Learn Korean Through K-dramas 2

Book excerpt: A Korean Language Textbook Centered on K-Drama Scripts and Videos Learn Korean through K-Dramas 2 is a Korean language textbook developed around short scenes from five of the most popular Hallyu K-drama shows, making the study of the Korean language fun and effective. Subtitled “A Glance at Issues in Korean Society,” this second book of the K-Drama Korean Series features K-drama shows that offer an in-depth view of the various issues in Korean society—It’s Okay Not to Be Okay, Itaewon Class, My Mister, SKY Castle, and Misaeng: Incomplete Life—to provide curious readers a deeper understanding of life in Korea. This book is unique in that each script comes with QR codes and Netflix timestamps that provide direct links to corresponding YouTube videos and Netflix scenes, allowing for readers to access the clips at any time and understand the language content while watching and listening to it on screen. This book is also written entirely in both English and Korean to enable even beginner Korean language students to make the most out of its content. The right-side pages of the book are dedicated to the original K-drama scripts and the left-side pages provide English translations for a convenient learning experience for students of all proficiency levels. The book is optimal for self-study, and its size (150 x 200 mm), relatively small for a textbook, makes it handy and portable. Moreover, the book’s various exercises requiring short, subjective answers as well as the proven-effective dictation practice sections make the book suitable not only for self-study but also as a workbook for use in schools and academies. In particular, this second book places further emphasis on grammar to aid students preparing for the Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK). Furthermore, the cultural commentary in the book helps readers encounter and understand Korea’s food, fashion, entertainment, and cultural values in connection to the K-drama scenes. Seoul Selection will continue to publish and distribute sequels in the series through Amazon.com, Hallyu-oriented bookstores around Europe and Asia, and schools and universities outside of Korea. Understanding Various Expressions Used on K-Drama Shows and Learning Colloquial Korean, Acronyms, and Slang Though the videos are each only about five minutes long, there is a lot to be learned from their content. Vocabulary and grammar are thoroughly explained with examples from the scripts, and exercise questions to help readers master the various expressions used in the scenes are included in each lesson. K-drama shows mirror Korean language as it is used every day—colloquial expressions, popular or newly-coined terms and slang used by young people, text abbreviations, idioms, and so on—which greatly benefits those who want to learn “real-life” Korean language.