Something that could be useful from The Korean Times

The Korean Language Section (which I didn't know exist, since I don't look/read at the Korean TImes very often) seems pretty interesting if you're interested in learning Korean.

But, the romanization sucks, in my opinion *^^*

Weekend

A couple of things I got up to on the weekend:

A friend sent me some 한글 stickers for my keyboard, so put them on:


Made a award for the best class I have for computer class for the week:

새로운 시작?

I've made a naver blog, to practice Korean, check it out: 난 영민오빠다!

맞고 할래?

Thought I'd make a 맞고 t-shirt. Even printed it up on the special paper, and put it on a t-shirt. If you want the high quality design to make it yourself, just email me ;)


5 Gwang: 15 Points


Do you wanna play matgo?
*^^*

Let's Make a T-shirt

One new idea, and one re-designed idea:

I don't know English, too.


Korean Beginner: Please speak Slowly

Level up?

Since I didn't do too bad on the Elementary korean test yesterday, I thought I'd give the Intermediate level test a go. It was damn hard - a lot of words I don't know, and it doesn't help when the voices in the recording speak slow enough so that it's irritating. - especially after listening to real speed Korean for 3 years. Also, with taking a Korean test yesterday, my brain was a bit mushy anyway.

Also, After doing Grammar & Vocab, Listening, Writing (where I just halved my score from yesterday for the 30-point open question. I know I can write the 400-600자 amount, but with my grammar and vocab limited, it would get less points, so I just halved what I got from Equinox in the Elementary test), and then Reading. After all that, a few questions in, when it got damn hard quickly, i just gave up, and I did what any person would do if they gave up in a test - hope for the best by choosing answers at random.


Here's what I got:

Listening (듣기): 36/100
Reading (읽기): 15/100
Vocabulary and Grammar (어휘 및 문법): 33/100
Writing (쓰기): 22/100

Total (총액): 106/400
Average (편균): 27/100
(technically 26.50, but i rounded up.) ^^

I think, if I persisted with the Reading section, I could have got 20~25, but, meh... I have a good idea where I'm at with Korean.

Also, once I get a job, I won't be online as much and also won't have much time to study Korean. So, it's kind of cool to know, without any real study, how well my Korean was.

I'm still toying with the idea of studying Korean for a year in Korea somewhere, but at the moment, I think it's mainly driven by me missing Korean food, the lifestyle and my friends. Holidays to Korea are more likely, and if I can keep my Korean level roughly at where it is, so that when I go to Korea again, it won't be so hard to get around.

I will admit, the Korean that I was using in Korea, is very different to the tests. If there was a section on the tests about giving/listening to directions, buying multiple bus/train tickets, while asking about where bus/train lines go, then I'd be awesome ^^

Basically, if there was stuff based on real life experiences, I'd be alright ^^

Ah, and my Criminal Record Check, that I need from Korea so that I can become a registered teacher again in Australia, is on it's way. I should be registered by... summer break! ㅋㅋㅋ

화이팅~!

TOPIK 시험 볼까? ㅋㅋ

Before going for my morning bike ride today, I decided to print off the latest TOPIK (Test of Proficiency in Korean) test that people took (elementary level only) this year. For me, the test name is a bit meh... it sounds similar to TOEIC, and the word "topic", which I guess is what they were after, but "Test of Proficiency in Korean" feels clumsy. Korean Language Proficiency Test sounds better, but can't make any funky abbreviation. KoLapt, maybe? :p

Did the practice test after shopping with my sister. Here's my results for the elementary test:

Listening (듣기): 94/100
Reading (읽기): 79/100
Vocabulary and Grammar (어휘 및 문법): 91/100
Writing (쓰기): 73/100

Total (총액): 337/400
Average (편균): 84/100
(technically 84.25, but i rounded down.) ^^

There is a 30-point free writing question (150~300자로), which says:

어느 계절을 좋아합니까? (Which season do you like?)
왜 그 계걸을 좋아합니까? (Why do you like that season?)
그 계절에 특별한 무엇을 합니까? (What's special about that season?)

Here's what I wrote, on pen and paper, without using a dictionary:

한국에서 저는 가을을 진짜 좋아해요. 옛날에 전라남도의 시골에 살았는데 여름이 아주 습해서 편하지 않았어요. 그런데, 가을이 나왔을 때 날씨가 따뜻하게 편해져서 여행하러 갈 수 있어요.

전라남도에서 유명한 산은 "내장산"라고 있어요. 다른 계절에 가면 "예쁜 산이 아닌데"라고 생각하겠지만 거울에 가면 단풍나무의 잎이 빨간색, 노란색과 주황색으로 아름답게 바꿔요.

갔을데 여친이 없었어도 거기서 진짜 좋은 시간 아직도 보냈어요. ㅋㅋ

There you go. I'm hoping, that an online friend of mine, Equinox, over at Mountain and Field, who has taken a few TOPIK tests, could give me a mark (and maybe some comments, if he has a bit of time ^^) out of 30. Thanks for the email, Equinox, and the 18/30 for the written part.

Just after I took the test, I went to check out Brian in Jeollanam-do, and found this interesting article.

General Update

This week, i've been waking up early, and going for a bike ride in the morning for exercise. Also, I've been trying to study Korean. I downloaded the latest TOPIK test questions and answers (thanks Equinox). I've been going to the library to study some Korean now and then. Mainly covering 초급 (elementary) stuff that I rarely used, or didn't learn, when I was in Korea. But, luckily, it's fairly simple, so it's not messing with my mind.

After 2 weeks, my 채소밭 (vegetable garden) is going well. Here are a few pictures.

What i miss / What i hate

Jennipal, over at jennipal.blogspot.com, asked for a bit of an idea about reverse culture shock - the things I miss about Korea, and the things I hate about being home. So, after a month of being home, and the idea of being here for a while has finally sunk in, i thought I'd write something about it. Here's the main three things I miss from Korea, and three things I hate from being back home.

Things I miss from Korea:

My Friends. I made some really good friends in Korea, and I miss them. A whole fucking lot. I miss doing the usual things we would do hanging out, whether it be shopping, eating 갈비, going to 노래방, or even getting naked in 짐찔방 (ㅋㅋㅋ). It sucks that I have to spend a fuckload of money to just be able to see them, and a smaller fuckload of money to call them. The good friends I made in Korea, are ones I'll (hopefully) have for life (whether they like it or not ^^). Students that I saw on a regular basis (I've got 3 that I call my younger brothers), I miss them too.

The Food, and how cheap it was. Almost every weekday before work, I'd go to 김밥나라 in my town, and get some 비빔밥 for 4,000 won. I'd have a small chat with the women there, if they weren't busy. All that cheap Korean food in places like that, i really miss. I miss 갈비 (especially with 성진 in 남포동, and with 강모 with the 갈비집 near his house in 대구). Also, how cheap it was, compared to eating out in Australia.

Real Public Transport. Maybe it's because South Korea is a bit smaller than Australia, but they public transport system is awesome there. Even in the countryside, there are shit loads of buses, and the cost is pretty good too. I'd travel from Jeonnam to Seoul, and it would end up costing me $50 (if I took a bus from Gwangju, or a Mugunghwa train from Jangseong) return. Where I am now, I've got 7 buses that go past during the day (latest one being just after 6pm) a few buses on Saturday, and 2 buses Sunday morning. Compared to the bus that I'd get from my apartment to Jangseong, the bus from my place into my town here - the distance is shorter, but it costs 2.5 times as much.

Things I hate about being home:

Everyone asking me the same questions. Sure, I know people wanna ask how it was, what I got from it, and what I'm doing now that I'm back home, and what I'm going to do. But, when everyone asks the same questions all the time, it does get rather frustrating. They don't do it on purpose, but it has got to the point where I don't meet too many people too often, because it just gets frustrating. It's up there with meeting new Koreans who ask "have you tried Gimchi before?" after you toll them you've been in the countryside for a long time.

Explaining Everything. I haven't really used real English for an extended period of time for a few years. So, sometimes, I make silly mistakes in English, or I just don't remember stuff (like accent stuff, or what "sandwich" or "toast" means when you're at the baker and they ask you if you want it sliced), or people with strong accents. Since a had a lot of Korean friends, I just got used to being surrounded by Koreans, speaking Korean and doing stuff in Korean. Now that I'm home, it feels that I'm learning thing again. So, when I do make a mistake, I get a weird look, and I tell people in my not-so-australian accent (which I like, and hope I can keep it. lol) that I was overseas for ages and didn't really use English.

Shit is the same, but different. The other day, I was driving around trying to find places that I used to go to, but finding out that they had relocated, or closed down. If feels like that I am a few years behind friends, since they've continued their lives here, and I've gone off on a tangent, and come back. Friends say that they wish that they could do something similar to what I did, but I can't help but feel that I'm back at square one.

Friends that were, but aren't anymore. In a way, I will find out who my good friends are in Korea too, because they will make the effort to keep in contact with me here, but not many friends that I had while I was in Australia, kept in regular contact with me, and there were only a few who I would make the effort (or have made the effort) to meet/see/contact, since I've been back. When I go back to Korea for a holiday (as early as late next year, if things work out well here), it will be interesting to see which friends I will see, and which ones who will make the effort to see me when I'm there.

야채 뜰?

Every now and then, I have a "유치" (kindergarten) moment when I use Korean. What i mean by a 유치 moment, is when I use Korean, it sounds childish - not intentionally by the way. I just use what I know, pull meanings from English, and put it together.

When I was first learning Korean, before I knew the word for socks (which is 양말), I used 발 옷 (meaning foot clothes). Its one thing I used to try to do in Korean, was to describe what it is/was. Most of the time, this style of getting meaning across, also needs that the listener needs to know some kind of English.

Today, was "vegetable garden". I know the word for vegetables, which is 야채, and I know the word for garden (which also means backyard), which is 뜰. So, I was trying to explain to a good Korean friend (who is studying something to do with plants at university), that I am starting a 야채 뜰. Now, his English is pretty good, so I thought that he would get it *^^*

But no.

When i use Korean, i try to not use my electronic dictionary, to see how much I know and can use, but I needed to use it to get the right word.

채소밭.

채소 is another word for vegetables, and 밭 means field.