User:DeletedUser
| Matt Strum | |
 Me^^ | |
| Basic Information | |
|---|---|
| Gender | Male |
| Age | 23 |
| Home country | USA |
| Currently at | Utah, USA |
| Studying Korean since | October 2005 |
| Favorites | |
| K-Drama | Soulmate |
| K-Movie | Classic |
| K-Pop | Big Bang - Sunset Glow |
| Food | Kimbap and Spicy rice cake |
| 화이팅! | |
{{#babel: en-N | ko-3 }}
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How, Where and Why I Learned Korean
I have always loved studying languages. I have French for one year in middle school, German for two years in high school and one year of Chinese (including traditional characters) at my University. I had thought I would settle on Chinese, but fate has something different in store for me. When I became a missionary, my church told me to learn Korean and teach the Korean people in Vancouver, Canada about our church. I was so surprised, I had thought they would send me to Taiwan because of the recent language study I had taken. Sadly, I couldn't even tell you where Korea was on a map let alone anything about the culture or people. In October 2005, I entered a missionary training center where I studied Korean (along with missionary stuff) everyday for twelve weeks before being sent out on my own. All of my fellow missionaries (except one) were being sent to Korea, so I knew I would have to study extra hard to master the language without being immersed in it.
Once I arrived in Vancouver in January 2006, I finally got to use the Korean I had learned in the classroom. For two years strait, I was constantly street contacting and meeting with Koreans. I was always going through whatever study material I could get my hands on. I kept a notepad on me where I would write about ten words to study every day. I immediately fell in love with everything, the culture, the food, and the people. As missionaries we weren't allowed to listen to popular music or watch any TV so I never got to experience Korean dramas or K-pop the whole time. Missionaries are also not allowed to date, so I never entered into a relationship. Better than anything I can listen to or watch, I was able to build 정 with the wonderful Koreans I met and that was enough. Here is a video of a wonderful play I got to be a part off with the members in the area (I'm the servant wearing a white 한복 with the shovel...):
For pictures I took while in Vancouver, check out the Vancouver section in the images on my Cyworld minihome.
When I returned home in October 2007, I immediately started to watch some Korean dramas and listen to music which I absolutely loved. I went back to my university in January 2008 and started studying third-year Korean. Ever since then I have been continually watching movies and dramas (I have a HUGE collection now) and listening to new music. My most immediate goal is to study at Seoul National University in March 2010, which will be my first time actually going to Korea. My long-term dream is that I can involve Korea in my job in the future (either working for a Korean firm or as a Korean representative for a company).
Next things I'm working on
- Buttons
- Add Languages and NativeCheck
- Work on and release another minor version of Hangeul Assistant
