K-pop Academy Week 8 - Homework Assignment

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So, here's my homework for the week!! I designed a traditional hanbok that would represent the K-pop Academy. I took it quite literally and just used the colours of the academy on my design. 
It's not a piece of art, but yeah. Hope you enjoy it :^) 

K-Pop Academy Week 8: Hanbok

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So, for Week 7 we didn't have a lesson as it was an easter break. However, on Week 8 there was a lesson on Korea's traditional dress, the Hanbok!! 
Unfortunately, I couldn't go to the lesson as I was in Spain visiting my family...But I've made some research so I don't fall behind with the knowledge :^)

According to Wikipedia, Hanbok is often characterised by vibrant colours and simple lines. They don't have pockets. Throughout history, Korea had a dual clothing tradition, in which rulers and aristocrats adopted different kinds of mixed foreign-influenced indigenous styles, while the commoners continued to use a distinct style of indigenous clothing that today is known as Hanbok.

In 1996, Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Korea made 'Hanbok day' to encourage people to wear Hanbok.

Although the term literally means "Korean clothing", hanbok today often refers specifically to hanbok of the Joseon (Chosŏn) period and is worn as semi-formal or formal wear during traditional festivals and celebrations.

Here are the different parts for women's hanbok:

Well, I think that's all for a brief description. Personally, I enjoy fashion and I think traditional clothing like hanboks are really beautiful as they hold a long and full of tradition history.  

K-pop Academy Week 6 - Homework Assignment

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For this week's homework the theme was art, as we went to the British Museum. I did a powerpoint presentation about a Korean artist that caught my attention and captivated my heart. 

Here's my homework, take a look if you wish :^) 

Thank you! 감사합니다!

K-Pop Academy Week 6: Art and History

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This week's lesson was really interesting. We got to attend a little lecture at the KCC about the history of Korean art which was really valuable as we got to know a little bit more about Korean culture and the meaning of the country's art.

Later on we went to visit the Korean gallery at the British Museum. We did a knowledge quiz about the exposition held at the gallery. It was hard as some of the things weren't at the museum anymore. However, it was fun having to go around the gallery and we got to learn while doing the task. 

It was my first time going to the British Museum and I loved it. Here are some pictures I took from the gallery:

K-pop Academy Week 5 - Homework Assignment

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For this week's homework Laura and I decided to do a dance cover of the song "Can You Feel It" by Donghae and Eunhyuk from Super Junior, as it was one of the homework options for the week due to the dance workshop that we got to do with LoKo. 

She's probably going to kill me and I'm going to lose any dignity that I may have left, but here's the link to our homework: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeB4pPgnnJc

Don't laugh too much at us chuseyo :^)

Week 5: Dance workshop with LoKo

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Again late updating because I'm irresponsible. Nah, I've been ill for 4 weeks and I'm preparing for my exams. Anyway, mianhae!!!

For week 5 we had the honour to participate in a dace workshop with the girls from LoKo!!!
We learnt the dances for the chorus of Red Velvet's Happiness and Infinite H's Pretty. It was difficult for me, as I have no coordination between my hands and my feet, but I had a lot of fun.

I couldn't take any pictures as I was too busy trying to do even one step right...However, I'll leave below the songs that we learnt how to dance! Hopefully I won't forget them!!! 

Thank you to LoKo for giving us this opportunity and to the KCC for this amazing experience. 감사합니다!

Red Velvet's Happiness: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFgv8bKfxEs

Infinite H's Pretty: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efK-S_R1tfk

K-pop Academy Week 4 - Homework Assignment

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For this week's homework I chose the first option, which was creating a chart showing all of the letters of the Korean alphabet to help others learn hangul. 

I tried to make it fun, colourful and entertaining so it would be easy and not boring to look at it! 
Here's my work, tell me what you think:
Thank you! 감사합니다!

Week 4: Hangeul and Korean language

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I need to start uploading straight after the lessons, mianhae everyone....

Anyway, last week we had the honour of listening a great lecture about the history of Korean language and a bit of introduction on Hangeul (or Korean alphabet) 

I learned that Korean language is believed to belong to the Altaic language family (the same as Turkish, Mongolian, etc.). However, there's no clear evidence about it. 

The 25th year of his reign (1443, in the Lunar calendar), King Sejong created the Korean alphabet. It consisted of 28 letters and they were classified in velar, alveolar, dental, bilabial and glotal, depending on how the letters have to be pronounced. 

The modern Korean alphabet consists of 40 letters, as there are now composed letters. 

Later on in the lesson, we got to write our names in Hangul on a big piece of paper with ink!!!

I wasn't really good at it, but it was fun! :^) 

(Excuse the bad quality of the pictures I took!!!!!) 
(Source of the pictures with good quality: 7th K-pop Acedemy Facebook page)

K-pop Academy Week 3 - Homework Assignment

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For this week's homework I wanted to cook a Korean dish, but sadly I couldn't find any ingredients in my area. 
Instead, I made a powerpoint creating a menu for when Donghae and Eunhyuk come to my house! (Yes, because that is going to hapen) (probably not) :^( 

Anyway, here's my homework! Please take a look at it if you wish: 
Thank you! 감사합니다!

Week 3: Cooking lesson!

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In last week's lesson we learnt how to cook Seafood Mandu (Dumplings) and Seafood Buchigi (Pancake). Everything was delicious and really flavoursome! 

First we saw our two chef sunbaes create both dishes, everything seemed simple and fast when it was made by them. However, reality wasn't that easy...When it was our turn to prepare it we actually struggled a bit. The pancakes didn't seem to reach the perfect cooking point. Luckily, our seonsaengnim rescued us. 감사합니다, 선생님!

At the end, team EXO didn't do as bad as expected. Unfortunately, we didn't win, but we got to eat our menu and it turn out quite good! 

I will definitely try the recipes again at home! Practice makes perfect, right? :^)

Thank you to our Chef Sunbaes and our seonsaengnim for making this possible. 감사합니다!

 EXO FIGHTING!! :^)

(Source: 7th K-pop Academy Facebook webpage)

K-pop Academy Week 2 - Homework Assignment

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Sorry for the late update, I've been a bit busy lately! Blame school...

For last week's homework assignment we got to choose between three options to make
whatever piece of work we liked the most.
I chose to do the second option and use the taegugki flag to make a creative form of art. 

I called the painting "Korea's blossom". 
In the left, there's an interpretation of "The Great Wave of Kanagawa" which is a famous icon of Japan, representing Japan's force and oppression towards Korea. In the right side, there's a tree with the national flowers of Korea, Mugunghwa, representing Korea's strength and resistance towards the Japanese oppression. I also added the taegugki flags to make it representative of the country's independence.

Hope you like it, 감사합니다!

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Week 2: Taegeukgi and Samil Movement

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This week at the K-pop Academy we learnt about the March First Independent Movement, or Samil Movement. 

The March 1st Movement, or Samil Movement, was one of the earliest public displays of Korean resistance during the occupation of the Korean Empire by Japan. The name makes reference to the day it took place; "Sam" meaning "three" and "il" meaning "one", therefore 3.1 movement. The March 1st Movement. 

The Samil Movement came as a result of the repressive nature of colonial occupation under the military rule of the Japanese Empire following 1905, adding to this the death of former Emperor Kojong on January 21, 1919.

On March 1st, 1919, 33 activists who formed the core of the Samil Movement convened at Taehwagwan Restaurant in Seoul and read the Korean Declaration of Independence that had been drawn up by historian Choe Nam-seon. The activists initially planned to assemble at Tapgol Park (were nowadays there's a sculpture with the mentioned Declaration of Independence that can be visited) in downtown Seoul, but chose a more private location out of fear that the gathering might turn into a riot.

Despite the activists' concerns, massive crowds assembled in Pagoda Park to hear a student, Chung Jae-yong, read the declaration publicly. Afterwards, the gathering formed into a peaceable procession, which the Japanese military police attempted to suppress.

As the processions continued to grow, the Japanese local and military police could not control the crowds. The panicked Japanese officials called in military forces to quell the crowds including the naval forces. The frequently cited The Bloody History of the Korean Independence Movement by Park Eunsik reported 7,509 people killed, 15,849 wounded, and 46,303 arrested.

The March 1st Movement provided a catalytic momentum for the Korean Independence Movement. The Japanese government reacted to the March 1st Movement by heightening its suppression of dissent and dismissing the Movement as the "Chosun Manse Violent Public Disorder Incident". On May 24, 1949, March 1st was designated a national holiday in South Korea.

To commemorate this upcoming festivity we also learnt the meaning of the Korean flag, or Taegeukgi, which was the symbol for the movement. 

“Taegeuk”, which is the circle of the flag in the centre, means “Grand Ultimate” or “Great polarity” and it is derived from the philosophy of yin and yang, which represents the balance of the universe. The four trigrams at the corners, called “Kwea” in Korean, also represent the concept of opposites and balance. The trigrams are heaven and earth at the other corner, water and fire at the other corner.

With the help of our Sunbaes we got to sew our very own Taegeukgi. This was my result:

It took a lot of effort and concentration, but it was worth it! It was fun making it and learning about this national festivity. 

Thank you to everyone that made it possible. 

감사합니다!

(Source: wikipedia, "3.1 movement n Taegeukgi movement" document, The 7th K-pop Academy Facebook page)