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Time flies and it is almost 2020. Everyone is busy of work, home stuff and New Year preparations. People are staying in the lines to shops. Many stores sell a lot of beautiful and yummy things. Because everyone wants to buy gifts to their friends and family. In one word, a Christmas is everywhere.  However, in South Korea and in the most part of South-East Asia New Year atmosphere is a little bit different.  December 25th and Lunar New Year are significant holidays in South Korea, but not December 31st. Lunar New Year changes from year to year according to the Lunar Calendar. Usually, it is a mid of January or February.  This year New Year in Korea will come on January 25. And Korea will rest for 4 days! Maybe you will think it is super short, especially if we compare winter holidays in Russia. But for Koreans having at least 1 extra vacation day means a lot.  Korean New Year or Lunar New Year is called Seollal (설날). Many shops and public places are usually closed during

A warm ‘HI’ from Seoul. Today I would like to offer you to forget all daily business and to have a walk around one of 5 Royal Palaces in Seoul.  Maybe many of you are thinking that I am talking about Gyeongbokgung palace, because it is the most popular palace in Seoul and 9 of 10 tourists visit that palace.  But, NO, we will visit another palace —  Palace of Serene Harmony  —  Gyeonghuigung .  Gyeonghuigung is one of the smallest palaces in Seoul, but it is the least beautiful one.  If be honest I visited that palace after 10 years of life in Korea. I have been in Gyeongbokgung Palace or Deoksugung Palace million of times. Also, I have been to Changdeokgung palace or Changgyeonggung palace many times. But I don’t why but Gyeonghuigung palace… I just passed by it many times.  By the way, there are 5 Royal Grand Palaces in Seoul : Gyeongbokgung Palace, Deoksugung Palace, Changdeokgung palace, Changgyeonggung palace and Gyeonghuigung palace. All palaces have a long history.

Last time I told you about Korean courses , so maybe it is time to talk about Korean language itself? Korean language… Korean language was not so popular before…before Korean wave became a world-wide trend.  What do you know about Korean language? Many people think that Korean language is like a Chinese language , and there is no alphabet, only chinese hieroglyphs.  Today, I will share with you a few facts about Korean language. Maybe some of these facts are familiar to you, maybe not. First of all , Korean language or Hangeul (한글) was invented in XV century by 4th King of Joseon Dynasty King Sejong Great . Before it, Korean people used Chinese hieroglyphs. Sejong King tried to make the language easy to study or use by any social level. Because, during the Joseong Dynasty poor people couldn’t even read, so they couldn’t learn about any annoucements or news which were published on the board. So, Sejong King invented Korean alphabet. Each letter was derived from people mouth.  Second , t

Traveling around is always awesome, and is full of positive emotions and memories. But during the travel we usually face different issues related to the foreign language. And today we will talk about South Korea and Korean language. I started study Korean language in 2009, when I received a scholarship from Korean Foundation. My first language courses was at Hanyang University . It was a short intensive programme. The scholarship covered everything, except a travel expenses . But still it was a pretty good deal. The courses durated 3 weeks.  A little bit of Korean language… Hangugo (한국어)— Korean language. Hanguk (한국) — Korea, Suffix ‘-o’ (-어) means ‘language’ During the courses we stayed in the dormitory. There were 2 students in one room. The room was pretty wide: 2 tables, 2 beds, 2 wardrobes, toilet and shower room etc . The classes were in another building. In order to get there from the dormitory we could take a subway or free shuttle bus (about 15mins), or just walk (about 30

I told you a story about Jeju island and then we had a tour to Museum of Glasses . Today we will continue our trip today. The next destination is Museum of Stones .  There are 2 stone museums , but I visited only one. Jeju island is volcano island, and there are a lot of different stones. Some stones look really amazing and incredible. And citizens of the island don’t miss a chance to show it to others. These stones are real nature’s gifts.  Don’t forget that Stone Park, Stone Village, Stone museum are 3 different places. Actually, there are a lot similar places on Jeju Island. Like Museum of Glass and Park of Glass , about which I told you last time.  The entrance to the park costs 5,000KRW or 5$. But for kids ticket costs 3,000KRW or 3$ . The park is not so large, it will take about 1 hour to walk around it. The tour will start with a small museum with an only one hall. The local guide will tell you shortly about park itself, and some special stones. Also, he will you some tips, h