Hello all

sage · Tourist Joined: Sep 15, 2004 Posts: 11 Location: Korea ROK

Hello every one my name is sage and I am originally from California. I never thought about what it would be like to not be able to read, write or even talk till I came to Korea. I am stationed here at Osan air base for one year Of which I have been here 2 months. so far I love Korea but every time I go far from base I really feel the language barrier. Traveling is a whole different matter. Ever hop on a bus and hope you said the name of the town right in fear you may end up a few hundred miles away from where you wanted to be? So I hope with help to be able to read and converse with the local people so I might get to see more of this beautiful country.

Jon · Korean Citizen Joined: Mar 19, 2004 Posts: 512

Hello...welcome to learn korean....I hope u learn lots....and post lots....we are all friends here

Deathninja50 · Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2004 2:16 pm Post subject:

dude..sage is a sweet name..haha what are you like a sage like on of those magical elderly gods?

sage · Tourist Joined: Sep 15, 2004 Posts: 11 Location: Korea ROK

Hehe magical elderly god so far the only part of that I seem to be pulling off is the getting older part Shocked

Alex · Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2004 8:27 am Post subject:

Hi, how're you doing sage. I know exactly what you're talking about; I've been here for about 4 months. I'm at Uijongbu, so I have to take the subway or a bus anytime I want to go anywhere (the subway doesn't go all the way to Songtan, just to Suwon).
I just started taking a free class that's taught by KATUSAs which is helping me out a lot. In about 2 weeks I got to the point to where I can almost read, although I still can't understand what I'm reading. Learning how to read is pretty easy, if you have someone sound out the letters for you. Once you get the hang of how to pronounce the letters, you can practice reading by going to Songtan and trying to read all the signs. It's been working for me so far.
I've been to Osan AB several times so we might end up running into each other someday. If you want to, you can look me up so we can exchange study notes. Good luck.

sage · Tourist Joined: Sep 15, 2004 Posts: 11 Location: Korea ROK

Yes I too have started to learn how to read Korean but am still lost in what it says.
Living in Songtan it seems easier to learn Tagalog then Korean just because that is what most of the girls speak. I talk to some of the bartenders and that is where I learn what little Hangul I know and how to pronounce the words. But I have found learning a new language is really hard if you are getting drunk in the process.

Alex · Posted: Tue Sep 21, 2004 1:11 pm Post subject:

lol yeah, I know the bars your talking about, I try to go to Korean bars when I can, but the beer is more expensive there. Just remember the words maek-jju, tam-bae, chae-tteo-ri, and hwa-jang-shil before you go out and you'll be allright. I don't remember the names of a lot of the bars out there, since I've only been there a couple of times, with the exception of the Blue Opera, because the first time I saw it, it looked like it said the Blue Sperm. I'll be at Osan AB for work tommorrow, but I problably won't go back for a weekend until next month (I heard you'll have to start heading in earlier on the weekends now). If you have a cell phone, I can give you a call next time I'm out there.