In my first post, I have introduced the Korean alphabets with their respective romanized sounds. But how exactly they are pronounced especially the aspirated and glotalized consonants and also vowels with y counterpart and the dipthongs. Korean letters are phonemic; each letter stands for a group of sounds. The pronunciation of the letter varies in accordance with its linguistic environment. For example, the letterㄱis romanized as k / g . The letter sounds as k when it is put in the beginning of a word and also in the end of a word. However it sounds as g when inserted between vowels or next to the other voiced sounds. Below are some example to indicate the variation of the pronunciation of ㄱ.

    It is worth noting for the word nu-gu thatㄱ is pronounced as g when it is inserted in a word after a voiced sound of nu. This condition also appear in the word of 'taegukgi'. For additonal information, 'taegukgi' should be correctly romanized as 'taeguekgi' as comply to the rule of romanization of hangul. But I just leave it like that due to popularity since the Korean blockbuster 2004 Taegukgi Hwinalrimyeo is named like that. For this same word, we can notice that ㄱ is pronounced as k in the end of a group of letter 'guk'.

    Such sound shifts are also applied to other consonants.
ㄷsounds as d as in day before a vowel and  t as in toy when followed by consonant or end of word.

It is worth noting that 'ta-seot' has the letter ㅅ pronounced as 't' when put in the end of a group of sound.; other than this it is romanized and sounded as 's'


ㅂ sounds as b as in boy before a vowel and p as in pan when followed by consonant or end of word.

In the word of 'apoeji', you shall notice how the placeholder ㅇ is used with a vowel. Basically it is used to accompany a group of sound started with a vowel like in 'opoeji'. Another case, it is put in the end of a group of sound where it sounds as 'ng'.

ㄹ sounds as r, closest to soft d in American water before a vowel and l at the end of ill when followed by consonant or end of word.

I will continue later.

<Hoon-Min-Jeong-Eum>

Koreans call their alphabet Hangul. Like English, the letters of the Hangul alphabet represent individual sounds or phonemes. Hangul was invented by King Sejong of the Choson Dynasty, and introduced to the public in 1443 in Hun-Min-Jeong-Eum. King Sejong believed that Koreans needed an easy-to-learn system for writing their own language. Before King Sejong designed the Hangul, Koreans had either written in the Chinese language or had written Korean using Chinese characters to represent the Korean sounds in a complex system, Idu. The alphabet originally contained 28 letters composed of 11 vowels and 17 consonants.

Currently Hangul is spoken by 45 million people in South Korea, in addition to 23 million in North Korea and several million Koreans living in other countries like China(1.9 million), the United States(1.5 million), Japan(710,000), and the former Soviet Union(450,000). Hangul is being taught in about 50 American and Canadian universities, with more being added each year. It is also taught at more than 20 universities in Europe, East Asia, and Australia. As Korea plays a greater role in world economics and politics, it is becoming more and more important for the international community to understand the Korean people and their language.

When the Great King Sejong invented Hangul, he had in mind the two basic principles of the yin-yang cosmology of eastern philosophy.
Vowels Graphemes
	The vowels were designed on the basis of The Three basic components of the universe which are Heaven( ), Earth , and Man. Heaven( ) represents the circular shape of heaven, Earth represents the flatness of the earth, and Man expresses the standing position of a human being.	[8 hexagrams]
	The vowels were designed on the basis of of Eastern philosophy.
Consonants
	King Sejong designed the HANGUL consonant letters so that their shapes would reflect the place and manner of articulation of the consonant sounds. The shapes of five basic consonants suggest the five basic types of articulation, as follows. The other 14 consonant letters are derived from these by adding strokes.

Kimchi KOREAN Best Known Food

    Kimchi represents Korea'sbest known food. Koreans serve Kimchi at almost every meal, and few Koreans canlast more than a few days before cravings get the better of them. During the1988 Summer Olympic Games, thousands of foreigners were introduced to it forthe first time. Despite a reputation for being spicy, most people usuallydevelop a taste for it, and many foreigners also find themselves missing it afterreturning to their home country.

    Kimchi is basically a salted,pickled vegetable dish, often presented as a basic side dish in any Koreanmeal. The fermentation of different vegetables, complemented by salted fish andother seasonings, give it a unique flavor. The hot and spicy taste of kimchistimulates one's appetite. It is also a nutritious dish, providing vitamins,lactic acid, and minerals. Kimchi can also be preserved for a long time.

    Red pepper was introduced to the making of Kimchi inthe 17th Century. This introduction of red pepper in the pickling process was amajor innovation to the Korean food culture. By using red pepper withvegetables and fish, a unique method of food preservation was borne, thusleading to the adoption of kimchi as a Korean staple. There are currently manykinds of Kimchi with different tastes.  Here are some example of Kimchi:

The Original Traditional Kimchi

The Easy Way

There is no recordindicating when Kimchi was eaten in Korea. However a record which was written about the preservation of turnips in salt water, tobe kept and eaten during winter was dated during the period 1169 – 1241.  It was believed the original method ofmaking Kimchi was to soak the Chinese cabbage (Pai Chye) in seawater.   Chili and garlic was introduced during the16^th century.  Since thenvarious ingredients were added to create a variety of flavors.  In Korea one can purchase a variety ofKimchi with various vegetables, fruits, and even seafood like shrimps andoysters added.

What You Need

1. One medium size Chinese cabbage (Pai Chye).

2. One glass container.

3. Distilled or mineral water.

4. Sea salt (1 tablespoon to 500 ml water).

5. Raw sugar (2 tablespoons to 500 ml water).

6. More salt and sugar may be added to suite your taste.

7. Kitchen towel.

8. Rubber band.

HowTo Do

1. Soak Chinese cabbage in distilled or mineral water forabout 30 minutes.

2. Drained the excessive water from the cabbage.

3. Cut cabbage into pieces separated the stems from theleaves.

4. Put the stems into the glass container and packed theleaves in, as tightly as possible.

5. Pour the salt and sugar solution into the container.

6. Make sure the cut cabbage is submersed in the solution.

7. Cover the mouth of the container with a piece of thekitchen towel and seal it with a rubber band.

8. Keep the container in a shaded place away from sunlightand pollution from cooking.

9. Fermentation should take place within 3 to 4 days

Fermented Kimchi –

The fermented Kimchi is now ready for eating.  A piece may be taken from the container andeaten.  To increase the sourness, thecontainer may be resealed and kept for a longer period.

The fermented Kimchi juice, may be drained into a bottle, and kept in a refrigerator.  It may added into fresh fruit or vegetable juices to make an “energy packed” drink.  The Kimchi may be kept in a container with a cover and put in a refrigerator for consumption.  Chopped garlic, and or dried chili powder may be added.  Scientists found that both Kimchi and the fermented solution contain a high concentration of  “living” enzymes and are highly “energized”.