Introduction:
Korean is an East Asian language spoken by about 77 million people. It is the official and national language of both Koreas: North Korea and South Korea, with different standardized official forms used in each country. It is a recognized minority language in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture and Changbai Korean Autonomous County of Jilin Province, China. It is also spoken in parts of Sakhalin, Russia, and Central Asia
Korean is believed to be one of the world’s oldest spoken languages. Chinese characters Hanja arrived in Korea by the 1st century together with Buddhism. Korean was written in ‘Hanja’ which could only be studied by elites. King Sejong The Great (the fourth king of the Joseon Dynasty of the 15th century) felt that Hanja was inappropriate to write Korean; thus, he personally developed a new writing script that came to be known as ‘Hangeul.’ It was developed either to aid in or replace Hanja entirely.
Traditional Korean was written in a row, top to bottom, right to left; whereas, modern Korean is written in Column, Left to right, top to bottom.
Who knew the internet had so much to offer for Korean language learners? Here are some fantastic online courses to help you get started, move you along through the middle stages, or perfect your command of the Korean language.
Top Korean resources for you
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One of the best online Platform- Multibashi
The Bangalore-based online educational platforms offer a wide range of language learning opportunities at your convenience where all your where the choice is yours. You can get a classroom-like atmosphere from here with lively interaction from the teacher and your classmates. The duration of the courses is 30 min per class. The minimum number of classes that you can take is 30 classes. It can be increased according to your preference. You can take the group class provided by Multibhashi or, if you prefer learning alone then you can take one class also. The fee structure of both the classes is different. The curriculum and the syllabus are divided into five parts, i.e. Korean Basics, Greetings, Self Introduction, Grammar basics, and Korean Numbers. And the best thing here in Multibhashi is that you can take a free demo class before deciding where to join. The result will be satisfactory! You can check out more details from the website.
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Best for quick and easy learning: Udemy
Udemy offers several Korean courses that you can find by searching for “Korean,” and there’s one you should look at in particular. The Korean Foundations course (“Learn Korean! Start Speaking Korean Now!”), currently priced at $74.99, has one ambitious goal: to help you learn Korean without you actually studying it.
Ideal if you’re not one to study with a book and prefer (virtual) human interaction, this online course covers the basics of Korean communication to get you conversant without much effort and in no time. Entirely video-based, this clever series guides you through the Korean language step by step using mnemonic images and useful tips.
Comprised of 63 mini-lectures spread out over five hours of video content, this solid introduction to Korean for beginners explains the structure of a Korean sentence, goes over basic pronunciation, essential words, and expressions as well as some cultural insights to build familiarity and comfort with the Korean language.
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Best for the traveler’s needs: Loecsen
Perfect if you’re preparing a trip or are just looking to cover the basics in no time, Loecsen offers a good introduction to the Korean language and helps you learn all the essential words and sentences right away.
There are 17 lesson themes ranging from everyday expressions, feelings, bar orders and directions for taxi drivers to things like medical terms and getting in trouble. The site conveniently lists and explains useful words and daily Korean expressions using English, Hangul, and Romanization of Korean characters. The site also lets you quiz yourself, so make sure to follow up your initial session on the site by printing out the list of words, reviewing them in your free time, and going back on the site to test yourself!
You can also use the app and download the files right onto your phone if you want access to new expressions without an internet connection.
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Best for engaging, intensive learning: Sogang Online
Sogang’s online portal is an amazing resource to help you prepare for an intense full-time university course and acquire the basics very quickly—all while having fun.
Covering several levels of fluency, from absolute beginner to advanced-intermediate, it provides a vast database of very effective study plans usable on-demand and with no registration needed. Entirely free to use and highly interactive, it’s based on the principles of Sogang University’s Korean language method, which places a heavy focus on conversational skills and speaking. While being very comprehensive, the method manages to stimulate all four skills (writing, reading, listening, speaking).
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Best for a quick review of fundamentals: Seoul National Education Center
Learn Korean using the expert method from one of Korea’s most prestigious universities, Seoul National University. That’ll guarantee you some serious bragging rights!
If you’re looking for a good way to develop a solid base in Korean or an online method to complement your language exchange sessions, this is what you need.
The Education Center offers a series of 20 free interactive online courses to acquire fundamental language skills. Here, you’ll learn useful Korean vocabulary, sentences and idioms and acquire conversational skills. Each lesson begins with a list of objectives and a list of keywords and expressions.
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Best for TOPIK-specific private lessons: TOPIK Guide
The TOPIK test is essential for non-natives who wish to do any professional or licensed business in Korea. It’s administered at different fluency levels and is comprised of reading, writing, and listening comprehension sections. To make things less intimidating for future test-takers, TOPIK Guide offers one-on-one, session-based lessons catered to your needs.
After detailing your fluency level and what you want to learn or review, an instructor will formulate a custom curriculum just for you. Your lessons, taught either in English or simple Korean, will be held via Skype or Google Hangouts at a schedule based on your availability. There’s a lot of customization you get to have with TOPIK Guide’s tutoring system, so it’s definitely worth a try if you’re set on taking the test!
TOPIK Guide also provides a bunch of TOPIK-related study material, including past iterations of the test and quick guidelines for specific sections.
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Best for weekly, thematic learning: Lexis Korea
Lexis Korea, a school that has previously won awards for educational achievement, now offers a virtual version of its on-camp
us Korean language course.
Called the Untact courses, these virtual classes aim to help overseas learners rapidly progress in the language. The content is divided by themes, and you’re allowed to drop in anytime on a particular week when they’re covering a theme that interests you.
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Best for beginner-level education: Yonsei University’s First Step Korean on Coursera
Yonsei University, one of the most prestigious universities in South Korea, offers a beginner’s course on the Korean language held on the ever-growing Coursera platform. If you enjoy learning with an instructor and a simulation of a class, then this course could be for you!
The course consists of five lessons with four units, covering fundamental concepts in reading, writing, speaking and listening while offering additional exercises to supplement your learning. You’ll start with the very basics of the Korean alphabet before moving up and learning elementary Korean knowledge. All in all, it’s estimated that full course completion takes about 18 hours, give or take your own work and study pace.
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Best for learning conversational Korean: Conversational Korean
Conversational Korean is a YouTube channel run by 김선태 or Sundae Kim in English. It’s an excellent start for beginners, as well as anyone else looking to boost their confidence in speaking skills. Unlike many educational YouTube channels, Conversational Korean actually engages with subscribers with live streams, allowing viewers to ask questions and receive immediate feedback.
Another thing that makes this channel a standout is its emphasis on pronunciation. With a dedicated playlist on Korean pronunciation, Sundae Kim truly breaks down the proper mouth and tongue movements to help learners improve their accent, diction, and intonation.
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Conclusion
I hope you have a lot of fun with these fantastic online resources. This is a wealth of knowledge at your fingertips—so be sure to make good use of it! Choose wisely and start learning!!!
All the best!
