If you are going to do something do it properly. At least that’s what I thought when reading some half-heartedly written notes that have now hopefully been turned into interesting nuggets of information. There’s a rogue German question in here, but see that as a bonus.
Questions
Known as a cultural centre, Andong is the capital of which South Korean province, the largest in the country? Well known sites in this province include Hahoe folk village and Bulguksa temple.
GYEONGSANGBUK(-DO) / NORTH GYEONGSANG
Its name referring to ‘wind and water’, by what term is the Korean art of geomancy known, effectively being that culture’s version of feng-shui? Examples of layouts along these principles include the royal tombs found at Gyeongju.
PUNGSU-JIRI
Known in English as the “Book of Corrections”, which work by Ryu Seong-ryong that was completed in the 17th-century is South Korea’s 132nd national treasure? A 2015 TV series by the same name that ran to 50 episodes was given the subtitle “A Memoir of Imjin War”, this referring to events in 1592 where the Japanese invaded Korea.
JINGBIROK
Released in 2003 and based on the graphic novels by Shin Il-sook, what was the original subtitle of “Lineage II”, the second of the MMORPG video game series? This subtitle now gives its name to the first of the game’s four sagas, being followed by “The Chaotic Throne”, “Goddess of Destruction” and “Epic Tale of Aden”.
THE CHAOTIC CHRONICLE
Though he later committed suicide, Roh Moo-hyun was a South Korean president from which ‘Generation’ that advocated a more conciliatory approach to North Korea? It is made up of three numbers which refer to its members age, when they attended university and when they were born.
386 GENERATION (30s, 80s, 60s)
The inspiration for the successful South Korean show “The World of the Married”, the TV series “Doctor Foster” that starred Suranne Jones was created by which English writer, who is also involved in theatre?
MIKE BARTLETT
The highest rated South Korean drama prior to “The World of the Married”, which 2019 show revolved around the lives of rich housewives residing in a luxurious residential area in suburban Seoul?
SKY CASTLE
An example of an anju, that is a food served alongside alcoholic drinks like the South Korean favourite soju, which members of the animal kingdom are you planning to eat if you have ordered ‘golbaengi-muchim’, the muchim part referring to the salad?
MOON SNAILS
Another dish considered to be an anju, what is the name of the South Korean dish of pig’s trotters that is usually cooked with soy sauce and spices?
JOKBAL
Similar to Schweinshaxe but usually served without the appealing rind, the name for which dish from German cuisine refers to how a pig’s leg bone was used for ice skating?
EISBEIN
Also known in English as ‘National Foundation Day’, which Korean national holiday takes place on 3 October each year to celebrate the legend of the Gojoseon kingdom being founded by Dangun in 2,333 BC?
GAECHEONJEOL
With rides like the T Express, one of the steepest wooden rollercoasters in the world, what is the name of South Korea’s largest theme park? Owned by Samsung, it is south-east of Seoul and also contains a zoo and water park called Caribbean Bay.
EVERLAND
Home to the Everland amusement park as well as the Korean folk village, a living museum that features displays such as horseback martial arts, which city lies in the Seoul Capital Area to the south-east of the capital?
YONGIN
The largest in South Korea, in which province can the city of Yongin be found? Having its capital at Suwon, its name highlights that it surrounds the country’s capital.
GYEONGGI(-DO)
Used to memorialise past royal figureheads from the Joseon dynasty and dating back to the 14th-century, Jongmyo in Seoul is considered to be what type of shrine?
CONFUCIAN
Lying south of Korea Bay, which body of water borders South Korea to the west, with population centres lying on its banks including Incheon and the Chinese city of Qingdao?
YELLOW SEA
Its lyrics originally being set to the music of “Auld Lang Syne”, what is the native name for South Korea’s national anthem, often translated as ‘The Patriotic Song’?
AEGUKGA
Using the Hangul alphabet and based on the Seoul dialect, by what other name is South Korean standard language also known?
PYOJUNEO
Made up of 300 seats, by what two-word English term is the unicameral legislature of South Korea called? During the 2000s it came to world attention for its fights, with fire extinguishers and sledgehammers being weapons that have proved useful.
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
Its name also being rendered as Bohai, which multi-ethnic successor kingdom to the Goguryeo that had land extending into Korea, China and Russia was founded by Dae Joyeong in 698, lasting until 926? This period featured conflict with the Tang Dynasty and its dates were roughly similar to those of the Unified Silla.
BALHAE
Following on from the Balhae and Unified Silla, which dynasty ruled the Korean peninsula from 918 to 1392, though it acted as a client state of the Yuan dynasty for part of this?
GORYEO / KORYO
Occurring during a period when the 1988 Olympics were on the horizon where the South Korean regime was keen to avoid violence if possible, what three-word term has been given to a series of demonstrations that ultimately led to the end of authoritarian rule in 1987?
JUNE DEMOCRATIC STRUGGLE (OR UPRISING) / JUNE DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT
Established in 2022, South Korea is one of 14 countries that is a member of IPEF, those letters standing for what? Launched by Joe Biden and including the US, other members include Vietnam and India, but notably not China.
INDO-PACIFIC ECONOMIC FRAMEWORK (FOR PROSPERITY)
Dating from the time of the Unified Silla and containing a large Buddha with his legs crossed within a granite santuary, which Grotto near Gyeongju makes up part of a South Korean World Heritage Site with the Bulguksa Temple?
SEOKGURAM
Giving its name to the Memory of the World Prize dished out by UNESCO, what name has been given to the 14th-century Korean Buddhist document that is the oldest known extant work to have been printed using metal movable type?
JIKJI
Carved onto over 80,000 woodblocks, at which temple in South Korea is the “Tripitaka Koreana” stored, a work that contains the complete Buddhist scriptures? Along with Tongdosa and Songgwangsa, this World Heritage Site makes up the grouping known as the ‘Three Jewels Temples’.
HAEINSA
The Shang dynasty sage Jizi is credited with founding which dynasty of Gojoseon that existed from 1,120 to 194 BC, though the poor historical record leaves much room for alternative theories?
GIJA (JOSEON)
Late in the 2nd-century BC the Han defeated which Joseon dynasty, subsequently installing the Four Commanderies of Han in the northern part of the Korean and Liaodong peninsulas? Knowledge of this dynasty can be found in Sima Qian’s “Shiji”.
WIMAN (JOSEON)
Conquered by the Goguryeo in 313 AD, which of the Four Commanderies of Han lasted the longest and extended rule south to the Han river in South Korea?
LELANG (COMMANDERY)
Also known as the Samhan period, what English hyphenated term is used for the period between the fall of the Gojoseon kingdom and the development of the Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla kingdoms on the Korean peninsula?
PROTO-THREE KINGDOMS
Under which 4th and 5th century king known as ‘The Great’ did the Goguryeo kingdom experience a golden age? A monument to him in the Chinese city of Ji’an on the border with North Korea is the largest engraved stele in the world.
GWANGGAETO
Thought to have reigned for around 78 years, an astonishing figure that puts him right up there on the all-time leaderboard, which son of Gwanggaeto continued the golden age of the Goguryeo? He was possibly buried in the Tomb of the General in the Chinese city of Ji’an, though that could also be said of his father Gwanggaeto.
JANGSU
After launching a series of invasions, which dynasty was repelled by the Goguryeo in a war that took place over the period 598 to 614, with the victors said to have defeated a force of over one million men?
SUI
A time when the Baekje kingdom was a great maritime power that helped to spread Buddhsim, who was its king from 346 to 375? He is the title subject of a 2010 South Korean drama series that has the alternate title of “The King of Legend”.
GEUNCHOGO
Starting in 698 and lasting until 926, which period in Korean history saw the Unified Silla and the Balhae co-exist on the Korean peninsula?
NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN STATES PERIOD
Its name translating as ‘Imperial Dragon Temple’, which archaeological site in Gyeongju had a nine-story Buddhist structure built out of wood that used no iron nails? It was destroyed during the Mongol invasions in the 13th-century.
HWANGNYONG / HWANGNYONGSA
Now stored in the National Museum of Gyeongju, which largest extant bell in Korea was cast in 771? A legend tells of how it repeatedly made no sound until a child was taken from the village and sacrificed, its cry of the Korean word for ‘mommy’ giving the bell its shortened name.
BELL OF KING SEONGDEOK / EMILLE BELL
Assassinated in 841, which Later Silla figure was worshipped as a god following his death? The head of a strong fleet of ships that effectively controlled the Yellow Sea trade routes, he has a class of submarines named for him and is an ancestor of American “Ugly Delicious” food programme host David Chang, the first celebrity to win the top prize on the US version of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire”.
JANG BOGO
One of the largest cities in the world at the time, which modern day city was the capital of the Later or Unified Silla, it being known by several alternative names including Seorabeol?
GYEONGJU
Silla prince Kim Gyo-yak decided to become a monk and was seen as a manifestation of the bodhisattva Ksitigarbha on which Anhui mountain? One of the Four Sacred Mountains of Chinese Buddhism, it is now a UNESCO Global Geopark and was immortalised in a poem by celebrated Tang dynasty figure Li Bai.
JIUHUA
Set in New York and about a Korean-American woman striving to operate in high society, what was the first novel by Min-jin Lee, published ten years earlier than “Pachinko” in 2007?
FREE FOOD FOR MILLIONAIRES
Born in Gwangju, which female author wrote the novel “Human Acts”, a work that explores how the 1980 democracy protests in her home city affected South Korean culture?
HAN (KANG)
Becoming an international bestseller around the time the #metoo movement became popular, which work by Cho Nam-joo that addressed gender inequality is seen as a feminist novel and was adapted into a 2019 South Korean film?
KIM JI-YOUNG, BORN 1982
The only woman and South Korean to win the short-lived Man Asian Literary Prize, who wrote the work “Please Look After Mom”, where a 69 year old gets separated from her family at a subway station and they desperately have to search for her?
SHIN (KYUNG-SOOK)
Although Kim Jong-il was not a fan, UNESCO are. Featuring a singer and a drummer, which Intangible Heritage from South Korea is featured in the 1993 South Korean film “Seopyeonje”?
PANSORI
Google’s dominance does not extend to South Korea where it is in second place to which other locally based search engine? Its name sounds like a contraction of a search engine which stopped being supported in 2008.
NAVER
Its products including South Korea’s largest games portal “Hangame”, what three-letter acronym is given to an entertainment company that also has a subsidiary in Japan? In 2013 it was separated from Naver Corporation.
NHN
Made up of three English words, what does NHN stand for in the name of the South Korean entertainment company?
NEXT HUMAN NETWORK
Whittipedia 