LEARNING KOREAN

IN KOREA

 

 

A different language is a different

vision of life.

 

 

I knew coming to Korea that I wanted to learn the language while I was here. I knew to do that effectively, I would have to find a class (I don't push myself much without outside influence, so a class was and is a necessity). I had a good start. In preparation for coming to Korea, I started doing everything I could to help me learn the language and learn more about Korea, its customs, and its culture. Some of those things included listening to Korean music, watching Korean television, and learning the Korean alphabet (한글 pronounced "hangeul").

 

 

Some people might discount kdrama and kpop as weird and...well "foreign." I found that though I didn't learn a ton of Korean from kdramas and kpop, it at least got me used to hearing the language even though I didn't understand it. This actually helped me immensely when it came down to overcoming culture shock. I've heard stories from friends of their experiences with culture shock and mine doesn't seem to be as extreme. I attribute that to two factors: first, I work at a school where the vast majority of the employees speak English and they are willing to help me out with things like finding a doctor who speaks English or helping me talk to people at the bank. Second, I was so used to hearing Korean, that the fact I coudln't understand anything anyone was saying wasn't shocking or uncomfortable for me.

 

A few months before I was set to come to Korea (actually I hadn't even signed a contract yet), I started trying to learn 한글 (the Korean alphabet). By the time I got to Korea, I had most of it memorized, and though I still couldn't pronounce everything correctly, most of my Korean coworkers were impressed that I could read 한글 at all.

 

I thought there would be far more opportunities to learn and practice Korean than I've had so far. At school, English is the main language spoken. The only time Korean is allowed is when an argument or fight needs to be resolved between students and they are having a hard time explaining what happened in English. There is only an hour, possibly two, where I am around teachers instead of students, so I don't have much opportunity to practice my Korean with my Korean coworkers. So the only other opportunities lie with my weekly grocery shopping (trying to talk to the cashier for a measly 30 seconds), stopping random people on the street (not really an acceptable thing to do in Korea), or make more Korean friends so I can practice with them (which is a work in progress).

 

This led me to finding a class I could attend. However, I wanted a class that would be close to my house (seeing as I didn't want to travel too far after work) and one that was reasonably affordable. I happened to stumble upon an online course through a Facebook ad. I now attend the Korean Digital Academy, which I am enjoying so far (even if the class progresses quite quickly). I like it because I can do it from home (hello pajamas!) and because the founder is actually Canadian (though he now lives in Korea and speaks Korean fluently) so he understands the process of learning Korean and he can explain certain concepts in ways we can better understand. The classes are small (my class started off with 5 people, but we're down to 2 now) and are held once a week for an hour. The way the classes are structured, you have instructional videos that you watch and study previous to the actual live session. The founder of the courses put the videos together, so all the explanations are done in English. Then we have the live session (which lasts for an hour) with a native Korean speaker in which we practice the content of the instructional videos for the duration of the class. Also provided are worksheets you can download and/or print with all the relevant information as well as practice worksheets.

 

Korean, so far, has proven a challenge for me. I've always been good at pretty much any subject I take, even if I don't particularly enjoy it. I've always steered clear of languages because I knew they were a great weakness for me. I deliberately took the math/science route in college rather than the language route to avoid having to take language classes. I never intended on learning another language until I made the decision to come to Korea. And I have no idea why I'd put myself through such a grueling process again, but I think I'd also like to learn Japanese or possibly Mandarin. Teaching in Korea has proven to be a great experience so far, and I could easily see myself either staying here for a few years (maybe eventually moving up to a university teaching position) or traveling to other countries like Japan or Taiwan to teach as well. To top it all off, I'd like to get into a graduate program (one in particular has already caught my eye). That may have to wait until I'm a little more settled and have a little more time on my hands. I don't know if I could handle a full time job, full time graduate courses, and possibly an extra language course on top of that (maybe by then I'll have moved past Korean and be on to Japanese...) and of course there's always a social life to keep up with as well. Good thing this is all at the very least a year or two in my future, so I have some time to plan it out :) And somewhere in there I want to move back to Hawaii, though I have no idea what I'd do for work. Maybe by then I'll be fluent in at least one other language so I could look into being a translator of some kind...Anyway, I'm just rambling now, so I'll stop. I'm planning on doing another couple posts soon though. I'm thinking one I'll dedicate to some habits I've been picking up in Korea that will put me on some people's list of "strange people to avoid" list, and probably another dedicated to unique quirks of Korea like what might be seen as offensive here that wouldn't be in America or vice versa. Until next time!

 

 

Speak a new language

so that the world

will be a new world.