Korean Movie: 10억 aka A Million

Here is another Korean that I enjoyed. No spoilers ahead, just a basic plotline. Several people from very different backgrounds find out that they have been chosen to be in a survivor-like tv competition. They're flown overseas and are taken into the desert by the director and his very small camera crew. The group is suspicious, but are distracted by the large black suitcase containing the prize money. The prospect of easy money brings out the best in some and the worst in others. Once the challenges begin, allegiances form and the weakest members are left to fend for themselves.  However, the contestants soon realize that there is much more to this "game-show" than meets the eye.




Here is the trailer:

And here is part I with Eng subs, but don't know how long this link will last.

Planet B-Boy Korea- DMZ Scene

Love this!

The Pinching Contest

One of the funniest scenes I’ve ever seen on star king. Has Eng subs if you turn on the cc, but they’re kind of hard to read. Basically, the guest was a kid who could hang things off of his head without feeling much pain. Kim Hyun Joong says that he doesn’t have any feeling in the back of his arms, so they start a pinching contest to see if he’s telling the truth. They invite the cutest fangirl on stage to pinch him too, and her reaction is priceless. 

너 어디 가?! Place Nouns 16-30

너 어디 가?! I’ve always wanted to shout this at someone like I was in a hokey drama, lol, my poor Korean friends. Well, here are 16 more place nouns! 

16. 교회 Church 

(Kill Bill Volume II) 

Korean Music: Standing Egg

Standing Egg- Have You Ever Fallen in Love? 

Korean pop music, K-pop, seems to be getting more and more popular every day. But if you ever get tired of auto-tune or simply want a change, Korea also has a lot of good artists who perform other genres of music. Here is one of my personal favorites, Standing Egg. It's made up of of three members who write, compose, and produce their own music. I like some Korean pop music, but like pop music in general it has a tendency to sound old after a year or so. This kind of music can be listened to a decade from now and will not sound dated. Last time I checked, their music was available on itunes. You can also listen to a lot of their songs on their youtube channel. 

Standing egg- Little Star 

Learn Korean While.....Sleeping?

I'm always on the lookout for new ways to learn foreign languages, and today I came across sleep learning. The theory is that while you sleep, you play your target language very softly in the background and your subconscious will absorb the information. You can buy special cds that have the language with a music track over it (subliminal learning), or you can just use the cds you get with any typical language course. One video I found on youtube was of a guy who just put his cds on in the background while he did other things and was otherwise distracted (like internet surfing, cleaning, etc.). He said when he went to study the lesson, he had all of these phrases in his head and that the words came to him very easily. So then he tried sleeping with the cd on repeat all night and found that the same thing had happened.

         

Now, I'm not saying that you'll wake up and speak a foreign language fluently, but this technique does make sense. It's almost the same as listening to Korean music over and over or watching dramas. Certain words and phrases are so common (like 오빠, 사랑해, 뭐, etc.) that you can't help but learn them subconsciously. But this theory takes that to a whole new level because you're not focusing on the words like you would if you were listening to music or watching a drama. At the very least, I'm going to try it out and see what happens. I'll get back to you! 

Common Korean Verbs 42-51

Alright, here are 10 more common Korean verbs! There are two verbs in this list,    쓰다 and 걸다, that have SO MANY MEANINGS, argghh. So, I've tried my best to group the meanings together into digestible pieces and have additional pictures. As always, verbs marked with an *** are irregular and I have written down three forms of the present tense. 

42.  쓰다:

a) To write, compose, describe/say, write down

-그 책에는 무엇이라 써 있느냐?  What does the book say/describe? 

(Super Junior, 너 같은 사람 또 없어, No Other) 

Korean Movie: Boys Don't Cry

It can be difficult at times to find movies and dramas that don't follow the he's a rich jerk, she's a sweet but spunky orphan (terminal illness optional!), they hate each other, fight, fight, drunk piggyback scene, fight, fight, accidental kiss, he likes her, she sees his sweet side, in-law drama, blah blah blah. So when I do find one with English subtitles, it restores my faith in humanity. Boys Don't Cry (소년은 울지않는다, aka Once Upon a Time in Seoul) is a movie I really enjoyed (don't worry, no spoilers, just a basic plot-line).

Korean Verbs 31-41

Another set of verbs! I think I'll do smaller sets from now on so that it's not so overwhelming. I've also been getting used to using tumblr so hopefully my posts will be more consistent and helpful. Verbs with ***** are irregular so I have also written 3 forms of the present tense. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

31.  닦다

a)  to polish, rub up, shine (shoes, metal, etc.) 

b) to improve, cultivate, polish, practice, train 

- 기술를 닦아요 improve one's skill

- 덕을 닦아요 cultivate/improve upon one's virtue 

c) to wash, brush, clean, wipe, dry, mop up 

- 이를 닦아요 brush one's teeth 

- 자동차를 닦아요 wash a car 

- 엎지른 물을 닦아요 mop up spilt water 

(Coffee Prince,커피프린스 1호점) 

Introductions

Hello there!
I should have posted an introduction first, but I was a bit busy with the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. After I started my tumblr, I realized that people actually liked my posts and found them helpful, so I'm going to start this blog as well to reach more people.

My interest in Korea began when I studied abroad in Seoul at Hanyang University. After that, I started listening to Korean music, watching television programs and movies, and learning the language. I enjoyed my trip very much, but didn't get to really explore the country as much as I would have liked. So, I'm preparing to return sometime next year as an English teacher (hopefully in a public school). I'm currently working as a private tutor for an in-home tutoring company. Hopefully this blog will inspire you too to learn more about South Korea!

Nouns: Places 1-15

Here is my second set of images for Korean flashcards, 15 vocab words to say where you are going! If possible, I try to use Korean-related images but at times there simply isn't one or another image is more familiar. So, use what you can! 

1. Amusement Park   유원지, 놀이 공원 (놀이 think of 놀다 "to play" and 공원 is park)

(Super Junior on Roller Coasters, :D ) 

Common Korean Verbs 1-30

 Alright, so here is my first Korean language-related post. So basically I learn languages best when I associate images with them, but it's much more helpful if those images have some sort of significance or memory attached to them. For example, it's much easier for me to remember "Barbershop" 이발소  if I have this image:

Rather than this generic one:

Even though it's a movie, those images and emotions are also "my" memories. So because this is the Korean language, it would make sense to use images of my "experiences" via Korean popular culture. This first set of flashcards uses images from popular dramas and mvs (indicated below). You have no idea how many pictures of hugs, kisses, and piggy back rides I had to go through to find these, arrgggh. But I think it was worth it because I found some really good screen shots. The only one I couldn't find a decent one for was "to boil."
There's lots of Boys Over Flowers images because that's the drama I looked up first and it was really popular, so lots of images to choose from. Simply copy and paste them on your Korean flashcards for a much more entertaining way to learn Korean! :)
*Verbs with the asterisks are irregular verbs so I'll put the present tense conjugations up for those.
1. 태우다       To Burn

(Super Junior, A-Cha)