Special Lecture on Hallyu and Korean culture

I just wanted to share a few thoughts about the special lecture held by Dr. Kim last monday about Hallyu and Korean culture for those who couldn't make it. It was a great lecture, which high complemented our course material. He talked about the Hallyu phenomenon in various Asian countries: China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Vietnam. What was most surprising was the spread of Hallyu in Egpyt, South Africa and Eastern European countries (where the Korean dramas Winter Sonata and All-In were televised) and.. Kazakhstan (!) He also touched upon the K-pop stars Bi and BoA, the two representatives of the K-pop music scene.

Random interesting fact: NYC and LA have the highest Korean-American population (a total of 2 million)

Some quotes he shared about the Korean language:

-"The Korean Language is the most simple and yet elegant language in the world" (Pearl Buck)
-When considering the rationale, scientific nature and uniqueness properties of world languages, the Korean language ranks at the top" (Oxford University Linguist)

Dr. Kim also shared his innovative ideas for learning the Korean language. He commented that textbook materials were often too dry, and not imitate real life conversations, thus discouraging the learner. He offered practical tips and suggestions: using popular culture to facilitate the learning of a language, i.e listening to Korean music, watching Korean dramas, and of course having Korean friends, as the best way to learn a foreign language is in a natural setting from native speakers.

There was also a question and answer session at the end of the lecture. The questions posed were deep and meaningful, however, Dr. Kim's ability to articulate was much stronger in Korean than in English. A friend commented that it should have been arranged for Dr. Kim to respond to the questions in Korean, and have a translator to translate his responses. It would have been more time consuming, but it would have been worth it, as Dr. Kim was clearly passionate about the subject matter and obviously had a lot to say; but was not able to answer all the nuances of the question with his basic knowledge of English.