[Learn Korean] Learning Idioms through Stories: 'The Beginning is Half the Battle'

There's a Korean proverb that says, 'A good beginning is half the battle.'

Literally, it means ‘if you just start, it’s like you’ve already finished half of it.’ It also means ‘starting anything is the most difficult part, but once you start, it becomes easier to finish.’

When you are hesitant or find it difficult to start something new, you can use this proverb to encourage yourself.

I also had a new challenge at the beginning of 2024.

It was getting a ‘Barista Certification’.

I love coffee so much, but I knew almost nothing about it, so I thought, ‘Let me learn it!’

So, as soon as January began, I went to a barista academy every Sunday to learn how to make coffee.

I learned a lot about coffee beans and experienced the various tastes and aromas of coffee.

When I arrived at the academy, the teacher would make coffee for us.

And we all drank coffee together and talked freely about what it tasted like and what it smelled like.

Sometimes I could guess the taste and aroma correctly, and sometimes I came up with completely random ones.

The hardest part for me was finding the sweetness in espresso.

No matter how much I drank, I couldn’t feel the sweetness! It was really agonizing.

I remember drinking so much espresso in the third week that my stomach burned until the next day.

The ‘latte art’ wasn’t originally included in the foundation course, but the teacher taught me how to do it.

My goal was to make a heart.

At first, the heart was a complete mess, but as I repeated it, it gradually began to take shape.

Of course, it’s still quite imperfect, but I was able to make a heart shape nonetheless.

And finally! I passed both the written and practical exams and got the SCA Barista Foundation Certification!

It’s a small achievement in the overall scheme of things, but I’m very proud of myself.

In this situation, we can use the expression ‘A good beginning is half the battle.’

You, who have started learning Korean, are already halfway there.

★ You can listen to this content as a podcast on the YouTube channel.

https://youtu.be/QhpjZdDzJ6A

★ Download the script as a PDF file and study it!

https://buymeacoffee.com/yunyunskoreanclass/e/245338

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