I'm an English Teacher in South Korea AMA

[BooG690]

I know this is Japanese, but since all Asian people are exactly the same, how true is the shit bow? Is a bow a bow or is a shallow bow really a shit bow?

You're right in saying that's a Japanese thing. The Japs have a really deep bow. In Korea, it's just a deeper head-nod to most people. Think of it as a substitution for the wave hello. However, people higher on the social scale (the oldest in your family, your boss, the oldest in your work place) get a deeper bow though it's still not the full kung-fu-like bow.

How would you describe speaking korean?

Speaking Korean is pretty difficult. The sentences are structured: Subject + Object + Verb (SOV). So it's like, "I beer want" instead of "I want beer." That fucks with my SVO head. Also, there are two number systems where one is used for counting things while the other is used for things like bus numbers, money, etc. Hard to remember which is which but it usually doesn't matter since Koreans will understand. Lastly, you have to know who you're talking to. You can't speak to someone higher than you on the social ladder like you would to someone equal to or lower than you. There are actually two different systems for approaching the two parties.

Wait, do you teach the Koreans English or do you teach English in english?

I teach Korean children English in English.

edit I've cracked the code. How much Korean do you speak?

I speak enough Korean to get around, ask for directions, order beer/food, and have a noob conversation (where are you from, what's your name?, etc.). I can't have a normal conversation. I made an attempt to learn Korean when I first got here, got frustrated and quit, and am now learning again because boredom.

[a500lbgorilla]

Speaking Korean is pretty difficult. The sentences are structured: Subject + Object + Verb (SOV). So it's like, "I beer want" instead of "I want beer." That fucks with my SVO head. Also, there are two number systems where one is used for counting things while the other is used for things like bus numbers, money, etc. Hard to remember which is which but it usually doesn't matter since Koreans will understand. Lastly, you have to know who you're talking to. You can't speak to someone higher than you on the social ladder like you would to someone equal to or lower than you. There are actually two different systems for approaching the two parties.\

Someone pointed out that one of the sick things about western culture is the leaders say hi just like the rest of us.

How hard is it to sound out korean words? Has anyone been able to describe your accent to you?

[BooG690]

Someone pointed out that one of the sick things about western culture is the leaders say hi just like the rest of us.

How hard is it to sound out korean words? Has anyone been able to describe your accent to you?

Reading Korean is extremely easy once you learn the alphabet as the language is phonetic (unlike English where we have silent letters, ie subtle). It's sometimes hard to understand when Koreans speak to each other since they don't follow the rules I'm currently learning (they speak informally whereas people usually start learning Korean formally as to not offend anyone). Also, Koreans generally skip consonants in some words when the consonant blends are harder to pronounce. Since I am a visual learner and base my speech on how a word looks (I have to see a word in order to understand how it's pronounced), this messes me up.

Nobody has described my accent but they do comment on the fact that native English speakers always pronounce the Rs (which is something I teach when trying to have a kid win a speech contest by trying to get them to speak more "natively"). For example, the Korean word for "computer" is "cum-pyoo-tuh" (yup, they take some of our words and Korean-ize them). Another example, when I teach the word "bear," Korean children always say it as "be-yuh" (notice they make it a two-syllable word). That's something I have to correct 100% of the time I teach the word 'bear.'

Also, the final Rs on English words usually come out of their mouths as an L (which we all know). This is due to the fact that the ᄅ letter in Hangul is an 'L' sound at the beginning of syllables and an 'R' sound at the end of syllables. I had to teach a ten-year old how to say "powerful" so she can own her speech contest (she kept saying "powerfur," of course).

Also, I understand I totally went on a tangent there.