Korean Language

Learning the basics of Korean will take your life from really difficult to remarkably easier. Reading is something you can pick up in a day or two if you make a concerted effort, and you should be able to start picking up information off signs and menus after a week or so if you put a little time into practicing. In fact, once you learn the Hangeulization of English words, you’ll find there are a lot of things “written in English” on signboards all over the country.

Books for Basics

Lonely Planet’s Korean Phrasebook

If you haven’t already picked one up, you should look into a copy of Lonely Planet’s Korean Phrasebook. My copy is well annotated and the cover is bent completely out of shape. In addition to having some really valuable stuff to throw at people as you travel around the country, it includes information on food, customs and some essential grammar. These are presently available at English Plus and probably at Kim and Johnson’s in Dunsan. They are also available by order from What the Book.

Basic Sentence Patterns in Korean

A little later on, you may find the book Basic Sentence Patterns in Korean by John H. Koo useful. It uses common sentence structures to give you more natural expressions without using entirely high-formal language. Most of the book is in the familiar-polite level of Korean and as such is quite useful for everyday use and practice. Don’t let the English typo on the first page put you off; it really is a good book on the whole.

Websites

Quite possibly the best site for learning Korean is the Sogang University Learn Korean page. You must create a login for this site, but if you do the assignments, the professors will assess them and return them for free. And free is really, really good.

Here are some other sites that you may want to check out:

• Before You Know It: Free beginner software for both Mac and Windows, more advanced package available for 50 bucks. The starter package is a series of automated flash cards that are quite good, even if some of the Korean items in English (soju as tapioca vodka) throw you for a loop.
• Learn Korean.net
• KBS Let’s Learn Korean
• Korean Class 101.com – Some materials are free, but this is mostly pay to play.
• Mr Oh’s Learn Korean.com
• Simply Korean: A blogger learning and writing in Korean

Podcasts:

Download these and take them with you on your mp3 player.

• Easy Quick Learn Korean
• The Kimchi Girls: who appear to be some high schoolers and teach you useful stuff like how to order food over the phone.
• Korean Class 101.com – Free podcasts
• Survival Phrases: A really good resource of basic sentences and expressions that you can build on when your vocabulary increases. They break it down into little pieces for those looking to get accurate pronunciation.

Classes

A variety of places around the city offer classes. They vary widely in cost, duration, quality and level, so you may have to do some hunting to find something that suits your ability and budget. Here are some currently known ones; if you hear of some not listed here be sure to leave the information in the comments!

• Daejeon International Community Center [Free]: Click here for their latest schedule.
• Daedeok Church [Free] Tuesday night.
• YMCA in Mannyeong Dong: Above Boston English and beside Reading Town.
• Chungnam University Daytime Evening [Expensive: 120hrs Day 449,000, 48 hours Evening 179,000]. Click on Daytime or Evening for scheduling.