Hello, my name is Karen and I’m a Chinese-American who
married a Korean. I started this blog in order to expose non-Koreans to the
culture and language of Korea from a non-Korean perspective. Through this blog,
you will learn what I learned and hopefully you will pick up bits and pieces
and appreciate the Korean way of life.
I believe it is my destiny to marry a Korean and immerse
myself into their culture. Before I met my husband, I had no idea about
anything Korean including the language, the people, and I was definitely fuzzy
about North and South Korean relations. The first thing that entered my mind
when my husband, then boyfriend, asked me out was whether he would date me and
then leave me in the United States while he goes back to Korea after college. I
was wondering if our relationship was a fling, but my boyfriend convinced me
that he would get a job in the United States and not leave my side.
My boyfriend began to teach me hangul, the Korean alphabet,
and I learned how to read and pronounce it within a day. Afterwards, however,
my husband stopped teaching me probably because he lost the passion for it. I
was curious about Korea and its language with many questions, but my husband
would rather learn English instead.
I especially did not watch Korean entertainment until one
day my mom let me borrow the Korean drama, “Full House” on VHS tapes with
Cantonese dubbing. I loved the romantic comedy drama so much that I wanted more
dramas to watch. I bought the Full House DVD afterwards and watched it a few
more times though I couldn’t find a copy with that specific Cantonese dubbing.
It was at this time where I realized how similar the Chinese and Korean
language could be to each other.
After I married my husband, I began picking up pieces of
Korean culture and language bit by bit though I wasn’t too interested in
learning.
In 2009, I had my first experience with K-Pop music. I was
watching Girls Generation on TV and was annoyed at first since Girls Generation
is a nine-member group. I thought that anything with quantity lacked quality.
Eventually, I listened to their addictive single, “Gee,” so many times on
Youtube, that I became obsessed. From there, my interest in Korean
entertainment and culture blossomed and I yearned for more.
Through this experience, I tried to learn Korean by myself
through TV subtitles, Pimsleur CDs, and through watching Korean videos through
Youtube with subtitles. I think I know a lot more of the Korean language now.
Eventually, my favorite language school, ALESN, offered introductory Korean
lessons and I formally began my Korean lessons. I also learn K-pop dances on
the side, but I’ll save all the entertainment introductions for my Asian
entertainment blog, Wehaiyo!.
So, that introduction is my Korean history in a nutshell. I
will concentrate most of my energy into learning the language and include a bit
of culture, but even then, there is so much I do not understand or comprehend.
Luckily, I have a husband who can verify everything for me. Thank you for
reading my blog and I hope you can learn something from my experience.
