Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Korean sentences generally follow the subject-object-verb order, which can confuse
English speakers initially but is quickly gotten used to. In spoken Korean the subject of a
sentence is often dropped altogether. Verb conjugations and tenses generally follow regular
patterns, although frequently these too are abandoned, and the timing of an event or wheth-
er a sentence is a statement or question are inferred by tone or context.
One of the main difficulties to contend with is Korean's varying levels of formality;
sentences should often have entirely different verb endings (and in some cases, words) de-
pending on the age and seniority relative to you of the person you're addressing. While
most locals understand non-Koreans are learning the language and are very forgiving of
mistakes, failing to use the appropriate sentence constructions in such a status-conscious
society can sometimes cause offense. For this reason most Korean language instructors re-
commend their students gain fluency in the more polite forms of Korean first.
Standard Korean (
pyojunmal
) as spoken in Seoul is the de facto national dialect, and as it's
taught in schools and dominates television and movies, it is readily understood throughout
South Korea. There are distinctive regional accents, particularly in the southwest and south-
east, that are a frequent source of amusement for Seoulites but are unlikely even to be
picked up on by nonnative speakers. Some people on the island of Jeju-do speak a more
unique dialect that incorporates archaic Mongolian and Korean words; however even this is
falling into disuse among the young.
While plenty can be picked up through books, tapes, or the Internet, to attain genuine profi-
ciency in Korean, formal instruction is a must. Within South Korea it's also a great way for
new residents to meet people and approach everyday life with more confidence. Full-time
immersive study is obviously the quickest way to develop Korean skills, but even a couple
of hours of class per week will enable most learners to develop the vocabulary to handle
common social interactions.
Before You Go
While Korean isn't studied abroad to the degree, say, Chinese is, classes can generally be
arranged in major cities through language school chains such as Berlitz. Many universit-
ies, including the University of Washington, University of California at Los Angeles, Ox-
ford University in the United Kingdom, and Canada's University of British Columbia, have
