KoreanClass101.com Blog

Last week I wrote about the Korean experiences I had during my first week here in NYC. It’s been another week, and I’ve had many more experiences that I can share! Here we go..

First, I went to the larger Korea Town area in Flushing Queens last Saturday for a few hours. It was just me and my trusty map (in Korean, no less) and the 7 train.. As soon as I stepped out of the subway station it was like I had gone to Korea instead. All of the signs were in Korean, everyone was speaking Korean; It was much more “Korean” than the area in Manhattan.

There were quite a few amazing shops that I found - a few bookstores, The Face Shop (it’s the Korean version of The Body Shop, basically), and a little novelty store called Magic Castle. For the most part, however, I found that most of the store owners were very uneasy when I went into their shops, some of them even following me around or basically telling me to leave. One store in particular was the worst, one lady was following me around and when I tried to buy something the girl at the counter was very blatantly rude to me. After that encounter, I was very discouraged and just got on the train back to Manhattan..

Now, I’m definitely not saying all of the shops or people in Flushing were like this. This was the first time I had ever experienced anything like this from Korean people. I thought perhaps I had done something wrong, or perhaps there was some sort of etiquette that I wasn’t aware of..

In my search for revelation on the subject, Keith offered me some insight. He told me that many Korean immigrants in Queens had to really fight to succeed in order to establish a community in that area. So, there may still be people who have the mindset that they need to be “on guard” towards Americans or other immigrants. So basically, what I experienced was not really a “Korean” thing, but a “people holding on to their survival mindset” thing.

This makes sense. I think it really explains the experience that I had: it explains why it was generally older people who seemed to have a problem with me but people my age were generally very friendly. It also explains why I haven’t had this experience in Korean shops in Manhattan. So, thanks Keith! (And I hope you don’t mind me quoting you..)

And there have been many experiences since then, including: Onnuri Korean Church, eating 샤브샤브 for the first time, attempting to buy Brian concert tickets (from fly to the sky), and making some Korean friends…. But it is just too much for one post! However, I did write about making 김치찌개 in the forum if you want to read about that.. I’ll be back next week with more stories.

Has anyone else ever had an experience like I did this week? Do you have any other insight about what might have happened?

Well, I’ve made it safely to New York City! I have been here for less than a week and have only made it to the city 3 times (I live just across the river in NJ) but I have already had some awesome Korean experiences I’d like to share.

First, Korea Way. There’s a block of Korean shops and restaurants in Manhattan (W 32nd St between 5th and 6th Aves). It is pretty small, and mostly consists of restaruants, but it is undeniably Korean. One minute you’re walking towards Times Square from Macy’s, then you turn the corner and it’s like you’ve gone to Korea. All the signs are in Korean, most of the people are speaking Korean - It’s fairly awe-inspiring.

There is one restaurant on Korea Way that I particularly enjoy called 우리 집 (woori jip). All of the food is amazing (try the fresh 김치) and it is pre-packaged, so you can eat it there at one of the tables, or you can take it with you. And, it’s cheap! I also saw a bookstore on Korea Way, but every time I’ve been there it has been closed, so I really need to go into the city earlier. ^^

Second, there are so many Korean speaking people everywhere in the city! While I was walking around Saturday night with a friend of mine, probably one of every ten groups of people I passed by were Korean. It was actually kind of fun - walking down the street and understanding what people were saying!

Also, that night while waiting for the bus there was a very interesting group of people behind us. Two of the people were speaking Korean to eachother, but they were all speaking very labored english as a group. After that, it seemed like the girl was teaching the other guys Korean words, and then I thought I heard some Chinese as well. Being new to New York, I thought they would think I was crazy if I tried to talk to them, but I had already been eavesdropping, so I thought I would say hello. It turns out they are all college students - two from Korea, one from Japan, one from China. I ended up talking to them (in all of those languages, and english) for about 30 minutes, and the girl and I exchanged contact info. Not bad for my first day in the city!

I went back into the city last night and while waiting for the bus again there was an older couple that looked a little bit lost. I heard them speaking Korean to eachother, trying to figure out which bus they needed to take. I went over without hesitation and asked 어디에 가려고 해요? The woman answered before she looked up at me, and only looked slightly surprised once she realized I am not Korean. In the end, I didn’t know how to get where they were going so I wasn’t able to help them, but they seemed grateful that I tried.

So I have not been to NYC for a week and I have had more Korean experiences that I had in a year in Nashville. I am excited to see what else I can find! I plan to go to the larger Korea Town area in Queens on Saturday. I’ll make sure to take more pictures and give another update!

(sorry the pictures are not great, my camera wasn’t working properly)

안녕하세요. 현우예요. Hi. I’m Hyunwoo.

Are you all following the Olympic matches(경기)? What is your favorite(가장 좋아하는) sport? I love watching all kinds of sport matches, but my favorite is gymnastics(체조)!! So if you have a favorite sport match that you never want to miss on TV during the Olympic Games period, here’s the list of the 28 major match names in English and Korean.

___________________________________________

• Modern Pentathlon = 근대5종 (geundae o jong)
• Basketball = 농구 (nong gu)
• Wrestling = 레슬링 (re seul ling)
• Volleyball = 배구 (bae gu)
• Badminton = 배드민턴 (bae deu min teon)
• Boxing = 복싱 (bok sing)
• Shooting = 사격 (sa gyeok)
• Cycling = 사이클 (sa i keul)
• Softball = 소프트볼 (so peu teu bol)
• Swimming = 수영 (su yeong)
• Equestrian = 승마 (seung ma)
• Baseball = 야구 (ya gu)
• Archery = 양궁 (yang gung)
• Weightlifling = 역도 (yeok do)
• Judo = 유도 (yu do)
• Sailing = 요트 (yoteu)
• Track and Field = 육상 (yuk sang)
• Rowing = 조정 (jo jeong)
• Gymnastics artistic = 체조 (che jo)
• Football = 축구 (chuk gu)
• Canoe = 카누 (ka nu)
• Table Tennis = 탁구 (tak gu)
• Taekwondo = 태권도 (tae gwon do)
• Tennis = 테니스 (teniseu)
• Triathlon = 트라이애슬론 (teu rai i ae seul lon)
• Fencing = 펜싱 (pen sing)
• Hockey = 하키 (ha ki)
• Handball = 핸드볼 (haen deu bol)

As you can assume, -구 means - ball, and -도 means - art (as in martial art).

___________________________________________

For those of you who know all the words above and want to know some more specific terms, please leave your request in the comment. And like I said, I LOVE the gymnastics games, so here’s a list of the match names in gymnastics. ^_^

• Floor Exercises = 마루운동
• Horizontal bar = 철봉운동
• Rings = 링운동
• Pommel horse = 안마
• Parallel bars = 평행봉
• Uneven bars = 2단평행봉
• Balance beam = 평균대
• Vault = 도마
• Gymnastics rhythmic = 리듬체조
• Trampoline = 트램펄린체조
• High Jump = 높이뛰기
• Long jump/Broad jump = 멀리뛰기/넓이뛰기
• Javeline = 창던지기

I hope this helps! Thanks for reading! ^^

안녕하세요! 현우예요.

We’re all here to learn Korean, and we already know the language, but here’s some more tip on the words themselves that we use to refer to ‘the Korean language’ ^^ As you know, the Korean language is called ‘한국어(han gu geo)’ or ‘한국말(han guk mal)’.

Both the words ‘한국어’ and ‘한국말’ are composed of two meaning blocks : Korean + language.

어, which can be written in the Chinese character 語, means “language”, and 말, which is a native Korean word, also means “language”. So basically 한국어 and 한국말 are the same meaning, but I’d say 한국어 is a little more formal word while 한국말 is a more colloquial word.

‘어’ can be found in many other language names, but ‘말’ is not so commonly used other than in the word ‘한국말’ or ‘우리말(uri mal - ‘our language’, which is a word that Korean people use to mean ‘Korean’).

Here are some examples:

• English = 영어
• Chinese = 중국어
• Japanese = 일본어
• Arabic = 아랍어
• Spanish = 스페인어
• French =  프랑스어
• Latin = 라틴어
• Russian = 러시아어

‘말’, however, is a native Korean word, so it’s used much more commonly in everyday conversations. And in this case,말 also has the meaning of “words” and “what one says” as well as “language”.

For example,  (the following sentences are all in the intimate politeness level)

• 내 말 안 들려? = Can’t you hear me?
• 말 조심해. = Watch your language.
• 내 말 무시하지 마. = Don’t ignore what I’m saying.
• 말이 씨(seed)가 되는 거야. = Your careless words might turn into reality.
• 그런 말 하지마. = Don’t say such a thing.
• 무슨 말이야? = What do you mean?

I hope those sample sentences are helpful, and in conclusion, 한국어 and 한국말 are the same thing, but 어 is a dependant Chinese-character-based letter to mean ‘language’, and 말 is a word of a wider variety of meanings. ^^

Thank you for reading!

All of my students know that I am leaving during summer vacation, and that next semester there will be a new English teacher.  And although theorhetically, they have all been told I’m not leaving until the end of August, NOT all of them really grasped that part.

This week I am in the middle of a 10-day English day camp for 4th and 5th graders.  There are all sorts of programs going on at school, so kids are in and out all day long.  If you are a Korean student, there really is no such thing as summer vacation.  One of my students told me that he wasn’t looking forward to it because even though he wouldn’t have to go to school, his mother would make him attend 학원 all day long now.

Anyway, one little girl in 1st grade saw me at school the other day.  And she screamed across the room:

“아직 안 갔지!?”
You haven’t left yet?

Adept readers will notice that that sentene is about as deep in 반말 as it could be. Most of the time, my students speak with apporiate politeness when they use Korean. If they use 반말 it is never to be intentionally disrespectful, but instead because of 4 reasons. 1) They are just joking, 2) They don’t really see me as a “선생님” (probably because I am just the silly English Teacher) and they are trying to build a more friendly relationship. 3) They are still learning how to use Korean correctly.  4) They think they can get away with it.

Anyway, I usually don’t let them get away with it. And since what she said was about as rude as it could be, I was NOT going to let this little girl slide. So after she screamed “아직 안 갔지” she ran over towards me to presumably hug me or continue this conversation. She hit a brick wall:

Austin: “너 이리 와…다시 말해봐” (Get over here…try to say that again)
(that is my standard phrase to make a kid use 존댓말.  The nuance is that the kid said something wrong and should fix it.)

Bratty girl: “니가 안 갔어?” (You didn’t go?)
Austin: “뭐래? 다시 말 해봐..디시!” (What did you say? Say it again…again!)
Bratty girl: “언제 가?” (When are you going?)
Austin: “그 건 뭐야? 어? 안 갔어 뭐야? 아직 안 갔지 뭐야? 내가 선생님이라서 니가 그렇게 말했냐?” (What is that? Huh? You didn’t go? You haven’t left yet? I am a teacher, and you speak to me like that?!”
Bratty girl just looks at me with this really confused and bewildered expression.
Austin: “다시 말 해봐…이렇게…선생님 언제 가세요?” (Try again, like this: Teacher, when are you leaving?)
Bratty girl (in a very small, timid voice): “선..생..님…언제…가…세…요…?
Austin: “오! 언제 가냐고? 8월 21일에 갈 거야! 그래 아직 안 갔어” (Oh! When am I leaving? I’m leaving August 21. You’re right I haven’t left yet.)

It is difficult to express the difference between sentences like:

아직 안 갔지? and 언제 가

with

아직 안 가셨어요? and 언제 가세요?

While there are (dis)repsectful ways of seaking in English, it does not map to the speech levels in Korean. Suffuce it to say that his girl was being really “impolite.” I use quotes because I’m about 80% sure this particular student has some sort of learning disability which might offer some explanation as to why I had such difficulty getting her to correct her mistake. Still, I think there is little excuse for it and if she is having similar problems when adressing older Koreans, she MUST learn to speak properly.

Now, I want to go back to the fouth reason I suspect kids might use 반말 with me; they think they can get away with it. This comes courtesy of 현우. I was talking with him a week or so ago, and shared some stories of students using 반말 towards me. His theory is that kids see it as an “escape” from the very rigid rules of their linguistic culture. 99% of students wouldn’t even DREAM of speaking to their Korean teacher like that. The concept doesn’t even register. But because I am a foreigner, I fall outside of the rigid social mores. Surely the consequences for using 반말 or trying to give me a 똥침 are going to be much less severe than the extremely unlikely scenario of either of those happening to a Korean teacher.

Now, I can see perhaps two ways to react. First, I sort of like the idea of allowing kids some chance to get a “release” from the “stress” and “constraints” of their culture. It’s part of the reason I try very hard to make my English classes purely enjoyable and am happy even if they didn’t learn a whole lot, so long as they enjoyed the process.

However, I believe in reinforcing the rules and expectation that Korean culture places on them. They should not get in the habit of using 반말 with adults.  I don’t want to guilty of contributing to their confusion.

What would you do?

This past Saturday at my Korean Church we had a special event - a baby’s first birthday party.

In Korea, the baby’s first birthday party is very important, and one of the events at the birthday party is said to even foretell the baby’s future. This is called 돌잡이 (doljabi). Generally, many different things are spread out on a table, and the baby is encouraged to pick one of the things. The object that the baby picks is said to influence the baby’s future. Usually on the table is money (means the baby will be rich), rice (means he won’t go hungry), a pencil (means he will be scholarly), among other objects that all have a significance for his future.

At this particular 돌잡이 there was a debit card instead of cash (nobody had any! ㅋㅋ) and also rice, a pen, a book, and a few other things on the table. Everyone was telling the baby to pick the money, but in the end, he picked the book. I did not get to ask what that means, but I would assume it means something like the pencil - that he will be scholarly.

This was my first time experiencing a 돌잡이, and it was a fun experience! Have any of you been to a 돌잡이? Did anyone have a 돌잡이, and do you remember what you picked?

setting up the 돌잡이

shihoon picks a book

Sorry that I’ve been absent from the blog in recent weeks…but I am returning this week with a 2-part post for your translation pleasure.  My contract is finishing in less than 7 weeks, and I am leaving Korea.  Here is the text from the letter I wrote to half of my students.  The other half got slightly different, and simpler letters.

It was a really interesting experience.  As I was thinking about doing it, I was a little daunted by the Korean I would have to use.  I wasn’t sure I was up to the task.  I couldn’t decide if I should start in English because then I could get the right emotions out, and look for translation help, or if I should just try to write from scratch in Korean….I decided to give it a go starting in Korean.  I was really pleased with the results!  KClass team, you can claim as much credit as you want for increasing my fluency to this level !^^

I’ll post the translation after a few days.

6학년 1반 친구들에게,

이제는 거의 여름 방학이잖아요.  많이 기대했죠? 오늘은 우리 마지막 수업인데요. 그래서 하고 싶은 말 있어서 이 편지를 썼어요.  여러분 4학년 때 2006년 8월에 제가 한국에 도착했잖아요.  그전에는 외국에서 산 적이 없어서 내 생활은 너무 재미있게 됐어요.

우리 첫 번째 직접 만난 날 기억하세요?  저는 학생이 거의 600명 있으니까 별로 기억 안나요.  그렇지만 날마다 큰소리로 “Good Morning”으로 행복한 표정으로 인사 해준걸 항상 기억 할 게요.  여러분 덕분에 아침마다 환영 받은 느낌이었어요.

수업 할 때 한국어를 거의 절대로 말 안 했잖아요.  영어를 익숙하게 만들려 그렇게 했거든요. 원어민 선생님이 영어로만 말했으면 좋겠어요. 왜냐하면 그것이 여러분들이 더 잘 듣고, 말하는 연습을 하게 하니까요!  그렇지만 영어를 많이 공부하지 않았으면 좀 힘든 거 나도 잘 알아요.  여러분 열심히 공부해 줘서 감사합니다. 수업 시간이 별로 길지 않고 계획한 만큼 못 가르쳤는데 아쉬워요.  어쨌든 여러분한테 외국어 공부 하는 것이 얼마나 재미 주고 싶었어요.  다음 학기에 새로운 원어민 선생님 오신다면서요.  걱정 너무 하지 마요.  다른 외국인 만나는 건 좋을 것 같아요.  그 선생님에 대해서 아무 것도 모르지만 우리 성북 학생 여러분들은 너무 착해서 새로운 선생님이랑 잘 맞을 것 같아요.

올해 가을에 해외여행갈 계획인데요.  중미에서 스페인어도 배우고 싶어요.  그 다음에 대학원으로 입학 할거예요.  궁금하면 여행갈 때 내가 뭐 하는지 알 수 있도록 사진과 편지들 학교로 보내줄게요.  그리고 앞으로 연락 하고 싶으면 이메일 꼭 보내줘요!

앞으로 영어를 열심히 공부할 때 틀린 거 나오면 걱정 하지 마요.  연습 많이 하면 유창하게 말하는 거 꼭 배울 수 있습니다. 부지런히 계속 하면 영어는 점점 더욱 쉽게 될 수 있어요.

마지막으로 2년 동안 아주 재미있었고 보람 있었어요. 여러분과 시간 지내서 즐겁게 보냈어요. 한국은 집 같은 나라 됐어요. 우리 성북초등학교 선생님들과 학생들이 가족처럼 대해줬어요.  세월이 흐르면 다시 만나지도 모르고, 얼마 후에 한국에서 떠나지만, 마음속에서 추억 가지고 갈 거예요. 여러분을 잊지 않을게요. 노인이 되면 여러분 다정하게 기억 할 거 예요.

사랑해요 여러분,

Mr. D 선생님 올림

And lest you think that I am a bad English teacher for writing in Korean, rest assured they will get the English version printed with it!  But in reality, this letter is way over the heads of most student’s English ability….besides writing in Korean is a bit more fun anyway!

I have just returned from teaching english to 승진. The last few weeks I have been teaching him how to spell and write, and as a result he is also learning to read. I still don’t really think I know what I’m doing when it comes to teaching a 5 year old English, but he is doing really really well. He used to attend the pre-school where I work, but it’s been a few weeks, so the only time I see him is at his house on Wednesdays. During our lesson time I only speak to him in English now, because he is understanding well, and I no longer get a chance to speak to him in Korean at school (because he’s not there).

So, tonight, after our lesson he was playing with his brother as we were getting ready for dinner (which was amazing 김치 순재비 - it’s like kimchi noodle soup) he suddenly looks at me with a very confused expression on his face, and asks 근데 한국말 할 수 있어요? (can you speak korean?) to which i answered just 네 (yes). His mother and I both laughed at that and she quickly said 선생이 한국말 잘 해잖아~ 기억 하지? (your teacher speaks korean well, don’t you remember?)

Apparently he’s already forgotten that I used to speak to him in Korean all the time. Children do have short memory spans! He was excited though, and kept asking me all sorts of questions in Korean the rest of the night, though I answered him in English. For my sake, I wish I could only talk to him in Korean, but he really needs to hear proper English (since he is no longer in school and doesn’t have to speak English anymore).

Which brings me to my main point: I have found a Korean tutor for myself! He is a friend from Church who first asked me if I would help him with his English, but it turns out he wants to help me with my Korean. We have been meeting every week and he makes me speak Korean. Every other opportunity I have to speak Korean, I usually end up just speaking English because it is easier and people will still understand me. But he will ask me a question, and if I answer in English he will tell me to say what I just said in Korean. It has been the most helpful thing in all of my Korean studies: being in a situation where I have to speak Korean.

So, if you really want to practice your speaking and sentence forming skills, find someone who either a.) doesn’t speak English, or b.) will not let you speak English. You will be able to speak much better than you think you can if you have to speak Korean.

I hope everyone is having a good week! ^^

This will be a short entry because I am late for work. ^^

This last week I received my first phone call from Korea! I was on my lunch break at work, and my friend called me. It took me all of about two minutes to realize that she was completely drunk! I asked her what time it was and she said it was 3 a.m. I had forgotten about the time difference for a minute and thought it was hilarious that she was calling me drunk on my lunch break. It was even more funny when I went back in to work and told the other teachers “..Uh… I think I just got a drunk phone call.. From Korea…”

I talked to the same friend a few days later (sober this time) and she told me that she was upset about her wedding that is coming up next summer because her fiance’s father wants them to have a traditional Korean wedding. She kept saying, “I want to wear a wedding dress!!” But if the groom’s family wants a traditional wedding, they kind of have to do it that way. I asked her what a traditional wedding was like - she told me you have to wear hanbok and get married at a traditional palace and that it takes a long time. She didn’t tell me much else.

Has anyone here been to a traditional Korean wedding? Please, share your experience in the comments! Then maybe I can persuade my friend that it will not be so bad. She is very upset about it!

this past week, harrie/증진 (the boy i tutor) graduated from my preschool, and i will now only see him on wednesdays when i tutor him at his house. sad. i didn’t see him for a whole week and i was so excited on my way over to his house today, but when i got there, he was in an awful mood. he did not want to study, he did not want to play an english game, he did not want to read the book i brought with me, he kept saying “i no play you (i’m not playing with you),” and pouting. he even told me to shut up and called me stupid! his mom had to come over and talk to him, but he still didn’t listen to her. finally, he broke down completely sobbing and we had to stop for the day. after that he wouldn’t even eat dinner!

a little while later his 8 year old brother came home (harrie is 5) and he heard me and his mom talking about harrie’s behavior. he was so upset with harrie for acting like that toward me that he started yelling at him in korean and was threatening to hit him. their mom had to separate them.

i bring up all of this to say that in general, i think that korean children are much more respectful than american children. i think all children have bad days (like harrie today - he is not usually like that), but i haven’t met an american 8 year old boy that would reprimand his own brother’s behavior like i saw today. from a very young age, korean children learn to differentiate 반말 and 존대말. i’ve seen very young children reprimanded for not speaking properly to adults.

respect is so much a part of korean culture that it is even built right into the language. i think this is part of the reason why korean children are generally more respectful than american children. the family unit has much more value in korean culture than in american culture, and i think that makes a big impact as well. the most respectful american children i’ve met came from very strong and caring families…

please don’t get me wrong, i am not saying that all american children are awful or that all korean children are perfect, i am just speaking from my observations. does anyone else have any thoughts on this? or perhaps other reasons why korean children seem to be so well behaved?

and just to make my blog more korean, the phrase i used the most today:

공부 해야 지~

i’m getting good at using this ^^ know what it means?