By Korea.net Honorary Reporter Celena Davis from Jamaica

Think of a language. Any language. Got it? Great. What language did you think of?

If you’re reading this, you might have thought about Korean, but most people don't. The average person would have thought of their native language, or one of the more populous languages, such as English, Mandarin or Spanish. Korean isn’t a language that comes to mind for non-speakers or for those without an interest in things Korean. If asked to think of an Asian language, Mandarin, Cantonese or Japanese are at the tip of most people’s tongues. Asked to list all East Asian languages, and Korean might even be forgotten by some. However, this is changing. With the growing popularity of Korean pop music, TV shows and movies across East Asia and elsewhere, strengthening year-on-year, and Korea’s increasingly important role in global politics, a growing number of people across the globe are opting to learn Korean. This choice is not without barriers.

Korean language-learners are all too familiar with that frustrating question, “Why Korean?” This question is often accompanied by a puzzled, sometimes disgusted, look, as if you are suggesting tying hedgehogs to your feet to climb a coconut tree. Yes, that is the look of confusion you get when you profess your desire to learn Korean.

Rarely would anyone ask why you're learning Spanish or French, as if these European languages are somehow the only acceptable language choice for a native English speaker. I would remind those naysayers that 30 years ago Mandarin learners faced the same issue. Today, it is, “Why not learn Mandarin?” Or greater still, “You should learn Mandarin.” Who's to say that Korean won't undergo a similar transformation? With the increased popularity of Korean media and the ever-growing importance of the Korean Peninsula to global peace, Korean might become one of the “must learn” languages in the coming decades.

If you live outside of Korea or Northeast Asia, you will be familiar with the difficulty faced trying to learn Korean. No, I'm not talking about the complex grammatical structure. We’ll save that for another article. I'm referring to the difficulty finding lessons and resources in your home country, even in diverse globalized cities.

So you’ve dismissed the naysayers and decided to learn Korean. A Korean language textbook is first on the agenda. Your first thought might be to head to your bookstore -- yes, I'm old fashioned that way -- and grab a book. You arrive at the bookshop giddy with excitement, head over to the language section, and start scouring the shelves. You’re a logical person and bookshops organize languages alphabetically in English, so you start halfway down the shelf, locate the final Japanese book, and start looking from there. After the letter J comes the letter K, right? So why can’t you find any Korean textbooks? The languages go straight from Japanese to Latin. You think to yourself that this must be a mistake, so you start from A and work your way through to Z. You do it three times to make sure. There is no Korean.

While scouring the bookshelf you’ve found a saturation of Spanish, French, Japanese, Mandarin and Cantonese books. You’ve even found books for Sanskrit and Latin, but no Korean. “Where are the Korean books?” you ask yourself, the excitement you felt upon entering draining away. As you stand there looking at the gap between the last Japanese book and the Latin dictionary, the gap where Korean should be, you think to yourself, “Perhaps Korean is so popular that they’ve run out of stock and are ordering more textbooks.” You’re sorely mistaken. There are no Korean books because Korean isn’t considered mainstream. Bookshops have yet to come around to the fact that Korean is growing in popularity. You can go to that gap between Japanese and Latin every day, and there still won’t be a Korean book.

Puzzled and upset, you leave the book shop and turn to the internet. You say a little prayer for Amazon and Ebay and with a few clicks your Korean textbooks are on their way. Your language learning journey can finally begin.

You’ve got your textbook, but what if you find Korean too difficult and would prefer to take a class? You might be out of luck. If Korean textbooks in your local bookshop are like gold dust, then finding a language class is like finding a needle in a haystack the size of a small Caribbean island. If you are lucky enough to find Korean language classes, they might cost an arm and a leg.

Fear not, the Korean government is coming to the rescue. Although Korean resources and lessons are difficult to find in our home countries, this is changing. The Korean government is capitalizing on the growing number of Korean language-learners by opening 174 language institutions in 57 countries. If you're lucky enough to live in one of these countries, your Korean language learning journey just became a little bit easier.

Lucky Londoners! Although Korean language-learners living in London face the aforementioned difficulties, Londoners have it easier than most. London is home to the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), which has the largest concentration of Korean specialists in Europe. It's one of only two universities in the U.K. to offer an undergraduate degree in Korean and is home to London’s very own King Sejong Institute. Korean language-learners in London can take lessons at the SOAS, at the Korean Community Center and at the Korean Cultural Center U.K. Remember those textbook woes I mentioned? The SOAS has the answer. They stock all the most common Korean textbooks. Also, London is fortunate enough to have its own Koreatown where language learners can put their skills to practice.

Korean can be a challenging language for people whose first language is English. Also, Korean resources and lessons might be difficult to come by, but don't despair. Keep your reasons for learning Korean in mind and keep going.

Here is a traditional Korean sijo poem I wrote for this.

Korean language resources can be very difficult to find.
This upsets and frustrates you; really irritates you.
Don’t despair. A King Sejong Institute might be opening near you.

wisdom117@korea.kr

* This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.