Learn Hangul!

Hannah, one of the Korean teachers at the Garwol Community Center shared this website with our online community. It's a website for learning hangul produced by Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. Check it out and see if you like it!


http://www.cufs.ac.kr/free/web/kor/xko0702/01/ENG/index.htm

What is 다 (da)?

Usually when you hear people speaking Korean, you'll hear a lot of the same sounds. If you know anything about Korean, you can always distinguish it when you hear people ending their sentences in ....니다 (...nida) or 요 (...yo). But, maybe when you look up a word in the dictionary or get a list of vocabulary words to study, you may see verbs ending with 다 (da). So, today, let's look at what this 다 is used for.


다 (da) is the basic verb ending. One of the first words a learner of Korean may learn is the word "go". A text book may show it like this:

가다 (ga-da)- to go

But, it is a little confusing because we can't really use this 가다 in a sentence when we're speaking because this is in the base form. When you want to say the word "go", you'll need to conjugate it. Let's see how that works:

가다 -----remove 다-----> 가-  -----add verb ending----> 가요

We added the "요" to express the polite present tense form (아/어요). This works for any regular verb and any ending:

찾다-----remove 다-----> 찾-  -----add verb ending----> 찾아요 "find"
좋다-----remove 다-----> 좋-  -----add verb ending---->좋아요 "good"
읽다-----remove 다-----> 읽-  -----add verb ending----> 읽어요 "read"




It gets a little trickier with irregulars, but with a little practice you'll get the gist. There are patterns and and you will learn them, but for now, just memorize the basic conjugations.

하다-----remove 다-----> 하-  -----add verb ending----> 해요 "do" (하-->해)
오다-----remove 다-----> 오-  -----add verb ending----> 와요 "come" (오 --> 와)
보다-----remove 다-----> 보-  -----add verb ending----> 봐요 "see" (보 --> 봐)


숙제 Homework:
Conjugate the following verbs into any tense you like and make a sentence (if you can). Show off the tenses you know and be creative! (all levels)

가르치다 (ga-ru-chi-da)- to teach
신다 (shin-da)- to wear (on one's feet, ie. shoes, socks)
먹다 (meok-da)- to eat

Wild Korean Publication Party 9/4/11

We had a great turnout for the publication party two weeks ago and I wanted to share some photos from the party with you.

Larry, Sanghyun (author) and Becky with Wild Korean

Katie, Haemin (Korean editor), Larry, Sanghyun (author) and Becky with two copies of Wild Korean

 Party guests enthralled with our book

Myk with Douglas's illustrations in the background

 More guests, studying with their free beers

 Young Sook, So Young (teachers at the Kongbubang), Haemin (Korean editor) and Sanghyun (author)

And for those of you who missed the party, it's not to late to get your book. Click "Buy a Book" from the above menu to find out how!

Seen in Kyobo!

Wild Korean has been spotted in Kyobo Bookstores in Gwanghwamun in downtown Seoul. They have 7 copies in stock, so get down there and buy your copy today! Wild Korean is also available in every Kyobo Bookstore in Korea, including Deagu, Busan and other cities! Don't wait! Buy today and improve your Korean!

Joke of the day: What's the opposite of E-mart?

I hope you like our joke series, here's the joke for today!

What's the opposite of E-mart?
이마트 반대말 뭐에요?
저마트 (Cheo-Mart)

Get it?
Ok, here's the explanation. First of all, if you don't live in Korea, you might not know what E-mart is. E-mart is a chain of stores similar to Wal-Mart or Target.

Next you should understand 이, 저 and 그.
이 (Ee)- This
저 (Cheo)- That (within sight)
그 (gu)- That (out of sight)

If you translate 이마트 as "this mart", then the opposite would be 저마트 "that mart".

Ok, this is a really terrible corny joke to Koreans, but coming from a non-Korean, it should be worth a few laughs! ^^

이, 저 and 그 are some really useful words to know and use in your daily life. Let's see some examples:


Shopkeeper- 뭐 찾으세요? (What are you looking for?)
You- 벨트 필요해요. (I need a belt)
Shopkeeper- 이 벨트는 어때요? (How about this belt?)
You- 이 벨트는 그냥 그래요. 저 벨트가 좋아요 (No, I don't like this belt. I like that belt)

Friend- 누구 좋아해? (Who do you like?)
You- 몰라.... (I don't know...)
Friend- 이 남자 좋아해? (Do you like this guy?)
You- 아니... (No...)
Friend- 저 남자는? (This guy?)
You- 저 남자도 싫어... (No...)
Friend- 그럼? 누구? (Then who?)
You- 상현 오빠 기억해? (Do you remember Sanghyun oppa?)
Friend- 그 남자!?!?! (That guy!?!?)

어휘 Vocabulary:  
찾다- to look for, to find  
벨트- belt  
좋아하다/안좋아하다-to like/to dislike  
기억하다- to remember
싫다- to dislike
그냥 그래요- so so

숙제 Homework:
Make a sentence(s) or a dialogue using 이, 저 and 그 and post it in the comments or e-mail it to us!