Korea has elected a new president
Yesterday was the presidential election day in South Korea and the past few weeks had indicated that it would be a tight race between the two main contestants – Lee […]
Awesome (and free) listening resources for advanced Korean learners
I’m a big fan of YouTube. You can find almost any kind of content there in any language you want. That’s why I highly recommend Korean learners of all levels […]
Korean debate patterns
A skill which truly indicates that one is fluent in a foreign language is the ability to debate in that language. When I was studying at Sogang university, the top […]
A sigh of relief
I’m sure the whole world watched the final days of the American election with tension and anxiety and breathed a sigh of relief when it became crystal clear on Saturday […]
Plans are made to be changed
So, a few weeks ago I shared on this blog that I had signed up for the TOPIK test in London in November and added that it might very well […]
How to start learning Korean
I’m frequently asked how best to learn Korean and how difficult it is to learn, so I thought I’d post a quick Q&A for all of you who may be […]
How to suck at things in Korean
My Korean vocabulary was expanded recently when I learned the word 음치(eum-chi) meaning tone-deaf. I started thinking whether there was a connection because I once learned the word 길치 (kil-chi) […]
Back to school (…again)
This semester I thought I’d take advantage of having access to unlimited learning since I’m working at a university, so I decided to contact one of the teachers responsible for […]
The Korean national anthem
Wow, it apparently took me almost two weeks of 2018 before I finally got around to updating my blog. Happy (very belated) new year. I also just realized that I […]
End of the year traditions in Korea
While Christmas is stealing the picture everywhere in Korea with Christmas trees, Christmas music and Christmas gift sets all over, it has limited significance to the Koreans. Those who identify […]
Book review: Your First Hanja Guide
Regular readers of my blog will know that I’m a strong advocate of learning basic Chinese characters (called Hanja in Korean) if you are serious about learning Korean. Not because […]
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 […]
My Korean church experience
Many people are surprised when they learn that Korea has come to be a predominantly Christian country. Traditionally, Koreans were Buddhists but over the past decades, an increasing number of […]
Korean unlocked
To many foreigners, learning Korean vocabulary may be an overwhelming task. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be. As most Korean learners know, the majority of all […]
Same but different
When I was a child, I could easily spend 90 minutes watching a Disney movie just to rewind the tape and watch the same thing all over again. With a child’s […]
One-minute Korean
While I sure recommend that you spend more than just one minute per day when you’re learning Korean, there’s a certain satisfaction in cramming a short and effective Korean lesson into your […]
Sofie to Korea 