EK Newsletter | Summer 2022

안녕하세요 여러분! Hello everyone!

Welcome back to Issue 2 of the Essential Korean Seasonal Newsletter! We’re really excited to share some key projects that the Essential Korean team has been working on, as well as some upcoming things to expect from us– many of these announcements haven't been featured yet on the podcast either.

This edition features Summer, or 여름! Summer in Korea is as active as it is hot, which is why you may find visiting Korea to be more pleasant in the fall or spring as opposed to, say, the middle of July. Even if you’re unable to come to Korea, though, hopefully this newsletter will be able to bring a dose of Korea to you.

Just like last time, at the end of this newsletter, you will find two new Spotify playlists. One is a new summer playlist filled with upbeat songs to enjoy. The second is an instrumental K-drama OST playlist to help you study Korean.

What We’ve Been Working On

Cohort-Based Program

Finally, we're releasing our FIRST cohort-based program for September 2022, which will feature cohort sessions over the course of 10 weeks under the direct instruction of Kay샘! If you've been looking for an extra push to learn Korean under a structured program (and with all the resources and guidance Essential Korean can provide), click here. This first cohort will only have 8 members and registration will be capped on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Study Buddy System

We’re excited to introduce you to the Essential Korean Study Buddy System. We have just launched this feature to help you find study partners at the same level as you to practice together. This is a great opportunity to find like-minded people that are part of our community, especially since studying with others equally as passionate is one of the best ways of improving your Korean. We have a guide on how to use the Study Buddy Finder on our Essential Korean Community Server, and a video tutorial to go along with it.

Two-Week EK Challenge

The Two-Week EK Challenge will be a great chance for you to practice your Korean with a series of prompts in the Library on the Essential Korean Discord. You’ll be writing (at least!) a sentence a day, and students that respond all days of the challenge will be eligible for a lottery, with the prize being a three-month EK premium subscription (existing members will have three months added). It’s a great chance to meet other EK listeners in a fun challenge :) 

Updates to EK Courses

We are opening up more beginner course content for you so that you’ll be able to work with your study partners in practicing conversations and grammar! Check out our website for more.

What To Look Forward To

EK App!

We're going to be releasing our first Essential Korean APP! Courses, conversation audio, and grammar lessons will be much more accessible on your mobile device, and for current EK members especially, you'll be able to interact with course content easily. Expect the launch of the app to happen in July!!

Community Events

We’ll be hosting more Community Events, including movie/drama nights with K-Dramas, lessons taught by Teacher Kay featuring Korean songs, and more! Look forward to announcements on the podcast and EK Discord.

Updated User Dashboard and Forum

We’re working on a dashboard so that you can track progress on Courses as well as go to the previous course you were working on, along with revamping our forum as a space where you can ask questions specific to the course you're working on.

We hope you will look forward to these new features coming to EK soon!

Bonus Section: Playlists!

suncheon sun [여름]

the next seasonal playlist is here! introducing a new summer playlist with over 75 energetic songs dedicated to happy sunny vibes~ check it out on our spotify profile or through the link below.

Find it here!

The EK Podcast Playlist

the second featured playlist is a perfect accompaniment to studying korean. with instrumental versions of original soundtracks (ost) from your favourite k-dramas, this distraction-free music will help with getting in the zone to work.

Find it here!