Hangul (한 굴)

When I first started to see Hangul (한 굴) on a daily basis, I knew I wanted to start Korean language classes as soon as possible.  It's easy in this city to get by with only a few basic phrases but part of this decision to move to a foreign country wasn't to hide in my own little world, and I want to challenge myself to look at life from a different point of view.  As Nelson Mandela said: "If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart."

That being said, I've been going to Korean language classes for a month now...but unfortunately the class is 1pm on a Saturday during the summer, so amazingly awesome things keep coming up.  First I missed a class for Busan, then I went to Nami Island with Brian to see Jason Mraz, and this next weekend I will be going to a lakehouse.  The summer months are heating up, and my apartment seems to absorb heat and seems intent on containing it.  I definitely could use a weekend on the water, and I'll drink some soju with some Koreans instead of class just this one time. 

 

It's so deceivingly complicated.

There has been progress, however, and I'm slowly but surely learning  to speak backwards. The real adjustment one must make when learning Korean  is in the sentence structure itself.  Instead of asking "What is your name?" I have to think that, reverse it, and essentially say "Name what is?".  Instead of "Where are you from?" I ask "Which country person are you?".  It's fun but tricky, and answering takes a long time, but I have a friend on the same level as me, so practicing is something I look forward to.

Actually, even these "you"s and "I"s aren't said in these cases.  Subject markers will be used at some point (I think) but for what I'm learning now I don't say "I have".  I'm actually saying "Is had".  Instead of "are you" you are simpy saying "that exists".  

Oh, really? It's nice to meet you.

I'm really having fun memorizing these new words and sounds, and it helps that I'm picking them up faster than I thought possible.  For instance: see those upside-down, square-ish A's in the last word on the bottom right?  Those make the "B" sound.  In this phrase, which is the polite form of "It's nice to meet you", that symbol actually makes three different sounds the three different times its used: a "buh", then a "puh", then a "muh".  And you know what?  That is actually starting to make sense.