Samil Jeol;March.1st Independence Movement Day in Korea

Yesterday was holiday in Korea. I met one of my foriegn friend but he didn't know why did we commemorate that day. How about you? Do you know about you?

It is the day for commemorate Korean Independence Movement. We called it Samil jeol. Literally, it means March 1st day.

It was March 1st. around noon in 1919. What made the Korean get angry and what happened on that day? Korean kept protesting against Japanese who had been illegally taking control of Koran heritage and rights.

Japanese conquered Korea and got all the power. Thus, Korean couldn' t learn their language and culture and controlled everything at that time. They wanted to make us like their people.

Korean made quiet riot against them. Ryu Gwan- Sun, one of the representive, led the movement.

It was not guilty but she went to jail after that movement. She got killed with tough torture. She was only 18 years old and dead very young. She didn't deserve it at all and was absolutely innocent.

After independce of Korea, we have commemorated her and the people who devote their lives for our nation.

As one of Korean people, i admire them and want to give my thank to them.

Source: http://m.blog.naver.com/joinpeter

Dosan encyclopedia.

The meaning of MANNAM's Slogan?

MANNAM! When Light meets Light there is Victory

Do you know MANNAM’s slogan?? If you are a MANNAM member, you might have heard this.

When Light meet Light there is Victory!

Then... do you know what this mean? How can light makes victory?

Light represents a person who had light, this light is one's own CULTURE.

If people who has a light(culture) meets another light(culture) and share it together, the light will get bigger and bigger to lighten the dark world!

When dark world shines with the light, isn’t that a victory??

Light in this slogan is not just a sunlight that shines on us.

We, all of MANNAM members are the LIGHT who can lighten the world!

How? By invovling in volunteer works! We, MANNAM is a pure association

We make the world brighter by volunteering. When we share our culture thorugh volunteering, there will be victory.

Every languages have word 'LIGHT'. Because people or creature cannot live without light.

Light is essential to all of us. In this way, we need your culture to lighten the world.

Don’t you want to see brighter world? Let’s make VICTORY together.

sourse: mannamgwkorean.blogspot.kr

Enjoyed delicious brunch in Jeonju Diner!!

There is a nice restaurant in Jeonju called Jeonju Diner.
It is famous for Burgers and Burritos. Because the owner of the restaurant is a Canadian, the foods are western style. And I heard many western people have gatherings there.

I love its foods so much. Every menu I have tried was wonderful, and I like there cozy atmosphere as well. But I am not able to visit there regularly because it is not close to my place.

Last week, I had missed the food and I asked one of my MANNAM friend to go there and have brunch together.

The name of my menu was Simple Breakfast; fried egg, potatoes, a slice of bread and bacons with coffee. Even though it's called "Simple Breakfast", it was not simple for me. We enjoyed the dish very much.  : )

Thanks a lot for offering me a delicious meal! I would like to have a gathering party in there with my MANNAM friends so they could experience the excellent dishes.

You can search on the google map. It's in Samcheondong.

Let's make wonderful time with KIDS :D

♥Orphanage Volunteer♥

MANNAM Jeonju branch will go to volunteer this Saturday to Sun-deok Orphanage. For this time, we are going to PLANT FLOWER SEEDS in the small pot with lovely Kids.
If you want to make happy time for Children, please join us.

1. When: Feb. 23 Sat.

2. Schedule:
♥9:00am. Departure from Jeonju
(Place-Jeonbuk Univ.; In front of Hetsal chicken restaurant)
♥11:30-11:40am. Come back to Jeonju.

3. HOW TO SIGN UP?
You can send a message or e mail us.
#English) Yeongjae : 010-3719-7319
  Chinese) Inhwan : 010-8485-8494
#jeonjumannam@gmail.com

Don't miss the WONDERFUL CHANCE !!
Share your warm heart with the kids: )

Thank you♥

Enjoy Hanok Village in Jeonju~

                                                    (picture source: tour Jeonju)

My hometown Jeonju has Hanok mauel which is a famous Korean traditional style house village. There are numerous of traditional houses huddled together. When I was young, the village was just an old place and no one had visited there. But now, after repair work, it became a tourist spot where so many people visit from all over the country.

This village was started to build around 1930. There is a gate called Pungnam Mun near the village. It was the entrance into the castle but it was pulled down because of Japanese merchanters. They had broken into the castle and constructed their houses their way. So, the ancestors started to build the houses in traditional way to resist them and maintain our own culture. The village has the spirit of people who had lived that in that time.

How to go?

When you arrive Jeonju Express bus terminal, there are taxis waiting for you. It takes just 10 min by car and you may pay about 5000 won if there is no traffic jam. You ask the driver to take you 'Hanok maeul' or 'Ohmok dae' where you can see the whole village in one place.

If you don't want to take a taxi, the closest bus stop is near the Jeonju river. You go left side from the terminal toward the river, and then cross the street. There are a bus stop on the left side. You can take the bus 5-1 and get off on Jeondong Seongdang, Hanuk maul(전동성당, 한옥마을).

In case of the Jeonju Intercity bus terminal, when you arrive there, just cross the street and you can see a bus stop. You take the bus 5-1 and get off the same way.

If you don't know, just ask

"Hanok Maeul uhdiro gayo?"

It means "Where is the hanok village?"

Perhaps, people will help you kindly.

When you go into the village, there are fascinating narrow streets between the houses. Beside the streets, there are some ditches with running water. And fancy cafes are lined up where you may take a rest a while. It's a great dating course for couples.

Among the cafe, there are a well known one named "외할머니 솜씨(Grandma's Cooking Skill)". You can enjoy different kinds of Korean style desserts in there. The most famous dessert is Patbingsu(red bean sherbet) with special toppings. Because the cafe is so popular, you might be wait long time to order the food.

When you walk along the street, you can meet some houses where you can experience traditional games or events at day time. However, I like there at night time though. Because I love to see a lot of colorful lights all around the village. Those beautiful lights you can enjoy just at night. 

Last year, MANNAM Jeonju branch has been visited this fascinating village with international members. We shared our thoughts about cultures through that tour. We all were happy to visit there and experience other traditional culture.

I want to share my culture to you.

And I'd like to know about your culture as well.

It is important to understand each other.

And it can make us friends.

Love will start from there. : )

An Essay Ⅱ from MANNAM Korean teacher.

This is a story why am I willing to be a volunteer for foreigners.

It was 15 years ago. I had been working in Gunsan Daewoo commercial vehicles. I had some chances to meet foreign buyers that time. Whenever I met them, I had got trouble because of my poor English skills. So I wanted to learn it more, but it was not easy to do both learning and working.

At that time, IMF hit Korea in 1997 and the economy was getting worse. Numerous workers were fired from their companies. However, I quit the job myself and flew to Australia to prepare for a better future.

Since I had been experienced in staying Japan, I felt living in foreign countries seems to be romantic. However, It was different between dream and reality. One of the big problem was, of course, the language!!

I wanted to be a permanent resident in Australia so I needed to improve my English skills. But entering the language school costed very expensive. I had been spending a mount of money to rent my house, get some groceries, and so on. I had to figure out a better way to study English.

I used to go a library nearby my place to read some books. When I had walked through the hall, a tiny invitation posting caught my eye. It was an ad about Free English classes for foreigners like me!

I was excited that I could learn English for free and decided to go there.

The class was made by some Australians and christian missionaries. They volunteered every Saturday. Most of the volunteers were from different countries. They offered English classes, Bible study, and singing to the students. I liked those. The best thing I liked was I could meet many foreign friends there. I could hear a lot of stories about the world from them. It was so much fun.

During break time, all of students and volunteers roamed around the class and had a chat. Thanks to that, I should practice to speak English to communicate with them. I had tried my best to learn from the class and have a conversation with the volunteers and I could feel that my English skills were getting better little by little.

I still have keep in touch with one of them. Her name is Allison. She is Australian. She came there to help the students with English. She told me her fiance was Korean and she had been interested in learning his language. Since her fiance had used to be an international student, she knew the difficulty of foreign students' well. So she had started to volunteered there.

Allison told me about her life and took me to meet her husband. She always tried to help me with daily conversation. Even though she was one of volunteers, she was a real teacher to me. I was really thankful to her. She treated me not only as a student but a friend. From then on, I think I have dreamed to help someone with my language like her.

After 15 years, now, I am a teacher in MANNAM Korean Class. I have my own job, bring up two kids, and I volunteer every Sunday. I am truly happy I can help the foreigners. I feel I am giving back the kindness to Allison who gave it to me.

Some of my students study very hard in order to teach Korean in their countries. They express their gratitude to me every time. How nice!!

Like the slogan of MANNAM, When Light meets Light, there is Victory, I convey a small light to them and they receive and spread the light through the world.

Written by

Hwang, Jae-yeon

MANNAM branches