Korean Music

Do you like listening to music in a language that you don’t understand? Apparently, I do. I discovered Kpop or Korean pop through a friend in 9th grade (15 years-old to those not in America) and I’ve been a crazy fangirl ever since. What I appreciate the most about this genre is how much work is put into it. Hours and hours of practicing for several years before a group makes it debut – that’s a lot of dedication! Not only is the singing great, but every single has a music video with actual choreography. I’m not one to be picky about my music – if it makes me happy and it’s catchy, I like it. Doesn’t matter if I have no clue what they’re saying! However, I do leave the subtitles on to familiarize myself with the words.

Discovering music from another country opens up a whole new world  just waiting to be experienced. From kpop, I’ve learned the Korean alphabet and how to read the letters (although understanding what they mean is a whole different ballgame). I’ve been able to learn about Korean cuisine, movies, shows, actors, and history! It’s helped me connect with other people who share those interests as well. I was watching a movie with my friend the other day and it had something written in Korean which I was able to translate! And how cool would it be to have a patient who was Korean – being able to speak the same language would be really helpful in order to build that patient-nurse rapport.

Is anyone else learning a new language or know multiple languages? I would love to know.

Thanks,

432574893534521200216

ps – the featured image is the hangul name of my favorite kpop group – Shinee

14 comments on “Korean Music”

  1. That is good you are open to foreign music. I listen to lots and lots of music in all different languages. There are so many interesting styles of music people miss out on by just sticking to songs they “understand”. Music is universal in that you don’t have to understand to words to enjoy the music, experience the different rhythms, tonalities, progressions, and modes of music different cultures have to offer. I don’t understand most of the lyrics in pop and rock music performed in English, so it’s no big deal for me to listen to foreign music where I really don’t understand the language.

    I’ve been picking up bits and pieces of Polish listening to Polish pop, rock and traditional music. I find the Polish Folk Metal particularly interesting how they mix the harsh, brashness of Metal with the interesting modality of Polish folk music.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  3. Hello fellow Shinee fan!

    Your post on Korean music has certainly connected me to you, just like you mentioned. Haha!

    Like you, I gained lots of interest in Korean culture and language when my friend introduced me to Korean pop music. Coincidentally, Shinee was the second Korean pop group I got to know of (the first was DBSK) when the Korean wave started gaining momentum in my country (I think that was in 2007?). Today, I find it really hard to keep up with the large number of groups in the scene but I do have a few favourite female and male groups that I keep myself updated on – I can’t even choose my most favourite because they’re all varied and different in genre!

    Since I am a healthcare professional too, I have thoughts about working in South Korea as well but a Korean doctor I met previously told me that Korean language fluency is a must so I have put that ambition aside for a while now. >.<

    I have picked up Mandarin language so I can engage in basic conversation with the older Chinese patients in my country but I still have a long way to go. I find Mandarin language really difficult to grasp in terms of pronunciation and tones. I can't even read Chinese characters. I find Korean language much easier to learn because the characters are simple and few so reading it is simple. One thing that drives me crazy though is the sentence structure because its very different from the English language.

    Have you enrolled in a Korean language class before?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • I think Chinese is a whole another level haha! That’s awesome you started learning Mandarin though – I know I would end up saying I eat poop instead of I like cake because of the nuances in the pronunciation. Yes, Korean characters are very easy to learn – makes me feel so smart haha. I haven’t enrolled in any language classes because my schedule doesn’t give me that opportunity. I’m planning to pursue it more once I graduate!

      Like

      Reply

  4. I can speak Mandarin, English and Malay fluently. I learned Korean for a year and I can’t say I’m fluent but I can understand most of it. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  5. I just discovered this post now, but I’m going to start learning Spanish soon and then I want to learn Mandarin as well, I’m fascinated by languages I love different cultures!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a comment