Today I have language class at Seonbuk global village centre or usually called 서울글로벌센터 in hangul. It’s like a school which has functions
as a community center where Korean and foreign residents can come together and
share their cultures. By sharing and coming together will help us to overcome cultural
differences and work toward building a common cultural community.
The building located in Seonbuk, Seongbuk-dong district. Not far enough from my guesthouse, around 2
miles away. Seongbuk-dong is a beautiful area surrounded by mountains
and woods where numerous ambassadors and people from lots of different
countries found their homes. As a means of true multicultural diversity and
exchange, the school not only bring any aspect of the Korean culture closer to
foreign residents but introduce the cultures of many different countries to
Koreans as well.
How
to go there?
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| Hyehwa Bus Station (06.30 AM) |
It’s
a simple question from my junior. Well, it depends on what day you asked to me,
because i always try something new everyday. On the first day i go there by
bus, but on the next day i try to use subway. When i use the bus i have to chase
the bus in peep of day (early morning). After that i’m looking for a bus which
has specific code 2112. Unlike in Indonesia, it has arrival and departure time
which is showed in blackboard located near the bus station. I ride the bus from
Hyehwa Marronnier Park Station then get off at Seongbok-gu SSangdari Station.
The bus take me in 15 minutes to my destination through 2.2 Km main road, 7 bus
stop, and cost 1200 won.
 |
| Location of Hyehwa station (first point) and SSangdari station (End point) |
 |
| Location of Seongbuk Global Village Center from SSangdari station |
On
the second day when i use subway, i don’t really need to wake up early ‘cause
it’s very easy to chase the subway and it has more frequently arrival time. In
my case, it through 3 station, started from Hyehwa station to Gireum station
(the nearest station from the school). The subway also cheaper than the bus
(only 720 won) and take less time than the bus (only 7 to 8 minutes). Here is
the details if i take subway :
1. From Hyehwa station (my guesthouse
district) i need take line 4 subway to Gireum station.
2. The subway will pass 2 station, Hansung univ station and Sungshin women univ
station.
3. When i arrive at Gireum station i still need to walk along 0.3 Km to
school.
4. The fares will be like this :
Using
Ticket
|
Using Transit
Card
|
Regular
|
1350
|
Regular
|
1250
|
Teenagers
|
1350
|
Teenagers
|
720
|
Children
|
500
|
Children
|
450
|
I
have a transit card and i’m not teenagers anymore so you already know how much
i have to pay.
In your opinion, between the bus and subway which is
better?
Write down your answer in the comment
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#1
day class
On
the first class, i learn about hangul basic. Learn about its alphabets, how to
read, and first meeting sentences. Even
though Korean may look just like Chinese or Japanese to the untrained eye, it
is actually much easier, because the characters are a combination of just 24
letters and a few simple variations, rather than a few thousand more or less
random drawings. So even going at a relaxed pace of 4 letters per lesson, i
will have learned everything i need to read Korean after just a few hours,
while i think the Japanese or Chinese scripts take years to be mastered.
Furthermore, I also learn about
the origins of hangul and know the fact if Korean was usually written from
right to left in vertical columns. Since then writing from left to right in horizontal
lines has become popular, and today the majority of texts are written
horizontally.
 |
| My korean teacher, Jiyeon |
Together
with my friends, we learn for 2 hours in medium size class called Seongbuk Sem
room which has room heater, free coffee and free wi-fi, astonishing. In this
time i also meet my first korean friend, Nayoung.
#2
day class
For
this time, i learn more about korean language especially writing and speaking. First,
In writing i learn that korean words are consist of consonant and vocal (vowel)
letter. Which is always started with consonant letter. The shapes of the the consonants “g/k, n, s, m and
ng” are graphical representations of the speech organs used to pronounce them.
Other consonants were created by adding extra lines to the basic shapes. The
shapes of the the vowels are based on three elements: man (a vertical line),
earth (a horizontal line) and heaven (a dot). In modern Hangeul the heavenly
dot has mutated into a short line. Spaces are placed between words, which can
be made up of one or more syllables. The sounds of some consonants change
depending on whether they appear at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end
of a syllable.
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I like a coffee because it gives me illusion that i might be awake - Lewis Black
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