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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, October 2, 2005

Korean Foundation Day observed tomorrow

By Jeff Chung

"Rebirth" is one of the Korean television dramas shown in Hawai'i. Episode 5 will be shown on Wednesday; Episode 6 on Thursday.

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K-QUESTION

Which programs would you like to see with more subtitles?

1. Dramas

2. Entertainment shows

3. Cooking shows

4. Comedies

To vote, go to www.honoluluadvertiser.com/islandlife/ . Voting ends at 11 a.m. Friday. See the results next Sunday.

Last Week's Poll

Last week we asked, "Do you plan to attend the film festival this year?"

Of the 142 who voted, 54 said yes, 46 said no and 42 said maybe.

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Tomorrow marks a Korean national holiday called Gae Cheon Juhl, or Korean Foundation Day. To observe the holiday, the people of Korea take a day off .

Legend has it that Korea was founded more than 4,300 years ago, in 2333 B.C., by a mythical god-king, Tan-gun. He was a descendant of a god and was the first god-king who founded the Choson Kingdom in 2333 B.C.

Hwan-woong was God and ruler of heaven. He had a son, Hwan-in, who desired to live on earth, so Hwan-woong sent his son with 3,000 companions — including the elements, wind, rain and cloud — to provide great happiness to humans. They descended to the top of Taebaek mountain between North Korea and Manchuria. Hwan-in designated the area as City of God and named it Shinshi. There, Hwan-in taught ethics, morals, arts, agriculture and medicine to humans.

A bear and a tiger desired to become human. Hwan-woong heard their prayers and gave them a task. They were to go into a cave with 20 cloves of garlic and mugwort, stay there for 100 days and eat the two sacred foods.

The tiger didn't last long and left the cave. The bear persevered and was transformed into a woman, Woon-nyuh.

Woong-nyuh was very grateful to Hwan-woong, but was sad. She lacked a companion and desired to have a child. She prayed near the sandalwood tree to be blessed with a handsome son. Hwan-in heard her prayers and took her for his wife. She soon gave birth to Tan-gun, whose name means "a person who controls the world and serves the heaven."

If you have watched some Korean programs about older folklore, you know that women often prayed beneath a sandalwood tree in the hope of bearing sons.

On National Foundation Day, the people of Korea are really proud of their history. They hang the Korean flag, Tae Guk Gi, at their residences.

Tae Guk Gi has many elements of design with specific meanings.

The red-and-blue circle inside called Tae Guk moonyang symbolizes the ying and yang, such as heaven and earth, hot and cold, good and evil, and night and day.

The white background signifies what is bright, pure and innocent.

The upper left bars, called Geon, stand for sky, spring, east and benevolence. The lower left bars, called Yi, stand for sun, autumn, south and politeness/courtesy. The upper right bars, called Gam, stand for moon, winter, north and knowledge. The lower right bars, called Gon, stand for earth, summer, west and justice.

Jeff Chung is the general manager of KBFD, which televises all the K-dramas. If you have a K-drama question or comment, call KBFD at 521-8066.


LOVE, TRYSTS, BETRAYAL, REVENGE — WHAT TO EXPECT THIS WEEK

'A FAREWELL TO TEARS'

EPISODES 7 AND 8

Tonight at 7: Hee-sook tearfully agrees to a divorce, and Sung-min disappears to make money. Yeo-jin, ready to forget Sung-min and move on, hears the news of his divorce and she's thrown into confusion again. Min-joo tells Do-jin she'll tell Suh-young about their relationship.

Tonight at 8: Sung-jae is frustrated when he doesn't hear from Sung-min. When Sung-jae fails to meet the deadline for his interest payment, Hae-sun decides to take over his restaurant. Jung-woo stands Suh-young up and she gets drunk out of anger.

'FASHION '70S'

EPISODES 25 AND 26

Tomorrow at 7:50 p.m.: Yang-ja apologizes to Duh-mi and tells her that they shouldn't see each other again. Kang-hee hears everything and tells Yang-ja that they shouldn't see each other. Mr. Ko and Duh-mi finally meet as father and daughter. Joon-hee and Duh-mi have their fashion show.

Tuesday at 7:50 p.m.: Detective Oh tells everyone that Yang-ja is presumed dead. Duh-mi doesn't believe she's dead, even when Detective Oh hands her Yang-ja's bag and shoes. Duh-mi is thrown out of Ensemble after showing ready-to-wear at the fashion show.

'REBIRTH'

EPISODES 5 AND 6

Wednesday at 7:50 p.m.: After being framed as a corrupt detective, Ha-eun is on the run. He finds out about Shin-hyuk, his twin brother, and goes to meet him. Frustrated, Eun-ha traces Ha-eun's call and follows him to Gangreung. The two spend a brief time together by their lighthouses before saying goodbye again.

Thursday at 7:50 p.m.: Ha-eun is devastated when he finds Shin-hyuk dead. He switches identities with Shin-hyuk and vows revenge for his father's and brother's deaths. Believing Ha-eun dead, Eun-ha and Jae-soo are overcome with grief. Soo-chul is tormented with guilt.

'LAWYERS'

EPISODES 11 AND 12

Friday at 7:50 p.m.: Hae-soo is traumatized and leaves to be with her parents. Jung-ho finds out that Suk-ki paid an ex-convict to scare him and his wife. Jung-ho invites Suk-ki out for a drink and finds out that Suk-ki never really fell out of love with Joo-hee.

Saturday at 7:50 p.m.: Suk-ki offers Jung-ho information on Hong In-ki. Shin Ji-na comes to the firm to meet Ki-soon but he tries to avoid her. Just as Shin Ji-na and Ki-soon are leaving the office arm-in-arm, reporters show up. Yi-ryong and Jung-ho suspect that Shin Ji-na had purposely plotted the whole fiasco.