Korean Class

I started my very first official Korean class this morning at the Gwangju International Center, or GIC.

I've taken a few classes since graduating college (Quickbooks, GRE Prep, GIA Gemological studies), either after work on weekdays or online, but this is my first Saturday class in a long time, maybe even ever. And it is two hours long - lasting from 10:30am to 12:30pm. Being a good student, I wanted to get a lot of rest the night before and arrive to class early to sign up (sign-up is the day-of), get my books, and find a seat. 

However, last night I didn't get to sleep until after 4am. I wasn't doing anything special, just up late on the computer and watching tv. (My entire concept of time has gone out the window since arriving in Korea almost six months ago. I'm used to it by now, but I am gradually trying to change it. It's not working.) Being the good student that I am, I forced myself to get up at 9am this morning, after less than five hours of sleep, so I could have plenty of time to wake up, get dressed, get a taxi downtown (I was tired, and there was no way I was going to walk 20 minutes on a hot morning in my first-day-of-school clothes!), and get an iced Cafe Americano before going to class. I made it to the GIC with time to spare, and I registered and received my books before taking a seat in the classroom next door.

There are several Korean classes going on at the same time - all levels beginner to advanced - and including myself, there were 12 students in my beginner class. Already knowing my alphabet, how to read, and about 30-50 various vocabulary words, I am slightly more advanced than some of the other students in my class, but I wanted to start at the beginning because I want to learn as much as I can.

Day one (of the seven total classes this term) was pretty easy for me. We learned the alphabet, which includes 14 consonants and 10 vowels, we learned a few vocabulary words (some that I didn't yet know!), we learned a bit about Korean culture and traditional names, and we listened to a really cute song about strange trouble-making monkeys who shout when their ears are pulled. Chincha! (Really!) It has a chorus to help children and/or foreigners learn the Korean vowels. It's cute! Check it out!

So my very first Korean class was really cool. A lot of people drop out after a few classes, but (again, like most of them) I want to try and stick with it until the end. I want to stay in Korea for several years, so knowing the language will definitely make things easier.

I would also like to point out that learning Korean at the GIC is not just for young foreign teachers whose native language is English. Including myself, the class had 12 students, ten of which spoke English as their native language. Eight hailed from the USA and two from the United Kingdom. The remaining two students in the class were older gentlemen, one from Germany and one from Japan, or Il-bon (not to be confused with il-ban, which means number one).