[Six] A friend to talk with

Hello readers,



I’m sorry it’s been so long since my last entry. School has been hectic and it still is. However, after reading an inspiring blog entry by Kyung Eun, I could not resist. I had to interrupt my studies and write this blog entry.


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Kyung Eun is one of the co-hosts of a Japanese podcast I listen to. I am currently learning Japanese and I listen to this Japanese podcast online at www.languagecast.net. It’s a site where you can find language podcasts for Japanese, Chinese, English, and more. The particular one I listen to is the 왕초보 일본어 레슨- the Japanese lesson for beginners. A Japanese girl named Satoko teaches the Korean girl, Kyung Eun each week with new phrases and Japanese vocabulary. The recordings are all uploaded and they have started Season II with Kyung Eun and a Japanese guy. The format is different from Season I in that Season II it is with different people and more like a conversation than a lesson.


I am going on a bit of a tangent here, but anyways. If you speak Korean and would like to learn any of the foreign languages mentioned above, you should definitely check it out. Also, if you are advanced learner in any of those languages, they also have talk show podcasts where the whole podcast is conducted in that specific language (without any Korean).


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Anyways, in Kyung Eun’s blog, she has so many recordings-from the Japanese podcasts to Korean language videos that help foreigners learn Korean (Youtube: Korean language class 101).


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She also has entries about her thoughts on life and her memories. The most recent one under the category “Podcast- 나의 이야기”is about 말동무 (mal-dong-moo) or 말벗 (mal-burrtd). My Korean-Korean YBM dictionary tells me that it means “서로 같이 이야기할 만한 사람”. Translated, it means “a conversational partner; a friend to talk with”.



Our interests may be different
We may act differently
We might have a different style
but, nevertheless
someone who can understand me:
a friend.
(credits to: Ddalki www.cyworld.com/ddalki0802)

As I was listening to Kyung Eun’s entry, I found that I could totally relate (공감) to what she was saying about a 말동무. She mentioned how sometimes we can’t share everything openly and honestly with our friends or families because they have a certain perception of who we are. We want to open up and share our deepest secrets, but we can become timid and scared that they might suddenly change their opinion about us.


“Oh, I thought she was…”


“That’s interesting… Never knew that about you.”


I guess if our friends and family really love and care for us, we should not be afraid of those things. But, nevertheless, I think it’s true that we all share those fears at times.


So if not our close ones, who can be a 말동무 for us then? Kyung Eun mentions in her blog entry that blog readers are like a 말동무 for bloggers. In many ways, I agree with that. I think one of the reasons why bloggers blog is because they can be free to write without any critics. No professors who are going to bug you about poor grammar. No one to say, “How come you were not studying and writing on this blog? “ :)
So I guess, this article is to thank my readers for being a good 말동무. Thanks for allowing me to share a bit about Korea and myself through this blog. I will try my best to be as free as I can and give you a rich understanding of Korea and Korean language.


오늘도 좋은 하루 되세요. Hope you have a nice day! :)

-sunflowerchocolate-

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