Korean Language Classes

We started our Korean lessons this past Tuesday at Chonnam Univeristy in Gwangju. It isn't too far away from my house, but it took me an hour and a half to get there. It starts at 7pm, and traffic is especially bad during rush hour. I also have to transfer busses, and that can take up some time.

On Tuesday, I arrived a little late, so I missed some of the welcome speech. That was fine though, I got the jist of it. We took a group picture of everyone too. The lessons are for all EPIK teachers, and there were probably about 60 or 70 of us there. I think most people really want to learn the language. We did get warned though that we had to come to at least 80% of the classes. If we drop halfway through, the governement will see that and wondering why they are offering free Korean classes and potentially cut the program. One of the EPIK coordinators, Mr. Lee, did tell us that if we quit and they cut the program, he wouldn't have a job, so "please don't quit!!"

We paid 13,500 won for our textbook. It is really nice, and even comes with an audio CD. Our class has about 13 people in it, and everyone from our crew, except Alex, is together. The first night we went over the vowels and a few consonants and did a lot of repetition. Luckily, after being here a month and a half, it wasn't completely foreign, but it was nice to have formal training.

Here is an excerpt from my Korean textbook about the language, if you're interested:

"Korean uses its own unique alphabet called Hangeul (한글에). It is considered to be one of the most efficient alphabets in the world and has garnered unanimous praise from language experts for its scientific design and excellence.

Hangeul consists of 14 consonants and 10 vowels, totaling 24 basic characters. The shapes of Hangeul's consonants were formed after voice organs (such as lips, tongue, throat, etc) while those of vowels were formed after what one might say symbolizes heaven (ㅗ), earth (ㅜ) and human beings (ㅓ,ㅏ,ㅣ). (I can see the resemblance, I don't know about you!)

All words in Korean are composed of syllables, which go by the following basic rules:
1. A syllable begins with a consonant.
2. A syllable has at least one consonant and one vowel.
3. Each syllable gets written in a square box.

A syllable that consists of a consonant and a "vertical vowel" is written with the consonant on the left, and the vowel on the right.

ㄴ[n] + ㅏ [a] = 너 [na]

A syllable that consists of a consonant and a "horizontal vowel" is written with the consonant on the top and the vowel underneath.

ㄴ [n] + ㅗ [o] = 노 [no]

If a syllable shows CVC combination, in other words, if a syllable ends with a consonant, the final consonant goes to the bottom of that syllable.

ㅁ [m] + ㅏ [a] + ㄴ [n] = 만 [man]"


We have Korean classes every Tuesday and Thursday nights, 2 hours each night. So 4 hours a week. That's just as much as a college course! However, I don't think we'll be having much homework! There is plenty of study time at school though, and our coteachers are a great resource. When I get a chance at school, I like to practice by (attempting to) read the newspaper. They have a nice section for expats to learn Korean.


At the end of the course, we have to score 70% on the test in order to "pass" the class. I've also heard we get a certificate if we past, which is pretty sweet. Hopefully learning a few key phrases won't be too much of a challenge and I'll be able to communicate with my students better!