Learning Korean and Bubu Jingxin
I have finally committed to learning Korean. I really enjoyed Chinese, but I suspect that Korean will actually be more useful to my interests. ^^ I've started with the Pimsleur program and I really like it so far. Korean sounds so difficult to me and after listening to my friends who studied it at university complain about it, I was terrified about speaking. So what I like about the Pimsleur program is that they have you start talking right away. There's no stringent grammar program (yet), so I'm not stressing about that part of the speech, just on saying the right words and getting them to sound right. This means Pimsleur is a tad incomplete, but it's a winning start. My plan for Korean goes like this:
Step 1: Learn speaking with Pimsleur.
Step 2: Learn to read and write. Then I can read articles in the Korean newspapers and work on my speaking/pronunciation that way.
Step 3: Start to piece together the grammar.
Step 4: Get a conversation partner I can trade languages with that will help me out further. Hopefully I can learn more about Korea that way too!
Rinse and repeat. Plus healthy doses of Korean drama. ^^
I can get quite a lot of use out of learning Korean because I encounter it on a regular basis, and one of my sources for Korean language are dramas. I thought I would be able to use Chinese for the same reason, but finding good Mandarin Chinese language dramas is much harder. Believe me, I've tried. But the Taiwanese ones remind me of Tagalog ones in the level of corniness that they don't hold me for very long and they definitely don't incite the kind of fervent love I have for, say, Flower Boy Ramyun Shop. (Which doesn't mean at all that every Korean drama is superior to every Taiwanese drama. There are some real Korean clunkers too.)
Until I picked up 步步惊心 /Bubu Jingxin/ Startling by Each Step (which is available at viki).
It reminds me of Fushigi Yuugi: a modern girl is transported to China's Qing dynasty where she is embroiled in political intrigue. And you know, something like four to five princes. The likes and dislikes, point by point:
+It's gorgeous (with one exception). Everyone is aristocracy so everyone is impeccably dressed. And the Manchus had some wild ideas for hairstyles. I like what the ladies have going but I don't think I could handle that day in and out. And I like the way they did her eyeliner, I've been trying to get the same effect for myself. XD
+I must admit to being a sucker for reverse-harem-esque shows (see Ouran High Host Club, You're Beautiful, and Flower Boy Ramyun Shop). Sadly, the boys aren't very good looking (the exception to all the gorgeousness is the Manchu ponytail all the boys are sporting: they shave the front of the head and braid the rest of the long hair in the back. They look way better with modern hair, though oddly the ponytail looks regal when hidden under a hat) but they make it up with great personalities. With leads us to
+Good characterization. Though they've all got the same hairstyle, the personalities are clearly drawn so you know the difference between 4th prince, 8th prince, 13th prince, and 14th prince. The structure and length of the program has also really helped out the characterization of the 4th prince as the strong and silent love interest. Because he's allowed a few early episodes where he really does get to be strong and silent. He's not talking straight away. That feeds into
+A complex story.
+Particularly a complex love story. Way too many other stories are "here's a girl. Here's a boy. They fall in love." But (and this is in part because the story is historical fiction), the main character is allowed to change her mind, love someone, then love someone else. She's allowed to have guy friends (!!!) and different kinds of relationships with all the brothers: one's her childhood friend that she teases, one's her drinking buddy who she discusses philosophy with, one's her lover that she shares sizzling chemistry with, one's her husband with which she shares a fairly adorable partnership with, ETC!
-On the other hand, I seriously hate dudes who force kisses and that's turned me off a bit to the "main ship." Taking the whole picture though, the ship makes some sense.
+Oh yeah, letting me exercise my Chinese. I learned to put r's at the end of things (是/shi becomes "shir"; 玩/wan becomes "wanr") so it's something of a relief to hear it again. This is just the Chinese I am more familiar with than the Taiwanese version (where they don't have r's).
-A major minus is the length.
-And the fact that it's going to descend into a tearfest. I usually don't cry at things (and I'm not invested in the main ship) so this is going to annoy me.
I need to keep up with practicing my Chinese, but I have the most difficulty with understanding what people are saying, tbh. :( (So it's sort of nice that in dramas you can slow them down and they tend to come with Chinese language subtitles.)
Step 1: Learn speaking with Pimsleur.
Step 2: Learn to read and write. Then I can read articles in the Korean newspapers and work on my speaking/pronunciation that way.
Step 3: Start to piece together the grammar.
Step 4: Get a conversation partner I can trade languages with that will help me out further. Hopefully I can learn more about Korea that way too!
Rinse and repeat. Plus healthy doses of Korean drama. ^^
I can get quite a lot of use out of learning Korean because I encounter it on a regular basis, and one of my sources for Korean language are dramas. I thought I would be able to use Chinese for the same reason, but finding good Mandarin Chinese language dramas is much harder. Believe me, I've tried. But the Taiwanese ones remind me of Tagalog ones in the level of corniness that they don't hold me for very long and they definitely don't incite the kind of fervent love I have for, say, Flower Boy Ramyun Shop. (Which doesn't mean at all that every Korean drama is superior to every Taiwanese drama. There are some real Korean clunkers too.)
Until I picked up 步步惊心 /Bubu Jingxin/ Startling by Each Step (which is available at viki).
It reminds me of Fushigi Yuugi: a modern girl is transported to China's Qing dynasty where she is embroiled in political intrigue. And you know, something like four to five princes. The likes and dislikes, point by point:
+It's gorgeous (with one exception). Everyone is aristocracy so everyone is impeccably dressed. And the Manchus had some wild ideas for hairstyles. I like what the ladies have going but I don't think I could handle that day in and out. And I like the way they did her eyeliner, I've been trying to get the same effect for myself. XD
+I must admit to being a sucker for reverse-harem-esque shows (see Ouran High Host Club, You're Beautiful, and Flower Boy Ramyun Shop). Sadly, the boys aren't very good looking (the exception to all the gorgeousness is the Manchu ponytail all the boys are sporting: they shave the front of the head and braid the rest of the long hair in the back. They look way better with modern hair, though oddly the ponytail looks regal when hidden under a hat) but they make it up with great personalities. With leads us to
+Good characterization. Though they've all got the same hairstyle, the personalities are clearly drawn so you know the difference between 4th prince, 8th prince, 13th prince, and 14th prince. The structure and length of the program has also really helped out the characterization of the 4th prince as the strong and silent love interest. Because he's allowed a few early episodes where he really does get to be strong and silent. He's not talking straight away. That feeds into
+A complex story.
+Particularly a complex love story. Way too many other stories are "here's a girl. Here's a boy. They fall in love." But (and this is in part because the story is historical fiction), the main character is allowed to change her mind, love someone, then love someone else. She's allowed to have guy friends (!!!) and different kinds of relationships with all the brothers: one's her childhood friend that she teases, one's her drinking buddy who she discusses philosophy with, one's her lover that she shares sizzling chemistry with, one's her husband with which she shares a fairly adorable partnership with, ETC!
-On the other hand, I seriously hate dudes who force kisses and that's turned me off a bit to the "main ship." Taking the whole picture though, the ship makes some sense.
+Oh yeah, letting me exercise my Chinese. I learned to put r's at the end of things (是/shi becomes "shir"; 玩/wan becomes "wanr") so it's something of a relief to hear it again. This is just the Chinese I am more familiar with than the Taiwanese version (where they don't have r's).
-A major minus is the length.
-And the fact that it's going to descend into a tearfest. I usually don't cry at things (and I'm not invested in the main ship) so this is going to annoy me.
I need to keep up with practicing my Chinese, but I have the most difficulty with understanding what people are saying, tbh. :( (So it's sort of nice that in dramas you can slow them down and they tend to come with Chinese language subtitles.)