Korean Job Discussion Forums

[SuperHero]

Tomato,
you are seriously one f****d up individual.

[julian_w]

Look, when jumping around town and interacting with random members of the local populace, you or I may or may not speak adequate Korean.

If it is Korean language practise you want, or, if it is for the local person with whom you're dealing to show you 'respect' (in your eyes) by speaking to you in their language, then, in my experience, all you have to do is initiate the conversation and quite clearly establish that conversation in Korean. Yes, sometimes some locals are a bit slow to pick up on the fact that you're speaking Korean adequately. Maybe we need to make a more definate opening statement. The one I find always works is to ask them, in Korean, if they speak Korean.

I'm an average white guy (ie. not a kyopo nor Korean brought up overseas) so when I walk on up to them and say something like: "Hangul mal hasaeyoh?" they look at me twice, I wait for the penny to drop, and if they're onto it maybe even get a smile, grin or chuckle from them. Whatever, the conversation usually progresses immediately and automatically in Korean... for as far as my limited Korean can handle it.

When I (soon) thereafter strike a word I don't know in Korean, I'll ask them (in Korean) what it means, and see if they can explain it another way in Korean;
failing that I'll hastily pull out my electro-dicktionary or, maybe, sometimes, they'll know the English or Konglish.

Whatever, any time I get greetings or farewells in English, with or without a conversation in between, I just take it as them showing me a bit of free courtesy, which is unnecessary, and therefore all the more cool.

[samd]

[tomato]

Maybe he was in a bad mood last Friday and needed someone to take it out on.
If so, I am happy to be of service.

Anyway, I'm glad he did, because I have had that last story on my mind for a long time, and I needed a current thread to post it on.

Incidentally, Tomato is a he.

[SuperHero]

[samd]

[NAVFC]

Damn Tomato..the way you just added in those things that are so F-ed up its funny..
I hereby nominate Tomato as one of the coolest people on the planet. word.

[Froggy Parker]

[SuperHero]

[nicholas_chiasson]

I really don't care what language people speak to me in. I either understand or I don't. Their choice.

[Cedar]

This --so--- has to do with location, the type of person and how often they see you. For anyone in a smaller town, you know that on first meeting Korean is more common, in Seoul, people use English more, even if it's horrible. And of course certain people (those who've learned some English) will try to use it more than others (85 year old grandmas), and anyone with brains will speak to you in the language you prefer to be addressed in, which they can often learn by taking a cue from what language you address them in.

You're both right, in a way. Get it?

[SuperHero]

[tomato]

I'm on Cloud Nine right now.
This morning, a Japanese class met for the first time this term.
I was able to get in, get through the whole two hours, and get out without getting Anglophoned even once.
In fact, some students ooh'd and aah'd when I was able to translate words from one language to the other.

I get accosted for resenting Anglophone attacks more than do other foreigners, but has it ever occurred to you guys that I also might appreciate absence of Anglophone attacks than do other foreigners?

Since there is no reliable instrument for measuring happiness, how can you guys be so sure that you are happier than I am?

[NAVFC]

[nate1983]

I don't speak great but can read and write some (think third year college level), and there is one korean student in my phd program who I've talked to a bit but never in korean..there is a haitian student in our class with whom I speak French as I studied that since I was quite young. Anyways after class the korean student came up to me in the hallway and asked me how I learned to speak such good french, and i was like *time to let the cat out of the bag*...so i replied 내 할아버지께서는 언어학자 이셨어요...그래서 나도 어렸을 때부터 외국어에 관심이 있게 됐어요...내 어머니 가르쳤어요 or something to that effect. he looked confused for a second, then all of a sudden he had the most astonished look on his face, and was like "i am so surprised!" "how? how do you speak korean?" "when did you go to korea?" 가 본 적이 없어요...after this he could hardly say a word until we got to the other building. he was like "we will talk later..i cannot talk now, i am too shocked." so that's my anecdote..although if you're actually in korea i doubt you can really shock people but i guess saying anything beyond "annyung" was impressive to him haha.