Whether you’re a fluent Korean speaker or barely capable of uttering 안녕하세요, this episode is for you! Kicking off our new series on cultural topics, K-Pod pays a visit to Young-mee Yu Cho, Rutgers University Professor of Korean Language and Culture. As co-author of the widely-used textbook series Integrated Korean, Cho has shaped how Korean language is taught in the States today. She dives into all of Catherine and Juliana’s questions, including: What are some Korean words that don’t exist in English? Why is Korean so hard for English speakers to learn? Is Han really the defining characteristic of Korean culture? Should we be spelling 떡볶이 “Dukbokki,” “tteokbokki,” or “teokbokki?” What’s up with the one-syllable names? How has the language changed from the time our parents immigrated? And finally… why are Korean mothers always telling us that we might as well kill ourselves?