"I only knew Conan, but now I'm making a living in Japanese."
Sen's story of becoming a Japanese fanatic who just liked it and got good at it

A Japanese language learning essay by YouTube creator Sen, who has 260,000 subscribers and 40 million views and is much loved for his Japanese language and travel content, has been published.
Sen, who is loved by many for his honest and positive attitude, honestly shares his experiences of becoming fluent in Japanese.
Even though I'm not a major and have never been to an academy, it conveys a pleasant message that I can be 'as good as Sennim' just by doing the things I like, without having to study hard or seriously.


Sen started out as an anime fan, passed the JLPT N1 in three years, and is currently building a diverse career based on Japanese, including as a YouTube creator specializing in Japanese and travel, a Korean instructor, a Japanese instructor, and a writer.
Living a life that is so-called 'living in Japanese'.
The author says that all of this is thanks to the 'Japanese otaku' he has accumulated through otaku.


This year, with the number of Korean tourists visiting Japan reaching a record high, the number of people interested in Japan or wanting to learn Japanese is also steadily increasing.
However, there are certainly people who are caught up in the present life and find studying burdensome and have no idea where to start.
Accordingly, the author suggests that language be enjoyed rather than studied.
It is not the orthodox study method or the burning will to study, but rather 'fun' and 'enjoyment' that are the driving forces that bring Japanese language skills to a certain level.
By reading the honest experiences written about 'Sen-nim and Japanese', you will be able to learn how to learn Japanese in a fun way, get hints for continuously enjoying Japanese, and even gain mindset points necessary for life.


First, let's open the book.
All you have to do is put aside the burden of studying and prepare yourself to enjoy it to the fullest.

But I was so amazed and excited to hear this much, even though I only watched anime and didn't put in any effort. It felt like I had pioneered a new field of foreign language for free.
It felt like a sudden, inexplicable surge of cash had appeared before my eyes, without me having really saved or invested it. Because of that mindset, I was able to dive into the anime with the subtitles on, feeling even less burdened.
--- p.117

I hope that everyone who is reading this book, and those who have asked me many questions about learning Japanese, will remember this one thing.
It was thanks to this very thought that I was able to learn Japanese to some extent through self-study.
I wish people wouldn't think of language as 'studying'.
Language should be used as if it were a 'fandom'.
--- p.128

Since I spent more time in Japanese than listening or speaking Korean, I felt my Japanese conversation skills improving naturally and in real time.
Although I am not fluent, I have no difficulty in everyday conversation.
It was around that time that this thought occurred to me.
'This is almost like a semi-study abroad life?' Without books, academies, or exams, I was enjoying the benefits of studying abroad in Japan in a corner of my studio apartment.
--- p.139

What started out as my "imperfect" Japanese content, as I always say, hoping to be of some help to those learning Japanese for fun, has quickly become a staple of my channel.
And that's not all.
What I was trying to do to give people some tips ended up giving me the opportunity to further hone my Japanese skills.
With the interest of subscribers from both Korea and Japan.
--- p.172

Although I have adopted the principle of 'not studying, not feeling like studying, and doing it as a hobby' as my guideline for my Japanese life, Japanese is still a foreign language to me.
You must have had to stand on the official test bench at least once.
Of course, I had to study.
But those of you who have followed me on my journey from N4 to N1 will have noticed one thing.

The period of 'proper study' was exactly one month for preparing for N3.

--- p.208

When you first start something or decide to try it, you may feel a surge of anticipation and motivation, but on the other hand, you may lose confidence over even the smallest things.
It's probably because I haven't spent much time with that thing yet, and I haven't had many experiences where I was happy and joyful because I knew how to do that thing.
So, I wrote it down, thinking that this was the message that would be helpful to me and to you all at that time.
“Enjoyment comes first. If you can keep enjoying it, the rest will gradually fall into place.”

--- p.251