Korean friends
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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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Exams are (almost) over and I luv’ it
This week has been tense and filled with preparations for my final exams at Sogang. I just have one speaking test left on Monday, and then I’m graduating on Tuesday. YAY! It’s been so much fun to learn Korean in a formal setting and I don’t hesitate to recommend the Sogang program to anyone who…
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My midterms, my week in Denmark, and my hurt Korean pride
I’m back, and brace yourselves for a long update. I haven’t been active on the blog for the past couple of weeks due to, well, the title of this post should be self-explanatory. It may seem like three random concepts without any rhyme or reason, but put toghether they pretty much summarize what has been…
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Could you speak up, please? Korean speech levels
This post is motivated by some questions I’ve received here on the blog. How exactly does age and social status determine how people speak to each other in Korean? Since this is a quite technical matter, I’ll try to make it as simple as possible using my own experiences from different situations and interactions here…
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Busy but happy in Seoul
This week is by far the busiest week I have experienced since moving to Seoul. One of my friends from Denmark is visiting this week, and that has been an excellent excuse to tour the city. She’s actually here on business, but nonetheless we’ve managed to spend two days together. I greatly enjoy sightseeing in Seoul,…
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Awesome Korean slang expressions
I’ve started to become a regular guest at the Playground café in Hongdae. (If you look through their facebook pics, you’ll see proof that I was there.) This café is an awesome place where Koreans and foreigners can get together and exchange languages. This week, I went there on Tuesday and met a couple of…
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My first Chuseok
Although I actually celebrated my own little version of Chuseok last year, this year marked my first Chuseok in Korea. Chuseok is the Korean harvest festival, or Korean Thanksgiving, which is usually celebrated some time in either September or October. Since the date is determined by the lunar calendar, it varies from one year to the next.…
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Adapting to life in Seoul
I’ve almost been here six weeks now, and I’m happy to report that I’m adapting to life here more easily than I had imagined. Seoul definitely feels like home in a strange way, I can’t quite explain. While I’m doing the same kind of job as I did back home, I still feel that my everyday…
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So you can’t make it? Nope!
Those of my readers who know me well will know that if there’s one thing in this world I tolerate badly (besides dairy) it’s tardiness. Nothing is more frustrating than when people are late. Although the Korean mentality is balli balli (quickly quickly), everybody in this country seems annoyingly unable to show up on time. This week…
Sofie to Korea 