Gook, Tahng, Chiggae VS. Soup, Stew. What's the Difference?

In korea when you have soup you'll have either a gook, tahng or a chiggae. In the states if you have soup you'll have soup and occasionaly stew, but stew is still considered soup. To me, it all looks the same, it's all broth based and has varying amounts of vegetables and meats in it, to Koreans, however, there is such a difference between the three that to call a chiggae a tahng or a gook a chiggae  is an outrage and completeley unfounded. I really can't seem to figure it out though, they understand the english word "soup" but they are adamant that gook, tahng and chiggae are not soup. So this got me thinking, maybe I needed to take a moment to define soup. So I said, "soup is a broth based dish with varying vegetables and meats." Wait, I said that already...didn't I? Excuse me for being a crass, uncouth, uncultured American but isn't a broth based dish with varying vegetables and meats exactly what we are eating right now?? No? Well can you please exlain the difference to me? No? ok. So after three months of complete confusion i've finally discovered that chiggae is like a stew, really thick and that a tang is like a normal soup and a gook is broth with some seaweed or onions in it. Ok great, but this still doesn't allevite the fact that I STILL THINK IT'S ALL SOUP AND NOBODY UNDERSTANDS THIS. I guess it's just going to be one of those things where I get it, and that's the end of the story. But still...don't you think that maybe...just maybe they really ARE all the same thing??

On a side note, I needed to buy some buillion so that I can flavor the rice that I purchased, I ran into one of my co-teachers while in the market and when I asked her whether the package I was holding flavored soup (can you see my point of decline here??) she informed me that no, that would not flavor soup. That only a little was added to Chiggae to enhance the flavor. "Kind of like a flavored salt?" the answer was no, absolutely not. I smiled benignly and bought the stuff anyway. Upon returning home and opening it I discovered that it was indeed buillion. I just really really cannot win in the damn soup department.