44. 의성어 Onomatopoeia #1 쿵 짝 짝!; 이상한 변호사 우영우 Extraordinary Attorney Woo (2022), Ep. 1
I learned musical rhythm theory in a primary school in Seoul. Probably I was a first or second grader. To teach us how different 4/4,…
Tag: K-Drama
43. A Few Honorific Verbs (Very Respectful, Formal Register); Kingdom (2019), Season 2”
Human beings are an animal of vanity. When it comes to linguistic skills, some people act like speaking faster than others is the measure of…
41. 목 말라요 I am thirsty; 자음동화 Consonant Assimilation II - Nasalization; 서른, 아홉 (Thirty-Nine, 2022), Ep. 8
To correctly say a simple but important phrase such as “I am thirsty” in Korean, you would have to understand another phonetic process called 비음화…
40. How to Become an Alchemist of Korean Particles -이/가, -만, -도, -은/는, etc., etc.; Alchemy of Souls 환혼 (2022), Ep. 1; 눈동자 - 조용필 The Pupil of the Eye
Korean is an agglutinative language. Words are formed with morphemes such as verb stems and particles glued together like a string. There are a plethora…
39. Our Blues 우리들의 블루스 (2022) Ep. 8; How to Apologize Correctly in Korean; How to Pronounce 받침 ㅅ, ㅆ, ㅈ, ㅊ, ㅌ as [ㄷ]; Consonant Assimilation I - 격음화 (Aspirates)
Online or offline, we humans are by nature a social animal. For many of us, the quality of our interpersonal relationships is the single most…
34. How to Swear in Korean - Entry Level Invectives; 신의 (Faith, 2012), 기상청 사람들 (Forecasting Love and Weather, 2022), 하나뿐인 내편 (My Only One, 2018)
Swearing in a foreign language is the first step to fluency, they say. Whether such a theory is valid or not, real Korean ladies and…
32. Contraction: 흰 = 하얀, 맘 = 마음; Korean Lyricism; 옛사랑 (Old Love) by 이영훈; 갯마을 차차차 (Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha, 2021)
I heard that it snowed in Seoul over the weekend. Here in the Iberian peninsula, snow is a rare commodity, enjoyed only in the inland,…
26. Spring in My Hometown 고향의 봄 from 오빠 생각 (A Melody to Remember, 2016) and D.P. (Deserter Pursuit, 2021)
A young Korean soldier chooses to become a deserter to protect his grandma suffering from dementia. Before getting arrested, he respectfully bows to her, who…
21. My Dear, Come Back to Me Again 그대 내게 다시 by 변진섭; Reply 1988 - Nostalgia of Innocent Times
Ah, nostalgia. 추억. 회상. 그리움. 향수. The bittersweetness of reminiscing and regretting all things past is one of the good things about human memory (기억). …
9. Basic Salutations; 안녕! Hi or Goodbye?
Many of you already know that “안녕하세요” is “Hello!” in Korean. It is the most useful phrase in Korean, since it works perfectly fine in…
