Hello, I’m a professional Korean teacher, ZZINTEACHER, who have taught the Korean language at the universities in Korea and overseas.
As a Korean teacher and a fan of BTS, I was very excited when I heard the news that BIGHIT releases official Korean language learning content called ‘Learn Korean with BTS’.
So, I watched the first three episodes as soon as they were released.
After watching them, with a lot of thoughts, I’ve read many comments and twits on them.
I was very touched with I-ARMYs’ effort to write their very first Korean sentence like ‘안녕하세요, 아미입니다(Hello, I am an ARMY.)’.
But at the same time, I was concerned because there are many I-ARMYs who have difficulty with fully understanding the contents and ask for more explanation.
That is why I decided to make a series of videos that will explain more about the ‘Learn Korean with BTS’ contents as a professional Korean teacher.
I strongly believe that it is more effective to learn Korean ONLY in Korean, but I made an exception for these videos because I would like more of I-ARMY to watch these explanation videos and fully appreciate the ‘Learn Korean with BTS’ contents, no matter which level of Korean they are speaking.
Despite this, there is no ‘romanization’ of Korean pronunciation, because it doesn’t help learners to improve their Korean skills at all in the long term.
Ok, then, let’s start with the first episode.
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The very first episode of ‘Learn Korean with BTS’ covers, of course, the Korean alphabet, which is called 한글.
But it only covers ‘ㄱ to ㅎ’ as indicated in the title of the first episode, ‘BTS ㄱ to ㅎ’.
Some people think and explain that it’s like an ‘A to Z’ in English, but that’s wrong.
Because the Korean language is totally different from any other language in the world.
Let’s take a look at an example of English.
‘Korean language’ = ‘한국어’
In English, when making words, only ‘A to Z’ are used.
But in Korean, when making words, ‘ㄱ to ㅎ’ cannot cover every part of Korean syllable.
That’s why I-ARMY has difficulty with understanding the first episode.
Actually, the Korean alphabet consists of 10 basic vowels(ㅏ, ㅑ, ㅓ, ㅕ, ㅗ, ㅛ, ㅜ, ㅠ, ㅡ, ㅣ)and 14 basic consonants(ㄱ to ㅎ).
Besides, there are 5 double consonants(ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅃ, ㅆ, ㅉ) and 11 complex vowels(ㅐ, ㅔ, ㅒ, ㅖ, ㅘ, ㅙ, ㅚ, ㅝ, ㅞ, ㅟ, ㅢ).
So it is not possible to cover all of these letters in a 3-minute-long video, so I guess, that is why the first episode only covers 14 basic consonants and gives learners the assignment of learning the other parts of the Korean alphabet by themselves.
We’ve already made lesson videos that cover every Korean alphabet.
So, this time, I give a brief explanation of how to make a Korean syllable and 14 basic consonants.
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1. How to make a Korean syllable.
The shape of the Korean syllable is unique and easy to understand because it looks like a puzzle.
There are three types of syllables.
The blue parts are for ‘Consonants’, and the red parts are for ‘Vowels’.
These two parts have to be filled ‘ALWAYS’.
The last parts are for Batchim, which is called the final consonant in English, and these parts can leave as blanks.
Consonants can go to any type of syllable.
But, Vowels have to choose one type of syllable.
If the vowels have ‘ㅣ’ like ‘ㅏ, ㅑ, ㅓ, ㅕ, ㅣ’, it goes to the first type of syllable.
If the vowels have ‘ㅡ’ like ‘ㅗ, ㅛ, ㅜ, ㅠ, ㅡ’, it goes to the second type of syllable.
Then, what about the third type of syllable?
This type is not used with the 10 basic vowels.
There are complex vowels that have ‘ㅡ’ and ‘ㅣ’ at the same time, and the third type of syllable is suitable for them.
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2. 14 Basic Consonants with the words used in the 1st episode of ‘Learn Korean with BTS’.
|
Alphabet |
How to pronounce |
Word |
Meaning |
|
ㄱ |
The root of the tongue blocks the throat. |
가자 |
Let’s go! |
|
ㄴ |
The tip of the tongue touches the upper gum + Nasal. |
노래 |
Song |
|
ㄷ |
Same as ‘ㄴ’ without Nasal. |
달려라 |
Run! |
|
ㄹ |
Same as ‘ㄴ’ and ‘ㄷ’, but quickly. |
리더 |
Leader |
|
ㅁ |
Using both lips + Nasal. |
마음* |
Heart, Mind |
|
ㅂ |
Same as ‘ㅁ’ without Nasal. |
방탄소년단 |
BTS |
|
ㅅ |
Air goes through between the upper teeth and the lower teeth. |
사랑한다. |
Love you. |
|
ㅇ |
It doesn’t have a sound. |
아프지 마요. |
Don’t get sick. |
|
ㅈ |
Similar to ‘ㅅ’, but the tongue little to the back. |
잘** |
Well |
|
ㅊ |
‘ㅈ’ with more air. |
추억 |
Memory |
|
ㅋ |
‘ㄱ’ with more air. |
콘서트 |
Concert |
|
ㅌ |
‘ㄷ’ with more air. |
특별하게 |
Specially |
|
ㅍ |
‘ㅂ’ with more air |
피아노 |
Piano |
|
ㅎ |
Throat sound |
행복 |
Happinees |
* 마음에 들다: to like
** 잘 먹고 잘 자요: Eat well and sleep well. (Very Korean style ‘Greeting Expression’)
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ARMY TIME!
‘ㅂㅌㅅㄴㄷ’
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'방탄소년단’
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I hope this explanation help I-ARMYs to understand 100% the first episode of ‘Learn Korean with BTS’.
We will cover every episode of ‘Learn Korean with BTS’, so if you have any questions or requests, please leave a comment.
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Practice! And Have Fun!
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[ENG/KOR CC]Korean Teacher Explains Learn Korean with BTS (EP 01. BTS ㄱ to ㅎ)
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