I am a third year college student learning Korean. Why am I pouring hours into learning this difficult language? Well . . . . I hate to say it’s because of K-pop but that was the honest start! I listened to BTS’ music when I was in high school, and I fell in love with their rap, vocals, and music production. I had never heard anything like it. Their songs cheered me up, and as I got more interested in them and K-pop in general, I got to learn about a culture I had never before experienced. Then, I started watching K-dramas and got more exposure to the beautiful language of Korean. As someone who is bilingual (Spanish and English) not through studying but through family and country of origin, I always wanted to learn a third language, so I could experience what language learning actually entails. I thought about learning Korean for a while and learned hangul and some simple phrases but never really poured my all into learning it.
Then one summer, I met some Korean friends who were studying abroad. They inspired me to study Korean more diligently. As an A+ student, I thought it would be easy to take up a new subject, but I am finding out that learning Korean is possibly the most onerous (yet exciting) learning experience I have ever attempted. As I neared my third year of university, I also had to choose a minor or get 15 credit hours outside my major field of study. I thought, “What if I minor in Korean?” After meeting my Korean friends, I decided I would do it. Last semester, I took my first Korean class. I learned a little bit, but not as much as I would have liked to in 3 months. I want to use this blog to document my journey to fluency. Right now, I am a beginner. But here’s my plan:
Daily (2 hours of study):
- 45 min: Anki vocab (from videos I watch, Korean friends I text, grammar book)
- 15 min: Making my own sentences
- 15 min: Chatting with Korean friends
- 15 min: Listening to Korean
- 30 min: Grammar book practice
Weekly (7 hours of study):
- 2 hours (x2) of language exchange with a Korean partner
- 3 hours: Taking and reviewing a TOPIK practice exam
I will post my resources and tips I learn along the way.