#012 The Korean Language, Culture, and Fame with Hyunwoo Sun (TTMIK)

If you’ve ever tried to learn Korean, there’s a really strong chance you did so by listening to Hyunwoo. The founder of Talk To Me In Korean, he has become a leading figure in the language learning community thanks to his books, podcasts, and videos. He shared his thoughts on the Korean language and how hierarchy and democracy plays into all of this, particularly with age and honorific systems. Hyunwoo also talks about the language itself, in terms of its relative ease, focus on verbs, and lack of pronouns. He suggests that despite the boom in Hallyu worldwide, the Korean language learning community has not experienced too many crossover effects yet, but that they might be coming soon. We also discuss the Talk To Me In Korean community with its millions of subscribers worldwide, the way people study, the joy it brings him, and the changing nature of his celebrity and public image amidst all this.