Korean Discourse and Genre

Author(s): Susan Strauss, Penn State
Publication Year(s): 2015

The units in the series “Korean Discourse and Genre” are designed to complement existing pedagogical materials for Korean. They contain authentic, media-based samples of actual language used in Korea by Koreans for specific interactional purposes: television programs (e.g., talk shows, reality shows, news, weather reports), radio programs, films, internet-based discourse (interviews, reviews, blogs, news items, recipes), and the like.  As the title of the series suggests, the focus of the materials is on Discourse and Genre. Discourse relates generally to language and how language is used in these various communicative contexts. Genre refers to the specific ways in which particular features of language combine to create a certain type of discourse, e.g., conversation, expository writing, formal interview, recipes, weather reports, diary entries, and so forth. All units are based on the newly developed National Standards for Korean.

Korean Holidays
The central theme of Units 1 – 4 are major Korean holidays: 설, 보름, 단오, and 추석. The units open with a brief description of each holiday and its importance within Korean culture. Each unit then branches off in directions that relate these events to other issues in Korean daily life: traditional culture, foods, health and well-being, cultural values and practices, family, travel, weather, and so forth. Each unit is designed to both provide a variety of discourse genres, e.g., expository writing, narrative, recipes, e-mail, interview, chat, blog, and so forth, and have students interact within these various genres. The final section of each unit discusses the specific types of discourse genres used as text in the unit, and isolates particular features of each genre for further study.

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Korean Discourse and Genre Cover Image
Type: PDF

Publication Units:

Korean Holidays
Unit 1. Lunar New Year
Unit 2. First Full Moon of the Lunar Year
Unit 3. Summer Festival Holiday – (5th day of the 5th month in the lunar calendar)
Unit 4. Mid-autumn Festival