London Korean Links

Covering things Korean in London and beyond since 2006

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Selected publications

  • Booklist: Language (40 titles)
    • Learning Korean with Alud: part 1

      So I walked into a restaurant and this ajumma put her arm around me all smiles and started talking to me like we had known each other forever. I’ve been fortunate enough to travel a bit, and picked up bits of languages here and there and always, always tried to pick up the basics of … [Read More]

      Fun summer language classes

      Notice of some innovative language classes this summer at the Cultural Centre. Particularly fun is “Korean through TV Dramas”, which will take an episode of a Korean soap and walk you through the key colloquialisms and vocabulary. Both of the courses will be very popular, so get your application in soon. SEJONG INSTITUTE Summer Special … [Read More]

      Learn Korean in a London pub

      Want to learn Korean in a fun and informal environment? You couldn’t do better than locate your classroom in the back room of a London boozer. For a while, the Korean Language Meetup Group has been convening occasionally at the Korean-owned Old Justice pub in Bermondsey for socialising, singing and eating. But maybe not enough … [Read More]

      An introduction to Hangeul – part 2

      By Matthew Jackson. Despite the technical merits of Hangeul, it is hard to get beyond the fact that it is, after all, just a phonetic alphabet, albeit a unique one. As with other treasures of Korea, the real value of Hangeul lies in the story behind it. Its creator, King Sejong the Great, worked very … [Read More]

      An introduction to Hangeul – part 1

      By Matthew Jackson. I heard a few years ago there was a plan to make Hangeul1 Korea’s National Treasure No.1. Given that there are a number of candidates for this position, I was puzzled, although aware that Hangeul’s technical merits are not disputed in the world of linguistics. John Man, for example, in his book … [Read More]

      Beginners’ Korean at the KCC – Season 2

      The KCC has just opened registration for the next round of Korean language classes for beginners. The first season was two times oversubscribed, so here’s the opportunity for those who missed out last time round. In the second season, the beginners’ classes are Saturday mornings at 11am. Those who are currently in the beginners’ class … [Read More]

      Honorifics at the KCC

      Lucien Brown has been leading the beginners’ Korean Language class at the KCC with infinite patience and good humour for the past eight weeks. Some of us are still struggling with telling the time in Korean but we still come back for more. We’ll be getting an extra dose of our favourite 선생님 next week: … [Read More]

      Korean language classes at the KCC

      A good-value way to start learning Korean: The Korean Cultural Centre UK embarks on its first Korean language programme for beginners on Wednesday 25 June in the Centre. This course is a social education facility that teaches the language and culture of Korea to people in the UK and overseas Koreans who wish to learn … [Read More]

      Korean language meet-ups

      The eagle-eyed among you will have noticed a new type of event at the bottom of my “April Events” post. It’s a Korean language meet-up. It seems there’s a group of like-minded people — some native Korean speakers and some learners — who meet up once a month in the West End somewhere, and, (I’m … [Read More]

      Loanwords in twentieth century Korean literature

      The chosen specialist subject of Antonetta Bruno, from La Sapienza in Rome, is Korean shamanism. But she has an interesting sideline in linguistics. Her theme at SOAS’s Centre for Korean Studies last Friday evening (23 Feb) was the extent to which Korean has borrowed words from foreign languages, particularly in the first half of the … [Read More]

      Learning Korean in London

      I had a query recently from a visitor to this site as to where she could take beginners classes in Korean. The only place I know of is SOAS, and no-one else could think of any other places. By coincidence, I got an email from Cho Jaehee, the co-ordinator of Korean courses at SOAS, asking … [Read More]