The Best Way To Learn Korean

Is “learn Korean” one of the items on your wishlist? I’m not surprised. Learning Korean is a gateway to a deeper appreciation of Korean culture, whether that’s K-pop, K-drama, K-beauty and more. 

The internet has helped Korean culture go global. And the internet also means that there’s more ways to learn Korean than ever before.  

This abundance of ways to learn the language can also leave you feeling a bit lost though. So this post will help you make sense of all the options and discover the best way to learn Korean. 

No matter how you end up learning Korean, it’s a transformative experience. Once you’ve started learning, you won’t look back and you’ll be pleased you took the chance. 

Here’s what you’ll discover in this post.

How Not To Learn Korean 

Have you had bad experiences in the past when trying to learn Korean? Perhaps the new words and grammar just wouldn’t stick? Or maybe you’d clam up when you tried to talk to people? 

So many Korean learners run into these same issues. And they’re not to blame. What’s at fault is something I call the Parrot Problem of language learning. 

The Parrot Problem is the “repeat after me, like a parrot” style of teaching that you thought you’d left behind at school. It’s all about learning word lists and rules by heart. 

When you learn through parrot methods, all you’re doing is putting Korean into your short-term memory. That’s why you can’t remember the words and phrases you need when you try to speak. 

Surely parrot methods are a thing of the past? Sadly, no. Many modern-looking and flashy Korean courses and apps are based on this rote memorisation approach. 

The parrot approach doesn’t help you learn and use Korean over the long term. So when you try to speak Korean, you struggle to get your message across. 

What Is The Best Way To Learn Korean? 

The best way to learn Korean online is through a natural approach, where you don’t deliberately study the language. Instead, you read and listen to stories in Korean so you can put the language directly into your brain. 

StoryLearning is an exciting, new way of learning foreign languages through story, not word lists and rules. As you read and listen to a story in Korean at your level, the language truly gets implanted in your mind.

Story is the basis of all human communication. It’s how you understand the world and communicate with others. The desire to know what happens next pushes you to learn. Apps will ping you and reward you with points to try to motivate you. But stories are naturally fun and motivating. 

And learning through story makes Korean stick. The brain remembers more vocabulary from a story, because you're motivated to understand what you're reading. Stories also activate parts of your brain that are not engaged in fact-based learning, so you retain information better. 

This fun, effective and motivating story-based approach makes StoryLearning the best way to learn Korean. 

Best Way To Learn Korean Online

The best way to learn Korean online is with my popular Korean Uncovered courses which teach you through the power of story.  

Thanks to Korean Uncovered you’ll go from total beginner to confident, intermediate-level Korean speaker (and beyond). You’ll start learning through story, even if you have zero knowledge of Korean. 

The StoryLearning method combines all of the benefits of online learning—like flexibility, modern engaging materials, and different types of media—with a fun and motivating approach that means you learn Korean for life. 

If you’re fed up with rote learning, grammar drills, boring textbooks and silly apps that you know you’re wasting your time with, then Korean Uncovered's fresh, story-first method will finally get you fluent. 

Best Way To Learn Korean Fast

Plenty of people online claim to have a secret to learning Korean fast. But the real secret is that you have to show up daily and work a lot to get there. 

This is great news if you have the time and the motivation. But if learning Korean fast truly matters to you, don’t do it alone. Make sure you get support from an expert to stay accountable.  

One way to get the support system you need is StoryLearning VIP. It’s a coaching programme designed to get you fluent in Korean, even if you've tried and failed in the past.

StoryLearning VIP is a 10-week personalised coaching programme which pairs you with a professional native-speaker coach to help you practise your way to fluency, twice a week. 

Let me be straight – this programme isn’t an effortless ticket to fast Korean fluency. In addition to your twice-weekly coaching sessions, you’ll need to make time to learn Korean every day.

But if you’re serious about learning Korean fast, it’s the closest thing to “guaranteed progress” you can get.

Best Way To Learn Korean For Travel

Not interested in full Korean fluency? Just want to get by on a trip to Korea? 

If your plan is to learn Korean for travel, you’ll need to practise the situations you’re likely to encounter on your trip ahead of time. That might look like greeting people, checking into a hotel or AirBnB or eating out in Korean. 

You don’t need to bother getting to grips with Korean grammar or fancy vocabulary. Just focus on the real-life scenarios where you’ll need to communicate, and you’ll be able to learn and remember travel Korean quickly. 

You can use my blog post about common Korean phrases to get ready for a trip to Korea. You’ll learn 87 useful expressions such as how to ask questions and understand the answers as well as how to greet Koreans and more.  

With this functional approach, you’ll quickly pick up some Korean for travel so your next visit to Korea will go as smoothly as possible. 

Best Way To Learn Korean While Driving

You’re fascinated by Korean culture and you’re motivated to learn. But you’re struggling to fit learning Korean into your day. I get it – learning languages can be tricky when you’re working all day and commuting back and forth. 

Then again, a commute by car can also be a learning opportunity. But what’s the best way to learn Korean while driving? 

Of course, I want you to drive safely while learning, so anything that distracts you from the road is off the table. Looking at a screen or reading a book aren’t compatible with learning and driving. 

The best way to learn Korean while driving is through audio, using your ears, not your eyes. You can do this with Korean podcasts, audio courses and other kinds of Korean listening resources.

Listening to lots of Korean on your commute will help your brain adapt to the language, without you having to study it. 

If you’re getting to grips with the basics of Korean, you can listen to an audio course for beginners like the Michel Thomas Korean course. I learned Korean with the Michel Thomas method in four days as one of the students who helped create the course!

What about if you've reached an advanced level in Korean? If you’re lucky enough to be at this stage, you need to forget material created for learners and listen instead to real Korean audio designed for native speakers. 

You can follow podcasts by your favourite Korean-speaking media companies and creators worldwide. Follow your interests and listen to podcasts on topics that interest you to stay motivated and expand your vocabulary. 

And of course, as this is Korean, you can even learn Korean with k-pop while driving!

Best Way To Learn Korean On Your Own

Have group language classes or rigid curriculums slowed your learning or made you learn irrelevant things?  

I’m not a fan of group classes. But I am a fan of self-directed learning. Besides, languages can’t be taught, only learnt. Your self-directed learning contributes more towards fluency than what you’re taught. 

Learning languages in a self-directed way, helped me learn eight to fluency and start StoryLearning so I could help others learn languages on their own terms, at their own pace. 

I’ve taken my years of experience as a self-directed learner to create my Uncovered courses for independent learners. And Korean Uncovered is no exception. 

Korean Uncovered is a self-study course for solo Korean learners that also gives advice on the best way to learn Korean on your own. 

Best Way To Learn Korean Fluently

Is learning Korean to fluency on your bucket list? If so, you’re probably wondering: what’s the best way to learn Korean fluently? From personal experience, I can tell you that personalised Korean coaching is the best way to learn Korean fluently.  

Although I’ve always been a self-directed learner, teachers and tutors have helped me stay accountable and learn to speak the eight languages I’ve learned. 

Personalised Korean coaching ensures you focus on your unique weaknesses and don’t waste time on things you already know. Plus, the accountability of coaching keeps you on track, even when life gets busy.

That’s why I’ve created my own personalised coaching programme called StoryLearning VIP. 

StoryLearning VIP is the highest level of learning support we offer and your fastest ticket to fluency in Korean.

It includes not only access to Korean Uncovered, which teaches you through stories, not rules, but also the 1-to-1 lessons, coaching and support that mean you’ll speak Korean with confidence. 

Personalised coaching is the best way to learn Korean fluently because you get: 

• Ample 1-to-1 speaking practice
• Unlimited feedback and corrections
• A fully personalised learning pathway
• Full accountability and life-changing results

If you’re serious about Korean fluency, personalised coaching gives you the complete structure you need to succeed. 

Best Way To Learn Korean Hangul 

The Korean alphabet, also known as Hangul, can seem intimidating at first glance. But it’s simpler than it first seems.

Learning the Korean alphabet is hard because of the Parrot Problem. 

When you try to learn the Korean alphabet via rote memorisation, you put the letters and sounds into your short-term memory. So they don’t stick in your mind over the long haul. 

The best way to learn the Korean alphabet is to not memorise it. By all means, you can read or watch an explanation of the Korean alphabet. But don’t then try to cram all the letters and their pronunciation into your brain. 

Once you’ve got to grips with the letters and how the Korean alphabet functions, forget studying it and instead observe the letters and sounds in their natural habitat. The best way to do this is to read and listen to Korean stories. 

As you read and listen to Korean stories at your level, the Korean alphabet will start to make sense on an instinctive level. Much more fun than studying hard and cramming the letters into your mind? 

If you’re wondering where to find Korean stories at your level, my top recommendation is my short story book, Short Stories in Korean. 

Best Way To Learn Korean At Home

It’s a myth that you need to upend your life and go and live in Korea to get fluent. 

My language learning journey is proof that languages are best learned from home. I’ve done this many times. And although I’ve lived abroad, in Qatar for example, while I was there I learned Cantonese to fluency!  

The best way to learn Korean at home is to set aside time daily to read and listen to stories in Korean at your level. You can read a beginner Korean book, work through a StoryLearning Korean course, or listen to Korean podcasts. 

This type of daily immersion in Korean, is called an “input method”. An input method means that you learn not from deliberate study, but by reading and listening to material that you want to understand – in this case, stories.

When you use an input method, your eyes and ears will be immersed in Korean. Your mind will begin to adapt. It’s just like learning a language naturally, when you were a kid.

Best Way To Learn Korean FAQ 

Ready To Start Your Korean Learning Journey? 

Korean certainly isn’t the easiest language for native English speakers to learn, but the rewards are immense. 

And knowing the best way to learn Korean is indispensable, so that you reach fluency quickly and have fun along the way. 

Immersion in Korean through reading and listening to stories at your level is the best way to learn Korean. The StoryLearning approach is based on this story-first immersion. 

Learning through story is nothing like the Parrot methods you remember from school where you memorise words and rules with little or no context. 

Although a story-based approach is more effective, it’s also unfamiliar, so it may seem odd to you or you might resist it. 

But you’ll soon discover that you’re more motivated than ever to learn Korean, because you want to know what happens next in the story. 

Plus you’ll have an instinctive feel for what “sounds right” in Korean because you’ve picked up the language in context. Your brain has gotten used to it and it’s now second nature, thanks to story. 

That’s what makes stories the best way to learn Korean fast. 

Olly Richards

Creator of the StoryLearning® Method

Olly Richards is a renowned polyglot and language learning expert with over 15 years of experience teaching millions through his innovative StoryLearning® method. He is the creator of StoryLearning, one of the world's largest language learning blogs with 500,000+ monthly readers.

Olly has authored 30+ language learning books and courses, including the bestselling "Short Stories" series published by Teach Yourself.

When not developing new teaching methods, Richards practices what he preaches—he speaks 8 languages fluently and continues learning new ones through his own methodology.