To You, Who Love the Korean Language
First Letter
안녕하세요! 다들 이번 한 주도 잘 보냈어요? 제가 지금 있는 서울은 지난 며칠 동안 비가 와서 시원했었지만, 오늘은 또 더워졌어요. 이제는 오후 2시쯤이 되면 많이 덥기도 해요. 낮 시간에 밖에 있으면 이마에 송글송글 땀이 맺히기도 해서, 진짜 여름이 오면 어떡하지 하고 벌써 걱정이 돼요.
그나저나 곧 있으면 벌써 6월이라니, 2026년의 절반 가까이가 벌써 지나갔어요. 그런 생각을 하니 목표를 다잡고 지금 내가 가는 방향을 확인하기 좋은 시점인 것 같아요. 여러분의 한국어 여정은 어떻게 되어가고 있나요?
[ENG]
Hi, students and learners! Hope you've all been well! Here in Seoul, it rained for the past few days and gave us a nice break from the heat, but today it's warm again. Around 2 PM it gets especially hot, and I can already feel the beads of sweat forming on my forehead. I'm honestly a little worried about what full summer is going to feel like! Anyway, it's almost June, which means nearly half of 2026 has already gone by. That thought makes me want to check in on my goals and make sure I'm heading in the right direction. How is your Korean learning journey going?
한 문단, 우리 같이
The passage below is one I wrote down while reading <밤이여 오라 (Come, Night)> by author Lee Seong-ah. I noted it personally because when I went to Australia, I went with the mindset of starting a second life.. and this passage resonated deeply with me.
가족은 내가 선택한 적 없는 이름과 같았다. 독일에 와서 내 이름을 버릴 때 그것은 가족을 버리는 것과 다르지 않았다. 나는 나 스스로를 잉태하고 새로이 태어나고자 했다. 이방인들 사이에서 나는 생애 첫 숨을 토해내듯 심호흡을 했다. 한나 아렌트가 호흡하던 공기가 탯줄을 타고 내게 들어온다고 주술을 걸었다. 낯선 언어와 하늘과 바람이 나의 착각을 응원하고, 명치가 뭉쳐 있던 응어리가 각설탕처럼 뜨겁게 녹아서 풀어졌다.
This week, try reading through this paragraph over the weekend. Rather than using a translator, I'd encourage you to read it first, highlight the parts you don't know, and look words up in a dictionary. On Monday, I'll put up the explaining video on YouTube where I go through each sentence and look at commonly used grammar patterns and vocabulary.
이번 주의 ‘FSM’ (Frequently Seen Mistakes)
Something I noticed a lot in classes this week is that students are getting confused by the particle "밖에." When you use "밖에," the verb that follows must be in its negative form. Many students think "negative = 안/못," but these three verbs have their own unique negatives. Do you remember them?
이다 (to be) → 아니다 (to not be)
있다 (to have/exist) → 없다 (to not have/exist)
알다 (to know) → 모르다 (to not know)
Some students also mix up "만" and "밖에," but the difference is really about nuance and feeling. "밖에" carries a sense of dissatisfaction or disappointment from the speaker. That’s why I would never say to my students, "이것밖에 안 했어요? (Is this all you did?)" I completely understand when students can't finish their homework. Sometimes life gets busy. But if a student goes a long time without doing any homework at all… they might get to see a different side of me. (농담이에요! ㅎㅎ)
영상은 아래 유튜브 채널에 올릴 거랍니다. 그럼 우리 또 월요일에 영상으로 만나요.
(The video will be posted on the YouTube channel linked below. See you in the video on Monday! )
https://www.youtube.com/@KoreanWithJinyi
진이 선생님