노래자랑

I used to stay back after my Korean class on Saturday to watch what I called the "Saturday Afternoon Matinee". Our teacher would usually prepare some interesting Korean programme to screen after class. One of those Saturdays, the programme screened was the highly-popular KBS programme - "1박2일" (One Night Two Days). In that episode, the task given to the "1박2일" team was to participate in another highly-popular KBS programme - "전국 노래자랑" (Korean Sings). When two highly-popular programmes meet, there are bound to be explosive fireworks. It was so much fun watching the "1박2일" team preparing and rehearsing for their participation number - "무조건" [無條件, Unconditional (Love)].

"무조건" is a very famous 트로트 (trot) in Korea. Trot, unlike Korean pop, has mass appeal and long staying power because their melody and lyrics are both simple and catchy. In Korea, trot is as popular as Korean pop, if not more. I used to think that trot is only meant for the elderly but the "1박2일" team's hilarious performance of "무조건" changed my impression completely.

I was recently reminded of "무조건" by the "1박2일" team because our teacher was asking if we would like to participate in the K-Pop Talent Contest (This contest is held in conjunction with the Korea Festival 2008 which will happen in Singapore between 1 Nov and 18 Nov). I am not about to join the contest by the way. I am just thinking that if there is any participating team out there which can perform "무조건" as hilarious as the "1박2일" team, they will probably win a lot more points from the judges.

오래 오래 기억할게

So I finally saw the end of my Korean learning road in Singapore after almost 3 years. That's three "bumpy and bumper" years. "Bumpy" because my Korean learning was disrupted many times along the way due to lack of higher-level course. "Bumper" because I met so many fantastic teachers and wonderful friends who share my interest and dream.

Today is my last day at the Singapore Korean School - a place where I call my school since April 2007. It is always not easy to say goodbye especially when I have already developed a habit of attending class every Tuesday and Thursday evening. But I guess I will just have to move on. A new beginning is always beckoning with each ending.

As a norm, the last day of every term is meant for cultural lesson. Today, we had a 윷놀이 (Yunnori) competition between the classes. There are only 7 classes this term, so E2 class was split into 2 teams to make 8 teams. The competition adopted the elimination format. The winner of each round would proceed to the next. Our class (A3), first eliminated A1 in the quarter-final. But, in turn, we got eliminated by I1 in the semi-final. After our loss, our teacher hurried us to queue for food at the back of the hall. When we were about to reach for our food, we were called back for the 3rd/4th playoff with one of the E2 teams. We lost again. The end result: the two teams from E2 claimed the first and third prize while I1 finished second.

You probably have to use some imagination here. "Yut" sticks were there on the blue mat but not captured. The guy standing is the teacher of I1 class - the only male teacher teaching in Korean Language Course. Our teacher, Ms Jeon, is second from right.

More spectators than players. Such situation can only happen for elementary classes. Everyone in our class has to play because there are only four of us. 1st to 3rd prize for this event are stacked up at the back.

After everything was over I had some chat with my teachers as well as the school staff before bidding them a final farewell. Just as I thought "that's the end", a relief teacher whom I have not met before came up to me. "Are you Equinox?", she asked. I was taken aback by this sudden introduction. "Do you know you are famous?", she went on to say. "그래요? 진짜 물랐어요.", I replied. Soon, my thought started to drift away. I was once a lonely soul in SKS. I knew nobody and nobody knew me. By the time I left, it seems like everyone in SKS, from the principal to the teachers to the office staff, knows me. The contrast is stark and I am still not too sure which part of me attracts their attention. But it doesn't really matter now or does it? From tomorrow onwards, they can probably start to forget me. Afterall I am just a passerby.

My final results slip and certificate issued by SKS on Sep 9, 2008.

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.

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.

연극은 성공

The last day of term in SKS has never been so stressful. All Korean classes in SKS were required to stage a performance yesterday. I think the scale of the event is unprecedented. As far as I can recall, cultural events in SKS don't usually involve a lot of preparations and efforts. But this time round, things are quite different. Many of the classes came prepared with costumes, stage props and makeup. In order to ensure that there would be enough time for every class to perform, the cultural event commenced at 7:30pm instead of the usual 8:00pm. Guess what? At 7:30pm, our class was still outside the school auditorium rehearsing our script. That only shows how last minute we were in our preparation. There is only one expression that best described my feeling then - 너무 떨었어요.

Our script was taken from episode 14 of the Korean drama "My Lovely Samsoon". Our teacher "spoon-fed" us with the script since none of us knew any better what we should do for the cultural event. The main difficulty of reading the Korean script was that it was so colloquial and quite unlike the conversational style which we were taught during lesson. For example, lesson don't teach us how to scold others but the script does. It took me quite a while to get over the difficulty of reading colloquial Korean but once that was done, I thought acting in colloquial Korean was quite an interesting experience. I would have probably enjoyed myself if our teacher had no expectation or whatsoever. But from my observation, our teacher was actually quite worried about our performance yesterday.

Being the most "advanced" class in the school has both advantage and disadvantage. The disadvantage is that people will always look upon us to set the standard for our "후배" (juniors). It doesn't matter whether we think we need to fill the shoes, there is always an expectation for us to do so. Our teacher was quite mindful about this unsaid expectation, if not, she wouldn't have shown a sign of relieve when we performed well. Our class won the third prize although we didn't invest much time and effort into preparing and rehearsing for our performance. That is an advantage of being the most "advanced" class - with more experience, we can get away by doing less. Though we scored low for our effort and creativity, we made up in our Korean pronunciation. Frankly speaking, I was quite embarrassed when we won because I knew we didn't put in as much efforts as the other classes - 너무 창피해요.

With the end of the cultural event, this term has also come to an end. I am not too sure if Advanced 3 will start on 1st July as scheduled. Two of my classmates have decided to take a break, so Advanced 3 is unlikely to start unless there is infusion of "fresh blood". If there is no class, I think I shall just spend my free time preparing for TOPIK Intermediate and KLPT. Whatever happens, I just need to keep learning - 끊임없이 공부해야 겠어요. 길이 아직도 멀기 때문이에요.

기말 시험

We had our end-of-term Korean language examination at SKS yesterday. It comprises an oral and written test. For the oral test, we were first asked to read a short story and then answer a few questions. The interesting part was I didn't know what I was reading and neither did I know what were being asked. Yet, I could still answer all the questions correctly. It seemed like I just knew, in my subconscious, where to find the answers in the story. I wonder if my teacher could see through that I didn't really know what I was saying. Anyway, there was also a free conversation which I was supposed to comment about the course. Among other things, I said that I have learnt a lot of new grammars and vocabulary. I also got more writing practices compared to previous courses. Last but not least, I took the opportunity to "complain" about the absence of multiple choices in the written test (I was doing my written test halfway before being called out for the oral test).

I must confess, going into the exam, I was expecting an easy test paper that comes with multiple choices and fill-in-the-blank sort of questions. However, what we got, threw me off completely. For example, we were required to explain the meaning of "이열치열" (以熱治熱) in Korean, write down the correct Korean idiom (no multiple choices) after being given the explanation and complete 12 sentences using the grammars provided. Then there was a "long" passage (about 3/4 page length with single spacing) that we must read and comprehend before we could select the most appropriate answer to fill in the blank. The passage was not taken off our workbook and that was quite out of my expectation. Despite that, I could understand this passage much better than the one given for oral test. At least, I know that there was a tiger, a crying child and a mother who tried to scare her child by saying that tiger would eat him up if he continues to cry. Finally, we were required to write a 50-words composition about Singapore's gift or food that is of special significance. Though the questions in the test paper caught me by surprise, it wasn't a very difficult paper afterall.

It's one more lesson and a drama to the end of Advanced 2. Hope that we don't make a fool of ourselves during the cultural event next week. Tell you a secret, our teacher is more worried about our drama performance than ourselves. 선생님, 걱정마세요. 우리 연극은 잘 될지 모르겠지만 최선을 다 하겠어요.

토요일 수업

Our teacher, Ms Kim, has a habit of elaborating on the vocabulary and grammar being taught. Besides elaborating about language points and grammars, she like to tell story and sometimes gossip a bit during lesson.


Situation 1: When she elaborated on the word "혼란" (混亂, chaos).

Elaboration: These days, Seoul is in a state of chaos. Do you know the cause of this chaos? Koreans attribute it to the President, "이명박" (李明博, Lee Myung Bak) and do you know what is his latest "별명" (別名, nickname)? It's 2MB. Why 2MB? 2 and 이 (Lee) have the same pronunciation and MB is the initial for Myung Bak. So is 2MB or 2 megabytes flattering or derogatory? It's derogatory because it means low capacity, i.e. Lee Myung Bak is equivalent to low capacity.


Situation 2: When she elaborated on the word "휴일" (休日, rest day).

Elaboration: Do you know what day is 6th of June in Korea? It's "현충일" (顯忠日, The Memorial Day) and it's a "공휴일" (公休日, public holiday) in Korea. Saturday and Sunday are considered "휴일". Since the Memorial Day falls on a Friday this year, Koreans will have three consecutive days of rest this week and this is called "연휴" (連休, consecutive holidays). Other times when Koreans enjoy "연휴" are Seollal and Chuseok.


Situation 3: When she elaborated on the word "폭우" (暴雨, rainstorm).

Elaboration: The word "폭" means extreme. Besides "폭우", "폭" can also be used with "설" (雪, snow), "염" (炎, heat) and "한" (寒, cold) to give "폭설", "폭염" and "폭한". "폭설" means snowstorm or blizzard, "폭염" means "더위" or extreme heat and "폭한" means "추위" or extreme cold.


Situation 4: When she elaborated on the word "소나기" (shower).

Elaboration: Do you know what do people mean when they say "소나기밥"? It means sudden overeating (by someone of usually modest appetite). "소나기" is rain that falls suddenly and Koreans tend to associate suddenness with "소나기". Hence, it is not too difficult to see why sudden overeating is called "소나기밥". Besides suddenness, Koreans also associate "소나기" with romance. Have you watch "The Classic"? There is this scene where the guy uses his jacket to cover the girl while both of them run to take cover from the shower. Isn't that romantic? There is also this very famous romance novel in Korea by the title of "소나기". Many movies actually copied the romantic scenarios written in the novel.


Situation 5: When she elaborated on the word "장갑" (掌匣, gloves).

Elaboration: The action verb for "장갑" is "끼다". Why "끼다"? It is because "끼다" tells of something being sandwiched in between and gloves are supposed to be sandwiched between the hand and the item being held. And do you know what mittens are called? They are called "벙어리 장갑" (literal translation: dumb gloves). Don't the mittens look like gloves without "mouth"?


Situation 6: Suddenly thunder went off while we were having lesson...

Elaboration: Do you know what is thunder called? It's "천둥". And what is lightning? It's 번개. Both use the action verb "치다".


There are so much things to learn, that is beyond textbook, during our Saturday Korean class. Initially, I hestitate about revealing what our teacher says in class because it seems like I am writing some sort of "spoilers". However, when I think a bit further, this Intermediate 2 class may probably be her first and the last I2 class in Singapore as her tenure at NEX would be ending early next year. What this means is that I may probably write more of the interesting things she says in class. ^^

시작, 끝

Intermediate 2 Korean class at NEX began two Saturdays ago. The class started with eighteen students but by the second lesson, the number ballooned to twenty-one. I have not seen such a large class since Basic Korean level 1. In the first lesson, our teacher, Ms Kim Sehwa, tried to establish some form of 규칙 (規則) or regulation for the class. Each group was instructed to come out with one regulation as well as to determine the 벌금 (罰金) or penalty to be paid by those students who violate the regulation. There seemed to be some unspoken understanding among the students. All groups avoided saying things like we must do our homework diligently or we must be punctual for class because such regulations are difficult to observe since many students are busy working adults. So we ended up with "painless" regulations like we must enjoy our lesson, we must put our handphone to silent mode and we must not talk on the phone during lesson. The penalty was equally "painless - either no penalty or just a token 10 cents for violation. I think our teacher "gave up" on the class on the very first lesson. -_-"

Advanced 2 Korean class at SKS is coming to an end in two weeks time. In case anyone is confused, Advanced 2 at SKS is the equivalent of Intermediate 3 at NEX. Last lesson, our teacher, Ms Hwang Jung Hee, informed us that the 4th Korean Language Speech Contest will be held on 22 November this year. Since we are the most "advanced" class in SKS, she was encouraging us to participate in the contest. Unfortunately, out of four students, two are already "banned for life" from participating while the other two don't seen to be interested. I guess SKS will have to look to other classes for participants. Anyway, the next two weeks will be a period of anxiety. There will be the end-of-semester test on 12 June. Following that, on 17 June, the last day of this semester, each class is supposed to go on stage to put up a 5 minutes long drama. Our teacher has already prepared a few pages of Korean script for us to memorise. I shan't reveal our script content at this moment. All I can say is that it should be quite entertaining provided we can get our act together. But I am not too sure if we can even act in the first place, not forgetting that we need to act while speaking a foreign language. >_<

파도 탑시다!

Korean class at NEX is getting more interesting these days. Last Saturday, we role-played a typical Korean company function or 회식 (會食) to learn about the Korean drinking etiquette or 주도 (酒道) and the 회식 culture. Our class was divided into four groups and each sitting at one table. Each group represented a department of the company and in each group, one student role-played the head of department or 부장 (部長) and another, a new employee of the department or 신입사원 (新入社員). Among us, one student was selected to play the role of the president of the company or 사장 (社長). As for our teacher, she called herself the waitress of the Hof (호프) or beer house.

At the start, our teacher went around the tables asking if we would like to have 술 (wine, liquor) or 맥주 (beer). After we placed our "orders", she gave us a bottle of mineral water with a post-it that has the word "맥주" written on it. Then, the new employee of each department was made to pour drink for everyone. Our 신입사원 was very into her role. She held the bottle with two hands and respectfully poured the drink into our styrofoam cups. Once that was done, we were made to 건배 (乾杯) or cheers. While drinking, our 신입사원 was mindful about turning her face slightly away from her "seniors". If you do not know, that's part of 주도.

After one round of drink, all new employees were required to give a self-introduction. Our teacher was trying to impress upon us that 회식 is a very stressful time for new employees. Being the lowest rank in the company, new employees have not much saying rights and have to do what they are being told. Especially during self-introduction, if one says that I like singing, then the rest will shout "노래해, 노래해...." or if one says that I am learning to dance, people will shout "춤춰, 춤춰...". No matter what, the seniors would probably be on a lookout for some form of entertainment from the new employees.

Next, came the "climax" or sort for the role play. We were required to practise 파도 타기 (Ride the Wave). In 파도 타기, a person shall start the "wave" by bottoming up and the person next to him will immediately follow suit and so on and so forth until the last person in the group bottoms up. The wave can only move on if the person who is supposed to drink, empties his glass. Usually, a person who has problem bottoming up would be cheered on, "원샷 (One Shot)! 원샷! .....", by his colleagues. To execute 파도 타기, everyone will first be told (잔을 피우세요!) to empty their glasses, so that they can be refilled with drink for 파도 타기. According to the Korean drinking etiquette, a person's glass can only be filled up with drink again after he has emptied it.

To practise 파도 타기, our teacher called out "파도 탑시다!" (Let's ride the wave) and our "president" started the ball rolling by "bottoming up". The whole "wave" probably took less than one minute to complete since we were only drinking water. There was no puking and no drunkard uttering nonsense and everything was well under control. It was so much fun though I believe the actual scenario could likely be quite different. Regardless, the classroom role-play had definitely served its purpose of helping me to remember the Korean drinking etiquette better.

Some more things which I learnt about 회식. 회식 usually comprises three sessions or 3차. 1차, from 7pm to 9pm, is usually held in 식당 or restaurant. 2차, from 9pm to 11pm, is in 술집 or beer house. 3 차, from 11pm to 1am, will be in 노래방 or KTV room. People would usually made their way home after 2차. Actually, come to think of it, there is nothing distinctively different about Korean 회식. It seems like company functions are all quite similiar in form although they differ in details. Singaporeans like me, usually won't go beyond 1차. It is either we are quite disengaged employees or we are just home-loving creatures. But there is one thing which I like about 회식 in Singapore and that is, it is usually held in a more casual manner and new employees need not feel stress-out by the event.

우리 반은 최고요

Our last lesson for this semester was nothing but interesting. After going through the mistakes made in our test paper (which we took on Tuesday), our teacher handed us a recipe for making ddeokbokkgi and explained the steps. The recipe looks simple though it is written in Korean. It would have been interesting if we could get some practical hands-on but all that we have yesterday was just restricted to verbal explanation.

We spent about one hour in our classroom before moving down to the school canteen for our cultural event. The cultural event, which starts about a year ago, has since become the highlight of the SKS's Korean language course. The theme for this semester's event is "ddeok-cutting". Didn't sound interesting to me initially. Each class was instructed to bring along a set of knife (칼) and cutting board (도마) for the event.

Before we got into action, we were all treated to kimchi and ddeok soup (떡국). I guess this event is supposed to coincide with the celebration of Seollal as ddeok soup is a traditional Korean dish taken during the second biggest festival of the Korean's calendar. Perhaps, the timing didn't match up, so we ended up eating ddeok soup two months after Seollal.

We made a queue for the food while our teachers busied themselves serving us. The ddeok soup came with sliced ddeok, egg, seaweed, minced beef and plus, of course, a handsome serving of hot soup.

Kimchi before it was gone. I don't have a yearning for kimchi but somehow, I can easily finish a plate of it without even knowing.

My first time eating ddeok soup. Nothing exceptional to shout about. I guess the easiest way to learn a culture is to start with eating.

Once we have our stomach filled, it was time to sweat over the cutting of ddeok. The truth was that ddeok-cutting was no piece of cake. The ddeok was actually harder than we thought. It took quite a lot of effort to cut a roll of ddeok into small pieces. There was a competition between the classes for the most beautifully-arranged ddeok pieces. Our class arranged our cut ddeok pieces into a chrysanthemum flower - nice enough to look at but not good enough to win. Oh well, the climax of the cultural event was not exactly the competition but rather the photo-taking session after everything was over. It was photos, photos and more photos.

Does our "masterpiece" look anything like 국화 or chrysanthemum? 멋있죠?

Should never forget to bring a camera for the cultural event. Memory begins after the event ends.

우리 고급1반의 미녀들입니다. 중간에 계시고 제일 키가 큰 미녀는 우리 선생님이십니다.

The night was not over yet for our class. We went to nearby Geylang for durian as our teacher loves to try the fruit. After one round of durian, we cleared our table and our teacher started to teach us how to play "Hwa-Tu" (화투) or more commonly referred to as Go-Stop. It is a traditional Korean card game which has its origin in Japan. We didn't stay around long enough to master the complex scoring system of the game. But what I did pick up was that I should buy Hwa-Tu made of plastic. Because the "authentic" way or "the ajumma-style" of playing Hwa-Tu is to throw and "slam" the card hard against the surface to produce a loud sound and which only plastic cards are capable of making that sort of noise.

I think I need more practices before I can write something decent about the card game. For now, I am just a novice. So that's all for this semester and the next semester's class will start in two weeks time.

Our teacher teaching us to play Hwa-Tu beside a durian stall in Geylang. The scoring system is quite mind-boggling for novices like us.

고급2반으로 가자

Yesterday marked the last day of this semester. I didn't intend to complete the Advanced 1 course as I have previously planned to enrol for the Kyunghee's 3-week Spring course this March. Since the plan didn't materialise, here I am, completing A1 course at SKS for the second time in a year. The course started with 13 registered students but ended with only five. As a comparison, my previous A1 class ended with only me and myself. Unlike NEX which requires at least 10 students to start a course, 5 students are enough in SKS. This means that I will finally get to attend A2 course next semester. Hurhurhur, *grin*.

Next, I shall introduce our classroom. It is located at Block B, 3-02. Actually, SKS is only one U-shaped building. For some unknown reason, it names its 3 sides, Block A, B and C, even though they are all connected. Our classroom is used by the primary 5 students during the day. It has a rather humble setting and sometimes I felt like I am attending lesson in some village school in Korea. Wooden desks and chairs, which have long disappeared from the classrooms of Singapore schools, are still used. Projector, which has almost become a standard equipment in any Singapore classroom, is absent. Teacher continues to conduct lesson using markers and whiteboard. Despite the slight discomfort of having to sit on chair meant for children, I quite like our classroom. It is simple, functional and best of all, Hangeul can be seen all around the room.

Two cute-looking cards pasted on the whiteboard to remind teacher to write down the name of the lesson unit 단원명(單元名) and the learning objectives 학습목표(學習目標).

Another cute-looking card pasted on the door to remind students to close the door after them - without fail.

Through words and pictures, a student from the previous primary 5 class recalling her memorable time spent with her class.

Calligraphy artworks by the Korean students, pasted on one side of the classroom wall. 푸른산 흰구름 is translated as "green mountain white cloud".

Wooden desks and chairs are rare sight in Singapore these days. While there are many desks and chairs in the classroom, only eight are arranged. There are only seven Korean students in the day and on Tue and Thu night, there are only five of us. The classroom looks empty but spacious.

Lastly, I got myself another set of A1 result slip and certificate but they are not exactly the same as the last. Compared with my previous set, the differences are: for the result, I got one more percentage point and the course certificate is signed by our new principal, Mr Kwon Byoung Jhin. Two rounds of A1 are more than enough. Now for A2. 고급2반으로 갑시다!

복을 잘 받았습니다

Last two weeks, our teacher was back in Korea celebrating Seollal and her father 60th birthday. Yesterday, our Korean lesson resumed and she handed us each a gift which she bought from Insadong. The gift we received, as shown below, is called 복주머니 or "fortune bag". The characters printed on the bag is called "Hunmin Jeongeun" (훈민정음, 訓民正音) and from which the present-day Hangeul is derived from. 복주머니를 받을 때 복도 많이 받을 수 있다. 누가 복이 필요해요? 나 줄게요... 많으니까요^^

오랜만에

I am finally back at NUS Extension. It has been one year in the waiting and intermediate level Korean language course is at last a reality at NEX. According to a NEX staff, the response to this inaugural course is so overwhelming that they have to open up two classes. Both classes are on Saturday - one class is in the morning and the other in the afternoon. Such response is quite unprecedented for a high-level course though it is not surprising since demand has been accumulating over the last few years.

As today is our first lesson of the course, self-introduction (자기소개) is always a must. Our teacher, 김세화, started by giving a self-introduction of herself. She majors in Korean Language and Korean Studies as an undergraduate and has a Masters in Teaching Korean as a Foreign Language. Her teaching experience includes teaching Korean to Chinese students in Qingdao for one year. She even came prepared with a PowerPoint presentation of her family and colleagues at Kyunghee University.

When it comes to the students' turn to do self-introduction, I am more or less prepared to answer the three most commonly-asked-questions:

1. How long have you been studying Korean?
2. What is your reason for studying Korean?
3. What do you want to learn through this course?

True enough, our teacher did not deviate much from these standard questions. The only additional question which she asked was who our previous Korean teachers were. My previous Korean teachers include both her predecessors, 김민재 and 지서원. If I am to compare her teaching style with both of them, I think she is somewhere in between. She is not a "livewire" like her predecessors but is pleasant and lively enough to be a rather interesting teacher.

During one conversation, she thought she saw me in Kyunghee before but I didn't remember seeing her. I am quite used to people commenting that they saw me somewhere before because I think I have the so-called "common look". But after some rewinding of event in my mind, I think she maybe right. Perhaps she is one of those teachers who followed our field trip when I am in Kyunghee last year. But then, I cannot be too sure.

Today lesson is conducted completely in Korean and our teacher is so relieved that she can finally used Korean to teach. Before our class, I think she must have been struggling to teach her lower-level Korean classes with her limited English. I can grasp 95% of her teaching but I am not too sure if anyone in the class has problem understanding her explanation in Korean. I know I have problem coping with lesson taught in 100% Korean when I first started my intermediate-level lesson last year. However, I have resisted the temptation of asking our teacher to explain in English as I need to cut my reliance on English and start to think in Korean.

A language can only be taught by itself just like a diamond can only be cut and polish by another diamond. Because of that, I am feeling that writing this blog in English is no longer helping me in my Korean study. What I need is to spend more time in listening, reading and writing in Korean which I rarely have time after blogging. I will need to consolidate my foundation in intermediate level Korean before moving on to the advanced level. This would mean that I may need to cut down on my blogging frequency to find more time for self study.

Starting next week, I will have 7 hours of Korean lessons every week. But I am not complaining because I am doing what I like. How do I know that? Because I am always feeling this indescribable sense of happiness while attending Korean class. Sometimes, I wonder how can this happen. A sense of happiness can only be felt if I am also feeling a sense of unhappiness. Perhaps this sense of unhappiness is coming from my work. My life is just trying to find its balance afterall.

봄의 향기

If you ask the Koreans what are their equivalent of "Romeo and Juliet", it will likely be the love story between Chunhyang (춘향, 春香) and Lee Mongryong (이몽룡, 李夢龍).

Set in the late 18th Century of the Chosun Dynasty, Mongryong is the son of the Governor of Namwon while Chunhyang is the daughter of a retired courtesan. Despite the stark difference in their social status, it doesn't stop Mongryong from falling in love with Chunhyang when he first sees her playing the swing during Dano (단오, 端午). As the love between them grows deeper, one day, Mongryong has to leave for Seoul with his father who is seeking higher office in the capital. However he promises that one day after he passes the state exam and becomes a court official, he will come back to take her as his legal wife. Time passes and Governor Byun comes to know about Chunhyang's beauty and wants her to be his courtesan. When Chunhyang refuses, the infuriated Governor Byun orders his guards to beat her and throw her into jail. In the meantime, Mongryong passes the state exam and comes back to Namwon as a royal emissary. With the authority bestowed upon him, Mongryong saves Chunhyang and brings Governor Byun to face the justice.

It seems that many enduring love stories almost always have to end up in a tragedy. But the love story between Chunhyang and Mongryong goes against the grain of thing and yet continues to touch the heart of many Koreans. In this story, love alone doesn't win hearts. It is the keeping of the promise to love one another that makes this story enduring. In this world that we live in, it is always easy to fall in love but quite another thing to keep a promise. With every promise broken, this world may perhaps grow fonder of Chunhyang and Mongryong.

I was first introduced to Chunhyang during my Basic level 3 Korean class. Then, our teacher brought a video tape of the movie "Chunhyang Dyeon" (춘향뎐, 春香伝) to class as part of our cultural lesson. We watched the movie mostly in fast forward mode as there wasn't enough time to watch the movie in its completeness. From the cultural lesson, I also learnt that the story of Chunhyang was orginally told through pansori (판소리). Taking it literally, "pan" means a place where many people gather and "sori" means sound. Pansori is a genre of traditional Korean music that is performed by a singer and a drummer.

I have our teacher to thank for introducing me to this story. If she has not believed in teaching the Korean language together with the culture behind it, my Korean learning journey will have been much less rewarding. Many thanks for this "fragrance of the Spring" (봄의 향기).

체질의 정보

During one of the lessons, my teacher mentioned about her "body quality type" and the food that was good for her type of body. Out of curiosity, I asked her what were all the "body quality types" out there. She wasn't able to answer on the spot. Last lesson, she prepared a list of all the "body quality types", accompanied with explanation and the food to eat and avoid for each type of "body quality" and gave it to the class. The list was written in Korean but in order to share what she has given us, I have translated it into English to the best of my ability.

Body quality type (체질-體質) is a term used in Chinese and Korean traditional medicine to classify human body based on its "ying" and "yang" components. A healthy body is one that has a balance of "ying" and "yang" quality. The food that we eat also has "ying" and "yang" quality and hence can affect the balance of our body. The list below can help you to discover which body type you belong to. Out of the four body quality types, you can determine your type by comparing which type's characteristics and behaviour best suits you. With that done, you will know what food to eat and avoid in order to maintain a healthy and balanced body.

Frankly, I am in a dilemma after I read the list. It happens that food that I should avoid is what I like and food that is good for my body type is what I do not usually eat. I think my body is in "turmoil" now. It maybe difficult for me to follow the recommendations but I think so long as I eat in moderation, I should be fine.


태양인 太陽人

머리, 목 부분이 상대적으로 발달함. 마른 편이며, 오래 걷거나 서 있기가 힘들다. 시원스럽게 일을 처리하고, 부담없이 생각하고, 남성적이고 추진력이 있다.

* 간을 보호할 수 있는 담백한 음식, 기름기가 적은 해물류나 채소류가 좋다.

* 좋은 음식: 조개류, 게, 새우, 포도 등

* 주의 할 음식: 맵고 뜨거운 음식, 쇠고기, 설탕, 무우 등

Characteristics: Area around head and neck are relatively more developed. Tends to be slim and find it straining to walk or stand for a long time.

Behaviour: Can manage thing with a cool mind, think with a clear mind, is masculine and has driving force.

* Tip: Plain food which can protect the liver and not-so-oily seafoods or vegetables are good for health.

* Food to eat: Shellfish, Crab, Prawn, Grape etc.

* Food to avoid: Spicy and hot food, Beef, Sugar, Radish etc.


태음인 太陰人

허리가 굵고 목이 가늘다 보통 뼈가 굵다. 용감하고 활달하며 행동이 빠르다. 옳지 않은 일을 참지 못한다. 모든 일을 신중하게 생각하여 결정하므로 믿을 만하다.

* 운동과 목욕을 많이 하는 것이 중요하다.

* 좋은 음식: 쇠고기, 장어류, 김, 배, 호도, 은행, 버섯 등

* 주의 할 음식: 닭고기, 돼지고기, 꿀 등

Characteristics: Waist is large and neck is slim. Normally bone is large.

Behaviour: Brave, generous and speedy in action. Cannot endure non-righteous thing. A person who is worth believing in since everything is carefully thought through before a decision is made.

* Tip: It is important to exercise and bathe frequently

* Food to eat: Beef, Eel, Seaweed, Pear, Walnut, Gingko, Mushroom etc.

* Food to avoid: Chicken Meat, Pork, Honey etc.


소양인 少陽人

가슴이 발달하고 엉덩이가 작아서 상대적으로 상체가 크다. 창의력이 뛰어나며, 열정적이고 솔직하다. 남을 위하는 봉사 정신이 강하다.

*화와 열이 많아 다른 체질에 비하여 짜증이 많고 쉽게 화를 내기도 한다. 시원하고 찬 음식이 좋고, 신선한 야채와 과일을 많이 먹는 것이 좋다.

*좋은 음식: 돼지고기, 오리고기, 수박, 딸기, 바나나, 오이, 팥빙수 등

*주의 할 음식: 고추, 생강, 마늘, 닭고기, 개고기, 꿀, 인삼 등

Characteristics: Chest is developed but buttocks are small. The upper body, in comparison, is bigger than lower body.

Behaviour: Excel in creativity, is passionate and straightforward person. Has a strong spirit to render help to others. Has lot of anger and heat. Compared to other body quality types, has a lot of temper and can get angry easily.

* Tip: Eating many cool and cold food, fresh vegetables and fruits are good for health.

* Food to eat: Pork, Duck Meat, Watermelon, Strawberry, Banana, Cucumber, Iced Red Beans etc.

* Food to avoid: Chilli Pepper, Ginger, Garlic, Chicken Meat, Dog Meat, Honey, Ginseng etc.


소음인 少陰人

엉덩이가 크고 가슴이 좁아서 안정감이 있다. 야무지고 빈틈이 없어 보인다. 여성적이고, 다정다감하다. 손발이 차거나 추위를 타다.

* 찬 음식과 덜 익은 과일은 피하고 음식을 따뜻하게 하여 먹는다.

* 좋은 음식: 닭고기, 사과, 귤, 토마토, 복숭어, 인삼차, 생강차 등

* 주의 할 음식: 냉면, 돼지고기, 밀가루 음식, 수박, 빙과료

Characteristics: Buttocks are big but chest is small and has a sense of security. Hands and feet are cold or are very sensitive to cold.

Behaviour: Looks firm and steady and hard to find fault with this person. Is feminine and emotional.

* Tip: Avoid cold food and unripe fruits and eat food that is warm.

* Food to eat: Chicken Meat, Apple, Tangerine, Tomato, Blowfish and Mullet, Ginseng Tea, Ginger Tea etc.

* Food to avoid: Cold Noodles, Pork, Flour-based products, Watermelon, Ice Cream etc.

선생님의 어려움

A student lost her cool in class today. She believed strongly that our teacher has neglected her learning needs and she was not afraid to show her disgust in class.

"I don't know what other students may think but I cannot understand what you are teaching. You are going so fast without explaining those difficult grammars using simpler examples. If you are not helping me to understand, it defeats the purpose of me paying to attend class."

Personally, I think our teacher is doing a great job in teaching. It is just unfortunate that the student is not seeing the fact that she is not at all ready for intermediate-level Korean despite putting in her best effort.

As a third party, it is quite obvious to me what is the cause of the problem and the best solution to it. I empathise with Korean teachers who have had bad experiences teaching Singaporeans especially when the social status of teachers in Singapore is not as high as what is accorded to teachers in Korea.

My belief is that teacher is always dedicated to teaching until proven otherwise. Money that I paid for lesson is for a learning opportunity and not for a training service. I value what my teacher teaches because I trust that my teacher knows the best. In class, I am much better off behaving like a student rather than a customer.

This is my first encounter of such unhappy incident though previously I have heard about cases of students walking out of class and demanding for refunds when their teacher is not whom they like or could not translate Korean to English. I always find such incidents regrettable.

온고지신

Being a repeat student has its advantage. I need not struggle to understand what are being taught in class. Instead, I can choose to pay special attention to things which I have not fully understood previously. My learning in Advanced 1 class has so far been quite fruitful. Here are just some of those interesting things which I learnt this week.

I wrote about 당근이지 not too long ago and it is a colloquial way of saying "of course" in Korean. During Tuesday lesson, our teacher spoke about the different ways of saying "of course" in Korean. Besides 물론이에요 and 당연해요, Koreans also use the expression - 당연이지. The interesting part about 당연이지 is its origin. 당연이지, which means "why not, of course!", actually originates from the Chinese words 当然可以. I was quite surprised by this connection. Immediately I conjectured that 당근이지 must have evolved from 당연이지. Perhaps 당근이지 is a cuter way of saying 당연이지. By the way, 당근 is carrot in Korean and it would be interesting to know how carrot replaces 당연. Nevertheless, I felt a natural sense of bliss when I discovered that I had reached a new level of understanding in something which I thought I knew.

There are still more reason for me to be happy. After a long time of trying to figure out what ~스럽다 means, I finally found my answer in Tuesday class. This was what I have learnt from our teacher's explanation. When a noun has 스럽다 attached to its back, it becomes an adjective. For example, 사랑(love) is a noun and 사랑스럽다 (lovely) is an adjective. When a thing is described by 사랑스럽다, it means that the thing has taken on the characteristics of love and that makes it lovely. Another example is 남성스러운 여자 (tomboy). When 남성스럽다 (like a man) is used to describe 여자(woman), it means the woman has taken on the characteristics of a man and that makes her a tomboy. The sudden realisation of the role which ~스럽다 plays in Korean grammar brought me instant happiness and I was smiling non-stop. [Note: ~스럽다 is used only for noun that ends with a consonant. When a noun ends with a vowel, ~럽다 should be used. For example, if the noun is 자유 (freedom), its adjective form shall be 자유럽다 (freely).]

Just one more new thing which I learnt during Tuesday class. It is about the usage of grammar ~(action verb)던. Since the last time I came across this grammar until this Tuesday, I did not really figure out when to use present tense and past tense for the action verb before 던. For example, I am not too sure when I should use 만나던 (만나다 in present tense) and when to use 만났던 (만나다 in past tense). I must give credit to our teacher. Her explanation was so precise that I understood immediately when each is used. This is how the explanation goes. 던 means recalling a previous experience. When I use 만나던 사람, it means that I am recalling a person whom I met regularly in the past. On the other hand, 만났던 사람 means that I am recalling a person whom I met only once in the past. Which tense to use for an action verb in ~(action verb)던 is thus dependent on the frequency of an action in the past. That's how easy it turned out to be after I have fully understood the grammar.

Learning Korean just makes me happy and I just like the feeling of happiness which is internally derived from a sense of fulfilment. This is a fulfilment from knowing that I finally know.

한국어 구어

During Thursday Korean class, I asked my teacher two questions on colloquial Korean language. The first question is on the meaning of 아니거든요 and the application of ~거든요. The second question is about what do Koreans mean when they use the sentence ending ~고요 or 구요.

I picked up the phrase 아니거든요 after watching Le Grand Chef on Wednesday. I was taught sentence ending, ~거든요, is used when a person wants to provide a causal reason for an action or thing that happens earlier. But quite often, it doesn't seem to me that Koreans are using ~거든요 to give a casual reason. 아니거든요 is an example. My teacher explained that 아니거든요 means "no" in a defensive way. For example, someone accuses you of doing something you didn't, you can say 아니거든요. The "no" in 아니거든요 has a stronger tone than the "no" in 아니예요. But when 아니거든요 is being used in a questioning tone as in "아니거든요?", the speaker is trying to say something like you mean you didn't do it? I don't quite believe you.

I guess I was right that ~거든요 does have more uses in colloquial Korean than what I was taught in Korean class. However, when I tried to ask about its other uses, my teacher couldn't really give a good answer. Similarly for my question on the sentence ending ~고요 or 구요, she found it difficult explaining the nuance which ~고요 or 구요 gives to a sentence. The best she could afford was to say that she uses ~고요 or 구요 in a positive manner. I didn't quite understand what she meant by that but I can empathise her difficulty in trying to explain a language point which is so common and colloquial. It is just like asking me to explain the nuances of Singlish's "lah", "lor" and "leh" to foreigners. What appears simple and natural to me may actually be very difficult to explain because it never occurs to me that an explanation is ever needed.

Colloquial Korean is hardly taught in my Korean class in Singapore. Nevertheless, I am still quite interested in learning them. Sadly, I have very little success in this area. I try to recall all that I have learnt but only two words come out. 당근이지 and 그렇지 뭐. 당근이지 means "of course" and is the colloquial way of saying 물론이에요 or 당연해요. 그렇지 뭐 means "so be it" (to a suggestion) in a can't-be-bothered manner or when there is no other choice given. I hope I have explained the meaning correctly as colloquial Korean does not have dictionary's explanation.

Come to think of it, perhaps I should not allow my attention to be distracted. My Korean isn't that good yet. There is so much more thing to learn that colloquial Korean should be the least of my concern. I recall during a class gathering, one of my classmates asked our teacher where she could learn 사투리 or Korean dialects as she thought that they sounded rather interesting. For one moment, I thought she was "more distracted" than me. But then, her Korean is much better than me. Oh well, by my Korean standard, I think I better stay focus. ^^;;

이유가 필요없은 기쁨

I know I am very tired. Give me a bed at the end of a day and I will probably knock out instantly. But this will only happen to me during a normal day. It will be a totally different scenario if I have Korean class in the evening. Despite feeling tired physically, I always sat through my lesson without feeling a sense of sleepiness. It is amazing how much energy I can draw from within my body when I am doing something I like. I have discovered that this energy does not just stay within my body, it can radiate out and affect the people around me and the environment that I am in. It may sound surreal but if you have at one point of your life done something which you really like, you will probably understand what all this means.

Today was a happy day. Guess what? Vic, the admin staff at SKS, told me that Advanced 3 will start next semester when I dropped by the admin office this evening. She was actually responding to my request which I made on the first day of this semester. Frankly, I wasn't expecting that she would take my request seriously when she said that she would try to ask for Advanced 3 class to be opened. For what she has done, I thought she was adorable today. Actually she is adorable most of the time. Err... maybe I should just say all the time. 발 없는 말이 천 리 간다라고 그런 말이 있잖아. 조심해야 하겠지 ^^;

Our Advanced 1 class attendance was at an all time low today. It started with 9 students. By the second lesson, there were only 7 students left after 2 students left for other classes. By the third lesson, only 5 students were left. Today was the fourth lesson and only 3 of us turned out. When I was thinking about the reducing class-size and the possibility that Advanced 2 may not have enough students to start next semester, I let off a soft sigh. Jang Seon Saeng Nim caught me by surprise when she turned around and asked me why I sighed. I was dumbfounded. Didn't I say she is a good teacher. She has such a sharp pair of ears that even my soft sigh cannot escape her notice. I wonder how she did it but I was rather impressed ^^b