Kimchi was picked as one of the world’s healthiest foods. See the article and my past post:

http://www.korea.net/news/news/newsview.asp?serial_no=20060326010

http://korea.adoptionblogs.com/weblogs/kimchi

Also, here is a website on Asian foods that is complete with kimchi receipes:

http://www.asiafood.org/kimchi.cfm

It’s an interesting question and one that I never thought of. Someone who reads my posts brought up this topic and I was shocked that it had never crossed my mind, but then I really thought about it. Why would it cross my mind? I am a Korean adoptee and no one is likely to question my right to wear the Korean traditional garment. The reader wrote the following:

“While I don't know that I myself would ever don a Hanbok, but I know many adoptive parents do, and I was curious to see how you felt about this. As adoptive parents, we are told by social workers,... more

Korea has a wealth of deep culture to explore. Its history is full of interesting stories and traditions. One of the most interesting part of their history is the development of the Korean rites of passage. In traditional Korea, there are four rites of passage: • Coming-of-age • Marriage • Funeral • Ancestor Worship

Coming-of-age: This rite marked adulthood. A boy became an adult at age twenty and he would tie his hair into a topknot on top of his head. It was different for girls. They became adults at fifteen and they would roll their hair into a chignon and use a pinyo (hairpin).

Marriage: Marriages were generally... more

Trees are important in my family so I found this holiday to be particularly interesting. My father was a forestry major in college so I can remember many a long walk where he pointed out different types of trees to me and told me what they were good for. Unfortunately, none of the tree names stuck – but the respect for trees did stick.

In the 1950s, the Korean War was not kind to the environment. Deforestation and the general destructions of war, resulted in the loss of a massive quantity of trees. So, in order to make things right, the Korean government made April... more

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet.” – William Shakespeare Generally, Koreans have three names (the family name, a name identifiying the generation, and the given name) that are placed in that order. My Korean name was Ahn Gi Mi (so my family name was Ahn, my generation name was Gi and my given name was Mi). I did say that Koreans generally have three names. My son only had two. His name was Bae Moses (Bae was the family name and Moses his given name).

Funny Story: Right before... more

If you are interested in learning a little bit of the Korean language, here are some basic Korean phrases to get you started:

***Remember these are just the phonetic versions of the words from the Hangeul language. There is no way to truly translate the Hangeul written language to English.***

• I love you – Sah rahng heh • I like you – Joh wah heh • Thank you – Gahm sah hahm nee dah (Seems like a big mouthful for a simple thank you. Isn’t translation fun.) • Hello – Yoh boh seh yoh • I am sorry – Mee ahn heh • Don’t be afraid... more

When I was about eleven, my parents bundled me into the car one summer day and we drove to Akron, Ohio to attend a Korean-American picnic. We went with another family who had just adopted a little girl from Korea. They also had their two biological children with them.

We arrived at the picnic area and we could see the festivities from the car. Everyone piled out of the cars and my parents unbuckled my sister from her carseat. There was the usual mass chaos as strollers are unfolded and picnic baskets are unloaded from trunks, so it was a few minutes before my... more

March 1st is a day to celebrate Korean independence. It was this day in 1919 that several members of an underground movement read the Korean Declaration in Seoul. They were protesting the Japanese occupation.

If you’re interested, it really is a fascinating topic. My first reaction was to run to the library and take out as many books as I could find on the subject. You can thank my husband for bringing me down to earth and reminding me that this is a blog. The part of me that majored in history and political science wanted to write about the historical impact of the event and how it helped develop the modern Korean political structure. My husband, always the logical part of the... more

When my parents knew that they were adopting me from Korea, they decided to try Korean food. They found a Korean restaurant in their area and off they went to experience a new cuisine.

When people think of Korean food, one of the first things they think of is kimchi, a fermented cabbage dish. So, my parents went to this restaurant and my father ordered kimchi from the menu.

***If you didn’t know, above and beyond cabbage, there are a number of spices involved in the preparation of kimchi (salt, garlic, ginger). Most importantly, for the sake of this story, it also contains red chili peppers. Chili peppers give it color and spice.***

Well, in this case,... more

You may have heard about the importance of introducing Korean culture to your child. I agree that it's important. Korea is where your child was born and it is very important that this be addressed from an early age. However, I would like to caution parents from becoming too excited... because that excitement could lead to disappointment if your child is not as excited as you are.

So far, I have seen three very distinct reactions from Korean adoptees:

1. The Sponge: This child will soak up everything you can provide and still want more. He'll see it as a part of his identity and he will want to try everything. A child who is this interested may want to... more