Korean Language Learning and Conversation

 The importance of language learning as an indispensable means of communication cannot be over- emphasized. The history of language as a means of communication is as old as the history of mankind. Language is a legacy that has been passed on from generation to generation. However, getting to be fluent in any language initially requires interest, effort and practice. The Korean language is not an exception. 

The Korean language is one of the most recently developed languages and it is said to be a scientific language. With some inputs from Chinese language and recently from English language, it is fast becoming a language that is spoken by many nationalities.

“Hallyu” which is a term in Korean language that means a growing popularity of Korean movies and TV dramas across Asia has also immensely contributed to growing pace of the language. Due to its simple characters with 21 vowels and 19 consonants and their distinct sounds it is simple for a foreigner to quickly grasp and hence can easily read .Pronunciation may seem difficult at first but becomes quite easier later. As a graduate of Korean language, literature and culture studies, I have come to appreciate the language and its People.

 Like any other language, learning Korean as a second language may initially seem difficult but soon becomes quite interesting once stated. We must resist the temptation of being afraid of making mistakes, as nobody is perfect in the initial stage of learning any language. Speak as much as you can but also take time to listen. A popular Korean maxim states”얼굴이 다르듯이 생각도 다르다” which means as the  faces of people are different, so are their thoughts. Some people are very expressive while others may be inexpressive. This may be due to lack of confidence and can be a barrier to learning a language. I find that committing to memory the basic everyday expressions and greetings as well as the patterns. Afterwards we can then treat each aspects of grammar to be practiced and improved upon. Practical benefit derived from conversation with the native Korean speakers is the learning of both the language and culture of Korea. Since language emerges from culture.

In conclusion, making an appreciable progress in the learning of the learning language starts with a keen interest in the language. Thereafter, with effort and continuous practice and without the fear of making mistakes in speaking, somebody can quickly and easily become a proficient Korean speaker.

Sanjaykumar@naver.com

Research Professor, GKI

인도관련 비즈니스 정보, 통역, 번역, 여행에 대한 정보

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저의 연락처는 010-2349-6001 입니다.

Rotaract Sports Festival for Foreign Workers

 On Saturday, May 28, Sports festival for foreigners was held at the Grand stadium of Suwon University. The festival has been organized by Rotaract club for the last sixteen years for a purpose of eliminating perception about the foreign workers and of helping them adapt to Korea.

 

[Picture of foreign participants from all over the World along with the members of Rotaract club members]

 

 The sports event officially started around 10 a.m after the opening speech of the president of Rotaract club. Afterwards, foreign workers and volunteers from Rotaract club of Suwon University enjoyed playing soccer, volley ball and other games.

 

[Picture: President of Rotaract club addressing the participants during opening ceremony]

 

 Foreign workers and their families from Phillipines, Uzbekistan, Nepal, etc. participated in this year's sports festival.

 

[Picture: A multicultural family participating in the festival ]

 

 There was no participation fee and all the participants were provided lunch for free. Moreover, many prizes were also awarded based on the performance.

 

Ahmad, SGC Correspondent/mahi.skku@daum.net

Translation: Sanjay Kumar (SGC Correspondent)

 

 

Delightful Festival for CIS Kids

 

On May 28, a festival for children was organized at Mokjeong Park in celebration of Children’s Day of CIS countries. CIS countries do celebrate Children’s Day like Korea, but the date is different. It is celebrated on June 1^st   whereas one in Korea is on May 5^th.

 

It is for third time that a festival for Children’s Day for CIS kids was organized in Seoul.Thanks to the efforts of the ‘KIMushki’, Children Culture Club of Russia and Central Asia, the performances have become diverse and the number of participants has also increased.

 

 

Along with the delightful concerts, toys, and medical goods are also donated to the  families in need. Accordingly, the children who are unable to participate in the festival can also feel the warmth of Children’s Day.

 

 

 By: Karmanova Evgeniia,  SGC Correspondent (Russian) 

 Translation: Sanjay Kumar , SGC Correspondent (English)

Africa Festival 2017: Africa, We are all friends

On Sunday May 5th, Seoul Africa Festival was held on the pedestrian street in front of , Dongdaemun Design Plaza(DDP) from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

  

This year's festival was divided into six zones, such as the community zone with Africa related organizations; market zone for selling Africa related goods; friends zone with embassies of African nations; culture zone for experiencing African culture etc, and knowledge zone consisting exhibitions and lectures. Although the duration of the event was short , it attracted a large number of foreign residents from different countries.

 

       

 When you enter the entrance you can see that different sales booth and the embassy booths of some of the African countries are set up on both sides of the street. The embassy booths offered information on tourism and culture of the respective countries, while traditional food and various delicate handicrafts could be bought from the sales booths. A wide variety of traditional activities such as trying on traditional attire and hair styles, drawing and tasting African wine were provided for free. Especially, in the middle of the festival street, there was a concert stage and many more interesting activities could be enjoyed for free. Especially, in the mid of pedestrian street, there was a concert stage and diverse performances such as story telling, traditional songs of Korea and Africa, fashion show were staged from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. In addition, Djembe , the exciting/ soulful African traditional drum experience programs were continuously provided.

 

Many active organizations participated in this event. Seoul Global Center set up a booth to introduce services offered to foreign residents. The booth also provided simple pamphlets as well as counselling on various issues and pamphlets.

 

One of the participants of the event Vietnam said, " I go to know a lot about Aftrican nations and felt like I was doing something worthwhile by donating to welfare organization. Also, I saw some wonderful African sceneries in the photo exhibition and after seeing them I have decided to plan to go for a tour to Africa". 

 

 

Sanjay Kumar( SGC Correspondent, English)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Spring Festival at Seoul Dwight International School

On May 13, International Spring Festival was held at Seoul Dwight International School. As the festival started at 10 am, the people started gathering. Until 11 am most of the crowd were students, however, as the time progressed, huge crowd of about 300 persons including parents, teachers and people related to the festival could be observed.

        

         Inside view of the sports ground in the school    

 Photo: Seoul Global Center

 On this occasions such as World food festival, many traditional games, airbounce and outdoor games were also organized in the school premises and it could be easily participated only by visiting the tents. The parents spent quality time with the children and it was amazing to see them enjoying food of different countries during the lunch.

                                    

Greenpeace activists conveying the importance of saving environment

Photo: Seoul Global Center

 

The children showed interest in recovering the global warming issues and visited the Greenpeace tent while some of the products flea market attracted the children as well. However, world food festival having foods from more than 15 countries was most popular event among the parents as well as the students. They enjoyed foods from countries such as Australia, India, Turkey, France, Pakistan, Koream Neitherland, Canada, Philippines, Thailand, Italy, Japan etc.

        

 Visitors enjoying a happy visit to the fair Photo: Seoul Global Center

 

Apart from these, juice corner, advertisements of language training, jumbo dance, clothes and dentist also set up tents. Seoul Global Center offered a free jagae making experience and became very popular among the children. The children showed lot of interest in making the Korean jagae. One of the children among them said, "This experience is very interesting. I am so happy to receive a gift too" and attained affection from his parents. During the festival, it was possible to meet foreign teachers of Dwight International School followed by various programs such as shool tour, art and crafts etc. The book fair consisted of many books ranging from Harry porter to cartoons. The Flea market attracted attention because of the availability of many useful products of daily life such as books, gifts, cartoon books, pottery etc.

    

       Parents and students enjoying jumbo dance Photo: Seoul Global Center

 

The jumbo dance was enjoyed on the tunes of lively music and people had lots of fun trying the jumbo dance. It was a global cultural environment in a pleasant weather and observing the number of visitrs, it can be said that the event made feel the essence of globalisation.

 

 

Sanjay Kumar, 

Correspondent , Seoul Global Center

국제 봄 페어, 서울드와이트 외국인학교에서 열려

 5월 13일 토요일, 서울드와이트 외국인학교에서 국제 봄 페어 가 다채롭게 열렸다. 국제 봄페어는 10시에 시작되자 점점 사람들이 붐비기 시작했다. 오전 11시까지는 학생들이 대부분이었지만, 11시 되서는 외국인 선생님, 학부모, 관계자들까지 방문하여 약 300명 정도로 많아졌다. 이 날 세계음식문화축제와 함께 다양한 전통놀이, 에어바운스, 아웃도르 게임과 유익한 체험이 준비되어 있었기에 각 체험부스를 누구나 참여할 수 있었다. 학부모들은 학생들과 놀이체험하고, 점심시간에는 세계의 다양한 음식을 즐기는 모습이 매우 활기차보였다.

                    

             그린피스 담당자는 자연보호의 뜻을 전달하고 있다. <사진제공=서울글로벌센터>

아이들은 지구온난화의 극복을 위해 활동하고 있는 Greenpeace부스를 방문하여 자연보호에 관심을 보이기도 했다. 또 프리마켓의 제품을 꼼꼼히 보는 아이들도 있었다. 하지만 무엇보다도 음식문화축제에는 호주, 인도, 터키, 프랑스, 파키스탄, 한국, 네덜란드, 캐나다, 필리핀, 태국, 이탈리아, 일본 등을 포함한 약 15개국의 신선한 음식이 준비되어 있어, 학부와 아이들에게 제일 인기가 높았다.

 이외에 쥬스 코너, 어학원, 옷, 점보댄스와 치과 같은 분야를 광고하는 목적으로 온 부스도 있었고 서울글로벌센터에서 무료로 제기 만들기 체험은 많은 각광을 얻었다. 특히 어린아이들과 초등학생들은 제기 만드는 것에 큰 관심을 가졌다. 제기 체험을 여러번 한 아이는, " 이런 체험이 매우 재미있다. 선물도 받을 수 있어서 아주 좋다"라고 하며, 함께 참석한 부모도 매우 뿌듯해하였다. 국제 봄 페어에서는 드와이트 외국인선생님과의 만남도 가능했으며 학부모와 관계자들은 스쿨투어도 했으며, 공예 체험 프로그램도 있었다. 북페어에서는 해리 포터를 비롯하여 인기 문학책도 많았다. 프리마켓 코너도 있었는데 옷, 책, 작은 선물, 만화책, 청자와 같은 일상생활의 필수품이 있어 사람들의 인기를 많이 얻었다.

            

 신나는 음악과 함께 점보댄스도 중간중간 있었기에 때때로 사람들은 춤을 추며 즐거워했다. 활기찬 날씨에 야외의 모습은 매우 글로벌 문화의 분위기를 즐길 수 있는 공간이었다. 전 프로그램의 참석자 모임으로 보아, 세계화를 잠시나마 실제로 느낄 수 있던 행사였다.

서울통신원 선저이 꾸마르
globalsanjaykumar@gmail.com