한국 Travels: #2

When I thought about places that would be challenging and interesting in terms of learning the language, Korea came to mind.  Funny enough I did not even consider Japan.  Goes to show (at least to me) the amount of cultural influence Korea has compared to Japan.

Having said that, I would generalise and say that I think Japanese people are much more polite than Koreans are.  I have been practising speaking Korean to random strangers in the street, asking for directions.  More than once I have been totally ignored, even once shooed off by the person.  My experiences in Japan would make doubt that it would happen to me there.  

My friend pointed out that it could be because I look Korean and hence people would just think I am accosting them.  If I looked Caucasian, I may have gotten a much more positive response.  It reminds me of New Yorkers thinking other New Yorkers are rude, even though I found them to be very polite and friendly.  My Asian looks and Australian accent there puts me totally in the "tourist" category and most people are by nature friendly to tourists.

Anyways, my 한국말 is slowly improving.  I can understand more in written form (because I have time to look up words) so my text game is getting better!  The university classes are good, they are picking up the pace, I am definitely in the right level.  The amount of vocabulary to learn each day is significant, I can see that if I don't review the words I will easily fall behind.