For foreigners, South Korea is an enabler. It enables our late night partying, the late wake-ups the next day, and our frequent eating out at restaurants. Being such a Westernized country, it also enables our use of English. You can spend years in this country and never really have to use more than a few words of Korean, which is something that many foreigners fail to appreciate. I shake my head when I see foreigners yelling English at befuddled movie theater attendants or other service staff, somehow assuming that if they yell louder and faster, then these poor Koreans will magically acquire the ability to understand English. Personally, I believe that if you are going to spend a long period of time in another country, you should at least make an effort to learn the native language. Having been here just over a year, I have three tips for all you language connoisseurs out there on how to tackle the Korean language.
