2006년 7월 29일 - Day 1 in Korea | 안녕하세요

Aini's friend, Miran came to the airport to fetch us to bring us to our dormitory at Hyung Hee Uni. we had problem finding the dormitory as there was some construction and road blocks at Hyung Hee Uni. We were very fortunate to have Miran with us. She helped us to ask around.

My bed on the left and Aini's bed on the right

We found this above Aini's bed

My bed and study table before unpacking

My bed and study table after unpacking

We passed by Hankok University of Foreign Studies when we walked to the nearest subway. Hmmm .... is this where Song's school?

Beautiful flowers

Daisies

I have not seen these flowers before.
What are they called?

An interesting flower bud

We went shopping at Dongdaemum and came to this pretty shop. I bought an accessory for my handphone. Aini bought quite a few other accessories for her friends.

The shop owner was interesting. We asked for a discount but he didnt give it to us. Instead he gave us four other accessories as gifts. I managed to take a photo of him even though he insisted he does not want his photo to be taken.

See the accessory attached to my handphone?

I was so happy at dinner yesterday. I went back to Soma 1095 restaurant which is jus opposite Dongdaemum Stadium. I was here Sep last year.

My favourite dish ... bibimpab with fish roe in hot pot ... yummy!!

We continued shopping at Dongdaemum after dinner.
I replenished my stock from The Skin Food.

Yesterday was a long tiring but fun day. Cant believe i am in korea now.

Countdown to My Korea Trip

1 day to go !!

Countdown to My Korea Trip

2 days to go !!

Countdown to My Korea Trip

3 days to go !!

Learning Korean Language 한국어 배우기

Nami Island, taken in Sep/Oct 2005

Learning a language is difficult. Learning korean language is even more difficult. Even koreans will agree.

I believe that learning a language involves learning 4 skills .... learning the vocabulary and the grammer through reading, writing, listening and speaking. Each of these skills can improve or regress over time depending on its usage. But one thing is for sure, to master a language is a lifetime commitment because there will always be new vocabularies, new phrases and new idioms to learn.

I have learned korean language for only a year. The more i learn, the more i discover there is alot more to learn. During this one year of learning, i find the following methods helpful for myself :

Firstly and importantly is to set up a schedule to study eg. one to two hours everyday.

Secondly is to reinforce new vocabularies and grammer which i have learnt. When i first started, I used to make flashcards of the new vocabularies and new phrases. Then i used these flashcards to refresh my memory of these new words and phrases. Till today, i still have spelling tests for myself so as to keep remembering the new vocabularies that i have learnt. Also, when i learn a new grammer, i try to combine the new grammer with either the nouns or verbs which i have learnt and say them aloud. I find this extremely useful because it will be easier when i use the new grammer in conversations.

Thirdly is to write often. Our homeworks require us to write a lot. It can be in the form of sentence-making, short passages or short essays. We are fortunate that we can email our homeworks to our teacher who will correct them and email back to us. This makes things a little faster. Writing in my blogs is also another avenue to improve my writing skills.

Fourthly is to improve listening skills. I try to listen to the conversations from the CDs provided together with the school textbooks. As i listen to the conversations, I jot them down in point forms. Also, my teacher speaks everything in korean in class. As she speaks, i take notes too. At the same time, I also use my MP3 to record the entire lessons and i listen to the recorded lessons a few times at home. Watching korean dramas and movies is another way to improve on listening. I definitely enjoy this method ;)

Lastly is to improve reading and speaking skills. I try to memorise the passages from the textbooks and recite them aloud. I find this method helpful because i will remember to use them in my conversations. Talking to yourself aloud and to your friends is definitely another beneficial way.

I am still a beginner at this and there is still so much that i do not know. Like many other beginners, i have my ups and downs during this learning journey. At the end of the day, i tell myself that it is the motivation and passion that is the most important. Passion is the fuel of your motivation which in turn drives you to put in the effort to learn. Your reason to begin learning korean language must be the same reason to keep you going when the going gets tough.

All the best to all out there who are learning korean language. Ajja ajja fighting!!


"Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore." - André Gide


P.S. please share with me your studying methods

Today's Lunch 오늘 점심

오늘은 점심 시간에 안디김의 한국 식당 갔어요. 세번째에 갔어요.

Today, I went to Auntie Kim's Korean Restaurant during lunchtime. This is the third time i have been there.

많은 반찬들이 있었어요 There were many side dishes


이 반찬을 제일 좋아했어요 I liked this side dish most

이 식당에서 먹어 보지 않은 음식을 시키고 싶었어요. 그래서 해물전, 오뎅탕과 고등어구이를 시켰어요. 음식은 모두 맛있었어요.

I wanted to order those food that i have not tried before in this restaurant. So, i ordered pajeon, korean fish cake soup and grilled mackeral. All the food were delicious.

해물전 Hae Mool Jeon
(korean pancake mixed with vegetable and seafood)

오뎅탕 O Deng-Tang
assorted korean fish cake soup with radish)

고등어구이 Godungeo Gui
(grilled fish - mackeral)

디저트도 못 먹어 봤어요. 디저트는 한 개가 있었어서 제가 이것을 시켰어요. 차거운 디저트예요. 디저트도 맛있었어요.

I have not tried the dessert too. There was only one type of dessert available so I ordered this. It was a cold dessert. The dessert was also delicious.

Soo Jun Kwa

Auntie Kim's Korean Restaurant
265 Upper Thomson Road
Singapore 574392
Tel : 6452 2112

Ambience * * * *
Food * * * *
Service * * * *
Price * * *
Location * * *
Parking * *
Overall experience * * * *

Happy 1st Anniversary 첫번째 기념일이 축아해요.

Suwon Fortress in Seoul, taken in Sep 2005

왜요? 저는 작년에 7월13일부터 한국어를 배우기 시작했어요. 오늘도 7월13일이에요. 이제까지 1년 동안 공부했어요. 수업이 모두 137.5시간에 공부했어요. 제가 계숙 영심히 공불게요.

Why? I started learning korean language since 13 July 2006. Today is 13 July again. So i have studied korean for one year. Altogether i have taken 137.5 hours of lessons. I will continue to study hard.

Ryan kindly corrected for me :
왜요? 저는 작년 7월 13일부터 한국어를 배웠습니다. 오늘 다시 7월 13일이 되었으니깐, 제가 한국어를 배운지 1년이 되는군요. 총 137.5시간 수업을 들었습니다. 앞으로도 열씨미 공부 할겁니다.

Korean Travel in Mar 2006 | 2006년 3월 한국 여행

제 한국 여행 포스팅들을 드리어 끝냈어요. I have finally finished my korean travel postings.

Korean Dramas 한국어 드라마들

제가 긴 시간에 한국어 드라마를 보지 않았어요. 이번 주 여러 한국어 드라마 디피디를 샀어요. 옛날에 스픈 한국어 드라마를 좋아했어요. 이제 스픈 한국어 드라마를 싫어해요. 왜냐하면 스픈 한국어 드라마를 본 다음에 기분이 안 좋아요. 그래서 커미디 드라마 디피디를 사고 싶었어요. 디피디 가게 아가씨는 저에게 소개했어요. 마지막으로 제가 "풀하우스", "불량주부", "옥탕방 고양이"하고 "오! 필승 봉순영"를 샀어요.사실은 작년 친구에게서 비려서 "풀하우스"를 봤어요. 하지만 "풀하우스"가 아주 지미있어서 다시 보고 싶어요.

드라마를 보면 많이은 시간이을 필요해요. 요즘 시간이 조금 있어서 산 한국어 드라마 디피디를 보지 못해요. 다음 달에는 한국에서 돌어온 후에 보기 시작할 거예요.

I have not watched korean dramas for a long time. This week, i bought several korean drama DVDs. I used to like sad korean dramas. Now, i dont really like to watch sad korean dramas because it makes me feel sad after watching. Therefore, I wanted to buy comedy drama DVDs. The lady at the DVD shop gave me some recommendations. In the end, I bought "Full House", "Woman of the House", "Cat on the Roof" and "Oh! Feel Young". Actually, I borrowed "Full House" from my friend and have watched it last year. But, it is so interesting, so i want to watch it again.

Watching dramas require a lot of time. Recently, i dont have much time so i wont be able to watch these DVDs that i have bought. I will start watching when i return from Korea next month.

You did well 잘 했어요

부산.....2006년3워.....너무 추워요Busan.....Mar2006.....Very cold

이번 주 화요일 밤에 숙제를 끝났내서 선생님에게께 이메일로 보냈어요. 어제 밤에 선생님에게께서 고친 숙제를 받았어요. 선생님 이메일에 "참 잘했어요. 점점 좋아지고 있어요."라고 했어요. 오늘도 수업을 할 때 선생님이 저에게 "영어로 번역하지 않아면 문장 만들기가 더 좋아요."라고 했어요. 제 기분이 어땠어요? 물론요. 기분이 참 좋았어요.6월22일부터 제가 "영어로 번역하지 마세요."다고 생각해요. 제가 이렇게 한국어를 계속 공부할 거예요.

I finished my homework and emailed it to my teacher this Tuesday night. I received the corrected homework from her last night. In her email, she said, "You did well. It is gradually becoming better." Today, during our lesson, she also said to me,"When you dont translate from English to Korean, your sentence-making homework is much better." How did l feel? Of course, I felt really happy. Since 22 June, I have been thinking "Please dont translate from English to Korean". I will continue to study korean in this way.