It’s pronounced Kim Yuh-Na or Kim Yeon-ah not Yoo-Na

kim yuna

Korea’s incredibly proud of it’s figure skating champion which many forms of media have spelled her name “Kim Yu-Na” or “Kim Yu Na.”  However, as it would be phonetically pronounced when reading the name from the west, people are calling her “Yoo-Na” which I think she’s probably gotten used to by now.

Her name in Hangul is “김연아” which if you want to be more accurate in pronouncing her name correctly, her name is pronounced “Kim Yeon-Ah” as the characters are spelled out.

However, this has been an age old problem with Korean people pronouncing words in English and for English speakers to pronounce Korean names spelled in English, but are Korean.  For example, the surname “Cheh” or “Chae” is spelled “Choi” instead because the Korean characters which make up the last name actually are combined to sound like “Choi” if you separate the characteres “ㅗ” and “ㅣ” which represent the sounds “Oh” and “Ee.”  

It took a little preserverance, I mean perseverance to find this word…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was about to complement my mom recently in how perseverant she was with our family over the years.  It’s one of the reasons why our family is successful.  Without her perseverance, I definitely wouldn’t have many of the opportunities I have now along with my Dad’s hard work — have never seen someone work harder in my life.  These two are a testament at what two people who were never a match from the beginning and even up until now can do in an English speaking country without strong English skills.

Definitely not a sundae…

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I thought this was HILLARIOUS when I read it for the first time.  A friend on Facebook sent me some “Korean food” via the Facebook app.  I look at all the options for food:

Korean Food Options

Will this reduce salaries for English Teachers in Korea?

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Well, if economics can predict the future, there will definitely be an addition to the supply of English instructors in Korea for the next 2 years through 2010.  The following story shows how the Korean government decided to open up the Immigration standards to allow Indian citizens to teach English in Korea as long as they have an English related degree or have a teacher’s license.  In the past couple of years, there has been a decrease in the number of applicants from the normally accepted countries of the U.S., Canada, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and South Africa due to heightened Immigration requirements which include a somewhat difficult to obtain (in some locations) Criminal Record check.  (the check isn’t always the difficulty, but sometimes the Apostille or official notarizations have complicated matters) 

Overlooked work opportunity?

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Free flights, Free housing and Easy work conditions?

 

Sounds like an advertisement from a con artist, doesn’t it?  However, most of it’s true and tens of thousands of Americans, Canadians, Australians and other native English speaking citizens can give you living proof that it’s a fact.  Not only are many doing it every day, but many are also saving, paying off student loans and literally building more financial wealth than they could back home. Moreover, the friendships made, the contacts added to one’s rolodex and the overall experience has given many justification in coming back (and in many cases making a career of it). 

Just short of 600 views…

Like I said “porcupines,” “Korean women” and many others like “how to say hello (or thank you) in Korean” are dominating the traffic on the blog these days.  For a snippet of the rest of the popular posts, check out the following WordPress stats for The Real “South” Korea:

Interesting Korean words and phrases

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This is long overdue. I kept a log for my own, but these words/phrases in Korean were things I had to learn over the past two years. They’ll be primarily Korean words I find (as an intermediate speaker of the Korean langauge) interesting. So, you may not…anyhoo, it’s my blog so I get to dictate that, right? 🙂

넵 — pronounced “Nep”. It means “YES” like you were answering a military commander & saluting them. It’s basically saying “yes” in a somewhat sarcastic manner when it feels like someone is bossing you around in Korean. The real easy phrase for “yes” in Korean is simply 네 or “Neh”.

Will Foreign Teachers Become Civil Servants?

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Originally published: http://koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/02/117_18370.html

02-01-2008 17:52

Transition Team Yet to Decide Whether Foreigners Entitled to Regular Teaching JobsBy Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter

President-elect Lee Myung-bak’s transition team has announced a bold plan to bolster the pool of new teachers specialized for English-speaking classes. But a big question is left unanswered ― whether foreign nationals are entitled to the jobs or not?

[Opinion] Results aren’t everything

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originally from: http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2885723 – January 31, 2008

Sometimes an illusion makes people stray too far from where they should be, both virtually and physically. For example, we often see some people hanging around in bars, indulging in a sensuous life. In addition, extravagant people frequently visit department stores, not paying attention to whether they can afford to shop there.
If a person does something rash, we can be open-minded and consider the fact that he is blind with passion. However, if a person neglects his duties and does something really off the wall, we believe he should look back at what he did and reflect about the wrongdoing.

English headache for Lee myung-bak’s transition committee

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January 30, 2008

President-elect Lee Myung-bak’s transition committee has been creating increasing confusion over its plan to strengthen English education. The committee called off the English-immersion education plan, which required all subjects to be taught in English, before even a week had passed since the introduction of the measure.

English education reforms mean good business for tutors

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http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2885494

January 24, 2008

Contrary to its stated aim, the incoming administration’s education reform plan cheered the private education business yesterday, while some students, parents and teachers could not hide their frustration over the changes, particularly the emphasis on practical English-language education.

Private tutoring is outrageous in South Korea

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Soaring Education Costs

From the Korea Time’s Opinion section on Monday, May 7, 2007 

 

Radical Steps Need to Reduce Private Tutoring

Soaring education spending has emerged as one of the major reasons for married women to avoid childbirth, pushing South Korea to rapidly become an aged society. Specifically, private tutoring costs are putting strong pressure on couples to go without children. According to the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Friday, consumer prices rose at a relatively stabilized rate of 2.5 percent last month compared with a year before. However, households’ education-related spending jumped between 5 percent and 9 percent, far higher than overall price hikes.

Korea changes English speaking standards for future employees

originally published here: http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2007/12/123_16197.html on 12-26-2007 17:08

Spoken English Becomes Important for Jobseekers

By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter

“No more TOEIC scores! Show your skills with your tongue!’’

It will be of little use to gain high scores in such noted English proficiency tests as TOEIC, TOEFL and TEPS for jobseekers seeking a position at the country’s large business groups from next year, unless they have a good command of spoken English.

Indians, Chinese & African Americans by Russell Peters

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So, this is some of Peters’ clips PLUS much more…45 minutes, but hillarious…

Saying or writing “Thank You” in Korean

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Just noticed one of the biggest search referrals to the site is “writing korean thank you.” Well, saying or writing the word is not as simple as “thank you” in English. In contrast to the two syllables used to give someone appreciation or praise for something that they received, you have to say the Korean version in about 5 syllables. Loosely in English phonetic version, it’s: