Korean Learning Resources – Best websites and language tools

Looking for the top Korean learning resources? We’ve got you covered!

We’ve collected a list of the finest Korean language learning websites, ranging from online translators to language courses. There’s something for everyone, from a complete novice to a seasoned Korean speaker.

Korean Learning Resources

Below is a free PDF guide that you can download and take with you:

Korean Learning Resources

This is a comprehensive list of language learning tools and language resources that you can use in your studies. Any Korean language student would definitely benefit from this comprehensive collection of Korean learning resources.

We’ve created a list of the best language learning websites, as well as the most valuable Korean language articles, paid membership sites, and book suggestions.

Get “Korean Learning Resources” Free PDF Guide

Korean Alphabet (Hangeul or Hangul)

Use these sites to help you learn the 24-character Korean Alphabet (Hangul) for proper pronunciation. You should be able to learn Hangul in about one hour.

Korean Alphabet at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens

  • How to Learn the Korean Alphabet Guide: A great way to start Korean language learning, especially for beginners. Download the 90 Minute Challenge guide for free and learn Hangul in about 60 minutes. Pictures, stories, and associations make it easy to learn and hard to forget.

  • Langintro: Basic site teaching the alphabet and learning Korean. They cover intonation as well, with audio clips to make sure you are pronouncing the words correctly.

  • The National Institute of Korean Language: Korean Courses to learn Korean. It focuses on the Korean alphabet, including example words and intonation. The irregular pronunciation examples are helpful but may be confusing for new learners. Requires plugins to be downloaded.

Korean Dictionaries & Translators

Below are different choices of Korean dictionaries to help you when you encounter unfamiliar Korean words.

Dictionary for Learning Korean

  • Top Korean Dictionaries: A resource for the best Korean dictionaries, translators, and romanization tools. This a must-see list for beginners who want to learn Korean.

  • Naver Dictionary: This is one of the more popular learning resources for the Korean language. Naver dictionary is a Korean dictionary that you can use to look up Korean words in various languages.

It’s very popular for new Korean learners who want to learn Korean quickly. It Has lots of example sentences showing the real usage of the word.

  • Daum DictionaryDaum Korea is a popular web portal offering several services for Koreans. One of their services is a Korean Dictionary dictionary with translations in multiple languages and real-life sample sentences.

  • Naver Papago Translator: While online translators are generally not recommended for Korean language learning, Papago was made specifically for the Korean language. It breaks down all of the vocabulary in the phrase and its meaning.

So, if you absolutely have to use an online translator, this is one of the better ones.

Korean Grammar

Even grammar alone can be quite challenging to learn. We’ve compiled some useful language resources below to make learning each part of Korean grammar a lot easier.

  • Korean Grammar for Beginners:  Among the many language learning resources out there, you should always have one that goes back to the basics. This page has the essentials for getting started with learning Korean.
  • Korean Conjunctions: This page shows you the basic Korean conjunctions and sentence connectors that Koreans use daily.
  • Korean Conjugations: This article teaches you how to conjugate verbs, which can also be helpful in learning about adjectives and adverbs.
  • Korean Adjectives: Another essential part of Korean grammar that you should learn about is descriptive verbs or adjectives. This page contains lists of different adjectives that you can use to describe nouns.
  • Korean Adverbs:  The next thing you’ll want to learn about is describing a verb or an adjective further, which can be done with adverbs.
  • ZKorean: Contains easy-to-use guides on simple grammar and teaches the exceptions to standard pronunciation rules. Contains vocabulary lists, including Korean vocabulary lists like Taekwondo and Calligraphy.

  • 101 Languages: A general resource site for Korean learners to learn Korean with free language tools to help with Korean studies.

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Korean Pronunciation

Learning proper Korean pronunciation can definitely enhance your speaking and listening skills as you expand your vocabulary. Here are some useful resources for that.

  • Korean Pronunciation: A quick and simple guide for perfecting your Korean pronunciation skills. If you want to learn Korean, pronunciation is definitely one of the things you want to master. This is one of the Korean resources that you should start with. It contains helpful audio bytes to help you practice–listening is the best way to learn Korean!
  • Naver Pronunciation: Search for a Korean word, then click on the button that looks like a speaker. Listen and repeat for pronunciation practice. Also popular for beginners who want to learn Korean.

Korean Phrases

Below are different resources to help you learn Korean phrases. These are mostly categorized in different situations applicable to each phrase.

  • Korean Phrases Complete List: Key phrases from 90 Day Korean. Includes basic and useful phrases for certain situations like going to the bank or the dry cleaners or talking to your landlord. Definitely one of the most helpful Korean resources, especially for travelers or new Korean learners.

  • Korean Drama Phrases: The best way to learn Korean is to have fun with it! Learning Korean by watching your favorite K-Drama is definitely a popular technique among students. This guide lists the most common Korean drama words, phrases, and expressions used in your favorite shows.

  • Korean Love Phrases: This guide covers what you need to express your love, including phrases to flirt, give compliments, and romantic Korean phrases.

  • Matthew’s Korean Study and Reference Guide: Phrases listed by category and combined with vocabulary for that category. Includes some less common topics like Korean history and nursery rhymes.

  • KBS World: Has 29 situations, including renting a car and finding a lost item. Phrases have an audio lessons track so you can listen to their pronunciation. Available for speakers of other languages such as Arabic, Spanish, and Russian.

Can't read Korean yet? Click here to learn for free in about 60 minutes!

Korean Practice Sheets

Practice is the key to learning a language, and below is a helpful resource with compilations of worksheets also available for offline use.

  • Korean Worksheets – If you’re interested in beginner Korean Worksheets, then this language resource is for you! It contains a comprehensive list of Korean learning worksheets that you can download and use to practice your Korean skills.

Korean Online Courses

The 90 Day Korean has a step-by-step, structured online course (with a monthly or annual subscription option) that will teach you how to have a 3-minute conversation using the Korean language in only 90 days.

The Inner Circle course, which is part of the program, is definitely one of the Korean courses you should look into if you’re serious about learning Korean.

  • Sogang University Online Program: Korean course materials are heavily focused on dialogues. There are a large number of  Korean lessons here. The quality of the Korean lessons is higher for the absolute beginner levels than for the other levels.

  • Seoul National University Online Program: The twenty lessons here are very clear to use, and there are lots of activities to check your progress. The Korean courses only go up to a high beginner level, but the clarity provided makes self-learning possible.

  • LP’s Korean Language Learning: Explains beginner and intermediate-level grammar. Easy to find the particular piece of grammar that you don’t understand, and the explanations are easy to follow.

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Korean Video Lessons

Some learners find visual learning to be more effective. These video resources are also helpful in learning Korean.

The videos are also a good complement if you’re subscribed to 90 Day Korean’s Inner Circle membership program.

  • Seemile Korean: Has a group of short videos, each about two minutes long and containing one or two phrases. It also contains a short video series (about two hours long) that explains how to read Korean.

Korean 1-on-1 Speaking Practice

If you’re a language learner who prefers a 1-on-1 type of learning, studying with a tutor or teacher is an effective way to learn. The language resource below will help you search for a Korean teacher.

  • italki: This website allows you to find an online language teacher for any language. It also has online language exchanges but is focused on helping students find an online teacher.

The teachers set their own prices and explain their style so that you can find somebody who matches your learning style and budget.

Korean Books

Before other learning resources have become available, books have already been the traditional material used for studying. So, here are some of the best Korean books to aid you with your learning journey.

  • Best Korean Textbooks for Language Learning: A comprehensive list of the best Korean textbooks for learning the language.
  • Yonsei University Korean: Covers reading, writing, speaking, and listening and has a workbook that goes with it. The Korean course is in polite Korean, and it is designed for students in a class, so it might be a little bit difficult to use without help.

  • Sogang University Korean: Like the Yonsei book, this is designed to be used in a classroom and has an accompanying workbook (and grammar book). Very colorful, and the activities inside involve user participation rather than just passively reading.

It is focused on speaking and doesn’t contain a writing section. Written in Korean as it is aimed at students of Sogang Language school.

  • Gangada Language Institute: Has detailed grammar explanations in English and is relatively easy to use for self-study.

  • Korean Made Simple: Written in English with lengthy explanations about the Korean language and culture.

  • Korean Made Easy: Written by one of Sogang University’s teachers. This series of books have detailed English explanations about when you should use certain words. The series has books targeted at certain students, from phrasebooks to vocabulary and common expressions books.

  • Monash University: Free to download from their website. For a beginner book, the words that it asks students to learn include many uncommon words. Many of the activities require a partner.

  • Basic Korean: A Grammar and Workbook: Focuses on grammar explanations and how things like word order are different in Korean and English, but it doesn’t include dialogue.

  • Lonely Planet Korean Phrasebook: It has many useful phrases but doesn’t explain the different politeness levels and word parts, so it may be difficult for a beginner to use on its own

  • 2000 Essential Korean Words for Beginners: This book contains the most common Korean words with usage examples. It is useful for learning frequently used in Korean but not frequently in other languages such as English. Also available is “6000 Korean words,
    but that book lacks usage examples.

Korean Flashcards

Flashcards are proven to be helpful in memorization. Here are some of the best ones we recommend.

  • Anki: A downloadable program that allows you to create your own flashcards and test yourself. Creating the cards is quite a slow process, but you can make them really detailed and personal.

  • Quizlet: Create your own mini-quizzes to help you remember vocabulary. You can also add sound and pictures.

  • Surusu: Similar to Anki, but online rather than as a download. It looks very basic but allows you to make cards in the same way as Anki.

  • Memrise: Contains lots of vocabulary lists from most Korean textbooks and courses. You can also make your own vocabulary lists. It works well on a smartphone, so it is useful for studying while commuting.

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Typing in Korean

Typing on both desktops and smartphones are good ways to be familiar with Korean letters and words. Here are some resources to help you become more familiar with Korean typing.

  • Korean Typing: Simple 5-step explanation for learning to type in Hangul on your computer. Includes associations and stories to help you remember.

  • Korean Texting: This will teach you the basics of texting in Korean with the usual conversation and text slang that you might encounter.
    Korean Keyboard

Korean Dramas

Want to have fun while learning? That’s a great role played by Korean dramas and movies! You can watch these series or films through the resources below.

  • HanCinema: HanCinema is an independent Korean Movie and Drama Database. Whether you’re watching movies to learn Korean or for entertainment, you can discover South Korean cinema and TV drama diversity here. You can also browse through Korean movies, dramas, directors, actors and actresses, film companies, updated news, find Korean film and drama-related info, and links.

  • Daehan Drama: The only UK website dedicated to Korean dramas and their actors. Catering to the local audience, it covers UK-relevant news, events, offers, and discussions. It is also the voice of the London Korean Drama Club for its upcoming events and initiatives.

  • SoompiTV: You can watch Korean dramas legally from this site with English subtitles. Only available in the USA and Canada. Has a large catalog of shows and dramas.

  • Viki: Features dramas, TV shows, and movies from all over the world that you can watch on your computer or smartphone through an application.

  • Hulu: Korean dramas, available depending on where you are located.

  • DramaBeans: Detailed analysis and discussion about Korean dramas in English.

Korean Subtitles

If you’d like to level up on watching these dramas by using Korean subtitles, the website below is perfect for you.

  • Cineast: This website has lots of content. It has some English movies with Korean subtitles and some Korean movies. Look in the section called 자유실 (jayusil) to find some movies to watch.

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Korean TV and Radio

  • KBS: Has information about all the upcoming KBS shows and TV schedules. Clicking on the ‘on air’ button allows you to watch a limited selection of shows broadcasted at that time.

  • MBC: Has information about MBC’s programs. You can watch and download episodes of programs here, but you need to log in to do so.

  • SBS: Members can download past episodes of their favorite SBS shows. Korean news can be watched without a membership and has an article written below each news video, which could teach new words from the broadcast.

  • EBS: These educational channels can be watched live for free. They are aimed at Koreans, but some programs may be of interest.

Korean Music

  • Allkpop: Website with Kpop news and forums in English.

  • Big B Radio: Asian radio station with a K-pop-specific channel.

  • Kpoplyrics in English: Search for your favorite K-pop songs, and get the lyrics in both romanized Korean and English.

  • Gasazip Lyrics in Hangul: Korean site for finding lyrics to your favorite Korean songs in Hangul. If you can’t find the song by searching in English, try using Hangul.

  • United Kpop: United Kpop is the go-to source for K-pop news and events in the UK. They also organize their own events to help spread the word about K-pop around the world.

Korean Snacks

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Korean Newspapers

  • Chosun Ilbo: Has news in Korean and an English site that is updated several times a day.

  • Donga Ilbo: Has news in Korean and an English site.

  • Joongang Ilbo: Has news in Korean. Includes a bilingual column that could be useful for studying the news in Korean.

  • Hankook Media Network: Has news in Korean only.

Korean Language Exchanges & Meetups

Below are different websites and apps specifically used for language exchange. We have a separate article that will give you more information about Korean language exchange. You can also read this article for more apps related to Korean learning.

  • HelloTalk: Chat with native Korean speakers or speakers of any other language. Language exchange is done with chat, voice, and video through an app on your smartphone.
  • Meetup.com:  A great way to find language learners and native speakers alike. There are several language exchanges in Seoul that you can find on meetup, and it should be possible to find one that fits your schedule.
  • Languagecast is one of the groups that run regular language exchanges in Seoul. It is also possible to find language exchanges in other cities, but it is good to check with the organizer to see if many Korean speakers are in attendance.
  • Hi!PenPal!: Another free-to-use pen pal service. Not used too frequently.
  • Mylanguageexchange: This is free to use, but you need to pay to become a premium member to start a conversation. Also, a nice way to find a native speaker to have a conversation with. However, it is used relatively frequently.

Korean Tests

To help you determine your language skills in Korean, taking level tests or Korean quizzes can help. Below are resources and guides specifically for the TOPIK test.

The site has an English, Japanese, and Chinese language version, but to register for the test, you need to be able to read Korean quite well for some parts of the application process, so if you want to try and take the level one test, you might need a Korean to help you register.

Exam tests get booked up very quickly, so keep your eye on the registration dates. It also includes old test papers for downloading.

  • TOPIK Guide: A complete (and up-to-date) guide about the TOPIK test-taking process, including many old and mock test papers and answers that you can download. The website also includes vocabulary and idiom lists and tips about how to study for the test.

  • TOPIK -What You Need To Know – A quick guide on all the things you need to know about TOPIK. It includes the test format, recommended scores, and tips on how to prepare for the Korean exam.

Korean Search Engines

We’ve also listed down the search engines typically used in Korea.

  • Naver: The most popular search engine used by Koreans.

  • Daum: Another popular search engine in Korea, similar to Naver.

  • Nate: Another Korean search engine, although less popular than Naver or Daum.

  • Google: Korea-specific Google search.

  • Yahoo: Korea-specific Yahoo search.

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Korean Government

If you’d like to know more about the Korean government and how it relates to learning Korean, you can refer to the resources below.

  • Social Integration: Also known as 사회통합 프로그램 (sahoetonghap peurogeuraem), this is a government program people use to get residency in South Korea by studying Korean.

  • Study In Korea: This website has information about how to study in Korea. It is beneficial for people wishing to do a university degree in Korea.

The website includes information about government scholarships and shows when each university’s application periods are open. It also contains recent news related to studying in Korea.

Recruiters for Jobs in Korea

  • Footprints Recruiting: A highly popular choice for job seekers, Footprints is always innovating to help teachers find work in a faster, more effective way. Contact them, and they will do their best to find you the best Korean English teaching job available to you.

  • ESLstarter: Contact ESLstarter, and you can expect an experienced team of advisers who will provide as much information as possible, ensuring you know everything you need to know before your departure.

Not only will they help you secure your dream job, but they’ll also help guide you through the visa process, assist with travel arrangements, and provide a comprehensive aftercare service once you arrive in Korea.

  • Say Kimchi Recruiting: Say Kimchi provides only quality teaching jobs and closely vets applicants to ensure quality teachers fill quality jobs. After signing your contract, they’ll help you along the way with their amazing team that works from Korea to make your stay more comfortable.

Korean Language General Resources

Other Language Course Resources

  • Learn Thai From a White Guy: Learn to read Thai in only two weeks using Brett’s fun and easy online course. Go from zero to fluency using this time-tested method.

Wrap Up

We hope you find these resources helpful in your Korean learning journey! These tools can aid you but keep in mind that the learning speed may differ from person to person. So, take it easy and see what works for you.

Is there something you want to see? Maybe you know of other resources that might be helpful to fellow language learners? Leave us a comment below. We’d love to hear from you. ^^

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10 thoughts on “Korean Learning Resources – Best websites and language tools”

  1. Thank you so much for making it easier and simplest ways for us to learn Korean am very grateful you’re really amazing oppa and unnie ❤️❤️❤️

  2. Heyyy!!! Thankyou soo muchh for all the 90 day korean content, its helped me advance soo much, especially the 90 mins speaking challenge, i finished it in around 65 mins only soo it rlly rlly helped me out. I actually was looking for some cheap but good korean textbook for self-study purposes. I’d love to improve my listening and speaking skills especially and my won’t allow me to spend too much time on electronics so if you could please suggest some good korean textbooks that’ll help me improve a lot but at a cheaper price (I wanted to get Integrated Korean but the entire series is too costly and my mom isn’t as it is too excited for me to learn korean soo she’s not willing to spend a lot). If you could please tell some me good reccomendations, I’d rlly rlly appreciate it and once again, thankyou soo much for working on the entire 90daykorean website, it has truly helped sooo many of us improve our korean skills ????????????Thankyou!!!

    1. Hi, Ash! All of the books listed here (https://www.90daykorean.com/best-korean-textbooks/) are great for self-study! You can go to a big bookstore in your city and see if they have Korean books in the language learning section. If they do, looking over the books in person will be very helpful to choose the book you like the most! Please remember, no matter which book you choose, finishing the book is the most important thing to improve! ^^

  3. Thank you for the great resource list.

    Dramafever has been gone for a while now. May want to remove it from the list.

  4. I’m a bit young to get all this and I’m in an extremely different country so, what am I supposed to do?
    Please help me,
    THANK YOU^^

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