Korean frustrations
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Week two: Slapped by Seoul, hugged by Ilsan
My second week in Korea has been quite a bumpy ride and definitely anything but boring. I started my week by attending the conference of the Korean Economic Association and saw this as a great opportunity to be introduced to my new colleagues. I did get to bow and shake hands with many people including…
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When “yes” means “no” in Korean
If you like watching Korean tv shows, and if you prefer to do so with subtitles, you’ll often find that the Korean word 네 (yes) is written as “no” in the subtitles. What the h… is going on!? Also, when speaking Korean, you may encounter conversations like this from time to time: A: 그럼 어제…
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Korea preparations
As of today there are only six weeks left before I board my Seoul-bound flight. In many ways this is the worst amount of time to have to wait for something. It’s so close that everybody around me keeps talking about it and asking me about my preparations; yet still so far away that I…
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Tips for improving your Korean speaking skills
Once again, I’ve reached a point where I feel that my Korean skills are developing a bit asymmetrically. I’m reading faster than ever, I understand most of what is being said around me as long as the topic isn’t too technical, and I generally feel quite comfortable with the language. So, what’s the problem? Lately,…
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Dealing with the language learning plateau
Any language learner familiar with the awesome comic Itchy Feet will probably at some point have seen the one about reaching Mt. Fluency. I feel like that all the time these days. In many ways I do feel fluent in Korean. I mean, I’m able to express myself in almost any situation and when listening I…
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Korean “self-respect”?
All Korean learners should be well aware of the many different levels of formality in the Korean language. There’s a big difference in how you say things depending on who you speak to or who you speak about. In fact, I have previously written a whole blog post about this particular Korean concept called 앞존법. In…
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Struggling with my passion and love for Korean
A week ago I accepted the most anxiety provoking challenge so far in my Korean learning history. Kindly (and adamantly) prompted by koreanlearner I signed up for a Korean speaking contest to be held at the end of October. According to the contest guidelines my speech must be 3-5 minutes long and cover the topic “To me Korean…
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Korean synonyms
On too many occasions I’ve had the great feeling of finally getting a good grasp of a Korean word, thinking to myself “Yes, this I understand! I’m sure I’ll be able to use this word correctly and understand it in both written and spoken Korean! Weee!” only to discover an hour later that a completely different word…
Sofie to Korea 