Eureka!...or let's talk about numbers!

 Last week has been a very interesting one. The highlight of my studies had to be one of the fundamental parts of every language; numbers (and dates). When you start learning a language, the things you always learn first are the pronouns, some animals and everyday items, numbers, dates and tenses. Since the first is really easy to learn, due to the Korean language having very few pronouns and you are not always forced to use them, I jumped right into the latter ones. 

Numbers, in short, are one of the easiest things to learn in Korean. Sure it might take me a bit to read aloud a full date or a big number but give me a few seconds and I'll write it/say it with no problems. The Korean language uses two numbering systems; a system influenced by Chinese and a smaller, less robust and finite (up to number 100) in Korean. The general gist is that for small numbers and for counting specific items, you make use of the Korean numbers. For large numbers, you use the Sino-Korean numbers (really, they're that more simpler than their Korean counterparts). In both cases, there are exceptions. Not only that, but when using numbers, you can sometimes mix up both systems although I believe this happens almost never.

I'm really happy that this is one of the things i can say that I have learned quite fast. Numbers are an integral part of all languages and everyday life. From looking to buy a two coke cans to doing mathematical equations as a part of your job.

One other thing I was surprised to read about in the very first Units of the book was family hierarchy. This was very weird to because the author delved in such a depth of detail that you are not supposed to do in the first lessons. Sure, mom and dad and grandfather and grandmother are always useful, but I realized five pages of describing in depth the family hierarchy came with the Korean society itself. I don't think I'll be using the terms I've learned there anytime soon, but it's always good to be aware of that reading Korean also means getting adjusted to a different way of life and thinking!

I aim to study more meticulously and with greater speed come next few months. As long as you believe in what you're doing, no time spent is time wasted! Until next week, friends!

A start of a (hopefully) interesting experience!

  안녕하세요! I've created this blog as a venue to express my progress in self-teaching Korean. 

  My first contact with the language happened when I started watching a very popular show in Korea named Running Man (런닝맨). It is a show quite different than what we have available in Western countries. They are called variety shows and for a good reason. The cast will run, solve puzzles and do eating contests, all these always being done in different places and venues. Sometimes there will be special episodes featuring the cast in a different country (neighboring Asian countries, like Thailand or Vietnam).

 The show captivated my interest with a sense of humor that to it's majority everyone understands, even if you are not a native Korean. Not only that, but the show itself gives you some interesting scenes of everyday life in Korea (we'll get to that later).

                                                                          

After watching the first dozen episodes or so, I was intrigued by the language. The very same friend who introduced me to the show also introduced me to the Korean language (한국어). I thought it would be a very difficult language to learn due to the symbols most Asian countries use. And that wasn't only my opinion. Just by doing a quick Google search turned up that, for example, the Chinese language is comprised out of tens of thousands of Chinese characters. The same was also true, although to a lesser extent, for the Japanese.

 But looks can be deceiving. After doing a super fast Korean introductory crash course, courtesy of my friend, the characters which comprised the language were very easy to grasp. Easy, of course, is a very relative term because it's one thing to understand what a symbol means and pronounce it and it's another thing listening to a seasoned native Korean speaking and reading the language. At that point I decided to to find more beginner friendly material. This wasn't the first time I would learn a language (already speaking English and Greek as my native tongue) but it would certainly be the first time I'd attempt to learn the language without the help of a teacher.

 Who would've thought! Two months down the road already and I still haven't given up reading, thinking this would be a passing diversion. Nope! I'm still rocking the language and every day that passes I get more acquainted with the language, the Korean culture and the people I came to meet through various internet pen pal sites (God bless the Internet!).

 This came in part due to my other aspiration; being able to work and live in Korea. As people may or may not be aware of, Greece has been in an economic crisis for quite sometime and it is my firm belief that it will never get better. In fact, every passing year it gets worse. Whom we get to blame at this point doesn't matter as the damage has been done already and consistently for over forty decades. The only reality people face here, especially young people, is low wages, corruption and a state unwilling and incapable of support of it's people. Young people work laboriously every single day for a paltry wage of 580 euros (if they are very lucky and have a benevolent employer), after the state has proceeded to keep. When a worker costs over than a thousand euros to employ per month and the state taxes almost half his income, there are very few incentives for an employer to keep him around and even fewer for someone like him to stay and work in the country. It is no secret after all that young people have been immigrating to other countries, searching for work and a better future for them, like the immigration movements of the past century. 

 So, couldn't I have picked a place inside the European Union? Somewhere closer at home? The answer to both questions could be yes, but there is one difference; the English language by itself is not considered an asset anymore. People (falsely) believe that they either know the language adequately or by merely being able to utter a few sentences in broken English automatically makes them the foremost experts in communication. This is and should be unacceptable. Speaking from personal experience, when you are in a desk position that deals with foreign clients, not speaking at least the English language properly makes you not only look like a fool, but your employer also loses credibility in the client's eyes. Respect is being given when respect is earned.

 Korea actively encourages it's people to learn English and utilize them properly. This is a sign of wise thinking. Imagine if Korea, a place with dozens of multinational organizations, industries and companies could not speak English. Not everyone does, but when you actively strive to learn, this is what makes the difference. And this is why I learn the Korean language. It is my hope that in a few years I will be able to travel, live and work in Korea and help others to the best of ability learn the English language as my teachers once did to me when I was but a small kid. Though not an English teacher myself, there are always job positions that require the adequate knowledge of the English language, be it editing articles for a domestic company or working in a foreign cloth shop.

 As a final note, this blog will be used to update my progress and my experiences with the Korean language. A personal road-map of sorts. Are you ready? Let's get started!