History

Korean Class at Culcom Eunhaeng! Want to learn Korean for free? Join our Korean Class for Foreigners at Culcom Daejeon! Schedule: Every Thursday 7-8pm & Saturday 1-2pm Fee: FREE! Location: Culcom Eunhaeng A Korean class taught by a **professional Korean language instructor** for foreigners living in Korea. This class starts from the **beginner level**, so even if you don’t know Hangul or basic grammar, you’re totally welcome. We focus on real-life Korean, practical expressions, and speaking confidence not just textbook Korean. **Class Schedule** Thursday 7:00–8:00 PM Saturday 1:00–2:00 PM Small group classes, friendly atmosphere, and plenty of chances to speak and ask questions. If you want to feel more comfortable living in Korea and communicate more naturally, this class is for you. How to Join? Text 010-8268-1638 to book a consultation and get started!

Korean Class at Culcom Eunhaeng! Want to learn Korean for free? Join our Korean Class for Foreigners at Culcom Daejeon! Schedule: Every Thursday 7-8pm & Saturday 1-2pm Fee: FREE! Location: Culcom Eunhaeng A Korean class taught by a **professional Korean language instructor** for foreigners living in Korea. This class starts from the **beginner level**, so even if you don’t know Hangul or basic grammar, you’re totally welcome. We focus on real-life Korean, practical expressions, and speaking confidence not just textbook Korean. **Class Schedule** Thursday 7:00–8:00 PM Saturday 1:00–2:00 PM Small group classes, friendly atmosphere, and plenty of chances to speak and ask questions. If you want to feel more comfortable living in Korea and communicate more naturally, this class is for you. How to Join? Text 010-8268-1638 to book a consultation and get started!

Sunday Tea Club was founded in Daejeon in 2023. Created as a quiet alternative to Korea’s typical drinking and nightlife culture, the club offers a calm, meaningful way to spend your Sunday afternoons. If you’ve ever wished for a slower, more mindful space to enjoy afternoon tea and gentle conversation — you’re more than welcome to join us! Participant fee 15,000won+order 1drink(The participation fee is only paid once — at your first visit. All fees are collected and reinvested into the club to purchase new teaware, high-quality teas, or ingredients for future gatherings.)

**What to Expect at Our Events** * Weekly in-person language exchange meetups * Casual, café-style atmosphere There’s always someone new to meet and talk to. **Who Comes to These Meetups?** * Both locals and internationals **How It Works** * Choose an event time * Book a spot * Show up and join the conversation That’s it. You can come alone or with friends. Running late? No problem. Join when you can, leave when you want. *Please note:* To keep conversations balanced, **walk-in registration may be denied depending on group balance**. We strongly recommend booking in advance. **Why People Like This Group** **1\. Smart Group Matching** Participants are grouped to create balanced conversations based on language level and background with optimised algorithm. **2\. Personalized AI Feedback** Gain insights into your progress! Receive **AI-driven feedback** after the session to help you refine your language skills and track your growth. **3\. Meet New People Each Round** Groups rotate every session, so you don’t get stuck talking to the same people all night. **4\. Beginner\-Friendly** Beginners are always welcome. You’ll never be forced into conversations beyond your comfort level. **FAQs** **1\. My target language isn’t very good\. Can I still join?** Yes. Beginners are welcome and grouped with others at a similar level. **2\. Can I arrive late or leave early?** Yes. The meetup is casual and flexible. **3\. Do I need to come every week?** No. Join whenever it fits your schedule. **Community Standards** We strive to maintain a high-quality environment for all participants. 1. Positive Vibes Only: We welcome people who contribute to a better experience for everyone. 2. Accountability: To ensure a safe and friendly space, if a member receives three separate complaints, they will be asked to withdraw from all future events. 3. Your Voice Matters: If you have a negative experience, you will be given the opportunity to provide feedback after every event. **How to Join** * Book your spot: [https://nurio.kr/events](https://nurio.kr/events) * Questions or help: [http://pf.kakao.com/_xmzbQn/chat](http://pf.kakao.com/_xmzbQn/chat) \-\-\- **모임에서는 무엇을 하나요?** * **주 1회 오프라인 언어 교환:** 카페처럼 편안한 분위기에서 정기적으로 만납니다. * **새로운 만남:** 매번 새로운 사람들을 만나고 다양한 주제로 대화할 수 있습니다. **누가 참여하나요?** 한국인과 외국인 멤버들이 함께 모여 언어와 문화를 공유합니다. **참여 방법** 1. **일정 선택:** 원하는 시간과 장소를 확인하세요. 2. **참가 신청:** 온라인으로 간편하게 예약합니다. 3. **대화 참여:** 현장에 오셔서 자유롭게 대화를 시작하세요! > **Tip:** 혼자 오셔도 좋고 친구와 함께 오셔도 됩니다. 늦게 오거나 일찍 나가는 것도 전혀 문제없는 자유로운 모임입니다. **안내 사항:** 원활한 그룹 구성과 대화 밸런스를 위해, **현장 참여(워크인)는 인원 및 그룹 구성 상황에 따라 제한될 수 있습니다.** 참여를 원하시는 경우 **사전 예약을 권장드립니다** **이 모임이 특별한 이유** 1. **스마트 그룹 매칭:** 최적화된 알고리즘을 통해 언어 수준과 배경을 고려하여 대화가 가장 잘 통하는 그룹을 구성해 드립니다. 2. **AI 실력 향상 피드백:** 모임 참여 후, 여러분의 언어 실력을 분석하고 성장을 돕는 **개인별 AI 피드백**이 제공됩니다. 3. **매 라운드 로테이션:** 세션마다 그룹이 바뀌기 때문에 한 번의 모임에서 최대한 다양한 사람들과 교류할 수 있습니다. 4. **초보자 맞춤형:** 초보자도 안심하고 참여하세요. 본인의 수준에 맞는 그룹에서 부담 없이 대화를 시작할 수 있습니다. **자주 묻는 질문 (FAQs)** * **목표 언어를 잘 못하는데 괜찮을까요?** 네, 당연합니다. 비슷한 수준의 멤버들과 그룹이 배정되므로 걱정하지 않으셔도 됩니다. * **늦게 가거나 일찍 나가도 되나요?** 네, 모임은 캐주얼하고 유연하게 운영되므로 본인의 일정에 맞춰 편하게 이용하세요. * **매주 꼭 참여해야 하나요?** 아니요. 원하시는 일정이 있을 때만 선택해서 참여하시면 됩니다. **운영 원칙** 우리는 모두에게 즐거운 언어 교환 경험을 선사하기 위해 긍정적인 에너지를 가진 분들과 함께합니다. * **매너 있는 커뮤니티:** 타인에게 불쾌감을 주는 행동을 지양하며, 서로 존중하는 분들만 참여를 허용합니다. * **피드백 시스템:** 이벤트 종료 후 불편했던 점을 자유롭게 전달하실 수 있습니다. * **참여 제한:** 쾌적한 환경 유지를 위해 3회 이상의 불만이 접수된 멤버는 모든 이벤트 참여가 제한될 수 있습니다. **신청 및 문의** * **참가 신청하기:** [https://nurio.kr/events](https://nurio.kr/events) * **문의 사항:** [카카오톡 채널 상담](http://pf.kakao.com/_xmzbQn/chat)

[Profs and Pints Northern Virginia](https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc) presents: **“The Secrets of Runes,”** on the origins, development, and interpretation of the runic script, with Lilla Kopár, runologist and a professor of medieval literature and culture at Catholic University. [Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at [https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/nv-rune-secrets](https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/nv-rune-secrets) .] The fame of runes outshines that of any other ancient script. They can be found not just on Viking Age rune stones, but on Bilbo’s door and as the Bluetooth logo on your cell phone. Runic script is commonly associated with magic, used by modern practitioners of neopaganism, and in recent decades has captured the imagination of filmmakers and video game designers. Yet most of us know little about the historical origins of runes and have no clue how to read or use them. Come to Crooked Run Fermentation in Sterling, Va., to get schooled on runic script with the help of Lilla Kopár, a veteran scholar of runes who has earned a following among Profs and Pints fans by giving fantastic talks on medieval monsters and Norse mythology. As someone who has carried out extensive field research on runes, published several articles on runic objects, and even appeared on the History Channel commenting on runes in America, she’s exceptionally qualified to introduce you to runology and the fascinating things that runes tell us. Dr Kopár will discuss the development of runic script from its humble origins on the borders of the Roman Empire in the first or second century CE, through its popularity in the Viking world, to its use and misuse in modern times. She’ll discuss how runes are a set of related alphabets that underwent changes over time and she’ll describe what inspired changes in this writing system and where and how runes were used in the medieval period. Her richly illustrated talk will highlight some of the most intriguing objects with runic inscriptions, from humble bone fragments to impressive rune stones, and offer insight into the scholarly methods of deciphering and interpreting runic inscriptions. We’ll also look at the function of the runic script from simple practical notes and memorial inscriptions to cipher-runes and magic. The most fun might be the in-class assignment, which will involve reading a few runic inscriptions and writing your name and other words in runes. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. Talk starts 30 minutes later.) Image: Part of Codex runicus, a rune manuscript written on animal skin and dating to about 1300 (University of Copenhagen / Wikimedia Commons).

[Profs and Pints Northern Virginia](https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc) presents: **“The Hidden Cleopatra,”** an excavation through myth and slander to uncover the real Egyptian queen, with Jacquelyn Williamson, an Egyptologist and associate professor of archaeology and ancient art at George Mason University. [Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at [https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/nv-hidden-cleopatra2](https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/nv-hidden-cleopatra2) .] Depictions of Cleopatra are abundant in popular culture. A long list of painters have depicted her, Marilyn Monroe and Kim Kardashian have posed as her, and Vivien Leigh and Elizabeth Taylor famously portrayed her in Hollywood films. At the end of the day, however, what most of us think we know about Cleopatra is wrong, the product of the ancient Rome’s “fake news” and anti-Egypt propaganda. Learn about the real Cleopatra—and how our understanding of her came to be so distorted—with Professor Jacquelyn Williamson, scholar of women and power in ancient Egypt, teacher of courses on ancient Egyptian art and archaeology, and author of *Nefertiti’s Sun Temple: A New Cult Complex at Tell el-Amarna.* Dr. Williamson will walk us through how the first Roman emperor, Octavian, created the distorted image of Cleopatra as seductress that we know today as part of his political scheming to defeat his rival Antony and end the Roman Republic once and for all. Cleopatra has been the subject of debate and controversy ever since. William Shakespeare later relied on ancient Roman sources such as Horace and Plutarch in writing *Antony and Cleopatra*, and his play helped give rise to countless other works offering a distorted picture of her. Professor Williamson argues that “Cleopatra was a human being, like you and I,” and “deserves the dignity of being represented as accurately as possible.” Her efforts to set the record straight have met frustration, however—after being extensively interviewed for the recent Netflix historical docuseries Queen Cleopatra, she concluded that it, too, had missed the mark. You’ll gain a much deeper appreciation of the challenges of researching and accurately depicting the ancient past from Dr. Williamson, who also has taught at Harvard, Brandeis, and the University of California at Berkeley and is involved with an ongoing archaeological investigation of Queen Nefertiti’s sun temple. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. Talk starts 30 minutes later.) Image: Layla Taj portrays Cleopatra VII as part of an Egyptian Cultural Performing Arts Society production. (Photo by Amos Gvili / Wikimedia Commons.)

This will be our second (and possibly last) meeting on *Nature's God: The Heretical Origins of the American Republic*, by Matthew Stewart. For this meeting, please try to read chapters 4 and 6. (You can skim chapter 5, which is particularly confusing). **Where did the ideas come from that became the cornerstone of American democracy?** America’s founders intended to liberate us not just from one king but from the ghostly tyranny of supernatural religion. Drawing deeply on the study of European philosophy, Matthew Stewart brilliantly tracks the ancient, pagan, and continental ideas from which America’s revolutionaries drew their inspiration. In the writings of Spinoza, Lucretius, and other great philosophers, Stewart recovers the true meanings of “Nature’s God,” “the pursuit of happiness,” and the radical political theory with which the American experiment in self-government began. [LINK](https://a.co/d/bkTWJNb) This book is not always an easy read. You may want to make use of AI tools such as ChatGPT. You can ask it questions like: "What does Matthew Stewart say about happiness in his book Nature's God?" OR: What does Matthew Stewart say about Spinoza? This may be our last meeting on this book. If you want to have a third meeting later, on the last two chapters, let me know. I hope to see you there! Fred

Join Dr. Larrie D. Ferreiro as he discusses the American Revolutionary War as a global partnership between the United States, France, and Spain against their common adversary, Great Britain. Registration required. RSVPing on Meetup does not register you for the program. To register, please [click here](https://pwcgov.libnet.info/events?start=today&end=2030-12-31&term=va250).

**This talk has completely sold out in advance and no door tickets will be available. It also is being staged at Penn Social in DC on March 16th and plenty of tickets remain available for that date.** [Profs and Pints Northern Virginia](https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc) presents: **“Terrors of Irish Fairylore,”** an introduction to Ireland’s strange and unsettling folkloric “Good People,” with Brittany Warman, former instructor at Ohio State University, co-founder of The Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic, and co-author of the new book *Fairylore: A Compendium of the Fae Folk.* [Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at [https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/nv-irish-fairy-terrors](https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/nv-irish-fairy-terrors) .] Today it is common to think of fairies as small, childlike, sparkly creatures with glittering wings and dresses made from flower petals. But the fae of traditional Irish folklore were no such things. Amoral, capricious, even malicious when they chose to be, the too-frequently forgotten fairies of times long past would, more often than not, haunt nightmares. Join Brittany Warman, a folklorist who has earned a devoted following among Profs and Pints fans, as she explores the darker side of Irish fairylore. The figures she'll discuss include: The Leanan-Sidhe, a vampiric fairy who gives artistic inspiration in exchange for your mortal spirit. The Dullahan, a fairy with a human spine for a whip and a habit of hurtling across fields in a death coach made from human skin. The Banshee, a mournful fairy whose cry signals a death in the family to which she's attached herself. Dr. Warman also will examine the surprising impact of fairy folklore on two classics of Irish Gothic literature, Oscar Wilde's *The Picture of Dorian Gray* and Bram Stoker's *Dracula.* It’s a talk that will remind you that the relationship between the Irish and the spooky stretches well beyond Halloween. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. Talk starts 30 minutes later.) Image: “The Banshee Appears,” an 1862 illustration by Robert Prowse (Wicklow Heritage / Public domain).

This month's selection is "Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History"! If you're new, welcome! Don't worry if you can't finish or don't like the book, we're here for good casual conversation...

[Profs and Pints Northern Virginia](https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc) presents: **“A Practical Guide to Social Change,”** a research-based look at how communities bring about reform and progress, with Marissa Robinson, founder of Real Health Impact LLC and an adjunct professor at George Washington University who teaches courses focused on public health leadership and social change. [Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at [https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/nv-social-change](https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/nv-social-change) .] Systems built on inequality rarely transform without deliberate pressure from the people most committed to justice, because progress takes coordination, conviction and willingness to change what has always been accepted. Real change starts when people choose to move together. Learn what research and experience say about how to make real social progress with Dr. Marissa Robinson, a public health practitioner who previously worked in federal agencies coordinating global and national public health initiatives focused on infectious diseases, HIV, and health equity. Among the key questions she’ll tackle: How do communities overcome barriers to create real change? When should evidence guide decisions and when does context matter more? She’ll discuss established frameworks for moving from intention to measurable progress and talk about the importance of building coalitions that actually work and of making decisions grounded in real data. You’ll learn about the importance of testing ideas on a small scale before going big, as well as how to use rapid feedback loops and continuous improvement cycles to refine approaches and scale what truly works. Dr. Robinson will share stories of ordinary people and communities who refused to accept the status quo and pushed through real barriers to achieve breakthrough results. She’ll talk about practical strategies, usable frameworks, and evidence-based examples that people can apply immediately in their own communities and organizations to support change that lasts. If you have dreamed about bringing about progress in your world, this talk will give you the clarity, direction, and confidence it takes to turn such dreams into reality. ( Door: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. The talk starts 30 minutes later.) Image by Canva.