2012/2013 Academic Year Calendar - International Institute ...

OCTOBER 2012
Translation for days: Korean
SUNDAY
il-yo-il
7
14
21
28
MONDAY
wol-yo-il
Columbus Day
UNITED STATES
1
8
15
22
29
TUESDAY
hwa-yo-il
2
9
16
23
30
WEDNESDAY
su-yo-il
Gandhi Jayanti –
Ghandi’s birthday
INDIA
International Day of
Non-Violence German Unification Day
Hangeul Day – Korean
Alphabet Day
SOUTH KOREA
Dashain Festival* begins
celebrates victory of
Goddess Durga over the
demon Mahisasur
NEPAL
3
10
17
24
Dashain Festival ends
Halloween
UNITED STATES
31
THURSDAY
mog-yo-il
4
11
18
25
FRIDAY
geum-yo-il
5
12
19
26
Eid al-Adha* – Festival
of Sacrifice
SATURDAY
to-yo-il
6
13
20
27
Pungmul Pan-gut
Communicating through performance
The National Gugak Center of South Korea hosts a
resident Namsadang team seen here performing Pan-gut,
a traditional Korean dance. Namsadang were traveling
entertainers who presented various acts including a
mask-dance drama, puppet play, bowl spinning, tightrope
walking, acrobatics and pungmul-style drumming and
dancing. They were particularly active near the end of the
Joseon Dynasty, which ruled from 1392–1910. Usually
the finale of the Namsadang performance would be a
pungmul pan-gut. As the drumming sped up, the dancers
would move faster, and audience members, unable to
contain themselves, would rise up and join the fun.
DID YOU
KNOW?
• Prioritizing Education. Koreans place a great deal
of importance on education. Ninety-seven percent of
South Koreans between the ages of 25 and 34 have
completed upper secondary education, making it
the highest percentage in the world according to
the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development. On average, South Korean households
spend 7.5% of their total income on educational
expenses. Era 8, 20th century since 1945
• Hangeul. The Korean writing system, Hangeul ( ),
was published by King Sejong the Great in 1446.
Before this time, Koreans wrote records in Chinese.
Since writing required learning a new language, it
was inaccessible to all but the elite. Hangeul was
created to increase literacy among the common
people. It is the first writing system to be designed
from methodically researched scientific and
philosophical principals and is praised by modern
experts for its systematic classification of the sounds
of the Korean language. Era 5, 15th to 18th centuries