말로 할 수 없다

말로 완전히 할 수 없었는데 나머지가 내 가슴 속에 간직하게 되었다. 산과 들이 말도 없고 정도 없어서 그런지 늙지 못 된다. 자연계의 모든 것과는 달리 정에 중독되지 않은 사람들이 별로 없다. 그러므로 사람들은 누구나 늙은 것을 피할 수 없다. 그 것은 인간의 공동적인 운명이다.

사실은...

When I first started my Korean class at NUS Extension back in 2005, my textbook was a binded stack of photostatted notes. I did not have any proper textbook until I reached Basic level 3. That was when I started using textbook published by Sogang University.

One day in 2006, during one of our Basic level 3 lessons, our teacher announced that "Basic Conversational Korean", a book authored by her and published by Ridge Books (an imprint of NUS Publishing) is finally ready to take order. It costs S$10 after subsidy. Actually, the textbook is meant for Basic 1 and 2 level which I have already completed by then. But I still bought it to make up for those days when I went without a proper textbook. It was also to support our teacher's effort in bringing to birth, probably the first Korean language textbook published in Singapore.

Recently, I heard that NEX has decided to drop the use of "Basic Conversational Korean" after two years in favour of the Sogang 1A Textbook and Workbook for Basic level 1 and 2. Frankly, I was quite puzzled why NEX didn't even choose to use the Sogang textbook in the first place. Afterall, Sogang textbooks are used from Basic level 3 to 6. In my opinion, Sogang textbooks are well suited for NEX's students whom many are busy working adults. The good thing about Sogang textbooks is that they are easy to read and understand and hence, the learning curve for foreigners is more gentle. It would have thus made more sense for NEX to continue with Sogang textbooks for its intermediate level courses but for some reasons, it didn't. Instead, it opted to go with the Kyunghee textbooks. Not all Korean language textbooks are made the same. Level-to-level comparison, it is known that Kyunghee textbook is more difficult than Sogang textbook.

The truth is that there is a big gap in between the NEX's basic and intermediate level Korean courses. Besides the fact that Kyunghee textbook is more difficult than Sogang textbook, NEX also skips Sogang textbook 2B and jumps straight to Kyunghee Intermediate 1 textbook. Sogang University publishes two textbooks for each language level (There are 6 standard Korean language levels). Altogether, they have four textbooks to cater to elementary Korean language study. NEX's Basic level 1-6 covers only 3 of the 4 textbooks. What this means is that NEX students have not technically completed the Sogang's elementary curriculum before they move on to Kyunghee' Intermediate curriculum. The big leap in standard felt by NEX students, who cross from basic to intermediate level, is thus not surprising.

The "woes" of NEX students do not end at the point of cross-over. The intermediate level courses are conducted at a more hectic pace compared to the basic level courses. While it takes 100 hours, spread over 40 weeks, to complete Elementary 1 level, it only takes 72 hours, spread over 24 weeks, to complete Intermediate 1 level. Not to mention that Kyunghee textbook is difficult and that Intermediate 1 is also more difficult than Elementary 1. I shall not speculate on the outcome but I know it is not going to be an easy task for NEX students, who are used to Sogang textbook and the slow-pace of learning, to cope with the intermediate level lessons.

Despite all that was said, the gap is not all that insurmountable. It just takes more efforts to overcome. On the hindsight, the gap would not have existed if NEX has just stayed with Sogang's textbook and curriculum. If that had been the case, attending intermediate level Korean lesson would be less of a stress for the students who are mostly busy working adults. What these people definitely prefer is - "Don't stress me!".

I have prepared three tables to serve as comparison of the Korean language courses offered at NEX, SKS and KHU. If you can understand the tables below, you should see that NEX students spend a lot more time doing basic Korean compared to SKS students. But when it comes to intermediate Korean, NEX students "suddenly" spend less time than SKS students. Another point to note is that NEX students take 150 hrs to cover elementary Korean compared to SKS students' 160 hrs. While the there is only a 10-hrs difference in lesson time, NEX students have actually missed out a quarter of the elementary Korean curriculum. However, when you compare both NUS and SKS to KHU courses, they all look grossly inadequate. My intention of giving comparison is not too discourage people from studying Korean in Singapore. Rather, it is to inform anyone who is interested in Korean, that a lot more extra effort is required in order to do well in the language.

오빠 생각

This is supposed to be a children song that all Koreans from young to old are familiar with. So said our teacher. Her remark sparked off my interest to find out about what makes this song so special that its appeal cut across different generations of Koreans.

The song lyrics originated from a poem. 뜸북새 and 뻐꾹새, in the first verse, are two species of birds frequently seen during summer. 뜸북새 or 뜸부기 is crake, a kind of waterhen, whereas 뻐꾹새 or 뻐꾸기 is cuckoo. 기러기 and 귀뚜라미, in the second verse, are associated more with autumn. During autumn, 기러기 (wild geese) will be seen flying down from the North and 귀뚜라미 (cricket) will sing the loudest. These animals play an important role in the poem. Not only do they tell the time of the year, they are also substitutes for the young sister's 오빠 (older brother) when she was thinking of her brother who left her for Seoul.

The poem was written from a young sister's perspective. We know it because of the presence of the word "오빠" in the poem. It can also be said that the young sister "existed" in the poem because of 오빠 and it is through this young sister of 오빠 that we are made to feel a sense of missing, longing and disappointment. Before I go further, here is the translation.

"During the time (summer) when the crake in the paddy field and the cuckoo in the forest sang, my brother rode on a horse and said that when he goes to Seoul he will buy and bring back a pair of silk shoes for me. And then ...

When the wild geese flew down from the North (autumn), only the crickets were heard singing sadly. There was no news from my brother who went to Seoul. There was only autumn leaves falling in mass."

The poem was written during the period when Korea was colonised by the Japanese. It is an elegy - a poem or song written to show sorrow for the dead or for something lost. The 오빠 in the poem signifies the freedom that was lost while the young sister represents the voice of the Korean people who waited and longed for their 오빠 to return, only to be sadly disappointed as time passed by.

Most Koreans may be familiar with the song "오빠 생삭", but not many know that its lyrics or the poem was actually written by a 12-years old girl. 최순애 (Choi Soon Ae), from Suwon, wrote this poem. It was first published in 1925, under the children poem's corner, in the November issue of the magazine "어린이". The following year April, a 16-years old guy, 이원수 (Yee Won Soo), from Masan, had his poem "고향의 봄" published in the same corner of the magazine. Through "오빠 생삭", Choi Soon Ae met her real-life oppa, Yee Won Soo, and they were subsequently married in June 1936. However, it was to be many more years later before the 오빠 in Choi Soon Ae's poem finally returned.

무더위

여름 무더위 속에서 삼계탕 말고 아이스크림이 땡겨... 냠냠쩝쩝 ^^

어른에게

I bought this book at Bandi & Luni bookstore, Jonggak branch, for 4,000won (S$5.40). This is a bilingual book printed in both English and Korean. Some time back, I heard that "The Little Prince" was withdrawn from all the bookstores in Korean due to copyright issue. I was fortunate enough to have bought it just before the selling ban was sanctioned.

I have read this book in both English and Chinese before so I wasn't in any hurry to pour through it. Until yesterday, I have just left it on the shelf to collect dust. Then as I was flipping through it, I saw this interesting line:

어른들은 누구나 한때 어린아이였으므르.
그러나 그것을 기억하는 어른은 별로 없다.
All grown-ups were children once upon a time.
But very few remember it.

Re-discovering that child within us is perhaps the greatest joy of reading this book.

기쁜 소식

이퀴녹 씨~
안녕하세요.
경희대학교 천선생님입니다.
잘 지내셨어요?
한국어 프로그램을 신청하셨네요.
우와~ 정말 한국어 공부를 열심히 하시는 것 같아요.^^
비비안 선생님이 이퀴녹 씨의 장학금에 대해 이야기했어요.
저희 쪽에서도 그 문제에 대해 생각하고 있어요.
장학금을 드릴 수 있을 것 같아요.
얼마 정도인지는 다음에 알려 드릴게요.

*****

안녕하세요.
이퀴녹입니다.
선생님 그동안 잘 지내셨어요?
저는 잘 지내고 있어요.
제 장학금을 위해 많이 신경을 써 주셔서 정말 감사합니다.
한국어를 열심히 공부하기는요.
그냥 제 취미거든요. ^^
곧 선생님하고 만나서 기분이 좋아져요.

*****

우와~이퀴녹 씨, 한국어 실력이 정말 좋아졌어요.
경희대 중급2에 나오는 문법도 잘 알고 있네요. ^^
취미로 즐겁게 공부하니까 더 좋은 것 같아요.

카메라

Picture taken at The Book House, Hyeri Art Vally, Paju-si, Gyongi-do.

I discover that Koreans seldom use compact camera to take pictures. For them, it is mostly either phone camera or SLR camera. I may probably be correct if I guess that people who pull out a compact camera in Seoul are foreigners. Perhaps, I am too quick to jump to conclusion but I don't seem to have memory of Koreans taking pictures with compact camera.

봄이 지나갔다

Geonchun Gate (건춘문, 建春門), the eastern gate of the Gyeongbok Palace. To get to the classy Samcheongdong, you will need to pass by this gate. If you don't see this gate, you are probably on the wrong road.

建春门是景福宫的东门。东方位四方之首，居四季之春。建春门向东，故因此得名。印象中，韩国的树是不长叶子的，天气是冷飕飕的。每次到韩国，不是冬天，就是春天。这不是巧合。我很难想象我会要在夏天去韩国。新加坡是四季如夏的岛国，有享受不尽的暑气。真没必要再花大笔钱，千里迢迢去韩国逍度炎夏。就算在夏天吃参鸡汤能以热制热，对身体有多好多好，还是很难说服我。除了夏天，其他季节我都想去韩国溜达溜达。^^

행복해집시다

Picture taken at Samcheongdong (삼청동, 三淸洞), Seoul

최선을 다해 노력하지 않으면 행복해질 수 없다. 우리 행복해져야만 이 세상도 행복해진단다. 행복해집시다.

좋을 텐데

Yesterday saw the biggest turnout for our Saturday Korean class. In total, 22 students were present. I believe it is going to be a record that is hard to beat for a long time to come. Count in our teacher and an external assessor, there were 24 persons packing the class to the brink. I felt like I was back to Basic level 1 once again because only back then did I have such big class. However, it didn't seem that it was going to be perfect turnout when the class started at 10am yesterday.

Only about half the class was present when the lesson started. Then slowly, latecomers started streaming in one by one. One would be forgiven if he thinks that our lesson start-time is 10:30am. Our teacher apparently felt the same as well when she suggested in jest that perhaps she should start lesson at 10:30am instead. By the way, the last student arrived at class just before 11am and that is the opening time for many shops in Singapore. There must be some reason why Singapore shops choose to open in the late morning.

The focus of yesterday lesson was the practice of three grammars, ~(으)라고 하다, ~자고 하다 and ~(으)ㄹ 텐데. ~(으)라고 하다 and ~자고 하다 were the last two indirect speech grammars that were taught and as a summary, our teacher provided us with a table for the different forms of indirect speech. By the way, I have reproduced the table below without her permission. Knowledge is meant to be shared, isn't it? ^^;


Studying the table above is not enough to understand all the language points about indirect speech. Below are some more notes to further clarify.

Note 1: ~지 않다

않다 as a verb itself is a descriptive verb or stative verb (상태동사, 狀態動詞). However, when it exists in the form of ~지 않다, it can both be an action verb (동작동사, 動作動詞) and a stative verb, depending on whether action or stative verb appears before it. Example:

1. In 먹지 않다, 않다 behaves like an action verb since 먹다 is an action verb. Hence, if someone says, 먹지 않아요 (direct speech - I am not eating), you shall quote him as 먹지 않는다고 했어요 (indirect speech - he said he is not eating).

2. In 바쁘지 않다, 않다 behaves like a stative verb since 바쁘다 is a stative verb. If someone says, 바쁘지 않아요 (direct speech - I am not busy), you shall quote him as 바쁘지 않다고 했어요 (indirect speech - He said he is not busy). You should notice the missing "는" after the word "않".


Note 2: ~아/어 주세요

In a 명령문 (imperative sentence), ~아/어 주세요 (formal honorific ~아/어 주십시오) forms the sentence ending. When ~아/어 주세요 is changed to indirect speech, depending on the situation, it can take the form of ~아/어 주라고 하다 or 아/어 달라고 하다.

1. Situation 1: ~아/어 주세요 is quoted as 아/어 달라고 하다.
Billy tells Naoko, 책을 빌려 주세요. In this situation, Billy, who told Naoko "책을 빌려 주세요" will also be the receiver of the book. Hence, when Minjeong asks Naoko what Billy told her, Naoko will say, 빌리 씨가 책을 빌려 달라고 했어요. If Minjeong is to ask Billy what he told Naoko, Billy will similarly say, 책을 빌려 달라고 했어요.

2. Situation 2: ~아/어 주세요 is quoted as 아/어 주라고 하다.
Billy tells Naoko, 선생님한테 책을 주세요. In this situation, Billy will not be the receiver of the book. His teacher will be the person receiving the book from Naoko. Hence, when Minjeong asks Naoko what Billy told her, Naoko will say, 빌리 씨가 선생님한테 책을 주라고 했어요. If Minjeong is to ask Billy what he told Naoko, Billy will similarly say, 선생님한테 책을 주라고 했어요.


Note 3: ~지 마세요/~지 맙시다

The verb stem in both ~지 마세요 and ~지 맙시다 is 말다. ~지 마세요 is a sentence ending of 명령문 (imperative sentence) and ~지 맙시다 is that of 청유문 (propositive sentence). Based on the indirect speech learned for 명령문 and 청유문, the following conversion shall take place when direct speech is changed into indirect speech.

1. ~지 마세요 (direct speech) → ~지 말라고 하다 (indirect speech)
Billy tells Naoko, 가지 마세요. When Minjeong asks Naoko what Billy told her, Naoko will say, 가지 말라고 했어요.

2. ~지 맙시다 (direct speech) → ~지 말자고 하다 (indirect speech)
Billy tells Naoko, 가지 맙시다. When Minjeong asks Naoko what Billy told her, Naoko will say, 가지 말자고 했어요.


Note 4: 청유문

청유문 (propositive sentence) doesn't always need to end with ~ㅂ시다. So long as the sentence carries with it a request for a certain action to be done together, it is considered a 청유문. In fact the following sentences, which may look like 평서문 (declarative sentence) or 의문문 (interrogative sentences) are all 청유문.

1. 이따가 정문에서 만나요. (A request to meet later)
2. 같이 춤을 춰요. (A request to dance together)
3. 같이 시험공부를 할까요? (A request to study together)
4. 우리 사귈까요? (A request to go steady)

Once you can recognise the above sentences as 청유문, their indirect speech form will be as shown below:

1. 이따가 정문에서 만나자고 했어요.
2. 같이 춤을 추자고 했어요.
3. 같이 시험공부를 하자고 했어요.
4. 우리 사귀자고 했어요.


Note 5: ~이/가 아니다

In case you are wondering how to change ~이/가 아니다 to its indirect speech form, it is ~이/가 아니라고 하다. For example, Billy tells Naoko, 그 분은 선생민이 아니예요. When Minjeong asks Naoko what Billy told her, Naoko will say, 그 분은 선생민이 아니라고 했어요.


After covering the grammar ~(으)라고 하다 and ~자고 하다 in great details, our teacher introduced the grammar ~(으)ㄹ 텐데. She didn't exactly explain it, instead, she let us listened to an old song (produced in 2002) by Sung Si Kyung - 좋을 텐데. Just then, my classmate who sat beside me asked who is Sung Si Kyung? I ended up telling her, 한국 유명한 가수예요. On the topic of Sung Si Kyung, our teacher said that not everyone in Korea like him. Apparently, they have bone to pick with his "softness". Regardless, Sung Si Kyung is still one of her favourites. She went on to say that Sung Si Kyung is the deejay for a midnight radio programme which starts at 12 midnight and ends at 2am. Many people including herself actually stay up until 2am just to hear Sung Si Kyung says "잘 자요", at the end of his programme, with his signature tender and melancholic voice.

Just before our class ended yesterday, our teacher invited the external assessor to give her comment about our class. The assessor's first obeservation was that our class is a very big one considering that it is an intermediate class. Despite that, she was rather impressed by the atmosphere in the class and the interation between teacher and students. To her surprise, our Korean language standard is much better than her expectation. Actually, I wasn't surprise because more than half the class has studied, for different length of time, in Kyunghee, Sogang and Yonsei previously. Anyway, the assessor's comment was enough to make our teacher's day and as a proof of her happiness, she wrote us the following e-mail after the class.

"너무너무 좋은 우리 중급2반 학생 여러분!!!

저는 여러분이 너무 좋아요. 여러분이 한국어를 정말 잘 하시고 열심히 공부하셔서 오늘도 여러분이 정말 자랑스러웠어요. 오늘 우리 수업을 본 다른 한국어 선생님도 여러분의 수준이 높아서 많이 놀랐다고 했어요.

감사합니다!!!

다음 주에 만나요!!"

전지현을 만났어

Advanced 3 at SKS started yesterday. When I arrived at school yesterday, I noticed something quite different. Notices were pasted around the school. The notice informed us of our course teacher and classroom. We were also instructed to gather at the school hall at 7pm (for the opening ceremony). Things weren't like that before. Previously, we could only find out about our teacher and classroom at the notice pasted outside the admin office. After knowing the exact classroom to go to, we just find our way there and wait for our lesson to start. I was so used to starting the first day of a new term without fanfare and then suddenly, I was surprised yesterday.

At about 10 mins to 7pm, students were ushered, by our teachers, into the hall. We were made to form columns, in front of the stage, according to our class. There are 7 classes this term, namely Elementary 1-3, Intermediate 1 and Advanced 1 and 3. Obviously missing are Intermediate 2 and Advanced 2. Once everyone had settled down, our school principal was invited to the stage for the opening address. He asked if he should speak in Korean or English. Almost all the students replied, "영어로" (in English). He then asked if he is to speak in Korean, how many students can understand. Only one student raised his hand. He looked like a foreigner by the way and everyone laughed when he did that because we knew he was joking. I guess our principal had no choice but to address us in simple English. The opening ceremony was a very simple affair which lasted only about 10 mins. Now that SKS has made it a routine to start each term with an opening ceremony, perhaps I should ask our principal to have a "graduation" ceremony for our A3 class at the end of this term.

After the ceremony, we followed our teacher to our classroom at Block B Room 3-3. It is back to big classroom, a reprieve for me after having to endure being squeezed into a small room during A2. While waiting for the rest of our classmates, who were apparently late, we chit-chatted with our teacher. This was how our teacher introduced herself. "I am the real Jeon Ji Hyeon. The actress, Jeon Ji Hyeon, is fake. Actress Jeon Ji Hyeon is actually born Wang Ji Hyeon. She copied my name and then shot to fame at my expense.", She said jokingly. I believe it was not the first time she gave that sort of introduction. She probably said the same thing to all her previous classes because, just like she said, people will forever remember her after that. From our chit-chat, I got to know that Ms Jeon is also teaching the primary 6 class during the day. Primary 6 is a very important level in SKS as the school has set the target for all their Korean students to make it into the top 30 secondary schools in Singapore. I guess the teacher who is assigned to the class should naturally be the best in SKS. If that is true, this term is set to be a very beneficial term for all of us.

It was a long wait for the rest of our classmates. Once a while there would be someone opening our classroom door only to quickly close it again. It was apparent that they got the wrong classroom. Their classroom is probably Block A Room 3-3 and ours is Block B Room 3-3. Frankly, Block A or B is rather meaningless because SKS is just one building. The school could well end the confusion by re-numbering their classrooms. Anyway, our teacher told us that her hometown is Busan and Haeundae is like 5 mins drive away from her home. She is definitely one proud Busanite because she spoke so fondly about Busan. Busan is no doubt a beautiful place but I am not really interested in knowing where to go in Busan since I am just back from there a few months ago. Actually I am more interested in learning Busan 사투리 (dialect). I have already dropped her hint to teach us to speak like Busanite.

The final count for our class size is five. Just enough to make a class. I was so grateful when our last two classmates reported for class. If not for them, A3 may just have to be closed. Anyway, its history now. Our first lesson was quite packed. We did two listening passages, learned a nursery rhyme, played word guesing game and practised two grammars "~지" and "~고 해서" all within one and a half hour. When our lesson ended, we were the last class to leave the school. It was a good start, with good teacher and good classmates. What else can I ask for? I shall stop here for now as I need to do my homework and study for tomorrow dictation.