Most of Americans are have no interested in Korean, I know.
Right ? ok..I see.
The American who very close to me, he also have no interested in Korean.
But he has interested in Japanese and Chinese.
Even some American who have been living for 20 yeares in Seoul doesn't speak Korean. Can you believe that ?
How can you do that ?
My Iran friend who have been living for 6 years in Korea, he can talk with me freely.
So, I think that if you want to live in Korea, you need to learn Korean.
But most of American don't try to learn it.
Their Korean lang is very poor as our English.
If I live only one year in America, I can speak English like you.
Have a good day !

Business opertunities in South Korea in my opinion, are not as widespread as some other countries..So i feel the language (Hangul)is not that popular to learn, as Chinese, Japanese....
As a military member i spent 7 years in South Korea i never learned much Hangul, due to the fact everyone i had dealings with spoke english.

Yes, you may be right. So, I don't catch some opertunities what i learning English. English is an international language but Korean is not.
So, I envy you , English speakers very much.
Actually, I'd like to live in English Area to my English practice.
But It is not easy to me.

I know many people in past times in Korea who were very interested in learning how to speak, read and write your language, including me. problem is many of us stay there for a few years then leave for a few, maye come back again. I learned a lot, even was beginning to read but I came back to the states and no one to talk to or coach me, so next time I go to Korea, I will learn again and hopefully remember what I learned before. I think its not that people aren't interested, its just that Korean is not a widely located language. many people now want to learn Chinese because of the Chinese boom and business opportunities. As for me, I will stick to learning and re-learning what I can of Korean language every time I return to my second home (Korea).

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Shsong- Not everyone has the ability to easily learn foreign languages. It is true, you are just now beginning to understand English after 15 years!
We have the same problem. Also, the guys are right- Korea is a small country, and the language is just not used in any other country. We need a good reason to work so hard- usually the reason is to impress Korean girls or to work with a Korean company! Military people can live here for years and never really have a need to speak the language. Most of us never get past hello and thank you. So you are doing well. Keep trying!

Yes, you're right. Korea is just a small country..... ... yes, right.
But Maybe, you know that ?
a lot of people of Southeast Asia who want to work in Korea, they are very very hard to study Korean. Did you know that ?
My IRAN friend said what the middle east people like Korea and they want to work in Korea. The people who want to work in Korea, Korea is very big country to them.

[quote=a lot of people of Southeast Asia who want to work in Korea, they are very very hard to study Korean. My IRAN friend said what the middle east people like Korea and they want to work in Korea. The people who want to work in Korea, Korea is very big country to them.

Right- I said, ... "or to work in Korea." So, [B]if you read carefully[/b], you would know that I know that.

But that's a different situation. Those Southeast Asian people have to learn Korean in order to survive in Korea. Most Americans in Korea work in English speaking environments and socialize with English speakers (both native and non-native).

Obviously, some of us have made the effort to learn Korean well, but that's because we wanted to learn - not because we had to learn it.

I never have seen that kind American except you.
If you look at some foreigner who very well speak Korean on the street,
He/she will people of Southeast Asia exactly.