A week ago I finally got around to purchasing a Korean phrasebook. I was getting along okay without one, but I was quickly growing tired of having to point at pictures when ordering food at restaurants. A week later I still don’t speak Korean, but I do know a couple of phrases and, more importantly, I can now read Hangul (Korean script). I never thought learning the Korean alphabet would be so easy. All it took was a couple days of memorization, and then a few days of trying to make sense of a handful of the thousands of signs I see around me every day. I can definitely see how the emersion method is the best way to learn a language.
So what good is it being able to read a language that you don’t understand, you ask? Well, I see it as a good starting point. Even if I don’t wind up learning a whole lot of Korean while I’m here in Seoul, I can at least read menus and signs and look up their meanings in my phrasebook (or type them into my iPhone using the Korean keyboard and running them through Google Translate when I have an internet connection). One of my favorite things to do now is to read signs that are written in both Korean and English, and then compare the two. I usually wind up having to look up the Korean version, but sometimes it turns out to be a phonetic imitation of the English version (Konglish), which can be quite humorous.
Another benefit of my new phrasebook, besides now being literate, is the opportunity to try some of the Korean food that I would not normally order, either because I wouldn’t know where to start, or I didn’t know it existed. The first phrase I learned is, “What would you recommend?” Yesterday I put it to the test at a small Korean restaurant in Hongdae, and it did not disappoint. I was served with a delicious grilled mackerel, rice, soup, and an assortment of side dishes. Looking forward to trying it again soon! Here’s a pic:
LEARN KOREAN – what would you recommend:
추천 해 주시겠어요 (chucheon haejushigesseoyo)
Of course food was your primary motivation! I wish I were as adventurous as you
I am impressed!
Hey,
Nice work with the Korean. It’s always good to hear when people are trying to learn Korean while living here (I’ve been here for 6 years and have seen A LOT who haven’t).
You don’t me, but I actually run a site teaching Korean online. It’s videos taken from my in-class course that has been going for the last 3 years teaching Korean to other native English speakers who’ve come over.
Anyways, I know you can already read, so the first two classes won’t necessarily help you (although other people who’ve learned to read said they did help sort of finalize everything and introduced a few ideas they were struggling with), but you can actually get the first 4 classes totally free.
The 3rd and 4th classes get into the basic sentence and it sounds like, given your interest and level, they might help you out a lot.
If you’d like to check them out, you can go to http://www.learnkoreanonline.net and you’ll see a big red “FREE” sign. Although underneath the sign, it says you’ll only get the reading videos, that’s ’cause I haven’t changed it up yet, but I have changed up the system to give all four classes.
Anyways, feel free to check them out. You might find them useful.
Cheers, and enjoy your time in Seoul (I’m 4.5 hours south of you in a small town called GwangYang, in the province of Jeollanamdo)
Rob…
Yeah, I was surprised, too, at how easily I learned the arabic alphabet. And it was definitely worth it to me after flying into the airport in Kuwait city and reading the highway sign that said ahlan wa sahlan in Kuwait (welcome to Kuwait)…of course, using an iPhone or an arabic keyboard or Google translate (or for that matter an internet connection) never really occurred to me at the time.
Sounds like you’re having a heck of a time. Your blog makes me hungry.
It’s nice to have a glimpse of Korea through your eyes. Enjoy! And watch out for ginko fruit!