happy new year to all!

Ox (Yin, 2nd Trine, Fixed Element Water): Dependable, calm, methodical, patient, hardworking, ambitious, conventional, steady, modest, logical, resolute, tenacious. Can be stubborn, narrow-minded, materialistic, rigid, demanding.

Korean New Year, commonly known as Seollal (Hangul: 설날; RR: Seollal; MR: Sǒllal), is the first day of the lunar Korean calendar. It is the most important of the traditional Korean holidays. It consists of a period of celebrations, starting on New Year's Day. The Korean New Year holidays lasts three days, and is considered a more important holiday than the solar New Year's Day. [1]

The term "Seollal" generally refers to Eum-nyeok Seollal (음력설날, lunar new year), also known as Gujeong (Hangul: 구정; Hanja: 舊正). Less commonly, "Seollal" also refers to Yang-nyeok Seollal (양력설날, solar new year), also known as Shinjeong (Hangul: 신정).

Korean New Year generally falls on the day of the second new moon after winter solstice, unless there is a very rare intercalary eleventh or twelfth month in the lead-up to the New Year. In such a case, the New Year falls on the day of the third new moon after the solstice (next occurrence will be 2033). Korean New Year is generally the same day as Mongolian New Year, Tibetan New Year, Chinese New Year and Vietnamese New Year.

From wikipedia

Irène Némirovsky 's Suite Francaise Discussion

Happy New Year! I hope all of you had a festive, lovely holiday. I know that I did! Not only did I enjoy my son Paul's homecoming from college, but I also savored reading our January book Suite Française by Irène Némirovsky. I hope all of you are also engrossed in this moving novel. Once you finish the book, please go on to read the appendices and all end material. This makes the book all the more poignant for the reader and will be helpful for our discussion.

I am looking forward to seeing all of you on Jan. 13, and discussing Suite Française. Take care, and as always, happy reading!

1.
The novelist, who herself fled Paris on the eve of the Nazi invasion, wrote the book virtually while the occupation was happening, most likely making Suite Française the first work of fiction about World War II. How do you think she managed to write while she herself was in jeopardy? Do you think it was easier for her to capture the day-to-day realities of life under occupation? In what ways might the book have been different if she had survived and been able to write Suite Française years after the war?

2.
How does Suite Française compare to other World War Two novels you have read? How would you compare it to the great personal documents of the war (for example, those written by Anne Frank and Victor Klemperer), or to fiction?

happy new year!

Wishing you all a good health and happy new year!

directions to Karine Texier

If you come by public transport, come out of the subway exit 6 of the Seoul Nat'l University of Education (line 2 or 3) and walk up the street for 600 meters. Don't turn into the 1st entrance to Acrovista but walk a bit further up to the next traffic lights. There is the other entrance, between A house and B house, where I live.

If you drive, coming from Hannam bridge, go past New Core, leaving the big white Express Bus Terminal building on your right and over the junction. At this point, you can see Acrovista, way up the road. Keep driving, past Paris-Baguette, and Mr Pizza on the left. Go past the entrance into the Sampung Appartment. When you see the SK petrol station on the right and the Paris-croissant on the left, make sure you get in the far left lane, ready to turn into Acrovista at the next traffic lights. Park in the undergroung car park. You might have to leave an ID I'm afraid -security is a bit over the top!

Coming from Banpo bridge, turn left after the bridge towards Gangnam, going past the Gangnam St Mary's Hospital and the Marriot. Stay on the right lane. At the junction turn right and follow the directions given here above.