Introduction of a Self-taught Korean Geek

안녕하세요

I have waited too long to write this post, every time it crosses my mind i tend to find something else to do and hence the distraction starts and i eventually end up not writing it. Enough with the babbling, so basically I am a Korean geek ( what is that you ask? ) it basically means that i am obsessed in love with all things Korean. from the culture, to the language, food, people and entertainment.

I don't know at what point I fell in love with it all but it should be between watching Kdramas and discovering who Jang Geun Suk is. I recently started to learn 한국 and I am loving the experience so far. I have in recent years tried to learn 4 different languages but I eventually lost interest. But I found that with 한국 it comes so easily to me and I have so much passion and enthusiasm for it.


At first I started learning the language using roman characters, but i realised that it was like taking double the pace I would love to be moving at, because i had to translate two different things. I found Shanna's blog Hangukdrama ( she is a self-taught Korean guru ) and I read her E-book on self-studying Korean. In it she really emphasised the importance of learning 한글. That made me realise that it will basically solve my problem.

So I set on to learn 한글 and to my surprise and delight it was fairly easy. I was able to master the characters in a couple of hours of intense studying and the rest is history. Although I experience difficulties with some of the irregular alphabets, I am gradually conquering it. And just like Shanna, I highly emphasise on the importance of learning 한글. Because not only does it speed up your learning experience, it also helps you with intonation as 한글 sounds different from the roman alphabets.

                                 Learning Resources

Talk to Me in Korean

This was the first tool I found in my learning journey and I cannot begin to tell you how lucky I was. Most people who started learning 한국 used a whole bunch of tools that weren't as structured or good enough but the fact that I started with the best is lucky. The website is run by a group of language enthusiasts led by Hyunwoo sun who give free language podcasts, videos and materials to people learning Korean. It is THE BEST 한국 learning tool out there and I highly recommend it. They also have textbooks, youtube and another website called Harukorean for one on one questions, interactions with other learners and corrections.

Learn Korean Language

I found this website when I decided to learn 한글. I tried a few others but they were a bit too complicated, or they weren't structured or some didn't have enough content. Although Russell ( the owner of the site ) isn't a native Korean, he is fluent in the language and also he has gone through studying Korean so his tips are from a personal experience which I find is useful.



Others


I have been using various apps and online resources to improve on my vocabulary. As Shanna mentioned in
her E-book it is very important to learn both grammar and vocabulary at the same time as it makes you not put too much emphasis on one and lose out on the other. I also watch a lot of KDrama so I pick up some of the everyday words ( and sometimes sentences ) from there. I always get excited when I come across a word in 한글 characters that I heard in a drama, it sometimes helps me pronounce the word because I heard it before. I also recently found the simsimi app which was created by a Korean company and I sometimes use that to practice my Korean on.

I follow some few blogs of Korean language learners and I love reading about their experiences. It is also a tool for me to get recommendations and to learn new things. Some of them are:

- Shanna at Hangukdrama and she also wrote an E-book on self-studying languages.
- Monica at Impressions of a princess
- Dia at My Korean Corner 

It is so far a journey that I am loving and I am looking forward to all the experiences and opportunities  learning this language will bring.

안녕

Meera