What's your motivation to learn Korean?

[kyuree]

So what makes you learn Korean? Why did you start?

[Jami]

So what makes you learn Korean? Why did you start?

I've never thought that one day I will learn Korean. I just decided to pick up some Korean after a Korean friend moved to my class. This idea just came to mind in a second, I caught it immediately and began to search Korean lessons on the internet ( even up to now I can't understand why I decided so quickly ).
Unfortunately, we have rarely seen each other since I began to learn Korean because the term is about to be over. And maybe we are not in the same class next term. Although I have no reason to keep on learning Korean (also I have to study English and Chinese well before graduating), I still learn Korean a little bit everyday for fun. I have listened very little Korean music before but I think I'm gonna change my mind.

[kyuree]

Two people have voted other but didn't explain it, what a pity!

Or did you also choose "other", Jami?

[Chriss]

Ok, then. ^^ I voted for "because I like the sound of the language," but that's only half of the truth. I am interested in Korean pop culture, and because I liked the way it sounded, I figured I'd at least take a look at it. Also, I've always wanted to study an Asian language. I should probably have tried either Chinese or Japanese, because they're much more common, but I really prefer the sound of Korean. I never thought I'd get this far, but as much as I struggle, I can't seem to stop learning Korean. It's an addiction, seriously.

[shanshanchua]

I like the sound of the it. This is the first time I've seriously attempted to learn another language, and though I'm still at the beginner stage, I find it amazing that I've got to the point where I can read Korean quite well, even if I don't understand it. I've not been able to put in as much effort and time as I would like, because I have 2 young kids and other commitments. But like Chriss, I haven't been able to stop completely (not that I want to!). But right now I am struggling to keep up with the lessons.

Edited to say: I just noticed after posting the message that I've reached 100 posts - that makes me an Expert on Something! Hahaha!!

[holdfast]

i want to go to korea to work with a church there someday.

i started just because i like it, but wouldn't have learned as much or as quickly if i wasn't involved in a korean church here.

[jintana23]

The reason that I decided to study Korean is like Jami's. First I never thought I would study Korean. A friend of mine from a church dragged me to a free Korean class. I studied about the alphabets and some greeting phrases. It was a nice class. From then on, I love Korean. I came back home and looked for the sites that teach Korean. I've been exposed to Korean world almost for 4 years, but my korean doesn't improve much. And I found this web site by accident. It was great. I listened to the dialogues and monologues a lot to improve my listening. Hopefully, I will be able to communicate well in Korean some day.

[kyuree]

jintana,
I'm flattered you're writing your first post in the thread I created

I didn't answer my own question yet.
I'm half-Korean and grew up in Germany, my mom didn't teach me Korean and I didn't go to Korea often. When I was 12-25 y/o I didn't go at all .
My mom sent me to Korean school (once a week on Friday afternoons) when I was 13. I completed frist class but everyone else was only 6 or 7 yrs old! So the teachers always made me skip classes just b/c I was older than the rest. It didn't really help to learn the grammar, though. I went to that school for some years and I've learnt a lot about spelling, I can read quite well but I had a lot to catch up w/ grammar-wise.
Only one year ago I found another Korean class in town that was much better. Even though I had some troubles speaking freely, I entered the intermediate level. I could only participate one term (3 months) b/c then I moved to a small city for a job. And luckily I then found KoreanClass101!! hehe

so that's my story

I'm back in the capital and in a week I will go to that Korean class again . Of course I will stay a dedicated fan of KoreanClass101

[crewpanda22]

I am learning Korean because I have a Korean boyfriend. We met back in August when we both started graduate school and we are both in the chemistry department.

We started off just talking (his English is not exactly the best) so it took him awhile to tell me how he felt because he didn't have the words. We have been dating for a month and a half and we did find that there were some communication problems because of his limited English and I didn't know any Korean when we first started dating. It wasn't as difficult as I expected, but I wanted to make an effort to learn his language since he is constantly trying to improve his English for me.

So I am extremely motivated to learn Korean for him; I think if he is working so much on his English, our relationship can only benefit from me learning Korean because it can enhance our communication skills.

Generally, I have an easy time picking up languages and I am really enjoying Korean so far! It's even easier having a boyfriend and his Korean friends to help and practice!

[Ulver_684]

So what makes you learn Korean? Why did you start?

Kyuree!

I started to learn Korean because I like Kpop, Kdramas, I like the sound of it and honestly for my friend Hyunwoo Sun.

I want to impress him when I go to Seoul Korea to visit him someday because he knows alot of languages including Spanish and that really motivate me to learn Korea!

[shanshanchua]

Kyuree - that's a nice story! I personally think it's nice to have parents of different nationalities, because in that way, you are exposed to 2 different cultures. It's a pity you didn't learn Korean when you were young, because you might have picked it up more easily. But it's great that you now have an active interest in learning it. I think that actually helps a great deal in language learning. We are all more likely to learn better when we truly enjoy something.

[jintana23]

kyuree

Thanks for yr notice that it was my very first post.(I didn't even know.)
Great that you are half Korean. You can pick up the language easily particularly listening. You know what? It's hard for me to have chances to speak with Koreans. There are very few Koreans here in my neighbor. Cling to your Korean class. 아자!!

[hyunwoo]

GREAT poll, 규리 ^^

[Alexis]

I'm really surprised that I'm the only adoptee here thus far...

[matthew254]

I'm really surprised that I'm the only adoptee here thus far...

trust me you're not alone...remember this is only the active forum community posting and doesn't represent all of the students learning from KC101 in the world. KC101 has a lot of followers worldwide who don't post in the forum.

I don't want to speak out of turn but I can say that last summer I ran into a downright genuine, awesome group of people all in your position (but from America). We were all attending the same korean language program (in Seoul) so it was all good!

and speaking of your experiences in restaurants, ( http://www.koreanclass101.com/forum/vie ... =6632#6632 ) some of my friends had the same problem. We came up with interesting reasons for how quiet they were at the table. excuses ranged from being on his cell phone to claiming he was chinese.

good times...