a-pop-of-korean

[a-pop-of-korean]

It might just be my phone but the links in your pinned doesn’t work

Hi! It's not just you--I think all of the links are not working for me too. I haven't been very active on Tumblr so I just noticed the other day. I do actually have a copy of my masterlist saved as a Google Doc, so hopefully I can just copy and paste when I get the chance, but please be patient if it takes me a while to get around to it!

I have also tried using the search bar on my Tumblr to find lessons, and although it is certainly not perfect, hopefully in the meantime it can help you find what you need. I'm so sorry for the inconvenience and thanks for the question! 화이팅!

#apok #apok q&a #korean #korean language #korean langblr

[a-pop-of-korean]

Hi! I tried to join your discord server from a post you made but the link seems to have alrd bbeen expired.. so if you could give me the new link? Thanks btw! This is great blog :]

Hello! Here is the link--just be aware that my chat is largely inactive. I haven't been moderating it for a long time so hopefully no one shady has joined lol...

That said, feel free to liven it back up! Even though I can't moderate it, I trust you all :) Thanks for the question! 화이팅!

#korean #korean language #korean langblr #apok #apok q&a

[a-pop-of-korean]

hello i have a question about learning korean ^^

i started ( self ) studying it about two years ago but discontinued due to college and all, but now i want to pick it up again and i don't know where to start from? i know how to read and write, but i have issues reading in one go— basically i lack fluency in reading and i often stutter. is there any way to improve?

secondly, i do know some basic stuff however my vocabulary isn't vast enough. besides, i would like to understand the sentence structure, or how they write phrases and sentences since it's very different from english. i've referred to so many sites but there's always a question— do i work on vocabulary first or sentence / phrasing structure first? or do i study both of them along side?

this sounds like such a mess and it is because i'm so lost ┬┬﹏┬┬ my main goal is to understand korean shows without subtitles and i do pick up a few words and phrases here and there but there's a lot still left to learn and idk where to start from. moreover, i've noticed that the textbook korean and the one that's spoken in everyday life is way different ( this applies to almost all the languages tbh ) and i'm having a bit of a trouble trying to figure out how a native would say it?

or example, do this thing where i come up with a sentence and try to translate it just to check what it would be in korean and check in the translator to see if i'm right, and most of the time im not. whether it's about the formalities or the conjugations. basically a whole lot of issues so please if u can help ＞︿＜

Hello! If your goal is to be able to understand Korean content without subtitles, then I think self-studying grammar and vocabulary is a good idea. I know you said you already have some knowledge of Korean, so I would refer to my masterlist and start from wherever you feel appropriate. I also recommend diversifying your study material and looking at other resources on Tumblr, YouTube, and on the Internet elsewhere. There's a lot out there!

As for your second question, I think it makes more sense to study vocab and grammar at the same time. As I've said before in previous asks, I was never that disciplined with my studying, so I can't really give you concrete study techniques. I think I got where I am today by regular exposure (on top of taking Korean courses and studying abroad lol). But if you don't have those opportunities, using whatever resources on the Internet can get you far. As you get comfortable with both grammar and vocab, I recommend exposing yourself to content like webtoons in Korean and K-dramas. These will help you with your reading and listening comprehension. There are plenty of webtoons at varying levels of difficulty, and K-drama actors have clear diction that is easy to understand. Again, I don't exactly have concrete techniques for how to eventually ween yourself off of subtitles/translations (since I myself still use them), but in my experience, exposure alone is enough to at least allow me to read webtoons and watch K-dramas without relying super heavily on the translations. Consuming this content will also teach you how natural Korean is spoken by natives. I hope that makes sense!

If you're concerned about speaking, the best way to get better is to converse with others. You might not know other people who speak Korean, but you can still practice with others for free on Hilokal, where I used to teach live lessons. It's a nice, low-pressure environment that can help you get more comfortable with speaking and learn alongside other people just like you!

Also, I generally don't recommend using translators to help you learn a language, especially if you're an English speaker learning Korean. It's more useful for you to understand the meaning of the Korean itself than it is for you to get the perfect translation. Korean is especially difficult to translate into English (in my opinion), so a translator might not give you a clean, accurate, and natural translation. Unfortunately, I can't think of other ways to fact-check your sentences otherwise lol. But I think that looking at enough sample sentences will help you become better at constructing your own. And something that helped me feel more comfortable writing and speaking when I was abroad is that, even if I make minor mistakes, chances are that other people can still understand me. Maybe keeping that in mind can make the learning process a little less stressful :)

Maybe this advice isn't new for you, but I hope it was still helpful! Thanks for the question and good luck! 화이팅!

#한국어 #korean langblr #korean #apok q&a #korean q&a #apok

[a-pop-of-korean]

yyxy (LOONA) - one way | K-Pop Breakdown

안녕하세요 여러분! It's been a while! I recently got a request for a breakdown of this song, so here it is! I'll link my full-length lessons for the grammar structures I include, so check those out for more explanations and examples. I hope you enjoy, and feel free to check out my other K-Pop Breakdowns and request a new song!

Also, I used colorcodedlyrics.com to help me with my translations :)

Vocabulary

낯선 = unfamiliar

길을 잃어버리다 = to be lost

쪽 = way

미로 = maze

속에 = inside (of)

멍하니 = absent-mindedly; blankly

약속 = promise

기억 = memory

묻다 = to ask

혼자 = alone

계속 = continuously

걷다 = to walk

Grammar

어느 쪽으로 가야 할까 / 미로 속에 갇힌 듯이 / 멍하니 걷고 있어

Which way should I go? / As if I'm caught in a maze / I'm walking absent-mindedly

-아/어/여야 하다

Attach this structure to a verb stem to mean "have to/should [verb]." 가야 하다, which uses the verb 가다 (to go), mean "should go" or "have to go."

-ㄹ/을까?

In this case, this structure is basically used the same way we would use "I wonder..." in English. 어느 쪽으로 가야 할까? essentially means "I wonder which way I should go?"

-ㄴ 듯이

When attached to a verb stem, this means "as if [verb]" in the past tense. 갇히다 means "to be confined" or "to be locked up" or "to be trapped." So, 갇힌 듯이 means "as if I was trapped," or "like I'm trapped." I believe the reason why it technically uses the past tense form is because the speaker has already been locked up, if that makes sense!

-고 있다

Attaching this to a verb stem gives you the present-progressive form, which is equivalent to the English -ing. 걷고 있다, therefore, means "walking."

널 볼 수 있다면 널 보게 된다면 / 어디로 가야 하는지 한번쯤은 묻고 싶어

If I could see you, if I get to see you / I want to ask you where I should go

-(ㄴ/는)다면

This structure means "if," and is usually used for talking about hypothetical situations or situations that are not likely to happen. In this case, the speaker implies that it is unlikely that they will see this person, but are saying what they would do if they did.

-ㄴ/는지

This structure is used to ask indirect questions. 어디로 가야 하는지 한번쯤은 묻고 싶어 is an example--it does not mean "where should I go?" but "I want to ask you where I should go." 어디로 가야 하는지 means "where I should go."

-고 싶다

Attach this structure to a verb stem to mean "want to [verb]."

우리 사랑은 나 혼자 one way / 계속 가고 있잖아

Our love is one way for me alone / I'm still going

-잖아(요)

Attach this to a verb or adjective stem to give it a nuance of "you know..." It is used to point out something that the listener does or should already know. 계속 걷고 있잖아, therefore, has the nuance of "I'm still walking, you know."

That's all for this breakdown! I hope it was helpful :) Thank you to whoever requested it! I am still taking requests (although it may take me a while to fulfill them), so please don't hesitate to ask me! Thanks for reading! 화이팅!

#korean #korean language #korean langblr #learn korean #한국어 #korean grammar #study korean #loona #loona yyxy #kpop #kpop lyrics #learning korean #studying korean #korean vocab #korean vocabulary #문법 #어휘

[a-pop-of-korean]

Hii! If you're still doing lyric translations/explanations, would you mind doing one way by loona/yyxy? Thank you so much!! :)

Hello! I would love to do a breakdown for this song. It might take me a little while, so please me patient and thanks for the request! 화이팅!

#apok #apok q&a #korean #korean language #한국어 #langblr #korean lagblr

[a-pop-of-korean]

hi i have a question about how to quote someone. like for example i’m saying my mom asked when we’re going to meet

A: she asked about you

B: what did she ask

A: when we’re going to meet

would it be 널 언제 만날건데?

Hello! If you want to say "My mom asked when we're going to meet," you can say this: 엄마가 우리 언제 만날 거냐고 하셨어요 (or just 했어요 depending on how honorific you want to be). If you're totally new to quoting, I recommend checking out my lessons below since quoting has its own set of rules!

There are a few different grammatical structures used to quote someone in Korean. The quoting structure used in this sentence is -냐고, which is used specifically for quoting questions. Since you're meeting in the future, you attach -을/ㄹ 거냐고 to the verb stem. After that, use can use the verb 하다, which in this case, stands in to mean "to ask," as I did, which I think is the most common verb to use when quoting. Or, you can use 물어보다 meaning "to ask." The reason why 하다 is so common when quoting someone is because the grammar already points to the fact that a question is being asked, so it's ok to just use the short 하다 rather than a specific verb meaning "to ask." Hope that makes sense!

Thanks for the question! As I said, quoting is kinda complicated in Korean, so if you're new to it, it might not make sense to you right now. See my lessons below for more info! 화이팅!

Quoting

Quoting Continued

#apok #apok q&a #korean #korean language #korean grammar #한국어

[a-pop-of-korean]

Hi. I’m currently watching a seguk. I just realized that some people use 당신 for “you”, some uses “귀하”.

Is there any difference between the two? Like is the other one for a special bond/relationship and the other isn’t. Or they are just the same?

Thank you.

Hello! Good question. In short, both are very rare in everyday conversation, so I think it’d be unnatural to use either.

당신 is used in very specific contexts, usually between people who are arguing intensely or between romantic couples.

I’m honestly not too familiar with 귀하, but just based on vibes from Naver Dictionary and a bit of Googling, it sounds extremely formal, like something you’d use in court. I’m honestly not too sure when you’d use though, it since in Korean, it’s most common to just refer to people by their name and/or title (such as teacher, doctor, etc.) in formal/honorific situations rather than any word for “you.” If anyone knows anything else about 귀하, leave a comment!

In my opinion, I doubt you’d ever have to use either in a normal conversation in Korea, so if you’re not too sure how they’re used, just stick to the good old title/name way of addressing people! Thanks for the question and I hope it was helpful! 화이팅!

#korean #korean language #korean langblr #한국어 #apok #apok q&a

[a-pop-of-korean]

혹시 Tumblr에서 저말고 따른 한국인 보셨어요? 아무리 한국인을 찾으려해도 찾을 수가 없어요 ㅠㅠ

Translation of the question: Have you seen any Korean people on Tumble besides me by any chance? No matter how hard I try I can’t find any Koreans.

저는 Tumblr에서 친구를 찾으려 해본 적이 없어서 한국 사람도 못 찾았네요 ㅋㅋ 근데 제 생각에는 Tumblr는 미국에서만 인기가 많은 웹사이트이니까 한국 사람이 많지 않을 것 같아요 (사실 미국에서도 인기가 없더라고요 ㅋㅋ) 그래도 아마 한국계 미국 사람이라도 많을 걸요? 전 잘 몰라서 죄송해요! 물어봐줘서 감사합니다!!

Translation of my answer: I’ve never tried to find friends on Tumblr, so I’ve never found any Korean people either lol. But in my opinion Tumblr is a more popular website in the US, so there might not be many people from Korea (tbh it’s not even that popular here lol). But there are probably many Korean-Americans here at least. Sorry that I’m not too sure! Thanks for the question! 화이팅!

#korean #korean language #korean langblr #한국어 #apok #apok q&a

[a-pop-of-korean]

Hi, I heard someone say '보라돌이' and I didn't know what it meant. Something related with purple...? Please tell me.

Hello! I had no idea what 보라돌이 meant, but apparently it’s the Korean name for the Teletubbies character Tinky Winky LMAO (Teletubbies is a British kids TV show that was popular in the US too when I was growing up). I had no idea Teletubbies even existed in Korea so thank you for bringing this to my attention! Thanks for the question and your patience! 화이팅!

[a-pop-of-korean]

I starting to learn Korean and Idk where to start. Please help me :(

Hello! I recommend checking out my master list and starting with “The Basics” section and working up from there. See what you know already and what you don’t. I hope my “curriculum” offers a good starting point! Thanks for the question and for your patience! 하이팅!

#korean #korean language #korean langblr #한국어 #apok #apok q&a

[a-pop-of-korean]

I don't have the courage to speak to other Koreans... they keep saying Korean to me in a restaurant and idk what to do. Do you have some advice?

I know how you feel! Here's my advice as a former foreigner in Korea to you, assuming you, too, are a foreigner in Korea. While my Korean was good enough to get by, there were absolutely times when I struggled to express myself or got my words mixed up! Yet, I was still able to work with the person I was speaking to to get my point across. I know not everyone has the same experience as I did, but everyone I've spoken to has been patient and polite to me despite these difficulties; if you seem like a foreigner, they will not judge if your Korean is not perfect. I'm not sure where you're from, but as an American myself, I know that people from my culture often get impatient with people who don't speak English (which is perhaps in part where my own language anxiety comes from!), but not everyone else in the world is going to treat you that way. This is not to say you will never have an unpleasant experience talking to someone, but I think if you try your best at speaking Korean, then those around you will work with you. Remember that language and meaning-making are collaborative tasks!

As for practical tips you can use in the moment, something I did all the time was take a second and plan out in my head what I was going to say. This is especially helpful when ordering at a restaurant! Sometimes just getting that first sentence out is the hardest part, and the rest gets easier! Worst comes to worst, there's no shame in just pointing at the menu--they'll get what you mean lol.

Overall, getting comfortable means pushing yourself to use the language. I know it's not easy, but it's so worth it! It's not about being perfect or understanding every word other people say to you. It's about working together to share a message or complete a task, as well as showing respect for others. And your Korean doesn't have to be stellar for that! An attempt at speaking Korean is better than resorting to English and expecting others to understand you. I'm not sure if any of this advice speaks to you, but I hope I could offer something helpful! Thanks for the question! 화이팅!

#korean #korean langblr #korean language #apok #apok q&a #한국어

[a-pop-of-korean]

Hi! I recently saw this sentence 그래서 밖에 잘 안 나가게 돼요 and was wondering what the ending -게 돼요 means?

Why not 그래서 밖에 잘 안 나가요 ?

Thank you for your help!

🩷

Hello! The grammar point you're talking about is [verb] + 게 되다. Check out my full lesson linked for more information, but here's the TLDR. This is used to mean that you ended up doing something, or that something ended up happening.

나가게 되다, therefore, means "to end up going out." I would translate that sentence as "so I end up not going outside well." (or something like that--the subject isn't clear!) I hope this was helpful and thanks for your patience! 화이팅!

[a-pop-of-korean]

How’d you learn Korean? And for how long? Why? Idk if you’ve answered this before but yeah

I started learning Korean when I was in the 8th grade (I'm now 21 so it's been a long time!), basically just by watching YouTube videos and reading blogs. I never took it that seriously (and also I was a child who didn't know how to study languages lol), so I never took notes or anything. It was only when I was in the middle of high school that I decided to take it a little more seriously and make more of an effort to expose myself to it. I made this blog when I was 16, so that was probably my peak of self-studying--I had to make sure I knew my stuff before teaching other people! I started taking Korean classes my sophomore year of college, and then went abroad last year for four months, where I continued studying it formally.

As for the why, many of my friends growing up spoke another language, and I wanted to learn another one as well! I chose Korean because I really liked K-pop and wanted to understand my favorite music. Maybe that's a bit of a silly reason, but I was like 13 when I decided to start learning lol. But I do think that music in any culture is important, so I'm glad I chose Korean because now listening to K-pop is a different experience for me!

Keep in mind that I'm not at all fluent--I know a lot of textbook Korean and I did get more comfortable speaking it when I was abroad, but I still struggle and don't know everything! I also started studying it just past the age where acquiring a language is easy, and I didn't expose myself enough at first. Even though I'm not fluent, I wanted to make this blog to hopefully be a resource for other native English speakers who struggle to learn Korean. I hope this answers your question and thanks for your patience! 화이팅!

#apok #apok q&a #korean #korean language #korean langblr

[a-pop-of-korean]

I've been learning Korean for quite a long time and I wanted to learn some advanced Korean. Can you teach me some?

Please refer to my masterlist for upper-intermediate and advanced lessons! I hope it's helpful! 화이팅!

#korean #korean langblr #apok #apok q&a #korean language #한국어

[a-pop-of-korean]

Hi, I have been learning Korean for a bit of a long time and I am confused with the grammars. (으)나 마나 can you teach me please?

Hello! I've also never learned this grammar pattern, so I'll try to explain it as best I can from what I learned via Google. Essentially, [verb stem] + (으)나 마나 is used to mean that whether you do an action or not, the result is going to be the same. It's often used to express that there is no use in doing something. For example:

공부하나 마나 시험에 떨어질 거예요. = It's no use studying for the test--I'll fail anyway.

그 옷을 입어보나 마나 너무 비싸서 못 사요. = There's no use in trying those clothes on; they're too expensive, so I can't buy them. (hope this is correct!)

잠을 일찍 자나 마나 어차피 아침에 졸리게 깨어날 것 같아요. = There's no use in going to bed early--I think I'm going to wake up sleepy anyway.

I hope this was helpful! (and that my sentences make sense lol--someone please let me know if they're not!) Thanks for the question and for your patience! 화이팅!

#apok #apok q&a #korean #korean langblr #korean language #한국어

[a-pop-of-korean]

Hi, I'm recently learning Korean and I came across your blog. I heard somebody saying 태정태세문단세 and I don't know what it means, I think it's sort of the king's name. Could you please tell me what it means?

Hello! If I understand correctly, 태정태세문단세 is an acronym of the first seven kings of Korea's names. According to this website, these are each of the king's names and some of the things they are known for (really hope I'm interpreting this right considering I don't know much about Korean history!):

태조 : 조선 개국, 1차 왕자의 난, 정도전 = Founded the Joseon dynasty, first prince's rebellion, Jeong Dojeon (early Joseon scholar)

정종 : 2차 왕자의 난 = Second prince's rebellion

태종: 호패법 실시, 왕권 강화 = Implementation of identification tag law (read about that here!), reinforcement of regal power

세종: 한글 창제, 훈민정음 반포, 황희, 장영실 = Invention of Hangul, proclamation of Korean script, Hwang Hui (a politician), Jang Yeong-sil (a scientist and inventor)

문종 (website doesn't say anything about him)

단종: 계유정난, 김종서 = coup d'etat where Prince Suyang dethroned Kim Jong-seo and took over the government

세조: 사육신, 직전법 실시, 한명회 = Six martyred ministeres (read about them here!), implementation of land system law, Han Myeong-hoe (politician and soldier)

Thanks for the question and for your patience--I ended up learning a lot too! Hope this is helpful! 화이팅!

#korean #korean language #korean langblr #apok #apok q&a #한국어

[a-pop-of-korean]

I'm recently learning Korean and I don't know what 우정 means.

Hello! Thanks for your patience. According to Naver Dictionary, 우정 means friendship! Thanks for the question! 화이팅!

#korean #korean language #apok #apok q&a #korean langblr #한국어