IMID Notes

Living in Korea means seeing Hangeul everywhere: on subway signs, school books, restaurant menus and messages on our phones. After many years here, reading Korean has become part of my everyday routine. I rarely stop to think about the letters themselves. Our family visit to the National Hangeul Museum (국립한글박물관) in Seoul gave us a reason to look again. Through historical texts, handwritten letters, writing tools and typewriters, we explored the story behind Korea’s alphabet. For my children, Hangeul is familiar from school and everyday life. For me, it is a writing system I learned later. At the museum, we had something new to discover together: the history behind those familiar letters. The National Hangeul Museum, where we explored the story behind Korea’s alphabet. A Writing System Created for the Korean Language One of the most interesting things about Hangeul is that its creation is documented. King Sejong created the alphabet in 1443, and the Hunminjeongeum , pu...

Before living in Korea, camping was not a familiar part of my life. In Uzbekistan, people certainly enjoy nature and take trips to rest, but spending the night in a tent at an organised campsite is not very common. After moving to Korea, I discovered that camping here is more than simply sleeping outdoors. It is a well-developed family activity with designated camping areas, useful facilities and many beautiful places near the sea and mountains. A coastal sunset during one of our family camping trips in Korea. My family and I have tried camping several times. We have camped beside the sea and near the mountains, and each trip has shown us a different side of Korea. Camping in summer is especially exciting for the children, while autumn camping is quieter and has its own atmosphere. Camping in Summer and Autumn Camping in Korea feels very different in summer and autumn. Summer camping by the sea is especially enjoyable for children. They spend much of the da...

When people think of Korean food, dishes such as kimchi, bulgogi and Korean barbecue often come to mind. But there is another dish that, for me, says something particularly interesting about Korean food—and even about life in a multicultural society: bibimbap (비빔밥) . A bowl of homemade bibimbap prepared for one of our family meals. At first glance, bibimbap seems quite simple. Rice is topped with different vegetables, sometimes meat, an egg and usually gochujang. Everything is arranged in one bowl and mixed together before eating. But perhaps the most interesting thing about bibimbap is exactly that: many different ingredients come together to make one dish. As a foreigner living in Korea, I have come to see bibimbap as more than Korean food. I prepare it regularly at home, my children love it, and over time it has become a natural part of our family meals. What Is Bibimbap? The Korean word bibimbap (비빔밥) is closely connected to the way the dish is ...