LEARN HANGUL

[ayjaee]

< MY JOURNEY >

this question has been frequently asked by my family members and friends “how do you learn languages?” so here i am, let me share my experiences and how i did to get until this stage.

what you need:

• determination
• determination
• discipline
• discipline
• language books
• a notebook

as i stated above twice, determination and discipline are the cores! without these two, you barely can achieve to write nor speak . since im not that discipline, it takes me 12 years to achieved where i am now.  < Lover In Paris >  is my roots of this kpop world . that drama is my starting point. when i was age 13 , i asked my mum to buy a korean language book and she bought it. it is just a bloody dictionary. when i’m thinking back it now, it’s really not helping me at all. haha but i was really pleased that time, i even did “sujud syukur” hahahaha. at age of  14, i really go ALL-OUT , i start to learn the pronunciations, to write sentences and forcing myself to watch dramas & shows without subs. i keep doing it approximately 18months. believe me, it works perfectly. determination is the key. seriously. then i stop learning it until i found webtoons in korean. i read and read and read until can understand fully their daily life’s conversation and some korean acroynms. as i learnt all these things, i accidentally met malay ladies that can write hangul on Twitter. i got really excited. Syahirah & Intan are my very first malay friends that i actually write and chat in korean. 이미 혼자 아니었어 ㅋㅋㅋ 탱큐우우 칭구야!! . then i met other korean friends but i seldomly talk to them, since i have no topics to talk .soooo eversince then, im like naahhh, later when i got time, i will attend some classes to polish up my korean speaking. speaking is the toughest part for me, since you need REAL person to talk with .

< HOW TO SELF-LEARNING>

1. determination & discipline are the core. if you didn’t keep pushing yourself and you’ll be like me, takes a decade to learn haha
2. MUST MUST MUST ! learn their alphabets and REMEMBER !.
3. try not to see the Romanization. it’s gonna make it more confusing than you thought.
4. watch variety shows & dramas without subtitles
5. buy books *if you got extra money*
6. Google it *will talking about this more detail on 2nd part*
7. read their webtoons
8. try to understand your favorite songs without seeing their translation first

< BY BOOK >

i got two books that i utterly recommends to you :

1. Korean From Zero : RM134           *this one got three books*
2. Living Language Korean Complete Edition : RM223   *can buy the individual set*

if you have either one, you are good to go. these two books are really really good starter for beginners. they explain everything from etiquette, how to use and when use it. worth to splurge!

but there are few challenge while studying it by books. you keep forgetting the words that you learnt from past chapters. what i did was , for example previous chapter was talking about “FAMILY” , i take a notebook and starts to write. DO NOT ROMANIZE IT ! practice to write fully in hangul. Crucial note : Speak and write !

*i will show the romanization ,so you can get the idea how to pronounce it but don’t do it when you are practicing it. challenge yourself*

• Aunty  - 아주머니/ 아줌마    (a-ju-meo-ni , a-jum-ma)
• Uncle - 아저씨   (a-jo-sshi)
• Grandma - 할머니   (hal-meo-ni)
• Grandpa - 할아버지  (hal-a-beo-ji)
• Father - 아버지  (a-beo-ji)
• Father in law - 시아버지     (si-a-beo-ji)
• Dad - 아빠   (a-ppa)
• Mum - 엄마   (eom-ma)
• Mother in law - 시어머니   (si-eo-meo-ni)
• Older Sister - 언니(female) , 누나(male)      (eon-ni, nu-na)
• Older Brother - 오빠(female) , 형 (male)     (o-ppa, hyeong)
• Younger Sibling - 동생    (dong-saeng)

as you memorize all these fella and other stuffs that you think its essential for you then you can start to build up into sentences. you can re-use the sentences inside the books, that is the laziest way for you to sharpen your korean skill. as you understand most of the hangul words, you can start making a conversation. just do some simple Q & A for yourself and etc. you can even make a fangirling conversation. from my experience, i did a shopping conversation , just in case i will be using it in future. hehe ,here’s a few examples:

1ST SITUATION : ASKING FOR ACCOMPANY

혜정: 하나야, 오늘 퇴근하고 쇼핑하러 같이 가실래?

하나: 좋아. 어디로 가는게 좋을까? 추전할 만한 곳이있어?

혜정: 으으음..동대문 어때? 밤에 가면 옷이 더 싸다고 들었어.

하나: 아 진짜? 그럼 동대문 가 우리!

Translation :

Hyejung : Hana, would you like to go to shopping together after work?

Hana: Alright, Where should we go? any recommendation for the shopping place ?

Hyejung: ummm…how about Dongdaemun? i heard that clothes are cheaper at night

Hana: ahh really? let’s go to Dongdaemun then!

2ND SITUATION : BUYING DRESS

하나: 이 원피스는 얼마예요?

점원: 40,000 *사만원* 이예요.

하나: 생각보다 싼데요. 어떤 사이즈 있으세요?

점원: 이 원피스라 충분히입니다.

하나: 아아 그래요? 그럼, 이거 하나주세요

Translation:

Hana: How much is this dress?

Employee: It’s 40,000 won

Hana: That’s cheaper than i thought. What size do you have?

Employee:  It’s a free-size.

Hana: aahh really? i will take this one, please.

after you think you can nailed it without thinking a second thought of writing and speak, try to learn their acronyms. it does make you sounds more like local. hehe . here’s the example:

• “ㄱㄷ” from “기다려주세요.” :  wait
• “ㅇ” or  “ㅇㅇ”  This is an abbreviated form of “응,” :  yes
• “ㄴ” or “ㄴㄴ” : no
• “ㅇㅋ” : okay
• “ㅇㄷ” : where ?
• “ㅃ/ㅃㅃ/ㅃㅇ/ㅂㅂ/ㅂㅇ” : bye
• “ㄱㅊ” Abbreviation of “괜찮아,” : it’s okay

one of crucial points that really helps me how to write and understand their daily life conversation were i read their webtoons. if you dont know what webtoons are, it is like an unofficial manga in hangul. you can download their app but i unsure if it only can be downloaded in Korea store or not. you have to check for that. i read more than 10 webtoons and it does improved my skills tremendously. here’s my favourites :

1. 외모지상주의
2. 우리 헤어졌어요
3. 빨간책
4. 연애혁명
5. 데드데이즈

< BY WATCHING SHOWS >

i would recommend some shows that can improve your hangul as shown below

Beginners :

• Return of The Superman
• Oh My! Baby
• EXO next door
• We Broke Up

Intermediate:

• EXO’s Showtime *all seasons*
• Mix & Match
• Star King
• I Live Alone
• Happy Together *50% - 70% of the show you can understand*

Advance:

• Show Me The Money *you can understand what the PD said but the lyrics are like 20% - 40%”
• Running Man *depends on episodes, average 68%*
• Gag Concerts
• Please Take Care of My Refrigerator
• 4 Things Show

Fluent 100% :

• Law of The Jungle
• Hello Counselor
• Show Me The Money
• *literally all the shows*

all these self-learning sections, i do it in my way. so it may or may not fit to your lifestyle. you can do changes here and there to match your tempo. as long as you keep learning, your goals will achieved.

*the 2nd part, i will post it next week. i need to gather some information. Goodluck.*