Guide to UNESCO World Heritage Sites
I left Korea just a few weeks ago and don’t know if I will come back (probably more a matter of ‘when’). I love an awful lot about this country and another list with the positive things is coming up, but I thought I would start with this one first to get the venting out of the way. This is another list of stuff I hate about the RoK.
UNESCO is probably the most interesting and functional UN branch (sorry Security Council). It is dedicated to use its resources to promote education, science, and culture in the world by funding their maintenance and promotion. One example of an amazing cooperation effort for the sake of science is the formation of CERN. In case you have been living under a rock, the scientists at CERN are the creators of the Large Hadron Collider, which recently proved where gravity comes from, a previously unknown boson, disproving the widely held belief that it was magic.
In 1954, a crisis arose (cue dramatic music) as the planned Aswan Dam in Egypt would have effectively destroyed the Abu Simbel Temples, some of the most stunning and iconic structures of ancient Egypt. UNESCO sprung into action! A set of over 50 countries scrapped together some 40 million USD of the necessary 80 million to relocate the temple to higher ground. Egypt got its dam, the world kept a marvel, and no country felt an enormous financial strain as everyone chipped in a little. Win-Win-Win.
From this, UNESCO brainstormed the idea of having a list of places around the world that members would recognize as having universal value to all of humanity. For better or for worse, UNESCO often distances itself from the politics that govern our planet, evident in the recent addition of Kaesong in North Korea, despite that country’s human rights record.
While UNESCO and its so called UNESCO World Heritage Sites are a fantastic guide to some of the best things to see in the world, they sometimes really drop the ball. These are 10 places around the world that UNESCO has shockingly not given World Heritage status.
The biosphere 2 is one of the most incredible structures with immense scientific ramifications. While most readers have probably never heard of it, it is our key to future colonization of the solar system. It is a structure built out in the Arizona desert which is completely enclosed and self-supportive. With the exception of electricity, everything is generated inside of the glass domes. Food, soil, animals, oxygen, and even water are all recycled and nothing goes in or out. It is pretty much those domes you might have seen in a science fiction show or movie.
But, is it realistic for people to live inside? Well, they have! For two years, a group of eight scientists lived in the dome, along with many different plant and animal species, proving that such technology is no longer science fiction. While the project proved to have its difficulties, and the volunteers admitted to hating each other’s guts by the end, I can’t help but be optimistic. In case you were wondering, Biosphere 1 would be the Earth. For further reading, check out The Human Experiment: Two Years and Twenty minutes inside of Biosphere 2 by Jane Poynter, a book detailing the adventure.
When we think about ancient Mayan ruins, Chichen Itza, Tikal, and Palenque are clearly the best known sites. Tulum, however, is one of the best preserved ruins in quite an incredible setting. The port city of Tulum lies at the edge of the Yucatan peninsula overlooking the Caribbean sea. Its waters have been named one of the top beaches in the world and is often considered one of Mexico’s best kept secret. Read more
Despite its resemblance to Chinese at first glance, the Korean language is actually not pictographic at all. It is comprised of an incredibly easy to read phonetic alphabet of 21 vowels and 19 consonants with rules which can be thought of as easy start, but very difficult to master. While reading Korean and saying basic phrases may seem simple, using your trusty translator is not always the wisest move. As with every language, culture and context comes into play and ignoring these could get you into a lot of trouble. Here are ten words where you should probably dig a little deeper before blurting out their direct translations:
While ‘hyeong’ could be a possible translation for the word ‘brother,’ this is one of those cases where culture matters. For starters, there are a number of ways to say this word depending on who is talking. A male speaking to his older brother would say “hyeong” while a female would say “oppa / 오빠.” The terms for brother only apply if speaking to someone older than you, as someone younger would be addressed by their first name, or “dongseng” (literally: younger sibling) by either sex.
While this is easy enough to remember, it gets more confusing. Korea is a communal culture where the lines of family are extended to broader terms than they would in the English speaking world. Consequently, any slightly older male figure that you respect or is family would (and should) be referred to as Oppa or Hyeong. This leads to very confusing conversations where people refer to countless males as their brothers, leading you to believe they have an extremely large family.
How many friends do you have? If you are speaking in Korean, you likely have a lot more than you would expect, and not necessarily people you like. You see, while the Korean word chingu includes that 1st grade buddy you have known for 20 years, it also includes everyone else in that classroom, whether you like it or not.
This word ties back to this list that explained how age works in Korea. In brief, you are born at 1 and add an additional year to yourself every New Year’s Day, with your birthday having no effect on your age. Everyone who is the same age, consequently born on the same calendar year, is chingu. This leads to very strange phrases such as “I never liked that friend” or people yelling out “friend” upon meeting someone new and learning their age.
So, if you were born on January 1st and you meet someone who is born on December 31st of the previous year, they are referred to with this honorific word for brother, despite them being only a day older than you.
Whenever someone thanks us, we feel that the most polite thing to do would be to say “you are welcome.” If you think about it though, this is kind of odd and redundant. Someone does something good, so we show appreciation, and it is only polite to show appreciation for the appreciation?
For this reason, although the word exists, it is almost never used in Korean. Throw around CheonManeyo’s around and you are likely to get blank stares or the polar opposite, appreciation for your appreciation of the appreciation! A more common response is a simple ‘Ne’ which means yes, but many more things… which leads to…
As your ears are first getting accustomed to listening to Korean, you might think that Koreans are extremely agreeable people. They seem to say ‘ne’ for EVERYTHING. In fact, there could be entire conversations with ‘ne’ as the only word spoken in response. While ‘ne’ literally means yes, it is far more diverse than that in Korean.
Ne can mean: “Yes, I agree, really?, awww, okay, let’s do it,” and so on. To add to the confusion, the length of the ‘ne’ also has meaning, with a longer ‘nnneeeeeeee’ generally being more polite.
‘Goodbye,’ much like real estate, is all about location, location, location. While in English, we have made it so that any two people talking to each other can end their meeting with ‘goodbye,’ the situation of the ‘goodbye’ is important in Korean.
If you are the one staying somewhere, and the other person is leaving, ‘Annyeonghi Kaseyo’ is correct, as it literally means “go in peace.” However, if you are the one who is leaving, you would say ‘annyeonghi kyeseyo’ which literally means “stay in peace.” The logic of just copying what the other person says doesn’t work here as the verb “ka” means to go, and if you are in a convenience store for example, the clerk isn’t going anywhere. If this is too much to remember though, a long ‘nnnneeeeeee’ is also acceptable!
Would you like some pizza? “I hate it!” How about some pasta? “shiro!” These responses seem a bit extreme in English and are mostly associated with the rant of a 5 year old spoiled only child, but they can be completely normal responses in Korean.
You see, in Korean, there are different words for ‘hate’ to be used when talking about a person or a suggestion. In this case, the direct translation of “I hate that idea” is more appropriately translated as “I really don’t feel like it” or “I am not in the mood for that.” While this, combined with item #7 might lead you to believe that Koreans are very bipolar people, rest assured, it is all a misunderstanding.
“I am having a hard time with…” is easy enough to translate into “Blah blah blah himdeureo.” However, if you attempt the reverse, you start running into some problems. As mentioned in the introduction paragraph, the Korean language is simple and complex at the same time. There are no articles (a, the, an) and phrases can often be trimmed down for fluency of speech.
Translating “I am having a difficult time at home” from Korean into English turns into “I am hard at home” or if you take out the ‘at home,’ simply “I am hard.” This would not be as ‘big’ of a problem if there weren’t countless innuendos associated with this phrase, and a plethora of follow up inappropriate comments.
Whether we realize it or not, we are a very possessive society. ‘MY wedding,’ ‘MY father,’ and even ‘MY meal’ are phrases which aren’t said in Korean as often as they are in English because of the cultural difference of communal thinking mentioned earlier. Instead, often times the word ‘uri’ meaning ‘our’ is used to express that something is shared and not personally owned.
While weddings and fathers are not things that really come up every day (in terms of possession), claiming something to be YOUR meal is not only strange, but can lead to unintended faux pas. If you are in a Korean restaurant and desire a soda for example, you should probably ask anyone else if they want the same flavor because whether you like it or not, you might be forced to share. Use ‘my’ tactfully to avoid cultural insensitivity.
“Girl, you are so crazy” is something English speakers would say without thinking twice. It is almost said in appreciation for someone who is bold enough to do something spontaneous and unusual. However, saying this to a Korean person, especially a girl (and heaven forbid, someone you are dating) is asking to get your head cut off. Michin is the literal translation of crazy, which is to be insane. To call someone crazy is questioning their sanity and can be extremely offensive. Unfortunately, in this case, sticking to the English word will do you no good as most Koreans will recognize the word and associate it with “michin.” Better think of something else, but don’t call someone crazy, or they will actually turn crazy on you.
This one is a little tricky as the actual translation is not the problem, but the pronunciation. The number eighteen is pronounced Ship-pal. While a Korean could probably pronounce it correctly, our poor Anglo vocal cords are wired a little differently. Unfortunately, if you say this number with even the slightest error in pronunciation, it sounds an awful lot like the F word in Korean (shi-bal / 씨발). It is actually so similar even amongst Koreans, that ’18’ is often used as slang on chat rooms and video games to replace the F word. Do yourself a favor and avoid the need to say 18 in Korean, it just isn’t worth the risk.
Now is probably a good time to mention that I am just a beginner in Korean. While I did cross reference this with a Korean speaker, let me know if you find any mistakes. Also, share if you know any other words which you probably should not google-translate!
First off, hello everyone! It is good to be back in Seoul!
Seeing how most of my readers are from the US, I’ve focused most of my ‘Korea posts’ on what I would like to show a visitor with a limited amount of time. I wanted to do something a little different this time. This is a list of Korean experiences and how to take them to the next level. While some of these might be normal to expats already living here, I hope they too can agree that these can give an insight into Korean people and culture.
For the better part of my four years here, I have lived in an small, but cozy apartment. While it felt completely normal at the time, it wasn’t until coming back to Korea without a job last week that I experienced what most of you might in terms of accommodation: a guesthouse/hostel. Apartments will let you see the tiny places people live in, sometimes with entire families. The good news is that you will have control of your very own “ondol” or floor heating system. Even the cheapest apartments have this wonderful invention that makes your feet nice and toasty in the winter months. Read more
As I sit here, my room is almost empty…
I finished a deep cleaning of my bathroom yesterday night and took out the kitchen today…
More than a week away from going back home for the first time in three years, but from the looks of this place, you’d think I’d be gone by tomorrow.
“Your mind must already be checked out” is something I have gotten about a dozen times this week, and quite frankly, they have every right to assume so given the evidence.
The only problem? I am hardly homesick at all!
Living abroad for the last four years has given me some perspective into what really matters to me (more on this soon). While I miss my friends and family as much as anyone else in my position, I am trying to understand the psyche of people who would give up their entire lives for the chance to live in the so called “land of the free.” No, I don’t miss ‘freedom’ or the ‘right to speak my mind.’ Contrary to popular belief, you have both of these in plenty of countries. Here is, however, a short list of things that I do miss about America, and more importantly, Southern California:
If you moved to Korea from…oh, say… Maine, Read more