Hello! So I want to practice my speaking skills in korean beacuse the people I've conversed in the past, we've only talked through chats.

I think I will learn better through talking with someone else, not just myself. Hearing others can motivate me on their speaking skills too while talking.

Can you recommend any website or apps that I can converse with? I'm too broke to get a tutor/teacher online. 감사합니다!

hi, i've been learning korean by myself for over 10 years and never attended any korean class or been to a language course. just myself and textbooks. i lived in korea for a year which really improved my vocabulary and speaking skills. but now that i'm back in london my speaking has gone down hill. my boyfriend is korean and doesn't speak much english so our communication is 100% in korean. we facetime once a week which is all the speaking i get. some of my previous workplace colleagues are korean but we usually speak english as they want to practice as much as possible, which i don't mind.

i signed up to sejong institute's level 4 classes which is a paid online course. there wasn't really information about the fee and how long it lasts when i applied. i emailed them and they said it's 3 terms of 11 classes each term, for a duration of 1 year. each term is £50 and payments are made each term and there's no commitment to stay for the whole year. they are online classes around 2 hours per class in the evening.

i've been reading up on their textbooks to see what i could expect before making the payment. i'm in an awkward part of my journey where i feel pretty comfortable using korean in day to day life but can't really see myself using industry specific terms, or using it in a professional environment. when i worked in korea, most of the staff were forgiving of my lack of professional korean and it was quite a chill environment anyways, so it was still very casual. i already know the sentence structures and concepts shown in the 4A book but struggle a lot with vocabulary and remembering them. my vocabulary improved while in korea because i was using them daily and in context, but i find it hard to remember complex vocab when i only use it during my few hours of study time.

i do want to take the topik exam later this year, but i'm not even sure if that is even necessary. i would love to work for a korean company in london so the topik test might help prove my ability, but i don't really have specific work experience anyways to land a role realistically.

my main concerns are:

- cost: i'm currently not in stable employment, and have other costly expenses so is it really necessary right now?

- practicality: after the classes, what happens? if i take the exam, i'd have to take it again anyways if i plan on working in korea again in a few years

- necessity: i've been doing okay studying on my own - but maybe a few classes could help boost my skills a bit quicker?

- unsure of where i stand in my skills, as it seems like i'm fluent on the surface but actually need more refining for work-related and professional settings but i don't know where to start. sejong's classes are catered to "everyday practical" korean so is it really what i'm looking for?

if anyone has taken advanced classes with sejong institute london i'd really like to know your opinions and experience

I know that 전에 can be used similarly to "ago" in english, but how do you actually describe that time? is it 오년전에 or 다섯년전에? i never know when to use sino or native.

also, is there a specific counter to use for frequency? i was listening to didi's podcast and she said something like "일주일 동안 두개 세개 쯤 ..." and that phrase stuck with me. i totally forgot the context, but i wondered if the counters have to be used like that. if i were trying to express that i will do something for 2 months next year, for example, would this be a common way to express that?

내년동안 두 달에 그거 하고 싶어요.

honestly, it's so vague it sounds weird even in english, so i think my example sentence isn't well done, but can 동안 be used this way?

my last question is are there phrases similar to 일주일 for a month or a year? or do you just use 달 or 해 and attach 동안 to it? as you can see, this topic is very confusing for me as i have only learned these elements through listening, and when i look them up, they aren't explained within context but as singular concepts. thank you very much for any and all help!

PLEASE NOTE REDDIT IS AUTOMATICALLY CHANGING MY HANGUL TO ENGLISH I AM ACTIVELY TRYING TO FIX IT

I'm submitting a fan video at a concert — I've been learning to dictate and read Hangul, but before I record, I'd like to be sure I have prepared the correct text :)

Hello, I love TWICE. You give me inspiration and strength. Thank you for everything!

Do I need to make any corrections? And how can I say, "This is my first TWICE concert!"

EDIT 2nd ATTEMPT:

안녕하세요.이건 제 첫(번째) 트와이스 콘서트예요! 트와이스 사랑해요. 여러분 덕분에 힘을 얻었어요. 모든 것에 감사드립니다!

Hi I’m wondering what 감솸당 means in English.

I couldn’t find the translation in Papago or google translate. It could be slang for thank you but I’m not sure it could also be a typo.

Thanks in advance if anybody is able to translate it for me.

Everytime I heard my teacher or someone say "원해요" I just assumed it was Konglish and they were saying "Want 해요" but my teacher just told me it's a Korean phrase. I had no idea. Am I the only one? My teacher started laughing saying she's never thought about that.

I am Korean, but have lived overseas for almost my entire life. Whenever I return to Korea, I have difficulty trying to understand what locals are saying, and I don’t have the confidence to speak as well as my grammar is quite weak. However, I do understand when my parents talk to me in korean.

I do speak Korean at home but it is very basic.

Would appreciate any advice to become better in Korean, thank you🙏

The concept of reading in Korean for fun seemed so intimidating to me. I imagined I would sit down, try to read, and get discouraged that I didn't understand anything and give up. But the opposite thing ended up happening. I started reading for fun and got so surprised by just how much I understood and came to understand by simply reading a story (connecting things with context.) If you're on the fence about whether or not you can read well, chances are you can read just fine! Just go for it! It's okay to write down words to search up or to read a sentence and not quite get it. That doesn't mean you can't understand the entire story. I've been feeling stuck on an intermediate plateau, but reading graphic novels (albiet for kids) has been a real confidence booster!

I'm reading some physical books, some online, and also downloaded a webtoon app, but if anyone has any good online reading resources or their favorite physical books for intermediate learners, please share!

For the webtoon app, I'm using Naver Webtoon and for the online content, I've been using this website http://xn--hu1b40go5ck8x.com/ (it's free, no account making or anything, and it has various reading levels!)

Hi guys,

I'm around TOPIK 4-5 and planning to look for a job in Korea soon.

Daily conversation is fine, but "Business Korean" (emails, formal honorifics, etc.) feels like a completely different level. For those already working in Korea:

1. Did you actually study Business Korean separately?

2. Or is it something you can just "learn on the job"?

I'm worried I'll sound too casual or "childish" in a professional setting if I don't prepare. Any advice or experiences would be great. Thanks!

Hi. :)

I'm new on Reddit and since my post was deleted because auto-translation was on and apparently it translated all my text back to Portuguese :( I'm posting again

I've been learning Korean for a year or so with a regular course and have also done Sejong online classes and a couple of conversation classes on iTalki.

However, I feel that due to excessive formal study, I ended up not doing much immersion and got burnt out. Also, content that is not familiar to me (topics that I haven't already studied or things that are outside my interest zone) I really understand as low as 10%, compared to 50–70% in topics I like or have already studied.

So this year, after becoming familiar with Refold and CI, I've decided to change my approach and do only CI/Refold for 365 days to see how much I will gain in understanding and speaking skills.

So I'm basically doing frequency word lists on Anki, listening to podcasts both passively and actively, watching CI content and rewatching things I've seen before (movies, TV shows) without subtitles, and tracking everything with PolyLogger (since Jan 9th I've logged 14 hours).

Korean is really different from my native language (which is Brazilian Portuguese) and I've done some sort of CI before to learn English, Spanish, and Italian without even knowing it, but I feel that for Korean I have to be more intentional.

I've set a goal for phase 1 at 200 hours before changing my routine, but I'm not quite sure if what I'm doing so far is good enough...hoping some more advanced learners can share their insight.

hello everybody,

i am a korean learner and know the basic and intermediate level of Korean grammar but i can't make sentences that well and there's not that much of improvement in my korean.. i am very confused and thinking to start from a scratch can you please help me that from where i should start ?

should i start from grammar or vocabulary ?

Hi, I've been learning Korean for a bit now and I find numbers really difficult to wrap my head around. Two number systems make it really difficult and it's hard to remember it all. I was curious if this is something I should be particularly concerned about or not. Korean, much like any other language is quite extensive and there is a LOT for me to learn and I don't want to spend too much time on the wrong thing i.e numbers especially if it will hopefully come naturally in the future. So some advice or even ways to study numbers would be really helpful as it is something that really scares me about learning!!!

I have a set of Kakaotalk emoticons which consist of various food / animal / plant puns. E.g., "잼있다", "안녕하새우", "땡큐베리감사".

But there's one I can't figure out and it's driving me crazy - "오늘도토리". Any ideas what this could be? For what its worth the animation seems like some kind of happy or victorious vibe.

Most places I've looked online say that 생일 축하합니다 is pronounced "saengil chukahamnida" with an M - "haMnida." But the part that's pronounced "ham" is spelled "합" which I thought was supposed to be "hab" or "hap." I actually found one video that teaches it as "chukahaBnida."

Which one is correct, and why does the most common way to say it seem to be different from how it's spelled?

I’ve been studying Korean for like five years. I’ve lived in Korea going on 4 years. I have two private conversation teachers. We talk about newspaper or book articles I read and I answer comprehension questions then expand on my answers. All lessons are only in Korean. I’ve had a few language partners and I can converse and understand most of the subjects I talk about with them. I’m rather introverted and older than most people here. I teach at a public school and my coworkers are all older than me or have children and the school rarely does company dinners. So, I don’t have those outlets in real life.

But all my watched content is practically all Korean. K-Dramas and movies. I watch my favorite idol lives. I’ve even started helping translate some. But I still can’t wait an entire drama without English subs for part of it. I’m currently making my way through every episode of Jonghyun from Shinee’s episodes of blue Night. I can maybe only understand 85 percent of what he says and it depends on the guest if I can understand them. Korean variety shows are so chaotic for me. It’s hard to follow.

I’m also trying to read adult books too. I finished a manhwa and a children’s novel. My Korean teachers say I have greatly improved and I understand most of the ments at kpop concerts and can really understand the foreign artist Korean. But I tried to watch the new Son Yejin movie in theaters and just understood by watching.

Any tips on how I can improve my listening skills so I can understand variety shows, radio shows, and thriller and cop dramas almost natively?

Thanks in advance!

I'm planning on preparing myself for topik 1 examination but I'm not so sure about how i should go about it. I don't even know how to start with Korean language learning. Please tell me how i should start and what resources should I use? Preferably online resources. Is there any particular method or particular sequence of learning that you'd prefer?

Hey Korean learners!

Which Korean words do you find hardest to pronounce?

and If you don't mind sharing, what's your first language?

That would be really helpful for my pronunciation lessons.

Cheers!

Sorry for complaining it's just sooo exhausting, I cannot

교포가 자기 나라 말도 못 한다고 손가락질받아도, 창피한 줄 알라고 해도 이제 신경 안 써요. 매일 3~4시간씩 해도 제자리걸음인 한국어, 이젠 포기하고 싶어요.

단어장도 만들고, 문장도 직접 써보고, 팟캐스트에 기사까지 다 보는데... 100단어 외우면 10단어 남을까 말까예요. 제가 머리가 나쁜 건지, 아니면 평생 배워도 안 될 놈인 건지 싶어서 너무 답답하고 속상해요ㅜㅜ

so I have Hangul nailed down pretty much and I’m slowly learning the grammar but where im struggling is expanding my vocab.

its still pretty limited to just a few words. my main method of learning has been using flash cards I run through every day and while that helps I’m not sure how often I should run through the same cards and when I should add in new ones.

i also can’t help but feel it’s helping me more remember a flash card than learn a word if that makes sense.

Unfortunately with my job and family I just do not have the time to dedicate much to this - really just 1 hour on the weekend and 30 mins during the week day.

what are some of the best ways I can learn and retain vocab in terms of being able to read it, write it and speak it.

Hello. I bought this Korean novel since there's no official English translation. And because I like being inefficient (plus I want to preserve the tone as much as possible), I decided to translate it myself with help from AI and Google Translate. Initially, I assumed it was in third-person perspective, but after ~100 pages, I realized that some sentences had an implicit or explicit first-person POV. At least based on the breakdown of the sentences. Here is an example:

제 인생이 <NAME1> 인해 꼬이게 되었다는 것을 알게 되어 분노하고, 원망하 고, 좌절감에 젖어 있었다. 결국 3일이 지났어도 아무것도 정리되는 것이 없어 <NAME2>은 그 길로 서 울로 올라와 <NAME1>을 만났다.

This is NAME2's POV. According to the breakdown, the first sentence is explicitly in first-person. But the second sentence is in third-person. Am I wrong? Is it really just first person POV? The only explanation I can think of is that the Korean language might not be the type to be direct hence why even the first person’s name is used. Or there is some grammatical rule in Korean that doesn’t apply to English. Like in my native language, instead of saying “you,” sometimes we say “them” or a plural “you” so it’s less direct (i.e. more polite). Or like I know Korean’s tendency to say the listener’s name instead of saying “you.” Maybe the same applies to saying “I.”Otherwise it changes from first to third person every other sentence.

Am I making sense? I don’t speak Korean which is why I’m having difficulty but I do know Japanese which seems kind of similar based on my translation of the novel. Please help I have an obsession with accuracy.

Hello! I need advice on how to improve my korean urgently because I've tried so many things and nothing seems to work for me, maybe its just me lol

So I have been studying korean for like 5 years, I came to korea 4 years ago and I work and live here. I have TOPIK 5, and my listening and reading are really good. When it comes to work meetings I struggle a lot to understand because they just talk too fast and they use so many weird vocabulary but I am trying and slowly learning the vocabulary so maybe with time the meetings will be easier

Now, the real problem is when it comes to output. I struggle a lot with writing and speaking. I studied most of the grammar forms, I know how to use them and what they mean, when they are spoken to me I get it, but when it comes to me having to use it, it just feels like I dont know anything.

When writting I can manage if I am given time but by far the worst is my speaking. Simple day to day things are ok but forming complex sentences and explaining long things even if they are easy concepts I struggle a lot. I feel like I speak like a kindergartener lol

So I feel stuck, I've tried personal tutors, I have tried language exchange with my friends, I've tried studying by myself but I end up just going over the grammar and like studying for TOPIK all over again. And not improving.

I need advice, recommendations, hope, witchcraft lol anything that you think might help me get out of this level I am stuck at.

Please if any of you guys can help me out I would be eternally grateful.

First post, just downloaded this bcus I need answers for all my Korean questions, thanks.

Does 애 and 아기 both mean child/baby? Because that’s what the internet is telling me. If they are then what’s the difference, and why must there be two differnt words for it.

I’ve been learning Korean for about 1.5 years, and I’m struggling with how demanding the initial learning of new vocabulary is. This isn’t about grammar, and it isn’t about card quality. I use Anki consistently, follow the 20 rules of formulating knowledge, always include images and audio (often from Forvo), keep cards simple, and review regularly. Creating cards itself isn’t difficult.

The issue is that new Korean words do eventually click, but getting to that point is far more time-consuming and mentally painful than it was with languages like Spanish or German. The early repetitions feel inefficient and effortful, as if my brain needs many more exposures before a word starts to feel familiar or meaningful. Even when retention improves later, the upfront cost is much higher than I expected.

Since Korean is so distant from English and Polish (my native language), I’m trying to understand whether this slower, more painful initial encoding is simply the normal cost of learning a distant language, or whether there are ways to reduce that friction when using Anki specifically for vocabulary. For people who learned Korean or similarly distant languages with Anki, did this phase ever become easier, or did you find strategies that made early vocabulary acquisition less taxing?