I've noticed that the Korean language is gaining popularity among students. It is ranked roughly #11 among high school and college students in the U.S. This is somewhat surprising given the relatively small number of speakers and the difficulty rating of the language. It is classified as category 4 by the Foreign Service Institute, the most difficult category of languages for native speakers of English. I would guess that the growing interest in Korean is due to the country's economic success as well as the success of Korean popular culture worldwide. I know that Jayne studies Korean. Perhaps others here do also? I am curious. What inspired your interest in studying Korean? Which aspects of the language and culture do you particularly like? Also, in your experience, is the language difficult relative to others? (I have not found other category 4 languages to be exponentially more difficult than category 1, 2, or 3.) What exactly do you find difficult, or easy, or just interesting, about Korean?