Level 4

    My Favorite Korean Holiday 

     My favorite Korean holiday is Seollal ( Lunar New Year). It is a time when all the families who live apart gather in their hometowns wish each other a happy new year and strengthen their relationships. During this holiday, parents teach the next generation the precious tradition of respecting elders and maintaining closer relationships with relatives. All Koreans celebrate Seollal by wearing traditional Korean clothes and eating traditional Seollal foods, such as tteokguk (rice cake soup), mandu (dumplings), galbijjim (braised short ribs),  japchae (noodle with vegetables),  injeolmi (rice cake), gangJeongs (cereal, nut bar), sujeonggwa (dried persimmons, ginger, cinnamon tea), and sikhye (fermented sweet rice tea). Seollal activities include Sebae (deep bowing) to their elder relatives, saying “Happy New Year.” Then, the elders give them Sebaedon (New Year’s Money) with words of blessing, bowing to their ancestors. Seollal traditional games include Yutnori, jumping seesaw, jegichagi, spinning tops, skating, and flying kites. I like the food, activities and the games of Seollal, but what I love most about Seollal is that all the families gather together to bless each other for the new year, respect the elders and teach the precious tradition of making the relationship between family members closer for the next generation.

Written by: Sun Chung 

My Mother

My mother is the person I admire. She lost her mother when she was 17 years old. She is the oldest of 4 siblings, and she was left in charge of them. She lived in a town outside the city where there were many limitations (there was no electricity, and they went to the river to wash). She got married at 19 years old and emigrated to Guatemala City. Without knowing the city, she started from scratch with my father. My mom had 6 children, and we are all alive. She had us all very close together which didn’t allow her to work. When my youngest brother was 6 years old, she went to work because what my father earned was not enough to cover all the expenses. There came a time when her earnings were not enough to support us all. We went to live in a place where there was no electricity, no water, and our home was made of sheet metal and dirt. My mom didn’t like that place and told us that we were not going to live there forever. She got other jobs and started selling by catalog. At the age of 5, we were able to buy two plots of land on a long-term basis. We were old and we worked, so we helped build one of the plots. Finally my mom no longer works and is now enjoying her house that was built 22 years ago, and she continues with her catalog sales. My mother is an amazing woman.

Written by: Sandra Martin