yeonchingu

[yeonchingu]

Getting into the ✨K-Arts ✨ Design Department...

...as an AMA+ Scholar! 

Before proceeding, please check if your country is eligible for the AMA+ Scholarship of Korea National University of Arts (en.karts.ac.kr)!

Note: these are my experience in the application process and current life as K-Arts Masters of Design Student! YMMV :) Also, I won’t be putting information that’s already in the K-Arts website.

I actually have no idea how I got into  K-Arts. I'm also not sure how they graded our application, but we were able to see our grades. I don't remember mine exactly but it’s around 90%..? However, I think your grading process depends on each department! 

(STILL WRITING IT! WILL ADD MORE TIPS AND LIFE IN K-ARTS TIDBITS ^^)

Applying to the K-Arts Design Department as an AMA+ Scholar:

1. Korean Language: 

At least TOPIK Level 3, and should be able to already converse or understand intermediate Korean (CAN’T STRESS THIS ENOUGH, your Korean ability will affect your quality of life as a K-Arts scholar).

2. Regarding past grades:

I actually think that other than school grades, the most important part of the application is your portfolio, study plan, and Korean skill level. 

3. For self-introduction: 

I really didn't do anything special about it but I did put:

- Why I wanted to study or why I studied graphic design,

- why I wanted to study design in Korea,

- Why do K-Arts need me as their scholar. I think this is important. Change your mindset, K-Arts NEED you because _________________. I think this can help you write your self-introduction better.

I suggest that you just be sincere with this personal introduction, and spice it up a bit. But don’t lie! 

4. For the study plan: 

Instead of writing vague plans like “I will study Korean language or I will find a job after graduation” or “I will look for an internship” or anything like that, I suggest that you make very specific plans.

For my study plan is I created a project proposal. Complete with research background, objectives, target users, 2-year project timeline, and my future plans about my project. 

I also wrote about my plans in Korea after graduation, the specific companies I want to work in, and how my education in K-Arts will make me a designer that can help Korea and my country.  

5. Portfolio: 

You don't need to put a lot of your projects, you just need to pick the ones that you're really proud of and you think will make you stand out from the other portfolios. I also have other illustration and painting projects but I did not put it in my portfolio because I am applying for the visual communication program. 

Some of my bits that I put in the portfolio (I’m not comfortable showing my projects for privacy reasons!)

Life in K-Arts

1. Intensive Korean Course (October - February)

Before entering K-Arts, you need to study Korean first for at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, which is the university beside K-Arts. You will take a level test and do intensive Korean classes for about 2 months with other AMA+ scholars. That's 8 hours a day everyday. 

And then after that you will take another level test, study again for two more months... but this time you will only study for 4 hours a day, and with the other foreign students who enrolled in HUFS, not necessarily just AMA+ scholars.

When you pass your language course, you can start your first semester in K-Arts.

2. Dorm Life

You can choose to live in the dorm or you can choose to live outside. It depends on you but the dorm fees are of course cheaper, around 200-350$ a month, and currently there are 2-person rooms and single room dorms. I live in the single one and pay $350/month. If you live outside, you need to pay around $400~ above plus deposit (around $1000-$5000) and utilities (around $50). So the dorms is definitely cheaper. 

Two Christmases have passed but I still can’t go home due to Corona :(

3. Part-time jobs

You can get a part-time job 6 months after living in Korea. For those with TOPIK 0 to 3, you can only do 15 hours a week but if you have TOPIK 4 and above, you can do up to 30 hours a week, and work for as much as you want during the vacation. 

I was able to get a part time job after 7 months in Korea, so that helped me a lot with my lifestyle because I really like to go to 맛집s (hot places to eat) in Korea. 

꿀팁 Cool Tip: Eat at the K-Arts cafeteria! It’s only $3.50 for unlimited food! Meals in Seoul usually cost $7 on average. It helped me a lot when I was broke lol

4. Design Classes

For your classes, EVERYTHING will be held in Korean. The professor won't slow down for you so if you don't understand anything, good luck :)

Some of my classworks:

For my first semester, I had three classes: Communication Design, Design Studio & Design Critique.  I survived my first semester because I'm the only student at the time. The design department does not have a lot of students because they say it's hard to get in, so for the first semester I don't have any classmates. But starting the second semester of my first year, a classmate appeared so it’s a lot harder because I'm still not good at Korean during that time but thankfully my professors and classmates are very helpful. I survived!

(TO BE CONTINUED...)

[yeonchingu]

Some life updates + living in Korea

I haven't been in this blog in a while, but anyway here are somes life updates since then:

- got a masters scholarship to an arts university in Seoul (!)

- moved to Korea

- took 4 months of intensive Korean classes! I'm now about to take level 3

- will study design this coming spring semester

So yeah...I'm now living in Korea! My Korean conversation ability has improved significantly since I came here, mostly because most of my peers can't speak English or speak only a limited amount of it. We have no choice but to speak to each other in Korean 😅

Our 개강 (first day of classes) was delayed by 3 weeks because of coronavirus, and since I can't really go out as much as I wanted to (I only go out to exercise or buy food supplies from the nearby emart), I have lots of time to study Korean. To be honest, I still feel very lacking despite finally learning Korean in a classroom setting (I used to study alone), but I know I definitely improved speaking and writing-wise (not sure about listening, I still can't understand it when someone talks fast..I can understand some songs though!).

I'm scared of the 개강 because most (if not all) of my lectures will be held in Korean, and I'm not sure how I will catch up with my classes. But I only have 3 classes this semester so I'll use my extra time to study Korean by myself. I also got accepted to a free language class sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, so I hope it can help as well.

그래서...I am starting this blog again to help me track my Korean! I think that my incoming vocabulary posts will be more focused on words about art and graphic design, since I'm about to study visual communication in a few weeks (!!!!)

Oh my god...lectures in full Korean...may the language learning gods smile at me for 2+ years lol

안녕!

[yeonchingu]

회랑정 살인사건 - 히가시노 게이고

By now you’re probably annoyed with me always reviewing the same author, but the guy’s a pretty safe bet haha

For those who don’t know, Keigo Higashino is probably the most popular Japanese mystery novel author in Korea.

I bought this book on google play, I think it was around the usual 7$. It is around 350 pages long. You can get a decent free length preview, in case you’re not sure if you should buy it.

 I read the entire book in 3 days. The story is that captivating. And for once the story is told from a would be criminals side. It’s still about solving a murder case, but this time for the purpose of revenge.

 Language wise I think this is one of his easier books, there is no science talk, in my opinion an intermediate learner shouldn’t have too much trouble with this book.

The female protagonist is written by a man, which comes through in the first few descriptions of the protagonist. It’s not too bad however, and I still found the protagonist to be believable.

If you need a decent thrilling summer read, I can recommend this one.

[yeonchingu]

Korean Passive Voice confusion!

I'm currently stuck with the Passive Voice lesson for quite a while now. It confuses the hell out of me and then I still need to memorize 이/히/리/기 피동사!!!

Days until the next TOPIK: 71

[yeonchingu]

New TOPIK exam this October!

My country just announced the next TOPIK exam and I’m....unpleasantly surprised. Haha! I thought that the next exam will be held next year, and I seriously lagged for a month and a half, so I literally have 100 days ‘til this next one! 

But then again, I’m hoping to pass at least TOPIK II Level 3, as this is the minimum requirement for scholarships.

I’m currently rereading my Beginner notes and about to enroll to either a physical class at a university near me or with MasterTopik.com

Will update soon!

[yeonchingu]

같은 하늘아래에 산다면, 언젠간 만나지겠지.

If we live under the same sky, we’ll probably meet some day.

[yeonchingu]

I passed TOPIK Level 2!!!

Yup! I *barely* did!!! I got a little bit more than the passing score (140 points) for TOPIK I Level 2! And I couldn't be happier! I expected a scraping score over Level 1, so this is a very nice surprise.

I got 149/200! I actually thought my reading would be better than my listening, but I just got 66 points for 읽기, so I need to improve on that... but hell yeah I passed!!! And it's more than I hoped for!!!

Wow I couldn't believe I could achieve that in three months self-study! Like, really?? Confidence boost indeed! But then I still need take some formal lessons for writing in prep for Level 3...

TOPIK II WAIT FOR ME!!!!

[yeonchingu]

Grammar Masterpost

보다 (더) – more than

emphasis (very, a lot, a bit, etc.)

present tense forms

future tense forms

imperative form

위해(서) – in order to

~(으)려고/~(으)러 – in order to

워해(서) vs. (으)러

~지 말다 – to not do

말고/아니고 – instead of

age

~을 때 – when

~지만/~는데 – however

~ㄴ/은/는데 – giving context

좋겠다 – it’d be nice if

제일/가장 – best/most

~ㄴ지 – since

~에 대해(서) – about

~아/어 드리다 – to do for

때문에 – because of

~(으)니까 – because

~거든요 – because

것 같다 – seems like/I think

~잖다 – you know

가져가다 vs. 가져오다 – take with/bring with

알다/모르다 – to know (how to)

편이다 – rather/sort of

만큼 – as much as

일단/만약/처음 – once/first

particles

~(으)로 – with/by means of

은/는 vs. 이/가

~(이)나 – good enough

수학 – basic math

~에 따라서 – according to

~자니(까)/~(으)려고 하니(까) – intended to, but

이다 vs. 있다

받침 pronunciation rules

Korean sentence structure (SOV)

any / every / some / none

안 vs. ~지 않다 – negatives

처음/다음/지난/마지막 – first, next, last

[yeonchingu]

What I am doing in addition to textbook studying

To supplement my learning, I’m doing/I did these things:

Changed my phone language to Korean. I might seriously mess up with my phone so I’m steering a bit away from 설정 (settings) because I might press something I’m not supposed to.

Changed my FB and IG interface 언어 (language) to Korean!

Limit myself to watching only Korean shows, so as much as I love Japanese and Taiwanese dramas, I need to say goodbye for a while~

Also, I’m not very much concerned in trying to speak Korean right now since I don’t live there. Maybe in the future if I get the chance to study there or...

[yeonchingu]

My resources so far:

Books and media:

Korean Grammar in Use, Beginner to Advanced

Talk To Me in Korean

TOPIK in 30 Days (for vocabulary)

Professor Yoon’s Language Class (on YouTube)

Apps:

LingoDeer

HelloTalk 

Naver papago

Reddit

[yeonchingu]

Future plans and goals in learning Korean

Just throwing in some stuff I want to achieve in this “journey” whatever:

Read Harry Potter (the Korean version, of course)

Read  82년생 김지영 by Cho Namjoo

Pass TOPIK 3 or at least scrape a 4 by April 2019

Listen to NCT Night Night live (no waiting for subs!)

Re-watch NCT Vlives and future shows without sub :’)

Read and watch Korean news!

Talk comfortably to my cousin-in-law who’s Korean

Will add more to the list!

It’s nice to have goals :)

[yeonchingu]

I decided to finally learn Korean

So after being a casual Korean culture enthusiast for more than 9 years now, I finally decided to seriously learn the Korean language. 

I actually started studying around 2nd week of January 2018. Excluding the days where I have to work and go on trips, I think I studied for about 3 months, so I’m now comfortable in reading Hangul and had learned around 1,000 words.

I’m turning this blog into a language diary to record my progress. So far I had:

1. Taken the TOPIK I last March, hoping for a Beginner 1 score. Though I’ll be very happy if I can manage to scrape a 2.

2. Finished the LingoDeer course

3. Skimmed* from Beginner until the Intermediate course of Korean Grammar in Use

4. Skimmed* through TTMIK lessons (until Level 9)

5. Skimmed* through How to Study Korean’s lessons (ALL)

*Why skimmed? Well... it’s because I (foolishly) thought I could actually study all grammar points for TOPIK 3 (Intermediate) in just 3-4 months. I TOTALLY CRAMMED all the lessons. Don’t try this. I still can’t write complex sentences. And while I could understand some Intermediate sentences through context, I’m still pretty much in the dark about how these grammar points work. I’m doing okay with Basic grammar, though.

So now, I am currently:

1. Re-learning all the grammar points while composing my own sentences (will try to have them checked through Lang8 or HelloTalk)

2. Learning Intermediate vocabulary using TOPIK in 30 Days book

So that’s it! T-minus 290 days until full Intermediate fluency. 안녕!

[yeonchingu]

THE ULTIMATE KOREAN LANGUAGE MASTERPOST

 [ warning! long post ] 

ok, so some of you remember my previous masterpost of Korean learning materials, but I’ve found even more learning materials so now I’m going to shower you all with knowledge and pdf files. (i thought i’d make a new post so it’s all in one place now)

[ textbooks & pdfs ] – all audio files are .rar files unless stated otherwise

My Korean – Book One [ audio files ] 

My Korean – Book Two [ audio files ] 

Dirty Korean

Using Korean

Basic Korean

Korean from Zero! – Book One

Korean Grammar for International Learners

Using Korean

Intermediate College Korean

Living Language Korean Course [ audio files ] 

Continuing Korean [ audio files ] 

Handbook of Korean Vocabulary 

Korean Grammar in Use

Korean for Dummies [ audio files ] [ cheat sheet ] 

Korean Made Simple (not a download)

Routledge Grammar – Basic Korean – A Grammar + Workbook  [ source two ] [ source three ] 

Routledge Grammar – Intermediate Korean – a Grammar + Workbook

Colloquial Korean – the Complete Course for Beginners [ audio files ] 

Essential Korean 

Pathfinder in Korean – Beginning Student Book [ workbook ] 

The Sounds of Korean – a Pronunciation Guide [ audio files ] 

Korean Word Book

My First Book of Korean Words

College Korean [ second source ] 

Elementary Korean

Hippocrene Beginner’s Korean [ second source ] [ audio files ] 

Korean Through English – Book One [ second source ] [ audio files ] 

Modern Conversational Korean

Korean: A Complete Course for Beginners

Step by Step Korean 

Beginner TOPIK Grammar & Vocabulary

Intermediate TOPIK Grammar

TOPIK Elementary Adjectives 

TOPIK Elementary Grammar

TOPIK Elementary Nouns 

TOPIK Intermediate Adjectives

TOPIK Intermediate Grammar 

TOPIK Intermediate Nouns

TOPIK Intermediate Verbs 

TOPIK listening files (mp3)

Making Out in Korean [ second source ]

Integrated Korean [ audio files ] 

Teach Yourself Korean [ audio files ] 

Korean Level 1 – Seoul National University

Korean Level 2 – Seoul National University

Korean Level 4 – Seoul National University

Korean Advanced Course Volume II  

Active Korean [ audio files ] 

Hanyang Korean 1 [ grammar and patterns ] [ writing practice ] 

Frequently Used Korean Dialogue 2000 Sentences 

Korean Language Structure, Use and Context 

Tense and Aspect in Korean 

Korean Honorifics and Politeness  

Easy to Learn Korean Language 

In Flight Korean [ audio files ] [ second source ] [ third source ] 

[ online resources ] 

how to study korean

Sogang Korean Program

learn korean

talk to me in korean

lets learn korean

free korean lessons

korean class 101

korean class 101 [ youtube ] 

talk to me in korean [ youtube ]  

sweetandtasty [ youtube ] 

seemile [ youtube ] 

common vocabulary

useful korean phrases

grammar + vocab reference

vocab games

quizlet

learn to read korean in 15 minutes

TOPIK guide

Easy Korean

flashcards

Dom & Hyo

grammar masterpost 

particles masterpost

Naver – english/korean dictionary

an ask that explains how to learn Korean

how to tell the time in Korean

alphabet practice

click Korean

quick korean

Apps: [ some may only be available for iphone or android and not both so bear with me ]

pop-popping korean (iOS + android)

tengugo hangul (iOS + android)

kdrama talk (iOS only)

Neme Korean (iOS + android)

KORLINK by Talk to Me in Korean (iOS + android)

Learn Korean by Bravo Language (iOS + android)

Korean Flashcards (free on android only, $4.99 oniOS)

Learn Korean 6000 words (android only)

TOPIK One (iOS + android)

Dongsa (iOS + android)

POPYA animals & fruits + vegetables (iOS + android)

HelloTalk (iOS + android)

misc. resources:

korean keyboard

culture notes

text slang

crash course on honorifics

children’s books

the chosun (news in korean)

korean class 101 podcast

talk to me in korean podcast

blogs: [ most of these seem pretty active as far as i can tell ]

unyounglearnskorean

study-korean

translating korean

letstteok-korean

onestopkorean

learnkoreanwithmusic

hangeulit

learninghangukeo

way-to-fluency

snubiwriteskorean

easykorean

cassarilla

teachmykorean

I WILL BE ADDING TO THIS IF I FIND MORE STUFF BUT UNTIL NOW HERE IS EVERYTHING I WAS ABLE TO FIND!!

[yeonchingu]

Korean Textbook I have reviewed

If your new year resolutions for 2014 include learning Korean, check out some of the reviews I’ve written for Korean textbooks.

Beginner

韓語語法50課-呢句韓語點樣用

100시간 한국어 1－5 (100 学时韩国语)

COMPLETE GUIDE TO THE TOPIK (BASIC)

HELLO KOREAN~ 안녕하세요 한국어 1

COLLEGE KOREAN 대학 한국어

EWHA KOREAN LEVEL 1 & 2 이화 한국어

TTMIK BOOK LEVEL 1

Korean Made Simple

Real TOPIK 리얼 토픽 1

Intermediate

ONCE UPON A TIME IN KOREA

PRACTICE OF KOREAN GRAMMAR

SPEAKING KOREAN II

인터넷에서 가장 많이 틀리는 한국어 

KOREAN GRAMMAR FOR INTERNATIONAL LEARNERS

한국사람들이 일상생활에서 많이 쓰는 관용표현

EWHA KOREAN 4 이화 한국어 4

EWHA WORKBOOK 4 이화 한국어

EASY KOREAN FOR FOREIGNERS 4

LEARNING KOREAN THROUGH TRADITIONAL FAIRYTALES

새롭게 바뀐 TOPIK 쓰기 – 중고급

외국인을 위한 한국어 문법

빈도별 토픽 (중급)

SNU Korean 5B New Edition

Advanced

YONSEI KOREAN 연세 한국어 6

YONSEI KOREAN READING 6

INTEGRATED KOREAN HIGH ADVANCED 1

TOPIK 어휘로 잡아라! (Advanced)

KOREAN LANGUAGE FOR ACADEMICS IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Others

KOREAN GRAMMAR DICTIONARY 외국어로서의 한국어 문법 사전

드라마사진만화 (Drama Manga)

CHILDREN FOLKTALE 방귀쟁이

한국어 유의어 사전

Feel free to browse through the Korean Textbook Reviews category and also the Korean Language Resources Page

Now, have fun learning Korean! 홧팅!!

[yeonchingu]

Can you suggest some good Korean blogs aside from yours that I can study from?

Yep heres some tumblrs, sorry theyre not linked

easykoreanintermediatehansuukistudy-koreanlearninghangukeoletslearnhangulnocturnalinseoulthekoreanexpcassarillathekimchibearkoreangrumblingshannah-dulset

If anyone wants to recommend their blog (that posts original content) to me please do! Ill either say nice things or say nothing so dont be afraid lol. Honestly Im just not active enough to keep track of all the great blogs out there but I know there are many~!

[yeonchingu]

Korean’s hard… BECAUSE OF GRAMMAR.

Now, now, it’s not nice to blame other people… however sometimes you give credit where it’s due. Let’s just make sure you’re not blaming people when you’re trying to thank them… and of course vice versa. There are quite a bit of grammar points, and even verbs, but today we’ll talk about 3 in depth.  Let’s take a look! 

덕분에: Because of / thanks to (positive) 

너무 잘 해주신 덕분에 재밌게 있다가 갑니다.  I had so much fun staying here because of your hospitality. 

너가 내려준 커피덕분에 오늘 학교에서 안 졸았어, 고마워. I wasn’t dazing off today at school because of the (drip) coffee you made for me. Thanks. 

때문에(abbreviation - 땜에): Because of / due to (neutral or negative) 

A: 어제 왜 축구연습 안왔어?  A: Why didn’t you come to the soccer practice yesterday?  B: 아 어제 형 결혼식때문에 아침부터 준비하느라.  B: I had to prepare sth. in the morning because of my brother’s wedding. 

어제 먹은 불닭때문에 나 어제 똥꼬에 불났잖아.  Yesterday my butthole was on fire because of the spicy (fire) chicken we ate.  맵긴 매웠지. 사실 나도.  I mean.. it was spicy. Actually, me too.  (In Eng. we would say “honestly / 솔직히”, but in Korean “actually / 사실” is more natural”) 

~탓/탓하다: Because of / due to (negative / blaming) 

다 내탓이야, 미안해.  It’s all my fault, I’m sorry.  아냐, 미안해 하지마.  Oh no, don’t be sorry.

배그때문에 시험 망쳤어.  I failed the test because of PUBG.  어이없네. 배그탓 하지마. 배그는 잘못없어.  That’s ridiculous. Don’t blame PUBG… PUBG did nothing wrong. 

I know I know, I say I’m going to post more every time.. but I guess I gotta just prove it this time. I’ve been studying for the TOPIK II, so you’ll probably see some related content in the future!

[yeonchingu]

Can you go over spacing between words in Korean please!?

Certainly!

There should be a space between: 

An adjective and a noun 

An adverb and a verb 

A noun (+ marker) and a verb 

A noun and another noun 

Before a noun

There should not be a space between:

A noun/pronoun and a marker 

Nouns in a proper name 

Two exceptions where the space is omitted:

Noun + 하다

Words that have formed fixed expressions