) and Jeogori, which are basic structure of Hanbok, are formed in this era, as both men and women wore the top with long sleeves which are equivalent to the Jeogori, trousers and Chima.

Hanbok showed the modification as the length of arms and sleeves are shortened in Goryeo Dynasty after passing Unified Silla Dynasty, it is corrected firmly as the basic structure of our clothes for the ordinary people.

Hanbok of 2,000 years of history slowly disappeared from mainstream society as the official uniform of the government had been changed to western style in 1895 and gave its position as everyday dress to western clothes through industrialization after the Japanese colonial era and the Korean War.

Types of Hanbok

Hanbok has basically separated structure of top and bottom. It can be divided to clothes for adult and kids and differentiated for season. There is also separation of formal dress and everyday dress.

Male Adults

Basic compositions of Hanbok for male adult are Baji (trousers) and Jeogori. After wearing Baji for bottom and Jeogori for top, they wore Jokki, Magoja, Durumagi (Dopo) and Gat (Gwan). The compositions for events as wedding, memorial service and funeral were also difference from them. They wore white Durumagi with Gat and wore Sang-bok for funeral. They wore Danryeong which was a uniform of officers regardless of their class at the wedding ceremony.

Female Adults

There are Chima for bottom, Jeogori for top and Magoja and Durumagi (coat) for female adults. Sometimes they wore Baeja onJeogori and they usually wore Teol-baeja in winter. They wore Hwalot or Wonsam, dress for women in the palace for wedding ceremony. In 19^th century, the length of Jeogori was extremely short, they wore Sokjeoksam and Heoritti together with Jeogori to cover their breast or armpits.

Male Kids

The everyday dresses for boys were same as those of male adults but they wore Bokgeon on the head. Hanbok for only kids is Dol-bok the first birthday. Boys wore Heoritti (belt) which a lucky bag is attached and a leopard printed Hogeon. They also wore a clothes named Obangjang Durumagi with the colour of red, yellow, blue and white which has the meaning of bless of the life of the boy.

Female Kids

Girls wore Chima, Jeogori, Baeja and Durumagi for everyday dresses and wore Gule on the head to prevent from cold weather. Girls also wore Obangjang Durumagi at their first birthday to wish their luck.