KoreanClass101.com Blog

안녕하세요~~ 여러분 잘 지내시죠? If you have ever been to any Korean entertainment websites and looked at the comments, or seen any online chatting dialogue between korean people (especially young girls), you have probably noticed that it can seem like people are speaking an entirely different language. One of the big differences is the rampant use of abbreviations. While these kinds of abbreviations are also used in casual conversation, they are even more prevalent on the internet and in text messages. One of the first abbreviations I learned about was a different way to talk about different kinds of students. Let me explain: Kindergarten Students = 유치원생 = 유딩 Elementary School Students = 초등학생 = 초딩 Middle School Students = 중학생 = 중딩... Show more

It's been another week of good stuff being released, such as Fly to the Sky's latest (and last) album Decennium. I'm personally still feeling rather heartbroken that they're breaking up, although they have said that they will be coming back together to release smaller releases sometimes. That's like ending your marriage but still dating that person! I wish that they were staying together properly, because Decennium had so many amazing songs on it, they just keep getting better and better - I suppose it's good to go out on a high note, though. 신화 member and ballad singer 신혜성 also released an album this week. Keep Leaves is the 'second side' of his third solo album. The first side, Live and Let Live was released last year and had 신혜성... Show more

Congratulations to Alexis Bartlett on winning the GRAND PRIZE of the Mail Bag Contest II! We gave her 12 months of FREE Premium service for sharing a truly inspirational and touching story. Alexis grew up feeling a bit disconnected from her Korean heritage and through studying the language and the collaboration of the KoreanClass101 community she was able to discover more about her ancestry and become truly passionate about learning the language. This is what she wrote us: "I started learning Korean because it's a part of who I am. I was adopted to Sydney, Australia almost straight after I was born, in 1983. I grew up feeling like I wasn't interested in Korea - the language, culture... anything! But since I was a teenager, I... Show more

노래방 Goodness gracious this is popular. If your first encounter with Korean culture wasn't with K-Pop or K-Dramas, then it might have been at the Korean karaoke bar. It's also been blogged about here, here, here, here, here, and here. Oh, and here too. And kind of here. The thing about this Korean-wide phenomenon is that it permeates and flows through each and every Korean like the force. Sure, not everyone goes all the time but if you're Korean, you've gone to the 노래방. Plenty of times. And here's a brief comparison of 노래방 outside of Korea. Something that I see that makes me smile are these practice rooms: 노래연습장. It's not quite enough to embarrass yourself with your friends - now you can practice your craft so that you'll... Show more

Really Simple Korean Conversations - Video #1 Featuring: Hyunwoo (Host of KoreanClass101.com), Kyeong-eun (Host of KoreanClass101.com), Emily (Listener & Blogger of KoreanClass101.com) and Matthew (Listener & Blogger of KoreanClass101.com). Script by Emily.