Hi!

[Seoul_007]

I just wanted to introduce myself and get to know the community here on KC. A little about myself:

I'm a 21 year old American guy. Last fall as I was entering my last year of college, I had the wonderful opportunity to make some Korean friends who had a profound effect on my life. In hanging out with them I was introduced to Korean culture and Korean food and even did a little exploring on my own - I started listening to K-Pop and watched some dramas (I loved Stairway to Heaven especially) and was really taken aback by the wonders that Korean culture has to offer.

I've always been a very international person and though I'm American born I'm very much in touch with my European heritage and I've even developed some interest in Japanese and Chinese culture in the past. But when I was introduced to Korean culture, I felt something that I've never felt before.

I'm out of college now and beginning to pursue a career in international finance, but I've decided once and for all to start learning Korean with the goal of developing fluency and passing TOPIK. I want to experience more and eventually visit Korea, and perhaps even move there to pursue career opportunities. I live in New Jersey which has two vibrant and large Korean communities, one of which is right by where I live - giving me a tremendous opportunity to put some Korean into practice with real speakers.

I'm looking forward to my journey and to meeting people here, and I'd especially like to thank Keith and all the staff of KC - because even though I've only just begun I'm amazed at the value and quality this site has to offer. Good Korean learning products are sorely lacking compared to more prominently learned languages such as Spanish and Japanese. But Korean Class is simply everything I could possibly need to go a long way in mastering this language!

[shanshanchua]

Welcome! KC101 is really fun!

[Bouks]

Welcome!
I'm so jealous of people who have Korean communities easily accessible to them.
You'll be hopelessly hooked on KClass in no time, it's an amazing place.
Get on Skype and talk with us! There are some threads in the forums with all of our Skype IDs listed.

[matthew254]

Well done Seoul_007! You'll be right at home here.

Welcome to KC101!

[Keith]

hey Seoul_007!

Welcome to KoreanClass101 Glad you took the time out to tell us a little bit about yourself It's always great to hear our listener's stories!

Where in New Jersey do you live? My mom moved out there a few years ago. She's in Fort Lee. Maybe one of the more vibrant communities you're talking about ^^

[Seoul_007]

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone.

And yeah Keith I've been to Fort Lee quite often and have some friends there! Small world I guess. But I'm a little further south near Edison which is a pretty big Korean community (and the country's first Korean-American mayor) though it's not quite as big as the Fort Lee-Palisades Park enclave.

[Keith]

Yea FortLee is Korea... Probably not as big as LA Korea town however

But thanks for introducing yourself! 앞으로 잘 부탁드리겠습니다!