Studying Korean Alone Slow Korean Podcast Beginner Korean Listening Practice

Hello everyone Today's podcast topic is Friend vs Alone Do you prefer being alone Or do you prefer being with friends It depends on the moment It really depends on the moment There's a fun phrase in Korea : "hunbab hun-gong " Hunbab means eating alone and hun-gong means going out alone What is Hun Gong Hun Gong means studying alone It's an abbreviation So some restaurants have this written on them: Solo Dining Restaurant What does that mean You can go alone and order just one serving In restaurants when placing an order they use the term indicating how many servings One person means one serving two people mean two servings so how many servings would three people be Yes three servings We welcome individual customers here too It says so "Customer" is a respectful term for a guest Guest customer Welcome is "welcome " Usually restaurant owners prefer when multiple people come and order a lot of food That's why some restaurants aren't suitable for dining alone But the restaurant shown in this photo is We welcome solo diners You 're welcome to come alone These days many people in Korea eat alone and study by themselves There's a space like this in restaurants Space In Japan this kind of thing is pretty common right Yeah it's common Right In Korea it's especially become quite frequent these days It's popping up all the time But people have different opinions about this solo dining It's often discussed online Some people say they couldn't possibly eat alone it's too embarrassing But why can't other people do even that Can't you eat alone at a restaurant Kid Little one Sweetheart That's how you'd say it People's opinions differ like this Opinions vary Opinions differ That's why eating alone is a fascinating topic in Korea What about you Honestly I couldn't handle eating alone when I was young but things changed a lot after I became an adult I became independent It's a somewhat difficult phrase but one that's used quite frequently Independence Independent A self-reliant person can manage just fine on their own even without help from parents or friends It feels like a free-spirited cat Dogs constantly follow their owners but cats can entertain themselves just fine on their own Cats are independent animals Anyway I've been eating alone quite well since becoming an adult And for the first time I went on a solo trip—I visited Gyeongju in South Korea Last year I even traveled to Egypt all by myself I'll tell you many more stories about my solo trips later But originally Koreans really enjoy doing things together Especially young students like studying together In Korea there are study cafes— quiet spaces designed for studying We简称 this study café as "Suka " It's incredibly popular with no fewer than three locations near our home There are three of them Speaking of which I suddenly feel like going there Anyway there are many people here studying together with friends In the past people studied a lot at libraries Nowadays though people go to study cafes or cafes instead People also go to regular cafes in huge numbers not just Starbucks or other coffee shops—they study at places like Starbucks or local neighborhood cafes I actually focus best at home Cafes are just too noisy I like cafes when I'm enjoying a delicious drink or chatting with friends but when it comes to studying I prefer staying at home On the other hand our older sister always prefers doing things together She likes studying with her friend and eating with her friend So if you want to learn something you register at the academy first They want to study together with others When I was young I couldn't focus on studying because I had so much fun being with friends I used to go to the library with friends in high school I went to study but ended up only eating I couldn’t study at all because I ate snacks and then had tteokbokki Seriously But now I finally understand my older sister These days my mindset has changed a lot Seeing others work hard really motivates me For example I've been doing home workouts at home lately You've heard that term "home workout" before right But I signed up for the gym a few months ago And I understand That's why people exercise together When I go to the gym I see others working out It really motivates me Being motivated means feeling energized to work hard yourself when you see others doing their best How about you Isn't studying a language especially Korean kind of lonely I'm studying a language myself right now I'm studying Chinese and Japanese on my own Self-study is great but there's one thing I wish were different There's no one to practice speaking with I don't know if my sentences are correct and I'm not sure if I'm pronouncing them properly So for those who find studying alone lonely I' ve created a small Korean language group class It's a Korean class for four people studying together It's a class where you study together like real friends This is a class centered around slow podcasts like the one shown in the video You can learn the expressions featured in the video in greater detail And with that expression you can share your story You can practice speaking Korean with friends doing speaking exercises together We'll motivate each other Motivation Studying together really helps you improve fast I'll be right there to help you I'll teach you natural authentic Korean sentences We'll also play Korean games Korean learners feeling lonely let's study together Please check the link Everyone March is just around the corner It's already March In Korea March signifies a fresh start springtime and the beginning of a new semester In Korea elementary schools middle schools and universities all begin anew in March Does March hold the same significance in your country I'm curious if it's just a Korean thing Share your story in the comments I read every single comment See you again in our next podcast Bye