Katie is a native Korean who's been living in Calgary for 8-ish years. While her obsession with the Korean music industry (especially Exo) obscures her external image, she's not completely off the rail of academics, yet. Though she plays up to her Asian stereotypes, she is an avid fan of Sherlock. (She finished all three seasons in half a week). Ever since then, she has created her own mind palace.
With Valentine’s Day just past, there are probably a lot of couples around you. And they sometimes invite you to be the “third wheel” on a date. If you do the following 5 things, you can avoid being awkward or bored. Walk ahead of the couple. Most of the time, you’ll end up…
February 19th is the Lunar New Year. Most people commonly know this day as the Chinese New Year, but actually, Lunar New Year is shared by several countries and regions in Asia and goes far beyond the Chinese community. This is, how Koreans celebrate Lunar New Year: Food Koreans eat “ddukguk.” This is a…
Sometimes, I say words in English assuming that it’s an actual word, but turns out it isn’t? So I have compiled for you the English based Korean slangs that sometimes gets mistaken to be actual English words. Some This is the equivalent of “wheels” in nowadays English slang. It is when two people like…
With exams coming up, everyone is stressed. So voila! I present to you a list of 10 cool Japanese words that you could read as a break from your studies. Wabi-sabi n. beauty found in the imperfections; an acceptance of the cycle of life and death. Tsundoku n. a…
Yeah, yeah. We joke about Soviet Russia and North Korea all the time. People even make memes out of them. Based on that, if I were to tell you that I’ve been to North Korea, none of you would believe me, right? Well, I have. As an explanation, I will offer you the information…
To change it up from my recent Crash Course World History blogs, I wanted to write about something a little bit more current. At the Mnet Asian Music Awards held in Hong Kong in the beginning of this month, Suho (the leader of South Korean-Chinese boy band Exo) was criticized for being rude to Andy Lau…
We can’t just skip over the Roman Empire when we’re discussing world history, right? With midterms or finals coming up, I wish you the best of luck and hope this blog will help you with your revision. A noticeable piece of information that is skipped is in fact, one of the most famous stories. You’ve…
Voila, I present to you: the Persian Empire, and Greek city-states. Those marble busts of philosophers and mathematicians that you’ve seen in the museums, and 300 (the movie) are probably what come to mind right now. But, first things first, 300 is a restricted movie, so make sure you get parental permission to watch it. And well,…
If John Green’s Crash Course World History videos were not enough, here’s more for you “WHAPpers” (World History AP students). While Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, and Indus Valley may not be the places that human beings, Homo sapiens, originated, but they are where the first human civilizations rose. So, let’s start our crash course here. Before…
To be, or not to be? As a beginner in Shakespearean plays, I watched Hamlet for the first time at my school. True, we read A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Grade 8, Romeo and Juliet in Grade 9, and currently, Macbeth. But I’ve never gotten the honor of watching a full length Hamlet. In fact,…
On Thursday, Oct. 30, I attended a concert featuring Joshua Bell, a famous professional violinist, playing Violin Concerto No. 1 by Max Bruch. This piece is played widely among classical music students. (In fact, my own sister has been playing this piece for a while, so it has been cutting through my ears lately). No…
Calgarians are fortunate enough to get Wordfest, an annual event that hosts numerous authors from around the globe; however, my school, Webber Academy, was even more fortunate to host Veronica Roth and Tahereh Mafi last Friday. You’re probably thinking, “Well, Veronica Roth isn’t an author in the shadows,” or perhaps, “Wow! You are so lucky…
I’d first like to congratulate you for entering this blog. Not many people would have read the title and be attracted to it. I mean, who likes studying in summer, right? I actually enjoyed it a lot more than I expected. I attended John’s Hopkins Center for Talented Youth Summer Programs at the Seattle University…
Exo. Big Bang. Girl’s Generation. Ever heard of these? Did I just hear nos? Then perhaps you’ll find this one more familiar: Gangnam Style. As a native Korean and a hardcore fan of the Korean entertainment industry, I always take it as my duty to promote this culture. This summer, I attended the 2014 CTY…