The last post I wrote was my 200th post on this blog, across nine years of blogging and ten years of studying Korean. Every once in a while, I'll check the Related Posts section under a recent post and be surprised that I wrote about a certain topic. Over the years I've gone back and [...]
Author: Archana
Writer & translator. Learning Korean and (some) Japanese since 2010.
Sweet potato vs. lemon-lime soda
I have no idea what idiomatic phrases or colloquial expressions are commonly used in Korean, much less slang.
Korean words for the pandemic
What can I say that hasn't already been said? It is April 2020, and we are in the midst of a global pandemic.
9 Naver Webtoons I read in 2019
When I think of my evolving relationship with Korean pop culture, I think I will remember 2019 fondly as the year I committed myself to Korean webtoons. Webtoons are online-first original comics optimized for mobile consumption. (There's an interesting article that came out earlier this year contrasting webtoons to Japan's print-first manga culture.) A number [...]
On reading Han Kang
When I read The White Book, I felt a kind of desolation. It wasn't agony like Human Acts, but a quiet, persistent sadness.
Japanese words to understand the Japanese mind
We recently got back from a trip to Tokyo, and half of my heart is still there.
More Korean words I wish existed in English
This is a follow-up to a popular post I wrote over SIX (gasp?!) years ago. My Korean vocabulary (much as I complain how lacking it is) has increased over the years, which means, yep, more Korean words I wish existed in English. To be fair, I've come to dislike articles that say some word from another [...]
On the one Korean drama I can’t forget
Sometimes certain stories come into your life right when you need them the most.
Me, in Korean
People often ask me if I have a different personality when I speak Korean. My answer has always been no.
Tips for improving Korean essay writing
After more than a year of attending advanced Korean classes and regularly writing and reviewing 500-800 character essays with my teacher, I've accumulated a few useful tips for improving long-form writing that I thought I'd share here. I'll preface this by saying few people write well in any language, even among native speakers. I'm a [...]
