Korean Life and Institutions

I had my first class in Introduction to the study of Korean language and culture today. It was interesting and very robust. Almost hard to digest. 4 hours was spent on detailed accounts of all the war that has struck the Korean peninsula. I knew it was bad beforehand, but I had no idea it was this bad. I understand that history and geography are part of general education, also when it comes to specific language studies. Rather than history or geography I want to learn about everyday culture and tradition in contemporary Korea . I know I need to know my history and that it is important but I also have a need to know the fun stuff. Fun is the wrong word though. I guess a better word would be to learn facts that I am motivated to learn. A statement which doesn't really help my case either. I guess I would prefer it the other way around, to start with facts about contemporary Korea and then trace back in history. That's just me.