My experience with Korean characters in-few-words

My journey to Korea started in November 2011 when I was offered a scholarship to pursue Masters degree in Materials Science and Engineering. I accepted the offer ONLY because they said the courses were in English. I JUST knew Chinese characters from several products that we buy. Honestly I had to google and see how the Korean language looks like I somehow saw that Korean characters were easy to look at as compared to complex Chinese characters. (안녕하세요 - HELLO in Korean) I am sure you can also confirm that Korean characters are easier to look at and not that complicated like Chinese characters. I then printed a paper of few phrases on how to get around, believe me I didn't even use them.

When I arrived at Incheon International airport, 

the struggle got real, NO-ONE was speaking English, they were speaking Korean. I started wondering if the courses were really going to be offered in English. First week in the Korean Language School hehehehe 🤣🤣, it wasn't true "it-wasn't-true" we learnt Korean language in Korean. The only English that I heard in class was O-KE-YI (Ko-nglish OK). It was like a Greek lesson though I don't know how Greek sounds lol. My jaws were tight, I couldn't follow confidently the pronunciation sounds. This went on and on for several weeks until I started grasping few words in class. Writing the alphabet wasn't difficult but hahaha the pronunciation was something else, I felt like I was speaking another Shona dialect lol. [SHONA is Zimbabwean Language]

That was my experience with Korean characters in-few-words. Now I am glad that I CAN distinguish Asian characters without struggle. I hope you enjoyed reading my experience, please let me know in the COMMENTS, your thoughts about ASIAN LANGUAGES. If you like my blog please follow me.

Please check out my YouTube video on tips of selecting Korean menu for non-KOREAN speakers.

My next blog is on My experience with chop sticks in-few-words.

Life in South Korea in few words

 I came to South Korea in 2011 to pursue my Master's degree in Materials Science and Engineering. How I came to Korea. I had to complete the Korean Language classes and pass the TOPIK intermediate level first. It was a tough journey to learn Korean characters from scratch among other Asian students who already knew Korean culture and language. I studied hard, real hard, my journey wasn't an easy one but I later passed Korean in 18-months. Then, I did my Masters degree from 2012-2014. 

During the Korean Language program I met many friends from all continents and it became a daily learning experience in terms of hearing different languages and seeing different cultural dressings. 

 Adjusting to Korean Culture and food was easy since I am a food lover and adventurous person. I had endless 'eye shopping' sprees, tour visits and memorable Korean food tasting moments. Yeah, food food food, I love food and I also desired to gain just a few kilos but during that time the stressing study schedule couldn't let me gain a pound.

Mungyeong-saejae Trip May 2011, South Korea

I later moved to Seoul for my PHD degree studies  from 2015 to 2018. This was the longest part of my journey, I felt like it was a 10-year degree program. BUT here I am now, a PhD holder motivating young girls in Science. Intro to my life in Korea. That's my life in Korea in-few-words.

I would like to know if you enjoyed my life in Korea in-few-words. Please check my YouTube channel for more detailed videos about my life in Korea: Shiyelia in Korea.