Should You Learn Korean?

Should you learn Korean? Should I learn Korean? Should I learn a language? Perhaps you have pondered about this before? Perhaps are thinking of starting to learn a language or just recently started learning a language and are wondering if it's for you? I'm going to presume you clicked this article because you fall into one of these two categories.

It's very normal to have doubts when starting or before starting on a long term goal. Partly doubt of whether you will succeed and partly doubt of whether you think the investment is worth it. I'm sure we all have the same doubts when it comes to spending the valuable resources, time and money.

I want to focus on whether one should learn Korean as a western native language speaker. If you already know or were raised with a Sino-language then the journey will be easier, similarly as it would for a native English speaker to learn, say, a romance language. Because of the huge time commitment required, there are what some would consider good reasons and bad reasons to even start in the first place.

Using Audio Description for Language Learning

You may have noticed while changing the language or subtitles on netflix, an option called 'audio description' or even on television programmes, a symbol that says AD which represents that audio description is available. Generally audio description will only be available in the language the TV show was produced in although there may be some exceptions.

The intended use of audio description is to allow blind or visually impaired individuals to understand more of what is happening during the silent and action oriented parts of a show or movie. When this setting is active, a narrator will describe the actions that are taking place, such as 'man with scruffy hair walks down a long corridor.'

Audio description logo on UK television

Billy Go's Korean Reading Made Simple Review

Billy Go, of YouTube fame, is very well known for providing Korean learners with grammar content and insights into the Korean language through is his various videos.. After using the Korean Made Simple grammar series, 2 years ago, I was interested to see what content he would create next. As I had a already passed Korean Made Simple 3 which covers up to most common grammar there was little need for a 4th book and google and dictionaries would suffice.

While my level continued to improve I found the power of reading. Reading is simply the best way to learn new words and experiences many different contexts very quickly. The hardest thing people find is being able to deal with the ambiguity of not understanding every single thing or the nuance of every single sentence. Sadly this is a part of language learning and it causes a lot of people to stick in the beginner stage re-reading grammar books for the 10th time to "nail down the grammar."

I was a little intrigued when Billy announced a reading book, as I had been reading for many months at the time it was announced but due to having so much content to read I had completely forgotten about it. To state before the review, I received this PDF copy from Billy himself, however the review will be as honest to the content as it is to the value.

Korean Reading Made Simple PDF Front Cover

Olly Richards' Short Stories in Korean for Intermediate Learners Review

For the last year or so, I've had my eye on Olly Richards since I found his YouTube channel and sequentially his short story books. I thought it was a very interesting concept, as it was effectively the same approach that I was taking to learning Korean. I'd like to give a big thanks to Olly and Sarah for providing me with the review copy.

As for Olly, you may know him from his YouTube channel or perhaps even his blog. He has spent a lot of time in the past giving advice to language learners and even running a podcast sharing his own experiences in learning multiple languages and answering listeners questions. He still regularly posts videos and posts blog posts so go check them out.

I have been successful with and highly recommend reading for every aspiring language learner as it is simply the quickest way to gain vocabulary. It may be no surprise to those learning Korean, that there is a severe lack of graded readers and simple content in, which to build up your language ability. Thankfully we now have a competitor but can it take the spot of a recommended resource?

Short Stories in Korean for Intermediate Learners front cover

Billy Go's Korean Made Simple 1 Grammar Book Review

Just in case you don't know by now. Billy Go is an American, Korean teacher who makes videos explaining grammar and sometimes various aspects of the Korean language through slightly comedic videos. For the past year he has regularly been streaming on Sunday's on various topics voted for by subscribers.

According to his website, he began learning in 2005 and has lived in Korea for multiple years and now visits there for a few months every year. He started his YouTube channel in 2012 and released Korean Made Simple 1 in 2014. It was then followed up with Korean Made Simple 2 in the same year and Korean Made Simple 3 a few years later in 2016.

He recently started a Beginner video course that is completely free on YouTube that is set to span 100 videos. Although personally I would recommend the books due to it being quicker to go through overall or possibly playing the videos at 2x speed.

I personally used all 3 Korean Made Simple books when I was starting out, so I will also share a few tips on how to use the books throughout the review. Hopefully this review can help you make an informed decision on whether or not you wish to purchase the books.

Korean Made Simple grammar book front cover

Lingo Mastery's 2000 Most Common Korean Words in Context Review

My number one factor of a good vocabulary resource is that it gives you an example sentence for each word. Simple sentences are simply the best way to acquire new words and grammar. Simple sentences are great because it gives you a much higher chance of comprehending a word, even without context.

By now you may have heard of Lingo Mastery. They have released a few books in various languages such as, German, Japanese, Russian, Italian, Spanish and have many different types of resources including, conversations, stories and vocabulary books. You can pick them up in physical or ebook form, the former of which is quicker and cheaper.

Here I will be reviewing the 2000 Most Common Korean Words in Context e-book. I was surprised to see that they had spread out to Asian languages after discovering their Italian content. If you would like to see all the content they have to offer click here.