Category: Language

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Selected publications

Korean Language & Culture Course Launch Party

event date Fri 22 Mar 2019 posted

This is a course and an organisation we haven’t come across before. Launch event is free, but there’s no indication of the pricing for the course itself. Launch Party for Korean Language & Culture Course Venue: European School Of Economics | 4 Mandeville Place | London W1U 2BG Friday 22 March 2019, 18:00 – 20:00 […]

SOAS seminar – Clever Speakers and Flexible Listeners: A Study on Sais-soli in Korean

event date Fri 18 Jan 2019 posted

The first of SOAS’s Friday evening seminars of 2019: Clever Speakers and Flexible Listeners: A Study on Sais-soli in Korean Hae-Sung Jeon (University of Central Lancashire) 18 January 2019, 5:15 – 7:00 pm Venue: Brunei Gallery Room B211 Online registration required Abstract Variation is natural and important part of language. What is fascinating in speech […]

Korean language classes in Raynes Park

event date Fri 03 Feb 2017 posted

If you were unsuccessful in your application for the language classes at the KCC this year, don’t despair: there’s a similar set of classes down in Raynes Park, organised by another branch of the Korean embassy, the Korean Education Centre. More details here: lkl.ink/2kCa5CV Apply by 3 February for this term’s classes.

말 MAL – The 2nd Korean Speech Contest

event date Sat 06 Jun 2015 posted

If you’re not intimidated by the standard of last year’s Korean speech competition – see the below video clip – then get your applications in for this year’s contest, to be held on 6 June. 말 MAL – The 2nd Korean Speech Contest in the UK Let’s Speak Korean Date: 6th June 2015 14:00 Venue: […]

Burberry – the favoured brand of Korean flashers

posted by Philip Gowman < 1 minute read

In the last decade, British fashion brand Burberry manage to rescue itself from the chav associations caused by too liberal licensing of its check design to companies it couldn’t control. But you can’t control the use to which a raincoat is put. And according to the Hankyoreh: Burberry coats have long been sought after in […]

Brighten up your hangeul typeface

posted by Philip Gowman < 1 minute read

Bored with the default hangeul font on your PC? The Korea Blog has a brief article on hangeul as compared with other scripts, explaining some of the difficulties with hangeul typography. But best of all, they provide a couple of links where you can download hangeul fonts for free: Naver’s Nanum font collection (4 varieties) […]

Eating yeot, or not

posted updated 6 Jul 2014 by Philip Gowman < 1 minute read

Ask A Korean has a great post on the reason why a disgruntled fan might want to lob a few toffees at the returning Korean football team. He has a few explanations why “Eat Yeot” is considered an insult. The article promted an LKL reader to add a different story about eating yeot as a […]

Gi: some linguistic trivia

posted updated 17 Dec 2017 by Philip Gowman 2 minute read

Sancheong, 13 September 2013. Browsing the Donguijeon at the Sancheong international Traditional Medicine Fair & Festival, I learned some mildly interesting linguistic trivia about the word gi. First, some words which use the word gi as a component: 기(氣)분 좋다 Feel good 공기(氣)가 좋다 Get fresh air 기(氣)가 산다 Feel energetic 온기(氣)가 있다 Be warm […]

What the British Say… and what they mean

posted updated 29 Mar 2015 by Philip Gowman < 1 minute read

This has been doing the rounds on the internet for a while, but deservedly: a very accurate dissection of the differences between what the British say, what they actually mean and what the non-native-English-speaker, or indeed anyone not British, might understand. Although the table suggests it relates to the British, it’s probably most accurate of […]

When “going to the valleys” is not a good idea

posted updated 16 Dec 2017 by Philip Gowman 2 minute read

Many languages have all sorts of euphemisms for death. “He’s gone to meet his maker”, “He’s pushing up the daisies” are a couple of the expressions in English. In Korean, there’s the picturesque phrase “He’s gone to the valleys.” The valleys in question are in the Jirisan region of South Gyeongsang province. Jirisan has always […]