Tag Archives: Korean culture

Dumplings for New Years

Nationality: Korean
Primary Language: English
Other language(s): Korean
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: LA, California
Performance Date: 3/20/2024

Context:

My informant, DH, is a friend of mine from my freshman year at USC from Los Angeles, California. I talked with DH one night in second semester freshman year about our families and our relationships with them. I knew his brother and asked him about their relationship, nothing too personal, just random talk. That was until he mentioned a party that he and his family threw during new years which got crazy and fun. I asked him to elaborate and he said that at this new years party, which is similar to Chinese new years parties, his family made dumplings and they all had a feast with it, along with a party.

Text:

“Ok, well my family does this thing where we get together, eat dumplings and just gossip together for new years. It’s like Chinese new years but not the same for us because we don’t celebrate it for the same reasons, because, you know, we’re Korean. But we don’t even really celebrate Korean new years either. But yeah, that’s what we do. Though I wouldn’t really say it’s a family tradition, more of like a uh, a festival. Like yeah we do this every year but we do it as a way of celebrating our family’s connection, that’s why we essentially just yap the whole time with each other, the party is kinda like, symbolic of how close we all are with each other.”

Analysis:

I did some of my own research on this topic and found out that yes Korean Lunar New Year is a thing and it is, well, in Korea, usually seen as the biggest holiday of the year, and it is a day when the entire family gathers in hanbok, traditional Korean clothes, to do saebae, which is the most important tradition. However, DH’s family seemingly acknowledges this cultural tradition and twists it into their own family festival where it represents how far they have come as a family. I’ve never seen this sort of festival or idea get explored before within Korean cultures when doing my own research but I still find it interesting how DH’s family still ties this Korean Lunar New Year idea and tradition into their own personal family festival instead of something tied just to cultural identity and nationality.

Why Did The Ice Cream Cross The Road?

Nationality: Korean
Primary Language: English
Other language(s): Korean
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: LA, California
Performance Date: 3/3/2024

Context:

My informant, DH, is a friend of mine from my freshman year at USC from Los Angeles, California. I talked with DH one night in second semester freshman year about food, as DH loves food. We were going to get some ice cream and he just started spastically laughing whilst getting some ice cream because I said a tame joke about how much he loves sugary foods. I asked him why in the world he was laughing so much and he told me this:

Text:

“My mom and I would have this dumb joke between the three of us, me, my brother, and her. It was this super funny joke about how fat we were because, well, we were, and I mean who could blame us, we love food! Especially ice cream, so she said this to us one day: ‘Why did the ice cream cross the road? 너에게서 멀어지려고!’ Which translates to: ‘To get away from you!’ That was so funny, it stuck forever.”

Analysis:

Now I did look this up and didn’t find anything specific, I mean I did find a Korean dad joke about ice cream crossing the road but the answer was a Korean word which was a play on words but has nothing to do with a specific person or their history as this one did. I find it interesting how they have their own joke about their own history together but it’s still somewhat tied to their Korean language and heritage. It’s a wholesome funny joke that I’ve personally never heard of before but it seems super funny and self aware too, love it.

Wordplay In Korea

Context

In Korea, young Koreans in their tweens and 20s tend to abbreviate long words like Iced Americano and Starbucks to “Ah ah” and “Supuck.” Those who do this tend to do so to show that they are young and keeping with the trends. Therefore, it is easy to tell who is trendy and in touch with Korean culture through the way they speak. Usually nouns are shortened.

Analysis

This phenomenon reminds me of similar things in popular culture in the U.S. as well. For example, a self proclaimed fan of Five Nights At Freddy’s or Identity V would be called out if they didn’t know what the abbreviated forms of the names were: FNAF and IDV respectively. In this way, dialect is able to draw a hard line between those within and outside of groups in the know. 

Doljanchi Tradition

Text: “In Korea, we wish for health, wealth, and intelligence. That’s something that’s really big when someone turns one year old. There are different objects that you put in front of the baby, whatever they grab signifies something. For example, a string signifies longevity in your life. If the baby reaches for a ball, that symbolizes athleticism.”

Context: The informant is Korean-American. Her parents immigrated from Korea but the informant grew up in the United States and moved around different states as a child. The informant is 21 years old and she currently attends the University of Southern California. The informant has grown up with the Korean culture of wishing for good health and intelligence. The informant participated in the activity described as a baby, also known as Doljanchi. In this ceremony, many objects are placed in front of the baby such as books, a ball, string, a paintbrush, and money. She has also seen some of her younger cousins have a Doljanchi celebration. This celebration is commonly celebrated throughout Korea and among Korean Americans. 

Analysis: This information was very intriguing to me because I hadn’t learned much about it prior to interviewing my informant. I had briefly heard about it but didn’t know a lot of the details. The Dolijanchi is so interesting to me because it brings up the question of how developed are humans at one year old. If the baby can choose an item that determines how they’ll act as an adult, how psychologically developed are they? From what I understand, the parents must love to see the Dolijanchi and then compare the result of the ceremony to how the child acts growing up. 

New years luck

“Korea is pretty strict about how you treat your elders. One example I remember is on new years, lunar not Jan 1st, you’re supposed to bow down and say 새해 복 많이 받으세요 (saehae bok mani badeuseyo) which roughly translates to, I wish you receive lots of good luck. Its a full bow, you get on your knees, and there’s a specific hand you put on top of the other depending on your gender. If you do this, you get money in return, so there’s no reason not to. It basically allows the elders to pay for good luck and respect, and the kids get money”

My informant and I have participated in this act. We both do it every year, even if we have to facetime our grandparents. The saying can also be sort of like a ‘happy new year’ in that you can say it to your taxi driver without the whole bow. It became a tradition since it solidifies the hierarchy in the family.

This ritual often takes less than 10 minutes. In the past, my sister, dad, and I would do it during dinner, since with the time shift, it would be our grandparents breakfast. Like other rituals, its designed to control some part of the elder’s life, in this case their luck. There is a lot controlled during the ceremony also, such as how you bow and what your hands should be doing.