안녕, 2019. | Hello 2019.

  

Yeoreobun annyonghaseyo,

Jal jinaesijyo?

It really has been a long time.

I am curious how you all have been and what you are up to, please comment below and let me know.

This blog will always remain close to my heart, because it is the first place I started sharing my thoughts online. Although it has transformed into a full Korean content site, it will always mean more than that.

I have a Korean Radio Show #KpopFridays

Heeyyyyy!!

It's been a minute, I know. I have been so busy the past few weeks that the time just flew by.

How have ya'll been? what have you been up to?

There is so much going on with me...and one of the things that has kept me busy is a radio show I started with a few friends back in January. As a journalism student, it is required for me to have credit hours for radio journalism. So I convinced a few friends to start a program on Korean entertainment.

In our first season, we introduced different types of Korean entertainment every week. From dramas, to variety, films, music shows, kpop and so on..my friends didn't know zilch about Korean entertainment or knew just a little, so it was fun seeing them grow interest with every week to the point where they have favourite Kpop songs and binge watch Korean dramas!!

21 question tag – the Korean learner version

1. Why Korean?
I used to repeat words and phrases when watching Korean Dramas and then I moved on to writing it down. One thing led to another and I was learning hangul. The rest is history...

2 . Daum or Naver (dictionary I mean)?
Naver! Recently started using it a lot and it has been awesome so far. Never tried Daum but I might give it a go.

3. First website that you visit everyday?

My Blog aka my Safe Place :) then Youtube or Viki.

4. Best thing that happened to you? (related to learning Korean)

All the amazing opportunities and fantastic friends I've made along the way and of course Kpop Academy :) It all wouldn't have happened if I didn't start learning korean.

5. Ever regretted learning Korean?

Absolutely not!! I am falling in love with it more rather. I can't imagine my life otherwise now.

6. Most common feedback/question you get when you say you are learning Korean?

Why Korea? Why not french or spanish (Ughh sick of this question...why not Korea?)

7. First Korean food that comes to your mind?

김치 볶음밥 Kimchi Fried rice (I can never get enough of this)

8. Most overrated Korean drama?

Boys over flowers

9. Most underrated Korean drama?

A Gentleman's Dignity

10.Latest milestone in learning Korean?

Having a conversation with a Korean who spoke little English and I was able to keep up like 60% of the time. Getting there, fighting!!

11. Favorite Korean word / phrase?

진짜 Really

12. Name 3 people (fictional / real) who motivate / influence your Korean learning journey
G-Dragon: He is my favourite Korean artist and I would love to meet him someday. I want to speak in korean when that happens.

The Men of Abnormal Summit: It is a korean TV show with a foreign cast. They comment about evryday problems in Korea. They're all very fluent and it's very motivating watching them.

Korean self-study learners who have exceeded expectations. They all motivate and inspire me. I feel assured that I can do it too!!! Aja aja!!


13. Secret ambition / goal (relating to Korean)

Meeting and chilling with G-Dragon and having coneversations with him in Korean. Possibly moving to Korea and working at YG. Dreams are never too big right??

14. I want to sound like _____ when I speak Korean

Sandara Park or Yoo In Na

15. Best compliment received (for Korean)

Wow your pronunciation is really good. 

16. When is the last time you sat down and study Korean?

2 days ago...I'm being a really good girl this days.

17. Favorite textbook?

I've just used the Sejong Korean so far but I like the TTMIK Workbook and Sogang Korean which I find online.

18. Special people you met (online or otherwise) through Korean?

The friends I made through language cafe's and those I still remain friends with, they've inspired me and taught me a lot. The amazing guys at Kpop Academy, I had the best time with them. And also the people I met through this blog who are also learning korean or are interested in Korean culture. They all mean a lot to me :)


19. How has learning Korean changed you / your life? 

It has made me more open-minded about life and cultures. I have also become more adventurous. I eat lots of korean food and I'm surrounded by korean related stuffs everyday. I love it!!


20. Ever dreamt in Korean?
No, but I wish I will. It'll be fun I know :)

21. Single best thing about learning Korean?

Everything. It feels so good when I understand a word or when I meet a korean and they react to me speaking korean. I guess it is the feeling I get from absorbing Korea ❤

Why don't you give this a go as well, I would love to know what your responses are. You could leave a link to your post or just answer the questions in the comment :)

meera

Korean Diary Entry #1

안녕하세요,

Interesting title right?

I was just doing some major reflecting on my language study and it has slowed down a bit. This is mostly due to how busy other aspects of my life has been. 

I have made up my mind to post diary entries in Korean in order to help me with the following

• Think in Korean
• Learn new vocabulary
• Learn to express myself in Korean
• Learn to sound natural (although this might take a while seeing as I'm using the dictionary for now)

2014년 9월 11일 

오늘 많이 하지 않았어. 난가지고 두통이 아주 있었어.   

이번 주말에 런던에서 기념을위한 갈거야.

레이디스 코드 리세와 은비의 기념관.

솔직히 알고  없는데 그들 하지만

케이팝 가족을용 나는 갈 것이요.

굿나잇 친구들!

meera 

When my Sister Had a Life by Saudah

Heyy guys..... Kon'nichiwa ~ こんにちは (Hello in Japanese)

It's Saudah, Mi Ra's Sister :)

How's your weekend? I wrote this poem about Mi Ra and she made me share it on here....

When my Sister Had a Life

When my sister had a life,

She would dream for hours

About travelling to various cities

Like New york or Paris

Or Barcelona or Milan

When my sister had a life,

Together we would

Go crazy with laughter over funny Hollywood movies

Or cry ourselves silly over sad Bollywood movies

Or sigh with frustration over stupid Nollywood movies

When my sister had a life,

Eating out was an ordeal

Because we could never decide

Which cuisine to try

Is it indian? Or Thai ? Or Chinese?

Or italian? Or Maybe japanese ?

But now, All my sister does

Is dream about visiting Seoul,

Or watch Korean dramas all day,

Or get excited about Kpop artists

And all she eats is Korean food

Although it may be hard

For me to understand

I have to appreciate that

This is the life she wants to live

So it may seem that

My sister doesn't have a life

But that is not so

Just that the life she chose

Is a different kind of life.

Douzo yoroshiku ~ どうぞよろしく。 (Nice to meet you)

Why Korea?

This is a question I have received countless of times from different people, at first even my family. They were all curious and surprised as to how and why I had so much passion for a country and its culture which transgressed to music, food, drama and even history. They were astounded at the level of commitment I put into learning a language that I might not even get to make use of in my faraway country in the west of Africa where the likelihood of coming across a Korean was slim to none.

And I say to them because I love it, because I have passion for it and because to me it isn’t just a hobby, rather it has manifested into a lifestyle. I gush about how similar my culture is from the Korean culture and how fascinating it is to me. Here are two countries miles and miles away from each other, you would think them to be different for the most part but the odds of them being so similar are baffling. You realize that we may look different but underneath we are the same and we have a lot to learn from each other. This open-minded disclosure gets most people surprised and peaks their interest wanting to know more.

Two sister's Self Introduction in Korean and Japanese.

As you all know I am self-studying Korean. Well, my sister is taking a course in Japanese as part of her school curriculum. She came to visit for a few days and we decided to do a video (more like I begged her) introducing ourselves in Korean and Japanese. Check it out below.