Preface So you’ve decided to learn Korean! I congratulate you on your decision, and welcome you on your new journey. As for me, i First learned Korean while living in Korea in 2005. Upon returning home, I chose to major in Korean at my university in2008, and it’s been nonstop fun ever since. I’m happy with my decision to pursue Korean education as a career, and hope To be able to help many others see their Korean abilities improve as we study this wonderful language together here in this book.What to Expect This book was designed with you, the learner, in mind. As such, I’m assuming that you have never studied Korean before and will begin teaching from the very basic of basics, working our way up from there.First time language learners, Korean beginners, and curious minds of all ages – yes, even those of you who may think "I’m too old to learn a language" – were in my thoughts while writing this book. This book was designed specifically for you.If you’ve already studied some Korean before, that’s great!Don’t worry. I have you in mind as well. In addition to covering the basics, I always make sure to add in a little more in each chapter. Through my personal and academic studies of the Korean language, I’m finding the majority of resources out there for teaching Korean often fail to present concepts in their correct forms – to put it simply, I find lots of mistakes in Korean being taught in other textbooks and on web sites. As such, it’s likely that you’ll learn something new through this book, even if you’ve already studied Korean before up to any level.Concepts are laid out in their simplest way possible at first, for the beginner. "Advanced Notes" sprinkled throughout each chapter add information that beginning Korean courses might not teach at first, but are still important. Sometimes these will even contain advanced-level material if I feel that it’s something that even beginners should know. "Culture Notes"will deepen your understanding of the Korean language,because you can’t speak Korean well without knowing a thing or two about Korean culture. I didn’t even know where Korea was on a map before I started studying the language (Note to self: North and South Korea are very different!). Do not expect to be speaking fluent Korean by the end of this book. There is simply too much that needs to be covered before you will be able to converse in Korean without any difficulties. However, I promise that if you follow this book well and practice what you learn, you will be able to gain quite an extensive introductory knowledge of the Korean language through this book. And, you will be able to fill in the gaps that most Korean learners face later on in their studies.And I’ll be there the whole way, holding your hand through each lesson – figuratively, of course. I’m not really going to hold your hand the whole time (I’m sorry, but that’s just creepy). How to Use This Book This book builds upon itself with each chapter. I recommend that you take your time going through each lesson, in order.Don’t move on to the next section until you feel comfortable with the last one. Each lesson builds upon knowledge learned from the previous one, so skipping a lesson could lead to problems understanding concepts in later lessons; this negative result would obviously compound the more lessons you skip. In short, do all of the lessons and all of the exercise sin order, or at least do all of the lessons if you’re in a rush and feel confident enough to skip the Practice sections.If this is your first time learning Korean, I recommend reading each "Culture Notes" section, but skipping the "Advanced Notes" sections, as these are not designed for first time learners. If this isn’t your first time studying Korean, I recommend reading the additional "Advanced Notes" in each chapter. In addition, if you’ve already read this book once before, I would also recommend reading the "Advanced Notes" sections on your second time through.As you complete each chapter, refer frequently to the vocabulary lists in the back of the chapter, or the Glossary in the back of this book as necessary. If you are having trouble understanding a sentence, or creating a sentence for the Practice sections, it might only be due to not knowing the appropriate vocabulary word.Take notes along the way as you complete each chapter.Practice reading, writing, and speaking as much as possible. If you have a friend who can speak Korean, practice speaking and listening frequently.In addition, if you notice a grammar form you are not familiar with, I would recommend proceeding through the book more slowly. This book builds upon itself, so if you have missed something, and if it does not appear in the chapter you are currently reading, it may have been skipped from a previous chapter. There is no need to rush through the basics of the Korean language. It will take time to become familiar with using the Korean alphabet, and to become used to hearing the sounds of the language – this is normal. Once you have learned the basics, it will become much easier, and faster, to move forward and acquire new concepts.How to Study Korean I’m not the authority on how your brain will learn this language the best, but I do have a few suggestions. Try some of them, and use what works for you. 1. Quiz yourself frequently on words you are learning, or have somebody else quiz you.2. Force yourself to create sentences using the words and grammar forms that you are learning.3. If you are fortunate enough to live in an area with many Koreans (such as in Korea, or a major city), make friends and practice speaking the language as much as possible.4. Keep a regular study schedule. Even if you only have 30minutes a day, 5 days a week, stick to it. 30 minutes a day for5 days is better than studying 150 minutes at once. Shorter,frequent study is also easier to manage if you have a busy schedule.5. Write vocabulary words you learn on sticky notes, and place them over things and places that they correspond to. For example, you can write the Korean word for "pencil" on your favorite pencil, or the word for "friend" on your best friend’s forehead.6. Grammar is more important than vocabulary. A beginner with a strong understanding of basic Korean grammar will sound worlds better than a walking dictionary that can’t construct a coherent sentence.7. Brush Up Your English Grammar."This is a Korean book! Why do I have to learn English grammar?" Many concepts in Korean are much easier to
explain and understand if you have a basic grasp of English grammar. Could you learn that the Korean word