Ninth week in Seoul ～

<rant on> Ah... my Korea stay is slowly ending and I can't even enjoy it to the fullest because of the upcoming upcoming final exams. Also my body has slowly started to surrender to the daily humidity and heat, I keep feeling fatigued, no matter how long I sleep... so I guess I'm ready to go home. These last few days the temperature and humidity have slowly started to decrease but for my poor body it's already too late... Note to myself: Don't visit Asia in July-August.... ㅠ </ rant off>

Because of the fatigue and studies I wasted most of this week at the dormitory or around Sinchon area. Luckily I could compensate it with small adventures on Friday and Saturday. These two days have been a blast! I danced through Namsangol Hanok Village wearing a Hanbok and strolled along the woods of Nami Island, counting the stars and lighting sparklers. ♥

① A street artist in Hongdae  ② My hair is dark again! Ignore the cat-makeup. XD''  ③ Seoul by night, a romantic view from N Seoul Tower.



① Just me, ehm, dancing in a Hanbok...  ② The cute  ferry to Nami Island. ③ Romantic lights and the beautiful trees on Nami Island.

 I don't want to leave Korea! ㅠ_ㅠ

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Eighth week in Seoul ～

This week has been my turnaround week. After our trip to Jejudo which I consider the climax of my Korea stay because it was the biggest and most anticipated trip I started to feel how fast time has been passing. Everything had to be done quickly '빨리 빨리': Last-minute meet ups, mini-trips, planning possible activities. Suddently I didn't have all the time of the world anymore. So I stopped trying to make new Korean acquaintances online and focused on the ones I already knew instead. 

Still, this week offered quite a few highlights: I finally reunited with the Soonchunhyang girls I'd first met in Japan (love ya crazy gals ♥) and we had quite a lot of fun goofing around Namsangol Hanok Village, Myeongdong and Itaewon. I was also kept busy writing a small paper (& memorizing it and presenting it in front of the class) as 10% part of our Malhagi (speech) exam. The topic was Korea 'something', so I chose to write about Korean friends. I introduced 2 of my dearest friends, one I had met 6 years ago in China and one I have met 7 months ago in Japan. 

① Harbangs @ Bukchon Dol Harbang Park.  ② Pictures of my 2 Korean friends I drew for my paper presentation.  ③ Gisaengs entertaining, Korea National Museum.

August 15th was Liberation Day (from Japan in 1945) and a public holiday. Since museum entries are free on that day my friend suggested we go to Korea National Museum. So I spent the free day roaming around and marveling at historical Korean artifacts. It was quite a funny experience because hundreds of families chose that free-museum-entry holiday for a cozy family trip, so the museum was full of families and children running around. It felt less a museum and more like a entertainment park.

Another super interesting experience (quite the opposite of the museum) was my visit to Seoul Comic World. It's a monthly exhibition of Comic/Manga-related fanart and Cosplay culture. I went there with some classmates and let my inner Otaku out! Though I have to admit I didn't buy many Anime-related stuff, mostly cute original art and some Pokemon fan art. (yes, I admit, I still adore Pokemon T_T)

① My favourite Cosplayer at Seoul Comic World.  ② Beautiful entrance of Korea National Museum. ③ Oldschool style Purikura in Myeongdong with SCH girls.

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Fourth week in Seoul ～

Today is July 20th and I still can't believe it, but I've already lived in Seoul for 1 month. I've gotten used to living in the shared room at the dormitory and class routine. But sometimes - specially when I walk out of the campus listening to Korean music and looking around I have like a sudden realization that I am in fact  and right now, living in Korea. I am completely content with my life here and I wish time could stand still. 

There are still so many places to discover, food to eat, people to meet, adventures to live. I'm trying to understand the hustle and bustle of this city and the joys and sorrows of its people. Next week we have mid-term exams so I'll be busy preparing for them. I love studying this language so much and despite its similarity to Japanese grammar to me it seems easier to learn... or maybe I'm just too much into it? Watching TV dramas and listening to Korean music all the time I kind of got a feeling for the language I still haven't achieved after 2 years of Japanese studies... *sighs*

① The beautiful sight from Seoul N Tower observatory.  ② Found these in a stationary store at Ewha. The middle one represents me really well - so I bought it.  ③ Aren't these decorations at Changdokgung palace precious?.



① I love this stone wall decoration, seen at Anguk Station.  ② This was on a huge mirror next to a coffee shop. Remember it:  Be Good to yourself.  ③ Gwanghwamun in the evening... super romantic!

Also, although I'm supposed to have LAN connection in my dorm room the connection keeps shutting down... 짜증나.  

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Third week in Seoul ～

My third week in Korea has been like a roller-coaster ride. I've had super boring days at my dormitory but also explored a new city and spent hours under the pouring rain and gotten sick because of it. I also missed 2 day's class and had to quickly catch up with the grammar.

Often after school I go back home and take a nap (blame my 5h sleeping during the night) and then venture out in the evening for dinner or light shopping. But this week I was lucky to be able to watch a traditional Korean musical called Miso (more about it in a another post!) and dressing up in a traditional Korean wedding outfit. Plus this week(end) I had several meetups with friends, I went to Bukchon Hanok area for an all-day 'Photography date' and next day to Incheon for sight-seeing and meeting my friend's parents. Then I had another all-day hangout at Seoul N Tower. Every day was filled with impressions and hundreds of photos... and I was really, really tired. =)

① Class time! Love how our teacher (who also speaks English, Japanese, Chinese) adds the Chinese translation.  ② Kitchy mess at Myeongdong.  ③ Central Park 2 area in Songdo (Incheon). Foggy day increased the creepiness.



① One of my favourite photos of the Bukchon Hanok area where you can see both modern and traditional buildings.  ② Eating Jjajangmyeon at the place where it was (supposedly) originally invented.  ③ Beautiful flowers around Chongdong Theatre area where I watched Miso.



① Unfortunately I visited Incheon on a very rainy day - Pagoda at Jayu Park.  ② Uber cute Teddy bear museum (this time I didn't fail to visit the "modern" part , last time I only visited the "historical" part).  ③ Korean National Flower - Mugunghwa - in all its beauty.

This week has many highlights:  Miso Musical, Bukchon Hanok, Incheon, Seoul N Tower.  ♥

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Second week in Seoul ～

The second week marked my slowly becoming comfortable with the Seoul subway system and my  university's surroundings (Ewha campus = ♥). I started getting lazy in the evening and buying more and more dosiraks. I also started making and meeting new friends from the internet, eating and visiting interesting places in Seoul together.

I went shopping and met up with some of my Korean friends I had made in Japan. Also our classmates managed to have a get-together, dinner, a short visit at a Bar and then Purikura - it was fun! There is still lots to see around here, I actually use a Seoul Tourism pamphlet book to ✓ the tourist attractions I've already visited.


① Huge instant-noodles segment at convenience store.  ② Short hang-out at Ho-Bar with our classmates.  ③ Huge (traditionally) Kimchi pots outside of a hanok (Traditional Korean house)



① Entrance of some exhibition hall around Insadong.   ② Romantic night street view. ③ Decoration on the floor - an old map of Seoul.



① Traditional Korean food (many small side dishes) I was able to try at Samcheong-dong.   ② One of the 3 (?) Hello Kitty cafes I've spotted so far - super cute! I should visit someday.  ③ Beautfiul traditional figures, seen at Insadong.

Many of the places I visited (Insadong, Trick Eye Museum, Samcheong-dong) deserve an own entry with tons of photos - I'm working on it! ♥

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First week in Seoul ～

As I'm writing this entry I am sitting at my small desk eating a dosirak (Korean bento) that I just bought after class and I'm pleased to say that I've successfully survived my first week here in Seoul.

In this first week I've seen and done lots of things. ♥ I've eaten lots of yummy Korean food (Bibimbap! Bibim guksu! Sashimi!) but also Japanese and Thai food. I've ridden the subway all alone (& gotten a bit lost), opened a Korean bank account, gone to the hospital and walked hours and hours and hours...

I've visited the Gyeongbokgung area, Ehwa area, Sinchon area, Dongdaemun area. I don't even know how I should start sharing everything I've experienced so I put together some snippets to give you an impression of what I've seen so far.
 
① I love the colorful signs in Hangul, it looks like a decoration though they are just simple advertisements or other placards.  ② This delicate stone flower wall can be found at the main entrance of Ewha Women's University.  ③ Cute fashion stores at Ewha shopping area.  ④ Amazing building at Gyeongbokgung with stone guardian.  ⑤ The street leading to the main entrance of Yonsei University.



① Nice 'shopping town' entrance sign at Dongdaemun.  ② These beautiful Hanbok are quite eye-catching; I hope to be able to wear one someday.  ③ Super love this photo I took inside Gyeongbokgung. It has a romantic feel to it.  ④ Our colorful and yummy (and cheap!) Bibimbap.  ⑤ Couples everywhere at Cheonggyecheon.

Since I've slowly settled down a bit (and the LAN connection in my room is finally working) I will update more often, so stop by for more Seoul stories! ♥

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Learn Korean online ～

Is it possible to start learning basic Korean online and for free? Yes, it is. And no, you don't need to read long and boring grammar posts. There are many, many pages that offer Korean courses. Most of them are quite elaborated but also a bit confusing, specially if you're a newbie.
 So here is my action plan for you:

Find out about the structure/history of Korean language 

I mean, if you don't understand the structure of the language what's the point in learning vocabulary?? And if you're really interested in the language you might wonder about the history of Korean and find out some really interesting facts.

Where?I recommend a general page like learn-korean.net

Learn Hangul (the Korean writing system) 

There are many pages who try to teach you Korean with a transcription but I promise you it's much easier to find good courses if you can at least decipher Hangul (that doesn't mean that you understand what you're "reading" *haha*)

Where?smart.fmWhen you get there the page might be completely in Japanese - don't worry, just click on the "language" button on the upper right and select "English" =P ...erm... yes, you have to sign up - but you can also sign in thru some external ID like facebook xD

What is it good for?Smart.fm is a cool file cards system. You don't need to buy cards and write the vocab you wanna learn on them. Just go to smart.fm and find a vocab list of the language you wanna learn / or create your own vocab list. The interrogation system is quite helpful, if you don't know the meaning of a word it will be put back and you'll be asked later again. anyway, you can learn any list (like verbs, vocabulary from a specific course, etc). but I think just "learning verb lists" is really boring. Even with an online file cards system. ^_^

 I recommend you pick out this set: Korean Alphabet - Hangul (Normal Input)This one helped me to consolidate my reading Hangul skills :D Of course, downloading a complete list of the Hangul and hanging it on your wall is a good additive, too! ^_~ ...So you can read Hangul now? Are you proud? You just started! *^_^* but stay proud of yourself... it's a great achievement nonetheless!

Learn some simple sentences (nouns+verbs) 

Now it's time to actually start understanding what you're deciphering... that's not an easy task at all ^^'

Where? livemocha.com Just register and then click on "Learn" and then "Enroll in new course". Start with Korean 101, then Korean 102 and so on ^^

What is it good for?I like it, because you not only hear the sentences/new words, you even have a "practice" part where Livemocha tests your aural comprehension and reading skills (yes, you have to be able to read Hangul to complete the exercises) I haven't reached Korean 102 yet (I take it slowly... *laziness*) but I really love this unit system!

You can also search Flash Cards sets and so on but I still think that smart.fm is the place for Flash Cards. btw, if you register on Livemocha you take part of a big community and you can add "language partner" and chat with them ~ You can also submit some predefined translating exercises and let native speakers correct them! :D

Add more useful daily life expressions

This is pretty much self explanatory, isn't it?

Where? http://rki.kbs.co.kr/learn_korean/ 

What is it good for?While Livemocha teaches useful words, KBS WORLD has a lot of useful expressions for you. On the left you can choose your language (you can even choose German or Spanish if you don't feel secure enough with English). ;)

Listen to Podcasts

An easy way to get your daily "Korean language" dosis even when you're commuting to school/work.

Where? koreanclass101.com 

What is it good for?Well, first of all: it's a great listening practice! And you can listen to their podcasts over and over again (and anywhere you go if you have an mp3 player) and learn ther dialogues by heart... I love listening to podcasts! Sometimes they are quite funny and they explain the new words really well ^^ it also gives you a "classroom" feeling as if you were studying with other people and discussing the grammar points.

PLUS: the website is a cool community where you can post questions and suggestions and discuss their podcasts ^.~ ! ! !accessing the podcast through the site is a bit more difficult. I'd just subscribe to the podcast through iTunes store to get the updates easily. BUT! if you're planning to go through all the older podcasts of the page and don't know how to access, here's my secret link for you!

Find a tandem partner

Where?There are hundreds of communities! Just google "korean penpals" and register and there you are! =P http://www.interpals.net/ http://www.languageexchange.org/ 

What is it good for?well... speaking practice? Or do you only want to learn Korean passively? Even so, every Korean might have a special prononciation that deviates from the one in your learning tapes and you'll end up confused. That's why it's important to hear many, many different people speak Korean. Of course it would be best to meet a Korean in your town in person regularly and have a nice chat ^^ but for shy people like me it's easier to find language partner online and talk to them through Skype or even MSN. I found this cool article about how to find language partners on skype: click me!

My experience: many Asian will try to impose English as main language (yeees, of course... we (white people) all speak English as mother tongue, right? >.<'' ) but try to make clear that you really want to speak Korean. Plus many of the online penpal communities are more some kind of international flirting site so I'm pretty sure you'll have to write to many, many different people (try different ages too!) till you find a suitable language partner who takes you seriously and who explains well. Of course you can also offer your mother tongue as language exchange ^_~ have fun! ~ 

Listen to K-Pop and watch Korean Dramas

Where?for anything K-Entertainment related, check http://www.soompi.com/ for K-Dramas: http://www.mysoju.com/ 

What is it good for?well... I think one of the main reasons you want to learn Korean is to be able to fully access their entertainment section, isn't it? Just admit it! =P Of course, after studying vocabulary for some weeks you still won't be able to watch a Drama and understand their dialogues, I would recommend keep watching them with subtitles but from time to time try to not "look down" to the subtitles or learn some catch phrases by heart.

(I'm pretty sure you already picked up some expressions from your favourite Dramas xD) Don't content yourself with just a few words. If you like a special conversation, wind back and listen to it again. Try to copy their "melody". For example if it's a sassy girl who is always nagging, try to emulate her tone of voice. If it's a cool and reserved guy speak with elegance.

Learning a language is all about acting. It's all about discovering the melody of the language and emulating it. Someday you'll find your own "tone" and feel like you've grown into that language. ^_^ do you find my tips helpful? what experiences have you made with learning a language through internet? feel free to add more points to my "action plan" !

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