➹ pretty korean postcards

Now that everyone is all to absorbed in getting and keeping things online, there is little appreciation for old school mementos like postcards. My dad used to snail mail me postcards from Papua New Guinea when he worked there but that was a really LOOOOONG time ago! I honestly have not sent postcards from my own travels in the recent years … neither have I recently received any from friends or family EXCEPT these ones from Korea!



I received this first one February of 2010. I was pleasantly surprised when I found it on my doorstep at home after work. A dear Korean friend sent me this postcard with a heartwarming message at the back. I love it so much that I kept it in my work journal and kept transferring it as I switch to new journals each year! I kept a Starbucks dedication postcard with this Korean postcard. This one was given to me by my선배 from last New Year. It's so nice to see these postcards as they remind me of how fortunate I am to have found really amazing friends.



I got this new one last weekend from a fangirl 동생 ^^. It is the very definition of AWE-INSPIRING! Gwanghwamun Square is one of my favorite places in Seoul. Like my first Korean postcard, the message at the back was absolutely delightful. Now I've framed it at my work desk so I can always imagine escaping to Seoul even for just a few minutes each day. It's kind of funny too because when I look at this postcard I realize how coincidence can be all too amazing!? How lucky am I to have crossed paths with these wonderful friends~

So where can you get amazing postcards in Seoul? Well, I'm pretty sure there are postcards available on key tourist locations like Insadong, Namsan Tower and palace souvenir shops. There also used to be a free postcard program at Tourism offices! I got some Summer 2011 postcards from the Seoul Global Center at M Plaza in Myeongdong last year. They gave me a tourist pack with the postcards inside. I sure wanted to get more of these fangirl postcards but I was too shy to ask for more haha.

Another place worth checking out is the underground Haechi shop at Gwanghwamun. They have Haechi postcards which might be delightful for kids or any Haechi fans. I think I'll buy some from here on my next vacation.

Lastly, the picture postcards from Ssamziegil never get old! You can take your pictures and include them on a traditional postcard you can email to family, friends or just yourself hehe. We were vertically challenged and had some difficulty with this haha but it was still a worthwhile and free experience.

➹ what are Koreans asking me?

There are some Korean elders who seem to have this fondness and amusing interest on foreigners. Foreigners who speak the slightest Korean are even more interesting so it seems. They would approach us tourists and start small chats regardless of how much we struggle with our sparse broken Korean. It's as challenging and confusing as it is absolutely endearing! And that's why it makes for a thoroughly memorable travel experience. We would usually leave bowing respectfully, immensely amused, and all too regretful that we cannot fully understand and answer their questions.

I asked a Korean friend about it and she speculated that here are the questions we probably often get:
1. Where are you from? (어느 나라에서 오셨습니까?)
2. Can you speak Korean? (한국어를 할 줄 아십니까?)
3. Have you ever been to Korea before? (전에 한국에 와본적이 있습니까?)
4. With whom do you visit Korea? (누구와 함께 한국에 방문하셨습니까?)
5. Where do you stay? (어디서 머무르십니까?)



And then here are the questions I ASSUME they are asking just because of some keywords I recognize. I can't quite make out the full sentences but they should more or less be asking these:
1. How do you like Korea?
2. How did you learn Korean?
3. Are you students?
4. What places are you visiting?

It should be easy enough to answer these questions. The only thing to watch out for is accidental or careless usage of Banmal. I made it a point to remember Talk to Me in Korean's note that mixed usage of Cheondaemal and Banmal is such a major no-no. From someone whose basic Hangul lessons came from Korean dramas and Kpop songs, this is severely challenging. Coming from a culture which makes no special distinction between formal and informal speech and amongst persons of different ages makes that even more complicated. This means making an effort to consistently say 죄송합니다 instead of 미안해, 감사합니다 instead of 고마워 ~ even if the latter option has been better imbibed from watching kdramas.

It's fun to speak with locals especially since they make it a point to show how much they appreciate your Hangul efforts. Even if you make mistakes, it's all cool as long as you show how sincere your attempts are. Anticipating what the usual questions would be might work for folks who want to build their confidence on this. Planning and preparation will certainly pay off. But even if we get lost in translation in the middle of things, I'm pretty sure a polite smile can resolve a lot of tension. Remember~ 미소는 만국 공통어입니다. Everyone smiles in the same language ^^.



* full credits on the images go to www.kumhongfancy.co.kr *

➹ random: korean animals

I love learning Korean like a kid! There are plenty of regular smart phone apps which help me with basic Korean words and phrases but it's just more fun (and tons cuter!) to use those apps for preschoolers ㅋㅋ. Anyway, here is a really simple yet really cute flashcard app called HelloHello Animated Animal Flash Cards from Yuil Jung.



My favorite animals from the set are those which remind me of k-drama lines! Say turtle "거북이", always (ALWAYS!) makes me recite Kim Joowon's mantra from Secret Garden~
김수한무 거북이와 두루미
삼천갑자 동방삭
치치카포 사리사리센타
워리워리 세브리강

And then dolphins "돌고래" make me think about how that guy from Strawberry Fields calls 안구정화 members ㅋㅋㅋ! So yes, I have a very silly way of memorizing random words. If I don't have a drama reference, I would copy a cartoon drawing of that word…




The cartoons are all copied from my HelloHello flashcard app. Beyond cute, right?

HelloHello Animated Animal Flash Cards has a free version (Lite) with 10 animated animals on it. The full version has 50 ^^.

I also have these other flashcard apps:
한글 익히기 체험판 from GZcommunication
Flash Cards Korean from FunFunSoft