KoreanClass101.com Blog

I know, I know. I promised last week that I'd come with some hiphop today. But there's something else I want to write about today instead. I've been a fan of FT 아일랜드 or FT Island since their debut. They're a five member boyband - and by band, I mean an actual band. They don't all sing and dance - they actually play their instruments, and generally suck pretty bad at dancing. There's 이홍기 on vocals, 최종훈 on guitar, 이재진 on bass, 최민환 on drums, and 오원빈 on guitar and backing vocals/'rap', and my favourite. They debuted in 2007 and since then they've released two albums and repackages, and a Japanese mini album and single, as well as performing songs on a couple of drama OSTs. The above is the first single, 사랑후애, from their second album... Show more

Korean Reading Practice for Beginners #3 is here! You can practice pronouncing some combinations of consonants and vowels using this video. If you can't watch the video, please click the following link.

설날 is where it's at. Hey, it wouldn't be KoreanClass101 without a culture class on this holiday. You might be wondering why this new year is not on the same day as our traditional new years party in the West. Because just like all other complicated math concepts in Korea, this holiday is based on the lunar calendar and not the solar calendar. The solar calendar is what we receive in the mail for free from the ASPCA and the like. The lunar calendar is what changes from year to year. Here's a 2009 list of solar and lunar holidays in Korea. So, if it seems like Koreans were late to your New Years party by a few weeks, that's the problem. Plus, solar new year is not as big of a deal in many Asian countries, not just Korea (excluding... Show more

Korean Reading Practice for Beginners #2 is here! You can practice pronouncing the basic vowels in Korean using this video. If you can't watch the video, please click the following link.

Last week a new artist debuted and since I quite liked the song, I thought I'd share the MV of it with you all. The artist's name is 태군 (Taegoon), and it looks like he's going to be leaning towards the dance/R&B style of pop that's pretty popular right now. This song is called Call Me, and it's not all that amazing, it's pretty standard fare but I quite liked it anyway: The rather emotionless/possibly robot guy with a gun is 김재중 of 동방신기. I found it a rather random appearance! Apparently the two are friends, and 김재중 was helping to pimp his friend's debut out a bit. 태군's dance style actually reminds me quite a bit of 비, even some of the scenes remind me a lot of 비's MVs. Anyone here familiar with 비 and thinks the same? A few of... Show more