Korean pronunciation tips I wish I’d learned sooner
With most of the country in continued lockdown, I’m still confined to my apartment from which all my teaching, class preparation and self studying takes place. In order to feel […]
My last Korean reading project of 2020
With only one day left of 2020, my last Korean reading project of this year has come to an end. In total, I’ve managed to read 12 Korean novels this […]
It’s been a while…
It’s been almost two months since my last post. Ever since I started writing this blog over five years ago, this is probably the longest I’ve ever gone without updating […]
Kim Jiyoung, born 1982
This book title, in Korean 82년생 김지영, by Cho Namjoo has been a hot potato since it was published in Korea a few years ago. I read it for the […]
What am I doing
“So, what are you doing these days?” is a question I hear a lot whenever I meet people alongside “How are you holding up?”. While the questions are simple the […]
A mind-blowing reading experience
The winter break is soon over and I’ll officially start teaching again next week. These days the Sogang campus is packed with new graduates clad in the traditional cap and […]
Gender roles, sexism, and feminism in Korea
Yesterday, I went to the teacher’s lounge for a cup of coffee, when I met one of my older male colleagues. He asked me how I had spent my Chuseok […]
Learn through Korean proverbs (and Naver)
All languages have proverbs that often originate from ancient times and provide an invaluable insight into the culture and mindset of the native speakers. The more proverbs you know in […]
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 […]
New Korean books, new motivation
I haven’t been updating the blog for a while, but don’t take this as a sign that I haven’t been studying Korean. In fact, I’m probably studying harder than ever. […]
Korean vocabulary: Going beyond the intermediate level
While I wrote in my previous post that I had enjoyed learning what may be considered quite basic vocabulary from my Korean children’s book, I still want to keep expanding my […]
Learning Korean through proverbs
I spent some of my Easter holidays finishing the awesome Korean proverbs book “유행어보다 재치있는 우리 100대 속담”, a book featuring 100 Korean proverbs explained for children. I bought it […]
Childish Korean
Since the past week has been spring break, you would think that I would have had plenty of time for studying Korean. Well, think again. On the other hand I […]
The power of reading (in Korean)
I recently finished my first book in Korean, and I’m now over halfway through my second one. I’ve really come to enjoy my Korean reading time, and I love the […]
Finishing my first book in Korean
While I’ve swallowed countless Korean textbooks I actually cannot believe that it would take me this long to finish my first real book written entirely in Korean. I’ve wanted to […]
Going back to Seoul (…in a few months)
So here in the middle of summer, winter is far away and I shouldn’t really be longing for frost and snow, and significantly fewer hours of daylight. Nonetheless, this is EXACTLY […]
Sofie to Korea 