Over the past few weeks, a lot has happened across the world due to the Coronavirus pandemic. As a result, I was unable to officially meet with my language partner and discuss about Korean. On the other hand, I actually was able to still practice and learn Korean on my own time because the covid-19 situation gave me great incentive to listen to news surrounding current events happening not only in the United States but also in South Korea. I actually never had that much of a motivation to listen to Korean news channels because usually the events that were happening in Korea were mostly political and did not really interest me that much. However, currently, due to the coronavirus hitting South Korea so hard, I was really drawn to listen to the broadcasting coverage daily. So, although I was not able to meet up with Jenna, I actually feel like I still am improving on my Korean even more because I was listening to the news (sometimes even for 3 hours) and trying to comprehend the news everyday.
In the news, I learned a lot about how this pandemic affected the stock market and how much it affected businesses especially private contractors. I think through Korea’s news, I was able to pick up on new vocabulary terms like “증상,” “사회,” 발생,” “국경봉쇄,” and e.t.c. Of course I did not understand the news to the entirety, however, when I could, I made sure to search up a few vocabulary words that I picked up from the announcer and I translated it so I could remember it for the next time I come across that word in the news.
Another result from this pandemic was that I had a lot of time on my hands at home since we are encouraged to stay quarantined. This is why I actually started a Korean drama (something that I really do not do because of lack of time) called Itaewon Class. This drama starring Park Seo-joon, Kim Da-mi, Yoo Jae-myung and Kwon Nara is about the story of ex-convict Park Sae-ro-yi whose life has been turned upside down after he gets expelled from school for punching a bully and his father is killed in an accident. Following his father's steps, he opened his bar DanBam (Sweet Night) in Itaewon, along with his manager and staff, striving towards success and reaching greater heights. This drama actually was not only very entertaining, it also was very informational regarding how restaurant businesses work. I was very intrigued about the amount of investors, correct management, staff, and leader, and money a business needed in order to expand and thrive. Overall, I am going to just continue to listen to the news and watch this drama in order to keep up with my learning plan during this quarantine process.
Comments
Hi Vivian, awesome post! I really liked that you have been listening to Korean news channels and learning new words from it! It is both informative and educational at the same time. I do not think I am at the level at understanding much from the news channels but I think it's great the progress you are making.
Hey! Great post! I watched Itaewon Class too and it was one of the best things that I've watched during quarantine season. The story provided viewers with a compelling protagonist who prevails after all the odds are stacked against him. It also provided viewers with a compelling villain who is willing to make his business succeed at all costs. If you're bored, you should watch Kingdom as well.