Modern Korean: An Intermediate Reader [Paperback]

Nam-Kil Kim (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0824822226 | ISBN-13: 978-0824822224 | Publication Date: April 4, 2000

Modern Korean breaks new ground in the field of Korean studies by providing students at last with an intermediate-level language text. The volume emphasizes the development of reading proficiency, but the exercises reinforce skills learned through conversation practice. This book may be used for classroom instruction or self-study. Main text topics cover a wide range of subjects including Korean history, geography, holidays, literature, customs, and people, allowing students to develop a better understanding of Korean society and culture while improving their language skills.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Nam-Kil Kim is professor of East Asian languages and cultures and director of the Korean Studies Institute at the University of Southern California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 412 pages
• Publisher: University of Hawaii Press (April 4, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0824822226
• ISBN-13: 978-0824822224
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,020,793 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #82 in Books > Education & Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Foreign Language > Korean

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book for intermediate students (~ 2 years of study), May 16, 2001

By 

"niffer77" (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Modern Korean: An Intermediate Reader (Paperback)

"Modern Korean: An Intermediate Reader" published: 2000, 327 pages + glossaries

Because the teaching of Korean to foreign speakers is still in its infancy, most of the available books and audio materials are designed for beginners. Beyond this stage, it can be difficult to find materials for intermediate students. Fortunately, "Modern Korean: an intermediate reader" bridges the gap in this area of Korean language pedagogy. Personally, having studied Korean for about 2 years, including a semester in Korea, I find this book to be at the level I needed. The readings include topics such as culture, customs, history, folk tales, and personal letters. They are followed by vocabulary lists and highlight new patterns in grammar. Additionally, the latter half of the book introduces "han-ja" (Chinese characters), which are helpful as they are still occassionally used in written Korean, particularly in newspaper headlines when the native Korean word would be longer, and also when abbreviating calendar dates. * * I would recommend this book to students who have had anywhere between a year and a half to two and a half years of Korean study. Although this book is comprehensive, study could also be supplemented by listening to Korean internet radio or other audio tapes, and reading light modern literature such as poems or short stories (although these can be hard to find). In sum, I find "Modern Korean" to be the ideal book for intermediate students of the Korean language.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Intermediate Book, September 27, 2001

By 

Yoon Lee - See all my reviews

This review is from: Modern Korean: An Intermediate Reader (Paperback)

If you already have a basic understanding of the Korean language, then this book is the next step. It has readings pertaining to the Korean culture, along with vocabulary and grammar studies. I had been waiting for a long time for a book like this. Too bad there aren't many good Korean books out there like this one.

10 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Very standard, August 1, 2004

By 

Steven Kaufmann "The Linguist" (Vancouver BC Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Modern Korean: An Intermediate Reader (Paperback)

A typical old style reader. There are a number of problems. The texts are not interesting. Even though the title is Modern Korean there is too much emphasis on things of little interest to me like Korean festivals, folk tales etc. I prefer authentic content about real people, or history or other adult material. I find the examples, drills and exercises useless.I need to read and listen. I want a good word list with the odd explanation and then more content. What I do need is an audio version of every chapter, either on CD or available for download on the Internet. Unfortunately this book is one of only two intermediate readers I have found. Both are about the same.