Why does anyone learn a new language? For some, it's a work-related obligation. Others may have ties to the land and culture that speaks the language they study. Maybe their ancestors had to flee their homeland and this new generation wishes to reclaim their heritage. Sometimes, students dabble in language learning for an easy mark on school-leaving exams.
And then, there's a phenomenon quite apart from those mundane reasons, particularly for people learning Korean. The Korean Wave - South Korea's entertainment exports, have made the world mad for all things Korean. Sure, Korean barbecue has long been a thing outside of the peninsula. Tasty as it is, it didn't really move the needle. People mostly saw it as a fun dining experience.
Little by little, Korean culture crept into global awareness. In 2003, the historical drama Jewel in the Palace set off the global Korean Wave. Nine years later, K-pop artist Psy made music history with his satirical hit Gangnam Style. The year after that, the boy band BTS took the world by storm.
It appears that the Korean Wave - the Hallyu Wave has yet to crest. In fact, it's gaining momentum. Fans young and old and around the world enthusiastically hail the wonder of South Korean entertainment. The demand for Korean language lessons is surging too. Have you signed up for Korean courses? Here's how Korean pop culture can help you learn faster.
Study Korean History
Whether you prefer Korean dramas (K-dramas) or Korean music (K-pop), you have to know a bit about South Korean history to fully appreciate them. Many such dramas - the Reply anthology (Reply 1997, 1994 and 1988, in order) and Youth of May revolve around historical events. You couldn't properly grasp their significance unless you know the history behind them.
Consider Rain or Shine, a K-drama grounded in South Korea's most consequential peacetime catastrophe. It concerns people whose lives changed forever after a wing of the Seoul Sampoong department store collapsed. The show depicts a grieving mother who finds solace in the bottle while practically ignoring the daughter who survived. A brilliant architect, apprenticing under his father at that time, allows his dad's failure and resulting suicide to torture him day and night.
But did this fictitious father fail? History tells us that, in the rush to prepare for the Seoul 1988 Olympics, the South Korean government slammed builders with projects. The authoritarian government barred international contractors' bids on any such job. Corruption was rampant and regulation was lax.
In the rush to get everything done before the world's eyes trained on Seoul - and to maximise profits, builders cut corners. They used substandard materials, deliberately weakened structural supports and demanded modified building plans. The architectural firm refused to make the changes so the builder fired them. His team altered the blueprints to his specifications, taking none of the safety measures into consideration.
If you didn't have a good grasp of South Korean history, this drama would be just another (superbly conceived and acted) show. You need to know about South Korea's maniacal governing body and the builders' greed. That way, you will understand the profound effect this disaster has on the collective Korean conscience.
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A Korean Tutor Lists TV Shows
A group of us tutors get together a few times a month to talk about innovations in teaching, our lessons and our students. That we talk about our pupils should come as no surprise but you can rest easy. We don't get mean or snarky; it's more comparing notes than gossiping.
Several among us have students who watch nothing but K-dramas. Pupils learning English reassure us that reading subtitles in English helps boost their reading comprehension. Pupils learning Korean rave at how much better they can understand spoken Korean. And students of other subjects simply rave about how great these shows are.
Not too long ago, our tutor group staged a viewing night. Each of us had asked our K-drama fans about their favourite shows. We took careful notes and compared them before settling on the most acclaimed title. It wasn't Squid Game, Sweet Home or even the highly acclaimed Extraordinary Attorney Woo, a show that set viewing records for South Korea's Sky TV. Strong Girl Bong-soon, an outrageous comedy featuring the diminutive Park Bo-young in the lead role, came out on top.
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South Korean society may still be patriarchal but K-dramas are rife with female empowerment. We see this in the period drama The Red Sleeve, which features a team of female assassins and a wilful concubine. And Sky Castle, the hit show about Korea's upper crust, reveals the women dominating the social manoeuvring while the men have little say in such matters. And again, in Pots of Gold.
Our group's Korean tutors feel vindicated. They've long known that K-dramas offer the greatest viewing diversity. They often use clips of students' favourite programs as icebreakers to start their lessons. They might end their sessions by talking about their latest K-drama finds. These tutors have their own lists of fave TV shows they stream online.
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Learn Korean Culture Through Music
No Korean cultural education would be complete without a liberal dose of K-pop. Even if, at the moment, you're studying the language to pass an exam, you can benefit from listening to South Korean music. Sure, you might have heard a couple of BTS songs. They are a global popular sensation, after all. But this boy band is not all there is to Korean music.
On our way to discovering the finest vocals South Korea has to offer, we can't discount Junghoon, the lead singer for BTS. You might not get a sense of his vocal power if you just listen to this group's global hits. Tune in to some of this group's lesser-known ballads to hear for yourself the extent of his talent.
Taeyang is the type of singer that needs little more than piano accompaniment to showcase his vocal prowess. One minute into his song Eyes, Nose, Lips will send you scurrying to your journal to record the day you discovered this marvel. By contrast, IU invokes more of a dance club feel with her songs but her voice is crystal clear.
Whether a group, a near-acapella performance or set to a pumping dance beat, most Korean songs have one thing in common. Singers' clear diction makes it easy to understand the words they sing. And the more Korean you learn, the easier it will be to interpret their lyrics.
Regardless of the language studied, learners have to train their ears to it. That means recognising its unique rhythm, stresses and sounds. As a beginner Korean student listening to Korean singers, you will gain more from listening to balladeers than the more exciting international groups like BTS, Blackpink or SHINee.
So, go ahead. Treat yourself to a few tracks from Kim Hyun-joon. If you've seen the drama Boys Over Flowers, you already know him. Now, it's time to explore his musical side. For perfect pronunciation, sample Lim Young-woong's vocal stylings. He too makes sure you hear every syllable he sings. And he's the most-streamed artist after BTS. Korean pop has so much to offer, you will surely find a song for every mood.
Study Korean with Books and Podcasts
Are you studying Korean at university or taking independent classes online, just to satisfy your Hallyu curiosity? Regardless of how, where and why you study Korean, books and podcasts must be an essential part of your learning efforts. They will give you insight into the Korean culture that you might not gain simply by listening to pop music and watching dramas.
If indeed, you enjoy watching popular shows, you might have an idea about common South Korean tropes. You'll find plenty of dystopian series and a glut of romantic comedies on your streaming feed. Historical dramas, too. They're all genius about incorporating modern social issues but, admittedly, their focus is only a narrow slice of the story.
Books are different. They give writers the space to describe all kinds of social conditions and how they tie into their characters' lives. Reading through popular fiction, you can better understand the Korean mindset and cultural particularities. Those are aspects of Korean culture that might play a distant second to the engaging stories unfolding on your screen. That's not helpful if those elements are the ones that most interest you.
More importantly, Korean books treat you to the written language. Podcasts do too. You only need to download the transcripts. In fact, podcast transcripts might be even more beneficial to your learning efforts, especially the ones targeted at language learners. Many transcripts are written in Korean and English. They give you a side-by-side comparison of the words you're listening to.
Korean media gives us a glimpse of what life is like on the southern end of the Korean peninsula. These podcasts and books, music and shows aren't just entertaining, they're educational. And they're so rich in content, talent and abundance! Soon, you'll find yourself riding the Hallyu Wave - if you're not already.
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