Let's get to know Korean Lunar New Year with MANNAM

Let's get to know Korean Lunar New Year with MANNAM

 

 새해 복 많이 받으세요! (Sae hae bok mani badousaeyo) Happy New Year! Wait a minute didn’t we say this about one month ago? For almost all the countries in Asia celebrate the New Year in Lunar calendar. It is different every year but almost it is in January or February. In Korea we call this holiday ‘설날(seulnal)’. So Koreans celebrate the first day of January these days, but also ‘설날’ which they celebrated for a long time. Then, what do people do on ‘설날’? Maybe there are some special things that they do on ‘설날’ Let’s find out one by one.

 

 When making the calendar there are two ways of counting the dates. One is using the sun (Solar calendar) and the other is counting by the moon (Lunar calendar). In many places in Asia, Asians believe that the lunar calendar is more appropriate counting days. So many countries use this calendar in their country. In Korea, lunar calendar is used also for the New Year’s Day. The holiday is for 3 days, before and after ‘설날’.

Even if you live far apart from your parents or not, all the family gather in the ‘big house’ where the elders are. That is why you see many traffic jams on the road especially on this holiday. People do not care about the tiredness of the road, they travel to meet and greet their parents. Because Korea has customs to respect the elders, they want to greet their elders in their family in the first day of the year. This is why the do memorial services to their ancestors and deep bow to parents. If you do this the elders give money in return. This is ‘세뱃돈’.

 

< Deep bow(큰절) & 세뱃돈 >

 

 In ‘설날’ also they eat ‘떡국’. This is made of rice cake in a soup. If you eat one bowl of this, people say you became one year old. Also, when the family gather in one place, they play traditional games like ‘널뛰기, 연날리기, 윷놀이’.

 

< 떡국 (soup of rice cake) >

 

If I didn’t meet International friends in MANNAM, maybe I only know about my counties holidays and only the way how to celebrate it. But since I meet many people from other counties in MANNAM, I know a lot of things about how people celebrate the New Year’s Day all around the world. It doesn’t matter if the solar or the lunar calendar is right or wrong. All that matters is that because it is one of the cultures in every country, we must respect each kind. It is good to settle you mind and feeling again in the lunar New Year. It is a good chance to renew your mind and thinking by making a promise to yourself.

출저: Nongmin Newspaper, http://www.nongmin.com/article/ar_detail.htm?ar_id=213191
떡국이미지 출저: Boston Korea, http://bostonkorea.com/news.php?mode=view&num=13897

[MANNAM Heal the world] Rise of the MANNAM Guardians!

[MANNAM Heal the world] Rise of the MANNAM Guardians!

One rainy day, after deciding instead of picking trash in a rainy day, MANNAM friends choose to watch movie in the MANNAM office. Because it was a decision that was made in a moment everyone wondered what to watch. So MANNAM friends decide to watch the movie that people wanted to see on movie night before. The movie was “Rise of the Guardians.” Have you heard or saw it before?

Like the title Guardians is a person who guards stuff or people. Can you guess which characters that comes out of this movie? Like some people think, yes. There is Santa Clause and the sand man. Who else? You can find the tooth fairy and the Easter bunny also. The four Guardians live eternally helping children by giving them hope and joy. They survive because the children believe them that they exist. This is the source for them to live. And that is helping others without them knowing. In the movie there is also a boogie man that tries to make the children’s world in fear. So another Guardian gets selected to help the Guardians that was before. This is Jack Frost.

To defeat the evil and make a happy ending is the most common ending for an animation movie. This has made enlightenment for the audience. We learned a lot of things from the movie. To make people, especially the ones that are not close to you, happy by helping them is a thing that is worth of. In the movie, these kinds of works are the Guardians job. They do this because they were selected to help others. Why don’t we think that we, who are in MANNAM Volunteer Association was selected one by one to help others? Although we have our things to do, like study, work and teaching for our jobs but we can achieve helping others by volunteering and that can happen if we have hearts to do this. What if people don’t realize the work we do? It doesn’t matter because something special has already happened in our hearts and minds.

When Jack wanders why he was selected as a Guardian, Santa asks, “What is your center?” The special mind and heart that we each was chosen. At the end of the movie Jack finds out that it is helping others. We should have the same mind and though as him. And also I want to ask, “What is your center?”

Reason why we peruse peace

Reason why we peruse peace

Many people around the world work to achieve peace in many different ways.

It could be a small help to our neighbors or some campaigns and movements.

Have you ever joined or tried one of these?

Why? Was it for school grades? Or some things for fun?

It could be one of those reasons, but the most important reason that I think is for my life.

Many of those peace works seems not related with me myself, but they are.

How? Let's imagine a world where doesn't have peace.

If you have father or brothers, they might have to go army and fight in danger.

Is it only their problem? No. What about others who are left?

Will they be happy being safe? No. They will languish in worried about their family who are in the war. Also, even who are left over, they will not live as well as before.

There will be crime all over and no one knows when to get attacked.

In this situation, you can lose your families, friends, lover, dreams, and everything.

Losing these things which can be your reason to live is not a happy thing ever.

To save these, this is why people work to achieve world peace in many different way.

Achieving world peace could seems like doing for others, but if you look inside, it is for you.

That's why we should all work together to achieve world peace.

Man Hee Lee, today's peace leader

Man Hee Lee, today's peace leader

What is peace and why is everyone so desperate to have it?

Have you ever thought about having it?

Then, let's think about a country where there is no peace.

What picture popped up in your head?

Does it seems happy? Why not?

The picture that comes to my head is that people screaming and crying.

Not even one people looks happy.

Now, you will know why everyone and also you need and wants peace.

While searching about peace, I found out one man who also wants peace and work for it.

Like in the title, his name is Man Hee Lee.

He was born in Korea and at the time when he is young, he had to fight on the war to survive.

During the war, he saw many people dying and be harmed.

He definitely thought he should make peace and never make this happen again.

So, even there is no more war in Korea, he is now working for world peace.

Which means no war in the world.

He has tried to meet many countries representatives and asked them to gather in working for world peace.

In addition, he also hosted peace walk with thousands of youth around the world.

He is still working for peace to achieve world peace.

However, this is not a hope of him. This is what we should all work for.

Like Gandhi who has also worked for peace before, the movement wasn't only with himself.

There were people who had fight with him.

So, how about we, work for world peace with today's peace leader?

[MANNAM heal the world] Conformity in Volunteering!

 [MANNAM heal the world] Conformity in Volunteering!

 Some people are waiting in front of the crosswalk for the traffic light. But suddenly one of the people looks around to see if there is a car coming, and as soon as he knows that there is no danger coming up, he crosses the street. Like this, two more crosses the road as the same way like the first. In this situation, what would you do? If you were in the same situation would you cross the street even though it is a red light? Well, some psychologists found that people have psychology to follow the others behavior. This is called conformity theory. What I wrote up is a bad example about people’s behavior. But what if this theory comes into a good situation?

A person’s thinking is very simple. If the others do it, they think “Why not me?” This is why people follow what others do. This is another example. If one man stares at an object far away, a stranger who passes by doesn’t care what he is doing. But if there are more than three people who are doing this, a stranger who watches this can’t just pass without stopping. The stranger does the same act with others.

Now let us think about this. There are things that we can do to save and make peace to the world. Because we do not have money like Warren Buffett, we can’t donate money like him. Then what can we do? We can volunteer with our hands and with our hearts. Although it doesn’t appear that much, but all the small efforts this does can make a big movement to the world. The Association which is doing a good job is MANNAM! Why don’t we volunteer or donate and make this into a big movement though MANNAM? If one starts, and more than three people does this, we can make and motivate others to follow this great movement in MANNAM. Remember that your action and behavior can influence others. Be careful! It can make other fall into a bad situation or in to a better way. Let us share and love others though MANNNAM Volunteer Association!

Tell us your opinion: MANNAM 더 Peace Talk Concert

MANNAM 더 Peace Talk Concert

TALK, SHARE, EXPRESS

Tell us your thought and let's share it together.
 

MANNAM Busan branch helds a speical concert every month.

There's no instrument playing or singing invovled in this concert.
Why there's no instrumet or singing in the concert?
That's because this is 'MANNAM Peace 더 Talk Concert'!

What is 'MANNAM Peace 더 Talk Concert'?
I'm sure you know all the words listed above, except a Korean word '더'
'더' means 'more' in English, and at the same time, it represents an English word 'the' which is spelled in Korean.

Basically, it can be interpeted in two ways.
First one is, 'MANNAM Peace the Peace Talk Concert.'
And secondly, it can be 'MANNAM More Peace Talk Concert''
The name of this peace talk was made from our MANNAM members' hope of making a more peaceful world by sharing thoughts.

Sharing thoughts help people to understand each other.
Once you understand them, you can embrace their behavior and bind together, since you know the reason why they act like that or think in that way.

 

The 1st 더 Peace had started on January 26th, 2013 with the topic of 'My War, and My Peace'
The 2nd 더 Peace Talk was about 'Equality, and Discrmination', which was presented by one of a MANNAM member who came from Brazil.

On March 23, the 3rd 더 Peace talk took place at the same place with the topic of 'Culture of Violence.'

On April, when the weather got much warmer, MANNAM friends talked about 'Terroism.'

In the middle of summer, we MANNAM friends shared out thoughts on 'Poverty' The presenter of this topic was from Bangladesh.

The 5th MANNAM  더 Peace talk was discussed about 'Gender discrimination'

These are the topics of MANNAM 더  Peace Talk that we had discussed toegether.

This Peaec Talk held once every months and still going on.

If you are interested in one o the topic, or if you have any other new topics you want to share with other people who came from diversed backgrounds and experience, then why don't you share your .

We want to hear more thoughts from more people.

 

Through sharing thourhgs, we could think deeper and think aobut the part that we didn't really recognized before. Most of all, we can understand and learn more about each other.

You are always welcome to join MANNAM Peace Talk.

Tell us your thought and let's share it together.

 

 

sds

MANNAM 'PEACE IS POSSIBLE': Why was the Korean alphabet created? (Korean Alphabet Day)

MANNAM 'PEACE IS POSSIBLE': Why was the Korean alphabet created?  (Korean Alphabet Day)

 

In MANNAM International, We have held a Korean Calligraphy Contest with admiring Korean Alphabet Day (October 9).

 

 

 

Why was the Korean alphabet created?

King Sejong the Great created Hangul (the Korean alphabet) in 1443. Hangul is the most scientific writing system in the world. It was designated as National Treasure in UNESCO’s Memory of the World.

King Sejong proclaimed publication of Hunmin Jeongeum (훈민정음). It means ‘sound of teaching people in the right.’ Later, The name was changed from Hunmin Jeongeum to Hangul(한글).

 

Why did he want to teach in the right with Hangul? 17 years ago, there was a murder: an unfilial son killed his father. king Sejong thought, 'If the people can learn moral stories from book, there will be more filial daughters and sons.' At that time, the people was hard to read and learn Chinese character. For this, he decided to proclaim the Korean Alphabet.

In short, Hangul was created by great love of king for his people.

 

 Korean Alphabet Calligraphy Contest
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

one name, different letters

 

 



 

All of MANNAM freinds wrote Hangul and their letters.

It was interesting to share their letters each other. 

 

There are more than 3,000 languages in the world. But, we exclaim  just one thing with many letters, "Peace Is Possible!"