K-POP Academy: Week 1-5

K-POP Academy: Rundown of Weeks 1-5

If you're a K-Pop fan living in London eager to learn more about Korean culture, then the KCCUK's K-Pop Academy is the course for you! 

"Since 2012, the ‘K-Pop Academy’ has given K-Pop fans a firm grounding in the development of the K-Pop phenomenon as well as an introduction to many interesting topics including Korea’s history, arts, language and food. Running twice a year with thirty students each term, this ten-week course features special guests and speakers each week and provides students with opportunities to participate in various activities related to a Korean topic." - KCCUK website.


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Week 1- A Welcome to the KCCUK

The first week was an intro into what the next few weeks would look like. I was excited already from reading the scheduled beforehand but it grew like 1000000x after we were given more details. We also got to do a short presentation on ourselves to get to know each other and of course there were ARMYs everywhere (YAY BTS!). It was wonderful meeting such friendly people with similar interests as me! 

Week 2- Korean Language and Alphabet (Hangul)

To start off our lessons, we had a lecture on Hangul followed by a Hanguel calligraphy lesson! The lecture included the history of the Korean alphabet- first introduced by King Sejong in 1446. One of the most interesting things we learnt was the origin of the Korean language by going through the 'theories' including the East theory, the West theory, the South theory and the North theory (Altaic theory). My favourite part of the lecture was learning more about the tones and the philosophical meaning of vowels.


But, I think the highlight of our day was the calligraphy workshop! It was so cool to finally get my hands on calligraphy brushes and ink- the type you see in mangas/manhwas and dramas! We also got to work on rice paper and it was so satisfying running the brush along. I totally sucked but I managed to write my name and draw partially pretty flowers... :)

Now I can finally watch period dramas and know what it was like to use writing utensils back then!

Week 3- Traditional Korean Dress (Hanbok)

Week 3 saw us trying on the traditional Korean dress- the Hanbok! We basically got to live our dream of wearing what our favourite heroines wear in Sageuks (*coughs* Hwarang, Scarlet Heart Ryeo, The Great Queen Sondeok).

The day started off with another interesting lecture. It was amazing learning about the structure of the Hanbok and the intricacy of each layer- for both men and women. I especially loved the Emperor and Empress ceremonial dresses.

  

Highlight of the lecture: learning about the influence of Neo-Confucianism on style.

My favourite bit was definitely prancing around in the most beautiful purple Hanbok! The colours were just beautiful and I haven't seen a combination like it. Safe to say, I was low key in love and trying to leave the building with it still on.

My next encounter with a Hanbok will be when (yes when not if) I visit Seoul and visit the palaces. Admission is free if you attend wearing a Hanbok!

Week 4- K-Pop Dance 

Week 4 saw us finally get off our asses and do some exercise! We had a poll of K-Pop songs that we wanted to dance to and *drum roll* BTS- Boy In Luv won! So, since the KCCUK started doing the academy, they've steered clear of BTS because of how complicated the routines are. And so, after 14 rounds, we broke the record *yay*.

But... I regretted it so much when we finally got to learning the choreography. Like, I know BTS are legends but how does one even perfect doing footwork and incorporating complicated upper body movements??  Like I said Legends Only...

We got to learning the chorus and actually became super good (all because of our wonderful teacher, she does other workshops! Check them our here ). My brain has not worked that hard in a while.  

After two hours of learning the choreography, we were split into groups to perform together ( I pretty much died hearing that). It was so cool to see how each group added their own bits to the dance. My group followed cannon and we finished off with a super cute heart formation. So I was super pleased to find out after everyone had performed that our instructor said we were the best group!! *squeals*

Week 5- Korean Cuisine ( Hansik) 

Week 5 is by far my favourite session!! (Closely followed by Hanbok week- I miss you pretty purple Hanbok...). We started off with a quick presentation on the cuisine, listing staple dishes such as tteokbokki, kimchi and jjajangmyun. Then Chef  Yim Hyungsoo went through the receipes we would be trying out ourselves today which was pajeon and tofu salad. On top of that, he made us fresh kimchi and bulgogi to try! This was my first time trying kimchi and I have to say I'm in love *googles how to make it the easiest way because I suck at cooking* *On second thoughts, googles which restaurants do the best kimchi because I suck at cooking* 

It was great watching how each dish is made and we all gasped and cooed at the way the meat caught fire (see left). However, the best part of the day was definitely when we got to tuck into those amazing dishes. 

After gorging on kimchi and rice, we were eventually herded into the kitchen were we had to show off our cooking skills *read:my non-existent cooking skills* But it was super fun prepping all our veggies and getting to handle the stove (as if I could anyway ha). The result was far far far from what we tried of Chef's cooking BUT we tried, right? It was lovely seeing everyone's creations out on the table, a testament to our hard work!

All in all, it was such a fun and enjoyable day. I seriously want to cook up some of those dishes again- kimchi definitely- but I also have my eye on making hotteok! 

And that's it for the first five weeks! I'll have the next four weeks up soon! I hope you enjoyed having a peek. And if you live in London, really do sign up! It's amazing fun and I'd do every lesson over again! Check out the links above for more info!