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Korean hand gestures
Koreans use their hands a lot when they speak, but their hand gestures differ significantly from what we know from Western culture. I have no idea why I never thought about writing about this before but in the past few weeks I have experienced all most of these hand gestures first hand (haha, lame pun intended),…
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Comedy in Korea
It’s nothing new that humor, comedy and what is generally considered funny is quite different from one culture to the next. Naturally, you’d then expect the Korean sense of humor to be quite different from Western humor, but honestly, I’ve come to realize that it’s a lot closer to what I consider Western humor than…
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My morning routine
I once heard someone calling mornings “the rudder of the day”, meaning that how you start your mornings will determine how your day will progress. The morning is the time where you lay out the heading that your day will follow. I’ve found this to be very true, and just like some people say that…
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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 you’ll necessarily need to be able to read them to get by in Korea, but because around 60-70% of all Korean words have a Hanja…
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Why KakaoTalk will eventually drive you mad
Warning: May contain large doses of sarcasm. Not to be taken 100% literally ๐ I consider myself a pretty modern, high-tech, new-world-embracing kinda gal. I’m all for new technology that now connects us to anyone anywhere at any time, and I have several apps installed on my phone for that exact purpose. Skype, Whatsapp, Line,…
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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 words indeed. Way too often I find myself buying books with the intention to read them, and then just letting them collect dust in my…
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Visiting home
I’m sure that all my readers know that I absolutely love living in Seoul. However, for all expatriates, no matter how intoxicatingly sweet you may find the drink, there will always be an ever so slightly bitter taste mixing with the exotic swirls of sweetness. Because no matter how wonderful the chosen home country may…
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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), and then we’ll see how far I’ll have come by the end of those 90 days. For me that’s until December 17. So, basically, I’ll…
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Awesome Korean slang expressions
I’ve started to become a regular guest at the Playground cafรฉ in Hongdae. (If you look through their facebook pics, you’ll see proof that I was there.) This cafรฉ 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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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…
Sofie to Korea 