Is the Korean language worth learning?
Korean is the official and national language of both Koreas: North Korea and South Korea, with different standardized official forms used in each country. It is a recognized minority language in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture and Changbai Korean Autonomous County of Jilin Province, China. It is also spoken in parts of Sakhalin, Russia and Central Asia. Korean people in the former USSR refer to themselves as Koryo-saram and/or Koryo-in, and call the language Koryo-mal. It is an East Asian language spoken by about 77 million people and 5.6 million consider Korean as a Heritage Language. Languages that don’t have their own alphabet and characters have known to have merged in another or vanished over time. Historical and modern linguists classify Korean as a language isolate. Korean vocabulary comprises 35% of native words, 60% of Sino-Korean words and 5% loanwords mostly from the English language. Korean presence or influence is strongly found in the Khitan language. Lesser-known Dravido-Korean languages theory, suggests Korean relationship with Dravidian languages in India. Of the 3000 languages in use currently, Korean is known to be the 13th most commonly used language.
Some of the reasons for studying Korean include: For work or study, for traveling, for enjoying Korean entertainment or for any other personal reasons. Now let’s understand how to learn Korean for each of these specific reasons:
For Study:
If you want to attend a university in Korea, you’ll need to learn Korean. Fortunately, their university programmes are among the best and most successful at assisting students in becoming fluent in Korean quickly. So, if you’re prepared to work hard, there are plenty of opportunities for international students in Korea these days.
For Work:
Some people want or need to learn Korean for work purposes, such as getting a career, a promotion, or a new role. Being able to communicate in both Korean and your native language would give you a competitive advantage in the Korean job market. Companies are still searching for bilingual workers and can help you pay for your language lessons.
For travel
Korea is a fantastic place to visit. Korea has a lot to give, whether you plan to spend a long time getting to know the nation or only come for a short visit. Knowing a little Korean will greatly enhance your experience. Furthermore, Koreans would be surprised by your ability and flattered that you took the time to learn their language.
For Entertainment
For a long time, K-Pop and K-Dramas have been gaining popularity around the world. Korean Pop Culture, also known as Hallyu, is well-known around the world thanks to bands like BTS and Blackpink. Perhaps you’d like to sing along to your favourite songs or engage in social media interactions with band members. Whatever the cause, using entertainment as a motivator is one of the most effective ways to appreciate language learning.
Any other reason
There are numerous other benefits of learning Korean. Some people have a strong desire to reconnect with their roots, while others are simply fascinated by history. Whatever the cause, it’s critical to set goals, research with purpose, and keep your inspiration in mind. So, set aside some time to think about and write down your motivations, objectives, and plans.
Motivation: Why do you want to study Korean?
Objective: What milestones are you going to set for yourself along the way?
Plans: How are you planning to study and hold yourself accountable?
Now that you’ve emotionally trained yourself for progress, it’s time to get down to business with learning Korean.
Finally,
Whatever route you take in your journey to learn Korean, take a little time to consider your options. The method you’ll opt for or the classes you’ll enrol into or the material you’ll use to study, play an extremely important role in how easy or how difficult the language learning process is going to be for you. The variety is great, and there are surely one or more that will get you speaking in no time. There’s an amazing new way to learn Korean! Want to see what everyone’s talking about! Click Here.