Comments on: 7 Rules of Korean Dramas http://www.rjkoehler.com/2007/05/10/7-rules-of-korean-dramas/ Korea... in Blog Format Tue, 2 Dec 2008 23:29:21 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: Railwaycharm http://www.rjkoehler.com/2007/05/10/7-rules-of-korean-dramas/#comment-81838 Railwaycharm Sun, 13 May 2007 14:11:09 +0000 http://www.rjkoehler.com/2007/05/10/7-rules-of-korean-dramas/#comment-81838 B.C. You should be proud. B.C. You should be proud.

]]> By: Brendon Carr http://www.rjkoehler.com/2007/05/10/7-rules-of-korean-dramas/#comment-81836 Brendon Carr Sun, 13 May 2007 13:07:27 +0000 http://www.rjkoehler.com/2007/05/10/7-rules-of-korean-dramas/#comment-81836 Yes, I speak Korean. I'm proud of it, too, since I've had little formal instruction (just enough Yonsei to recognize it to be worthless) and my Korean wife refuses to speak Korean with me. I've also been cursed with colleagues who speak English well (my partner Doil Son basically needs nothing in the way of help from me, although the associates usually need a <b>lot</b> of help). Self-study all the way. Now I can understand 90-95% of what is said in business meetings and phone calls with Korean clients, be a Korean-English interpreter (but not yet satisfied with myself as an English-Korean interpreter, and maybe never), and read statutes and case precedents. It makes work possible -- for the life of me, I don't understand how some foreign lawyers think they can get by without the language. My chopstick problem comes from the fact that I'm not an adventurous eater. As a St. Louisan who fears seafood, fat & gristle, lawnmower chicken, insane level of spice, and sesame oil, that doesn't leave a lot from the domestic menu here in Korea. Indian restaurants, American chains (this is why I am in franchise practice), and trips home are my salvation. But now I hear that <a href="http://metropolitician.blogs.com/scribblings_of_the_metrop/2007/05/no_more_country.html" rel="nofollow">Chili's is closing!</a> Yes, I speak Korean. I’m proud of it, too, since I’ve had little formal instruction (just enough Yonsei to recognize it to be worthless) and my Korean wife refuses to speak Korean with me. I’ve also been cursed with colleagues who speak English well (my partner Doil Son basically needs nothing in the way of help from me, although the associates usually need a lot of help). Self-study all the way. Now I can understand 90-95% of what is said in business meetings and phone calls with Korean clients, be a Korean-English interpreter (but not yet satisfied with myself as an English-Korean interpreter, and maybe never), and read statutes and case precedents. It makes work possible — for the life of me, I don’t understand how some foreign lawyers think they can get by without the language.

My chopstick problem comes from the fact that I’m not an adventurous eater. As a St. Louisan who fears seafood, fat & gristle, lawnmower chicken, insane level of spice, and sesame oil, that doesn’t leave a lot from the domestic menu here in Korea. Indian restaurants, American chains (this is why I am in franchise practice), and trips home are my salvation. But now I hear that Chili’s is closing!

]]> By: Sonagi http://www.rjkoehler.com/2007/05/10/7-rules-of-korean-dramas/#comment-81833 Sonagi Sun, 13 May 2007 12:13:31 +0000 http://www.rjkoehler.com/2007/05/10/7-rules-of-korean-dramas/#comment-81833 <i>"about the last empress: if it’s the one i’m thinking of, it didn’t even have synchronized dubbing though it was the 90s."</i> It was definitely the foreign woman herself speaking, not dubbing. Her pronunciation was decent but still authentically non-native. Besides pronunciation of distinct sounds and sentence intonation, there is something I call "voice quality." The woman's voice was not a Korean voice. “about the last empress: if it’s the one i’m thinking of, it didn’t even have synchronized dubbing though it was the 90s.”

It was definitely the foreign woman herself speaking, not dubbing. Her pronunciation was decent but still authentically non-native. Besides pronunciation of distinct sounds and sentence intonation, there is something I call “voice quality.” The woman’s voice was not a Korean voice.

]]> By: Sonagi http://www.rjkoehler.com/2007/05/10/7-rules-of-korean-dramas/#comment-81832 Sonagi Sun, 13 May 2007 12:08:57 +0000 http://www.rjkoehler.com/2007/05/10/7-rules-of-korean-dramas/#comment-81832 Really, Brendon? Well, that's a first! I've known plenty of foreigners who could barely order from the menu, yet once the food arrived, they expertly picked the dishes clean. I'd never encountered a foreigner like you, who could speak well but not eat well. Maybe the writer for The Last Empress saw you eating at a nearby table and got the inspiration for the scene. Really, Brendon? Well, that’s a first! I’ve known plenty of foreigners who could barely order from the menu, yet once the food arrived, they expertly picked the dishes clean. I’d never encountered a foreigner like you, who could speak well but not eat well. Maybe the writer for The Last Empress saw you eating at a nearby table and got the inspiration for the scene.

]]> By: Railwaycharm http://www.rjkoehler.com/2007/05/10/7-rules-of-korean-dramas/#comment-81831 Railwaycharm Sun, 13 May 2007 12:06:41 +0000 http://www.rjkoehler.com/2007/05/10/7-rules-of-korean-dramas/#comment-81831 Mr. Carr, I am impressed. I had no idea that you could speak Korean. I am like a deaf person, if her pants are tight enough, I can read lips. Mr. Carr, I am impressed. I had no idea that you could speak Korean. I am like a deaf person, if her pants are tight enough, I can read lips.

]]> By: Brendon Carr http://www.rjkoehler.com/2007/05/10/7-rules-of-korean-dramas/#comment-81822 Brendon Carr Sun, 13 May 2007 08:45:03 +0000 http://www.rjkoehler.com/2007/05/10/7-rules-of-korean-dramas/#comment-81822 <blockquote>While the Queen and the missionary are talking in Korean, the white woman fumbles trying to pick up food with chopsticks. The queen looks on in contempt as the missionary utters in shame, "I'm sorry for being so clumsy." Hmmm. The foreign woman speaks fluent Korean yet cannot eat with chopsticks.</blockquote> Not so strange after all! I speak Korean relatively fluently, although I would not call myself "fluent", and yet cannot eat with chopsticks.

While the Queen and the missionary are talking in Korean, the white woman fumbles trying to pick up food with chopsticks. The queen looks on in contempt as the missionary utters in shame, “I’m sorry for being so clumsy.” Hmmm. The foreign woman speaks fluent Korean yet cannot eat with chopsticks.

Not so strange after all! I speak Korean relatively fluently, although I would not call myself “fluent”, and yet cannot eat with chopsticks.

]]> By: pawikirogi http://www.rjkoehler.com/2007/05/10/7-rules-of-korean-dramas/#comment-81817 pawikirogi Sun, 13 May 2007 06:49:58 +0000 http://www.rjkoehler.com/2007/05/10/7-rules-of-korean-dramas/#comment-81817 you should watch the more recent ones, sonagi. the improved quality is only recent. about the last empress: if it's the one i'm thinking of, it didn't even have synchronized dubbing though it was the 90s. korean saguk has come a long way, s. you should watch the more recent ones, sonagi. the improved quality is only recent.

about the last empress: if it’s the one i’m thinking of, it didn’t even have synchronized dubbing though it was the 90s. korean saguk has come a long way, s.

]]> By: Railwaycharm http://www.rjkoehler.com/2007/05/10/7-rules-of-korean-dramas/#comment-81787 Railwaycharm Sat, 12 May 2007 12:59:27 +0000 http://www.rjkoehler.com/2007/05/10/7-rules-of-korean-dramas/#comment-81787 Posted May 11, 2007 at 7:00 am | Permalink “What about ajashi gets drunk on soju after she dumps boyfriend?” What’s an “ajashi” - a cross between an agashi and an ajoshi? Hope I never meet up with one of those. Harri su, or perhaps Andre Kim? Posted May 11, 2007 at 7:00 am | Permalink

“What about ajashi gets drunk on soju after she dumps boyfriend?”

What’s an “ajashi” - a cross between an agashi and an ajoshi? Hope I never meet up with one of those.

Harri su, or perhaps Andre Kim?

]]> By: Sonagi http://www.rjkoehler.com/2007/05/10/7-rules-of-korean-dramas/#comment-81783 Sonagi Sat, 12 May 2007 12:08:57 +0000 http://www.rjkoehler.com/2007/05/10/7-rules-of-korean-dramas/#comment-81783 US school history lessons have come a long way since we were kids. No stories about cherry trees. Recently, I accompanied our school's fourth graders on a trip to Jamestown. The museum includes extensive exhibits on pre-colonial Native American cultures and shows very powerfully how the English settlers were claim a large portion of coastal land within fifty years at the barrel of a musket. There are also displays on the slave trade and the African cultures from which the slaves came. I doubt that US school children learn that "Jefferson had sex with a little girl" but do Korean school children learn that yangban men could rape their minor female slaves at will? I didn't think so. How old were some of the court maidens that Korean kings helped themselves to? US school history lessons have come a long way since we were kids. No stories about cherry trees. Recently, I accompanied our school’s fourth graders on a trip to Jamestown. The museum includes extensive exhibits on pre-colonial Native American cultures and shows very powerfully how the English settlers were claim a large portion of coastal land within fifty years at the barrel of a musket. There are also displays on the slave trade and the African cultures from which the slaves came.

I doubt that US school children learn that “Jefferson had sex with a little girl” but do Korean school children learn that yangban men could rape their minor female slaves at will? I didn’t think so. How old were some of the court maidens that Korean kings helped themselves to?

]]> By: SomeguyinKorea http://www.rjkoehler.com/2007/05/10/7-rules-of-korean-dramas/#comment-81756 SomeguyinKorea Sat, 12 May 2007 02:00:19 +0000 http://www.rjkoehler.com/2007/05/10/7-rules-of-korean-dramas/#comment-81756 "yeah, i’m sure they learn columbus discovered america. or that pocohantes was a grown woman. or that jefferson wasn’t a man having sex with a little girl. yeah, they learn some crazy things form their dramas, don’t they?" I agree with you for once. I almost gag every time I hear the story of Washington and the cherry tree. “yeah, i’m sure they learn columbus discovered america. or that pocohantes was a grown woman. or that jefferson wasn’t a man having sex with a little girl. yeah, they learn some crazy things form their dramas, don’t they?”

I agree with you for once. I almost gag every time I hear the story of Washington and the cherry tree.

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