My very first encounter with the word Korea/n was when my freshman roomie, Mina, gave me a copy of the movie "The Classic". If I remember correctly, I was facing a hard time back then and had trouble of crying. I guess you all know that kind of feeling, right? It's you feeling welled up by this heavy emotion that you just want to scream but can't so you opt for crying, but the emotion's not enough to make you cry? (LABO.) Let's just say that the movie DID help me cry. :P
Then...
Koreanovelas were becoming a trend on afternoon and evening prime time slots at local television channels. They meant nothing to me...UNTIL Boys Over Flowers. Hahaha.
Yun ang hudyat! I fell for Gu Jun Pyo (and Lee Min Ho who played the character). But that was just temporary.
What made my,
hmmm, so-called craze was when I finally stepped into their country. As you all might know, I went to Korea with my best friend and her sister for a week long vacation. And to tell you honestly, I liked it there. I even wanted to come back and take a short term course in Seoul. Haha.
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| The changing of guards at the, err, somewhere palace. HAHAHA. |
Coming back to the Philippines, I made a conscious effort to watch Korean dramas that featured the places that I have been to when I was there. I wasn't going to let my travel be put to waste. I wanted to appreciate all the places I've been there! AHAHAHA. That was when I started yearning to learn their language. My ultimate goal was to watch a Korean drama
minus the subtitles. Yuhh, I'm addict laek that. :))
SO. I did an online search of possible websites that offer free and comprehensive tutorials in learning the Korean language. There were a LOT of them, I tell you, but what I liked best was this:
"TalkToMeInKorean is a website and community where learning Korean may not be magically easy, but is fun and exciting. Language learning can be boring, challenging, and sometimes frustrating, especially when there are not enough motivating or fun factors. Learning a new language can be a lot of fun when you are a part of a welcoming and encouraging community with teachers and other learners. We hope that TalkToMeInKorean is just that; a community that motivates and nurtures learners to develop their language skills in fun and innovative ways." -lifted from their About Us page
As what I said earlier, aside from being easy and comprehensive, they offer some of their services absolutely free! Downloadable Audio and PDF files are posted for each lesson offered for the beginners level. (I am currently on lesson 11.) With these files I can easily re-read and listen to the lessons for refresher.
If you're interested, Here's the
link to the first lesson in the series.
BUT! Before you actually engage in learning the language, I suggest that it is first best to learn their alphabet/ writing system. It'll be a lot easier to learn the language if you somehow recognize the symbols presented in the lectures.
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| The Hangul Characters (Source) |
I guess my addiction went up the next level when I did this to my office keyboard:
Also, I read somewhere that the
Korean Cultural Center (KCC) in the Philippines, located in Taguig, offers basic Korean language classes (click
Programs and Events > Classes on the site) for only PhP1,200. I was a wee bit too late to know about this that I was not able to register for the 2nd Term classes. I'll guess I just have to wait for the third term then. You want to join me? :)
So, there. I am currently doing a self study on the Korean language through the site. If you're interested too, go check it out! ^_^
안녕히 가세요!
