First of all I don't mean this in mean spirit. Actually I'm trying to understand why I feel like I'm getting a negative reaction when I try to speak Korean here in Seoul. So with that...

Often times when I speak Korean around my friends I get 1 of 2 different reactions... both making me feel silly and thus I stop speaking any Korean (which frustrates me to no end).

Reaction #1: Laughing or holding their hand over their mouth in an attempt to muffle their laugh? This makes me feel like what I just said was stupid or something... I'm sure my pronounciation isn't 100%, but what gives with such a large amount of people giving me this reaction. I've almost given up on attempting to speak... I am a bit embarrased about speaking Korean because I know it's broken, but to laugh at someone in their face is competely disrespectful.

Reaction #2: Overacting... meaning if I say something in Korean people tend to react with "oh wow!!! WOW!!! you spoke in Korean (high five, etc, etc). This is silly and strange, I mean is this some type of joking or something? I think it's a bit ridiculous to make such a big deal out of someone trying to learn and is so uncomfortable... I think people should just try and listen and don't make the person trying to speak or learn Korean feel like a moron with the overacting. (-_-);;

So far my hopes of coming to Korea to learn to speak Korean have been seriously roadblocked by my reaction to everyone elses reaction. I am sure I'm being a bit oversensitive which isn't normal for me... but for some reason the common way Koreans react to my attempts really affects me and there isn't much I can do about it. I don't want to feel stupid, but I do... so I'm trying to understand why people here seem to react in a way that is considered disrespectful or rude in western (USA) culture (that is lauging to the face of someone trying to do something like speak or over-reacting). Maybe if I understand the reaction of Koreans I can get over my fear of speaking... seriously I'm so frustrated about this.

Sorry for the wining... but I would appreciate some help or constructive feedback.

Happy Holidays and New Year.

-Steve

Atleast your trying, reguardless of anyones reaction. Ofcourse someone politely explaining the right pronunciation would be better

I say speak on, right or wrong. HA!

If you haven't noticed, Korean tends to be a bit blunt. They don't go about thing; they just say it right infront of you. It is a normal thing. They are not really over-reacting, but probaby very surprise that someone would actually attempts to learn to speak Korean. I have some friends that are learning Korean right now, and they don't have problem with that.
When they are covering their mouth and laugh, just think of it this way, "they are not laughing at you, but with you." They are probably appreciative of you for attempting to speak Korean. It is not a laugh-in-the-face. On that topic, you know there are many different kind of laughters. This kind of laugh was not meant to be insulting, but more of being surprised and thankful for something trying to learn their language.

So don't be mad, get glad!!! LOL. j/k... Anyway, hope you have a great time learning Korean. It is just not the language, but the culture as well.

OK- lets look at this, disregarding your previous conditioning that laughing is very disrespectful.
In Korea, it is not.
Laughing is often the first reaction you get from someone who is surprised.
Young people surprise easily. Some are what Americans might call "Goosey".
If they had time to think, or took time to think, they would react differently.
Older people may be surprised, but their reactions will not be laughter, unless your pronounciation is so far off the meaning is changed to something amusing. That can easily happen. A slight change in a word can make proper name like George sound like you are describing a sexual organ.

As Moonsite says, every Korean is appreciative of your attempt to learn their language! Most foreigners don't.
Most English speaking friends want to be helpful, but you will soon learn that they have often been using incorrect pronounciation themselves, unknowingly. Correctly speaking the words is important. You will open many doors, make many friends, and be very pleased with yourself if you do it right the first time. Books with purported translations from Korean into English are usually NO HELP. You need a live person, or a tape to hear the sound. No need to pay for a CD or tape if you are here in Korea.
I'm assuming you are not an English teacher, or maybe you are and just typed "habbit" too fast!
Welcome to the forum! We can assist in most anything. I hope this helps. Many of us speak Korean, a few of us read and write. I'm in Seoul. I will be assisting you as much as you would like.