KoreanClass101.com Blog

Time. Koreans can be terrible about it. I have been stood up more times than I'm happy to admit, but not by dates, but by Koreans. Oh sure, times are changing... but historically, Koreans haven't faired well with keeping appointments on time. It's not their fault. Maybe it's my fault for being punctual. Maybe I make too big a deal of this. I mean, all other Americans think similarly (only we aren't as homogeneous as Koreans and thus, many Americans are remorselessly late too). Maybe I never really questioned it until now? Those of you familiar with Mexican culture will know that MexicoTime is about +1 hour past the time agreed upon. By comparison, KoreaTime is usually +15 minutes past the time stated. Not bad. But there must... Show more

I'm sure you are all aware that 띄어쓰기(spacing) in Korean is just as important as in any other language (with the exception of Japanese and Chinese where spacing isn't necessary). I'd like to introduce some of the most commonly mentioned examples of the confusion that spacing errors can bring about. ^_^ The first one. Let's say you want to write, "My father is going into the room." - father = 아버지 - room = 방 - to go into = 들어가시다 (honorific) So this becomes 아버지가 방에 들어가십니다. But if you change the spacing a little bit and write, it becomes "아버지 가방에 들어가십니다." (My father is going into the bag.) Haha. And here's another interesting example :) Let's say you want to say "I bought a tree... Show more

I am going to try to get Stephanie to post about her trip experiences. Here are some of her thoughts about teaching English in Korea:  So, after I got out of the hospital (the surgery went great, actually, the IV hurt more than the surgery itself) I went back to teaching little kids at the elementary school. They all stared at me like I belonged in a zoo and when I spoke korean they looked at me as if I was like a talking zoo exhibit. They all find it rather amazing that I understand anything at all. It's really different how they all go "우와" when i say something in Korean. When our exchange students speak English, no one here (in America) is really that amazed at their "wonderous ability" to say hi and where's the bathroom and I'm... Show more

Drinking. Look at that - I didn't even have to add the word "alcohol" and you knew what I meant. So why is it such a taboo in America when compared to some other countries? A relatively small group of emigrants from England bound for America calling themselves the Puritans yearned for religious freedom. They set up in the New England area and proclaimed that their society would become a beacon of light for the world to see. Some time into the 17th century their power declined but their influence has remained in the prevalent thought of Americans ever since. It is because of these persecuted Brits that Americans are so squeamish with alcohol consumption in general. And nudity. Thanks guys. This isn't to say that what the... Show more

Stephanie has been in Korea about a week and a half now. Before she left she dislocated her knee. It popped back in but left behind a lot of swelling and a loss of function. She didn't appear to have torn any ligaments and x-rays didn't show anything other than the obvious soft tissue swelling. Her pain was decreasing as her range of motion was increasing up until she left and we all felt comfortable sending her. One of the sponsors for the school where she is teaching is a medical doctor who is the owner of a local private hospital/clinic. We sent her to the clinic for an MRI to rule out any significant internal derangement of her knee. Stephanie called us and asked why they were doing blood work and more x-rays at the same time. We... Show more