Korean For Dummies
by Jungwook Hong and Wang Lee
Korean For Dummies
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Copyright 2008 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2007925982
ISBN: 978-0-470-03718-8
Manufactured in the United States of America
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About the Author
Wang Lee was born in Seoul, Korea, and he moved at an early age to the Middle East. He spent two years in Kuwait and another six and a half in Saudi Arabia. At the age of 13, he moved with his family to the United States and has been there ever since. He graduated from Shimer College in 2000, with a B.A. in Humanities. Since then, hes been working as an interpreter and a translator. He has worked for various school districts helping children with disabilities and has worked as a translator in many different fields ranging from the medical profession to the auto industry. He tutors Korean children in English and writes in his spare time.
Dedication
This book is dedicated to my parents, Sang Gil and Tae Kyun Lee, and my sister, Eun Jung. I am forever in their debt for all the love and support they were kind enough to show. None of this would have been possible without their help and guidance.
Authors Acknowledgments
When I was a little kid, I was fortunate enough to travel the world and live in many different places. It had a large part in shaping the person that I became. I was only three or four when my family moved to Kuwait. My sister, being a couple years older than myself, attended school while we were there. She went to a British school and I first learned English looking over her shoulders. I didnt learn to read then; I just memorized what she was reading and correlated that with the pictures that were on the pages. Later, when my family moved to Saudi Arabia, I continued to learn English from a British lady named Mrs. Brodure. For the first few years of my English-speaking career, I said things like parcels instead of packages, bonnet instead of hood, lift instead of elevator, and the like.
When I moved to the States, I quickly learned that my bilingual skills were a valuable asset. It was a very marketable skill, in fact. I quickly realized that something that came quite naturally to me was something that many people struggled with. I knew that I was fortunate to learn English at an early age, which enabled me to communicate with perfect pronunciation and pass myself off as a native speaker. Then, I would raise a few eyebrows by turning around and speaking perfect Korean as well. My parents at home made sure I spoke Korean very well.
So my first set of thanks goes out to my parents, who taught me Korean and made sure I read and spoke it well. To my father, who always brought home a Korean newspaper for me to read, and for my mother, who was always there for me and pushed me to test my limits.
A most sincere thanks to my sister, Eun, and my brother-in-law, Jin Won Jung, who helped me maintain my sanity while I was sick and in the hospital. A special thanks to my sister, without whom this project would not have been possible.
To my nephew Miles, though hes just 14 months old, he taught me to smile and take delight in the little things, like pointing and laughing, and putting things in your mouth.
To Mike Grossinger, for coming through for me time and time again, no matter what I needed. He has been a sympathetic ear as well as a sounding board for my ideas and rough translations, even though he doesnt speak a word of Korean.
To Eric Hoch, for fixing my computer when it was on the fritz and I was freaking out, worried that Id lost all my work. His calm patience and computer repair skills saved my hide more than once.
To Tom Cyr, who was always there to help me take the edge off, who also seemed to know exactly when I needed to take a break.
A sincere thanks goes out to Barb Doyen, my agent, who found this work for me. Without her, I would have never been involved with the