Language barrier

Interesting piece on the Korea Times site.

.... Being relatively new here with almost no understanding of the Korean language yet, he said traveling outside of Seoul was a challenge and adventure...

The U.S. expatriate apparently isn't the only one struggling with these problems, however, as the Korea Chamber of Commerce Industry (KCCI) said Tuesday that 35 percent of foreigners living here feel the same way.

Read full article at:

http://koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2009/03/123_41462.html

It's a little bit alien

DC: There but for the grace of god go we, here in the land where we know all of two and a half phrases in Korean: Checking out the jobs on Craigslist Seoul, and finding a writing job posting that promises 'salary comiserate with experience.' We're trying to learn at least a word a day. So far, we've had hang gung (airport), and kopi han jan (a cup of coffee), among others. Today's word is pang (bread). Lana uses her right hand to indicate the vowel sounds in Korean writing, reminding me of Francois Truffaut's hand signals to demonstrate the aliens' musical tones in Close Encounters.