외국인들이 직접 알려주는 한국어 배우는 노하우

If you spend any time in Korea, chances are you'll come across some foreigners who can speak Korean quite fluently.
There are also untold millions of people around the world who are quite proficient, with many of them having attended language classes here in Korea.
Our Won Jung-hwan takes a look at where, why and how they learn the language.
When King Sejong invented Hangeul, the Korean alphabet and writing system, hoping to broadly benefit mankind,... he couldn't have possibly have meant people on the other side of the planet.
But centuries later, the Korean language is being taught to foreigners at institutes across the country including the Korean Language Education Center at Seoul National University.
The institute was established in 1969 to teach Korean language and culture to international students intending to learn Korean as a foreign language or their second language.
Over 28-thousand students from more than 90 countries have graduated from the programs laid out by the institute,... and the program invites some 5-hundred students every semester from overseas.
In fact, the number of such students has been growing sharply over the past few years to the point where some are saying that the number of foreign students of Korean literature & language is similar to the number of locals.
Experts say that such a phenomenon comes from the increasing number of foreign nationals who want to become Korean language specialists.
But some say studying at language centers isn't always the best way to learn a language.
"I think it is much better to study Korean language by interacting with Korean friends outside instead of studying new vocabulary or grammar by myself. As I am not a native speaker when I speak Korean, I make mistakes. But those mistakes can be corrected and be explained by native local speakers. "
And on top of that, even when watching their favorite shows in their free time, it was interesting to see how the students tried really hard to get used to the language.
"I like watching K-dramas. Normally what I do is, I don't repeat but rather try to understand. If I don't understand the meaning completely, I go back and watch it again. So I think I watch each episode 2 or 3 times. Basically, until I understand everything. "
So the lesson for those who want to be extra good at Korean,... first you shouldn't be scared of making mistakes, and second, most importantly, you should be ready to put in a lot of effort,... proving once again that there are no short cuts to language learning.
Won Jung-hwan, Arirang News.