Pronunciation ChallengeWhat If You Were Born In South Korea?

So odds are, if you were born here, you would be a devout follower of some of the best cinema and catchiest of pop songs in the world.

Today’s video talks about South Korea. If you were born in South Korea, what kind of life would you have? What kind of education? What kind of job? It’s an informative video, so I recommend you check it out. I have my own experiences with South Korea, and I’ll share those at the end of the video. For now, however, let’s take a look at today’s featured sentence:

Sentence:
So odds are, if you were born here, you would be a devout follower of some of the best cinema and catchiest of pop songs in the world.

Pronunciation Tips:
Pay attention that “so” and “Odd”’s o are pronounced differently
Cinema
Catchiest of /catchiest-uv/


Vocabulary:
1. odd (adj.) KK[ɑd] IPA/ɒd/

If something is odd, that means it is strange or unexpected. Here’s an example sentence: “He said he can’t join us because he’s busy chasing frogs, which I thought was a very odd thing for him to say.”

2. devout (adj.) KK[dɪˋvaʊt] IPA/dɪˈvaʊt/


A devout person is someone who is devoted to a pursuit, belief, or mode of behavior. Here is an example sentence: “Although it’s had its share of ups and downs, the Star Trek franchise has survived for over fifty years thanks to its devout base of fans.”


3. catchy (adj.) KK[ˋkætʃɪ] IPA/ˈkæʧi/


Catchy means pleasing and easy to remember, especially when talking about a tune or a song. For example, “In the 1980s, Michael Jackson soared to the top of the pop charts with catchy songs like Beat It and Billie Jean.


Outro:

And that brings us to the end of today’s pronunciation challenge. I have been to South Korea before, but before that, I lived in Koreatown in Toronto. In this area, not only are there many Korean restaurants, but the hairstylists are Korean, the people who run the laundromat are Korean, the supermarket is Korean, and there are Koreans and Korean language everywhere! It was a great opportunity to introduce myself to Korean culture, as well as try some delicious Korean food. I think my favorite is something called - and I may be pronouncing this wrong so I apologize - hoedeopbab (회덮밥) which is raw fish mixed with salad and a spicy sauce. Oh man, it’s so good!

As I talked about last week, I have been to South Korea, but sadly my stay was brief - only for a few days. I did manage to get around Seoul and the people I met were very friendly and accommodating. I only know five Korean words yet I was able to get around the city and had an amazing time! I hope someday I can go back for a longer visit, and perhaps see some areas outside the city.

But enough about me, I want to hear about you! Have you been to South Korea, or would you like to live there? What is your experience? If you are from South Korea, or if you live there, what did you think of the video? Do you agree with it? Let me know in the comments below, and don’t forget to do your recording!

I’m Jonathan for VoiceTube. I’ll catch you next time!