Richard Harris (5) (1974–)

There's a lot of resources out there for students of Korean. Some are written by Koreans for he benefit of foreigners. Most of said resources are laughably bad while few and far between are quite good. On the other hand, some are written by foreigners for the benefit of other foreigners. Most of said resources are either for learning slang or are simply MIA. An exceptional resource is Richard Harris's Roadmap to Korean. His previous effort, interestingly enough, is also hard to find and also very valuable (Faces of Korea).

Don't let the textbook-like cover fool you because this is a resourceful heart-to-heart conversational with you and the author. Harris has compiled his personal notes, stories, charts, tips and tricks all into this neatly presented package. Imagine a super-awesome blog written on paper. It's a very light read and written casually; almost spoken-like. The author has lots of advice to give whether you've never studied the language before or have been for years. There's some history and culture as well as some grammar pitfalls and speaking taboos that are enough to learn from as well as laugh at. His perspective is golden and there's a lot to learn from his book, make no mistake.

I don't have much to say about this book that hasn't already been said. It's a great guide. The only thing I want to criticize is the author's plea to learn hanja. Although I also strongly encourage learning hanja because of its usefulness, he does little in terms of pointing one in the right direction of how to actually study hanja. A minor gripe for such a fabulous study guide. Yes, this book is enough to warrant me saying the word "fabulous".

I would also like to point out that this book is the book I should have written. If I ever had aspirations to publish a "Guide to Study Korean" book, this would have been it. Everything to the comical voice to the practical breakdown of a simple phrase such as "How are you?" Thanks a lot Harris for beating me to the punch and doing a better job than I probably would have done.

I wish I read this years ago.… (altro)

Despite being published over seven years ago and is tough as nails to find, this book is an absolute gem. If you get your hands on this, do not let it go. What you hold is a brilliant collection of unforgettable stories.

The author has compiled 47 interviews of foreigners who all have one thing in common: Korea. If this seems just it'll be about a few American blogging English teachers, please disregard that thought because this book could not be more diverse. Interviews from ethnic Chinese living in Korea, Korean adoptees from North America and Europe, spouses of Koreans, former soldiers, missionaries, TV personalities and a truly breathtaking interview with Dr. Horace Grant Underwood III a few months before his passing. The book covers illegal immigrants, naturalized citizens, foreign language students and everything in between.

The book has a few faults, though. Despite being translated and transcribed into English, there are small number of grammatical and spelling errors. In addition to being a few bucks more expensive than the average expatriate book, it's a bit difficult to find a copy. Lastly, although the book does cover all pertinent subjects with a phenomenal level of balance, I would have liked to see more jobs such as business owners, politicians, island dwelling foreign residents, graduate students, and the like.

This book is crying for a revision and a new pressing. Please don't let this book be the last of what could be a great teaching tool for prospective and current foreign residents of Korea. An eye-opening and brilliantly compiled text, I urge you to pick this one up at the first possible inclination of moving to Korea. I picked it up and couldn't put it down till I finished it. Richard Harris, thank you.… (altro)