The following series is part of The Korea Herald’s “Hello Hangeul” project, which consists of interviews, in-depth analyses, videos and various other forms of content that shed light on the stories of people who are learning the Korean language, as well as the correlation between Korea’s soft power and the rise of its language within the league of world languages. -- Ed. When John Tae-shik Ha, a Korean adoptee to Sweden, first learned his Korean name some three decades ag

Hello Hangeul March 12, 2023

A pig farm owner in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, has been arrested on the suspicion of disposing of the dead body of a Thai farm worker earlier this month, according to local police Wednesday. According to the Pocheon Police Station, the farm owner is alleged to have buried the body of the 60-something Thai man on a nearby hill on March 2 at around 8:00 a.m. The deceased had lived and worked at the farm for nearly a decade and a post-mortem autopsy suggests he likely died of underlying health pro

Social Affairs March 8, 2023

Sujan Shakya is most likely the first and only Nepalese national who has authored a Korean-language bestseller in Korea. Born and raised in Nepal, he arrived in Seoul for his first study abroad experience in 2010, with very little knowledge of the local language. He was studying Korean as a beginner at Dankook University that year. Twelve years later, in 2022, his book, “Utmost and Personal Nepal,” about his native country, co-authored with Hong Sung-kwang, landed among the top 20 be

Hello Hangeul March 5, 2023

A woman accused of killing a mother and daughter living next door in Busan last year had allegedly poisoned the neighbor’s 15-year-old son before the murder, according to the boy’s testimony at court. During the first hearing of the double murder case held at Busan District Court on Monday, the sole survivor of the family took the witness stand to recount the Sept. 12 visit by the neighbor, who brought with her a bottle of light purple liquid which she said was a tea made with balloo

Social Affairs March 2, 2023

The school bullying case involving the son of prosecutor-turned-lawyer Chung Sun-sin has angered many South Koreans, but it sparked a particularly strong outcry among residents and leaders of Jeju Island. According to local reports, Chung’s son constantly abused a classmate who was also his dormitory roommate, calling him a “pig from Jeju” and a “commie,” while they were attending an elite, private high school in Gangwon Province in 2017. Oh Young-hun, governor of t

Social Affairs Feb. 28, 2023

1세대 외국인 출신 한국어 교육 영상 크리에이터 재미로 시작한 온라인 한국어 튜터링이 유튜버의 길로 한글 관련 다양한 숏폼 콘텐츠로 55만 명 구독자 매료시켜 글로벌 한류 열풍에 힘입어 유튜브를 비롯한 다양한 동영상 공유 플랫폼에서 한국어와 한국 문화에 대한 영상 콘텐츠가 넘쳐나고 있다. 특히 눈에 띄는 건 한국어를 유창하게 구사하는 외국인 크리에이터들이다. 영어와 한국어를 자유자재로 사용하며 한글에 대해 강의하거나 한국의 음식과 문화를 소개하는 영상들은 한국 누리꾼들의 이목을 집중시킨다. 그 중에서도 55만 명이 넘는 구독자 수를 거느리고 있는 미국인 유튜버 빌리 고(Billy Go·36)는 남다른 존재감을 과시한다. 빌리 고는 지난 2012년에 유튜브 채널 "Learn Korean with GO! Billy Korean"을 개설해 한글, 기초 문법, 단어, 생활 예절, 한국에서의 삶 등 한국어와 한국 문화에 대한 영상들을 10년이 넘게 제작해왔다

한국어판 Feb. 26, 2023

그룹 슈퍼주니어 통해 한국 문화에 빠져 온라인 강의와 유튜브 영상으로 독학 케이팝 팬에서 한국어 교사로 성장 누라 에자티는 18만명이 넘는 구독자를 보유한 말레이시아 출신 틱톡커이자 중학교 교사다. 그녀는 최근 코리에헤럴드 인터뷰에서 “10년 전 한국어 공부를 시작하지 않았다면 두 가지 직업 모두 불가능했을 것”이라고 전했다. 에자티는 18살이던 2010년 한국 아이돌 그룹 슈퍼주니어(Super Junior)의 매력에 흠뻑 빠지면서 K팝에 입문했다. 슈퍼주니어 멤버들이 출연하는 한국 TV 음악 및 예능 프로그램을 거의 매일 챙겨보던 그녀는 영어 자막 없이도 멤버들의 말과 행동을 이해하기 위해 한국어 공부를 시작했다. 그녀는 “고등학교를 졸업했을 땐 사설 어학원에 다날 돈이 없었기 때문에 무료 온라인 자료와 유튜브의 영상들을 통해 한국어를 독학했고 주변의 한국 친구들과 어울려 발음과 억양을 향상시키기 위해 노력했다”고 말했다. 지난 201

한국어판 Feb. 26, 2023

성경 번역 통해 재발견된 한글의 가치 한글 보급에 기여한 한글 성서 한글은 15세기 중반에 창제된 후 조선의 공식적인 문자로 채택됐지만 한글이 대중화되기까진 400년이 넘는 시간이 걸렸다. 오늘 날엔 전 세계가 한글의 과학성과 우수성을 인정하지만 당시 양반들은 한글을 “어리석은 백성들이 사용하는 천한 글”이라며 천시했고 한자 사용만을 고집했다. 당시 한글은 부녀자층을 통해서만 활용되고 있을 뿐이었다. 그러다 일제강점기(1910~1945)에 민족주의가 확산되면서 우리 말과 글에 대한 대중의 관심이 높아지게 된다. 그리고 이때 한글의 대중화의 중요한 기틀을 마련한 건 19세기 말 이역만리 조선 땅을 밟은 서양의 선교사들이었다. 그들 중 한 명인 호러스 그랜트 언더우드(1859-1916)는 한국의 첫 미국인 장로교 선교사로 1885년 26세의 나이에 조선에 첫발을 내디뎠다. 1882년 5월 조미수호통상조약이 체결된 지 3년이 지난 시점이었다. 성경 통해 재발견된

한국어판 Feb. 26, 2023

HANOI, Vietnam – In Hanoi’s hip Ho Tay Lake area, famous for its trendy restaurants and shops, stands an old-style Korean house with a large black tile roof, wooden pillars and stone walls. Inside, timber tables and chairs, matching walls covered in Korean handmade paper from the bark of the mulberry tree -- hanji -- exudes a warm and inviting atmosphere. Nestled in the hanok-style house, Ragacy is a cafe that specializes in Korean-style coffee and desserts. “Here reminds me

Hashtag Korea Feb. 22, 2023

Although Hangeul was created and adopted as the official writing system in mid-15th century, it took nearly 400 years for it to become widely used by the general public. Chinese script was still prevalent, as the ruling elites rejected King Sejong’s invention as a vulgar language of the underclass people. In the late 19th century and during the 1910-1945 Japanese colonial rule of Korea, interest in Hangeul was renewed on the back of growing nationalist sentiments, and it was Western Christ

Hashtag Korea Feb. 18, 2023

A six-year-old boy who was found facedown in a swimming pool in Busan during a 3:1 lesson died Wednesday afternoon, the Busan police said Thursday. The boy had been in critical condition for a week since the accident. The child was found unconscious near a pool ladder at around 7:45 p.m. on Feb. 8, and it was determined that he drowned after his life jacket became stuck between the ladder’s rungs while he was diving into the water. Surveillance camera footage shows the swimming instructo

Social Affairs Feb. 16, 2023

Nura Ezzatie is a social media influencer with at least 182,400 followers on TikTok. Outside the social media world, she is a secondary school teacher in her native country of Malaysia. Neither of the two would have been possible, had she not embarked on a journey to teach herself Korean more than a decade ago. In 2010, then at age 18, Ezzatie discovered the world of K-pop through Super Junior. Watching all kinds of Korean TV shows starring the idol group almost every day, she decided to learn

Hashtag Korea Feb. 12, 2023

On a recent Tuesday afternoon, a retro cafe in Insa-dong, central Seoul, saw people chilling out on sofas, listening to music from the 1970s and '80s. Each table was equipped with a vinyl record player and a headset for visitors to indulge themselves in music from the likes of British rock band Queen to Korean legend Lee Moon-sae. “It seems like young people nowadays like LPs more than older people do,” said the only middle-aged man in the place, who introduced himself as a 53-year-

Culture Feb. 8, 2023

YouTube is home to a myriad of creators catering to people interested in Korean language and culture, but not many have the presence of Billy Go. The 36-year-old American has nearly 544,000 followers, amassed through a decade of engagement and several hundreds of tutoring clips and posts. His YouTube channel, which started in 2012, “Learn Korean with GO! Billy Korean” mostly features short-form videos of 10 minutes or less that teach the Korean alphabet, words and phrases, as well

Social Affairs Feb. 6, 2023

For many Koreans, their most treasured memories from their student days are often of multiday trips to renowned historic or natural sites around the country. These include the UNESCO-recognized historic city of Gyeongju; the country’s wartime capital and now second-biggest city Busan; and Jeju Island, the one and only Korean entry to the World’s Seven Wonders of Nature. However, an online post purportedly written by a teacher about a field trip to Jeju has gone viral, sparking some h

Hashtag Korea Feb. 2, 2023