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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Getting back on track with Japanese
As regular readers of my blog will know, I gave a pitiful attempt at learning Japanese in the fall. Then I got busy with my Korean studies at Sogang, and […]
It’s Buddha’s birthday – and I need a break
Not from the festivities that is, it’s absolutely amazing to see all the lanterns hanging everywhere in Seoul these days. So colorful and bright that it’s impossible not to feel […]
All work and no play…
As we know, there’s not a happy ending to that sentence. No matter how busy you are it’s so incredibly important that you allow yourself some time to relax by […]
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 […]
Big Bang is back!
This week, Korean boy band Big Bang released their new album, and two singles have already reached several million views on youtube. I’m a big fan of learning Korean through […]
Back to school
I’ve just finished my first week at Sogang University’s Korean level 5 program, and I thought I’d share my experiences with you. To summarize my first week in one word: […]
Entering Sogang Korean
As many of you know, Sogang University is famous for their excellent Korean language program. Their textbooks are sold worldwide, and I’ve heard several Korean learners praise the super-intense language […]
What makes you happy?
This may seem like a mundane question, but how often do you really think deeply about this? As we go about our lives, it happens much too often that we […]
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 […]
How I’m learning Japanese
As I mentioned in my previous post, I’ve taken on a 90 day Japanese learning challenge. I’m learning a little Japanese everyday (obviously in addition to my never-ending Korean studies), […]
A new language challenge
Several people in the language learning universe have inspired me to do a challenge, among them are my good friends Jeremy and Jonson from the Spongemind podcast. I’m obviously still […]
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 […]
