My 5 Faourite 'Kimchi-based' Dishes

October is not just the time when the leaves turn into beautiful shades of brown and when we enjoy warm nights filled with cups of spicy cocoa. It is also the time when Koreans begin to observe the timeless tradition of Gimjang— the art of making Kimchi. We all know Kimchi right? The dish that accompanies every Korean meal. There are so many variations of Kimchi  but the most common is Korean cabbage Kimchi.

My first taste of this fermented dish was very memorable because I was expecting to like it but didn't. I decided it wasn't my cup of tea and moved on. But then a few months later I had a try of Kkakdugi~Radish Kimchi — upon a Korean friend's recommendation— and I liked it. That was the first time I knew of Kimchi having variations. My friend told me that kimchi is an acquired taste and sometimes it takes people a while to get used to it.

With many trips to Korean restaurants under my belt, I have slowly discovered the world of Hansik and with it came some knowledge on different dishes. I have grown to like the taste of Kimchi, and like many Koreans, it is now a staple dish accompanying my Korean meals and it can usually be found in my refrigerator — sitting on the top shelf and affecting the taste of everything.

This year I plan on having my very first Gimjang experience and I am very excited about that. To share in my excitement, here are my 5 favourite kimchi based dishes.

2015 GLOBAL KOREA SCHOLARSHIP For Nigerians

This Scholarship program was created as part of promoting cultural exchanges between Nigeria and South Korea as well as maintaining  mutual friendship. It is designed for Undergraduate students who are interested in a study abroad program as well as interested in exploring foreign cultures. This is an opportunity for you to explore the world and enrich your university experience as well as expand your networks.

It is also a chance for those interested in Korea to fulfill their dreams of travelling and living in Korea!!!

You will be required to take a language course as part of the scholarship before commencing with your degree. So you not only get a degree out of this but also a Korean Language qualification.

The scholarship is all expense paid including Airfare and Health insurance. You can read all the details by clicking the link below. Hurry and apply, deadline is this Friday.

Application Period: September 1st ~ October 17th 2014
Announcement of shortlisted candidates: ~ October 31st 2014
Interview at Korean Cultural Centre Abuja: November 5th ~ 7th 2014

For further inquiries call: 08162626224 or click on the link below:

SCHOLARSHIP DETAILS

BEST OF LUCK TO YOU ALL 

 meera

My Family's First taste of Korean Food.

우리 가족을 한식은 처음 먹었어다

Mini Korean lesson before we start!!

우리 ~ My/Our

가족 ~ Family

한식 which is the short form of 한국 음식 ~ Korean Food
처음 ~ First time

I have been interested in the Korean culture for about two years now. It all started when a friend recommended the drama 'Boys Over Flowers' as a sort of "break" after a long study session. It was a nice distraction and the start of my love affair with Korea. My family eventually caught on to my love for Korea, well I guess it was pretty obvious because I couldn't shut up about it. Coming from Nigeria where there isn't that much Korean presence, my family wondered at how I ended with such fascination for this country. But they eventually got used to it.

I had always told them about Korean food but they never got to try it because you can't find Korean food in Nigeria. My mum however went on a business trip to Ethiopia and was delighted to come across a Korean restaurant, she then told her colleagues about my interest in Korea and suggested they have dinner at the restaurant. Unfortunately she didn't know the name of the dishes they were served because the waiter recommended it­— well except for the BBQ which by the way was served with lettuce, but they didn't know you were supposed to wrap the meat in the leaves so they left the leaves untouched ­— but they liked it.  Most Africans like 매운 음식 (Spicy Food) so there was no complain with that. I told my mum that I will take her to a Korean restaurant when they come to London so she could try my favourite dishes ­— and maybe know what she ate this time around.

Mum was hooked, time to work on the rest of the Family. 

My birthday was a few weeks ago, my only wish was that I wanted my family to go to a Korean restaurant to celebrate my birthday. Luckily my family was in London, I knew it was a rare opportunity to have them try out all the food for themselves rather than having to hear me gush about it. I decided on Kimchee restaurant because it was reviewed as a fusion Korean restaurant. I thought it will be more suitable for their palate and help to ease them into the Hansik flavour.

The first thing we noticed when we walked into the restaurant was this spectacular wall covered in Hangul

Have you heard of 사투리~Satoori?

As you learn a language, one of the things you come across especially with a language that is being spoken throughout a country is 'dialect'. We even see this with the English language where British English differs in a way from American English both in tonation and vocabulary. This is also the case with 한국어~ Hangugeo ~Korean Language.  

Dialect in Korean is referred to as 사투리 ~ Satoori. The standard South Korean dialect and the most widely used is 서울말~ Seoulmal ~ Seoul speach. The chart below shows the different classification of the Korean dialect according to regions

Korean	Continental Northeastern Hamgyŏng Ryukchin Northwestern P'yŏng'an Central Hwanghae Gyeonggi ~ Seoul, Incheon, Gyeonggi Yeongdong Chungcheong ~ Chungcheong, Daejon Southeastern Gyeongsang ~ Busan, Daegu, Ulsan, Jinju, Pohang,Changwon Southwestern Jeolla ~ Jeollabuk-do, Gwangju, Jeollanam-do Insular Jeju

 Source: Wikepedia. A chart showing the classification of dialect in the Korean Peninsula

The northeastern and Northwestern as well as Yeongdong dialects are used in parts of North Korea and Northeastern China. The rest are all part of the South Korean dialect and is widely spread between the eight regions. Just like the English language, the most noticeable difference between these dialects is tonation. There is also a major distinction in some of the vocabulary where some words are completely different. The Korean grammar has what is referred to as word endings, this can be used to identify the distinctions in these dialects. An example