Korean Culture Hidden in Ankara
Hello, Ankorean!
Thanks for visiting my blog again.😍 Sadly, now I don't have much time left to stay in Ankara. My last semester as an exchange student at the Bilkent University is filled with precious memories. As a stranger from a small country in Asia far away, everything here was amazing and interesting. Sometimes there were also moments when cultural differences were felt that were not so well adapted. As I've covered on my blog, nevertheless, I've been able to find small places to feel Korea in Ankara, soothing homesickness and living a happier Bilkent life. It was another joyful experience to me. And now, I think I will find places where I can feel Turkey after I go back to Korea. 😂 I already miss here. Thank you for being my second home, Ankara. And thank you for joining with my journey to find Korean culture hidden in Ankara, everyone. Goodbye!
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Hello, Ankorean! I visited the Korea Park this time. This park placed in Ankara has very important historical background between Korea and Turkey. It was established to honor Turkish soldiers who fought and sacrificed as part of the United Nations forces during the Korean War that broke out in 1950. The number of Turkish soldiers sent to South Korea at that time was the fourth highest after the United States, Britain and Canada. The fallen Turkish soldiers are currently buried at the U.N. Memorial Park in Busan, South Korea, but the soil from each grave is moved to Ankara to bring it to the tower in the Korea park. Let's watch this video! The Korea park is quite small but well cared for. The Turkish and Korean flags flying in the wind together were very impressive. If you enter the entrance of this calm and peaceful park, you can see the big tower in front of you. The reason and background of the establishment of the tower is written on it.
'The tower was built to remember forever that Turkish soldiers fought in the Korean War to defend freedom. The tower, built with active cooperation from the city of Ankara, was dedicated by the South Korean government to the Turkish people in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Republic of Turkey.' I cannot feel more respectful and grateful to the Turkish soldiers who fought for their lives in Korea🙏. It was time to feel the tight connection between Korea and Turkey once again for me. The location of the Korean park is linked below. I recommend you visit here. Hey, Ankoreans👋
Today I want to share my exchange student life so far. This semester has been so special and amazing to me. I've made many good friends and had beautiful experiences through the time. You can join my precious memories by clicking the link below💛 https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/2155912 Hello, Ankorean! Happy to see you again😆 Today, I want to share my experience of watching a Korean movie in Ankara. The name of the movie is <Parasite> and it's <Parazit> in Turkish. Have you heard about it? <Parasite> is a Korean movie directed by Bong Joon-ho. It won the Palme d'Or which is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival on 25 May. It's the first time to win that prize in Korean film history, so many Koreans are proud of the movie. And the last November 1st, <Parasite> was released in Turkey! I was so happy and excited to see posters of the Korean movie in Ankara. I went to a theater 'Cinemaximum' in Armada to watch the movie with one of my Korean friends, Jeongmin, and a Turkish-Dutch friend, Can. We bought the ticket for the movie one hour before the screening time, and only 4 seats were left already! We were lucky😂 Can likes Korean culture and has watched many Korean series, but it was his first time to watch Korean movie. He said that he really enjoyed the movie and felt like to watch other Korean movies, too. The theme of the movie is related to the class society and the gap between the rich and the poor in modern society, and that's a shared problem of all the countries in the world, so we could discuss about it after the movie. It will be meaningful for you as well to talk about the issue with your friends after watching <Parasite> together. <Parasite> is still on at some theaters in Ankara.
I recommend you to watch the movie if you haven't watch it yet😉 Hello, Ankorean! Today, I'm going to introduce Korean cultural center in Ankara. This center is where you can find useful information about Korea and have cultural experience. You can also enjoy Korean movie and karaoke here! This place is open to everyone who has interest in Korean culture. Let me show you what you can do here on each floor. On the ground floor, you can learn about Korean tradition. It displays traditional Korean instruments, ceramics, handicrafts and house room structure as well as traditional Korean costume, hanbok. There are both Korean and Turkish description for each exhibit. Also, there is a cafeteria on the ground floor. You can spend some leisurely time in the large cafeteria. On the basement floor, there's a taekwondo(traditional Korean sport) studio. This studio is designed to accommodate about 40 to 50 people and to practice traditional dance or ballet in addition to taekwondo by installing a full body mirror and bar. Taekwondo is known as good for both body and mind, using our whole body. For this reason, it is very common to learn taekwondo for Koreans in childhood. There's a library on the 1st floor. There are Korean books in various fields, English books related to Korean studies, and Turkish books for Korean culture, history or Korean language study. Inside the library, there is reading room for children, as well as a TV and DVD player. There are also desks and chairs for those who want to read or study quietly. On the 2nd floor, there are three lecture rooms which are different in size. You can register classes progressed in here such as Korean language, calligraphy and instruments at the reception during the notified application period. Hangeul, alphabetic system used for writing the Korean language, is very easy to learn especially how to read and write. Why don't you try? 😉 On the 3rd floor, there are two seminar rooms, a performance hall, and a K-pop room. The seminar rooms can accommodate about 20 people. You can rent the rooms for seminars related to Korean culture, arts, tourism, etc. and the activities of the fan club of Korean artists. The performance hall can accommodate 70 to 80 people. Various music events, performances, symposiums, and conferences are held in here. The K-Pop room has karaoke machines to help you enjoy K-pop, which is leading the Korean Wave. On the 4th floor, there is a exhibition hall featuring photographs, paintings, ceramics or artifacts related to Korea. Currently, an exhibition titled "Terra Incognita" is under way, displaying 41 old maps reproduced as a textile works by Korean artist Hyeseung Lee. Everyone can visit the exhibition without entrance fee. The Korean Cultural Center are open to all those who miss karaoke culture in Korea, those who are curious about Korean culture, and those who are looking for a different cultural exhibition. Don't hesitate to visit here!
Hello, Ankorean! Are you hungry? Do you miss Korean food? Don't worry!! Now, I'll introduce Hangang한강, which is the only Korean restaurant in Ankara. I went there yesterday with my two Ankorean friends, Yechan and Jeongmin, who were also starving for Korean food. We ordered four kinds of food: stew, rice, noodles and Korean-style pancake. Don't you wanna feel Korean food right now? Let's do that! *All dishes can be served as vegetarian when asked 1. BIBIMBAP 비빔밥Bibimbap is one of the most famous Korean traditional dishes. In the case of this restaurant, meat, carrots, cucumbers, mushrooms, eggs and dried seaweed are used as toppings of bibimbap. You can choose between soy sauce or red pepper paste. I chose red pepper paste. The price is 40TL. Savory sesame seeds were sprinkled on the top of bibimbap. They add flavor to the bibimbap along with sesame oil. The literal translation of Bibimbap is 'mixed rice' in English. So, yes, I mixed all the ingredients in the bowl with red pepper sauce! The sauce was not that spicy for me actually. If you're a Korean who is used to spicy sauce, it would be a little bland. But if you're not good at eating spicy foods or never have tried Korean foods before, bibimbap would be a great choice. Yechan "I would like to recommend this menu to foreigners. It's less spicy than usual bibimbap we eat in Korea. Also this is a very representative Korean dish." Jeongmin "Compared to bibimbap in Korea, the number of ingredients is small. Especially, I am sad that there are no bean sprouts and bracken. Nevertheless, I'm happy to have red pepper paste! I've missed it." 2. DUBU JJIGAE 두부찌개Dubu Jjigae is a stew made with tofu as a main ingredient and flavored with red pepper paste. Zucchini and green onions are also in the stew. I ordered a bowl of rice with the stew! Dubu Jjihae is 40TL and a bowl of rice is 10TL. The stew was served in ttukbaegi which is a folksy earthen pot used to boil a dish. The spicy and savory taste of tofu stew made me just feel Korea. I highly recommend you to eat the stew with a bowl of steamed rice because it's quite spicy and, above all, that's the way Koreans eat stews. I was satisfied with the amount of ingredients and tofu was very soft. Yechan "Incredibly familiar taste. It's a little spicy even for me. I would not recommend it to foreigners who have no experience in Korean foods." Jeongmin "My opinion is a little bit different with you. The spicy smell and taste, the form of stew and even the pot! It's like a collection of Korean food culture. I want to recommend it to everyone." 3. JAPCHAE 잡채Japchae is commonly prepared for special occasions in Korea. It consists of stir-fried slices of vegetables, including spring onions, onions, carrots, paprika and mushrooms, mixed with boiled bean threads (also called cellophane noodles) and seasoned with soy sauce and sugar. Savory sesame seeds were sprinkled on the top of the dish. The price is 60TL. The texture of the springy noodles was really good. Can you imagine the sound of the noodles entering your mouth? And the savory scent and slightly salty taste! It was just the same with what I've eaten in Korea. If there were more vegetables in it, it would have been perfect. If you have a reluctance to spicy food or Korean sauce, I recommend you to eat this dish. It's a little salty and sweet dish to suit everyone's taste. Yechan "I want to bring my foreign friends and let them try this dish. They will like it. The shape of the noodles will be a bit interesting to them, and the taste is not spicy but sweet." Jeongmin "It's a little expensive but the taste is the best. It's hard to see this kind of noodles in Turkey, so I think it's worth ordering Japchae in this restaurant." 4. KIMCHIJEON 김치전Kimchijeon is a Korean-style pancake made with slices of well-fermented kimchi mixed into a flour batter. This is prefect with Makgeolli, one of the oldest traditional alcoholic drinks in Korea. Two pieces of kimchijeon were served for one dish. The price is 30TL. The pancakes were a little thick. It would be better if the dough is spread a little more thinly when it's fried to make a crispy texture. Except for the texture, the smell and taste of kimchijeon were satisfactory. It would be good to share this food by ordering as a side menu when there are 3 or more people. Yechan "I like kimchijeon. Who doesn't? It's relatively cheap and tastes good. It just reminds me of Korea. All I need is makgeolli." Jeongmin "It's cheaper than other dishes, but seems to lack sincerity. They could have made it look better and taste better. It's a bit disappointing."
Hello, 'Ankorean'!!
I'm Saebyeol from South Korea who is studying in Bilkent University as an exchange student. You can simply call me Stella if you want. Almost every Korean name has their own meaning and my name also does; 'Shine like a morning star'. That's why my English name is ‘Stella'. Makes sense, right? :) Thankfully, I'm spending very very lovely days in Ankara. New friends, delicious foods and even the beautiful sky! I already feel like this place is my second home, I'm serious. Sometimes, nevertheless, I feel loneliness because my family and my friends are not here. And that loneliness reminds me of Korean foods, Korean karaoke culture and Korean dramas which I've usually enjoyed with my friends and family. I cannot sleep without watching Mukbang(Korean eating show on YouTube) before I go to the bed these days. I know it's a little bit silly, but I just cannot help myself. So, I've decided to find some places where I can feel Korean culture in Ankara! Places where we can meet Korean foods, Korean traditional sport, Korean movies and Korean music. I will also find people who are providing or enjoying Korean culture in Ankara and tell you about their stories. I want to share those beautiful things in this blog so that it can help not only me but also other Koreans who also live in Ankara. Anyone who have interests in Korean culture is also welcome :) Are you ready to feel Korea in Ankara? Let's do this! |
AuthorHi, I'm Saebyeol Jeong. A Korean exchange student in Ankara. |