Flag

The United States of America

The flag of the United States of America consists of 13 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing 50 small, white, five-pointe stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars (top and bottom) alternating with rows of five stars. The 50 stars on the flag represent the 50 U.S. states and the 13 stripes represent the original Thirteen Colonies that rebelled against the British Crown and became the first states in the Union. Nicknames for the flag include the Stars and Stripes, Old Glory, and the Star-Spangled Banner (also the name of the country's official national anthem).
Because of its symbolism, the starred blue canton is called the "union". This part of the national flag can stand alone as a maritime flag called the Union Jack.

Russia

The flag of Russia is a tricolor of three equal horizontal fields, white on the top, blue in the middle and red on the bottom. The flag was first used as an ensign for merchant and war ships and only became official in 1896.It was not until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 that the tricolor was brought back as the official flag of the new Russian Federation. The flag of Russia provided the Pan-Slavic colours of red, blue and white that appear in the flags of Slavic countries (including the Czech republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Serbia).

Japan

The national flag of Japan is a white flag with a large red circle (representing the rising sun) in the center. Along with the national anthem Kimi ga Yo, the Hinomaru is considered a controversial symbol of the militaristic past of the country. Use of the Hinomaru was also severely restricted during the early years of the American occupation of the country after World War II, although restrictions were later relaxed. Since World War II, the display of the flag of Japan is mostly limited to buildings attached to national and local governments such as city halls, and it is rarely seen in private homes or commercial buildings.

China

The flag of the Peole's Republic of China, the Five-Starred Red Flag, was designed by Zeng Liansong, an economist and artist and artist from Rui'an, Zhejiang.

The current design uses red as its background and bright yellow for its stars. The red background symbolizes the blood of heroes who died during the revolution. The yellow colour mainly symbolizes the glorious history and culture of the Chinese people and was partly inherited from the colours of the flag of Soviet Union, which was also a combination of red and yellow, in which case the yellow symbolizes the brightness of the communist future.
The larger star symbolizes the leadership of the Communist Party of China and the four smaller stars that surround the big star symbolize the four classes of Chinese that were considered unitable by Mao at that historical time; these are the Workers, Peasants, Petty Bourgeoisie (i.e. Small Business Class), and National Bourgeoisie (i.e. Chinese non-governmental businessmen)

Korea

The flag of South Korea, or Taegukgi has three parts: a white background; a red and blue taegeuk in the center; and four black trigrams, one in each corner of the flag.

The four trigrams originate in the chinese book I Ching, representing the four Chinese philosophical ideas about the universe: harmony, symmetry, balance, circulation. The general design of the flag also derives from traditional use of the tricolor symbol (red, blue and yellow) by Koreans starting from the early era of Korean history. The white background symbolizes "cleanliness of the people." The taegeuk represents the origin of all things in the universe; holding the two principles of "Yin", the negative aspect rendered in blue, and "Yang", the positive aspect rendered in red, in perfect balance. Together, they represent a continuous movement within infinity, the two merging as one. The four trigrams are:

Traditionally, the four trigrams are related to the five elements of fire, water, earth, wood, and metal.

Climate

Climates can be classified using parameters such as temperature and rainfall to define specific climate types. There are several ways to classify climaes into similar regimes. The most commonly used classification scheme is the one originally developed by Wladimir Koeppen.

The Koppen classification includes climate regimes such as rain forest, monsoon, tropical savanna, humid subtropical, humid continetal, oceanic climate, Mediterrean climate, continental steppe, subarctic climate, tundra, polar ice cap, and desert.

Traditional Music

-Jeongseon Arirang, from Jeongseon County in Gangwon Province-

Arirang" is arguably the most popular and best-known Korean folk song. Arirang, a representative Korean folk song and orally transmitted folk song that was elected the most beautiful song of the world. Reportedly, Arirang took the first ranking with sweeping 82% of votes of the composers from the Great Britain, the United States, France, Germany and Italy in a contest for the most beautiful song of the world. It is reported that everyone in the contest were surprised because there was not a single Korean in the process and that the judges were moved several times.

Eastern Art

China

-Green Hills and White Clouds, by Gao Kogong-

Chinese art has varied throughout its ancient history, divided into periods by the ruling dynasties of China and changing technology. Different forms of art have been influenced by great philosophers, teachers, religious figures and even political leaders.

Under efforts of masters from the Shanghai School during the late Qing Dynasty, traditional Chinese art reached another climax and continued to the present in forms of the "Chinese paintin". The Shanghai School challenged and broke the literati tradition of Chinese art, while also paying technical homage to the ancient masters and improving on existing traditional

Japan

-Hiroshige, Snow falling on a town-

Japanese painting is one of the oldest and most highly refined of the Japanese arts, encompassing a wide variety of genre and style. Japanese art covers a wide range of art styles and media, including ancient pottery, sculpture in wood and bronze, ink painting on silk and paper, and a myriad of other types of works of arts. Ancient Japanese sculpture was mostly derived from the idol worship in Buddhism or animistic rites of Shinto deity. Materials traditionally used were metal—especially bronze—and, more commonly, wood, often lacquered, gilded, or brightly painted. By the end of the Tokugawa period, such traditional sculpture - except for miniaturized works - had largely disappeared because of the loss of patronage by Buddhist temples and the nobility

Korean

-Jeong Seon, A secluded house near a valley in Mt. Inwangsan-

Korean art is noted for its traditions in pottery, music, calligraphy, painting, sculpture, and other genres, often marked by the use of bold color, natural forms, precise shape and scale, and surface decoration.

Throughout the history of Korean painting, there has been a constant separation of monochromatic works of black brushwork on very often mulberry paper or silk; and the colourful folk art or min-hwa, ritual arts, tomb paintings, and festival arts which had extensive use of colour.
This distinction was often class-based: scholars, particularly in Confucian Art felt that one could see colour in monochromatic paintings within the gradations and felt that the actual use of colour coarsened the paintings, and restricted the imagination. Korean folk art, and painting of architectural frames was seen as brightening certain outside wood frames, and again within the tradition of Chinese architecture, and the early Buddhist influences of profuse rich thalo and primary colours inspired by Art of India.

Festival

Brazil-Brazilian Carnival

The Brazilian Carnaval is an annual festival in Brazil held 4 days before Ash Wednesday and marks the beginning of Lent. During Lent, Roman Catolics are supposed to abstain from all bodily pleasures, including the consumption of meat. The carnival, celebrated as a profane event and believed to have its origins in the pagan Saturnalia, can thus be considered an act of farewell to the pleasures of the flesh. Brazilian Carnival as a whole exhibits some differences with its counterparts in Europe and other parts of the world, and within Brazil it has distinct regional manifestations. Brazilian citizens used to riot until the Carnival was accepted by the government as an expression of culture. That was because the Brazilian carnival had its origin in a Portuguese festivity called "entrudo".This is also called the brasilan dance.

Japan-Snow Festival

The Snow Festival began in 1950, when six local high school students built six snow statues in Odori Park. In 1955, the Japan Self-Defense Forces from the nearby Makomanai base joined in and built the first massive snow sculptures, for which the Snow Festival has now become famous.

This festival is one of Japan's largest most distinctive winter events. In 2007 (58th Festival), about two million people visited Sapporo to see the hundreds of snow statues and ice sculptures at the Odori Park and Susukino sites, in central Sapporo, and at the Satoland site.

German-Beer festival

The largest beer festival in the world is Oktoberfest in Germany. Several other smaller beer festivals are held all over Germany all over the year. The 2nd largest beer festival in Germany and probably in Europe, is the Cannstatter Volksfest in Stuttgart. Its popularity increases and more and more people come from around the world to visit the festival every year. Many other places have beer festivals styled as "Oktoberfests", but taken on its own the name is generally taken to mean for the Munich event.

Palaces

1. France(Paris) - Versailles Palace

2. Russia(Moscow) - Peterhof Palace

3. Russia(Moscow) - Kremlin Palace

4. Turkey - Dolmabahce Palace

5. German - Zwinge Palace

6. Australia - Schonbrunn Palace

7. England - Buckingham Palace

8. Spain - Alhambra Palace

9. Indonesia - Mysore Palace

10.Korea - Gyeongbok Palace

The world has many beautiful palaces.

It were being made differently depends on their characteristics of their society in each countries and their culture.

Residence

Mansion

A mansion is a large dwelling house. The "country house," as it is known in English speaking places, is a distinct species of mansion.
In the past, it was fashionable for the elite society of Europe to pursue the social circuit from country home to country home, with intervals at town homes, so unfortified country houses supplanted castles and the modern mansion began to evolve.
Mansions built during the last and present centuries usually have specially designed rooms meant to accommodate leisure activities of a particular kind.

Villa

A villa was originally an upper-class country house, though since its origins in Roman times the idea and function of a villa has evolved considerably. After the fall of the Republic, a villa became a small, fortified farming compound, gradually re-evolving through the Middle Ages into luxurious, upper-class country homes. In modern parlance it can refer to a specific type of detached suburban dwelling.

Bungalow

A bungalow is a type of single-story house that originated in India. The word derives from the Such houses were traditionally small, only one story, thatched and had a wide veranda. Bungalows today are a type of house that is usually single story or one and a half stories, and can be quite large. Bungalows are very convenient for the homeowner in that all living areas are on a single story and there are no stairs between living areas. A bungalow is more suited to those who are mobility impaired, e.g. the elderly or those in wheelchairs

Cordwood cunstruction

Cordwood construction is a term used for a natural building method in which "cordwood" or short lengths pieces of debarked tree are laid up crosswise with masonry or cob mixtures to build a wall. Remains of cordwood structures still standing date back as far as one thousand years in northern Greece and Siberia. More contemporary versions can be found in Europe, Asia, the Americas. The exact origins of cordwood construction are unknown. It is, however, plausible that forest dwellers eventually erected a basic shelter between a fire and a stacked wood pile

Straw-bale construction

Straw-bale construction is a building method that uses straw bales as structural elements, insulation, or both. It is commonly used in natural buildng. It has advantages over some conventional building systems because of its cost and easy availability, and its high insulation value.
Although grasses and straw have been in use in a range of ways in building since pre-history around the world, their incorporation in machine-manufactured modular bales seems to date back to the early 20th century in the midwestern United States, particularly the sand-hills of Nebraska, where grass was plentiful and other building materials were not.

Korea-Hanok

Hanok is a term to describe Korean traditional Korean taditional houses. Korean architecture lends consideration to the positioning of the house in relation to its surroundings, with thought given to the land and seasons. The interior structure of the house is also planned accordingly. The structure of Hanok is also classified according to social class. Typical yangban (upper class) houses with giwa (tiled roof) emphasized not only the function of the house, but also possess great artistic value. On the other hand, the houses of the commoners (as well as some impoverished yangbang) with choga (a roof plaited by rice straw) were built in a more strictly functional manner.

Education

-Korean education system

The modern Korean school system consists of 6 years in elementary school, 3 years in middle school, and 3 years in high school. Students are supposed to go to elementary and middle school, and do not have to pay for the education, except for a small fee called "School Operation Support Fee" that differs from school to school.(The teachers are paid from taxes) Most public middle school and high school students have to wear uniforms, and are not supposed to grow their hair more than a particular length. The Programme for International Student Assessment, coordinated by the OECE, currently ranks South Korea's science education as the 3rd best in the world, being significantly higher than the OECD average. Korea also ranks 2nd on Maths and literature (Korea has a 99.8% literacy rate, highest in the world) and 1st in problem solving. Although South Korean students often rank high on international comparative tests, the education system is sometimes criticized for its emphasis on passive learning and memorization. The Korean education system is much more strict and structured than most western societies and Korean students rarely have free time to spend enjoying themselves as they are under a lot of pressure to perform and gain entrance to a university.

world food

Swiss-Fondue

Fondue is a Swiss communal dish shared at the table in an earthenware pot over a small burner. The term is derived from the French verb fondre, in the past participle fondu.
Diners use forks to dip bits of food (most often bread) into the warm semi-liquid sauce (commonly a cheese mix). Heat is supplied by a wicked or gel alcohol burner, or a tealight.
While cheese fondue is the most widely known, there are other pot and dipping ingredients


Italia-Pizza

Pizza is a popular dish made with an oven-baked, flat, generally round bread that is covered with tomatoes or a tomato-based sauce and mazzarella cheese. Other toppings are added according to region, culture or personal preference.
Originating as a part of Italian cuisine, the dish has become popular in many different parts of the world. A shop or restaurant where pizzas are made and sold is called a “pizzeria”. The phrase “pizza parlor” is also used in the United States. The term pizza pie is dialectal, and pie is used for simplicity in some contexts, such as among pizzeria staff.

Turkey-Kebab

Kebab refers to a variety of meat dishes in Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, African, Central Asian, and South Asian cuisines, consisting of grilled or broiled meats on a skewer or stick. The most common kebabs include lamb and beef, although others use goat, chicken, fish or shellfish. Observant Muslims and Jews do not use pork for kebabs because of religious and cultural prohibition, but pork kebabs can be found in Greece and India, especially in the state of Goa. Like other ethnic foods brought by immigrants and travelers, the kebab has become part of everyday cuisine in multicultural countries such as the UK, Germany, Sweden, Australia, Canada, and the United States

Japan-Sushi

In Japanese cuisine, sushi is vinegared rice, usually topped with other ingredients, including fish, various meats, and vegetables. Outside of Japan, sushi is sometimes misunderstood to mean the raw fish itself, or even any fresh raw-seafood dishes. There are various types of sushi: sushi served rolled inside nori (dried and pressed layer sheets of seaweed or alga) called makizushi or rolls; sushi made with toppings laid with hand-formed clumps of rice called nigirizushi ; toppings stuffed into a small pouch of fried tofu called inarizushi; and toppings served scattered over a bowl of sushi rice called chirashi-zushi.


Korea-Kimchi

Kimchee is a traditional Korean fermented dish made of vegetables with varied seasonings, most commonly referring to the spicy 'baechu' variety. Kimchi is the most common 'banchan', or side dish. Kimchi is also a common ingredient and combined with other ingredients to make dishes such as kimchi stew (kimchi jjigae) and kimchi fried rice (kimchi bokkeumbap).
Kimchee is popular food in Korea. Making the Kim chi is the method for vegetables can be kept, also during storing the many microorganisms are propagating that makes organic nutritive elements in the Kim chi which become a wonderful fermented food.

Ethnic Customs

Scotland-Kilt

The kilt is a knee-length garment with pleats at the rear, originating in the traditional dress of men and boys in the Scottish Highlands of the 16th century. Since the 19th century it has been associated with the wider culture of Scotland in general, or with Celtic heritage elsewhere. It is most often made of woollen cloth in a tartan pattern.
Though the Scottish kilt is most often worn mainly on formal occasions or at Highland Games and sports events, it has also been adapted as an item of fashionable informal, and formal, male clothing in recent years.

Austria-Dirndl

A dirndl is a type of traditional dress worn in southern Germany and Austria, based on the historical costume of Alpine peasants. Dresses that are loosely based on the dirndl are known as Landhausmode. The dirndl consists of a bodice, blouse, full skirt and apron. While appearing to be simple and plain, a properly-made, modern dirndl may be quite expensive.

Hawaii-Muumuu

The muumuu is a loose dress of Hawaiian origin that hangs from the shoulder. Like the Aloha shirt, muumuu exports are often brilliantly colored with floral patterns of generic Polynesian motifs. Muumuu for local Hawaii residents are more subdued in tone. Muumuu are not as widely worn at work as the aloha shirt, but may be worn as a uniform by women working in the hotel industry. Muumuu are also popular as maternity gowns and with obese people because they do not restrict the waist.

India-Sari

A sari is a female garment in the Indian subcontinent. A sari is a strip of unstitched cloth, ranging from four to nine metres in length that is draped over the body in various styles. The most common style is for the sari to be wrapped around the waist, with one end then draped over the shoulder baring the midriff. The sari is usually worn over a petticoat with a blouse known as a choli or ravika forming the upper garment. These are usually more dressy with a lot of embellishments such as mirrors or embroidery and may be worn on special occasions. Women in the armed forces, when wearing a sari uniform, don a half-sleeve shirt tucked in at the waist.

Japan-Kimono

The kimono is the national costume of Japan. Originally the word "kimono" literally meant "thing to wear" (ki "wearing" and mono "thing") but now has come to denote a particular type of traditional full-length Japanese garment. The standard plural of the word kimono in English is kimonos, but the unmarked Japanese plural kimono is also sometimes found.
Today, kimonos are most often worn by women, and on special occasions. A few older women and even fewer men still wear the kimono on a daily basis. Men wear the kimono most often at weddings, tea ceremonies, and other very special or very formal occasions.

Korea-Hanbok

Hanbok is the traditional Korean dress. It is often characterized by vibrant colors and simple lines without pockets. Although the term literally means "Korean clothing", hanbok today often refers specifically to Joseon Dynasty-style semi-formal or formal wear that is worn during traditional festivals or celebrations. The women's hanbok consists of a chima meaning a wrap-around skirt and Jeogori which refers to a jacket. The ensemble is often called chima jeogori. The men's hanbok is comprised of jeogori and baggy pants called baji.

Hanbok is composed to base by strait lines and some curves, are really beautiful. Especially women clothes' appearance is very decency and elegant. The clothes cover all body can shield the weekness. So a small guy can show big with wearing it, a thin guy can show abundant.

the source of the blog : http://www.wikipedia.org/

Welcome to my home

This is Sun-Ah's room~!

I want to visit many other countries. So I will go to different countries in this blog.

Let's go~!!