Jisu Song / Assignment 3_Special occasion / Tuesday 11 a.m.

Easter in Brazil

201001709 Jisu Song

 

Easter is celebrated worldwide, but have you ever wondered how Brazilians would prepare the day? As Brazil has the largest Catholic population in the world, it is widely celebrated all over the country. On that day, people remember Jesus Christ's resurrection and strengthen religious beliefs. For this, many ceremonies and dishes are prepared.

Few days before Easter, Brazilians hold the Holy Week rituals. Streets are decorated with colorful patterns. On that colored road, an event carrying statues of Mary and the body of Jesus Christ called the procession walk is held. Also, people weave palm branches with patterns symbolizing crosses, banners, letters and other objects for the blessing of the palm branches ceremony. A lot of people pour out into the streets to involve in the ritual.

During Brazilian Easter holidays, a special peanut candy named Pacoca is enjoyed. It's often sold in supermarkets, but home-made Pacocas are the true sweets from the heart. To make a Pacoca, first, grind peanuts, brown sugar, and flour together. Second, add sweetened condensed milk and roll the paste into a ball. Remember to slowly pour the condensed milk until you get the desired softness. Then, put the mixture on a prepared pan and heat it for 1 to 2 hours. Next, take out the candy and cut it into pieces so that children can eat easily. Finally, decorate the candy with chopped peanuts to make it look more mouthwatering. Now you are ready to enjoy a sweet holiday.

After all the preparation, people go to church to commemorate Jesus Christ's resurrection from death. They bring Marcela flowers, which are worshipped by Catholics because they only bloom in that period, to receive blessing from the priest. After the service, the flowers are also used as herbs. People gather and enjoy special food like Pacoca or chocolate Easter eggs when the ceremony is over.

Since 90% of Brazilians are Catholics, Easter is largely celebrated in the country. People eat special food, go to church, and enjoy parades. They also sing, dance, and march to commemorate Christ's resurrection. On the day, they become devout Catholics with strong religious beliefs by remembering Jesus's sacrifice.

Minyoung Kang/assignment 3/TUE 11

                Every university student will want to know the answer to one question: how can we travel abroad with littlest amount of money? This is definitely not an easy question, but with a great preparation, there is a way to save money as much as possible but still get a great experience abroad. Usually, wise university students take considerable time budgeting and planning their travel. The following is their preparation for the travel of their lives.

                The first thing they begin to work on is their plans. They need to decide on which country to go, what they want to experience, and what is there to enjoy and feel. The popular travel sites for most university students are eastern Asian countries, the Americas, and sometimes Europe. The eastern Asian countries are relatively cheaper to visit but are filled with numerous things to do. For students who study Spanish, Latin America is one of the best choices for them. They carefully go through the available choices and weigh the pros and cons, and do research on the popular tourist attractions and festivals held in the country. It is important to read others' writings about their experiences at those places, as they tell some useful information on spending time wisely. Then, they move on to budgeting.

                The budgeting may definitely be the hardest part of traveling planning. The first thing students consider is the transportation and lodging expenses. This takes up the biggest portion of the budget, but this is the part where the students can save most money. As for transportation, it is much cheaper to reserve the plane seats some months before the departure date, and the earlier, the better. As the time gets closer to the departure date, the cost of the tickets may rocket as there are much more demand than before. Also, there are some travel agencies that offer packages that include only the plane tickets for limited number of people. If you could find a great deal like this, you can save more than you can think of. It is similar to lodging as well. If you book the rooms in advance, the rate will be much affordable. Also, students usually stay in youth hostels, with is a cheap accommodation where you can share a room with 5-6 travelers at a same time. This may not sound very attractive, but it is actually a great choice for young travelers as you can share your experiences with other travelers from various countries.

                The last step in preparing the affordable travel is packing. The things that should be in the luggage may differ according to the place students travel to. However, it is always the best to keep the luggage small and simple. Most students do not stay at one place, rather they move from one to another, usually on buses or trains at night. These buses and trains are actually a very good way to save money, because the students can save money on lodging, but still have a place to spend the night. At the same time, they are traveling to a different destination. Thus, in order to move from place to place easily, it is much recommendable to keep small luggage. Also, it is less tiresome to carry light and simple backpacks rather than large carriers.

                Traveling during the university years is something that everyone dreams of. However, it takes great effort to make the time worthwhile. Even though one travel might take up more time, money, and effort than how much it was expected, every single process of the travel will be an asset for the future. Follow the steps of the students who wisely planned their trips to make it yours, and make your travel the best.

Park Shin-Young/Assignment 3 (page 58)/Tuesday 11 a.m.

 

How does a person become a presidential candidate to run for office in your native country?

 

Korea is a democratic republic, which means it's a political system governed not by a king but by a president or a prime minister. Especially, Korea, like U.S., has chosen the presidential system. For the past decades, the military forcibly usurped the authority, and military dictators such as Park Jeong Hee, Jeon Du Hwan seized the power. But, with people's devoted sacrifice, we could get to vote a president by ourselves. It has been only 25 years. So, how are president candidates chosen?

 

First, let's take a look on qualifications to run for the presidential election. Candidates are supposed to be over age 40. Also, they must be person who has lived in Korea for at least five years. Of course, if they lost the right to be elected by court's sentence or other laws, they couldn't stand as a candidate regardless of two requirements above.

 

Normally, the election goes into effect on one year prior to the termination of an incumbent president's term of office. So, each party should choose candidates before. First of all, personnel who want to be a candidate can officially announce candidacy and, as a preliminary candidate, run the campaign from 240 days before the presidential election day.

 

The ways to elect parties' presidential candidate are different each other. There are two ways for that. One is by the leading members, and the other is by a primary election. Most parties use the latter way. A primary election is held for party members and non-party ones. Non-party members only mean people who already registered for the primary election.

 

Pre-candidates go all over the country and appeal to electorates. Primary elections are usually held nationwide by regions. After every each election, the candidate who got the most accumulated ballots finally becomes an official presidential candidate of the party. In general, he or she take over the all authority related to party works from the party leader.

Hyein Jin / Assignment 3_Special occasion / Tuesday 11 a.m. / 30 March 2013

 

Pepero day : The unique holiday of Pepero snack in Korea

 

200903450 French/EIT

Hyein Jin

 

 

 Relationship means a lot in South Korea. There are approximately twenty holidays devoted to celebrate one's affections toward family, friends and lovers. We generally place great importance on the special days to appreciate someone we love and express our feeling. The 14^th of each month is usually dotted on Korean Calendar as a special day. However, in November, 11^th is also set aside for sweethearts. It is called Pepero day.

                   

                   Pepero day is named after a particular brand of snack 'Pepero'. It is a stick-shaped and crunchy snack with a thin coating of chocolate. There are all kinds of Pepero - Pepero dipped in white chocolate, or Pepero covered with almond or dried fruit flakes. The day is for exchanging Pepero with as many family members, friends, beloveds and even for acquaintances who are willing to accept it. This day is especially popular among kids and teens, and sometimes among people in their twenties. A lot of children feel isolated and left behind when they couldn't get enough Pepero as much as they expect.

                     Pepero originated from Busan, the second largest city of South Korea. There are two different stories about how Pepero day founded. First, some  teenage girls began to exchange Pepero snack in 11^th of November, wishing they can get in shape as slender as a Pepero snack. Second, It is more commonly believed that the first manufacturer of Pepero, Lotte Confectionery Co., Ltd., had strategically spread out the custom as a part of their marketing. In any case, it is widely accepted now and becomes national tradition since 1994.

 

Why is 11^th chosen for Pepero day? It is because that November 11 resembles long and thin Pepero sticks when the date is written in Korean way as 11/11. It is interesting that some of them are from our neighbors like Japan and China, but Pepero day is established only in Korea. Japanese and Chinese people have snacks similar to Pepero, but they don't celebrate the 11^th of November at all. From one month before the Pepero day, convenient stores and supermarkets are full of various Pepero products. We can easily see children are deep in thought in front of huge Pepero gift sets thinking how many they have to buy in Pepero day.

 

          Pepero day is already a particular and national holiday of Korea. However, we have to be cautious that this day is celebrated as a part of a company. Children do not have to be depressed when they could not get enough. Boys does not have to prepare a huge size of basket for his girlfriend. All we have to do in that day is thinking about our valuable people one more time as a part of this joyful celebration.

Yang, MyongHwa / Assignment 3 / Tue3,4

How to go on a trip more cheaply   The same thing goes round and round. Every day is not different from before. Busy daily life seems to be your best friend. What will you do to escape the situation if your life is as above? I assume that a nice trip might be a first thing to come to people's mind. As you know, a trip can refresh our mind and body easily. But if the travel budget is low, could people start to travel more easily? Let's check the ways to reduce the expense for trip.   First of all, reserve the airline ticket online in advance. Most of the airlines give the discounts to travelers making reservation online. Also, they sometimes post a surprising sale online without notice so it is good for you to visit and check the web sites frequently. In like manner of the airline, some travel agencies offer cheaper ticket on the Internet if you book much earlier than the departure date. The earlier you book it, the cheaper ticket you can get.   Next, stay at a private rental room service – 민박(Minbak). Paying for the room is one of the largest parts that account for the trip expense. In addition, most of the hotels charge you very high fee for a room. But unlike hotels, minbak offer a room at a lower fee and provide a good service such as simple breakfast, clean room and so on. By lodging in a private rental room service, you can not only save money but also feel comfortable like your home.   Last, gather a lot of information on the destination of your trip as much as possible. Travelers are new and stranger to the places they visit, so they could get lost in the street or ripped off by merchant when they buy something. If travelers collect enough information and make a plan before trip, they wouldn't worry about the merchant's trick and waste money paying for a taxi fare when they are lost.   Even though everyone often dreams of a trip, the burden of the travel budget keeps people from hitting the road right away. But preparing for a trip in advance and making a plan allow you to leave for a fabulous place and enjoy yourself without worrying about money. If you want to make yourself refreshed, just start to go on a trip with a well-scheduled itinerary.

Yun Jeong Lee/ Human Respiratory System/ Tuesday 11a.m.

<How does the human respiratory system work?>

 

             201002551 EIT

Yun Jeong Lee

 

             Many people wrongfully think that respiration is simply 'breathing in and out'. However, respiration is the process of converting glucose into energy. It is much more complicated than breathing, because it requires much process and it goes on in every cell in the human body. Human respiratory system includes three major steps.

             First, a person inhales air to allow gaseous exchange between oxygen and carbon dioxide in the lungs. Inhaled air contains lots of oxygen. The oxygen diffuses into hemoglobin in the blood, the oxygen carrying agent, in exchange for carbon dioxide. These oxygen carrying hemoglobin, or oxyhemoglobin, travel through blood vessels until they reach target cells.

             Next, oxygen containing hemoglobin releases oxygen when it reached the body cells. Since there is less oxygen in the cells than in oxyhemoglobin, oxygen diffuses into the body cells due to concentration difference. At the same time, carbon dioxide diffuses out of the cells and into the blood, down the concentration gradient. Then, it is carried back to the lungs for gaseous exchange.

             Finally, oxygen in body cells is used to convert glucose into energy. Oxygen and glucose react to produce carbon dioxide, water, and energy. Energy is used by humans while the side products, carbon dioxide and water, are disposed. Carbon dioxide is exhaled in gas form, and water is released as steam of breath.

             Though human respiration requires breathing in and out, they are not the same. Respiration is a complicated system of gaseous exchange and chemical reactions to produce the energy humans need in order to survive.

Jung Ji Soo 201103227 / Assignment 3 A Special Occasion / Tuesday 11am class

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

 

Intermediate English Writing (1)

 

201103227 E. I. T

Jung Ji Soo

 

Do you love traveling beautiful and marvelous places? And do you love meeting new people in new world? Most of people would say YES. Nowadays more and more people travel around the world since it becomes easier to get other countries. This piece of paper would be great help when you prepare for special trips to other countries. There are three steps which might be important for having gorgeous travel.

 

The first step is finding a lot of information as much as you can on the places where you go. Though nations become closer under the name of globalization, there are still too many cultural differences. So it is really important to get lots things about where you trip. And also you can find really useful information on the internet; what delicious food is, where famous places are, and what things that we should do are. If you get more and more information, during traveling, there will be less troubles in the new place.

 

The next step is checking all the things that you prepare for traveling. Many people have difficulties in preparing what to bring or not. And when you forget something, it would be trouble and you would have hard time. So, before you travel, check again that you really prepare well. I'm not saying that bring all the things in backpack heavily, but I'm saying that bring really necessary and important things and don't bring unnecessary ones. Just keep your backpack lightly.

 

The last step that I recommend here is learning useful expressions in foreign language. This is really good attitude when you travel, and the other country's people will consider you much better. Greeting and giving thanks to others in that country's language would be really good chance to get much closer with the natives. You and natives will be much happier with only simple expressions. I also experienced it a lot when I traveled other countries.

 

           As a conclusion, before you go abroad and travel, the more you prepare the more you can enjoy. Don't forget to find lots of information and check your things and learn simple expressions. Enjoy your travel and experience a lot of new things.

 

 

 

Soyun Jeong/ assignment 2/ Tue 11

The First Day of the Full Moon in the Lunar Calendar

 

201203187 

Soyun Jeong 

Because the Koreans used lunar calendar in the past, Korean culture is closely related to moon. A lot of Korean traditional festivals are held on the day of full moon, and Jeong-wol-dae-bo-reum is one of them. Jeong-wol-dae-bo-reum, the first full moon day of the year in the lunar calendar, is very exciting day because people do a lot of special activities. Today, not many people celebrate Jeong-wol-dae-bo-reum, but some families still remember the tradition. Also, in some places they held special events on the day of Jeong-wol-dae-bo-reum, so young people can learn about it. People have to go through a lot of process to have a great Jeong-wol-dae-bo-reum day.

          Before the celebration, people get very busy because they have to cook special meal for Jeong-wol-dae-bo-reum, and create decorations. Koreans cook o-gok-bab, rice and other four different types of grains cooked together. They also prepare different kinds of na-mul-mu-chim, which are stir-fried dried herbs. The Koreans eat these foods on the day before Jeong-wol-dae-bo-reum. Other people make dal-jib, a big structure built with wood and straw. Dal-jib in Korean means the house of moon. They also make bok-jo-ri to decorate their homes. Bok means luck, and jo-ri is a tool that looks like a big ladle made of straw. People believed that if they hang bok-jo-ri on the front door, they can invite luck into the house.

In the morning and afternoon of Jeong-wol-dae-bo-reum, people do many activities that have significant meanings. First, they eat bu-rum in the early morning. Bu-rum indicates various kinds of nuts people eat on the Jeong-wol-dae-bo-reum. In the past, the Koreans believed that eating nuts will prevent them from having boils on their skin, and bring them luck. Next, people drink alcohol during the breakfast, believing that they can have more sharp ears by drinking alcohol on Jeong-wol-dae-bo-reum. They even allow children to drink alcohol just for that day. However, not many people follow this tradition of drinking alcohol these days. After the breakfast, Koreans "sell" their "heat" to each other in Jeong-wol-dae-bo-reum. If someone calls the other person's name, and he or she answers, the person who called says, "Buy my heat." In that case, they believe, people who "sold" the heat gets less chance to have heat exhaustion in the summer, and people who 'bought' the heat gets more.

The Koreans also do lots of activities at the night of Jeong-wol-dae-bo-reum, and they are more special because it is not done by each individuals or families, but by all members of the village together. First, people divided themselves into two parties and play go-tsa-um together. Each team has a thick and long rope with huge loop at the end. Together, both teams attack the loop of the other team to press it down. If the loop of one team presses down the other loop completely, that team wins. After go-tsa-um, they link the ropes used in go-tsa-um together and play tug and war. Next, people gather around the dal-jib and fire it. While the dal-jib burns, they walk around dal-jib, praying their wishes to the moon.

There are so many other activities of Jeong-wol-dae-bo-reum that I have not mentioned, because there are just too many of them, and they differ from region to region. All of these activities had been very important aspect of Korean life for more than thousand years, which bring the whole community together, make them enjoy themselves, and let them wish good luck for the new year. However, it is very sad that lots of Koreans don't know much about this wonderful tradition. Therefore, Koreans should try hard to teach young people about Jeong-wol-dae-bo-reum, and make sure they keep this tradition just like their ancestors did.   

Minyoung Kang/assignment 2/TUE 11

   In Spain, there are diverse festivals that all the tourists and citizens in Spain can all enjoy together. One of these festivals is held in Catalonia, and is mostly known to people as Annual Tarragona Castells Festival. In this festival, groups of people called 'colles' form about 10-story-high human towers, or 'castells.' This festival is celebrated as one of the most interesting festival to visit for its long history and scale.

   On the day of the festival, usually taking place on the first weekend of October, thousands of people gather to see the tower building competitions. The colles wear the uniform in colors that represent their team, along with other gears that would make climbing easier. The first step they need to take in order to build the tower is to stand close as much as they can and hold the shoulders of the person right in front. This procedure is needed to build a strong foundation of the tower. Then, other members of the team start to head up, with usually men on the bottom, then woman, followed by boys and girls.  When they succeed in erecting the tower, the person standing on the top called enxaneta holds up four fingers, symbolizing the Catalan flag.

   This festival dates its start back to 18^th century. It is believed to have been originated from the dance groups building towers in Valls, which is a city near Tarragona, in the end of 18^th century.  Soon, it became very popular among the villagers and it came to be one of the biggest festivals in Spain. It also holds great importance in that it symbolizes the Catalan flag. Most of the times, the win is given to the team that builds most complex and highest towers of all. Also, the building and disassembling process is included in the evaluation as well, because if the tower falls before completely reaching the top level, it cannot be given a positive evaluation.

   Although this human tower building seems a bit dangerous, this festival is actually listed as the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. Also, over the decades, there has only been two critical injuries, and other times, there were only minor accidents that only caused headaches or nosebleed. Because there are many people standing under the tower that acts not only as a strong foundation, but also as a safety net for the tower builders, the safety is guaranteed most of the times. There are numerous ambulances in case of emergency as well.

   In brief, what they do on the Annual Tarragona Castells Festival, why it holds great meaning and other facts about this exciting festival shows how it is one of the greatest event in Spain. This is an event man and woman, young and old can enjoy at the same time, and where locals and tourists can spend great time together.

MinSoo Lee/ Assignment2/ Tues 11am

         Although it is not a national holiday, valentine day is considered to be very important for young generation. The exact date of valentines is February 14th and it is annual celebration of lovers. On the valentine day female give chocolate to male and express her love. It doesn't matter whether you have a lover or not. If you don't have a lover, you can just give chocolate to close friend of yours to show how much you care about them.

         To begin with, you need to start with getting some chocolates. Every year when valentine day comes, shops are full of chocolates which are beautifully packed. You can just buy one of them and give it to your lover or friends. However, some people make their own chocolate to show their love. Handmade chocolates are not that tasty or good looking as chocolates that are sold but we can truly feel the love of the maker.

         Once you have prepared beautifully packed chocolate, ask your lover on a date. It is better for you to search uncrowded place because if there are too much people, it will be hard to express your love. For instance, park will be nice place to give your chocolate and you love to your lover.

         Finally, meet the person that you love. You need to be courageous and be ready to express you love. It will be hard to express your love but you need to do it before other people express their love to you lover. If your lover accepts your love, then start lovely days with your partner from valentine day onwards.

         Expressing love to someone is not an easy thing. But with the help of valentine day, females get more courage and express their love. The true purpose of valentine day is to make relationship more intimate. You can start a relationship with someone or make your relationship with someone even closer. It doesn't matter whether it is official national day or not. Valentine day is meaningful day for numerous people.

Min Soo Lee 201202417

         Although it is not a national holiday, valentine day is considered to be very important for young generation. The exact date of valentines is February 14th and it is annual celebration of lovers. On the valentine day female give chocolate to male and express her love. It doesn't matter whether you have a lover or not. If you don't have a lover, you can just give chocolate to close friend of yours to show how much you care about them.

         To begin with, you need to start with getting some chocolates. Every year when valentine day comes, shops are full of chocolates which are beautifully packed. You can just buy one of them and give it to your lover or friends. However, some people make their own chocolate to show their love. Handmade chocolates are not that tasty or good looking as chocolates that are sold but we can truly feel the love of the maker.

         Once you have prepared beautifully packed chocolate, ask your lover on a date. It is better for you to search uncrowded place because if there are too much people, it will be hard to express your love. For instance, park will be nice place to give your chocolate and you love to your lover.

         Finally, meet the person that you love. You need to be courageous and be ready to express you love. It will be hard to express your love but you need to do it before other people express their love to you lover. If your lover accepts your love, then start lovely days with your partner from valentine day onwards.

         Expressing love to someone is not an easy thing. But with the help of valentine day, females get more courage and express their love. The true purpose of valentine day is to make relationship more intimate. You can start a relationship with someone or make your relationship with someone even closer. It doesn't matter whether it is official national day or not. Valentine day is meaningful day for numerous people.

Hyein Jin / Assignment 2_Jeongwol Daeboreum / Tuesday 11 a.m. / 19 March 2013

 

Jeongwol Daeboreum : The biggest holiday of the full moon in Korea

 

200903450 French/EIT

Hyein Jin

 

 

 Korean holidays are full of colorful traditions. Among them, Jeongwol Daeboreum is well known for its unique custom and festivals hardly seen in other nations. Jeongwol Daeboreum(Daeboreum in short) means the fifteenth day of the lunar calendar and the first full moon of the lunar year. On this day, a huge celebration to drive out misfortunes is accompanied by many traditions.

 

Jeongwol Daeboreum is a day for celebrating the very first full moon of the year. Because the moon traditionally symbolizes the prosperity, Korean ancestors paid great attention to when the moon waxes and wanes. Thus, the first moon of the year has been subject to a big festival in our culture. The day of Jeongwon Daeboreum also means the commencement of farming in the town. Our ancestor believed that the holy spirit of the full moon would direct us to a good harvest of the year.

 

Daeboreum is also the day of a special custom and food. First, we open the day of Daeboreum by cracking nuts with our teeth to wish healthier teeth. And then, all family members gather together to drink Guibalgi-sul, a stained rice drink for the day. The word Guibalgi means 'to hear something clearly', and Koreans hope to hear only good things in the year by drinking this wine. In terms of the food, Daeboreum is famous for Yaksik, a sort of rice cake made with glutinous rice chestnuts, pinenuts and honey, and Ogokbab, boiled rice with 5 kinds of grains. We share this food with neighbors around us before the moon comes up.

 

          When the night of the day comes, the big festival of Daeboreum starts. Before the festival, children climb up the mountain to see the full moon as fast as they can, because the first full moon means the good luck to us. This is called 'Dalmaji', which is seeing full moon with friends and family. In the moonlight, we enjoy the most festive time of celebration, 'Jwibullori'. It is a festival of Daeboreum of burning weeds and grass to kill insects on our farming land and wish a great harvest of the year. Besides of the spectacular and huge flames, male adults show dancing with lion masks, 'Sajanori' at the same time. We dance and enjoy the special foods all night long in such a festive mood.

 

           Certainly Jeongwol Daeboreum is the biggest holiday in the year, and the day is filled with unique and rich custom of Korea. However, it is sad that a lot of people in this era do not celebrate this holiday anymore. We should remember this special holiday in order to keep our valuable tradition and enrich our modern lives. 

Hyejeong Yu/ Festivals and Holidays/ Tue 11 a.m.

In the 'The Sun Also Rises' by Ernest Hemingway, a festival was core to the plot of the story. It is the festival of San Fermin which is held annually in the small city of Pamplona in Spain through on July the sixth to the 14^th. Hundred thousand of people from all over the world gather by the noon of the July sixth to enjoy this fabulous festival. This world famous festival has a profound tradition and amusing events.

 

The festival is now full of attracting programs, but it mainly used to cherish a pilgrim of the Pamplona until the 17^th century. The festival of San Fermin was meant to celebrate Saint Fermin, a priest who was beheaded in Amiens, France while preaching voyage. Every person in the festival wears a white T-shirts and a red scarf. The red scarf represents the blood, and meant to commemorate the beheaded priest. Although the festival changed its form but the original intend is quite well preserved.

 

The biggest event in the San Fermin festival is running of the bulls. It originates from tradition in which people lead the bulls to the bullring in the morning. It starts from eight in the morning of the second day of the festival. The running begins from Santo Domingo where the six bulls are kept in the hutch. From there, people steer bulls down through the narrow street to the Pamplona's bullring for about 825 meters. It only takes three minutes to end the bull running. This event is extremely dangerous that a lot of people get injured and some people even get killed. To reduce these accident people in Pamplona prepare fence to protect the spectators and medical team is standing by all the time.

 

Another event is called Riau-Riau which was a traditional program from 1914. It is a procession where city councils march from the city hall to Saint Fermin chapel. In this procession, the councils are meant to march slowly with a traditional music. Unfortunately, this parade is removed from the programs of the festival as its political issues. Some public activist used Riau-Riau to protest to the authorities and the councils were not able to finish the march so it became suspended since 1991. Although there were some attempts to revive the tradition, there was not much of success.

 

As one of the famous festivals in the world, San Fermin annually amuses a lot of people with its special programs. There are more programs besides the running of the bulls and the Riau-Riau. The committee of the festival is trying to add on new event that makes the festival more interesting and attracting. One of the examples would be holding a photograph contest engaging with the well known magazine, Play Boy. It is a festival that develops on its own based on its unique culture and it will still be one of the famous festivals in the future.

 

Hannah Bae/ Assignment2/ Tue 11a.m.

First day of New Year has a lot of meaning. People make wishes and hope everything will go well. Also, they set a plan and decide to accomplish something this upcoming year. Sometimes people pray to ancestors and that is one of the rituals taken on Seollal. Seollal means New Year’s Day in the lunar calendar and it’s a traditional holiday for Koreans.

Before Seollal, scattered family and cousins start to gather around in one house. Talking to each other how all the things going, they go to the market and buy some ingredients for Jesa, the ritual for ancestors. Believing the ghosts of ancestors will eat food, listen what they pray, Koreans prepare for Jesa with many tasty foods including fruits, incents, drinks, and fish. Even though the prices of food soar before Seollal, people devote themselves and their money to respecting ancestors.

In the morning of Seollal, gathered family wears a Hanbok, Korean traditional clothes and begins to cook. Helping each other and cooking together, people talk a lot and laugh in gladness to see each other.  After all the foods are prepared, they bring out incents and put it on the memorial service table with food. Next, they bow to the ghosts of ancestors with respect. Also, they bow to cousins who are alive and older than them and it is called Sebae. What’s interesting is, when kids bow, people give them some money wishing they spend a good year.  

 After Sebae, thinking the ghosts ate the food all they prepared, people start to eat them. The foods include tteokguk, which means now you are one year older. Next, people have a joyful time with each other playing traditional games such as Yunnori which all members can join in and competing against as a team. They share time for a day and talk to each other as much as they can, uniting.

Sometimes you may be tied up in traffic for many hours to go to cousin’s home or feel tired because of all the preparations for Jesa. However, Seollal lets you know the true meaning of family. Being together, remembering the ancestors. Therefore, it’s really a wonderful and proud tradition of Korea.

Jisu Song / Assignment 2 / Tuesday 11 am

The Korean Thanksgiving Day, Chuseok

Americans have Thanksgiving Day, Chinese have Mid-Autumn Festival, then what's the day for Koreans to celebrate good harvest? It's Chuseok on the 15^th day of the 8^th lunar month, usually in September in the solar calendar. Since Korea is no longer an agricultural society, Chuseok has become more of a family-gathering day than a harvest-commemorating day. Let's learn what Koreans do on Chuseok these days.

           Families gather usually at paternal grandparents' house on the day before Chuseok for preparation. People buy the best quality food, vegetables, and meat because the meals are also for ancestors, too. Not only food but also things used in ancestral ceremony including plates, utensils, and tables must be cleaned and ready. A lot of other things must be taken care of, so all family members participate for the preparation.

           Many kinds of food are prepared for Chuseok, but songpyeon is the real signature food. When all family members are gathered, they put on aprons and start making this traditional, half-moon shaped rice cake. The recipe is similar all over Korea. First, take a piece of rice dough and make it look like a small cup. Second, stuff the cup with fillings like black beans, sesame seeds or honey and seal it using fingers. Then, put the raw songpyeons on a plate. Make sure that they are on top of pine needles because the pine needles prevent them from sticking together. Next, steam them for about half an hour. Finally, it is time to enjoy gooey songpyeons. Making songpyeon is a good opportunity to have a family time since it gives time to share their ideas and talk about their lives.

           On the morning of Chuseok, Koreans hold Charye, an ancestral rite. Under Confucius thinking, they worship their ancestors. They think the spirits of their dead grandparents and great-grandparents would come back to enjoy food at home. So they slightly open a window and a door so that the spirits can enter. The meals made a day before and fresh fruits are served on the table. Family members bow in front of it thinking that the ancestors are watching them. When the ceremony is over, families share food which their forefathers had already finished eating. Finally, the whole must-do process of Chuseok is over.

           Time has passed and many things have changed in Korea. But Koreans still celebrate Chuseok as the biggest holiday. Although people no more wear Hanbok, the traditional clothing, nor play folk games and the ceremony has been more simplified than in the Choseon Dynasty era, they still reunite as a family and respect their ancestors. On the Chuseok holiday, Koreans have a minute to take a rest from their busy life and follow their traditional customs.