The Hallyu wave swept me away in 2016 with BTS’s “Blood, Sweat, and Tears,” sparking an intense fascination with all things Korean – K-dramas, movies, variety shows, and of course, the language itself. Like many new fans, I quickly picked up a few common Korean words and phrases. However, my desire to truly understand this captivating language pushed me to embark on a more serious learning journey in 2021.
Let’s be realistic: fluency in any language, especially one as structurally different from English as Korean, doesn’t happen overnight. Forget any “learn Korean in 30 days to fluency” promises – they’re simply not achievable. I adjusted my expectations, setting a more practical, yet still ambitious goal for my 30-day Korean learning challenge.
My Goal:
To hold a basic 10-15 minute conversation in Korean and grasp the gist of a short K-drama episode without relying on subtitles.
This article details my experience, breaking down my learning process week by week, and offers actionable steps and insights for anyone wondering How To Learn Korean effectively, especially as a beginner.
Week 1: Decoding Hangul – The Korean Alphabet
My first week was dedicated to conquering Hangul, the Korean alphabet. I discovered a fantastic YouTube channel that made learning Hangul surprisingly quick; I grasped the entire alphabet in roughly 24 hours. To aid memorization, I created flashcards, pairing each Hangul character with its closest phonetic equivalent in Hindi, my native language. This proved more intuitive than using English sounds, significantly speeding up pronunciation learning.
After mastering the basic Hangul letters, I encountered the more challenging aspects: double consonants and 받침 (batchim), or final consonants. These felt overwhelming initially, and I almost considered giving up. The rules surrounding 받침 seemed particularly complex. However, I persevered, pushing through the initial difficulty.
Towards the end of week one, I discovered the invaluable resource, howtostudykorean.com. I made a conscious decision to abandon romanization and focus solely on reading and writing in Hangul. While howtostudykorean.com offered incredibly comprehensive lessons, I found the sheer volume of information in each lesson a bit overwhelming to absorb at once. Recognizing the need for diverse resources, I started compiling a list of all free Korean learning materials I could find online.
Week 2: Building a Foundation with Grammar and Vocabulary
Week two marked a shift towards structured learning. I began daily study sessions using the free Talk To Me In Korean (TTMIK) podcast, a widely recommended resource for beginners. I diligently took notes in a notebook to facilitate regular review. However, I soon realized that relying solely on podcasts was too slow to meet my 30-day goal. To accelerate my progress, I incorporated longer, hour-long video lessons from Miss Vicky, and supplemented these with shorter, focused videos from Korean Unnie (3-4 minutes each) for quick grammar points and vocabulary boosts.
Consistency was key. Each day, I dedicated time to revising previously learned material before tackling new lessons. Without regular review, the accumulating grammar rules and vocabulary became increasingly confusing.
Interestingly, learning Korean began to eclipse my academic studies in terms of time and focus, simply because I found the process of deciphering Korean grammar so engaging. I noticed helpful parallels between Korean and Hindi grammar, particularly in sentence structure and some phonetic similarities, which aided my understanding.
To actively improve my reading and speaking skills, areas I found particularly challenging, I practiced reading simple Korean passages aloud. For listening practice and to attune my ear to native Korean accents, I watched K-dramas on Viki, utilizing the “learning mode” feature, which often provides sentence-by-sentence breakdowns and vocabulary assistance.
Studying Korean requires dedication and the right resources.
Week 3: The Power of Community – Joining a Korean Study Group
A pivotal moment in week three was discovering a tweet from someone organizing a Korean study group. I immediately responded and was invited to a group chat and subsequently a Google Classroom, where more experienced learners shared resources and patiently answered our questions.
This study group evolved into a thriving Discord community with numerous members and regular, free Korean learning sessions. The organizers even created weekly quizzes to assess our progress and assigned daily homework to encourage consistent practice – all provided completely free of charge!
This collaborative learning environment significantly shifted my study approach. Week three became less about self-study and more about leveraging the materials and guidance provided by the study group mentors for revision and advancing my learning. The sense of community and shared learning experience was incredibly motivating.
Week 4: Conversational Korean and Putting Knowledge to the Test
By the final week, I was thrilled to find myself capable of constructing basic Korean sentences. Phrases like “How are you?” “Who are you?” “Where are you?” “I want to eat,” “What are you doing?” “Please give me…” and “My name is…” now rolled off my tongue.
Looking back, I was amazed at my progress since those first days of grappling with Hangul. My Korean reading speed had improved, although it was still far from fluent.
The Korean study group administered a more comprehensive quiz at the end of the month to gauge our levels and tailor future learning. The group categorized learners into six levels, and I placed at Level 3, demonstrating a grasp of basic grammar structures and a surprisingly large vocabulary, much of which I’d subconsciously absorbed from K-pop songs and K-dramas.
Did I Achieve My 30-Day Korean Learning Goals?
With the 30 days completed, I decided to test myself. I initiated a conversation via chat with a native Korean friend on Twitter. While it was a basic exchange, and my friend made slight allowances for my beginner level, I was able to understand the majority of the conversation, even if I had to make educated guesses occasionally.
Our chat lasted for about 9-10 minutes, which felt like a significant achievement for a beginner. My friend was impressed with my progress in such a short time and offered encouraging words.
For my second goal – understanding a K-drama episode – I chose a short episode (around 10 minutes) of one of my favorite dramas, “Best Mistake.” However, this proved more challenging than anticipated.
Despite recognizing a few phrases and catching snippets of sentences, I only understood about 50% of the episode. Complex vocabulary and slang were major hurdles. Ultimately, I had to re-watch the episode with subtitles to fully grasp the plot.
My Top Tips for Learning Korean (and Any Language):
Based on my 30-day experience, here’s my advice for anyone embarking on how to learn Korean or any new language:
- Gather a Variety of Resources: Don’t rely on just one method. Explore different textbooks, apps, websites (like TTMIK and howtostudykorean.com), YouTube channels, podcasts, and even language exchange partners. Variety keeps learning engaging and caters to different learning styles.
- Immerse Yourself in Korean Media: Actively listen to Korean music (K-pop) and watch Korean movies and series (K-dramas). Even passive listening helps you become familiar with the sounds and rhythm of the language. Start with subtitles, but gradually try to reduce reliance on them.
- Create a Study Plan and Stick to It: Consistency is crucial. Even short, daily study sessions are more effective than sporadic, long ones. Set realistic goals for each week and track your progress. Having a plan provides structure and keeps you motivated.
- Balance Grammar and Vocabulary Learning: Don’t focus solely on one aspect. Grammar provides the framework of the language, while vocabulary is the building blocks. Learn them concurrently for a more holistic understanding.
- Practice and Revise Regularly: Spaced repetition is key to memorization. Regularly review previously learned material to reinforce your knowledge. Actively practice speaking and writing, even if it’s just to yourself initially.
- Engage with Korean Culture: Understanding the culture associated with a language enhances your learning experience and provides context. Explore Korean food, customs, history, and traditions to deepen your connection with the language.
My 30-day Korean challenge was just the beginning of a much longer journey. Fluency is a marathon, not a sprint. However, this initial intensive period gave me a significant head start and instilled in me the confidence to continue learning. I’m incredibly glad I didn’t give up when Hangul seemed daunting, as that initial hurdle was simply the gateway to an exciting and rewarding language learning adventure. Happy Korean learning!
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Vama Suvani 50k+ pageviews
Writer since Jul, 2020 · 11 published articlesVama Suvani is a university student whose interest lies in English literature. She writes articles and poems on a variety of topics. Vama loves to read books and documents her feelings on them in different media outlets.
Website: nerdreading.tumblr.com/
