Meet Shams, the distinguished Korean Arabic-learner

Sohn Wonho gives lectures on YouTube about the Arabic language. 

By Korea.net Honorary Reporter Nuran Sami Hassan Ibrahim

Photos, Video = Sohn Wonho

With complex and circuitous grammar rules, pronunciation sounds that don't exist in other languages, and over a hundred million words, Arabic is one of the richest and most difficult languages to ever exist. Accordingly, people of Arabic origin aren't born familiar with such a large number of words in their mother tongue, and it can be tough to learn the meaning of the many vocabulary words that exist widely across media and literature. This is why learning Arabic is a particularly massive challenge for non-native speakers. Today, Korea.net interviews a passionate Arabic language learner from Korea. Meet Sohn Wonho, a graduate student and former KBS World Radio Arabic announcer and current YouTuber whose aim is to enhance both ends of the translation bridge -- Korean and Arabian -- with the knowledge of each's traditions and linguistic heritage. 

- Please introduce yourself.

My name is Sohn Wonho and I work for the Korea National Oil Corporation. At the same time, I'm studying for my graduate degree in Islamic history and civilization at the University of Sharjah. I also manage the YouTube channel “Korean Shams in Arabic” to share information about the Arab world with all my Korean viewers.

- Your Arabic name is "Shams." Is there a reason for this? Did you pick this name for yourself?

When I started my YouTube channel, I needed a new name that reflected my image as a bridge between the Arabian world and the Korean world. So I chose "Shams, which means "sun" in Arabic, hoping that I could be a source of light for the Koreans out there who want to learn about the Arabic language and Arab countries, and also for any Arabs who want to learn more about Korea.

- When did you start learning Arabic, and why Arabic?

Actually, my father worked for a Korean fabric company, and his main sales region was the Arab world, especially the Gulf countries. He could speak one Arabic dialect, though unfortunately he couldn’t read or write, and it looked really cool to me. At that time, there were really only a few Korean people who could speak any dialect of Arabic fluently. 

In 1999, I had to choose a major at university. My father recommended I choose the Arabic language, thinking of the large number of Arabic-speaking countries. He told me that if I could speak standard Arabic, I could do something new that other people couldn't do, and that it would open my eyes to a new world that was still pretty much unknown in Korea, even though this region has been playing an important role in the world. So I chose Arabic thanks to my father.

- You have a YouTube channel under the name "Korean Shams in Arabic." What's your goal for the channel?

There are a lot of Korean people who live in the 22 predominantly Arabic-speaking countries or who visit a predominantly Arabic-speaking country for business or pleasure. However, there's little chance for them to actually learn about the Arabic language and the many Arab peoples, despite their passion for learning. I noticed that they were all learning about the Arab world on YouTube, in English. So I started to think about opening my own YouTube channel in the Korean language for Korean people, to help them approach the Arabic language and the many types of Arab people much more easily.

In the near future, I want to talk about Korea to my Arab viewers in the Arabic language on my YouTube channel.

- What Arab countries have you visited, and what for?

My first Arab country was Egypt in 2003. I studied Arabic there for six months through an Egyptian government scholarship program. I stayed in the lovely area of Doqi in Cairo.

Then I moved to Sanaa, Yemen, to improve my Arabic and lived in old Sanaa for nine months. I still remember that the Yemeni dialect of Arabic was really difficult. I couldn’t understand what they were talking about when I was at a qat meeting with my Yemeni friends.

In 2012, my company sent me to Baghdad, Iraq, as an energy adviser at the Korean Embassy in Iraq. I stayed there for one year.

Since 2013, I've lived in Dubai, UAE, and I work at the KNOC Dubai office. In September 2016, I started studying Islamic history at graduate school at the University of Sharjah.

- Have you visited any famous landmarks in the Arab world?

Yes, of course. The Middle East is full of historical landmarks. In Egypt, I’ve visited the pyramids, Luxor's Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings, Abu Simbel, the Siwa Oasis and Alexandria.

Then I lived in Old Sanaa, which is a historical landmark itself, and saw the Gulf of Aden. In Iraq, I’ve visited Baghdad University, the Ziggurat of Ur, the Imam Ali Mosque and the Citadel of Erbil. 

Now that I live in the UAE, I can see new historical landmarks like the Burj Khalifa, the Burj al-Arab and the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.

Sohn Wonho is a former KBS World Radio Arabic announcer.

- There's something about the Arabic language that, when you learn it, you have to decide, first, which dialect you're going to learn. Nobody ever uses standard, formal Arabic in their daily lives. For example, the Emirati dialect differs from an Egyptian's way of speech. So, did you specifically choose a certain dialect to learn?

These days, I'm focusing on learning the Emirati dialect. 

- Did that negatively affect your learning process?

To non-Arabic speaker, it seems that those are two different languages, even though some Arabic-speakers insist that it's the same Arabic language. So we have to study them all separately. For example, some people who study only standard, classic Arabic can communicate with any other educated Arab person without any problem. However, when they get into the daily conversation of the common Arab people, they will get discouraged, finding that standard, classic Arabic is totally different from what people actually speak on the ground.

- What do you think is the hardest part of learning Arabic?

Of course, the difference between standard, classic Arabic and the many dialects is the hardest part. I've had to overcome that. If I had to crown it all, I'd say that the dialects vary according to different areas of the Arab world.

- You studied the history of a few Arab countries, right? Which was most interesting to you?

Of course, what attracted me were the genius Arab scholars from the Abbasid Caliphate, such as Ibn Khaldun (1334-1406) and Tabari (839-923). Thanks to them, they developed the school system that can still be seen at the Mustansiriya Madrasah in Baghdad. All of us know that without them, Europe would not have experienced its Renaissance and, in turn, there would be no modern civilization in the Western World. 

- Did you find anything hard to adapt to in terms of your everyday-life in those Arabic-speaking countries?

The way you become friends in Arab countries is different from in Korea. I made my own theory for this. In Korea, there's one door in front of you, and you have to open this door to make them your friend. It's not easy to open at first, but if you knock several times, it'll open and they will be your friend. With Arab people, however, there are two doors. The first door is always open thanks to the Arab habit of always welcoming a stranger. If you want to make that Arab person your real friend, however, you have to open the second door. It's never easy and you need time and something special to share with them. Thus, it's easy for Korean people by mistake to think that an Arab has become their real friend, even though they've only opened the first door.

- Are there any positive traits or anything special you found in Arab countries, that you haven't found anywhere else?

Arabs are always open to strangers and non-Arabs, with an open mind, thanks to their spirit, and Arabs are more human in relationships than others.

- What are your goals in general?

Wherever I am, either with a company or in a personal way, I want to share what I’ve learned about all the different Arab peoples with my Korean people, to help them become closer to the Arab world, and to give information about Korea to Arabic-speakers everywhere.

Check out Shams' YouTube channel here.

wisdom117@korea.kr

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