When learning a foreign language, some of the most easily accessed books are often comic books. With drawings alongside short sentences, the context of a comic is readily comprehensible. Moreover, reading comics also helps understand the respective country's culture and can be beneficial in many other ways, too.

The King Sejong Institute (www.sejonghakdang.org) has now produced and published a series of online comic books about ancient Korean folktales, targeting those who are learning Korean. The institute launched the project in celebration of its second anniversary, on October 27. It is also publishing a short cartoon, "Poppopping Korea," to assist people to learn Korean.

The "Traditional Korean Folktales In Cartoon" series of online comic books consists of 24 stories, including "The Ogres' Magic Clubs," "The Mud Snail Bride," "The Sun and the Moon," and "The Weaver Girl and the Cowherd." They have been translated into English, simplified Chinese, Japanese and Spanish. Language learners can read the comic in their own language and in the original Korean, and it allows them to more easily grasp idiomatic expressions in Korean. One folktale will be released every week, and in the end there will be a total of 102 issues across the 24 stories.




The "Poppopping Korea" cartoon for beginners consists of 40 five-minute episodes. Commonly used short sentences are repeated to help learners memorize them. There are explanations about vocabulary and grammar. One episode will be released each week and they can also be watched through a smartphone app.


"The cartoon series will not only help people learn Korean, but will also raise international awareness of Korean online comic books," said Song Hyang-keun, chairman of the King Sejong Institute. "We will take a step forward from being simply a Korean language learning center to becoming a center for Korean culture."

By Limb Jae-un
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photos courtesy of the King Sejong Institute
jun2@korea.kr