For the final two week of SDLAP 112 lecture, I met with my language partner Somyung and Joon over Zoom on Friday. We started off our lesson by talking about how our weeks were in Korean once again and for the final time. This was in an effort to continue practicing one of our goals for this semester which is to speak in only Korean to help retain the language and keep practicing our skills. In order to further practice my comprehension after class, I watched 슈퍼맨이 돌아왔다 which translates literally to “The Return of Superman'' and is also known as “Superman is Back as well as a few episodes of 쇼미더머니 9 or Show Me the Money 9 which is a korean hip-hop show where contestants must perform rap songs and make lyrics to continue advancing until there is one final winner. I thought these were two enjoyable ways to increase my literacy as I was able to translate the lyrics from korean hip hop songs, which was useful since I believe music is a big part of culture and a great way to appreciate culture. I also was able to see more day-to-day lives of fathers with their children, which was a nice way to take a break during the hectic weeks leading up to finals especially during this long COVID semester. In our second week, we had a small lesson where we wrapped up with reflections on the course, did our podcast presentation, and then watched Reply to finish the hectic week.
Following that class I also started reading some Korean web articles about the Korean college exams which started last Thursday on December 3rd. This is a big deal because it determines the fates of many students and I also learned that despite COVID, half a million Korean students sat down to take these tests which is a very stressful time in Korea. After the second week’s class, I also checked in at home by calling my mom and we held our whole conversation in Korean like I usually do with her. This was another very beneficial experience for me because it helped me further practice Korean language and the practice that was done in class really helped with my enunciation and making fluid conversation as well.
During this week of Korean drama 응답하라 1988 which translates to Reply 1988 which revolves around a family and friends who live in the same neighborhood of Ssangmun-dong, Dobong District, Northern Seoul. We came closer to the end as we made it all the way to episode 14. During this episode as it has become winter time, two characters Junghwan and Taek start showing feelings towards Deok Sun. Afterwards, Taek’s dad finishes fixing the water for the neighbors and Bora and Sunwoo go on a date during the winter. These were all pivotal moments since each respective scene gave more insight into what Korea looked like in 1988 and what the areas looked like. In addition, it showed how romantic interactions played out during the olden times without the Internet which was really cool to see and be able to talk and share about in our weekly reflections during our lesson, which further increased my understanding and appreciation of how far Korea has come since its origins which we learned about in our history lesson a few weeks back.
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The shows you’ve mentioned sound really interesting! I’ve heard of all of them but have only actively watched “Return of the Superman” because the babies are so cute. Watching Korean variety shows definitely is a useful tool in improving in Korean because of the exposure in how native Koreans speak and interact with each other.