Korean Slang: Umchina 엄친아

If you are familiar with the Korean celebrities Lee Seung Gi and Song Joong Ki then you are probably aware of the Korean slang "umchina."

Meaning
"Umchina," a combination of the three Korean words: 엄(eom/um) for 엄마(mother), 친(chin) for (친구) friend and 아 for son (아들).

Literally it means son of mother's friend and means mother's friend's son who is good at "everything."

Why umchina?

Mothers in Korea usually like to compare their child with other children associating them with the mothers. They usually tell their sons with these lines "The son of my friend is a perfect boy so you should be like him?"  or "Do you know Mrs.Kim's son? He's a very good boy! He's good at this at that....!"
But in reality, they just want their own sons to do well and be more competitive. Regardless whether the other mothers' sons are really good boys or not. Many Koreans, especially the ones updated with the "modern" society know this term. If someone tells you that you are an "umchina" then you are being praised. Basically a perfect man "엄친아." Usually the appearance is not part but from what I know they do include it. haha.

When it comes to girls, you can call them umchinttal "엄친딸" (a daughter of mother's friend). 

Hyunwoo and Mikyung - Manila Meetup

Another good news for TTMIKiers in Manila! Hyuwnwoo hyung will be in the Philippines again next month and there's a meet up together with his lovely and pretty wife Mikyung ^^;; If you are in Manila make sure you join them ^^
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Hey my friends in the Philippines, my wife and I went to Cebu in November last year and we loved it so much that we decided to go back!

This time we're going to Boracay and Manila on a family trip (with my parents and my two sisters), to celebrate my father's 60th birthday.

We will spend three days in Boracay and one night in Manila. We are going to first go to Boracay and then arrive in Manila around noon, on the 12 of February, 2012.

 
We are not sure WHERE we are going to have the meetup, but I'm thinking that it would be nice to know in advance who's interested in meeting up with us for some dinner and talk : )

Let me know by RSVPing!

Thanks!

Hyunwoo & Mikyung

http://twitter.com/ever4one
http://twitter.com/mikyungcho

For inquiries check the Facebook page!

HaruKorean.com! Another Interesting Way to Learn Korean Language^^

New lesson each day + Corrections from native speakers within 24 hours!
 
The website's goal is to help you really learn to speak Korean, even if you study on your own without going to a Korean school. At http://HaruKorean.com , you can learn with new lessons updated everyday, write your own practice sentences and get corrections from native speakers within 24 hours.

Learn to speak natural Korean and keep track of how much studying you are doing, as well as win prizes from monthly contests!

Here's a walkthrough about this amazing service ^^


Go start learning and practicing at http://HaruKorean.com and if you have any questions, email them at talktomeinkorean.com!

What happens to TalkToMeInKorean? Of course, TalkToMeInKorean will always be there for you, providing free learning materials! Isn't it amazing! 대박! ㅋ

http://HaruKorean.com
http://TalkToMeInKorean.com

http://twitter.com/ttmik
http://facebook.com/talktomeinkorean

*Haru (하루) means day

Hangeul Day 2011 Exhibition in Seoul, Korea

My friend and 형, Hyunwoo is organizing another activity for Hangeul Day this year ^^  Please participate, share it to others and also fuel the project ^^

Check it out!

Love Hangeul? Learning Korean? Let's do something special this year! 

October 9th is the official Hangeul day (한글날), and 한글날 2011 is coming up soon! If you remember, for the past two years, I've made a video each year to celebrate 한글날 with you all. I thoroughly enjoyed receiving all the pictures from all over the world and putting them together for a video. 

I'd like to do it again this year, for Hangeul Day 2011, but it seems like A LOT MORE people are going to be interested in participating this time. If I receive 100 pictures, that's fine. But when there is more than 200 pictures, it's difficult to put them in one video. 

So here's my suggestion:

Too many participants? Not a problem! Instead of a video, how about an actual EXHIBITION in Seoul, Korea?

Imagine an actual exhibition hall in the center of Seoul, Korea, where YOUR submission, your Hangeul writing or artwork is displayed for visitors to see!!!

This will not only be very memorable for the participants, but also be very inspirational for the viewers of the exhibition. 

I am aiming for a two-day exhibition, and it will involve various types of costs, such as renting and preparing an exhibition place, printing out pictures and getting them ready for display, etc. So help me make the exhibition possible by funding this project! You can fund as little as 2 dollars or as much as 500 dollars. 

My goal for this funding is $3,000 USD and I have 10 days to raise this amount. When I reach or exceed this goal, I can not only make this exhibition happen but also make it extra awesome. 

Even if you are not interested in participating yourself, please support this project so this international Hangeul Day celebration exhibition can happen.

Please share this project with your friends and tell them to participate as well. I'm very excited to see what kind of creative entries will be submitted!

For more about how to participate, please check out my YouTube channel. 

- Hyunwoo Sun - 

http://hyunwoosun.com

Visit this site to fuel the project
http://rockethub.com/projects/3303-hangeul-day-2011-exhibition-in-seoul-korea

A video of last year's Hangeul Day!

Pictures taken from  
http://rockethub.com/projects/3303-hangeul-day-2011-exhibition-in-seoul-korea

TTMIK Special: My TTMIK Story

My Talk To Me In Korean (TTMIK) Story!

 

I have many friends who ask me about Korea. And one of the most common questions I get is recommendations about learning Korean language. Well, there are many ‘good’ sites but most of it are too “academic,” one lesson is too compressed making it hard to understand, no visuals or it’s not updated. One day, one of my friends posted a question on her Facebook wall regarding a particular Korean grammar. One of the answers posted was a link. I was very surprised because the explanation was exactly what I wanted to tell her, even way better hahahaha and it was explained in a very creative manner! That was the start of me becoming a listener, a student and a fan of Talk To Me In Korean (TTMIK)!

Why TTMIK?

The good thing about the website is that it’s accessible anywhere. People from all over the world can access it in their own time at their own pace. If you have plans of coming to Korea in the future or you are scheduled to come to Korea as an exchange student or you just wanna learn and interested in Korean language and Korea, TTMIK is the best way/thing to start!  In my case I read, watch and listen to it while I’m on a subway or bus making my time so worth it.  I’ve already reached the highest level of Korean language class at my school but I still find TTMIK very helpful. I am not saying that learning Korean language at language schools especially in universities is not good. I personally think they’re doing their job well. But, if you can learn Korean through these two venues, why not do both right? ^^ There are many reasons why I like TTMIK. If I were to mention some, one would be the nature of how it’s delivered and it’s not heavy to digest. 

Try visiting http://www.talktomeinkorean.com/ and you will see what I’m talking about ^^ Make it a daily habit! Enjoy!

Part 2 will be my office visit and interview with TTMIK crew ^^

Friends in Korea: Level 1

From March to early June this year(2009) , I took a Korean language course at the Language Education Institute of Seoul National University. Of course I started with level 1, the most basic. There, I met wonderful people. For me, I was able to travel the world in 2 months. This was my speech in the class as part of our final oral exam. Please refer to the Korean translation below the entry. I tried to make the English version easy and simple in pattern so that it wouldn't be hard for me to do the translation. lol so here it is
This is how I traveled the world in just 2 months. Of course I did not travel alone, I traveled with 14 other people.

I came to Korea last February then I met Angelique who is from the Philippines. That marked my first         destination, Philippines. Angelique lives in the dormitory, 3rd floor. She likes to watch kotboda namja on her free time. She also likes to eat.
Then we went together to Thailand. We had two stopovers in Thailand. We met Ang who just also traveled around Korea, 2 weeks ago. Ang likes Rain so much. After meeting Ang, I also met Jumi who is also from Thailand. Jumi lives in bldg 925 with her roommate from Kazakhstan. She's a very sweet girl. After classes, I always see her at the Global House Computer Center watching SNSD.
After Thailand, the four of us went to Japan. We met Mili and Yuko in Japan. Mili is a cute girl who is always fashionable. Yuko on the other hand knows how to do a tea ceremony and knows how to act like a market vendor.
From Japan we went to China. In China we had four stopovers since China is big. We met Yang Jingjing who was in the department store. She likes shopping so much. She also likes to go to the wash room. Then we met Ra Sonhi. Ra Sonhi likes to put ribbon on her hair. Sometimes, she also eats cookies inside the classroom. Then we met Hongun who doesn't like to speak. He will just say “no” or yes. He is always tired. He said he wants to sleep all the time. Then we met Gary from Hong Kong. Gary likes to dance, sleep and eat cookies in the classroom.
After China, we went to Russia. We met Kristina in Russia. She likes to travel. She also likes maxim coffee from the vending machine in the 1st floor in this building. The coffee is 200 won per cup.
Then we went to Europe. We visited Italy and met Guiliano. Guilliano is a good actor. He looks like Tom Cruise that’s why he is the only man in class with a girlfriend. Then we went to Germany and met Paul there. Paul can drink 10 bottles of beer in one sitting. He can also jog from Seoul ton Pusan.
After Europe we went to US. We went to New York and met David. We call him Craig David because his voice is good. He likes to read every break time. Then we met Jane in the dental clinic. Her dentist is handsome according to her. Jane is very beautiful.
Then we all went to Korea. See! I traveled to 8 countries in just around 2 months. I’m so happy that I came to Korea and make friends with these wonderful people.

Again, I constructed very simple sentences to make it easier for me. haha. This is the Korean version for the one written above. I just made some revisions since I don't know how to say some expressions in Korean^^; and my Level 1 Korean at that time was very limited. lol

여러분 안녕하세요! 내 세계여행을 이야기 하려고 해요. 안젤릭은 필리핀사람이에요. 이 여자가 밥을 먹는 것을 아주 좋아해요. 우리들이 걸으면서 김밥을 먹었는데 일본사람 두 명을 만났어요.
그 사람들이 유우코와 미리예요.
유우코는 번지점프도하고 시장 아줌마도 하고 싶어요. 미리는 가반의 소녀시대예요. 이 여자는 아주 예뻐요. 그런데, 네 명 같이 중국에 갔어요.
중국에서 네 명 더 만났어요. 얀징징이 화장실에도 가고 롯데 백화점에도 가고 싶은 사람이에요. 라선히가 매일 우유와 과자를 먹는 사람이에요. 홍곤이 “아뇨”와 “자요” 단지 말하는 사람이에요. 게리는 매일 과자 한 상자를 먹고 춤추는 사람이에요.
우리들이 여덟 명 함께 러시아에 갔어요. 러시아에서 크리스티나가 있어요. 크리스티나가 여행을 아주 좋아하는 사람인데 빨리 유럽에 갔어요.
지금 아홉 명이에요. 이탈리아에서 줄리아노가 있었어요. 줄리아노가 집안에서 파스타를 요리했어요.
근데 독일에 갔어요. 술집 안에 파울이 있었어요. 맥주를 열한 병을 마시고 조깅했어요.
열한 명이 같이 미국에 갔어요.
미국에서 도경이 노래했어요. 크레익데비트 노래 많이 노래해봤어요. 그리고 책 읽는 것도 좋아해요. 제인이 태권도도하고 양징징 같이 메이크업도 했어요.
그리고 열세 명이 같이 태국에 갔어요. 태국에서 주미와 앙이 있었어요. 주미도 소녀시대를 좋아해요. 앙이 비와 홍곤이 아주 좋아해요.
여기 가반 열여섯 멤버예요. 내가 한국에 왔는데 많은 나라에 갔어요. 우리반을 사랑해요.
들어주셔서 감사합니다.