[Learning Korean] My first dream in Korean was a significant milestone.

By Pankaj Agrawal

When Samsung hired me in 2004 from IIT Kanpur, India for the GSP-SNU program, I did NOT even know how to say "Hi" in Korean. Today, I am very comfortable with the Korean language. I thought of sharing my point of view on learning Korean (or any foreign language for that matter).

Before knowing the “How” of learning a new language, it’s important to know the “Why?” (reason, motivation) of it. I was lucky to have identified many “Whys” very early on. The Big 3 motivations for me to learn Korean were/are as follows.

1. To be able to explain to Koreans that I am a vegetarian and that I don’t eat chicken, fish, seafood, ham, etc. and request them to prepare for me something that I could relish.
2. To be able to navigate through Korea on my own– I have been to almost every corner of Korea several times.
3. To differentiate myself (add foreign language skill as an asset to my professional portfolio) and to be able to do a good job in Samsung. Proficiency in Korean really expands your professional bandwidth and is certainly one of the many key enablers for success in Samsung. Overtime, I realized that if you speak Korean in Samsung, you can do wonders; and if you don’t speak Korean, “wonders” may happen to you.

---

The above mentioned reasons still motivate me and I continue to learn new Korean words/phrases every day. Once a student – Always a student! 

Coming to the “How” part, there are many ways to learn a new language. If you search on Google alone, you will get access to a huge bundle of resources and tips. While I have used many generic tips (such as taking Korean lessons, watching Korean movies/dramas, making informal language buddies, etc.), the methods which I found the most effective were/are as follows.

1. Learn like a child and don’t think too much about making mistakes. Just as a baby learns to walk or to speak a language through trial and error, the best way to learn Korean is to simply start communicating in Korean. For beginners, please start with greetings/thank-you/sorry in Korean. Trust me - You will gradually learn more.
2. Write new words and sentence formats everyday– I keep the last few pages of my non-digital notebook reserved for Korean language. Whenever I come across new words/interesting phrases/proverbs in Korean, I write them down. I don’t remember all of them all the time but most of them overtime. Of course, I usually read Korean books especially ones that talk about Samsung's management principles (written by Samsung’s chairman). It has helped me not only in learning the language but also in adapting well at Samsung. 
3. This 3rd method/tip is for those who are comfortable with some Korean. Try NOT to switch to English when you do NOT understand Korean. Of course, when you have important meetings, you need to make sure that you understand the content. However, when you are meeting friends and are having casual discussions, try to have that engagement in Korean. Keep on asking friends whatever you don’t understand and think is critical to take the discussion forward. For parts of communication that you think is not relevant, you may want to nod your head to give the other person an impression that you are listening. Don’t worry –soon enough you will start understanding most of the conversation. For me, even today I comprehend only 90%-95% of the content in my casual meeting with friends. The last 5-10% is tough (and I still nod) but I hope to reach 100% someday.

Nothing beats hard work and practice. Keep on speaking/writing/ reading as much Korean as you can. Use whatever opportunity you get. Having learnt many foreign languages (Chinese/ Japanese/ French/  Deutsch), I can bet you that Korean is the easiest of all the languages. So, be happy about it and start speaking Korean.

Somebody asked me –“When do I know that I have learnt “enough” Korean?” I would like to repeat here what I responded to him –“The day you get up after a good night sleep dreaming in Korean language.” I had my first dream in Korean in 2007 –Wish you all experience yours soon.  

Thank you for your attention and Best of luck. Please let me know if you have any questions.