Food
No matter how it’s prepared, how much or how little of it we eat, whether we are picky eaters or willing to try anything, food is very important part of everyone’s life. Biologically and psychologically, food is of the highest importance to our health and well-being.

But beyond this, the kinds of food we eat also function to identify us a member of a particular culture. What foreigners might find distasteful or even revolting, the locals of an area consider normal. For example, you might find it disgusting that people would eat insects, but in some parts of the world, people eat insects without giving it a second thought.

Sometimes these cultural differences are not only a matter of taste but become a debate about morality. Some people find it objectionable that some Europeans eat horse or rabbit or that some Asian cultures eat monkey, cat, or dog.

In this age of globalization, some people are becoming increasingly concerned that the spread of Western fast food culture is threatening to obscure their native food culture. In countries all over the world, young people, especially, are becoming accustomed to eating American-style food instead of their native cuisine.

Discussion:

Food for thought

1. If you had to choose one food that is typical of Korea, what would it be?
2. Are there any kinds of food, besides Korean, that you enjoy eating? Are there any that you would like to try?
3. Do you think that Korean food is healthier than food from other countries? Why?
4. Do you think that you have healthy or unhealthy eating habits? Why?
5. What is the most disgusting thing you have ever eaten?
6. Most Westerners share a distaste of certain Korean foods, for example ‘bundeggi’, ‘san-nakgee’, and ‘boshintang’. What do you think about these foods? Do you enjoy them? What “Wetern” foods do you consider gross?
7. Where do you usually eat when you go out for a meal? What are some of your favorite restaurants?
8. How often do you eat at a street vendor? Have you ever eaten from a street vendor in another country?
9. Many Westerners are sometimes quite surprised by the prices that are charged for Western food at restaurants in Korea that would be considered to be only average quality in North America. Do you think Western food is over-priced in Korea or do you think that it is reasonably priced?
10. Are you usually surprised when you see foreigners enjoying Korean food or using chopsticks?


Activity:

Consumption Trends

Discuss the following trends with your teacher. For each one, speculate about what has caused these trends, what consequences are, whether they should be reversed, and how this could be done.

· Increasingly, Korean children prefer Western fast food to traditional Korean food.
· Korean children and teenagers are getting fatter and fatter these days.
· Anorexia and other eating disorders are becoming more common, especially among young Korean women.
· Women are smoking and drinking more than they used to.
· Increasingly, young people, including high school and university students, are taking up smoking.

Eat your Words

Describe, in as much detail as possible, each of the following.
1. Your favorite beverage
2. The strangest thing you’ve ever eaten
3. A food you could never give up
4. The best meal you’ve ever had at a restaurant
5. What you typically eat for breakfast
6. Your mother’s specialty
7. Something you can cook well
8. A cooking experiment that went horribly wrong

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These days, everyone is chasing the almighty dollar. Fortunes are made and lost in the blink of an eye, and split-second decisions often make the difference between success and failure. Money had been a key element in our society for thousands of years, and it will continue to play a vital role in our future.





Credit Card Debate
You will be asked to defend one of the following positions. Before you begin, read over the supporting arguments, and choose what you will focus your argument on.

Opinion 1: Credit Cards are Essential
· There are now a number of everyday activities, such as buying things on line which are not possible without a credit card.
· Customers can stop payment on a credit card account for unsatisfactory services.
· Most credit card companies offer purchase points and merchandise incentives, or airfare mileage points.
· Credit cards are a perfect way to establish and maintain a good credit card rating.
· Using credit cards, you can re-establish your credit rating after bankruptcy or other financial mishap.
· Credit cards allow you to get cash advances for emergencies.

Opinion 2: The Risks of Having Credit Cards Outweigh the Benefits
· The temptation to acquire too many credit card accounts can lead to losing track of payment details and deadlines.
· Credit cards give people a false sense of security and freedom, which make them likely to overspend.
· Most people who have credit cards have difficulty understanding the details about how the various fees are calculated.
· Young people, especially, are often poor at managing their money, and likely to find themselves in personal bankruptcy.
· Credit cards companies often charge high interest rates on cash advances.

Discussion:
1. Have you ever been hard up for money? What did you do to scrape by?
2. Have you ever lent money to a friend who was broke? If a friend didn’t pay you back for a long time, how would you handle the situation?
3. If you suddenly become filthy rich, what would you buy first? How do you think your lifestyle would change? Would you still work? Do you think there would be bad as well as good consequences?
4. Why are people so concerned with being well off? Does money always bring happiness?
5. What is the most you have blown on a shopping spree? How about for a meal? On alcohol? On a gift for special someone?
6. Do you and your friends usually chip in to pay the tab when you go out, or does someone usually foot the bill themselves? Have you ever gotten stuck with the bill unexpectedly?
7. How often do you pay things by credit card? How many credit cards do you have? Are any of them maxed out? Or are you good at managing your credit card spending?
8. At what age do you think people should be expected to be financially independent from their families? What do you think of young people who live at home after they start working and continue to sponge off their parents?

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