Top Sites To Learn Korean
We are not fluent Korean speakers here on Korean From Context. We have never claimed to be. And we are forever learning through our own website as well as the use of other methods. We want to pass on our favorite ways to learn Korean that don’t involve you having to use an educational book.
If the book helps you, go right ahead and use that book! For some people that is the way to go. We just find it isn’t the way we learn best.
We will say these tend to be a majority Audio/Visual ways to learn but we’ve noticed it’s been the most helpful for us.
Netflix – We talked about this a bit on our TikTok. We have used this method on so many occasions it seriously comes in handy. There are two reasons we love Netflix…and one of them is actually something we used to hate and have now learned to love!
The main way we use Netflix is simple. We choose a drama we have watched before with our native languages subtitles, and then pick scenes we like a lot/want to know the phrases from. We then go into the audio/subtitle options and change the subtitle to Korean closed caption. This is also great to learn descriptive words. For instance if a character sighs it would say [(character name)의 한숨 –(Character name)wee hansum – (characters name) sighs]. You can go back and forth between your native language and Korean as well as listening to how its being said and you will have the phrases down in no time!
The second way we use Netflix is to make phone flash cards! Sounds bizarre but hear us out. We like to screenshot scenes so we can remember the phrases. With the picture we are able to remember the scene. However with all the updates and copyright infringement, Netflix along with most streaming service have made screenshotting a scene not possible. A black screen will come up. BUT we found the subtitles still appear. Do you see where we are going with this? We have the Korean subtitle and a black screen. Use that black screen to write out the translation and BOOM you now have flash cards!
Viki – Viki is like Netlfix but better…and worse. Worse is because when trying to screenshot, not even subtitles show so all you get is an black screen. We have a notebook on our side to write down the phrases we want. Now the reason we LOVE Viki and why we believe it to be one step above Netflix is that you get the Korean subtitles and your native language subtitles AT. THE. SAME. TIME. Amazing in and of itself. But it gets better! You can pause and click on the Korean and it will read out the word! Amazing!
HelloTalk – Our fav editor Aleda was the one who introduced us to this amazing site. For real this is an amazing site where you talk to native Korean speakers (or any other language you are looking to learn) and ask them any questions you need answered. And you can help them learn your native language. It is a massive social networking site dedicated to helping people learn a new language. Once you get past the thirsty people (and tbh there are a lot) you will find amazing people you can talk to not only messaging back and forth but also talk on the phone, via the site, to practice your language skills. We have met a few people that have become friends as well as tutors. We appreciate this app immensely.
Web K-Dramas – This is a very similar outlet to Netflix however you can screenshot the scenes so that the visual helps with the Korean. We also have found we get sucked into these a lot faster because most of the series are 10-15 minute episodes so they are quick, usually cute, and have introduced us to a lot of amazing new/up and coming actors. A lot of the companies put the Korean subtitles due to different dialects and also the hearing impaired, and then on top of that, you can add your languages subtitles. You can see both at the same time. Peep out Instagram profile photo to see what we mean. Some of the few channels we suggest are King Of Korean-dramas, Studio Dia, and dingo story.
Our Website (Korean From Context) – Well ain’t this just some shameless self-promotion? Yep. It is. But we really do think that our concept of learning Korean is a fun one. We use our books (Seoul Searching and soon to be more) to help you use English to learn Korean. Yes, we said what we said. We use what a person knows in English to help them figure out what is happening in Korean. Start reading, and learning, today!
Pinterest – this is the site for flash cards! We have hundreds if not thousands of different kinds of flash cards. There are cards with K-pop idols or K-drama actors on them with phrases. There are cards with massive breakdowns of different types of environments, phrases for different situations, etc. We love using this, however we realized when we save too many on a board it becomes hard to find phrases we are looking for. Our suggestion might be breaking down boards to certain criteria to keep the boards better maintained.
These are some of our favorite ways to learn Korean. We hope they help you! And if you have any other suggestions please let us know on Instagram (@koreanfromcontext) or Twitter (@koreanfrmcntxt). We would love to know how your learning that can maybe help us as well!
