• Korean Journal of Japanese Language and Literature
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• no.83
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• pp.25-44
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• 2018

The purpose of this study is to gain an understanding of the characteristics of Japanese idioms which are difficult for Korean learners of Japanese as a foreign language (JFL), as Japanese idioms often contain non-compositional, non-analyzable, and unmotivated semantic units. Specifically, this study aims to underscore the nature of Japanese idioms used in the spoken language of Omurahama (2010) to determine whether JFL learners who speak Korean as their first language encounter difficultly, and to observe similarities and differences between Manga (Kim2018) and daily conversation (Ohama2010). Finally, this study suggests strategic learning guidelines for JFL learners who speak Korean as their first language. The results of this study can be summarized into the following three points: 1) It should be pointed out that the JFL learners who speak Korean as their first language felt that understanding Japanese idioms was less difficult than other foreign language idioms for the following reasons: the 28% of Japanese idioms can be translated totally and literally, the 59% can be translated partially and literally, the 9% can be understood through the origins of idioms and Japanese cultural background, and only 3% can be considered non-analyzable. 2) There are similarities and differences between Manga and daily conversation in spoken language that were used to create the guidelines for this study. 3) Given the findings, three strategic learning guidelines are suggested.