Getting by in Korea Without Knowing Korean

How easy is it to get by in Korea if you don't speak the language? Is it possible? What were our experiences of when we first came to Korea and didn't know any Korean?
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[@jaquelynngering3586]

Your cheese lady story reminds me of my 7-11 lady story, except I didn't speak any Korean back then, so I just spoke to her in English and she spoke to me in Korean. The day before I left to go back home, I asked for a photo with her. She seemed confused, but happily posed for the photo. Early the next morning, I was standing out front with my luggage piled around me waiting for a taxi and she saw and hugged me, then told me to wait and ran off. She came back 5 minutes later with a big bag of 7-11 snacks for my journey.

[@kentiastrickland2556]

That is too sweet. 😊😊

[@s.m.740]

awwww...language is a man made barrier that love breaks down 😢

[@KaleidoscopeEffect]

That's awesomeee :)

[@putsomerespeckonmaname540]

lol

[@maddiekay4865]

Jaquelynn Gering aww thats so nice

[@animecrazy102]

At least on tumblr, Eat Your Kimchi takes a lot of shit from people. People that claim that Simon and Martina are lazy foreigners who didn't bother to learn the language, and don't respect Korean culture. I don't watch the k-pop videos or speak Korean, but from this video alone it sounds like Simon and Martina have worked very hard to create meaningful bonds with Korean natives and learn the language. In that regard, it's really not fair how people attack them when they don't even know their story! I'm sure they will take responsibility for any sexist or racist content they may have made in the past, and make amends in the future. They seem like really fun, and caring people!

[@AdrianaMVPrayerPodcastShow]

when i first started watching them i knew they spoke Korean like how did they manage to know idols obviously they speak Korean also cause they are AWsOmE!!!

[@sf7562]

animecrazy102 People attack them? I can't imagine why any rational person would take offence at Simon and Martina because they're such lovely people.

[@TwigileiaD]

This instantly made me look the post up, and it's EXACTLY what I imagined it would be. Tumblr is offended about absolutely everything. I mean, EVERYTHING. So I would really not even bother caring about what's posted on tumblr, because someone once legitimately got offended over a picture of me eating ice cream from a bowl that I posted on tumblr. There is literally not a single thing on this planet that tumblr will NOT find something bad about. This should be a new rule of the internet, like, rule #678900, IF IT EXISTS, THEN TUMBLR IS OFFENDED BY IT. No, scratch that. Tumblr is most likely offended by it even if it doesn't exist. It's a shame you cannot be even slightly funny or make PARODIES of anything before people without any sense of humour rip you apart :') I love EYK and I've been a fan since 2009 and not once have I for a single second thought they were bad people. And I spent hours and hours watching their stuff. I think some people really just wanna put other people down and attack them because they have nothing to do in their lives, and I pity them, to be honest. Too bad EYK have to put up with that shit, though.

[@TwigileiaD]

Ari Melbourne google 'eatyourkimchi tumblr' and you will find it, it's kind of funny, and very, very sad :')

[@romanticscent89]

There are always stupid idiots who just blame sb or sth without knowing the fact. This is the world-wide truth XD I think S&M don't take them serious, but if not, hope so. Wanna give a big hand since they try hard to learn a language! Still many people do not even try.

[@missxlittlexawesome]

I got surprise hugged by the Korean woman who works at the local Chinese place in my town.

[@pbj88]

I want to meet Cheese Lady now

[@sheFEISTY.43110]

I am planning to study abroad in Korea 2015-2016. I am so excited!

[@MariaKiran1]

Good luck! ^^

[@sheFEISTY.43110]

Thank you so much! ^-^

[@sagedrake6501]

Same! Are you going with a program?

[@frogtits1352]

Oh, same here! Which school are you planning to attend, and what grade? I'm applying for an arts high school, but I don't know if I'm going to grade 8, 9, or 10 0-0

[@sagedrake6501]

I really dont know yet 😮

[@Ennniii]

When I visited Korea, I stayed in a guesthouse near Yeoksam metro station and I made the horrible mistake of taking a taxi, while completely drunk out of my mind and told the driver to take me to Yeoksam STATION. As it turned out, the driver didnt understand the word "station" and just dropped me in some little streets in the middle of Yeoksam. Luckily, I never panic when I get lost(which is about never), so I just chose a road and walked forward and found my way home by some magical miracle. But then I decided to learn how to say Yeoksam station exit 1 in Korea.. Never failed me again!

[@LoveBird0709]

lol. awesome story. I would have freaked out. I'm so worried about getting lost that I'll never travel alone.

[@SavzLaLa]

You guys are my parents.

[@LaurenFranklin0319]

Can you do an entire video in Korean with English subtitles? I know it's a lot of work, but it would be so cool!

[@BlackkCobra]

I think most people from Europe can speak english as their second language.

[@MirZZi]

Aye, especially Nordic Europeans.

[@BlackkCobra]

Why Nordic Europeans?

[@MirZZi]

Education quality.

[@Noggturnal]

Lilly OfTheValley I am swiss and most people I know can speak english pretty well, they even prefer watching movies in english rather than hear the german synchronization. In my company, a swiss bank of 60'000 employees, it is even MANDATORY to be able to speak english. Oh and children start learning english at first grade here so... yeah I think your statement about europeans not being able to speak english is complete and utter bullshit.

[@SaLaaLM]

Lilly OfTheValley in germany everyone that goes to school here can speak english, it depends on which catagory you go, but the one i am in - best catogery, they can all speak english, we start to learn english from 3th grade on here, and have to study it for like 10 years, atleast i have to study it for 10 years, some of them dont.

[@NeokingTech]

I hope you guys realize that reading and writing korean is very easy. It's often called the morning alphabet because it can literally be learned within the morning. Now an alphabet being easy doesn't make the language easy but if you're not willing to learn the language, at least learn the alphabet which is a day's work.

[@Notster07]

Everytime I feel down I ALWAYS look for this video just to hear the Cheese Lady story. It just makes me feel so happy because it's so sweet!! I would be over joyed if you found her again and took a video with her!!!

[@HeritageInmoshun]

You are asking people who dont speak english to comment in english

[@Bashnutter]

Valid argument

[@dt4654]

erm,some comments have this google translate thing?

[@cap8e]

or there are people that speak English from a non English speaking countries that watch.

[@elly_angelic]

Hai, can you do a TL;DR or segment on like, a mini Korean lesson or "Korean Language Basics" or whatever? Pretty please? I'm trying to learn Korean.... Thank you :3

[@EatyourkimchiBonus]

We actually are considering it, and showing the progress of how we're learning Korean. We even have a chalkboard in our studio just in case we want to film something there!

[@AlyssaSoftPaw]

I believe that if you live in a country you should learn the fucking language. I know that it's hard to learn Asian writing but still.

[@azariasheppard3744]

I agree. At least make an effort to learn a little. I guess unless you're only living there for work because you have to and you don't have any passion for the culture, but if you choose to live there then you should. Also learning Hangul is easy. It took me about 1-2 weeks but I know of people who have learnt it in less than a day.

[@IOWNBOOSTERS]

You are absolutely right.

[@JustARandomNameHEHE]

+Azaria Sheppard lmfao I learned hangul in 20 minutes

[@azariasheppard3744]

***** Good for you

[@Ma5jay5dontxdoxthat]

Woah calm down there. if you watched it video, you should know that they did learn the language but had a lot of barriers with learning it like bot being allowed to speak it when they were in school. Not only that, but Korea was never an option at first. The girl, Martina, wanted to go to Japan to teach English, and knew a bit of the language already, but couldn't find one and it was hard to find a job in Canada, then they saw a presentation about teaching in Korea then moved there not too long after. So it wasn't like they planned this for years and just never learned.

[@MikaelMurstam]

All people in Sweden speaks English. In fact we are the best English speaking country in the world who has English as a second language. So, bad example :P

[@Ninjapants237]

Really? I didn't know that! :P

[@MikaelMurstam]

Ninjapants237 yes, www.thelocal.se/20121026/44062

[@Ninjapants237]

Mikael Murstam That's really cool! Learn something new everyday.

[@Dynera]

Mikael Murstam Finland is fourth, and Denmark is second or third. Go Nordic countries!

[@joycevr1862]

Mikael Murstam Not only Nordic countries, although there must be something in the water there... The Netherlands is also not doing so bad. See the full list here: www.ef.nl/epi/

[@na-eu2ds]

I'm only 12 but I wish to go to Korea when I'm older! I want to at least learn basic Korean before I get there or during my stay. I feel it's impolite if I stay in a country without knowing their language. I've got loads of years ahead of me so I'm thinking I should start learning Korean now!

[@mikeike83]

+ѕєυℓgι вєαя ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ OMG someone like me exact age! I was wondering if I should take a vacation tour when I'm older instead.

[@sashabee57]

+ѕєυℓgι вєαя ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ Me tooooo!

[@NatWarrior1]

Same age and same dream here :3

[@maryn7947]

Same! 😆

[@NatWarrior1]

I'm happy that no one is judging you just because you're twelve. That gives me back my hope for the KZbin comments section 😄😄

[@lilgiggler35]

was standing in line at a little market and this lady came in with her little boy. He decided that I was in need of a hug. all of a sudden he wrapped himself around my legs and hugging me as tight as he could and told me his name was Michael. His mom tried to apologize but I was okay with it. I thanked him for the hug. It was so sweet.

[@JustDavidOnline]

Giving surprise hugs at our grocery stores gets you arrested.

[@ShadowDrakken]

My personal feeling is that if you're just touring a country short-term, then it's fine to live in a bubble; but if you're going to live in another country, it's only polite to try and learn the local language as best you can. That said, I'd want to not live in the bubble even as a tourist myself :)

[@jaquelynngering3586]

***** It's harder than you might think. As a student here, nearly all my friends were Korean and I learned quite a lot in a very short time. After that, I graduated and got a teaching job out in the middle of nowhere. My Korean hasn't really progressed, partly because everyone assumes I can't understand anything, and so life just ends up being a giant game of charades. Not to mention, people in the country are often intimidated by foreigners even when we try to speak Korean, so if I asked, in Korean, where something was, they would often just get really embarrassed and only point. Sometimes they even say "No English" when I'm trying to speak to them in Korean. In the two years since I came here to teach, my reading has improved, my pronunciation has improved, and I've picked up a lot of random words. I can also instantly recognize basic service questions like "Do you have a point card?" and "Do you need a bag?"I cannot have a conversation in Korean though. I would not describe that as "living in a bubble". So many people speak English, and WANT to speak English. I chat with my coworkers, with random people who introduce themselves on the street, with my students. What is important to keep in mind, in Korea is that foreigners will ALWAYS be outsiders. Speaking the language fluently doesn't actually change that. While I agree that it is polite to try and learn the langauge while you're living here (I get annoyed with people who refuse to even try to learn Hangul), there's a lot of reasons why foreigners here rarely become fluent or even conversant in Korean.

[@NatWarrior1]

Omgg that cheese lady story is so sweet ;-;

[@CleanSkittles]

I'm from Sweden, and I live in Seoul! Fortunately for us from Sweden, we do speak English, but I'm trying my best to learn Korean. I even got my Korean midterms coming up this week... And I'd say, your life in Korea will be much happier if you learn Korean, because Koreans are so nice to you if you try and speak their language and learn their culture! I've only met people encouraging me to learn more and helping need with my studies (and everything else for that matter). I love living here!

[@widyalaksmilarasati]

Hi Simon & Martina ! as an Indonesian (since you mentioned it), who speaks conversational English, and who once went to Korea (visited Seol and Gyeongju for a week), and if your question is still valid (since i'm watching this video two years after it's posted), well, I think Korean letters and language is probably one of the easiest to learn for tourism purpose. You can ask for direction easily, you can read the letters easily (Sejong the Great was awesome to promote the modern day Hangul!), maps are available in most of tourism area, and if you want to ask for more rice, you just say 'bap toajuseyo' ! :D

[@shairatolentino7466]

yeah right, I'm a Filipino and now I can read and write hangul (tho i'm bad at spelling) and speak some basic korean phrases or words after 1 year of being into kpop and kvariety shows, :D

[@nilsy97]

Shaira Tolentino how did you learn??? I wanna learnn!!

[@widyalaksmilarasati]

nilsy rosario my suggestion is for you to google something like 'Hangul Table Pdf' , because Hangul (korean letters) are basically korean version of latin alphabet that is used as how we use Latin. for example, in English using latin, if you combine letter B and U and S, you read it as 'bus' and it will be written as 'bus'. Same like Hangul, if you combine the letter B and A and P , you will read it as BAP (bup) and it will be written as 'bap'. The King ask his scientist to design simple letters to help everyone (including peasants) able to read and write instead of just nobles and scholars, that is why Hangul exist. Memorizing Hangul is one step to avoid yourself being lost in Korea XD, the rest is like what Shaira Tolentino said, kpop, kdrama and kvariety will help you improve your pronunciations and expand your vocabulary and phrases. :D

[@shairatolentino7466]

nilsy rosario i agree with widya laksmi larasati Sunarto memorize the korean letters, which is not that many, and practice reading words even if you can't understand it yet, that way you'll be able to familiarize yourself with the letters easier. but i'm not that pro yet with hangul coz it's kinda hard to know the spelling and grammar. i actually got to memo the korean letters when I was trying to write the stage and real names of exo members in hangul, hahaha ^_^V

[@angiekrill3992]

I think it's cute how they call her "the cheese lady". Like, she doesn't have a real name. Or she does, and he real name is "the cheese lady" which is on her id and everything. i don't know, it just makes me smile.

[@marikadimeglio5810]

I'm from Canada and I don't have a story about being a foreigner in Korea but I'm from Québec where the official language is French (which I speak and is my first language) every time I went outside of Québec I had to speak the little English I knew so I learned English VERY quickly (I learned it quickly because I'm right next to Ontario...)

[@coralie288]

+Marika DiMeglio I must agree about that too. Being immersed is really helping out when one's learning a language. I went abroad for about 13 months (China, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea), and my English skills did improved because more than 75% of the students at my university in Japan were Americans (as well as my Chinese and Japanese). One girl even thought I was American which I'm not (I guess having Amrican friends had an influence on me XD). I'm also from Quebec by the way though I look Chinese. ;)

[@jyanneskye2535]

love the cheese lady! so friendly...people like her makes foreigners feel right at home...even for Asians who dunno korean...

[@xxTotallyGawjusxx]

I was just thinking... How would a non-English foreigner understand what Martina and Simon asked about how non-English foreigners get by in Korea, if they don't understand English... Does that make any sense? >

[@ra85sam]

I was thinking the same thing.

[@mihan1106]

youtube subtitles

[@TaKex1]

mihan1106 youtube subtitles don't help nothing at all ^^"

[@maddiekay4865]

Viv C woah..

[@liviemaher]

Martina the glow in your hair is magical. I couldn't stop looking at it...

[@rap_kulture]

Living in korea sounds fun.. I wish someday i would live there

[@asmrzeus3450]

I am so thankful you guys make these videos am 17 and want to go to university over there and you guys give so much useful information

[@Pschokid]

Funny that you said Sweden as an example xD Swedes are the best english speakers among people who don't have english as their first language

[@alinapaek6755]

wow really

[@arbood26]

Ikr, most Europeans are really fluent in English 😂 they could have made other countries like spain or something 😀

[@AllanJoChristiansen]

Is Spain no longer part part of Europe?

[@ANGRYmuffin9000]

+Ario Budiarto English speaking Spaniards have horrible pronunciation

[@arbood26]

*****​ oops...

[@fxjoe7]

Hi. I'm Indonesian. I'm living in Busan, studying as an exchange student. My Korean friend said most of people (there, at least) believe Indonesian speak English, and they don't seem to have much confidence in speaking English. So I started speaking Korean whenever I go anywhere around my place, and wow! They're surprised n it made me got much closer to the people around. Even free oranges at just a random occasion! I think they are just happy to meet foreigners speaking their language. :)

[@aigeensorane]

Oh thank you guys!!! :) i will be there in january, and this video is really funny and useful, i really love your style guys :)

[@TheGreatPooky]

Coming from Wisconsin, the story of Cheese lady warms my heart. Enjoy your weekend.

[@jenniferwells2291]

I can't imagine moving to another country and not trying to learn at least some of the language before you get there if you have the time.

[@JaseNJared]

I really enjoyed this video! After being here for 6 months I can definitely recommend people LEARN KOREAN! It is very rewarding, and it does make you more able to be part of the community here. I speak Korean as often and as much as possible even if it is broken and slow, practice makes perfect and most people will be kind enough to help you with pronunciation. The only drawback for me is that I live in Gyeongsan province and they have a very different dialect and a lot of like "slang." All good

[@tracib1637]

were you guys able to say goodbye to the Cheese Lady before you moved to Japan?

[@NickRivers-sc2il]

From California and my first language is English. This video is informative. You two are awesome.

[@hopenguyen5050]

My parents lived in Korea for 3 years without knowing any Korean at all and idk how they did it, I asked and they didn't know either xD

[@luluamu]

I love the color contrast between Martina's pink hair and her green sweater!

[@Lizethp98]

You guys should go meet the Cheese Lady and make a video about it !!!! :)

[@samathatjoa]

As an Indonesian who live in China, its quite impossible to live in here without learning mandarin at all. Just like korea, the menu in the restaurants,the public transportation instruction/explanation are in mandarin & english. Butttt mandarin/chinese is harder to learn than korean/hangul. examples: when we want to say 是 in chinese sometimes means yes or is/am/are, but there are other words with shi, like 石shi here means rock. also some of the words have the same pronunciation but with a totally different meanings that will possibly insult people :/ yeah... so heres my story. Btw I live in Shanghai, which supposedly one of the most european influenced city in Shanghai. Come to here sometimes! xD x

[@Tehmusicalunicorn]

I smiled like an idiot throughout the whole cheese lady story xD

[@KidAloha87]

I remember going to Seoul with friends during summer for two weeks. The subway system is not complicated, if you have the hotel business card you can practically give it to the taxi and they can GPS it for you. Bargaining on the streets is fun, if you know just a little korean it really helps. I remember visiting a korean family, even though I didn't know a lick of korean, they really tried to there best to get to know me and what my interests were. So yeah Korea was totally fun!

[@Samiam9D3]

I've had that lip thing that Simon talked about in the beginning of the video happen to me before.

[@thesakura19891]

You guys are totally true! I'm Indonesian & last semester I went to Korea as an Exchange student. I think it's easier to learn Korean from Indonesian because we can pronounce it easily & perfectly, even though Korean is super complicated. and your story about cheese lady made me remember the security 아저씨들 who are seriously sad & wishing us to stay longer when I'd to go back to my country, because we (me & my friend) are maybe the only foreigners who greet them in Korean. I miss them~ :"(

[@kopec82]

Martina did u cry remember cheese lady back hug? ahhh so cute

[@Ana-jb4dt]

Aww The cheese lady story :) It truly is rewarding to make an effort and forge relationships.

[@olidon96]

The cheese lady story is so cute. :')

[@anne21bon]

the cheese lady story made me cry. That's so cute!

[@EngrPet]

martin and simon, how long did you learn how to speak and/or read korean?

[@HMHera]

Omg you guys make Korea sound like a beautiful country and it makes me wanna teleport and move there like right this instant.

[@emilydixon7339]

Martina, if you read this message: What did you do to your hair? IT LOOKS AMAZING!

[@CVReality]

The bangs thou lol

[@animearigatoo]

I come from Norway, have been 3 times in Seoul, and managed just fine with only english. I mostly had to downgrade my english skills because many i talked to seemed to have problems understand full sentences. So i made them shorter and some times only used a basic word for the spesific situation, and adding bodylanguage/hand gestures. But that also worked fine. I felt so welcomed. So many tried help me everytime i looked lost. And i can read hangul, thats helpful, i just have a smal vocabulary.

[@HitomiixxX3]

I can't speak for all Swedish ppl but in Sweden we start to learn English in school from 6-7 years of age so I'm pretty sure most Swedish ppl would manage fine with the English they know ^^

[@TheArcesz]

So so true. I cannot agree more, Swedish people are so easy to talk to in English and they understand to a point or beyond what native English speakers can interpret. It's always the Dutch or the Swedes which are so easy to talk to and so friendly in which case to English people love to go to those countries anytime as well as Korea as I have family living there.

[@tomhannah3825]

Hi! Just to be helpful, I think if you spoke Korean occasionally during your videos, it would immediately dispel the notion that you don't speak it... I've watched a dozen of your videos and have yet to hear you say more than a word or two in korean.

[@Lagiacrus1996]

Tom Hannah Watch their FAPFAPs

[@sarahalramezi]

Hi people! I did use the interpretation call service in Korea back in 2011. Always friendly and helpful. Not just for taxis by the way. If I was lost, I'd call anytime. I even called them once when a beautician refused to help me with my hair because she couldn't speak English. Miss you Korea! ! :)

[@kaiyabou]

Im planning to move to Korea after I graduate college and now im trying to learn korean at an early age (high school wise) but the thing is I wear a hijab and im afraid people will be more prejudice or racist against me since im muslim. So really it would a great thing to move there, but also it would scary to because i've known a few Koreans in my life and they weren't prejudice against me or anything but it was a very small amount.And like because of this stupid terrorist stuff going around, people will think im a terrorist or something. And im really into Korea as much as Japan and stuff. I guess it's because i've only been outside the states into Canada or Morocco. And like I LOVE KPOP, KDRAMAS, and Korean food to. So can anyone please tell me if it would be a good idea to move Korea if I wear a hijab. PLEASE!!!

[@LaLaLaLaLuLaLaLaLaLu]

Im planning to go to korea too and im wearin a hijab. I have a korean friend and,she said that in korea she never saw someone. Against muslim. She even said that some koreans are into our religion. Hope that helped u ≧﹏≦

[@kaiyabou]

U_Cant_See_Me thanks.

[@rocketblastz]

Nina24330 Watch Hijabi in Seoul city's youtube videos :) she wears hijab and lives in Korea her videos will answer all your questions

[@kaiyabou]

zahra basharati AHH!! Thank you!!!

[@rocketblastz]

Nina24330 you're welcome :)

[@aphelios7859]

This video really helped me when I went to Korea...I'm planning to live there after college and so this was my go-to guide

[@marks7348]

I cried at the cheese lady story :')

[@saxyviolist]

I am going to Korea this summer. I can read and write, which is definitely a good skill. I am not fluent, but understand broken Korean, and can speak minimal conversational Korean. I am going with friends who know nothing about Korea, and I keep trying to tell them, I'm sure they will be fine. Thanks for all of the great videos :-)

[@wyliem]

taxi drivers don't speak english in the us either

[@Angelwhatsername]

I was a tourist in Korea last year, I am swedish and I thought a lot of people spoke english, surpringsingly many, because I've heard that no one speaks english there. Of course this was in seoul so naturally more people speak english in the capital. But there were a few places, like the little lunch restaurants where ajummas work and a little shoeshop, and the norebang place, but somehow we made ourselves understood ^^ and most koreans were SUPER nice!

[@XxJoitchxX]

Cheeselady is adorable~

[@SkyeanaisAyris]

lol de cheeeseee lady is awesome

[@crystalbuttersworth4166]

I'd be in Korea like "Yo soy baka"

[@YourIQDoesntMeanShitToMe]

I thank basic Duolingo lessons and anime for understanding that.

[@mommy2maya1]

Omg, the cheese lady story makes this one of my favorite videos!!

[@maggieandgeorge]

But did you know how to speak/read Korean before you moved?

[@lex6blue]

They said they didn't, they had to point at stuff that they wanted like at restaurants and had to write down translators

[@gerher9416]

During the 2002 WorldCup you could get cards that had a list of korean people that speak foreign languages with their phone numbers, they were volunteers to assist turist that needed to ask somethin or guidance moving thru Korea. These cards were given at booths located in airports and it was going to be supported to become a norm after the world cup event

[@SchizoSims]

i loved the cheese lady story lol

[@LydJohan]

It would be really great and interesting if you could do interviews with your foreign friends how like it was that they moved to Korea, what they do there and a lot more. Would have been reeeally fun!

[@legacyhunter9405]

Surviving in Korea with only Englsh will give you guys lots of troubles and problems if you don't have a helper who speaks English.

[@charforeverbiotch]

My first Seoul experience was during my winter vacation just a few weeks ago. When I got off the express train from the airport and I was -2F and I was FREEZING MY BOOTY OFF. Thenwhen showing my cab driver the street of my hotel, a picture, and having him on the phone with my hotel, he still took my family and I to the WRONG HOTEL. Shopping and eating was super simple with knowing a few korean foods, numbers, and polite words! The subway is excellent for non Korean speakers and VERY EASY.

[@Marissuhhh]

She lady sounds great! I want to meet a sweet little cheese lady! :(

[@analivita]

I totally understand what you guys mean about not wanting to learn the whole language. Every time I visit my family in southern Mexico I always get asked why I don't learn Spanish properly when in reality I don't need to. If I got to the point where I can read a whole newspaper in Spanish without asking one of my parents what certain words or phrases mean then I am satisfied with my Spanish.

[@HerScienceFiction]

Do you guys have a video where you speak korean?

[@kimberlyadams2078]

+Sophia Z They have a few. "How to speak Korean like a Pro," I believe they're called.

[@thenamesgelsomina]

OMGGG,u guys make me wanna get that plane ticket booked right away and just go to Korea!! I've been learning the language by myself for a some time but I really wanna practise it!!U 2 r lucky I swear!!keep up the work and soon u'll be fluent!!!=))

[@piczohun]

I want to meet the cheese lady now :)

[@rischaChristine]

THE ENDING OMGG YOU GUYS REALLY MADE MY DAY

[@BareAlan100]

#4 Who wants to die!?!? hahahhaha

[@Arixzone]

You remind you me of me when I moved for the US. Since I speak Spanish and I've realized that a lot of people kinda huddle together into communities and they make no effort to learn the language but not us, We were more progressive and figured that since english was the language of the land we had to learn it. So I relate to that story a lot.

[@seilanna1]

likes for surprise hugs!

[@probableeme]

As a korean american, its fun to watch these :D thank you

[@insayndevilchild]

LMFAO *Thinks about that infamous Tumblr post that claims that Simon and Martina cannot speak or write a lick of Korean*

[@KettiexD]

was it "thisisnotkorea"? Those guys are so mean

[@insayndevilchild]

I have no idea. I don't remember and I have no desire to go find the post again. But I do remember one of the points they used was "If they were black and doing this, would they be as successful?" And like yeah, its a good point. But it shouldn't be held against them.

[@minakohiga]

i went to korea two years ago and i'm from switzerland so i know how to speak english. my experience wasn't that bad at all with the fact that i didn't even know a word in korean. i went to seoul and busan and i agree that seoul is a lot more foreigner friendly with english signs and menus in restaurants.

[@lawyerLoke]

well everyone in sweden speaks english so not a great example lol

[@erandylopez8186]

Yes! I have a have a friend who is a swedish foreign exchange student and can speak english fluently.

[@chengoo]

Last time I was in Korea, my mother and I helped this French guy find albums that played traditional music! The workers at the shop had decent English, but not to the level where the Frenchman was speaking. So my mother and I decided to jump in and help him find all the albums he liked. When it was my family's (mom, bro and I) turn to pay for our albums, each purchase of an album comes with a complimentary photograph of a group or idol. The workers gave us EXTRAS because we helped them!

[@Mawn_x]

that gives me some relief ... but i still want to learn all that i need to know in order to live there ..

[@EchahAisyah98]

Its cool how you upload this when i just arrived in korea

[@Fokloricdancer]

I would agree with you both. I have been here a year in Uijeongbu and the buses didn't have English yet. Now they do but I was here for about 4 months before they did. When I first came I hardly knew anything in Korean, but my Korean has progressed and I can get by. I am not great, but I can hold a simple conversation. I do know people who don't speak or read at all and are just fine. I like knowing Korean though. It is helpful! :)

[@KryzwygCalvin]

Hi Simon and Martina, Can you do a video on the friends that you guys usually hang out with? Like other "foreigners" or even the locals? And like do it in a very quirky way or something? Or even perhaps a housewarming party?

[@Icekuma23Chen]

There are tons of video's on line of "learn Korean" although if you wish to have a "simple conversation" I would highly suggest taking classes to stand a chance of realizing your goal. If the language is easy or hard depends on what your native language is and your own ability. If you want small steps then I'd get "build your Korean vocabulary" by Sunjeong Shin. It contains enough words in letters you know and in Hangul and comes with a audio CD. To write Korean just youtube it.

[@ruidaselva1356]

I totally agree with Simon and Martina, it's much more interesting to live in a place where you feel like you're part of the comunity. I don't live in Korea nor haven't been to Korea ever, but I've lived in China for over a year in a city named Tianjin and at the beginning I'd feel kinda lost and lonely, but once you start getting to know you surroundings and the people arround you everything get's so much more awesome. I miss all the sweet Ayi's (aunts) and Shushu's (uncles). :'D

[@davodiank]

As a frequent visitor of Seoul and a fluent Korean speaker it's fairly easy to move around Seoul (Busan too) with just an English speaking background. There's plenty of English speaking information centres and electronic help points and most road signs are in English too. Much easier than say mainland China in my opinion.

[@ericalesley-thigpen2095]

OMG my daughter and I want to move to Korea sooooooo bad and after watching y'all I wanna go that much more but we would learn the language before we move though make it easier on ourselves I'm slowly learning to speak Korean but not read and write yet though. Y'all r awesome and luv the pink in ur hair :)

[@cattfarley4582]

When I first lived in Korea I lived in Chungju. It is a smaller town, however at the time we had a very active foreigner population. We organized activities, including birthday parties and other big events for the community. It was easier to get by without learning a lot of Korean if you wanted to. However, there was a free Korean language class run by the local government on weekends for foreigners that a few of us took. Between that, language exchanges with parents of my students, studying with a close friend and working on my own I got pretty good at Korean and have actually been bale to use it occasionally outside of Korea. For a short time I worked at a hostel in Mexico where we had Korean visitors and while living and working in BC it came in handy occasionally.

[@Msclassicgeek]

I used to live in Uijongbu!!!!! Miss Korea!

[@Kaichou1998]

it's kinda ironic that i originally watched your vids to learn more about korea but i'm learning more about canada because life in korea sounds a lot like life in my country

[@zinja0830]

My Japanese teacher from Ashikaga went to Korea with his American wife about 3.5 years ago to meet the child they were going to adopt, and he said they ran into a lot more people that understood Japanese than English at the time. However, I imagine there are a lot more people that are English-friendly nowadays. PS - I would love to see a special WANK episode where you go to Bucheon and introduce us to the cheese lady.

[@PandaHer0]

oh my gosh the cheese lady sounds so sweet, its like the nest story i have ever heard