(Please be prepared for a whole backlog of posts from my first week in Korea over the next few days as I was so busy moving to Seoul and registering for classes that I didn't have time, sorry! 한국에 와서 너무 바빴기 때문에 지난 주도 이번 주도 업데이트를 할 수 없었는데 죄송합니다!! ㅠ ㅠ)

At 3pm on the 19th of August, I reached Heathrow airport ready to begin my 12 month long journey in Korea as an exchange student at Korea University. I decided to fly with Asiana as that was the most recommended service from friends who had been to Korea before. Also it has won loads of awards, even for it's in-flight meals which I usually cannot eat, so I was excited to fly with them!




Being at the airport had made me very nervous and having problems at check-in just made the problem worse! I had a luggage allowance of 50kg and my luggage was only 32kg but the airline told me my bag had to be 31kg to go through the barrier =____= When I asked what would I do if I had filled up to my luggage allowance, they said I would need to pay for another bag...then what is the point of me getting extra free luggage allowance in my flight deal?! Then they couldn't find my passport on the system so I was worried I would't even be able to get to Korea, but soon the manager came and sorted everything out for me, 어휴~~~ Soon I was ready to start a three hour wait at the departure lounge!







Even though I was scared about it, I managed to make it to my gate easily and get on the plane! I was in an aisle seat but it was okay because the young Korean couple next to me were really nice. They asked me why I was going to Korea and we even shared sweets ^^ The flight left London at 9pm, so after watching a film on my laptop and having had bulgogi for dinner, I slept for the majority of the flight. The food on the flight was really nice and tasty, with the air hostesses being really kind and helpful! They were so pretty in so that ruined my future plans to become an air hostess haha! When we were about land, I was desperately trying to look out the window, and in the end a lovely Korean lady moved from her seat and said I could watch the landing. Everyone I met at this point was so nice! Now I had officially landed in Incheon airport!





I had originally planned to get the subway to my hostel but in the end as my luggage was far too heavy and difficult to move, I organised a taxi with the International Taxi service. The International Taxi Service booking centre is located next to the normal Seoul taxi service just inside the departure area before you exit to the taxi ranks. If you are unsure why to find it, don't be too scared to ask at the airport information desks as some even speak english. If not, I am sure if you just said 'International Taxi' they would be happy to point you in the right direction, no language barrier causing problems at all.
To get to Anam-dong, which was classified under their zone 2, it cost me 65,000 won (£37) which is actually cheap for a taxi ride that took almost an hour and a half. The driver came into the airport and collected me, then lifted my bags into the back for me. The driver was really nice but the reason I chose the international taxi service was the fact the drivers could speak English. However mine could speak as much English as I could Korean so it was hard to ask him questions about Korea. We actually got a little lost in Anam-dong till we found my hostel, but eventually we found it! The driver even carried my huge bag up four flights of stairs, which was so kind of him, especially as the hostel staff would have offered to help me.
The reason I really recommend a taxi when you first come to Korea is that after taking the subway now I know my luggage would have definitely not fit and the stairs out of each station exit is far too steep to carry up luggage. Many subway stations in Seoul have very narrow escalators which would not fit luggage on, and some don't even have lifts, so if you have a lot of things it's not the best option. Obviously a taxi can be expensive, but is worth the money for someone like me who is nervous or either alone with all their belongings. It was also a good opportunity to see the sights of Seoul whilst driving.

For my first four nights I stayed in Anam Hostel (http://www.anamhostel.co.kr/en/) which is a short walk from the Anam station, down the 5-ga road located next to a restaurant called chicken bus and opposite a Davinchi cafe. After seeing pictures of typical Korean hostel room sizes and booking a standard single room, I was really surprised by how spacey it was. The bed was quite narrow but it was super comfy to sleep on, with the covers/pillow provided being clean and nice. The storage space was also great and they provided a small TV and fan for me during my stay for no extra cost. There are two showers and toilet which were all clean, but as these were shared between a whole floor I recommend you wake up early to use them! The total cost of my stay came to 88,000 won (£50) which is great for four nights, seeing as tea/coffee, wifi and LAN internet are included. You can come and go at any time of night, with guests allowed till 11pm. The only problem I have with the hostel is that my room faced a very busy student area so it was hard to really sleep till around 12pm. Also the walls are very fine and unfortunately the man in the room next to me thought it was acceptable to skype at 4am. However I can't really complain with such a cheap price and with lovely staff who were ready to help me with whatever problem I had! I really recommend it!

Labels: diary, korea

You must be wondering why I haven't posted in a couple of weeks, but don't worry I haven't been slacking! Instead I once again called the University Library home for nearly two weeks as I studied for the next set of listening and review exams that is compulsory for my class. If you want to know what these include you can review my previous posts if you haven't before as they go into detail about each exam ^^

I am happy to say the previous set I told you about in another post came back with positive marks which made all the hard work more worth while! Obviously this meant that this time round I wanted to continue my hard studying routine to maintain my good marks from previous tests. I didn't get any whole questions wrong in that exam, and marks were only deducted due to small mistakes which is always positive but then again means I have to be far more careful in my answers! These mistakes included some small spelling mistakes but also not making sure the topic of the sentence is clear which means everything when trying to state the important points.

This time round I found the tests far harder, including the listening test which I found extremely hard to follow despite being allowed to listen to it three times. Even though I have done more audio file practice this time round I know that for the fourth set of exams I have to work even harder in this area so my marks are kept high as these count towards one of my units.

The review test however was much better but I still feel a little unsure due to the inclusion of some new question styles. This time round instead of just some set grammar form and translation questions, we now had the addition of a reading comprehension task and a composition question. The reading question was actually really simple and I liked that I could write the answer in English as it meant I could be more confident in my answer. The composition task however was something that made we want to pull my hair out! Obviously in this I had to show the variety of both grammar and vocabulary, so I was really anxious that I was not including enough. Additionally as it had to have a minimum amount of words, because I was spending so long making complex sentences I was using valuable time which could have made the piece longer. Then again I suppose it is quality above quantity ^^

Unlike last time where I made some short notes on where I think I could improve on my questions, I am not going to make any such inclusion in this post due to not being sure on my negative points yet. However I will make some short posts in the space of the next week that I made in my studying notes on how to tell the difference in similar grammar patterns. As you learn more Korean you will find that some grammar patterns and particles have very similar meanings when translated into English but of course in reality are very distinct. So hopefully those future posts can aid you in a guide on how to make sure you understood perfectly!

This weekend I wanted to treat myself to some nice things as a boost after such a stressful week. We have also started the process of applying for our year abroad so a lot of stress has been added to my shoulders. These items are actually Japanese in origin but I wanted to show you some of the cute things I like to buy to cheer myself up. I was actually elated to find that the Japanese supermarket in central London has started to sell melon soda which was my favourite drink from when I spent time in Japan. I also bought this cute panda biscuit as you can never have enough cute sweets!^^ So remember to always treat yourself after an exam because you need some energy and treats!

Labels: diary, korean progress, test

I haven't be able to update this blog for the past week mostly because I started to call the 대학교 도서관 (University Library) my new home! After spending a consecutive four days in the library studying non-stop, yesterday I finished my review tests for this half term. I had a presentation last week, as well as a portfolio deadline and then this week was my listening and review test in all one go!

I was really pleased with my last result for my previous listening and review test so I wanted to keep up my good results in these tests as well. In the last five chapters of my textbook (as I explained in my previous post about books my class gets tested after every five chapters covered) there was a lot of new verb forms and grammar which was hard to master and understand.

One of the main focuses I had was to remember all the future and probable forms, and in what context I should use them in translate. I became especially confused at first by -(으) ㄹ 거에요 and -겠 forms in regards to when I should use them. For those who don't know -(으) ㄹ 거에요 is a probable future term with quite high intention, for example 이번 주말에 시내에서 살 거에요 (next week I am probably going to shop downtown). The other form is -겠 is another future form that has very high intention similar to that of making new years resolutions. It also has the meaning of "I bet..." so for example 내일 날씨가 아주 좋겠습니다 (I bet tomorrow's weather will be really good.) The same can be done with -(으) ㄹ 거에요 and even the form -(으)ㄹ까요 (shall we? or do you suppose?) but these forms are for more half informed guesses about information whilst -겠 form is for statements with evidence i.e commenting on the weather after watching a weather report on the television.

However the problem I faced with these forms is that in some questions it is very explicit whether the speaker has got firm evidence or not (or even whether their intention is firm or not). For example in my studying I came across a question that said "He won't receive money from his father this week, I bet." which instantly made me think it would be -겠 form but in fact it was -(으) ㄹ 거에요 in the answers. Thus I asked 선생님 (teacher) what I should do about this, and she said it was fine which ever form I use, but just to make sure in colloquial speech I am aware of the context.

After reviewing these forms over and over again they began to make sense and I felt more confident about using them in my tasks. The actual tests themselves were okay but not brilliant. I am always overly self critical after exams but the listening especially wasn't my best test. I found it hard to catch everything even though I had studied the majority of the vocabulary included. Therefore in the future I must give more time to practicing my listening with audio files and by having more colloquial dialogues with 한국 친구 (Korean friends).

I found the review tests was good despite all my worrying before the test. With this I just have to make sure next time I have fully memorized the dialogues in the past chapters we have learnt because a lot of the translations used the same sentence patterns which would have helped me greatly if I knew them word for word rather than vaguely. Additionally I shouldn't rely on what I was given in previous tests as this one was very different to before. This means that when studying I have to try and cover everything even if it seems a lot. I am happy with the amount of time I spent studying this time but I could have planned it better and maybe made use of it.

After my tests I then went to celebrate with friends at a Japanese restaurant who also had finished exams that day. 일본 식당에서 라면을 많이 먹었습니다. 그리고 거기에 아주 재미있서 기분이 좋았습니다. (At the Japanese restaurant I ate a lot of Ramen. Also as it was really interesting there, I was in a really good mood.) ^^

Labels: diary, korean help, korean progress

My name is 루시 (Lucy) and I am a 2nd year student of BA Korean in London, but currently I am studying at Korea University in Seoul.

This blog will include helpful tips and hints on how to learn the Korean language but will also show my own progress in studying.

I will also aim to post reviews on Korean products and will post videos of my adventures.

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Layout and header image by mymostloved with base image, brushes and background.