Week 2: Back to School

I kicked off my second week in Seoul by starting my Korean language class at Sogang University. Honestly, I thought I’d be nervous waking up and walking into the first day. Surprisingly, I wasn’t! I was mostly just excited and super curious to see who else would be in the class.

About the Class

It’s a small group—14 students total—and we’re from all over the world. I’m the only one from the USA, but there are classmates from France, Germany, Taiwan, Thailand, Algeria, and Spain, which is awesome!

The group has a wide age range, from 22 to 34 years old. Naturally, I’m the oldest at 34, but it didn’t feel too bad when I found out there’s another classmate of mine who is 33.

What We Learned This Week

This week was all about Hangeul, the Korean alphabet. Most language schools dedicate the first week to this topic alone, and now I see why!

Luckily, I had dabbled in learning Hangeul before coming to Korea, otherwise… I’d be totally lost if I’m being honest. One of my biggest challenges back home was not getting enough repetition—I’d forget which sounds went with which vowels and consonants. But here, it’s a different story. Class is super repetitive in the best way, which has really helped things stick. Also, dedicating the time to learning every day certainly helps.

By the end of the week I learned how to:

✔️ Write my name in Korean characters

✔️ Read basic Korean words

It felt like a huge win! (Now I just have to make sure I commit all of that to memory)

Is it hard? Learning the Korean alphabet isn't necessarily hard but it does become more challenging when you have to recall multiple consonants/vowels at once to form a word.

Class Structure

Classes run Monday to Friday, four hours a day. The time is split evenly: two hours speaking, two hours reading and writing.

The lessons are very interactive, which helps the time fly by. We do tons of group activities and games, which keeps the learning fun and engaging.

On Friday, our instructor brought in Korean snacks and we played a game where we had to choose one and then pronounce the name out loud in Korean in front of the class to win it.

My favorite? A snack that tasted like puffy Cheetos… but banana flavored! It sounds odd but trust me, it was SO good.

It was strongly suggested that we study the vowels and consonants this weekend… so here I am, camped out at a coffee shop, reviewing everything and getting in some extra practice.

Life Outside of Class

Outside of school, I had a chance to do some exploring and enjoy some Korean food. This week I...

• Grabbed KBBQ with some friends

• Went to Kalguksu Alley in Namdaemun Market for another round of my favorite knife-cut noodle soup then walked around the Meyongdong area which is one of Seoul's major shopping districts, although pretty touristy.

• Did a meet and greet with Bin, who will be my personal trainer while I’m here. He even gave me a tour of the gym, and I’m pumped to start training with him next week.

  
  

  

  
  

That wraps up week 2! Between learning Hangeul, making new international friends, and enjoying Korean food, it’s already starting to feel a little like home.