안녕하세요! Hello! I’m Sherry and I’ve been learning Korean since June 2021.
Welcome to my blog. My whole purpose for reviving my blog (it has gone through several different transitions) is to share my Korean language learning journey with you. And because I don’t believe that you can learn a language without learning about the culture that goes with it, I will share that with you as well.
What you can expect:
- Tips and tricks for learning Korean
- Korean food
- Korean culture and etiquette
- Korean TV shows, variety shows, and films
- Korean music – especially K-Pop!
- Reviews (textbooks, language books, apps, shows, movies, music, etc)
- Productivity and studying hacks
What you won’t find:
- Language instruction – I’ll share things that are working for me, but I’m still learning Korean myself. I’m not a teacher, so I’ll point you to the places where you can learn the language!
- Gossipy drama. The only drama I want on my site is the K-drama variety. Not gossip-filled drama surrounding celebrities.
At the end of the day, my biggest hope is that I can motivate you to keep going in your Korean studies (I know it gets overwhelming sometimes!), teach you something interesting that I learned about Korean culture, or get you to watch whatever drama is currently on my binge list.
One of the best places to start is my list of my favourite free resources for learning Korean. I’ve used all of these at one point, and am still using some of them even now.
Who am I? How did I start learning Korean culture and language?
(If you want a lot of random info, I also have a FAQ)
As I said, my name is Sherry, and in Korean it’s written as 셰리. Some language learners like to use a Korean name if their own is complicated in Korean. While I don’t have – or really need – a Korean name, my middle name Lee lends itself well. If I ever did need one I would just use 이셰리 as it is easy and part of my actual name.
I live in Canada – more specifically I live on the Atlantic coast in Halifax, Nova Scotia. While part of me likes the laid back smaller city vibe, another part of me is in love with the big city lifestyle. That’s the piece of me that is head over heels for Seoul.
I have a full time day job that is completely unrelated to learning Korean. I’m also a wife (of one) and mother (of two). On top of that, I’m bossed around by a dog and a rabbit.
My Korean language learning journey all started in 2021 when I started listening to K-Pop. Although I listened to several different groups and artists, I quickly landed on a favourite – Taemin of SHINee. One day I half-jokingly said, “it would be cool if I learned a few phrases in Korean in case I ever attend a fan meet.”
I had no intentions of learning the alphabet (it seemed daunting to me) and really only wanted to be able to say some simple things. You know, “I love your music” and “your new song is amazing” type of things.
I couldn’t find anywhere useful to learn phrases without learning Hangeul, so I resigned myself to learning the alphabet after all. It turned out to be easy. And addictive.
The more I was learning Korean, the more I wanted to know
Somehow, between June of 2021 and now, I went from struggling to say hello (안녕하세요) to the intermediate level. I have read a graded reader and many folk stories in Korean. I have entered and won a Korean speech contest. I’ve been live on the air with Arirang Radio’s #DailyK show, speaking in Korean.
I never expected to fall in love with a language, but here we are. There’s no way I can stop now. I can not imagine suddenly not learning more. The things that make it difficult (usually) serve to motivate me to keep going. And there is so much beauty in Korean that I constantly want to learn new phrases and expressions. (My favourite is 눈이 높아요 – literally “my eyes are high” but it really means “I have high standards” – how cool is that?) I am nowhere near the level of fluency I want to be but I’m getting there.
One conjugation at a time.
And in between all the studying, my family, my job, and my regular life, there are the K-dramas, the interesting cultural things I’ve learned, the music (so much music!), and the food. Oh god, the food I have made and eaten on this journey. I can’t wait to share some of the delicious things I’ve eaten.
So I hope you will join me along the way. Whether you get some motivation for your own Korean language learning journey, some inspiration, or just the feeling that you’re not the only one with this interest, I’ve got you.
In the meantime, please feel free to say hi, I’d love to hear from you! And if you’d like, you can sign up for my mailing list so that you don’t miss any posts.
(If, for some reason, this was not enough information, I have a FAQ too)