소희
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August 15th, Korean liberation day
Today is the Korean liberation day, a national holiday in Korea. I’m still so super excited about my new office that even though it’s raining cats and dogs, and I technically could stay home, I still went to work anyway. What can I say, my new office is just that nice! But back to the…
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Open your books
I once had a brilliant lecturer who told us that “you don’t get smart from just leaving the books on your shelf – you have to actually read them”. Wise words indeed. Way too often I find myself buying books with the intention to read them, and then just letting them collect dust in my…
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Visiting home
I’m sure that all my readers know that I absolutely love living in Seoul. However, for all expatriates, no matter how intoxicatingly sweet you may find the drink, there will always be an ever so slightly bitter taste mixing with the exotic swirls of sweetness. Because no matter how wonderful the chosen home country may…
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The power of repetition
Do you ever feel guilty about watching reruns of an old show, knowing that you really ought to spend your time better doing something more productive? I certainly do, but I’ve recently found the perfect excuse for rewatching my favorite old Korean tv series. Learning! While in Denmark, I’ve been (re-)binging on “My love from…
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Why all Korean learners should learn (a few) Chinese characters
In my interactions with other Korean learners, I’ve frequently heard complaints that Chinese characters (which for the record do not appear often in written Korean) are hard. Using this as an excuse, many people avoid familiarizing themselves with these characters. In my opinion this is probably one of the biggest mistakes you can make as…
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A gendered language: boy Korean or girl Korean?
Even though I’m currently in Denmark on a long vacation, I’ve brought quite a few Korean books with me. I make sure to dedicate at least an hour per day to studying Korean, and this does not include watching dramas, texting, speaking on the phone, browsing news sites and other activities that I will naturally…
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Korea: A year in the life
“525,600 minutes, 525,600 moments so dear. 525,600 minutes – how do you measure, measure a year? In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee. In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife. In 525,600 minutes – how do you measure a year in the life?” Well, the cast from the musical “Rent” didn’t…
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To Japan and back
Last week, my husband and I went on a semi-impromptu trip to Kyoto in Japan. It was the first time for both of us and definitely a memorable experience. To the ignorant Westerner, Japan and Korea may sound almost synonymous but the reality is very very different. Japan is really NOTHING like Korea. It’s so…
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The art of mildang
If you don’t live in Korea or at least do so vicariously through Korean dramas and movies, chances are that you have not heard the term “mildang”, or 밀당 in Korean, before. Mildang is an abbreviation of milgodanggigi (밀고당기기), literally meaning push and pull, and refers to the constant power struggle between two people of…
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Small daily joys in Korea
With only three weeks left before I’ll leave Korea for over a month, I’ve started to reflect on the things that I’ll possibly miss and definitely look forward to coming back to in early August for my second year here in Seoul. I guess you never really know what you have until you realize that…
Sofie to Korea 