This K-Pop Fan Taught Herself To Read and Write in Korean And Now Teaches Korean In School

A quick scroll through her page will show you that most of her content revolves around teaching her followers Korean phrases and words, her travels in The Land of the Morning Calm, and her encounters with Korean celebrities in Malaysia such as Extraordinary Attorney Woo’s star Park Eun Bin.

@nuraezzatie Eunbin unnie saranghae ❤️ #parkeunbininmy #ParkeunbininMalaysia #fyp #parkeunbin #attorneywooyoungwoo ♬ WooYoungWooGreeting - KOJOOBOO

The influencer was recently interviewed by The Korea Herald, a leading English-language daily newspaper published in Seoul where she shared her journey of teaching herself the Korean language more than 10 years ago.

Many K-pop acts are surprised to find that Malaysians can understand their speech before a translator speaks when they head to our shores for events, and like many others, Ezzatie started learning Korean because of her love for K-pop. At the age of 18 back in 2010 so that she could understand what Super Junior was saying in their videos without the need for subtitles.

Admiringly, her knowledge of the language was self-taught at the outset as she could not afford to attend private Korean language institutes. Instead, she used free materials available online and free lessons on YouTube to study. She also hung out with Korean friends to improve her intonation and pronunciation.

After five years of studying on her own, she passed level 4 of the Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK), a written test to measure the ability of non-native speakers for expression and comprehension in Korean. She has now progressed to level 5, with level 6 being the highest.

Then in May 2021, she started sharing her knowledge and study tips online through TikTok and Instagram. Most of her short videos are posted of her speaking in Korean or English with either English, Korean, or Malay subtitles.

@nuraezzatie Do you know how to read your email address in Korean ? Let’s learn how ! ❤️? #tiktokguru #iniideasaya #jombelajar #learnontiktok #learnkorean #koreanlanguage ♬ Don't Rush - Young T & Bugsey

In this video, she playfully teaches her followers how to reject a potential love interest in the language:

@nuraezzatie The last one might cut your friendship as well lol #jombelajar #learnontiktok #tiktokguru #learnkorean ♬ the winner takes it all - november ultra

Her videos are a great way to pick up some Korean words quickly:

@nuraezzatie Agreement Expressions in Korean ?? #jombelajar #fyp #straykids #felix #hanjisung #learnontiktok #tiktokguru ♬ Darl+ing - SEVENTEEN

Speaking to the newspaper, she said “Malaysians are also affected by the rising popularity of the Korean wave worldwide. A lot of people here are learning the Korean language by themselves through K-pop songs and Korean dramas. Since I learned Korean by myself, I know the struggle of self-learners. So, I decided to make videos educating (people about) Korea through social media. I just want to create content that could be beneficial for Korean-language learners.”

In November 2022, Ezzatie started teaching a Korean language class at a public secondary school in Negeri Sembilan. She is armed with a Masters of Education in Educational Psychology and a Postgraduate Diploma in Korean Language Education. She has also had exciting opportunities to work with Korean people and companies.

12 public secondary schools across Malaysia offer Korean language courses, with Korean being included as part of the elective curriculum at primary and secondary schools back in 2015.

Ezzatie’s progress is truly inspiring for anyone who has dreams of learning a new language. Everyone, fighting! 화이팅!!