Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jajdude]

I figure it must be good. Sometimes you'll hear crap but mostly you can be amused at the reaction to your well-spoken Korean. And you can actually make friends with some decent people who don't speak much English. I figure you really have to be good at the language to get them to realize it! My low-level gets me nowhere other than getting fed or whatever. But I do hear a bit of the stuff around me. Just like Koreans may understand some English but have a hard time spitting out a sentence or two. Oh well not up for the big study effort to get much better I guess.

[mithridates]

It's lots of fun...I think (most) Koreans can tell when a person is fluent or not by the way they act, their aura. I almost never get people trying to take my order in English when going to coffee shops and whatnot. It's also fun ordering drinks not by saying
...�� �� �ּ��� (A cup of ...)
but by saying
��, ���� �� ���ð� �ͳ��ϸ�... (Hmm, what I want to drink today is...)

Which has gotten me many friends for some reason. 'Wow! That's some good Korean!' they say.

It's a little annoying sometimes when you're chatting with your friend on the train or somewhere in Korean and somebody decides to take an interest in you, butting in and saying "You amazing! Speak good Korean, I think you are genius!"
I know they mean well but it's more annoying than anything else...

I've also gotten various job offers without even looking due to knowing the language. Translation, interpreting, that sort of thing. Also the odd interview on the street for tv channels and sometimes I get in newspapers and magazines.

Learning Korean may make a person a lifer before they realize it though, that's important to remember. Learning a language changes a person, and since it takes such a long time usually the change is quite gradual, but definately noticeable after a year or so.

You can improve your Korean on my home page though; doesn't take too much effort, just a steady one.

[itaewonguy]

I like the incognito approach! I never let them know I can speak Korean!
I will give them the basics.. I will give the girls the basic laughs jokes..
but not enough to make them think I can understand converations..
that way it works to my advantage!

[Jensen]

It's kind of like being John Malkovich.

I'm borderline good at Korean. Sometimes I kick ass and other times my ass gets kicked.

I have to admit I like to eavesdrop. A LOT.

[carcerate]

When I lived in Korea from 2000-2001 I really enjoyed speaking with anybody I could in Korean. I also got tired of people saying "Hey your Korean is very good! How did you learn it?" I usually answer by laughing pleasantly and then tell them, I need a voice recorder so I can just play it back to them for everytime I hear that question. In any case, I really am thankful that I know Korean and I am not rude to people when they talk to me in English or in Korean. I have met my share of people who would only speak English no matter how much I spoke Korean. In those cases I would just continue speaking Korean and they would speak English. That is fine with me, because I want to speak Korean and I shouldn't expect them to answer me in Korean. Since I can't control others, they can answer in whatever language the prefer. As long as I am speaking and they understand what I am saying, then I am fine with that.

I will be moving back to Korea this year and I am looking forward to going back. I also, like others, like to eavesdrop on other people's conversations if they are near me but I don't interfere with their conversations. Sometimes, when I am talking with my friends, people do interrupt and want to know how I learned Korean. Sometimes it is annoying but most of the time I do talk with them.

All in all, it is good to know Korean so you can do the day-to-day activities and also get to know people on a deeper level which is great.

[Gwangjuboy]

[ryleeys]

I feel like after 3 months I should be ashamed at not knowing more Korean... unfortunately I haven't found a good system for learning it... I was using a website online, but it's been down for over a month and truthfully, I am horrible at languages. The only reason I learned Spanish was because I was basically privately tutored.

I will be studying Chinese with a tutor soon... maybe I'll be able to pick up enough of that to hold a casual conversation.

[sistersarah]

i'm curious, for those who are fluent - how long did it take for you to become fluent?

[kiwiboy_nz_99]

[Bulsajo]

It's absolutely wonderful (according to my wife, who also happens to be my translator ).

[shakuhachi]

Its funny when they say "�ѱ��� �� �϶�ó׿�".

I usually answer "�ƴϿ�, �⺻ �ۿ� �� �� �����ϴ�. �׷����� ����ϱ� ������ ģ���� ������ ���� ���� �� �մϴ�".

That usually raises an eyebrow.

[shakuhachi]

by the way, there is a typo there... it should say �� �Ͻó׿�.

[Jensen]

[mack the knife]

I'm nowhere near fluent, but even the scant amount of the language I am capable of reproducing goes a long way towards securing my mental stability.

Bottom line: learning the language is EMPOWERING.

You will come to find that knowing a good bit of the language will keep you from taking it up the butt on an almost daily basis (which will happen, if you speak little or no Korean). Your Korean language ability will also work wonders in the classroom. Forget about all those jerks who say "Don't use Korean in the classroom!" That's just crazy talk.

[komtengi]

Being able to speak it fleuntly is great. Im at an advanced level, and find most of the time Im speaking Korean, thus Im continually improving. Even though I studied I found that alot of the things you learn are irrelevant. Things that people dont say, or are so over the top its not funny. Once you get the basics down the best way to learn is get amongst it... go to a bar, attempt to chat up a woman/man, go to the supermarket. Trial and error works a charm.
Don't forget to learn the formal, informal and casual ways of speaking. It goes along way.... nothing worse than seeing someone trying their Korean, but they're talking to an elderly woman like you would to a small child.