Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Oldboy and I'm a Cyborg, But That's Okay are on my list of favourite movies, and I hope I will be able to add Stoker to that list too.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Mr Taxi taxi taxi 지금 즉시 즉시 즉시
I've just made it in the top 2000 on Memrise. I'm actually very proud. I can't remember how low I started, but I never thought I would keep going at it for long enough. I know that a top 2000 is not really a thing, but still.
I don't know if I would have kept on studying Korean without Memrise. It's really great for people like me who study on their own, especially when none of my close friends would be able to test my vocabulary as they don't read Hangeul.
At first I started learning one too many things on Memrise, like chemistry. I get very excited about learning new things. I realised that if I wanted to focus on Korean, I couldn't spend time watering all types of different flowers (how strange this sentence must sound to people not yet converted to Memrise). Now I am just focusing on Korean and Spanish. Spanish is relaxing. I can learn a lot more words because they sound so close to my native language (French).
I am now studying 3 different Korean sets I have created. It's a great way to go through my notes and enter either vocabulary or full sentences in there. I love organising anything I do, but I try to constrain to those four sets, otherwise soon there would be a 'vocabulary learnt from kpop songs'.
Anyway, I digress. Now I have to go back to studying if I want to be in the top 1000 one day.
I don't know if I would have kept on studying Korean without Memrise. It's really great for people like me who study on their own, especially when none of my close friends would be able to test my vocabulary as they don't read Hangeul.
At first I started learning one too many things on Memrise, like chemistry. I get very excited about learning new things. I realised that if I wanted to focus on Korean, I couldn't spend time watering all types of different flowers (how strange this sentence must sound to people not yet converted to Memrise). Now I am just focusing on Korean and Spanish. Spanish is relaxing. I can learn a lot more words because they sound so close to my native language (French).
I am now studying 3 different Korean sets I have created. It's a great way to go through my notes and enter either vocabulary or full sentences in there. I love organising anything I do, but I try to constrain to those four sets, otherwise soon there would be a 'vocabulary learnt from kpop songs'.
Anyway, I digress. Now I have to go back to studying if I want to be in the top 1000 one day.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Korean verbs spreadsheet
Thanks to Dongsa.net, I have been able to finish my verb spreadsheet.Well it's not fully completed, but I have entered all the verbs I know so far and the informal-polite present and past tenses as well as the informal present tense.
I just hope there are no mistakes, because after a while I went into robot-mode, copying and pasting.
Korean past and present tenses
I really enjoy the book I am studying from. It is called Korean Through English (Hollym Editions). I bought it in Seoul on a whim and I'm really glad I did. Each chapter is short enough and focuses on a couple of grammatical points and about twenty new words. It creates a nice pace to study.
At the same time, I can't believe it's already introducing the past tense and I'm not even halfway through the chapters. I think it's great as it helps to differentiate past and present, but I don't feel comfortable with present verb endings yet, especially the ones that end with a consonant or anㅣlike 오다 that turns into 와요 or 마시다 that turns into 마셔요. If I am writing slowly and I have time to think, then I might get it right, but if I start to speak then I lose my nerves (even when all this talking is just me alone in my room!) and I just add 어요.
I think I will create a spreadsheet with the verbs I know so far and what their ending is for the present tense and the past tense. Hopefully this will help make more sense of verb conjugation soon.
At the same time, I can't believe it's already introducing the past tense and I'm not even halfway through the chapters. I think it's great as it helps to differentiate past and present, but I don't feel comfortable with present verb endings yet, especially the ones that end with a consonant or anㅣlike 오다 that turns into 와요 or 마시다 that turns into 마셔요. If I am writing slowly and I have time to think, then I might get it right, but if I start to speak then I lose my nerves (even when all this talking is just me alone in my room!) and I just add 어요.
I think I will create a spreadsheet with the verbs I know so far and what their ending is for the present tense and the past tense. Hopefully this will help make more sense of verb conjugation soon.
Masquerade
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
I have only recently started learning Korean, but I can tell that it won't be easy. I am learning on my own with a book mostly. Pronunciation is a bitch. Am I supposed to hear the difference between 사다 (to buy) and 싸다 (to be cheap)? Because I sure don't.
I tell myself that it's all to do with context but 'to buy' and 'to be cheap' have pretty related meanings for instance. 어떻게?
I melt you down like ice cream
To cheer me up, I've watched HyunA's new MV for Ice Cream way too many times.
The song is really really bad. The fake tough hip-hop intro, the unimaginative background track and HyunA's monotonal voice is just too much for one song.
Luckily a good video can redeem a bad song, and that's exactly what the Ice Cream video does for HyunA.
The intro is genius. Bringing Psy in will bring lots more viewers, but it's a very nice reference to Gangnam style and how it's HyunA's time to shine now. It's a funny bit and you wish Psy could have stayed on a bit longer, because the rest is just over-the-top sexy.
But it's this over-the-top sexyness that I find amusing. I choose to believe it is all tongue-in-cheek and that we're all in on the way HyunA is perceived and that therefore she has nothing to lose.
I'm not sure what's happening with the clown-killing, all the tattoos, the weird signs (Batman he is gone, Tell me!!! Who am I, It's too small for me) and with the story in general, but it's nice for once to see a k-pop video with an actual budget for costumes, sets and extras.
HyunA is so beautiful, she doesn't need all the sexy glances to the camera, except when she looks as cute as this:
The song is really really bad. The fake tough hip-hop intro, the unimaginative background track and HyunA's monotonal voice is just too much for one song.
Luckily a good video can redeem a bad song, and that's exactly what the Ice Cream video does for HyunA.
The intro is genius. Bringing Psy in will bring lots more viewers, but it's a very nice reference to Gangnam style and how it's HyunA's time to shine now. It's a funny bit and you wish Psy could have stayed on a bit longer, because the rest is just over-the-top sexy.
But it's this over-the-top sexyness that I find amusing. I choose to believe it is all tongue-in-cheek and that we're all in on the way HyunA is perceived and that therefore she has nothing to lose.
I'm not sure what's happening with the clown-killing, all the tattoos, the weird signs (Batman he is gone, Tell me!!! Who am I, It's too small for me) and with the story in general, but it's nice for once to see a k-pop video with an actual budget for costumes, sets and extras.
HyunA is so beautiful, she doesn't need all the sexy glances to the camera, except when she looks as cute as this:
Blue
This day is just getting worse. Just saw the prices for Big Bang at Wembley. To be honest I wasn't expecting them to be cheap. Big Bang puts on a big show and it is the UK, where nothing is ever cheap.
Good seats would be £99. That's without adding the Master of Tickets' hidden charges. Then there's the trip there. At least £60. And I would need to make it back to Paddington before the last train back to Bath.
Also A's parents are coming that weekend, so that would mean I'd have to go alone. I'd probably older than everybody else in the whole room. Plus it would be rude to his parents.
I can see from re-reading this post that I have made my decision. No Big Bang for me.
Good seats would be £99. That's without adding the Master of Tickets' hidden charges. Then there's the trip there. At least £60. And I would need to make it back to Paddington before the last train back to Bath.
Also A's parents are coming that weekend, so that would mean I'd have to go alone. I'd probably older than everybody else in the whole room. Plus it would be rude to his parents.
I can see from re-reading this post that I have made my decision. No Big Bang for me.
Today was supposed to be a great day where I am not working and I am starting this blog where I can post whatever I want as long as it is slightly related to Korea.
But now my first post has to be about how I've just realised that I won't be able to attend the showing of The Thieves at the Korean Film Festival in London because I will be working on that day and would get to Kingston way too late. Not a happy bunny right now.
All is not lost though as I will still hopefully get tickets for Masquerade and its Q&A with Lee Byung Hun.
But now my first post has to be about how I've just realised that I won't be able to attend the showing of The Thieves at the Korean Film Festival in London because I will be working on that day and would get to Kingston way too late. Not a happy bunny right now.
All is not lost though as I will still hopefully get tickets for Masquerade and its Q&A with Lee Byung Hun.
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