7 In Korean learning journey (:

Finding comfort in the familiar

For a period of time, I was always looking into the future. Everything that I did was based on a future goal, and I was too eager to embrace the future and leave behind the present.

And now, I keep looking backwards to the past. I guess I just don’t know how to live in the present moment.

I think I must be growing old (?). Everything about the past seems better to me and I’m starting to say things like 想当年 (lol). I miss the places I frequent as a teen, I listen to the music I loved back then, and I re-watch the dramas that captivated back then. My current phase is k-entertainment back in early to mid 2000s. Just the other day I was showing my mum WINNER’s newest MVs on Youtube (yes she likes them lol) and after awhile, the TV starts playing related youtube videos from one of those music shows, of those “newer” boy groups. Well, I think I’m going to get hate comments for this (and that’s why not mentioning any names), but I’m just like …. oh my… hahahaha. Sorry, I think kpop was the best in the early 2000s to maybe 2013. But that’s just me, and that was just my time. It’s like how our parents will usually wonder about our current music tastes. Seriously, I’m also starting to better appreciate music of my parents’ time.

So yeah, I stopped listening to new music. And I think I digressed. I was talking about my current phase. Yes, I’m starting to revisit all those dramas and songs that made me fall in love with Korean back in 2008. :’) Finding some comfort in the familiar. And I think I must be getting emotional (or just very tired out…) because I can even tear listening to some of those songs. They remind me so strongly of the days I started learning Korean and how passionate I was back then. The joy I felt back then trying to learn a language on my own, to figure out the grammar points and how the language works. It was so much fun I could spend hours on it and still felt that it wasn’t enough. I still remember the songs that accompany me as I pore over the books. (in case you are curious, My Girl’s OST is the one that brings back the most memories and hence emotions..)

While a lot of memories have faded over the years, there are certain songs that are memory-triggers.

Songs back in those days are so good. So were dramas.

I’m watching 1% of Anything properly for the first time (caught snippets of it years ago when my mum watched it lol) and I feel like I’m falling in love with Korea and the Korean language all over again (:. And also KDW. lol. It reminds me why I like him sooo much. Fangirling aside, I think dramas of that time just brings back very good memories for me. And dramas those days are SO MUCH better. I’m so going to rewatch My Girl, Princess Hours etc again when I have the time.

I feel a twinge of regret that I never had the chance to travel to Korea back in the early 2000s. I guess this is why people say you should just travel when you are young. Things are constantly changing, and once you missed it, things will never be the same again. When I watch these old dramas now, I would always wonder how the country and culture was like back then, and how is it different from the same place right now in 2017.

Okay, I think I’m just in one of those moods :P.

As I listen to these old OSTs in the comfort of my room, I feel like I’m being transported back to the 2000s and for the next half an hour or so, I could find solace and comfort in language learning and doing what I love best. Hopefully it also gives me enough energy and positivity to tide me through what is going to be a very busy and tiring week… or month.

Till the next post.

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7 Comments

  • Reply
    Ching
    9 April, 2017 at 9:13 PM

    I feel like Seoul hasn’t changed much, except the fact that DDP didn’t exist yet when I was first there in 2003. The changes are definitely not as apparent as the changes in Singapore. Maybe ten years later, we’ll be missing the Korea in 2017. Haha.

  • Reply
    Nadhirah
    9 April, 2017 at 11:26 PM

    I think I can relate to what you are going through. More often than not, I would worry about the future and ponder about the past. Thus, I have no idea how to live in the future; feeling a tinge of lost.
    I share your sentiment on music too. I don’t listen to the newer kpop songs and still prefer to the old ones. Is it a sign of old age? Haha.
    For those who are going through this, I hope we are able to conquer this insecurity somehow.

  • Reply
    Liza
    10 April, 2017 at 2:55 PM

    I feel the same. I started out with Japanese years ago and now that I’ve come so far, I feel like a lot has changed with the whole anime landscape (yeah that’s how I got started). I don’t like the new ones that much. I was also obsessed with going to Japan, but that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore. My mind which was mostly future focused is now desperately trying to survive each day at work. Yay to being an adult. 😀

  • Reply
    Shshd
    10 April, 2017 at 9:33 PM

    Well what about your Korean skills? Do you now understand these shows 90% or 95% etc or do you still have a significant vocab or listening comprehension gap . I thought you’d at least mention something about your Korean abilities. I remember in the beginning of learning Japanese I couldn’t hear crap then I’d go back to whatever it was a month later or a year later and it would sound that much clearer and slower to me.

  • Reply
    lauren
    15 April, 2017 at 10:37 AM

    hey shana what was that movie you once blogged about with 7?? korean friends (all girls)… i think you blogged about a scene where this girl was cursing impressively.

    • Reply
      Hangukdrama
      15 April, 2017 at 11:18 AM

      Sunny!

  • Reply
    ethel
    3 July, 2017 at 1:10 PM

    lol haven’t visited ur blog for really long cos i’ve been so busy at work >_<

    anyways i can totally relate to this hahaha. even when i just moved to korea in 2011, i feel that there's an incredibly huge difference from 2017, thanks to the advancement of smart phones and korea becoming increasingly globalised. when i first came in 2011, i had to settle soooo many things on my own, and it was different from when my friend moved over in 2014 and everything was just much more foreigner friendly and easier for her zzz. but i'm glad to have experienced it and lived to see the difference!

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