How to Learn Korean? A beginner’s guide to learn and master the Korean language.
In today’s globalized world, learning a language is not only an option but has become a necessity. Everyone is learning a language. And why shouldn’t they? Not only does learning a language helps you get better pay, better job opportunities as well as educational opportunities, but it also helps you get a richer social life, makes travel easier around the world, improves your memory and cognitive skills, and much much more. The benefits of learning a language are limitless.
But out of the 7117 languages spoken in the world, why would you wanna dig your claws in Korean? Especially in India, where German and Spanish are the most learned foreign languages? So why would you choose a language that has almost no relation to English and has thousands of characters? In India, there aren’t half as many Korean offline courses as there are German courses.
So, your mind probably will not be able to conjure up an answer for why anyone should learn Korean. Well, what if I were to tell you that over the world, the Korean courses uptake in universities has risen by more than 16% in the last three years and is still rising. So strap in, ladies and gentlemen, while I make you familiar with the Korean language and give you gosh daringly good reasons to learn it.
Are you a fan of music? Well, PSY’s Gagnam style was the first music video to hit 1 billion views on Youtube. Not only that, K-pop boy band ‘BTS’ has the largest fan following in the world as of today with every single song of theirs going on the top spots of the billboard lists.
Well, if music isn’t your forte, how about movies and TV shows? Korean movie ‘Parasite’ became the first international movie to win the Academy Award this year. Korean dramas are gaining popularity with each passing day. Korean novels are also becoming international sellers as well.
Why learn Korean?
There are over 80 million Korean speakers worldwide and here is why you should become one of them :
Meet new people
With the ever-increasing popularity of BTS and their worldwide fan following ‘armies’, you can connect with over 80 million speakers with 2 million speakers being in the USA alone! This helps you become more social, make friends with different people, and also know about Korean culture. It also makes your dating pool much much bigger.
Boost your career
With brands like Samsung and LG, Korea is the 7th largest export country in the world and according to the surveys, it’ll likely enter the top 8 economies by 2030. With Korea being the most technologically innovative country, it’s safe to say that if this trend continues, learning Korean will become as important as learning Mandarin or Korean.
If you’re applying for Samsung, LG, Hyundai, etc, you’re applying for a Korean based corporation in India. If you know Korean, then you can stand out from the rest of the candidates and be a clear choice. And if you’re already working for one, then you’ll be the favorite choice of your boss when it’ll come to entertaining guests over from Korea which will help you build your business relationships.
Earn more by teaching Korean
Sure, you can find language courses for Spanish or German at every nook and cranny. But there is a huge scarcity of professional Korean instructors. Thus, learning the language to a good level makes you one of the few people in India who can speak and teach Korean not only as a language course but also to corporate employees, which ultimately leads to higher salaries.
Knowing Korean not only lets you visit Korea (which you absolutely need to do once in your life. It’s one of the most beautiful countries to exist.), but it gives you opportunities to study in some of the best universities in the world which are in Korea. So is it hard to learn Korean? Yes. But will it be worth it? You bet!
So, how do you go on about learning a language that looks and feels entirely different from English or German or any of the other languages you’ve spoken? Well, read on to find out :
How to learn Korean?
Learn the Korean alphabet
The Korean alphabet or‘Hangeul’is the first thing you need to learn when you start learning Korean. It is effortless, and it forms the basis of the entire Korean language. A lot of people can learn it just in 3-4 days, so learning the alphabet is the first thing you should do. Once you know the Korean alphabet, you can start reading sentences right away!
Start building your vocabulary
This part is the most fun part when you want to learn Korean. You can build up your vocabulary by listening to your favorite K-pop songs or by reading satisfyingly brilliant Korean novels. Another fun way to learn Korean vocabulary is by watching K-dramas and films, whose popularity is increasing day by day. You can learn vocabulary related to politics by watching ‘Empress Ki’or vocabulary related to high school scenarios by watching ‘Hi! School-Love On’.
Use online resources to your advantage
Using applications like Duolingo can really help you build your vocabulary while learning Korean. Not only that, the server meetings on Duolingo as well as Discord are a great place to meet and chat with fellow learners as well as native speakers, which works like a charm when you want to improve your speaking skills.
Not only that, there are amazing websites available that provide Korean language resources online. A few of the websites worth checking out are :
Surround yourself with Korean
Change the language settings on your phones from your native language to Korean. Youtube has a lot more to offer you than just reaction videos. You can start watching stories and videos for kids in Korean and start viewing more advanced videos as your progress. Reddit is another fun way to learn Korean as it not only provides great articles on Korean but also sends funny Korean memes and jokes your way!
Listen to Korean radio channels and Podcasts
One of the best techniques to boost your Korean speaking skills is to start listening to Korean radio channels. One gets to understand the different Korean sessions. You also grasp a lot of new words when you listen to talk shows, news events, etc. Listening to radio channels not only gives structure to your learning but helps you learn Korean fast. Podcasts are another sure shot way to learn Korean and learn the pronunciations of various words.
Join a Korean language Course at Language Fluent
Korean is a language that will pose a lot of difficulties if you solely try to learn it on your own. Professional help from an experienced instructor can help you immensely, especially in a country like India where Korean isn’t spoken or even seen much. This is where the beautiful internet comes in. With the help of the internet, there are online tutors available to help you wherever you get stuck.
But wouldn’t it be nice to have a professional who won’t only help you improve your pronunciation and grammar but will work closely with all the aspects of Korean that troubles you? Well, that is exactly what we offer at Language Fluent.
With professional tutors, we offer all the levels of Korean starting right from level 1 all the way up to level 6 which will make learning Korean a cakewalk. All that’s needed from your side is passion and commitment.
So what are you waiting for? You know why you need to learn Korean, you know how to learn Korean. Now all you have to do is start acting on that dream of yours to learn Korean. Happy learning!
