Learn Korean with KoreanClass101.com! Welcome to the first EVER KoreanClass101.com lesson! In today’s lesson, your hosts will introduce themselves to you. And as there’s no impression like the first, what better way to do it than in Korean? Be sure to stop by KoreanClass101.com and leave us a post!
This entry was posted on Monday, August 13th, 2007 at 4:30 pm and is filed under Beginner Lessons. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
221 Responses to “Beginner Lesson #1 - Self-Introductions”
KoreanClass101.com says:
July 24th, 2007 at 7:39 pm
Hello, and thanks for listening to KoreanClass101.com, you’re number one source for Korean language resources!
Peter says:
August 13th, 2007 at 6:48 pm
Congratulations Keith and Seol! Today I begin my quest to learn Korean! Can’t wait! 
Hyunwoo Sun says:
August 13th, 2007 at 7:16 pm
Koreanclass101.com 축하해요 ^_^ !! Great lesson!!
Peter, 한국어 실력 기대하고 있을게요!! ㅋㅋㅋ
MexicanHat says:
August 13th, 2007 at 7:21 pm
Thank you for the lesson Just like Peter I begin my journey as well 
Peter says:
August 13th, 2007 at 7:27 pm
Hyunwoo Sun! Annyeonghaseyo? Jeoneun Peter-imnida.
Cheoeum boepgesseumnida. Keith and Seol are really good teachers!
Thanks for all your help, and for being part of the team! Really, really glad we made your acquaintance!
MexicanHat! Looking forward to having some company on this journey! 
I know most of the people over here will be tuning in! Hwaiting! I hope that is right.
Victoria says:
August 13th, 2007 at 7:34 pm
Well done Keith and Seol!
Absolutely fab lesson, am really looking forward to getting stuck into some serious Korean. I wish I’d stuck to doing the Jpod101 lessons as they were released, and I’m going to try really hard to keep up with these korean podcasts!
Will put a link on the website in a short while to help spread the word! 
Take care and congrats again,
Victoria
Victoria says:
August 13th, 2007 at 7:36 pm
Oooh ooh ooh and I meant to say …
… *really* good lesson format. I really like how you dive straight into the Korean and speak full speed at first, and then work through it afterwards. It doesn’t give anxious beginners the opportunity to feel intimidated by what they’re about to hear, which is really good.
Looking forward to more of the same,
Victoria
JockZon (JZ) says:
August 13th, 2007 at 7:39 pm
Annyeong haseyo!
Jeo neun Joakim imnida. Cheoeum boepgesseumnida 
Congratulations to the newly lanched site! But here I’m going with your first feedback haha. You should romanize more in the PDF. Especially in this beginner lessons when I don’t think all of us know Hangul yet.
Awesome guys! This lessons was so easy 
I mean like japanese but with different words 
JockZon (JZ) says:
August 13th, 2007 at 8:03 pm
Hmm, I also think there is a typo in the PDF. It says boepgesseubnida instead of boepgesseumnida and the hangul looks like it could be both so I don’t know. Check it out please.
Hyunwoo Sun says:
August 13th, 2007 at 8:15 pm
Peter // 안녕하세요 - 저도 만나서 반가워요 ^_^!! I’m excited to be a part of the team as well!! Thanks for the encouragement and “앞으로 잘 부탁 드립니다.” And I’m surprised that your Korean is already quite good!!
JockZon // Just like you said, it’s something that needs some checking on, but actually it could both in Korean because you write “습니다(sseubnida)” but pronounce “슴니다(sseumnida)”. But we could use some more consistency. Thanks for pointing it out!!
There’s a pronunciation rule when it comes to ㅂ and ㄴ coming together, but I’m sure that will be covered in a lesson pretty soon!
Victoria says:
August 13th, 2007 at 8:18 pm
Hi JZ,
I’d be the first to admit I’ve barely studied Korean, but from what I’ve seen of romanization its far from a precise art. There isn’t a consistent 1-1 mapping from the roman characters to the hangul ones; as you say, the hangul can look like more than one possible romanisation.
I’d definitely recommend trying to learn hangul as soon as possible, though. Its not as difficult as it looks, and the pronounciation will relate more closely to what you’re reading. Its like one of those pain barriers - you’ll go through a phase where it slows down your learning because its so new, but you’ll have to do it sooner or later and the sooner you do it the sooner you’ll be proficient with it.
Good luck with your studies!
Victoria
João Paulo says:
August 13th, 2007 at 8:22 pm
Hello, everybody!!!
Nice meeting you Keith and Seol. Thank you for the lesson.
Hello everybody from JPOD101 - I can see some people from there already. I believe everybody was really looking forward to listening to these lessons.
We are going to have Peter-san participating in the foruns as a student, too? That will be really nice.
I have to admit this lesson was really tough. I think I’m still not able to pronounce some of the sounds, maybe I’m lost already, but I’ll try to practice!!
See you then!!
JockZon (JZ) says:
August 13th, 2007 at 8:25 pm
I’ve made a post about hangul in the forum for us who need to learn it as quickly as possible ^^
Hyunwoo Sun says:
August 13th, 2007 at 8:45 pm
In case you want to know, here’s how to write the names of everyone who’s left a comment here so far :
Peter = 피터
MexicanHat = 멕시칸햇 (but I’m sure this is not your real name )
Victoria = 빅토리아
Joakim = 요아킴
João Paulo = 조아오 파울로
Please correct me if I’ve mispronounced your name, and my name in Korean is 현우!
Peter says:
August 13th, 2007 at 8:51 pm
Hyunwoo-ssi! 감사합니다.gamsahamnida. Hehe, okay, I am cheating a bit, as Keith is right here. But also using Survival Phrases, so kind of cheating on my own.
Thank you Hyunwoo-ssi! My name in Korean! Very cool!
Keith says:
August 13th, 2007 at 8:59 pm
Thanks everyone for the responses!
Victoria is right. Learning hangul is your best route to learning Korean. Please please please don’t rely on romanization! There has been a new standardized romanization system implemented near the year 2000, but it’s far from perfect as the romanization can change according to different circumstances.
We’ve included the romanization, but we will probably use less and less of it as the lessons become more advanced. This is because it will probably become a hindrance to the learning. (Unless you all want the romanization in the more advanced lessons)
But just like victoria said, learning Hangul is EASY! I guarantee that you will be accustomed to it within a day, and become proficient in it within a week (with practice of course).
Actually Hyunwoo will be helping out with making a visual aid for learning how to read and write Hangul. Everyone please greet your forum administrator! And we hope to implement his invaluable skills in everyway we can. Be sure to acquaint yourself with Hyunwoo. He’ll definitely help you with your learning curve.
현우씨 이렇게 열심히 하셔서, 대단히 감사합니다!!
(Hyunwoo, Thanks for all your hard work!)
Everyone please comment and tell me what we’re doing right and what we’re doing wrong. Let me know your thoughts on how I can make this project as good as it can be. Maybe even better than japanesepod101?????????? 
JK Peter!!
doraemon says:
August 13th, 2007 at 9:00 pm
Yay! Way to go
Congrats everybody. I will try this out on my korean friend on Tuesday
JockZon (JZ) says:
August 13th, 2007 at 9:06 pm
Keith: The only problem I see with learning hangul is for instance some that words are pronounced differently than they are spelled. Exactly like the thing I pointed out in my previous post. But I’m studying now as we speak
Hyunwoo Sun says:
August 13th, 2007 at 9:35 pm
Keith // 고마워요. ^_^ Thanks for introducing me to everyone. I’m really enjoying it here!
Joakim // Yeah there are lots of “rules” and “irregularities” in Korean, but once you learn the basics, you’ll soon understand that it’s all for your ease of pronunciation 화이팅!!
Hyunwoo Sun says:
August 13th, 2007 at 9:38 pm
Doraemon(도라에몽) // Please let us know your friend’s reaction! ^_^
João Paulo says:
August 13th, 2007 at 10:31 pm
Hyunwoo Sun,
Thank you for my name in Korean, even though I am still not able to read it, that looks very nice!!
Waw, 20 posts already, I believe you are going to get a record of posts today!!!
Keith says:
August 13th, 2007 at 10:37 pm
Whoops! Missed the correct spelling of the romanization. I’ll fix that right away. Please be understanding of the romanization, as it’s still fairly new not only to me, but to all Koreans. Thanks for pointing that out JockZon.
Also, I’d like to thank Eran and Jason for all their hard work in making this website. I’m amazed at the quality and the speed at which this was produced. Outstanding job everyone. And of course, who can forget Peter from jpod. Thanks for being so supportive and understanding. Thank you team!
JockZon (JZ) says:
August 13th, 2007 at 10:57 pm
Yeah I know romanization is hard but you should stick to one system. Right now I can see ㅈ being romanized as j and ch in different words. 
Hyunwoo Sun says:
August 13th, 2007 at 11:47 pm
Yes, Jason! We love the site! Thank you for the hard work! お疲れ様でした！수고하셨어요!!
rigo says:
August 14th, 2007 at 1:49 am
hello i’m so excited about learning korean but wonder
if i’ll be able to study both japanese and korean at the same time , i mean will it be confusing ?
i’ll give it a try though
by the way how do i write my name ?
thanks
Richard Tomlin says:
August 14th, 2007 at 1:54 am
Keith, Seol, 만나서 반갑습니다!
I’m so pleased there is now a Koreanclass101
리치 Rich
Victoria says:
August 14th, 2007 at 1:56 am
Hi Rigo,
Studying two languages at the same time can be confusing sometimes. The important thing is not to be put off. I’ve been studying Japanese, Mandarin and a little bit of German for over a year. Once in a while I’ll try to think of a word and the exact right word in one of the other languages will arrive on the tip of my tongue, but not as often as you’d think - and not as often as when I first started trying to learn.
Its like your mind starts off thinking there is “native” and “foreign”, and lumps everything not “native” into “foreign” category. So to start with, you’ll get them mixed up. Then, the more you practice, your mind starts to split out “foreign” into the real categories - “japanese”, “korean” etc. I’ve found it helps to switch quite often between the languages - if I do a day of one and a day of the other, I’ll be ok - if I do three weeks of one I’ll find it’ll get a little harder.
Japanese and Korean do have some similar grammar, which may be helpful, and some “false friends” or words that sound the same but have different meanings, which will probably not be helpful. So it may be a little harder than Mandarin and Japanese, or German and Japanese. But they do sound quite different, so it should be easier than say Italian and Spanish, or Spanish and Portuguese.
Good luck with it, and I’m sure if you stick at it you’ll achieve your own goals. After all, that’s the most important thing isn’t it?
Victoria
Richard Tomlin says:
August 14th, 2007 at 2:19 am
Agreed, don’t be put off learning more than one language, it’s definitely possible!
I enjoyed language learning more when I started to learn more languages. It’s nice to have something different to work on when you get stuck or tired of one language for a day or two.
I’ve studied Mandarin for 3 years, Japanese for 2 and I just started Korean 6 months ago. I’ve decided not to work on Japanese as I just don’t have time for 3 languages (my gf is Korean!), and i’m so pleased to find Koreanclass101.
I think Korean really is a cool language to learn, as it isn’t popular and if you can speak it, you really are a member of an exclusive club!
Vicky (비키) says:
August 14th, 2007 at 2:38 am
Rigo = 리고
you have to type F L to get ri and R H to get go in Korean.
Hope this will help you.
rigo says:
August 14th, 2007 at 2:46 am
thank you virginia and Richard for your comments
i started watching korean dramas when there was nothing good on tv,somehow i started to like it as i started seeing
some aspects of korean culture like wedding ceremonies
chirstmas celebrations , even music that i never heard before, so i’ll do my best
ganbarimasu !
by the way how do you say ganbarimasu in korean?
ciao
markystar says:
August 14th, 2007 at 4:43 am
Keith and Seol,
CHUKA HAMNIDA!
i’ll take you and dave up on the Hangul Challenge!
as for those of you debating learning 2 languages at the same time… it seems hard, but it’s not impossible.
i studied Latin, Italian, Ancient Greek, French, and Anglo-Saxon at the same time. I also studied Egyptian Hieroglyphics. at the same time!
It’s totally possible….
JockZon (JZ) says:
August 14th, 2007 at 5:01 am
I’m studying english, german, japanese and korean at the same time althought my english is almost fluent and my german as well.
MexicanHat says:
August 14th, 2007 at 6:53 am
Although this is the first lesson, I can begin to see the similarities between Korean and Japanese
Only thing I can think of to improve the lessons is to break down the sounds a little slower?
Is it me or is Keith’s laugh infectious? every time he laughs I seem to crack up really bad as well
Sindy says:
August 14th, 2007 at 7:33 am
KoreanClass101 crew/listeners!
Congratulations Keith!
Finally KoreanClass101 is up and running.
I agree with everyone and like Peter-san and Jockzon said it’s my first time learning Korean and hope I can learn it. 
Right now I’m learning Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese and Norigean wish me luck everyone! S_R_C
Richard Tomlin (리치) says:
August 14th, 2007 at 7:41 am
Yes, for Ganbarimasu you can say AZA AZA FIGHTING!! ~~
Sindy says:
August 14th, 2007 at 7:49 am
Keith-Kim!
I would like to know my name in Korean:???:
Can you help me out and tell me how do I post it here:???:
Well thank you for your time and good luck! S_R_C
Vicky (비키) says:
August 14th, 2007 at 8:11 am
Sindy = 신디 same as Cindy, it’s same.
S_R_C = 에스_알_씨
Sorry I’m not Keith, hope he doesn’t mind.
Hyunwoo Sun says:
August 14th, 2007 at 8:11 am
Hello Sindy, your name is “신디” in Korean!
만나서 반갑습니다 ^_^
By the way, does everyone know that Keith’s name is written “키스” and there’s no way to differentiate the sound with “키스”, meaning “Kiss” in Korean? ㅋㅋㅋ
(no offense Keith!) ㅋㅋ
Hyunwoo Sun says:
August 14th, 2007 at 8:15 am
Studying more than two languages at the same time is a lot of fun.
You get confused at times, like you start talking in Japanese when you were actually meaning to say something in Chinese, but I think it’s part of the fun too. ^_^!
And actually it’s very a big benefit if you know one language when you study a new one, right?
Apart from the confusion part, the only problem in learning many languages at the same time seems to be how to divide and use your time wisely.
화이팅!!
Hyunwoo Sun says:
August 14th, 2007 at 8:16 am
Wow - more than 45 comments within 12 hours, this is amazing!
Scott Curry says:
August 14th, 2007 at 9:12 am
AWESOME!
I’m gonna learn Korean now too. My best friend is Korean, it would be cool to impress his mom by speaking a little bit of it at least. The owner of my favorite sushi bar is actually Korean, I see him all the time. I’m sure he will throw me even more free food than he already does if I learn more Korean!
Good job on the site, I am glad it is presented a lot like JPod. I wish you all much success!
Scott Curry says:
August 14th, 2007 at 9:15 am
Hey, be sure to fix your blog link on the navigation bar, it links to the Japanesepod101.com blog.
Auntie says:
August 14th, 2007 at 9:17 am
Hello! I’m really REALLY enjoying my free 7-day trial of KoreanClass101. Thank you! The teachers are simpatici, and the pace is exactly what I want. Yay! http://www.koreanclass101.com/wp-images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif\
Just have one question — I have registered succesfully, but seem to be unable to use the RSS feed option (even the public feed) with my iTunes, using the same user name and password in the confirmation e-mail from KoreanClass101. The iTunes button in public feed area of the homepage also seems to be “dead”. I am guessing that this is only a little bug somewhere, so I’m delighted to just enjoy the first lesson for now!
Once again, thanks!
David says:
August 14th, 2007 at 9:18 am
Professor Marky Star,
you’re gonna have to take that TOPIK (aka Test of Proficiency in Korean) test if you want to prove to me that you’ll have reached proficiency in Korean. I hear they have the test twice a year - once in September and another one in April.
João Paulo says:
August 14th, 2007 at 9:24 am
What a great community of language lovers!!!
I studied Spanish and Italian at the same time in the past. Actually, I used to have Italian classes in the morning and Spanish classes in the afternoon the same day. The point is that as a native Portuguese speaker those languages are not so difficult for me.
Then I tried to study a little Mandarin while studying Japanese and I really decided to stop because I was mixing them up. Specially because I was a completely beginner in both and I thought it wouldn’t be so beneficial.
Now I really want to try some Korean because of all the encouragement we’ve received… and not only that… having so many people starting together seems like being a classroom with lots of beginners as well and I definetely like the feeling.
I was hope that with my university classes back I’ll still have time to try them both.
By the way, we are almost at the 50th post. Let’s keep them coming!!! 
Sindy 신디 says:
August 14th, 2007 at 9:29 am
Thank you Vicky 비키 and Hyunwoo Sun!
My name is beautiful just like the voice of this Korean girl I’m hearing right now aaahhh very pleasant!
What’s her name? I really hope she stays because it would be very nice and cute.
I would like to if Koreans have a Social Site just like Mixi? if so please let me know and sent a invitation at Sakuraeagle84@hotmail.com Thank you very much! S_R_C
João Paulo says:
August 14th, 2007 at 9:59 am
People, I just need some help…
Could anyone subscribe to KC in iTunes?? I didn’t find it and I don’t know how to add this either. Any help??
Thanks
Jason says:
August 14th, 2007 at 10:06 am
Until we get a proper iTunes store link, you can use this link to subscribe in iTunes:
Eran says:
August 14th, 2007 at 10:12 am
Holy moly!!! 53 comments and going strong… Truly off to an amazing start! Congratulations to Keith, Seol, and everyone else involved in the launch of KoreanClass101.com. I also want to give props to our beloved Jason Charrier who has been instrumental behind the scenes and a force on the technology side of things…
João Paulo, the podcast will be available on iTunes in just a few days… We want to make sure we work out all the major kinks before we officially put it out to the world!
Auntie, the Basic and Premium iTunes feed are not available for 7-Day Free Trial and require active subscriptions.
If you can wait and want it on iTunes today, you can do go to “Advanced –> Subscribe to Podcast” from the iTunes menu, and add http://www.koranclass101.com/feed.xml manually from iTunes.
Once again, awesome job all around!
Jason says:
August 14th, 2007 at 10:13 am
Hey, be sure to fix your blog link on the navigation bar, it links to the Japanesepod101.com blog
Yeah, the kclass blog isn’t up yet so in the meantime it’ll point to jpod’s. The kclass blog should be up later this month.
Auntie says:
August 14th, 2007 at 11:03 am
I’m an Active Basic Subscriber now! Yay! Thank you Peter-San and Prof Keith Kim (+all the team) for the nice “LAUNCH” discount, and the wonderful friendly content!
[Yay….!]
Sindy 신디 says:
August 14th, 2007 at 11:26 am
Thank you Eran-san for telling us the names of the people involve!
Seol you have a very beautiful voice, keep up this great job!
Keith you too my friend thank you!
Vicky 비키 Are the Vicky of JP101 or another Vicky:???:
Welcome aboard Auntie to this ride call KoreanClass101 ………………………… S_R_C
Hyunwoo Sun says:
August 14th, 2007 at 11:30 am
http://Cyworld.com is the no.1 community website for Korean people - you could say virtually everyone under 40 yrs of age who can surf the net has an ID there (of course quite a lot of older people are members, too, but still less). But it might be a bit difficult at first to be a member since everything’s in Korean. But check it out!
Hyunwoo Sun(선현우) says:
August 14th, 2007 at 11:35 am
Wow. Are we really going for 101 comments?
Strong listener parcitipation!
This is good!!! Keep them coming, everyone ^_^
Korean names of some more people who’s left comments above ^_^ : (just in case you want to know)
David 데이빗
Auntie 앤티
Jason 제이슨
Scott Curry 스캇 커리
Eran 에런
marvin says:
August 14th, 2007 at 11:42 am
annyeonghaseyo! jeoneun marvin-imnida.
great lesson! and even angelina jolie and brad pitt appear
Sindy 신디 says:
August 14th, 2007 at 12:32 pm
Hyunwoo Sun(선현우)
Thank you very much for giving us out Korean social site.
Do I need a invitation or I sign up normally:???:
You forgot to post my name of listeners participation comments.
Marvin
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt appear:???: where:???:
S_R_C
Hyunwoo Sun(선현우) says:
August 14th, 2007 at 12:55 pm
안녕 신디 !
It’s just a normal signup process. ^_^
마빈 // 반갑습니다!!
신디 // Keith is Brad Pitt, and 윤설 is Angelina Jolie.. k k
Sindy 신디 says:
August 14th, 2007 at 1:00 pm
Hyunwoo Sun(선현우)
Thanks again, I already sign up normal but everything was in English. 
How do I make the page look all in Korean S_R_C
chrsr34 says:
August 14th, 2007 at 1:30 pm
Great lesson Keith and Seol. I was actually waiting for another podcast korean site to be finished and bam, i just found you guys today on the 1st day! Awesome. Ive home studied for a few months but now i get formal lessons, doesnt get better.
kamsahamnida!
Chris
Sindy 신디 says:
August 14th, 2007 at 1:47 pm
Vicky (비키)
I’m sorry, I got confused!
Thank you Vicky (비키 S_R_C
JockZon (JZ) says:
August 14th, 2007 at 2:08 pm
There is time to reach 101 comments! ^^ Oh boy I got up early (7pm tuseday morning) today just so that I could study, on my summer holiday. ㅋㅋㅋ
Hyunwoo Sun(선현우) says:
August 14th, 2007 at 2:22 pm
Welcome to the site, Chris! If you’ve studied for a few months, you must be looking forward to some more advanced lessons from KoreaClass101. They’ll be here soon! 만나서 반가워요 크리스! 한국어 쓸 수 있어요?
Hyunwoo Sun(선현우) says:
August 14th, 2007 at 2:23 pm
Joakim(요아킴)~! What enthusiasm!
착한 학생이에요!!(You’re a good student!)
JockZon (JZ) says:
August 14th, 2007 at 2:34 pm
선현우! When is the estimated time for the next lesson ㅋㅋㅋ
요아킴
Vicky (비키) says:
August 14th, 2007 at 2:46 pm
Hope we can make 101 comments and get 2nd lesson, how’s that???
Hyunmin Kang(강현민) says:
August 14th, 2007 at 3:00 pm
안녕하세요! 강현민이라고 합니다!
Koreanclass101.com 축하해요~ ^-^
Peter says:
August 14th, 2007 at 3:13 pm
Rioo!!! How are you?? It is so good to see you! I was looking for you on MSN to let you know!
Hello to everyone else! Thank you for posting!! This is a great start to KoreanClass101.com!! Looking forward to learning Korean with you!
Category: Beginner Lessons |
Grammar: affirmative copula, to be, topic particle | Function: introducing ones self | Topic: Introductions | Politeness Level: Formal
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