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Moving to Korea to learn Korean? | ||
Tags: Living abroad | Korean | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| Peregrinus Senior Member United States Joined 4491 days ago 149 posts - 273 votes  Speaks: English* | Message 9 of 27 22 September 2012 at 2:07am | IP Logged | |||||
This is very interesting after having read numerous past threads on Korean stressing its difficulty even compared to Chinese and Japanese. Dr. Arguelles said that it takes 10 years in country to reach a high level. Of course he was also working a day job and raising a family (Korean wife). So it seems that to learn Korean really well there are 3 paths: 1) Study full-time intensively for a year in Korea; 2) Study part-time intensively for 10 years in Korea while working and doing other things; 3) Study part-time for more than 10 years abroad, with or without the aid of a Korean spouse and friends. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| IronFist Senior Member United States Joined 6436 days ago 663 posts - 941 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Japanese, Korean | Message 10 of 27 22 September 2012 at 2:37am | IP Logged | |||||
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^ Yeah, having studied both Korean and Japanese, I can tell you that Korean is harder in every way imaginable, except for reading and writing which is much simpler in Korean. Pronunciation, listening, and word boundaries are extremely difficult in Korean. I use the example that you can know every word in a sentence and still not understand it when someone says it to you. There is a fantastic thread on this forum called "I hate Korean" that explains more. It was hilarious because all these people who hadn't studied Korean were like "it can't be that hard, just work harder" until a few other people dropped in and were like "no, it is that hard." lol. But I've written at length about this before in other threads so I won't repeat myself now.
Thanks for the suggestions so far. Let me give a bit more info about myself that might help. I'm a 31 year old male. I've lived in downtown Chicago before but that's really my only downtown experience. I know some areas are decent and relatively safe to walk through alone at night but you really want to stay away from other areas. I like the action and the fact that there is always something to do at any time of day. I assume other downtown cities are like this, too. I don't know much about visas. I forgot there are rules about that stuff... I suppose I can't just go there and stay for as long as I want and then leave whenever I want. What are the rules about getting a job? I own an internet company and work from home so I can work wherever I want basically as long as there is internet, but I mean like a real job. That might add to my Korean experience. Those $1,500 classes sound more like my speed. Sounds like it might be a good way to meet other people/Americans/English speakers, too. Is there a long wait for those classes? Question: I've heard that meeting people is hard in Korea, even for locals, to the extent that the government is encouraging people to go out and be social. I've also heard they're quite xenophobic. Whereas I have heard that Japan can be great for Americans/foreigners, I have heard some things suggesting that Korea is not quite the same type of experience. How hard is it to meet drinking buddies/friends in Korea? Edited by IronFist on 22 September 2012 at 2:39am 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Leurre Bilingual Pentaglot Senior Member United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5424 days ago 219 posts - 372 votes Speaks: French*, English*, Korean, Haitian Creole, SpanishC2 Studies: Japanese | Message 11 of 27 22 September 2012 at 3:47am | IP Logged | |||||
I was never a big fan of breaking things down by time. But I will say that 'minimal knowledge to high B2-Low C1 is what I did from summer 2008 to spring 2009, and it is absolutely possible. Those 언어교육원s' 4 hour a day classes + 1-2 hours homework and study in the afternoon, + social activities does it. I've read that 'I hate Korean' thread all the way through, and I am honestly more of the 'it isn't that hard' school. I never killed myself over anything in Korean, and just putting in the hours studying did it for me. While this is just my own personal experience, I have at least been studying Korean for nigh on 4, 5 years, so... IronFist: -There's no wait for those classes, as far as I know; they take anyone who signs up, but you do have to sign up on time. -Meeting people in Korea CAN be hard, if you give up quickly, but it can be easy as pie if you're outgoing and don't mind that everyone isn't speaking to you 100% in Korean from day 1. I'm african american (in the literal way), so I look sorta like I came from Indonesia, but I've never felt that people were less approachable and.... while I do think there is a sort of xenophobia in Korea, it's nothing like racism in the US. It'll be a lot more condescending, a lot softer, and a lot more like: "Well you're a foreigner so you wouldn't understand", or "You're a foreigner, right? So you believe [insert stereotype here]". And this by no means applies to everyone. The younger the person, the lower the chance they're like this. As for the very last question about drinking buddies, just waltz into 홍대 or 이태원 around 10 pm on any day of the week, sit down at a table and start talking to people around you. Drinking buddies is one thing you won't have a problem finding. 4 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| skeeterses Senior Member United States angelfire.com/games5Registered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6617 days ago 302 posts - 356 votes 1 sounds Speaks: English* Studies: Korean, Spanish | Message 12 of 27 22 September 2012 at 3:57am | IP Logged | |||||
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IronFist, to finance the whole thing, you'll have to get a job in teaching which will be most likely be at a hagwon.
I worked in Korea from 2005-2008 and I can say that those 3 years were some of the best years of my life. If I had $2,000 to do some traveling, I would probably do it over again, especially in the crappy economy back in America. So here is my 2 cents. First, think about which age group you want to teach. Unless you are rich, you will most likely be doing some kind of teaching job. In my case, I didn't do too well teaching adolescents and thus I mostly taught young kids and adults, which limited me to part time work. I didn't save any money, but I didn't starve either. Second, try your luck outside Seoul and go to the rural areas when you have time to tour the country. In the rural areas, South Korea has mountains and huge beaches where you can get away from the city crowds. Of course, if you do wind up in the city and want to practice your Korean with the cab drivers and ShigDang waitresses, get the business cards from the Korean speaking cab drivers and go to the ShigDangs where the waitresses speak Korean with you. BTW, you mentioned that you live in Chicago. Isn't there a Korean Church on Foster Avenue somewhere? You should probably go there and they can help you on your Korean as well as find direction in your career. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Peregrinus Senior Member United States Joined 4491 days ago 149 posts - 273 votes Speaks: English* | Message 13 of 27 22 September 2012 at 5:29am | IP Logged | |||||
I have read that thread as well. Having studied Mandarin for some time decades ago, the difficulties of strange vocabulary wouldn't bother me. Nor would in general an agglutinative language. But what would bother me especially is common use of slurred speech. As to the informal/formal complexities, that is just another (though substantial) grammatical issue to deal with in study. But use of common/formal speech in practice seems to be another story, especially when formality causes changes not just for things/persons being talked about that need to be shown respect, but also persons being talked to that need to be shown respect, and one needing to know to whom to use same appropriately. As to time, Dr. Arguelles' experience was part-time study when holding a job, while your experience was full-time study in country, i.e. how fast you can put the hours in. But the real question is whether an independent learner abroad putting in the same total time over a longer period like 2 hours a day of study over three years instead of 6 hours a day in an immersive environment for one year, can achieve the same result, even if needing some in country experience to fully activate that knowledge. Three years is a challenge, while ten years is an extreme disincentive absent a driving motivation usually involving work requirements and/or family. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Leurre Bilingual Pentaglot Senior Member United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5424 days ago 219 posts - 372 votes Speaks: French*, English*, Korean, Haitian Creole, SpanishC2 Studies: Japanese | Message 14 of 27 22 September 2012 at 6:12am | IP Logged | |||||
I never got that slurred speech thing...doesn't everyone in any language slur words together when they talk? I never noticed any particular difference with Korea. For the purposes of this thread, the question is actually not really if someone studying 2 hours a day, not in country can learn well; it's can the original poster expect to find good opportunities to learn Korean, and get well at it, while in Korea. My answer to this is a resounding yes, and I base it not on what anyone else has said, but on my own experience and on my current kickass Korean abilities. This type of advice has its pros and cons of course. By the by, I could never imagine one studying actively for more than a couple of years. I've done about 2 and a half years in country in the last 4.5 years, and I studied actively for maybe 3/4 of that time, and I don't think that one needs to push active study any further. Korea has some great language instruction programmes, and two years through them is essentially all one needs to get going. Edited by Leurre on 22 September 2012 at 6:17am 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Peregrinus Senior Member United States Joined 4491 days ago 149 posts - 273 votes Speaks: English* | Message 15 of 27 22 September 2012 at 6:27am | IP Logged | |||||
Thank you for your further reply. But I believe that my question is pertinent because part of equation for a prospective Korean learner is whether in country learning is absolutely needed for learning Korean in a shorter time frame like 2-3 years. Knowing that it is would potentially motivate some learners to go to Korea rather than start and fail at self-learning that might take far longer. The OP has also indicated that cost is a factor, so knowing that learning in Korea is worth it compared to the cheaper route of spending only a few hundred dollars on courses along with free internet ones at home might make a lot of difference in his decision, though of course just the experience of learning in country in an important intangible as well. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Leurre Bilingual Pentaglot Senior Member United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5424 days ago 219 posts - 372 votes Speaks: French*, English*, Korean, Haitian Creole, SpanishC2 Studies: Japanese | Message 16 of 27 22 September 2012 at 6:45am | IP Logged | |||||
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hm, sounds logical.
1 person has voted this message useful |
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