Study Korean (한국어 공부)

Introduction (소개)

안녕하세요! 저는 브룩 입니다.

So, how did you like my introduction? Pretty sweet, huh? Just kidding, it's just the typical "hello! I am Brooke." No, I'm not a teacher by any means, but I've learned (and still learning) Korean the hard way and I want you to avoid making the same mistakes that I did. So, that's why I created this study guide.  

First of all, I wanna warn you that Korean is a difficult language to learn. But, I know why you're here. It's because of K-pop right? Don't worry, it started out like that for me too. Don't get discouraged just because you're not going at the rate you want. No one can speak fluently in a new language in a year, not even if you study diligently and a lot at time. But, learning a new language can be fun. However, it isn't rainbows and butterflies like you'd expect; it's far from it. I started learning Korean in 2018, and I still suck at it. I don't even know all the basic grammar because I focused more on vocabulary that was nearly impossible to remember. That's a huge beginner mistake that everyone makes.

So here's a few tips to get you started:

1. Study vocabulary and grammar at the same time. As I said before, doing one before the other is a horrible mistake. Why? Because you're bound to forget some aspects of what you've learned because you're completely focused on something else.

2. Make notes. It can be on notebook, computer, phone, etc. Because Korean is a complicated language, it's best to take notes on everything you've studied. It's best to start with Hangul then continue onto your grammar and vocabulary. Another tip for this part is to make a Table of Contents. This way you'll know what page to go to in case there's something you forget instead of having to go searching for it and waste your time.

3. Listen to Korean as much as possible. Knowing how to pronounce is just as important as learning new words. If you can't pronounce a word, then what's the point of trying to learn the language? Okay, that may be going too far, but you know what I mean. Listening to K-pop is a start, but it's not the most accurate form of Korean. Why? Because it doesn't follow the correct grammar. That's why watching k-dramas are going to be your best bet. I'll post some songs and shows to watch later to help you study.

4. Talk to yourself. You may sound insane talking to yourself in a foreign language, but as long as no one else understands what you're saying, then it should be all good, right? Talk to yourself in Korean to help you practice your pronunciation as well as the vocabulary and grammar you just learned. The best way is to form sentences, read them out loud, then practice saying the sentence without reading it.

5. DO NOT READ ROMANIZATION. Reading Korean from it's romanization will screw up how you read Hangul. It's good at first to learn what sounds the symbols make, but in the long run, it'll mess you up. I've made that mistake so I'm just now able to read Hangul fast enough to sing along with some of my favorite songs at normal speed. The reason why I say not to read the romanization is because there's going to be some symbols that change sounds. For example, the Korean word for 'petal' has the symbol that usually makes the 'ch' sound that changes to the 'n' sound. This is where learning grammar and Hangul will really help.

6. Talk to native Korean speakers. There's different apps/websites that you can use to help you learn Korean. Some that I've used is HelloTalk and Meeff (though I don't really recommend this one). HelloTalk is full of people who are young and want to learn your language (no this is not sponsored lol). In the conversation - as well as the chat boards - there's spelling checks where others can let you know what you messed up on. But the important thing here is to not use a translator. With a translator you're not really learning, instead you're basically cheating. HelloTalk is an app to help you learn a foreign language, not just talk to some cute Asian guys (although it may be a reason why to continue using it).

7. Don't give up! Korean is very hard, but if you're passionate and patient enough to learn it, then try it out!

That's all I have to say for now! I hope you'll enjoy learning Korean as much as I do 💕

I'll post a new part once a week so you don't get too overwhelmed with new information. Even if this is the first chapter out of many, you should read at least a day at a time to make sure your brain doesn't fry within the first hour.

사랑해 💜

~Brooke ✌🏻