Midterms are over!

Today was my last midterm test! Both my Korean speaking and writing midterms went very well. I will not know my grade until next week, but I feel that I did the best I could, which is all I can ask for. For my speaking test, I had to introduce myself in Korean and answer questions from my teacher in Korean. For my writing test I had to write sentences and answer questions about grammer/spelling. In the past, I have struggled with language exams, but Korean is very logical. It was created by the most intelligent minds of Korea at that time.

Hangul (Korean writing) is one of the few writing systems that was artificially created. In 1443, King Sejong the Great requested his scholars to form a written system for the Korean language. Before Hangul was created, Koreans used Chinese characters as their writing system. The problem with using Chinese letters was that they did not have the same meaning as the Korean words. Only the well educated who could learn Chinese could understand the characters and read. King Sejong decided that the Korean language needed a writing system for common Korean people to understand. He wanted it to be simple enough for anyone to learn. It has been called one of the easiest languages to read because all of the letters make one sound and one sound alone. Once you learn the sound that each letter represents, you can read anything in Hangul.

This weekend, I'm going to Busan with Sarah for a few days. We are going to a few of the beaches. I am hoping that we can see the UN memorial from the Korean War. There is a large cemetary in Busan from the Korean War. Most of the soldiers that fought in the Korean War were Korean or American. I feel like I need to pay my respects to the brave men who fought so that South Korea could be free. It is one of those places in Korea that I feel like it is my duty to visit out of respect for the brave men who gave their lives for freedom.