My first 3 months in Korea

To celebrate the first anniversary of my blog, I decided that it’s time for another post. The past 3 months have been so incredibly busy that I barely found the time to contact any of my friends. 😥

So, what have I been doing in the past 3 months? The answer is pretty straightforward: studying Korean. When we arrived at the language institute of Sun Moon University (in Cheonan) all the students took a level test to determine in which class they would put us.

During the first term (fall) I finished intermediate I and II. Although it wasn’t easy at all, I had a lot of fun and I learned a lot. My classmates were nice and we had two pretty cool teachers.

I also took my first TOPIK test in November. It was one of the hardest exams I’ve ever taken! Let me explain you what exactly TOPIK is and why it is so important:

TOPIK is a national exam that tests a student’s proficiency in the Korean language. Sungkyunkwan University (the university I will attend next year) requires journalism students to have a TOPIK level 6. Level 6 (6급) is the highest level you can achieve on the TOPIK exam. As you can see below, this means getting at least 230/300. As I mentioned before, I took the test this November and although the results have not been published yet, I am pretty sure that I did not even reach level 3 (120/300). Consequently, I will have to work really really hard to get my 6급 before summer 2017 ends.

Although I do not like living in the dorms of Sun Moon University Cheonan Campus (bad food, poor hygiene, doors closed between 11 pm and 5 am, quite far from the city center) I did meet wonderful people here. My roommate is so sweet and considerate and the other friends I made are really amazing! It’s because of my friends that I still feel motivated to go on, because we are in this together and we can share our troubles and worries. ❤

Poem – You wrapped your arms around me

I wrote this poem in December 2013. It was my little New Year’s gift for all the people I love. Although it isn’t anything fancy, I love writing poems for other people… By giving it to them, I want to show them how much they mean to me and I want to wish them love and happiness in the coming year ❤

Anyway, here it is…

KBS World Speech Contest 2015 – Top 20

 

Hey guys!
Just wanted to share my 2nd video for the KBS World Radio speech contest with you. In my first video I talked about why I study Korean. I got selected, together with 19 other amazing people and we got 1 week to write, prepare and film a speech.
The topic we got was “What Korean culture portrayed via Hallyu contents (film, drama, K-pop etc.) do you most want to experience first-hand?”

In the speech I talk about the fact that these days I like watching Korean historical drama’s and that I would like to experience things related to these drama’s. I talk about traditional music and dance and about hanbok.

As a bonus, I say that I would also love to visit the filming location of “Il Mare” (aka Siworae 시월애) because it is one of my favourite films. And I also give my congratulations to Super Junior for their 10th birthday as a group. Aaand… that’s about it 😀

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Although I didn’t get into the top 10, it was an amazing experience! I’m very thankful that I got this opportunity because I learned so much and I had a lot of fun! Thank you KBS World Radio!! Next year I will definitely try again 😀

Lots of Love
Misty

Korean: 5 websites that taught me more than 가나다

Hi everybody ❤

Actually I should be reading Richard Sakwa’s book on the crisis of Ukraine and finish my Korean homework now but my concentration is nowhere to be found. I looked under the desk and in my closet but nope… it’s gone. As I’ve been struggling for the past hour with my Korean grammar, I decided to share 5 websites with you that have helped me a lot in the past few years.