재미있는 선생님임! Interested in learning Korean? Right from Beginner's level through Advanced. Let's have fun learning!

Find out more about Siddhi

• Tell us more about your subject. How did you develop an interest in this field?

  I was naturally attracted to this language after watching a few dramas. I always felt like the subtitles weren't doing much justice to the amount of emotions the actual words delivered. Starting out on my own, I started looking for tutors and language partners to study and practice with. And just as I'd thought, Korean indeed is a much more expressive language! Now, aside from teaching it, I use it to converse with my Korean friends, and it does makes a great deal of difference as compared to when we speak in other languages.

• What or who is the motivation behind you choosing to teach & why?

  I was exposed to a variety of languages due to the different backgrounds of my parents. So, I was always curious and intrigued about the similarities that I could draw out of every language I learnt. Eventually, I came to the conclusion that I wanted to make a career in something related to languages. And that's how I started pursuing teaching. Korean was one of the first foreign languages that I found myself wanting to learn and I still keep finding more and more interesting things to learn from it. :)

• How does your work help society?

  The Korean language is gaining more and more popularity these days, especially among the younger generation. A big part in it is played by the Hallyu wave, also known as KPOP. I'm noticing many people around me starting to ascend from just listening to the music, to wanting to learn the language and understand the lyrics. Also, as an Indian, I've seen a lot of Korean brands being popularly used everywhere. I'd like Indian people, interested in setting up their work in Korea, to be able to communicate well, atleast to the extent of their requirement. Apart from these, I feel that language learning brings people closer on a global level as well, due to the similarities you'll eventually discover along your language learning journey.

• If you had to think of a role model for your work, who do you think of & why?

  I have a friend in Korea, who started out her career as a YouTuber, at a very young age. Without giving much thought to what route all her peers were taking after graduating high school, she was focused on delivering information about Korea and trying to connect it to India. After having lived in India for 6 months, she was impressed by the vastness and the variety that we had to offer here and she would keep tracing all kinds of similarities and differences even after she returned to Korea. Her, taking that step to fearlessly lead her own life, made me think back on my decisions as well. Although we work in two very different sectors, on a mental plane, she's helped me develop a lot. So yeah, I think that she would be my role model, who inspires me with her boundless enthusiasm and passion for her work.

• Tell us about your hobbies outside teaching.

  • I love reading. I read a lot of novels and novellas, especially the period novels.
  • I like learning languages as a hobby as well. I'm a polyglot and am currently working on my French and Japanese.
  • This is an absolutely new-found interest but, I like making cheesecakes! (non-bake ones) ;)

• Do you have an anecdote to tell us about your student or professional life?

  As a student, I would always think about what I would like to do in the future. Especially in the last three years of High School I faced a lot of ups-and-downs, with regards to my indecisiveness. I went from wanting to become an Architect, to a Perfume Evaluator, to a Perfumist; trying all, but not feeling settled with what I was doing. Often, I used to think that I was just being too lazy to study and that's why maybe I was using my "loss of interest" as an excuse to drop out. I realised later on, that they were just temporary attractions and I would not be able to do any of those happily for the rest of my life. But while I was preparing for an entrance exam (which was a really stressful period), I happened to watch a short Korean movie. And that was my first time, watching something in a different language (albeit with English subtitles). I was absolutely blown away by the way they spoke and the accent they used; to me, it almost sounded like any other Indian language that I didn't understand. And just like that, I started watching more and more content in Korean and eventually started learning it in my free time. Soon, unknowingly I started using it as a way to relieve my stress after a hectic day at the coaching classes. Over the years, building more and more connections, through language exchanges, attending polyglot conferences and just immersing myself into speaking (and even trying to think in that language), brought me to eventually start teaching it too. I would first just do it as a part-time, but then I started to take part in more events and was guided by others to get an official certification. So, that was my next goal. I enrolled for a course offered by Sungkyunkwan University (a renowned Korean Uni), answered their exam, and earned my certificate as an Advanced learner of Korean. Now, I'm slowly expanding in this field itself. I also plan to continue my studies in the same. :)