Recently, I learned something new about this word definition – Jeong. I think it’s a cool concept.

The concept of jeong exists in Korean, Japanese, and Chinese cultures, and the same Chinese character is used in these countries. However, it is very interesting for us to see that the meaning of the same character is subtly different for each of these countries. The Chinese emphasize the aspects of loyalty and reciprocity in relationships when using their jeong character. The Japanese equivalent, pronounced “jyo,” means sentimental feelings with the addition of another word, “nin jyo.” Jeong in Korean culture has much broader meanings and ambiguous nuances in the expression of emotions, and encompasses the Chinese and Japanese concepts.

The manifestation of jeong in a social structure and in social values is primarily through loyalty and commitment without validation, logic, or reason. This can be compared to the concept of amae in Japanese, which is an expectation of behaviors without validation. It is very interesting to see that interactions in Korean culture, whether formal or private, often carry the assumption of commitment. In Western culture, commitment is often contractual and defined, such as in a marriage, instead of being implicit. When commitments are made based upon contextual significance, for example, because of “jeong-related” affairs rather than logical interpretations of content, individuals easily become members of a cohesive group at home or work, bonded by jeong or perhaps even held in bondage by jeon.

Some of the things I appreciate most about Koreans, such as Korean hospitality, I discovered during my first visit to Seoul in 1987. Others, like “jeong” and “euiri,” I am still learning to fully appreciate and often find difficult to explain to non-Koreans.

One of the qualities that define the Korean people is also one of the most complex: jeong. Of the many definitions in my dictionary, “feeling,” “compassion,” “sentiment,” and “affection” seem to come the closest, but none of them convey the real meaning or importance of the term. I see jeong existing between family members and close friends as an invisible force that binds them together. It is difficult for foreigners to “see” this emotion because it is often not verbalized. Westerners regularly tell their loved ones, “I love you,” but for Koreans, these words are infrequently spoken.

Links: http://www.prcp.org/publications/sig.pdf

http://www.koreaherald.com/opinion/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20090915000050

The Sun was just beginning to touch its horizon and I looked at the clock. Okay, it’s time to head out of work and I made a little quick search into Google. “Seoul metro map.” Images of the metro map quickly appeared and I looked for ones that were the most readable. I clicked on a few images and then let my mind examine the Seoul metro map. There were 9 different lines and each line has a color of its own. Where do I get on? where do I get off? more lines to get on? Seoul station was the one that I wanted to go. After reviewing a few times, I tried to hold a mental map in my mind and I’d try to depend on my ever reliable memory and I walked out of the office.

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Saw this article in the newspaper, thought I’d share.

Since then, the subway added 10 billion more passengers every seven years, reaching 20 billion in 2000 and 30 billion in 2007. As of 2010, 1.48 billion passengers used lines 1 through 4 each year, which boils down to 4.04 million users a day.

The number of people using the Paris Métro, which started operating in 1900, stood at 1.15 billion in 2010, while the London Underground, which began running in 1863, has 868 million people using it every year. The New York Subway has 490 stations, four times more than the Seoul metro system, but has only 1.13 billion users per year.

Yep, it’s always full when I take subway in Korea for one year. I remember reading somewhere that it was 3 million riders a day but really it’s 4 million riders.

via The Chosun Illbo

If you’re keeping up with news around the world, you should know by now that there has been a massive flooding in South Korea. I was in Korea for one year and during the summer, I can remember it rained almost non-stop. And it even rained more this time. I suppose S. Korea is in an unfortunate position because it’s a peninsula next to the seas, making it more likely for clouds to dump on S. Korea before it disperses out to the sea.

I found it interesting that KBS news channel used Google Maps to show where the flooding was, so I am thinking that Google products have broken into Korea’s public mainstream as they get the information quickly.

There are some good big pictures on boston.com.

I’m feeling a bit bored and in the mood to write something. I just thought of one that I would write about. I recently went to see Taekwondo show in Seoul and was somewhat surprised to see how well-choreographed it was. The accompanying music was pretty good too and the show would have been a lot more boring without any music. One scene that I particularly enjoyed was the fight between one lady and two guys. Obviously, it was choreographed but it was nice to see a lady throwing kicks and punches to the guys in a fast rapid manner. In the beginning, a group of young age ranging from 8 years olds to 13 years olds came out on the stage and exhibited different movements and some various moves. Then, they brought out the wood blocks and started throwing kicks and break the wood. Apparently, it wouldn’t be any taekwondo without those. Wood blocks started to fly out into broken halves and onto the stage and sometimes, the floor underneath the stage. After the younger group was done with their part, the next older group came out and to my own guess, they were approx. between 16 years olds to early thirties. You could see the difference between two groups as the older group exhibited more sharp movement and made some power moves and higher kicks. Sounds were louder, music faster, and wood blocks snapped louder.

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Bayesian phylogenetic analysis supports an agricultural origin of Japonic languages.

In agreement with the scenario, our results indicate that Japonic languages descended from a common ancestor approximately 2182 years ago. Together with archaeological and biological evidence, our results suggest that the first farmers of Japan had a profound impact on the origins of both people and languages. On a broader level, our results are consistent with a theory that agricultural expansion is the principal factor for shaping global linguistic diversity.

Researchers studying the various dialects of Japanese have concluded that all are descended from a founding language taken to the Japanese islands about 2,200 years ago. The finding sheds new light on the origin of the Japanese people, suggesting that their language is descended from that of the rice-growing farmers who arrived in Japan from the Korean Peninsula, and not from the hunter-gatherers who first inhabited the islands some 30,000 years ago.

I recently went on a twilight (moonlight) tour at the Changdeokgung Palace, which usually was reserved to VIPs during late hours, so I took this opportunity to take some pictures. One of these reminds me of the Korean lantern that was used as a logo for the 2010 G20 Seoul Summit.

The initial publicly visible preparatory steps were in the creation of a website. After four months of test runs, the online venue became a platform for announcing the choice of a summit logo, which was chosen out of 2,279 entries in an open contest. The Korean lantern logo represents light shining in the dark and also the light which welcomes guests. This forward-looking theme is repeated in the official Korean slogan — “with people to the world; with the world to the future.” The logo incorporates an image of the sun rising over the sea, and the 20 rays coming from the center represent the 20 members of the meeting.

It’s amazing what you might get out of pictures as you snap them.

As a person who regularly drink water, when I relocated to Korea on work assignment, drinking water was one of the first things I did. I like to drink water myself and my favorite brand is easily Smartwater by Glaceau. I’ve noticed that I like the light clean taste of water, unlike Evian or Fiji Water, which is usually more bodied. Aquafinas or Dasanis are awful, too tappy-tasting to me and I think even its bottle cap smells awful. Never will I buy their bottle. Though back at home in California, I use tap water filtered with Brita. Tastes pretty good to me.

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Flickr link

Cool, I found two nice classy pics of Korean man and woman in black and white.

Looking classy!

Office shows where I currently work at.

“Do you know how I got adopted” I asked my parents the other day.

“No, we don’t. All we knew was that you were found at the police station. That’s what adoption paper says.” said my parents.

“Oh I see.”

I’d read through adoption documents more than a few times. I was evaluated by a social worker 3 times during the period I stayed at the orphanage in Seoul and the reports said I was a healthy baby with a profound hearing loss and that I was ready for adoption.

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Prior to meeting my family in 2002, my previous knowledge about Korea was pretty much to nothing other than being “found” at the police station, according to adoption documents and that’s all my adoptive parents knew too. For much of my life, I took that as a fact and did not really think much about it. But then over the time, it seemed natural that I’d start to ask questions about myself like what does my parents look like or whether if I have siblings. As for my siblings, I remember having a strong feeling about them and I remember not believing that I was an only child in my biological family and that I must have had a brother or sister. Sure enough, when I met my siblings in 2002, my sister told me she spent some time with me (she was six years old) and helped carry me on her back at times.

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Guy: “You look beautiful.” *finger on cheek*

Girl: *blushed* kamsahamnida (thank you)

Girl: “I wish I can see you.”

Guy: “Me too.”

Girl: “I love you.” (this is cute because this is supposed to be signed with two hands (palm over the thumb) but with one hand holding the iPhone, one hand is being signed.)

Guy: “I love you too.”

Pretty universal, isn’t it? ^^