As a language learner, I learned that I learn languages by repetition and practice by putting phrases and concepts into context. In my first reflection paper, I mention that I am a visual learner, followed by tactile and auditory learning. Knowing my strengths has helped me improve my language learning throughout the semester. For example, when I learned a personality word such as stubborn, I connected an association with the Korean word with someone who embodies this personality term, which in this case is my father. When I learned the term for stationary store, I vividly remember and imagine the stationary stores in Korea (since there are nothing quite exactly like the ones in Korea). I believe grammar to be the most confusing, particularly with honorifics. There was a lesson when I learned how to say something as simple as “to give”, but there are four different ways to say the phrase depending on the position of respect of both the subject and the receiver. I also have had a difficult time answering questions with a yes or no, since Koreans have flipped the way they answer questions compared to the American way. For example, depending on how you say the phrase “Isn’t it hot?” in Korean, one can answer by agreeing with the content by saying “yes, it is hot” or by agreeing with the overall statement by saying “No, it is hot”. I have learned only this example, but I’m sure there are more ways to agree or disagree with phrases.

I have started to genuinely enjoy learning about Korean culture. When I grew up learning Korean in America, I was never invested in learning the culture associated with the language. However, my view changed when I learned about the Whorf hypothesis and how culture shapes cognition, particularly in the video that we watched in class about how people couldn’t tell the difference between green and blue because a single word was used for the two colors. I realized this was applicable particularly when I learned idioms for my cultural presentation about rice cakes. For example, “Another man’s rice cake is always bigger” is the Korean equivalent to the American idiom “the grass is greener on the other side”. I also enjoyed the culture presentation the most because it allowed me to dig through one aspect of Korea’s history and I learned the significance of the food that has been present nearly my whole life. I will continue my learning by diving into more Korean variety shows and invest in a Korean language workbook after college to continue improving.

 I also found that Brown reading on “Communicative Competence” was the most useful, particularly the seven functions of language and the categories of language competence because it broke down and laid out all the reasons to learn a new language and the necessary components required to be competent on all facets of a language. I wish I learned more about current, ongoing language projects and research. I learned that language shapes how one describes time and that there’s a website that keeps track of current dead languages, but I wish I learned more current research that is being done. Also,  I wonder if there is a way to categorize the most and least efficient language? For example, in English, the homonym “tire” has two meanings with the same spelling, and other words have silent letters like “know” and “knife”. I find that to be a waste of letters and a poorly designed way to navigate a language, but I wonder if there is a way to rank the efficiency of languages.

I found Sam Okyere from my cultural artifact #4 post on the "Happy Together" show, and I wanted to learn more about his journey from Ghana to Korea. I found this interview from Asian Boss, and his path to adjusting to life in Korea is amazing, particularly the subtle discrimination he endured. He mentions one instance when he sat on the subway in Korea and realized that no one would sit next to him because he was from Africa. Another instance was when a woman deliberately put her legs up on the subway seat so he couldn't sit next to her. He would also often get confused as Will Smith. He went on to explain that in order to bring a positive image of foreigners, he needed to assimilate into their culture and learn their language. He went on to do exactly that, and eventually became the most famous black person in Korea. While I admire Okyere's persistence, this interview made me think about how the Korean population thinks of foreigners and immigrants who come to Korea. Though liberal Americans can easily judge Koreans for being more conservative and close-minded, I also imagine that there are not as many foreign encounters in Korea than in America. America's cultural values are built on being a melting pot of immigrants and other cultures, while Korea has had a long-lasting personal history. Korea's impression of foreigners may stem from the bitterness that came when Japan took over Korea, therefore leading to a negative impression of other foreigners and even North Koreans.  I've always assumed that all Koreans were more conservative, but I hope to broaden my horizons my expanding my Korean to be able to talk about these topics with Korean citizens. 

The interview:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EH8R5eB8ioo&t=4s

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Here I am having a conversation in Korean with Sharon about our parent's personality types. Below I posted an English translation of our conversation.

Heera: What is your mom like?

Sharon: My mom is an intelligent person. She reads many books all the time and always goes to school.

Heera: What is your dad like?

Sharon: My dad is an optimistic person. Every morning, he says "Today is a new day!" What is your mom like?

Heera: My mom is an honest person. Whenever I wear something ugly, she tells me directly.

Sharon: what about your dad?

Heera: My dad is a stubborn person. He always thinks he's right, possibly coming off as rude.

Sharon and Heera: Thank you!

The South Korean ferry disaster happened on April 16, 2014. I remember hearing about this even in high school, but I didn't understand the severity of the event until now. The ship was going from Incheon to Jeju island. The event killed more than 300 people, and most of them were high school students going on a field trip. It is the country's worst accident in decades. The event signified corruption from President Park for not sending help for seven hours after hearing about the drowning ship. The ship operators and regulators were criticized for finding loopholes in safety inspections before the ship went out. The captain and the crew repeatedly assured the passengers to "stay put. It will be okay." while they saved themselves. The captain and crew were sentenced to prison for murder through willful negligence. The Korean coastgaurd only saved the people who made it out on top of the ship, ignoring people who were trapped in the windows below. This event was a sign of major corruption in authority and is known as a tragedy among the Korean people. Government actions to retrieve the ferry began a year later and many families remain outraged by the disaster.

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/17/world/asia/south-korean-ferry-accident.html?module=inline

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/22/world/asia/south-korea-ferry-sewol.html

I watched my first episode of the Korean variety show "Happy Together". I was aware that this show existed when I go to Korean restaurants and saunas, but I never watched it until Seong-hye introduced a different episode to me recently. The only other variety show I tried was "Running Man".  This episode features foreigners Sam Hammington(Australian), Sam Otswiri (Ghanian), Fabien (France) who are fluent in Korean. I was fascinated by their fluency, and they talked about how each of them started to learn Korean and their cultural immersion experience. They had a hard time eating Korean food initially like seaweed soup or octopus but eventually came to like the foods that even most native Koreans don't eat. All of them preferred Korean food over food from their homeland. They even cited some idioms that I learned from my cultural presentation about tteok. Otswiri said that he actually hates going back to Ghana because there is no dried seaweed that he can eat there. Otswiri also memorized a long Korean subway route by heart, which was impressive to see him recite.

I was most interested in Fabien's story. He started out by mastering taekwondo in France, and he enjoyed the Korean culture so much that he saved up for a 3-month backpacking trip to Korea. He also studied English at Ehwa Women's University. He wanted to learn Korean so much that he would avoid talking English or French to foreigners for two years by pretending that he didn't speak those languages. He knew Korea's history more than the native speakers, which became prominent when he cited Korea's 5 most important holidays (Korean Independence Day (March 1st), Constitution day (July 17th), National Liberation day (August 15th), National Foundation day (October 3rd), and Hangul Proclamation day (October 9th)).

I really enjoyed this episode because it gave me hope that people who didn't know the language at all can become so fluent and passionate about the culture. I also liked that the Korean show editing style is very comedic, and it's even helpful because they spell out the words in Korean on the screen, which helps me with spelling. Their love for Korea inspires me to learn Korean more, and I will now add "Happy Together" on my Korean show watchlist. 

The episode link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wzRCvUAhWs&list=LLKSkzRjPwe2uxKschBuQzcw&index=2&t=0s

I saw a video of a Korean reporter who interviewed women in Korea asking what is the ideal weight for Korean girls. Growing up as a Korean-American, I was always aware of the unrealistic body standards that Korea had for women. The pressure of those standards continued to persist through my parents and my other Korean friends during my childhood, though I imagine that the pressure is even worse in Korea. Hearing about Korean natives speaking about their perspectives about dieting and talking about their ideal weight was both conflicting and refreshing. I'm glad to hear their perspective from other native Korean speakers who aren't my parents and relatives, but their standards were alarming. The way that they talked about dieting and starving themselves was like second nature to them, even when they acknowledged that it was probably unhealthy. There were diets that I haven't even heard of like the apple diet, which is to only eat apples for days or weeks at a time until they achieved their ideal weight. I really enjoy this Youtube channel because it lets me look into the Korean perspective that I wouldn't have the chance to otherwise. 

Here is the link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3x5tef8wv4

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1l5KJiuJncmR8fJAC6caTwjL0S9HX-sz6tFo2vpg6bJM/edit?usp=sharing

I give a brief overview of the history of Korean rice cakes, or "tteok". References to Tteok began around 500 B.C. Tteok used to be mixed with herbs to convey a medicinal effect. Around 1200, rice culture cultivation began to grow exponentially. It started out as a luxury food for the elite, but as Buddhism began to grow during the Goryeo dynasty around 1200, the prevalence of tteok also grew and it became a staple amongst commoners. Popularity declined ever since Japan took control over Korea, but tteok maintained integrated into various celebrations and traditions. I review rice cakes associated with certain holidays such as Chuseok(추석), the Korean New Year, weddings and birthdays along with other common dishes that use rice cakes. I also go over some idioms that use rice cakes. 

I grew interested in the Miss Korea pageant since I haven't heard about it in since I was a child, so I researched some current winners. I found an article that highlighted the Miss Korea's 2018 winner Kim Soo Min at 22 years old. She is fluent in English and graduated from Dickinson College in Pennsylvania. However, her win as Miss Korea was controversial because some thought she was on the shorter and heavier side compared to past winners. She also had to delete her Instagram account because she received so many hate comments. I'm torn-- on one hand I'm glad that Korea is slowly being more progressive by having a winner with a healthier weight, but I'm also disappointed that she has gotten so much lash back for her title. Regardless, I'm glad for the little progress made, and it's been an interesting read and video interview. 

I saw a video of her interview in English and her response to the public:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygVxTTKWvdA

Here is the article where I got the news:

https://www.koreaboo.com/news/kim-soo-min-crowned-winner-miss-korea-2018/

Jjajangmyeon

I went to eat at New Grand Mart with Sharon and Angella. I got to practice ordering in Korean and ordered Jjajangmyeon and tangsuyuk, which is a fried pork dish with sweet and sour sauce. After eating, I bought banana flavored Korean chips and dried seaweed to eat as snacks. I haven't had them in a while, so it was a nice throwback for my tastebuds.

IMG_4556.jpg

I attached a screenshot of a playful conversation with my mother after I learned about personality words in Korean. I said in a full sentence that my mother is a stubborn person, and my mom jokingly was shocked and said my father is more stubborn. I agreed with her, and she corrected my spelling afterwards. 

My%20Learning%20Plan.docx

I enjoy learning languages because it gives me the ability to connect at least two people from various cultures together using a mutual platform that we call language. Being able to successfully acquire a different perspective from your own is incredibly rewarding and leads to becoming a more open-minded and holistic person. I also enjoy being able to partake in a rich cultural experience through language. Delicious food, beautiful, unique traditional cultural practices, history of places in Korea are all immersed and part of the culture, and I have so much to learn through the people whom I will be interacting with.

However, not all parts of language learning are glamorous, and each person may have their own weaknesses when learning a language. The parts I disliked about the language learning experience were being able to consistently find a language partner to practice with who can learn with me along my level. Though my parents are readily available, the conversations I have with them are limited to certain topics and I realize that I have some fundamental foundations that I’m missing as a beginner when I’m learning and using Korean. I also found it difficult to keep myself accountable and practicing often to keep my language skills fresh, especially on a college campus when I’m inundated with information with little time for personal language development. I also don’t enjoy the intensely structured format of most language classes. Though I understand the organized, standardized language learning is difficult to administer, I never felt like I was able to successfully be a natural speaker and language user in Korean and Spanish.

I am predominately a visual learner, followed by tactile and auditory learning. According to the Multiple Intelligences Survey, I have a good sense of self, strong in logic and math, and have solid kinesthetic abilities. Using the FIRE model, I would identify myself as an insightful and rational person and learner. I learn best using logical learning and critical thinking, but I will also provide necessary criticism if it will help progress the goal.

Language learning activities that I found helpful are to keep a log of words and vocabulary that I don’t know and practice saying and writing it down several times to recall from memory instead of just recognition. Another is mnemonic devices to link words that I’m trying to study with wild, imaginative associations to help me remember the words. This will help me as a visual learner. I also understand that watching Korean television shows and news can help with enunciations and intonations in a language in order to sound more like a native than a bumbling beginner. Immediate application and practice of grammar lessons would also be helpful in a guided classroom practice setting, where I can practice with my language partners. I would like to expand my learning activities by asking my classmates and language partners about potential creatives ways to learn. A possible way is practice vocabulary recall by quizzing each other on words outside of class, or spontaneously having a conversation in Korean.