360 Hours of Korean: Summer 2021

I've spent more summers than I can remember trying to self-study Korean, my family's heritage language. I've tried apps, Korean dramas, learning bits and pieces from my grandparents and workbooks, etc - but my lack of progress was discouraging. I always thought that if I just practiced a little every day, I'd finally someday achieve proficiency, but it was much harder than I thought holding to that commitment.

This summer I buckled down and took KOREAN 134, UW's intensive first-year Korean course, to jumpstart my work towards a Korean minor (or potentially major). It was from 8:30-10:20am and 10:50-1pm every day, Monday through Friday from June 21-August 20, 2021. Many hours each day, and a lot of time staring at Zoom on my computer screen, and more break-out rooms than I can ever count...but I had an amazing experience. I learned vocabulary, grammar, listening, speaking, pronunciation, spelling, how to type in Korean using an English keyboard, and a bit of Korean culture. But I think what really made the experience so memorable and rewarding was my professor and quiz section instructor. They were so friendly and willing to help, approachable and kind even when we messed up (which happens a lot in language classes). It was exhilarating to make so much progress in learning Korean when I’ve been trying to self study for years and failing miserably, and I’ve learned about my own weaknesses as a student through that process of trying to learn a language -- struggling with procrastination on long-term projects, staying motivated, and doing hard things before easier things.

I met so many amazing classmates in KOREAN 134 because we had to do so much practice in small partner groups and breakout rooms. Everyone in my class was so easy to talk to after a while, and we laughed a lot on Zoom about silly things like joking with other Korean American students about failing our ancestors with our language learning struggles. I ended up forming study groups with a few friends and even met with them in person near the end of the quarter, which was so cool since I had only seen them on Zoom for the past few months.

This summer was a lot of small victories and starting to come out of my bubble in preparing for in-person college in the fall. Besides scoring well on my written and oral finals in my Korean class, I strengthened my driving skills, organized my room, and made a painting with a close friend of a treasured memory we had together. A short time before the start of fall quarter, I drove down on my own for the first time to my grandparents' house and found I was able to hold a small conversation with them in Korean. It was a moment that really made clear to me how far God had brought me on my journey of becoming more independent and learning the language that I had always wanted to learn, and I'm so thankful for it.