Just short of two years ago, I started learning Korean, or hangugeo as it's pronounced natively. Even though I already spoke four languages on a good to excellent level before, this might very well be the first time I'm enjoying the process of learning a new language.
Until now, I've learned foreign languages exclusively out of necessity.
- I moved to Belgium at a very young age, so I had to learn Dutch.
- Then it turns out, nobody dubs series or movies in Dutch. Not even all of the cartoons! My mom used to speak with her husband in English at home too, so I slowly picked that up as well.
- And then there's French... I tried my best not to learn it, but given the sheer amount of hours I had to spend on it just to get through school, it stuck.
These points don't really convey how much effort went into that, but I'm still grateful for the opportunities. Even though I really didn't care for it at all when learning it. So what's changed?
I don't live in Korea. I don't use Korean at work. I haven't even visited, yet. And I've only met a handful of Koreans in real life. So why learn the language? And why is it fun? There's a couple of reasons.
Now that I'm older, I've come to think of languages as a bit of a superpower. You become part of a club. Translation software has come a long way, which doesn't change the fact you'll simply be excluded from certain conversations entirely if you don't speak the language.
Building on that thought, a language is not just a means of communication. It's also a way to learn more about the people, the country, the culture. And it's that contextual knowledge that makes interacting much easier. Even when just watching K-dramas, I can now pick up on some of the nuances and enjoy them more. Though it still doesn't make them feel any less awkward.
Europe is home to many cultures and languages. But since I've moved around a lot, some of that curiosity has started to fade along the way. Given how far away Korea is, physically as well as in language and cultural differences, some of it is really fascinating to me. And that's what reignited the spark in me to learn more.
Also, I think it's just really, really cool to be able to speak a language most of your friends can't even read.