These past few years, I'm into anything Korean. I'm Southeast Asian and I've no Korean blood in me. My interest in this culture started in January 2002 when I became friends with this Korean lady I met in Baguio City. Baguio is located on the Northern part of the Philippines. In 1903, it was designated as the Summer Capital of the Philippines.
Anyway, one cold, rainy afternoon I was out browsing in this small Korean grocery store which was just a stone-throw away from where we staying. I bought this choco pie - it's like an Oreo cookie but this one is dipped in chocolate & with a marshmallow filling. But what really piqued my interest was this rice cookie, so I asked the cashier-owner of the store how to prepare it.
"Aah..you eat it like you would eat a cookie. Ganito. (Like this)." I looked at her with amazement and asked her, "How come you know how to speak Tagalog?" So she told me how she came to the Philippines to study, why she loved the country and why she decided to stay.
I told her how envious I am of her. She's Korean but she knows how to speak Tagalog. I am Filipino but my Tagalog is not that good. I am more fluent in both of my parents' local dialects. We started conversing then in mixed English-Tagalog language, with more effort on my part =). So, what started out as a boring, rainy afternoon ended as an interesting one.
To make the long story short, I became her regular customer. I would spend hours in her store just chatting with her. Until one day, she invited me to her home. I discovered that Koreans and Filipinos have some things in common. They are respectful to their elders too. They bow their heads in a 45 degree angle in formal greetings. We, on the other hand, take the hands of our grandparents, parents, godparents, uncles and aunties, and touch it on our foreheads. In our native tongue, we call it "Mano". Koreans would also leave their shoes by the door of their house, we Filipinos do the same (well, my family does). I remember as a child, whenever I will bring friends home, I would instruct them before hand to leave their slippers outside because my mom was a stickler for cleanliness.
Thirty days later, Eun or Grace (her English name), gave me these all-Korean products as farewell gifts - cd's of assorted Korean bands, Korean movies, bottled mix Kimchi that she made herself, assorted toiletries and my favorite rice cookies.
Anyway, one cold, rainy afternoon I was out browsing in this small Korean grocery store which was just a stone-throw away from where we staying. I bought this choco pie - it's like an Oreo cookie but this one is dipped in chocolate & with a marshmallow filling. But what really piqued my interest was this rice cookie, so I asked the cashier-owner of the store how to prepare it.
I told her how envious I am of her. She's Korean but she knows how to speak Tagalog. I am Filipino but my Tagalog is not that good. I am more fluent in both of my parents' local dialects. We started conversing then in mixed English-Tagalog language, with more effort on my part =). So, what started out as a boring, rainy afternoon ended as an interesting one.
To make the long story short, I became her regular customer. I would spend hours in her store just chatting with her. Until one day, she invited me to her home. I discovered that Koreans and Filipinos have some things in common. They are respectful to their elders too. They bow their heads in a 45 degree angle in formal greetings. We, on the other hand, take the hands of our grandparents, parents, godparents, uncles and aunties, and touch it on our foreheads. In our native tongue, we call it "Mano". Koreans would also leave their shoes by the door of their house, we Filipinos do the same (well, my family does). I remember as a child, whenever I will bring friends home, I would instruct them before hand to leave their slippers outside because my mom was a stickler for cleanliness.
Thirty days later, Eun or Grace (her English name), gave me these all-Korean products as farewell gifts - cd's of assorted Korean bands, Korean movies, bottled mix Kimchi that she made herself, assorted toiletries and my favorite rice cookies.
Back at the home front, I listened to the cd's and watched the movies, thankfully the movies were English-subbed. "I Love You" and "Address Unknown", were beautiful movies. By now, I've watched it like a zillion times already. It was through these movies that I began to take an interest in the Korean culture. I began watching Korean drama series. I've listening to DBSK, Lee Seung Gi, and Super Junior. I began stocking on Asian condiments for my Korean recipes. Now, I'm addicted to Korean body scrubs, facial cleansers, lotions, foundations &; lipsticks. I began to learn how to speak a few Korean phrases.
"Komawo, Grace." It was you who opened my eyes to other Asian cultures besides my own. Thank you for introducing me to your culture...it was through you that my Korean romance began.
keep on posting...
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