Korean is natively spoken by around 77 million people, primarily in South Korea and North Korea, with significant communities in China, the United States, and Japan. It is central to the identity of Koreans, who have a rich cultural heritage that values politeness, respect, and social hierarchy. The Korean language, written in the unique Hangul script, was created in the 15th century to promote literacy among the common people. Korean grammar features a subject-object-verb (SOV) word order and uses particles to indicate the role of words in a sentence, reflecting its structured and logical nature.
Stats
Language Family: Isolate
Writing System: Hangul
Writing System Type: Alphabet
Writing Direction: L to R
Tones / Pitch Accent: N
Morphology: Agglutinative
Cases: 0
Grammatical Gender / Noun Class: 0
Number of Verb Tenses: 3
Word Order: SOV
Number of Vowels (Monophthongs): 7
Number of Consonants: 21
Areas Where Spoken
North Korea (official) (99.95) (26.0 mil)
South Korea (official) (99.9%) (51.6 mil)
Resources
Resources to Learn Hangul
A 1 hour and 30 minute video teaching you how to read & write Hangul by Billy Go: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5aobqyEaMQ&feature=youtu.be&ab_channel=LearnKoreanwithGO!BillyKorean
If you like interactive websites like Duolingo (which we would not recommend for learning Hangul) this website is nice: http://www.letslearnhangul.com/
As you will learn Ha/ㅍ/ㅃ) so here is a neat series of videos from the channel All Things Korean for tellngul you might stumble upon certain difficulties differentiating certain letters (such as ㅂing apart
ㄱ/ㅋ/ㄲ: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxw3Ec6_fV0&ab_channel=YourKoreanSaem
ᄃ/ᄐ/ㄸ: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQBDiKuAZm0&ab_channel=YourKoreanSaem
ㅂ/ㅍ/ㅃ: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0a42s6icOw&ab_channel=YourKoreanSaem
Apps
Dongsa - an app that shows Korean verb conjugations
LingoDeer
NAVER Dictionary
Firefox Addons for Naver Dictionary Tooltip: https://khris.github.io/naver-endic-unofficial/
Mirinae app - translates and breaks down sentences and explains the grammar. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mirinae.mirinae
Books
Korean Made Simple by Billy Go: https://gobillykorean.com/korean-made-simple/
Talk to Me In Korean Grammar Books: https://talktomeinkorean.com/store/
Free beginner grammar books: http://www.koreanfromzero.com/
Movies/TV Shows
버닝 - Burning by 이창동 (2018) - Psychological mystery drama
올드보이 - Oldboy by 박찬욱 (2003) - Neo-noir action thriller
부산행 - Train for Busan by 연상호 (2016) - Apocalyptic action thriller
Flower Grandpa Investigation Unit - Comedy
Hello, My Twenties! (2 seasons) - Drama
Pinocchio - Romance
Welcome to Waikiki - Comedy - You can watch it on Viki Learn for free with dual subtitles
Radio Shows/Podcasts
Radio Korea: https://www.radiokorea.com/bulletin/bbs/board.php?bo_table=r_show_reaudio&page=: Has a new two hour show uploaded to this website daily
Podbbang: https://www.podbbang.com/: Podcast hub
Websites
Translator https://papago.naver.com/
How to Study Korean: https://www.howtostudykorean.com/
Let's Learn Hangul: http://www.letslearnhangul.com/
Mirinae Explorer: https://mirinae.io/#/: Breaks down and explains entire sentences into individual grammar points
Say Hi Korean: https://sayhikorean.blogspot.com/search/label/Ebook?max-results=5&m=1
Sogang Korean Program: http://korean.sogang.ac.kr/: Korean government sponsored program
Complete Korean Course: https://www.udemy.com/course/complete-korean-course-learn-korean-for-beginners-level-1/?couponCode=F0DC42A472794E520DAA : Learn Korean for Beginners on Udemy
Verbix: https://www.verbix.com/languages/korean Korean verb conjugator
VIKI Learn: https://www.viki.com/: Watch Korean Dramas with interactive tools designed for language learners
https://learnnatively.com/ seems to be a site where you can find reading materials based on your level!
Can be useful for quickly looking up things while reading. https://www.inkah.com/ (Android/iOS/FF/Chrome) FF: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/inkah/ Crome: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/inkah-chinese-korean-pop/pcgmedbmchghfgikplcimdmfldfnecec Reddit thread/dev: https://www.reddit.com/r/Korean/comments/xzznmc/free_app_for_reviewing_and_practicing_korean/
https://kids.donga.com/ useful site for reading practice
Website where you can read simple Korean stories and it’s separated by level and it has audio http://xn--hu1b40go5ck8x.com/
https://www.kmooc.kr/view/course They have free courses. I believe they're in Korean with English subs (and some other languages). The courses open during specific periods, and you have homework and exams to do. You get a certificate for most courses, too. When the period has finished you can still take the course without doing the tests or getting a certificate.
Webtoons (만화)
It’s a Good Day to be a Dog
Korean version: https://m.comic.naver.com/webtoon/detail?titleId=699658&no=1&week=sun&listPage=3
English version: https://www.webtoons.com/en/romance/a-good-day-tobe-a-dog/list?title_no=1390
Penguin Loves Mev - Slice of life, Korean is pretty simple and not a lot of context is needed. Good for learning IMO
Korean version: https://comic.naver.com/webtoon/list?titleId=169080
English version: https://www.webtoons.com/en/slice-of-life/penguin-loves-mev/list?title_no=86&page=1
Save Me
Korean version: https://m.comic.naver.com/webtoon/detail?titleId=722382&no=1
English version: https://www.webtoons.com/en/drama/bts-save-me/list?title_no=1514
Videos
YouTube Channels for Fun
이지금 [IU Official]: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3SyT4_WLHzN7JmHQwKQZww: has both English and Korean subs I think
한반도N: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-l8M5QwG0Rdb5MVlOVuFSA: A channel on North Korean life, language, and culture, differences between North and South Korea, and adjusting to life in South Korea. Many videos have English, Korean, and other language subtitles
1theK: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCweOkPb1wVVH0Q0Tlj4a5Pw Posts new music
Channeem Subtitles: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9PVYlrwFSlqG7w8TDsqRvQ Reuploads BTS’s “Bangtan Bombs” (behind the scenes footage) with English and Korean subtitles
SUPER SOUND bugs!: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9PVYlrwFSlqG7w8TDsqRvQ Posts new music
Your Korean Saem: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC649mkwMqahsGbiB3EBuUOg: All things Korean (Pronunciation/Culture and Listening Practice)
Culture https://youtube.com/@dimpleAwesome1?si=4S5ntsw8DC_xVOuT
YouTube Channels for Study
HowtoStudyKorean: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWwkebe58DeuZw-Lf1QRC7g
Learn Korean with GO! Billy Korean: https://www.youtube.com/c/GoBillyKorean
k waterbottle: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaciE07Z0ajyQ7Kn5VT60PQ: Korean internet slang
Korean Patch - 한국어 패치: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBpRNdkIp4LSUCgXOcp1NSQ
Prof. Yoon's Korean Language Class: https://www.youtube.com/c/ProfYoonsKoreanLanguageClass/featured : Basically free online courses
Learn Korean in Korean https://www.youtube.com/@learnkoreaninkorean
https://youtube.com/@ComprehensibleInputKorean?si=CnLIvJ8c8Oh3J6lX I like this YouTuber, he uses context clues and gestures to relay the meaning; he also has Korean subtitles if you’re practicing reading as well
Talk to me in Korean https://youtube.com/@talktomeinkorean?si=528hMNORWSfCLG8r
Handwriting tutorial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBfYxG2nuCk
Keyboard typing https://youtu.be/utOamvbrcQU?si=0fQPOUpjzXPujQXn
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3eVtcXwOrAZyBq_u7Ov3JXvEKiKP7-WQ&si=kKzczaaWJ1_E-piJ
Learn how to read https://youtu.be/AqFGHMxWtYk?si=n28HMjlhu4KFKDc0
Double consonant sounds https://youtu.be/Gg-VZxBIZjo?si=4JEIO0nzLUgnY5cR
Learn Korean with games https://youtu.be/wYWra4hA5aQ?si=E5sy3MvXCh4kZV16
Print and cursive Korean handwriting https://youtu.be/Zh844_SzUxs?si=_f1XCfERGlwIKS3e