Well, when I was with ATEK, one of the things I wanted to do was create an useful guide to Korea.
But that didn't happen.
So if you go to the top of my page and click where it says "Expat Life" you can see a (still in progress) page with some of the links I think are most useful to somebody trying to get themselves sorted in Korea.
One section I like is my "places to learn Korean" link list.
Learn Korean
Hangul (writing system)
Comparative reviews of "Study Korean" books
Learn Korean Online
Korean Class 101's Youtube Channel
Sogang's online Korean Course comes highly recommended
Recommended by I'm No Picasso: Learn Korean Now
Recommended by Roboseyo: Korean Class 101
More complete list of learning Korean resources
For the rest... if you run/know about a page you think deserves a link on my page, send me an e-mail at roboseyo at gmail, or put a link in the comment.
To the guy who's been getting his comments deleted: no. Links on where people can find an Indian wife (prefaced by a paragraph of shit-talking about western and Korean women) don't qualify.
one expat's life in Korea
4 comments:
I rather enjoy "Talk to Me in Korean," though the miserable state of my Korean is in no way a reflection on the quality of said podcast.
Great set of resources here! If you find that you are the kind of person who needs the classroom experience with homework and everything, but you don't want to pay for a university program, here are a couple of things my husband and I have done since we've been here:
Migrant workers' centers offer free Korean classes. You don't have to be from a certain country or background to utilize this service, to my knowledge. My husband and I are both American, and he used to attend a class in the Yangcheon office without a problem. Here is some information: http://english.seoul.go.kr/lh/support/scof5.php
Also, I have been doing the Cultural Integration Course (사회통합프로그램) which is also useful if you are on an E-visa and looking to get "points" towards an "F2 Visa for professionals", or if you are on an F2/F4/F5 and looking to get your Korean citizenship. There are 400 hours of intensive Korean language classes, followed by a 50-hour class on Korean history and constitutional law. Right now I'm in the third level and taking the course online, and it's really intense, but the teacher is very good. I have learned so much in a short time. The information for this program, however, is all in Korean, and you have to go through immigration to apply for it. See kiip.kr for information on the program specifically. You can call 1345 for more information, too, and you can register on hikorea.go.kr (in Korean only - the English registration is not working, I think)
Hey roboseyo. If you are married to a Korean person you can get Korean classes for free in some places. Do they have that in Seoul, or where ever it is you live?
The biggest problem that I have had with learning Korean is that it is hard to by myself. I don't really have the discipline or interest to sit down and hit the books. As for Korean classes, it can be difficult to find a Korean class that fits the schedule of a teacher. Where I'm from, the classes for people married to Koreans are only in the afternoon in two hour blocks. That's basically impossible to participate in if you work at a public school, difficult if you work a split shift at a hagwon or university.
I know you're in Seoul, but the Gwangju International Center is working on an online guidebook with information about Korean courses in the area:
http://www.gwangjuguide.or.kr/2011/01/foreign-language-course/
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