밥 먹었어?

부산 사투리로

밥 뭇나?

밥 무거써?

밥 무건낭?

ㅎㅎ

Asking if someone has eaten is so common here you should have plenty of chances to try these out.

Are you proficient?

I took the most recent Korean Language Proficiency Test here in Seoul. Register with the site and login, you’ll be able to register online. Registration doesn’t start til March 4th for the April 27th test. I used the time leading up to the test as motivation for studying.

I also took the Basic KLPT back in 2006. I graded out at 90% and many of the questions were the same or similar to what had been in a study guide I got. Regardless, that was good motivation for studying too.

The KLPT I took had all new questions and a mean listening section. I felt lost for more than half the test but still graded out as intermediate. There was also an incredible amount of vocabulary that was used on the test. My test room was full of mostly Chinese, some Japanese, and me. I would definitely recommend it if you need motivation to study like I did, or want something nice to put on your resume about your test score.

Eeeeeeeehwa!

I’m currently doing a language exchange and for my half of the exchange we’re using Pathfinder in Korean 3 put out by the Ewha Language Center. It’s really well organized and I would take the classes they offer just based on the quality of the text.

It’s got a workbook, small vocab study book, and a CD with conversations on it to go along with the main student book. It’s a bit above my level but I feel I need the kind of challenge it provides.  It starts with a couple 감정 (emotion) chapters and moves through such sections as 서울 (Seoul), 후회 (regret), and 도시 생활과 쇼핑 (City Life and Shopping).  I preview the section and study the vocab book before class and then do the workbook homework after.  Give it a look if you need some structure in your studies.

Teach me slang.

갈키다

가르치다의 준말이다

슬랭 좀 갈켜줄래?

An abbreviation usually used for internet chatting.

Joa.

Here’s a fellow learner who made a blog about his Korean studies. Even if he does mention in his Feb. 3rd post that he hates Korean slang, he compiled a good list of alot of useful slang.

One we’ve all heard when going out to drink with Koreans, 원샷! Pound it!

Stealing.

쌥치다

훔치다랑 같은 뜻입니다

Slang version of the Korean verb 훔치다, to steal. The way Koreans look at me when I use this word is awesome. Try it out.

Don’t dye your hair.

양아치

그냥 이상한 사람들보고 양아치라고해요

You just see a strange person and call him a yangachi. I was called this when I dyed my hair.

Food For Head

Back in the summer of 2004, I knew I wanted to do TEFL but hadn’t decided between Korea and China. Japan was still in the mix too. I did some research and found Japan too expensive. I thought China would be too much of a cultural shock, especially for the first year. So here I am. If I had known earlier, I would done this to pick up some Korean before I got here to make some things easier:

Buy the whole Korean pack from Declan.
Buy Suvival Korean by the guy who does the Let’s Speak Korean show here on Arirang TV.

Spend alot of time on the Sogang University site.

See if there’s anything useful I can pick up from the Galbijim forums.

Go to the Mith’s Cyworld, click on 게시판, click Korean lessons / music and memorize some songs. Get into Cyworld! It’s kind of like Myspace for Korea.

Naver News TV is great too because often they provide a script of what is being reported… when you get to that level!

And get some real in person practice. And learn some slang to keep it fun.

You’re still my number 1.

우왕굿

내친구가 정말 좋다라는 표현이래요.