Natively Korean has just launched (hooray! ), and something I’m looking forward to is seeing book clubs being hosted on the forums. This thread is for gauging interest in Korean book clubs and general discussion about what kind of book clubs people would be interested in.
First, a poll!
If you’d like to join a Korean book club, what level(s) would you be interested in?
I’m an absolute beginner and may not be good enough, yet, for a book club but I do like the idea. I can read and write Hangul and sound out words. I need to learn batchim and the creation of sentences next.
The nice thing about book clubs is there’s no pressure - you can choose to join if you’re interested in what’s being read, or you can wait until a book is selected that’s more to your liking. If there were to be a book club for the TOPIK 1 level for example, it might be a graded reader or a children’s book. And the book club thread is for discussion of what’s being read and any difficulties you might have with the language, so there will be help available.
I’m interested! I’m not quite sure what my level is. I did well with a couple of books for middle graders (think like 8-10 age group), and struggled more with a YA book.
Often there are previews available for ebooks so you can get a feel for whether it’s something you’d be able to read. And of course there will be help from others in the book club.
There are probably free online tests you can take if you want an estimate of your Korean language level… Although I’ve never tried any.
I’ve heard some rumblings here and there, so I wanted to see if I could get a clearer picture here (kind of hijacking your topic here @bibliothecary, sorry). The LN book club’s next book is 本好き, and there happens to be a Korean version of it! 책벌레의 하극상 제1부 - 병사의 딸 1 | L30
I know I, for one, would definitely welcome readers who’re reading along with the Korean version! It would be super interesting to see if there were differences in the Korean translation for one, and would be a nice step in pulling together book club-minded Korean readers as well.
Are there any Korean readers interested in joining us? We’re currently planning on starting September 4th.
Yes, I’m going to try to be there
No, I’m not interested
I’d like to, but I’m not confident that my level’s high enough
No better way to improve than to stretch yourself, right? (Which, thinking about it, makes me wonder how the amount of effort needed to stretch 5-7 levels compares when you’re starting at level 5 vs 10 vs 15 vs etc… I feel like it’s easier to stretch that many if you’re already fairly high up. So how would you measure % of effort needed, I wonder…)
I think 本好き in particular could be helped by reading/skimming the English version first for support, or looking up a plot synopsis. The first volume isn’t so intricate from what I recall, so having that mental framework would probably help a lot (kind of like why I read Harry Potter as my first Japanese book).
Yup, got my Japanese and Korean versions at the ready!
Too bad there isn’t an audiobook for the Korean version (yet?), that would have been icing on the cake. Although ふしぎ駄菓子屋銭天堂 (series) | L24 and 이상한 과자 가게 전천당 (series) | L20 both have audiobooks, so that’s next on my list of Japanese/Korean listening/reading books!
Very true. The first volume(s) at least are more focused on daily life, correct? Haven’t read it myself. If that’s the case, could be good everyday vocabulary, which tends to be easier/more useful to pick up anyway.
Funny you mention that; I think a video game for that book series was just announced.
Anyway, could be fun to try to set up a one-off book club for that book as well, covering both JP and KR. I know there’s probably a substantial subset of JP learners that aren’t quite at the level of most of the LN picks (let alone the mystery picks), so we could potentially draw in a bunch of people that way.
I feel you; I like seeing people participate, and I remember how frustrating it could be to see all these cool books and know you couldn’t read them. I guess my biggest question in regards to setting one up is in regards to book club fatigue: would the potential audience for a beginner book club overlap significantly with the LN or mystery clubs? If so, you could lose a lot of your potential audience due to them being overwhelmed by clubs, especially with the LN having started so recently. Add in that we have a lot of people who also participate on the WK forums, which itself has many book clubs.
This is getting off topic from this thread, so maybe it would be best to set up a thread elsewhere to discuss. I guess ultimately it might depend on how large a userbase Natively might’ve managed to accumulate at this point; most will be a silent majority, so it’s a bit difficult to judge.
The one beginner friendly book in the Mystery Book Club so far hasn’t come close to winning, so I don’t expect the regulars there to be drawn off or fatigued by a beginner book club. Possibly more likely for the LN club - I recall some unhappiness about Cop Craft being picked due to its high level.
), and something I’m looking forward to is seeing book clubs being hosted on the forums. This thread is for gauging interest in Korean book clubs and general discussion about what kind of book clubs people would be interested in.
(Which, thinking about it, makes me wonder how the amount of effort needed to stretch 5-7 levels compares when you’re starting at level 5 vs 10 vs 15 vs etc… 
I feel like it’s easier to stretch that many if you’re already fairly high up. So how would you measure % of effort needed, I wonder…)
