Tag Archives: Korean Language

Google translate: awesome but not perfect

I’m trying to understand and learn a Korean love song called “Someday” by IU. I have a complete translation that is helpful, but sometimes it’s nice to see what the individual words are. music.daum.net website has lyrics for most Korean songs. (Here are the complete Korean lyrics for Someday.)

I love Google translate. It can be really helpful, but it has its limits. I was checking the google translation for this line: 아픈 내 가슴도

It should be something like ”my aching heart”

In google translate, it comes up as “my boobs are sore”

hahaha,

I know the word for heart can sometimes also mean chest or breast so I understand. So, yeah, it may be technically right, but I’m pretty sure in this song …it’s oh so wrong.

K-Pop youtube playlist

I started a playlist on youtube to keep an easy list of the songs I’ve been checking into. I’m following leads from students, friends and websites, pursuing songs that I like the sound and others that are on my list because they’re helpful mainly for language learning. For most songs, I’ve been able to find a video version that has lyrics in Korean (hangul) and English. Pretty incredible resource!!!

I’ve already learned that the song “Americano” isn’t actually about someone that loves an American person. It’s about a guy that loves coffee, and how he likes to order it. haha

Many of the songs mix some English with the Korean, in the chorus and titles such as “Lonely”, “I’ll Be Back” and “Don’t Cry”.

Korean listening practice …television dramas

Even though I’m living in Korea, most of my day is filled with English language, not Korean. I pick up bits of phrases like: Write, Listen, Speak, Draw, etc from my students, but very little.

So, when I get home I try to watch one hour of Korean television. Last year in Busan, I didn’t watch TV, but I watch it ‘religiously’. It’s taken me some time to get over my aversion to TV as a complete waste of time, so I now see it as really useful.

There’s really nothing like Korean dramas on American TV …at least that I know of.

The shows I’m watching now “Best Love” and other random shows don’t have subtitles. For the most part, I can understand what’s going on. If it’s important to know, I can google a summary of that episode. So far, I haven’t cared that much!

After listening to my students’ accents, hearing some presentations, and from my own experience, I have a healthy respect for learning a language first from watching and listening. In addition, we can use grammar to boost our skills but the melody and rhythm of language are really important for communication.

I also watch channels that have subtitles in Korean and try to keep up reading it as fast as they speak it. I can’t yet!

Learning more grammar and vocab in a structured way would be helpful too and I have some self-study tools for doing that. But I haven’t found a Korean language class that fits my schedule, but I’m looking!

I wanna remember your name!

I’m glad that at our school kids go by their Korean names. I thought it was strange last year to call people David, Charlie, and Julie when their real names are so different.

But wow is it hard for me to remember all my students’ names! I used to pride myself on remembering everyone’s names (and would amaze my students by doing it the first class!) but it’s difficult this time.

I teach ten classes and a total of about 70 students. Korean names are usually three syllables with the first being the surname. So in class, they go by their ‘first name’ which is the second two syllables. Many names are just one letter or one sound away from another, or a reverse of another name (think Ann-Marie, Mary-Ann, Jo-Ann, Joan, Mary, Terry, Kari …we’re used to these!)

Here are some examples of student names:

Girls: EunYoung, EunJung, YoungRun,  JiYoung,  EunJin, YeJin, YeWon, EunBi, YuBin, YuSeon, EunSeo, Garam, Geon, Yeseo, Seoyeon, Minseo, Minsun, ChaeEun, SuBin, YunJu, YeonJi

Boys: SungHo, SeongHwan, GyungGil, HyunSeok, HyungGil, JaeHoon, JaeWon, JuHong, HanJang, JiWoo, WooGeun, KyeongWook, TaeYoung, HyukJae, JaeHyuk, HyunMin, HanHong

Reading Korean: Better but still a challenge

This is the bathroom sign. It seems like in most languages it’s easy to ask for the bathroom: bano, toilette, wash closet.

In Korean it’s: Hwajangshil.   That’s not the entire question, that’s just ‘restroom’! I now can say it tho! And recognize the word in Hangul.

Shown is the sign saying “Hwajangshil” in Korean, with the Chinese characters below. At the Equestrian Center

Mosque and Turkish Food in Dusil

Today, I met up with some Indonesian friends that we met at Haeundae Beach.  They invited us to join them at the free Korean language classes they attend. I took a 30 minute subway ride and met them at the Dusil station. (pronounced Du-shil ….”si” in Korean is always “shi”)

I was a bit surprised to find out that the free classes were held at a mosque! But, the classes are open to anyone and teacher is really good. She speaks only Korean so it’s like how we teach. Only problem was, the class was too advanced for me. Most of the students are Indonesian and have been in Korea for a year or two. They’re studying to take the TOPIK entrance exam to enter Korean universities this fall or next spring.

So we didn’t stay too long, but attached to the mosque is a Turkish restaurant. That was quite a find! The aroma in their was amazing. We enjoyed Lavash bread, Turkish coffee and fruit tea. Oh, I wanna go back there for more!

Double ss, Double jj…makes a difference in your order

I’m learning the Korean alphabet and feel like I’m getting pretty good understanding the consonants. One thing I realized recently tho was that the script versions are pretty different than what appears in printed materials. Or, at least that’s what I blame this on partially…

I knew that ‘ssam’ was lettuce. So, when I went into a mom and pop eatery near my apartment, and saw the symbols for ‘ss’ (i thought), i pointed to the menu and ordered that. I had lettuce wraps in Daejeon that were amazing and wanted to try them again.

So, when they brought out squid/seafood soup, I was surprised! But, this is the restaurant near home, and I definitely don’t want to ‘dis anyone in my new ‘hood, so I decided, what the heck. I ate it and it was temperature hot, very spice, had large pieces of squid and smaller pieces of other types of seafood.

It turns out the I wanted to order po-ssam, but instead ordered jjampong (a Chinese-Korean food). In Korean, an s looks like an upside down V, and a j looks similar but one arm connects midway to the other …kinda sorta.

But people who I told this to, said immediately, oh you were in a Chinese restaurant. I guess this would be a clueless person thinking they were ordering lasagna in a mexican restaurant.

Still, even with the lottery version of ordering, so far every Korean food dish I’ve had has been fabulous and I’d order it again (if I am able to!)

Reading the Menu


DSC07758

Originally uploaded by Beginner’s Mind: South Korea

This is a common menu style for small eateries. This is a sign along the wall with the names vertically displayed and prices shown for each at the bottom. 1000 Korean won (krw) is about $1.

I was very glad to be navigating these restaurants with Kev as he can actually read this and knows what to order!

First night in Korea: humbling

When I got off the plane at 5 pm, I walked straight to the baggage claim area and within 15 minutes all three of my checked bags arrived, yay Korea! I exchanged some US cash for Korean won.  I walked out of the secure area and there was a man holding a sign that said “JOAN – Seoul Backpacker” (the name of my hotel) and off we went. He helped me roll my bags a bit then had me wait while he went and got the car. My first time in Asia and as we drove the about 20 minute ride I kept falling asleep. (It was midnight in LA, where I’d been the previous night.) Oh yeah, I realized he spoke no English and me no Korean. So it was a quiet ride.

The entrance to the hotel seemed like something in Quito Ecuador. Up a steep street, then an alley, to a small door. I checked in and paid the 40,000 KRW for the room and 75,000 for the ride. The hotel staff spoke enough English to communicate easily.  In the lobby were computers with free internet access (yay!) so it was easy to send of a note to let family and friends know I arrived safely.

Walked down the little hall and into a room that looked like the decor of a 9-year old girl’s bedroom, with the hot air balloons, short little vanity set and blue bedspread. But the hotel and my room were clean and secure and I was happy to be there.

I walked into the bathroom and the hall light came on by motion sensor. I didn’t see the bathroom light or couldn’t get it to come on.  After a few seconds sitting down on the toilet, the light went off.  I went out to the hall and the light came on again. Back in the bathroom, midway through my business, the light went off again.

It was shortly after that that I realized the room has a system that allows the hall light to come on and off by motion, but everything else stays off unless the key is inserted into the room controller. Very slick (once you figure this out.)

By the time I got settled it was about 7 pm. I looked around and my inability to understand Korean was overwhelming. The emergency directions on the wall were incomprehensible.

I slept for a couple hours and around 9 pm realized I was thirsty and hungry and didn’t have any clue how to handle those basic needs. No phone, no water, no food.

I couldn’t figure out how to buy food: where to go, what to buy, how to say it, how much it would cost. I was too tired to try it so savored the trail mix that I bought at LAX and went back to sleep. When I woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed at 2 am, I nibbled more trail mix, found free filtered water in the lobby and forced myself back to bed.