KoreanClass101.com Blog

As you many or may not know, I started studying Korean in February 2007, which means I’ve been studying now for less than 2 years. I have also studied by myself - I haven’t taken a proper class even once, nor have I even visited Korea. Usually, when people discover this, they are first amazed, then curious about my study method.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that I’m amazing or anything.. But my Korean is at a comfortable level, even in situations where speaking English is not an option. These situations are becoming more and more frequent recently, and I’m quite excited about it!

So, for this week’s blog, I’ve decided to attempt to write out my study regimen. I don’t do all of these things every day, and they are not all going to help everyone, but here are some things that have helped me immensely during my studying:

1. Koreanclass101.com: Obviously. You are already here, I’m assuming you already know the wealth of information that can be found at this website. I’ve been a listener since Keith was still hosting Survival Phrases. ^^ For me now, the only lessons that really challenge me are the advanced lessons, but I listen to all of them anyway - it is a very good review. Honestly, the more you hear how different words and grammatical structures are used, the more naturally they will come out in your conversations.

2. Arirang TV’s “Let’s Speak Korean” show: This is a 10 minute show that airs daily in Korea teaching a new phrase/grammar/vocabulary every day. There are a few hundred episodes on youtube - here is episode one, you can find the rest from there. I watched about 5 episodes a day and took notes until I had seen the whole season.

3. Klear’s Integrated Korean Book series: I just happened to find this at the local library, and it was pretty good. You can see it here but there are plenty of books that will help with grammar (I eventually went through several different books) - check your library and see what they’ve got.

4. Korean music and television: Since the very beginning, I have been listening to any Korean music I can get my hands on, and watching Korean t.v. even when I have no idea what’s going on. The more you hear natural Korean, even if you don’t understand everything, the more natural your pronunciation will be, and the more you’ll understand how things are used in natural conversation. I listen to Korean talk radio as well.. Listen as much as you can! If you need suggestions or help finding shows, let me know ^^

5. Naver’s Korean/English dictionary: Can be found here. You can search in English or Korean, and it will usually give you the correct word even if you aren’t sure of the dictionary form. It is not a translator, it is for looking up single words. I never trust an online translator.. (:

6. Skype. I am on skype every day, chatting in Korean. Chatting with someone who doesn’t speak english is even better because they type fast, so you are forced to read fast to keep up, and you HAVE to reply in Korean. My ID is: holdfastemily. I would be happy to talk to all of you, and help in any way I can!

7. Friends and Language Exchange. Having people you can actually interact with and talk to is really important. I have a ton of Korean friends now who will talk to me in Korean and correct me and answer questions. I also have friends who I meet with specifically for Language Exchange - they need English help, I need Korean help, so instead of paying for tutors, we study together. If you can meet up with someone who doesn’t speak English (or who won’t let you speak english - that works too) that’s even better. For me, I need to be in situations where I HAVE to speak Korean, or it’s too easy just to speak English..

8. Reading and translating: More recently I’ve been reading a lot in Korean - blogs and websites and books.. I will read through and look up the words I don’t know, then read through again to get the whole meaning. Lately I’ve been reading Harry Potter.. I have also been trying to translate short things into natural sounding English. My most latest project has been trying to translate Super Junior members’ Cyworld entries for other fans.. ㅋㅋㅋㅋ This has increased my vocabulary and my reading speed by a lot!

And here’s the big one:

9. Get involved in the Korean community. For me, that has been Korean church. I know that this won’t work for everyone, but if it can, it’s amazing. Right now, my whole weekend is spent speaking mostly Korean: Friday night is Korean bible study, Saturday is Korean choir practice, Sunday is Korean church. And I usually hang out with friends from church afterwards. If church doesn’t work for you, try to find some kind of Korean activity you can become involved with - ask your friends! Try to get involved in a situation where people are discussing something in Korean and you are expected to participate as well. This can be quite daunting, but don’t get discouraged! It was not easy for me to become involved with the Korean church, and there are still people who are wondering what the heck I’m doing there, but once people meet me and realize that I understand what is going on, they are usually excited to have me there. I also have my core group of friends there who understand me and understand my intentions, so that has made it much easier.

This is by no means a comprehensive list.. But my general rule is this: listen, speak, and read as much as possible. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, people are generally understanding. And most of all, don’t get discouraged if you can’t understand everything. It takes time, but you won’t get better if you don’t get in over your head a little bit and just try! Then ask questions, and ask more questions (and take notes always!). If you go into any situation ready to learn, you surely will!

I would be happy to answer any further questions! Add me on Skype or comment here!

Visa regulations.

Ever changing and always with controversy it seems.

I should point out that to apply for a visa to go to Korea, one must go through their local Korean consulate. The three most common reasons to visit Korea are for traveling (tourist), teaching (English), and business (international). For this blog entry, we will focus on the first one. Next week will focus on the E-2 teaching visa. Visa application information changes somewhat frequently so it’s important to check with official online resources prior to making plans. This post is intended to provide an overview from a strikingly handsome American citizen’s point of view.
Below is a breakdown of the tourist (C-3 90-day) visa. Information was pulled from the Houston Consulate.

Visitors Visa [C-3]

    If you are a US citizen and are a tourist staying in Korea for less than 30 days no visa is required.

    If you are a US citizen and are applying for a visa to stay up to 90 days for tourism, visiting friends and/or relatives, goodwill match, events,conference, cultural art, training, religious ceremony or academic data-gathering you need to submit the following documents:

1. A signed US passport with remaining validity of at least 6 months and one blank visa page.
2. A completed and signed Application for visa 
3. A recent passport color photo (2″x2″ ) attached on the application form
4. $45.00 Visa Processing Fee. All fees can be paid by Cash or Money Order.  All Money Orders should be made payable to The Korean Consulate.
5. If you are applying by mail you will have to include a prepaid postage return envelope (USPS Express mail, Fedex or similar kind of overnight mail) with complete address for the passport to be returned.
6. If you are applying for tourism or visiting friends and/or relatives - A Flight itinerary or a copy of Round-trip Airline ticket lf you are applying for goodwill match, events, conference, cultural art, training, religious, ceremony, academic data-gathering - Original Documents proving the purpose of entry

• This office will not make copies, if you need original documents, please bring the original and one copy.
• This office is not responsible for the loss of any documents including passports.

Below is an index pulled from the Korean consulate website that details the required documentation for certain types of visa. Bolded items are a bit more applicable to KC101 students.
Diplomats (A-1)

Officials (A-2)

Agreement (A-3)

Temporary News Coverage (C-1)

Short-Term Business (C-2)

Short-Term Visitors (C-3) summer jobs, short-term Korean classes, extended travel

Culture/Art (D-1)

Students (D-2) full-time Korean university students

Industrial Trainees (D-3)

General Trainees (D-4)

Residence Reporters (D-5)

Religious workers (D-6)

Intracompany Transferees (D-7)

Treaty Investors (D-8 )

Treaty Traders (D-9)

Professors (E-1)

Teaching Foreign Languages (E-2) common teacher visa, position tied to visa

Research (E-3)

Instruction of Technology (E-4)

Specialty Occupation (E-5)

Art and Entertainment (E-6)

Particular Occupation (E-7)

Training Employment (E-8 )

Visiting& Joining Family(F-1) 

Residence(F-2-1) if spouse is Korean citizen

Dependent Families(F-3)

Korean Residents Abroad (F-4) for Korean decedents and adoptees

Permanent Residence (F-5-9) must be in Korea 5 years or hold F-2-1 for 2 years

UPDATE 1/09: More on student study visas.
Essentially, so long as you go to Korea for less than 30 days (the vast majority of tourist agendas) you’re fine. You won’t need any special visa, but you will need a valid passport and a return ticket (proof of round trip ticket or e-ticket is generally acceptable). But get ready for a seriously long flight. Mine was fourteen hours with no leg room.

I should point out that recently a big change in Korean visa regulations has occurred. Starting in late November, South Korean citizens can visit the United States for up to 90 days without any special visa requirements. Some are grumbling at the possible influx of illegal immigrants with fake passports; however, a new electronic passport system will also now be in place which will most likely curb such practices. Either way, this new law will encourage international exchanges within the two countries and speed up the other “for real” visa process for the rest of us. It also will save South Koreans the $110 visa application fee that they were previously required to pay. Below is a graphic organizer that shows the new step-by-step process for Korean citizens. The new application can be completed as soon as 72 hours prior to departure.

What are visa applications like for Korea in your home country (other than USA)? Anyone been to Korea with any special visa considerations?

Here’s a nice little international visa chart taken from everyone’s favorite punchline tourism campaign: Korea Sparkling. The first chart is for citizens who can travel to Korea visa-free while the second chart is for those citizens who can apply for a visa

Woah there Canada, 180 days? No fair.

Thoughts?

Hi, 현우 here.

Did you all have a nice weekend?
모두 주말 잘 보내셨어요?

I went to 경복궁 (Gyeongbok Palace)  with Michael, also a listener to KoreanClass101, who was with visiting from New Zealand for a few days before he starts studying in Korea next year, and also some other friends of mine.

We went to 용산 in the morning to see what’s new at the electronics market and then went to 경복궁 where we were supposed to meet up with my other friends. And we were REALLY lukcy - not only had the rain stopped just a few minutes before we entered the palace, but also this fantastic re-enactment of the wedding of 숙종임금 (King Sukjong: 1661 ~ 1720) and 인현왕후 (Queen Inhyeon: 1667 ~ 1701).

And here’s the video!

(It might be better if you watched it in high quality by clicking on the video and clicking on the ‘high quality’ button.)

Two funny facts - 1) even the cameramen are dressed in the traditional costumes. 2) look what they are using to balance the weight of the camera.

Michael ↑

and me ↓

And actually the first guard behind me was chewing gum!
And some of the food that we ate ↓

(Clockwise from left-top: (1) 비빔밥 (2) 파전 (3) 불고기 정식 (4) 돌솥비빔밥)

By now, we should all know that the Korean culture emphasizes the group over the individual. One of the ways we can see this is in the occurrence of MT: Membership Training. Don’t let the name fool you, there really isn’t any “training” involved. Let me explain…

Often, groups of people will go somewhere together overnight or for a weekend to get to know each other better. Usually this involves lots of games, food, alcohol, and bonding time, but lacks in sleep. ^^ This phenomenon is called MT (for whatever reason), and many groups of people will go: work groups, students, people who are going to be together for any length of time..

I am by no means an expert on this subject, but I have had the opportunity to attend two of these events, the most recent being last weekend. I’ll share a bit of my experience.

The situation was kind of intimidating, to be honest: Friday night I boarded a bus with a bunch of people I had never met, who don’t speak english, and we were off to who-knows-where to do who-knows-what! There were about 150 of us that ended up at a resort about 90 minutes from the city, and the weekend was amazing!

Both MTs I have been on have been with a Korean Church, so it was a little different than a work related MT (namely the lack of alcohol), but the effect was still the same. We played lots of games in groups: star golden bell style word games, passing a cookie down the line with a spoon and no hands, tug of war, and mafia, among others. We did other activities as a group too: hiking in the mountains, cooking and eating together, prayer and worship together (since it was a church MT), group presentations, and we even put on a “fashion show” contest to see which group could put together the most convincing cross-dressing boy. ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

What about the lack of English, you might be wondering? I was actually looking forward to it! The biggest deficiency in my Korean is in speaking, and last weekend forced me to do a lot of it! Of course there were other people who speak perfect English, but I didn’t want to make anyone speak English just for me. Sometimes I had to ask for clarification, but the majority of everything was in Korean!

The reaction of everyone else is worth noting as well. Gradually throughout the weekend people were realizing that I can actually speak and understand Korean, so more and more people started talking to me. Everyone was very surprised, as usual! I guess they thought I was someone’s friend who just came for fun? But by the end of the weekend I was like the mascot or something.. People made sure I was involved and that I understood everything and were happy to talk to me in Korean. ^^

I went into the weekend very nervous, feeling like I didn’t really fit in at the Korean Church I’ve been attending, and not having any friends there. I came home with a ton of friends, and a sense of belonging. I think that is the point of MT. ^^

Anyone else have any experiences with MT?

Not music related, but today I wanted to talk about somethng else: MapleStory! MapleStory is a MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) created by South Korean gaming company Wizet back in 2003. Free to download and totally free to play (though you can spend real-life cash to get special items to alter your appearance and to enhance gameplay), MapleStory soon expanded, creating versions for players of other countries - typically, IP address forces you to play a specific version of MapleStory, although it seems the only restriction on KoreaMS is having a KSSN. So if you live in Japan you can’t play GlobalMS, and if you live in America you can’t play EuropeMS, etc. Each version has certain things that are exclusive to it, be it specifically themed holidays or certain worlds/towns, although all versions do share most of the same basic worlds, maps, monsters and quests. There is currently 11 versions of MapleStory: Korea, Japan, China, Global (but really North America), South East Asia (MapleSEA), Taiwan, Thailand, Europe, HongKong, Brazil, Vietnam, and apparently there’s plans for India and South West Africa (MapleSWA) versions. According to Wiki, there’s something like 50 million player accounts in total.

MapleStory is adorable, and looks almost like it’s geared towards young players - it’s 2D, side-scrolling, cartoon/anime kind of character design with the monsters being giantic mushrooms, smiling green slime blobs, angry pigs, snails and walking tree stumps - but it’s not. It has all the same features of your typical MMORPG - quests that grow increasingly hard, monsters that get pretty freaky, a variety of different character types to choose from (archer, swordsman, thief, magician), and a stat/skill point system that most MMORPG players will be familiar with. Your stats/skills and the type of points you put into them with each level up depends on what character type you have, and what further sub-type you want further down the track, with each character type branching off into 2 or 3 different directions at Level 30, and then again further on in the game. Mess up some stats or put your skill points into the wrong skills, and you run the risk of having a character that will be at an incredible disadvantage further on in the game.

My bestfriend and I started playing MapleStory on the Global version about 2 years ago, maybe a bit more. We never really got very far because we’d keep quitting and then starting again with a new character a few months later, over and over again haha. We had to switch to the Europe version several months ago, and once again ended up quitting, but about a week or two ago we started again and decided that we would get further this time and not start over next time we get bored with it XD

MapleStory is so incredibly addictive. It involves quite a lot of grinding (killing the same type of monsters over and over again, either because you need to kill a certain amount of them for a quest, or you need the items they drop), but really most MMORPGs involve that. There’s a lot of different stuff though on there too, quests that have you going from one town to another to get this or that, or the infuriating jump quests, and there’s even mini games you can play if you get the right items, like Omok, or matching cards.

If you can justify spending some real-life cash, you can purchase NX Cash on the MapleStory version sites, and use the MapleStory Cash Shop in-game. You can buy clothes, accessories like wings or cat ears, weapons that don’t give you any added stats but mask the currently equipped weapon, effects that follow you (like rainbows or dark, roiling shadows), rings to exchange with your crush or friend that create an effect when you stand near each other, and my favourite of all: PETS! Your pet follows you around, and you can equip them with other items (more NX Cash to spend) so that they pick up the items dropped by monsters you’ve killed or other things, and once your pet has reached a certain level you can start talking to it and giving it commands (like sit, stand, poop - yes, poop!), and for moar NX Cash you can buy a nametag and give it a name. Most items you buy from the Cash Shop though only last 3 months. Having said that though, the NX Cash isn’t TOO expensive - considering, for example, you have to pay like $15us PER MONTH to even be able to PLAY World of Warcraft, or games like Rappelz (also originally Korean, created by nFlavor) that suffer from massively overcrowded free servers but have special, less crowded servers for the players who pay money to get in.

This is my character, Jinjja, currently a level 23 swordsman, and that’s my pet, a Jr. Reaper. XD

I really do recommend anyone who’s got some spare time to give this game a shot XD It’s so fun, I love it! You can check out the official website here: www.maplestory.com . If any of you play on Europe, give me a poke! You can find me on the Kradia server, in the English 2 channel.

Copyright infringement.

Intellectual property rights. In a sentence? They don’t exist.

Koreans have historically done an exceptional job at innovation. Throughout the well-documented portion of Korea’s ancient history lies a common theme: Koreans can do it, and they can do it better than you. Let’s take a look at the first portion of that theme.

This train of thought can be likened to America’s “inalienable rights” creed. We feel that things like religion and self-expression are rights that no one entity owns - therefore we take personal ownership of our own religion and thoughts. I feel that it is one aspect that makes Americans so individualistic. This “nobody owns that right” thought can be applied to innovation for Koreans. They aren’t stealing an idea just for the same of hording. They borrow and idea to make it faster, cheaper, and more readily available. Think of it as file-sharing for thoughts

Take designer clothes. There are huge corporations who make decent money on trademarked logos and mascots such as Disney. Disney-branded clothing is fairly expensive all things considered. I mean, it’s just a T-shirt. But it has the lovable cartoon character on it that has international recognition. Thus enters trademarking. Essentially, you can’t reproduce an image with Snow White unless you have explicit permission from Disney. After you obtain such permission, a portion of your profits go back to Disney for the right to produce such merchandise.

So what if you cut out the middleman? Make your own T-shirt and sell it for cheaper than the official stuff? Sounds like a financially sound plan, doesn’t it? Unfortunately it’s also unethical.

However, Korean clothing stores are flooded by such counterfeit goods. So much so that one has to wonder if the “real” stuff is anywhere to be found even if you wanted it. Let’s take a look at how things got like this.

Take music for example. In America, we download music legally from online vendors such as Apple’s iTunes. Some music is DRM-bound while others are DRM-free. DRM was created in the first place to curb piracy (remember Shawn Fanning and Napster?) but an unfortunate side effect from such anti-piracy measures was in fact more piracy from tech-savvy consumers while law-abiding consumers are treated like criminals when they want to transfer music to another location. This progression is even more exaggerated within the PC gaming community - so much so that publishers are inventing quite restrictive and mind-boggling ways to curb privacy - all with diminishing levels of success (secuROM anyone?).

Well just like anti-smoking campaigns, Americans are told that piracy is a crime and that self-regulation is needed to help keep the cost of production down (think of Piracy: It’s a Crime messages that play at the beginning of new DVDs). Most consumers are happy to follow legal routes of media consumption out of either 1) fear or 2) personal ethics.

In Korea, such campaigns don’t exist. In fact, such explicit instructions sort of don’t exist either - especially for the younger generation. Downloading “free” Korean music is insanely easy on Korean language blogs. When I asked a friend if they had a certain movie, she promptly downloaded the movie guilt-free and price-free. When I asked her if she knew that it was illegal in America do such things, she responded, “Why?”

It goes back to the inalienable rights. “It’s my right to listen to this song and watch this movie by any means necessary.” This might not be the explicit thought of those who do so, but either way it doesn’t sit well with me. Then again, I’m coming from a different angle. I’d wager that most haven’t even taken a close look at the ramifications of downloading music free-of-charge. But I wonder… are we just in a temporary flux when legal actions haven’t been set in place yet?

I think back to my grandmother telling me when cigarettes were first marketed no one was informed of any health risks involved. Is this the same type of scenario? Is Korea close behind America in terms of educating consumers but just not there yet? Such a campaign was enacted for Haansoft - the Korean Microsoft - makers of proprietary Korean word processing software. By the end of 2002, Haansoft was on the verge of bankruptcy due to rampant piracy from their new office suite. They innovated their business plan and adapted to their problem, but they were lucky. Illegal replication of their product almost drove them to the point where they couldn’t even sustain themselves let alone improve on the product that so many people were using and enjoying.

So it begs the question - do such anti-piracy measures exist in Korea? Is there an organization who enforces such copyright infringements? How do Korean companies like SM and JYPe pay their artists if their isn’t a system set in place for legal digital purchases? Do they recoup their losses from live performances alone? What about all the time and money spent in the studio? Maybe they look like rockstars but don’t get paid like rockstars? What about filmmakers? Do they get anything from movie theater sales? What do DVD sales look like in Korea? I would love to support my favorite artists and filmmakers as their art is a job. I mean, they gotta eat, too… but how would go about supporting them legally?

Thoughts?

Hi. Hyunwoo here. (안녕하세요. 현우예요!)

I know some of you have already seen this video ^^ but I want to share it with more people, so I’m posting it here, too.  (이 비디오 이미 보신 분들도 있겠지만, 더 많은 사람들과 나누고 싶어서, 여기에도 올려요.)

Hope you’ll enjoy it! (재미있게 보시길 바래요!)

Two weeks ago I was on my way to my favorite Korean restaurant in all of NYC just like any other Saturday, but as I was approaching K-town, I could tell something was going on. When I got there, I was happy to discover that I had accidentally walked into the middle of a Korean festival!

The entire block was shut down with booths and food vendors lining each side, and multitudes of people crowding up and down. I took a stroll down each side, checked out the contents of each booth, got run over by a few 아줌마들.. You know, the usual things that happen at these events.. There were so many food options that I had a hard time deciding, but eventually settled on 오뎅 떡볶이. I was a little disappointed in my selection, but it must have just been the place I ordered it from - usually 떡볶이 is pretty tasty!

At the far end of the block, there was a huge stage set up. They had different events throughout the day, including, you guessed it.. a karaoke contest. It was actually quite amusing to watch - the singers were selected beforehand and were all quite talented, but I still have to laugh a bit at the idea of someone singing a Wondergirls’ song on a stage in the middle of the street.. in the middle of the day.. in central Manhattan. There were a few curious and slightly bemused random office people wandering by. ^^

At the entrance to the festival was another highlight: traditional Korean drums. I would estimate that there were at least 50 people in traditional clothing sitting on the sidewalk playing the drums, and it happened fairly continuously while I was there. I do not know much about Korean drums, but it was really awesome to watch! There were also musicians walking up and down the festival. I took a short video:

It was a very fun yet unexpected experience!

Thanks everyone who commented on my previous post, I really enjoyed hearing about what you guys like ^^

I’ve talked about him before some time ago, but today this post is going to be about 비 again, because he’s just released his 5집 and although I know a few of you don’t like him, I’m a big fan and really happy! It’s been 2 years, almost to the day, since he last released an album, which was his 4집 Rain’s World, with singles like I’m Coming, 내가 누웠던 침대 (In My Bed) and With U.

In the 2 years since then, 비’s gone through a lot of changes in his career. He attempted a world tour that was mostly cancelled due to bad management, and when his contract with JYP Entertainment expired he chose to not ignore it - something that recieved a lot of mixed reaction, mostly because JYP Entertainment was safe, while striking out on his own left a lot of question marks.

But I believe striking out on his own was one of the best things that 비 could possibly have done. It gave him the freedom to do what he wanted - which was spending some time as an actor and working on his English. He had the role of Taejo Togokahn in Speed Racer, and while Speed Racer didn’t do too well it at least got plenty of attention (and I really enjoyed it, so shhh XD). 비 then landed himself a role in Ninja Assassin, which should be released in January. His role in Ninja Assassin is considerably bigger - he’s one of the male leads, the assassin Raizo. And it roles like this that show that 비 isn’t just a pretty face. He went through extensive physical and martial arts training so that he could do the fight scenes himself, and you’ll see some of the training if you watch the MBC Special Documentary that showed what he’s been doing for the past year. You can watch it here: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6.

And now 비 is back, as a singer, with his first album since he left JYP Entertainment. I can’t really put my finger on what it is that’s different about this album to his others, it’s still his usual R&B style but there is something about it that feels different, something that I like a lot.

I hope that this album does well! And I hope that Ninja Assassin does better than Speed Racer does - but everyone likes a ninja movie, right? XD

The first single (digital single, I think it was?) from Rainism was Love Story, and while MV’s story is rather predictable and typical, it’s worth watching at least the start of it just to see 비 being a total moron, poking himself in the eye with his glasses among other things XD You can watch the MV here.

And even better than that, is the super hot Rainism trailer. I hope this is coming out as a full MV soon. It looks so cool!

Korean Dramas.

They’re here. Get used to them.

These television shows are comparable to primetime television programming in America (think Grey’s Anatomy or Heroes). These Korean series bear little resemblance to what we refer to as “daytime” television. The production format is closer to a “miniseries” (think Band of Brothers or Lonesome Dove). However, when westerners hear the term “K-drama” or “soap opera” we instantly think of cheesy dialogue, unnecessarily long pauses, overacting, unrealistically overdone characters, and untimely bizarre deaths (think General Hospital or The Young and the Restless or your dramatic cousin on your dad’s side). While the Korean equivalents certainly share some of the surface level similarities, there is much difference to be found.

Korean soap operas are so big that they are hard to ignore. When I say big, I mean it in every way. Big drama, big secrets, and especially big budget. I liken them to a perpetual Superbowl game playing on all channels. It’s hard to ignore. If you didn’t like them before, you like them now. Admit it.

See? Doesn’t that feel good? No? Dirty? Yes, of course.

Come on. I’m from Texas. You may see a grown man cry once in a blue moon but you sure won’t see him watching a soap opera anytime soon. With Korean dramas though, they are insidious. Infectious. Just watch one episode. No biggie. Your buddy said it was a good show, right? And he can drink his weight in 소주…Of course at that point, I convince myself that it is all in the name of learning the language. Yeah, so really, it’s like homework. I mean, that’s not wrong at all, right? Just doing some homework?

Actually, in that regard, many dramas fill in that role nicely. The dialogue is close to natural, the dialect is usually standard, and common speech is used frequently. Whereas if an ELL (English Language Learner) were to imitate the speech used in Prison Break…not so effective. Some Korean dramas even go so far as to be quite deliberate in their speech that it’s hard not to pick up at least some of the language.

Truth be told, not all are fantastic. They can run the risk of dreadful predictability and the use of rehashed, overused themes. However, some challenge social norms and break the mold of what a television show should entail. Some entertain while others educate. Some take modern settings while others assume alternative realities. Some are a showcase for dialects and subcultures. In addition, a plethora of historical-based dramas are arguable in their own category by themselves let alone seeped in Korea’s surprisingly saucy history.

Oh and make no mistake, you will cry. Oh yes. There will be tears.

One particular difference in these shows is the demographic viewing audience. Typically, American soap operas are viewed by non-working or stay-at-home homebodies. It’s also fair to point out the majority of the viewers are older women. Korean soap operas are viewed by people of all ages, gender, and class. Working class people watch them, but so do white-collar business people. And apparently so do young twenty-somethings from America

It’s also interesting to point out the group factor in watching Korean dramas. When seemingly unrelated people sit around and watch the same show, they now share something in common. This reminds me of an ancient form of online blogs and forums. Really! Think about it. I dropped by a nice little 목욕탕 to find the group room filled with locals all in an awed hush over the K-drama playing on the television screen. If you want something in common, try all hating all the same spoiled brat on the screen. Add into that formula a natural group-centered culture such as the one found in Korea and you have a recipe for K-drama addiction. The poorly taken photo below doesn’t show the fury that was in the room. We were all watching the same spicy program. The funny part is that there were people that I could have sworn were sleeping, but they would react when something shocking would happen in the plot. A sort of “He said what?!” reaction.

Likely, everyone who has professed an interest in K-dramas are especially fond of their first show they watched. Like many other foreigners, mine was Full House. Furthermore, many students of the Korean language have openly admitted that it is because of Korean dramas that initially sparked their interest in the language and culture. Can you imagine KBS producing shows with the unintentional side effect of being a sort of diplomatic representative showcase for a whole culture? The ramifications of 비’s poor acting are quite profound now that I think about it…

Thoughts?