Hello lovely people! So those that know me, know I love BTS and crafting (many other things but they’re not relevant to this post 🙈😂)
I have really enjoyed crocheting lately and I feel like I’m getting better but with a chaotic brain and always something else to be doing I don’t always do a lot of crocheting. So I decided for the whole of November I would crochet a little something everyday. It could be a small project finished in one night or a little bit if crocheting every night over a few nights to create a slightly larger item. I am aiming for all my items to be BTS related. And my plan is to put them on my Etsy page to sell and percentage of the proceeds will go to charity. So keep an eye out for finished projects! 💜😍
This is a crochet I have already completed but I am hoping to continue and make the rest of the members during my November Challenge.
I started yesterday and I was hoping to have my first completed small project complete to show you, however best laid plans and all that. Day one was supposed to be a BTS themed crochet cupsleeve to keep you safe from hot tea and coffee in style. However, my crochet went terribly wrong so I had to start all over again on day 2. So hopefully I will have a finished project to show you tomorrow 🙈😂
To make up for the lack of crochet to show you, please enjoy my attempt at a BTS themed painted pumpkin. See you soon guys!
October 9th marks another special day In Korea! The celebration of the creation of Hangul the Korean alphabet! What a wonderful day to celebrate!
It is a national holiday for Koreans. Although for a few years it was not a national holiday but as of 2012, it was declared a national holiday for all Koreans to have the day off and celebrate once again!
Most languages, although we can study and see how they have evolved over time, have little to no origin story as they began many, many years ago. Hangul is different in that rather than slowly evolving over time, from centuries ago. Hangul was deliberately created to be a written language that could be used by all the people.
Historically, in Korea only scholars and the elite could afford to learn Hanja (chinese characters used during this period).
In 1443, King Sejong decided it would be best if Korea had its own alphabet for its people to use, and by 1446 was the official language used by Koreans. Like with many things, it‘s use has had ups and downs and the elite amongst the Koreans wanted to continue using Hanja as this set them apart from everyone and for a while, a mix of Hangul and Chinese characters could be seen in newspapers and books but over time Hangul has become the prominent language used by Koreans.
In essence, the day is to celebrate the formation of a written language to be used by all the people of Korea, and thus celebrating and thanking King Sejong for this opportunity. Up until Hangul was created, learning and using the written language of the time was restricted to only the elite and made it hard for others to communicate well. King Sejong created Hangul so all could communicate and I think that is absolutely something worth celebrating.
Hangul is (for me – I can’t talk for everyone) a relatively easy alphabet to learn. The sounds are similar to English, it is a phonetic alphabet and the shapes and sounds can be linked to mouth movements and similar sounds we have in English. All of this makes the alphabet a straight forward alphabet to learn. The building blocks (syllables) used to form words are also pleasant to work with in Structured and meaningful way.
To learn Hangul, I have revision cards I made during my time at the Kpop academy, I watched numerous YouTube videos (I will share the link to my favourite below) and I use Duolingo. I also have various study books and workbooks to help with my study as I have moved on from learning the alphabet to more in-depth study.
If you fancy celebrating Hangul day yourself, why not have a go at learning the alphabet, for some people it can take as little as 30minutes to a couple of hours learn and how exciting would it be to learn Hangul on Hangul Day! Or if you are lucky enough to be in Korea, why not take a trip to the museum of King Sejong and see how the alphabet was formed for yourself. The museum can be found under the giant gold statue of King Sejong in Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul.
Google is recognising the important and celebrating today with its Google doodle of the day. Many places, apps, brands are recognising this truly remarkable day celebrating the formation of a whole new writing system which has a wonderful history.
Even Nike is joining the celebration with their special Nike Air Hangul edition trainers.
In essence, the day is to celebrate the formation of a written language to be used by all the people of Korea, and thus celebrating and thanking King Sejong for this opportuniTy. Up until Hangul was created, learning and using the written language of the time was restricted to only the elite and made it hard for others to communicate well. King Sejong created Hangul so all could communicate and I think that is absolutely something worth celebrating.
I love learning and I love languages, and as my new passion is Korea, it isn’t a stretch that I am learning Korean. It’s hard, I don’t always have time but I am giving it a go and I hope to keep you updated as I progress do stay tuned!
Sopey 💜
**My blog was ending here but I woke up today to find a really cute Personality test relating to Tiny Tans forest app celebrating Hangul day all over my Twitter timeline and in my group chats and I just had to give it a go!
You have to answer some questions whilst enjoying a short little adventure game, it’s very cute. Not sure its the most effective perosnality test I have ever attempted as some of the answers didn’t give me enough options or ones I would pick but I went with my closest option and I managed to get my bias which is always super adorable and cute when you do that 🥰. If you love BTS and tiny tan you should definitely give it a go!
October 3rd is a public holiday in Korea to celebrate the legendary foundation of Koreas oldest and first state Gojoseon. Similar to other national holidays, fireworks are set off in celebration.
Althougo modern Republic of Korea is young, ancient Korean history stretches back more than 4000 years and legend says it’s starts with a story about founding father Emperor Dangun. However, it really begins with Hwanung, son of Hwanin, a god who lived in the heavens. You can find my short summary of the myth below.
During the pandemic I was lucky enough to be able to attend the Kpop Academy as it was offered online due to quarantine, I would never have been able to attend an in real life academy so I am very honoured to she been able to attend online. One of the weeks lessons was all about the history of Korea and we learnt about Dangun and the bear and tiger. For my homework, I made a presentation on the history with my own little artworks and story telling and you can see it below. I hope you enjoy it!
Happy National Foundation Day to all Koreans around the world 😍
Heart and Seoul 