Fire Please

In the Korean language, there is a group of phonetic sounds that are deceivingly similar to the non-native ear. Words that start with the M, B, and P consonants are often misheard when listening to a quick conversation. This mix-up could lead to devastating consequences when one receives a blast of fire when they really asked for a glass of water.



Above: A video on Youtube describing the differences. Additionally, even though his use of English is basic, we're able to understand the challenging concept he is presenting, perhaps even better that if his English were at native fluency. Taking it a step further, this video might never have been made, had the concern for perfect articulation outweighed the necessity of communication.

7 Random Korean Expressions

Talk to me in Korean (one of my favorite language websites) has a series of videos called 7 Random Korean Expressions. In each video, someone introduces a variety of different words in Korean. It's good for building up your vocabulary.



In this episode, she introduces Korean vocabulary in the context of a subway. She teaches the words for things like an ATM, a map, lockers and other useful words to know in Korean.

To watch them all, view the playlist on youtube.

Mahalo Korean Video Lessons

Mahalo has a series of Korean language video lessons available on youtube. Each lesson explains how to say a specific word or phrase. It is a fun way to pick up some basic vocabulary, focusing on speaking proficiency.



There are over 150 different videos, so if you watch them all I'm sure you'll have a good speaking foundation to start from (be sure to review). The videos are available in a convenient playlist. Check them out.

Wired Hangul: Lesson 1

This lesson starts off the Wired Hangul series, geared towards learning how to read hangul. This lesson covers the basic vowels included in the Korean language. Be sure to listen to the audio and repeat the phonetic sounds while memorizing the shape of the character.

1.

Example audio for the character 아:

2.

Example audio for the character 어:

3.

Example audio for the character 이:

4.

Example audio for the character 오:

5.

Example audio for the character 애:

6.

Example audio for the character 에:

7.

Example audio for the character 우:

8.

Example audio for the character 으:

1 - 8.

Listen to all of these characters in a row:


The audio is from the Korean Wiki Project. It's a great resource for learning Korean.