Listening skills are one of the backbones of language fluency. That’s why it’s crucial to build your listening comprehension skills through Korean listening practice.
There are so many fantastic resources out there for boosting your listening ability, no matter your language level. I’ll show you 15 of my favorites, and give you some useful study techniques that will boost your Korean listening skills.
Sometimes, all we need to learn a new language concept is a well-organized chart guide. This little resource from zKorean is just that.
The chart features consonants and vowels in Korean, complete with audio clips, in-depth written pronunciation and Hangul. As a little bonus, zKorean also made an Anki deck of the entire guide, so you can practice your Korean listening abilities on the go.
Intermediate and advanced learners have probably already mastered everything involving consonants and vowels in Korean, so this resource is better suited for beginner learners.
The popular website for Korean learning, “Talk to Me in Korean” has many courses available with its subscription, including several courses on listening. Just select “listening” from the “language skills” dropdown menu.
Here are a couple of the best ones:
IYAGI (beginner) – Listening in 100% Natural Korean — The best thing about this course is that the speakers talk exactly as they would normally. You get a transcript and vocabulary list for all ten conversations.
Listening Practice In Slow Korean — If you want a full and detailed breakdown of every aspect spoken then this is the course for you. Everyday topics are still covered, but with a slower pace of speaking and with full grammatical explanations.
If you want to use a book instead, then check out this option:
“Talk To Me In Korean Level 1” ($21) — This textbook and audio combo might be just what you need to kick your listening abilities up a notch. It’s a great paperback textbook with accompanying downloadable audio files.
There are also quite a few videos available for free on their YouTube channel.
Another fantastic textbook and audio combo resource is “Listening Korean for Beginners” from The National Institute of the Korean Language and The International Korean Language Foundation.
This book’s goal is to improve listening ability in Korean by supplying learners with actual authentic real-world conversations.
This book is designed for beginners, but you do need to have a basic understanding of common vocabulary words because the audio often uses vocab that’s not defined in the text.
4. KoreanClass101
Type of resource: Video course
Cost: Included in KoreanClass101 subscription—$4 per month for a basic plan, $6 per month for a premium plan
These listening courses in particular are made up of 25 video lessons. The lessons are just one to four minutes long and not quite as in-depth as the program’s other courses but great for bite-sized classes.
If you don’t feel like paying for a subscription and don’t mind not having transcripts or the extra learning tools, you can also check out plenty of the videos available on YouTube for free.
These courses are part of KoreanClass101, the Korean iteration of the language courses by Innovative Language. You can read more about it in full here.
This website is one of the best when it comes to systematically learning Korean grammar and Korean in general. There are 7 Units in total which equals 158 Lessons.
The great thing about it is that there are quizzes and little tests to check your progress. Listening comprehension is included.
Each unit has a test that includes reading comprehension, grammar and listening questions. For the listening section, you have to listen to a short dialogue and then select an answer in a multiple-choice format.
There is also an entire Listening Practice section available for Unit 1, which is the first 25 lessons. The answer is an example sentence that you learned in the lesson. This might be slightly trickier as it requires you to listen and then type what you hear into the box provided.
Podbbang is a great little podcast resource that’s free to use. Here you can find podcasts that focus on language learning, news, storytelling and much more. All of the podcasts featured by Podbbang are in Korean.
Since the entirety of the website is in Korean, beginner learners may have trouble navigating it. As such, intermediate and advanced learners can benefit the most from this resource.
If you feel that this is a bit too advanced for you, don’t panic. Simply hit the rewind button, then select “Speed” and slow it down so you can pay closer attention to what’s being said.
Here are a couple of our recommendations:
두시탈출 컬투쇼 (Two O’Clock Escape) — This comedy show features natural dialogue about a variety of topics such as health, romance, career, food or travel. The conversations will probably be more aligned with what you’d encounter in real life.
이동진의 빨간책방 (Dong-jin Lee’s Red Bookstore) — Created by bookworms, for bookworms, this is the place to turn to for insightful recommendations, critiques and comments on Korean novels, essays, poetry and, yes, classics. Make your listening even more productive by doing a Naver search for the book in question. Although it’s no longer producing new episodes, it still remains popular.
HelloTalk is a chat app that connects language learners with native speakers of that specific language.
You can find a native Korean speaker who’s interested in learning your native language and start a language exchange with them.
Once connected with a speaker, you can send audio messages to one another and correct each other’s pronunciation mistakes. This resource is ideal for learners who know the basics of Korean and can record audio of themselves speaking Korean confidently.
Many language learners and polyglots will admit that they’ve used music to help them learn a new language. It really is an effective way to learn.
This blog took this concept and made it into a full-fledged Korean language course based on K-POP music. Each entry on this blog revolves around a Korean song and then has a system where it refers to a specific grammar point on the website.
There are 120 grammar points in all! Lessons break down the lyrics into Hangul and English. At the end of each lesson, you can access a quiz to help you memorize what you’ve learned.
The blog is not being updated at the moment, but it remains an amazing resource.
If you’d like more translated lyrics, you can also check out the website Color Coded Lyrics. A different color corresponds to a different singer in a K-pop group and tells you exactly who’s singing which part.
There are no grammar lessons here, but there are Korean lyrics, romanizations and translations available for each song. The YouTube video is embedded in the page so you can listen and read the lyrics at the same time.
The website has a team that constantly updates it with new songs, so make sure you have a look regularly!
If you want to see the lyrics color-coded in a YouTube video itself, check out the channel Jaeguchi or just search “color-coded lyrics” in the YouTube search bar.
Cost: Download for free; $9.99 per month for premium
EggBun is an app that sets users up with a live chatbot to improve their reading, writing, vocabulary and speaking skills in Korean.
It’s based almost entirely on AI, so you won’t be talking directly with a real person. Still, the technology used is quite impressive.
Lenny, the cute egg-like tutor, is very entertaining and actually fun to talk to. The app itself is modeled after typical app-based group chats and is very aesthetically pleasing.
EggBun focuses on audio analysis, pronunciation, Hangul, basic verbs, phrases and common sentences in Korean. You can download it for iPhone or Android.
Here's a quick look at the variety of video choices available to you:
Each word in the interactive captions comes with a definition, audio, image, example sentences and more.
Access a complete interactive transcript of every video under the Dialogue tab, and easily review words and phrases from the video under Vocab.
Don't stop there, though. You can use FluentU’s unique quizzes to learn the vocabulary and phrases from the video through fun questions.
FluentU even tracks your progress and remembers all the words you've learned, making for a 100% personalized experience.
Review sessions use video context to help embed the words in your memory. The best part? You can access the full FluentU video library with a free trial!
Netflix is a surprisingly good resource for Korean television, dramas and films. Just about every Korean video on Netflix comes in its native Korean audio with English and sometimes Korean subtitles.
All levels of learners could use Netflix shows in Korean to work on their listening and comprehension skills. You also can do a simple search for “Korean drama” or “Korean movie” to see what Korean-language content Netflix currently has to offer.
You can also check out our lists of the best Korean movies and K-dramas:
Cost: Free with ads; $5.99 per month for standard plan and $9.99 per month for plus plan
Beyond the fact that there are hundreds of movies and shows to choose from, what makes Viki so awesome for your Korean studies are the numerous subtitle options to facilitate your learning.
Each content is different, but you can enable or disable subtitles in English and a dozen other languages, including Korean. Another helpful feature is the simultaneous display of user comments, which often makes it easier to catch difficult portions of dialogue.
With the plus plan, you even get access to Korean variety shows that are currently airing right now on KOKOWA, Viki’s sister website.
Like Netflix, AsianCrush is anotherfantastic (and legal!) website for streaming Korean dramas, as well as Taiwanese and Japanese dramas.
A vast majority of the Korean-language streaming content here is presented with the content’s native Korean audio and Korean subtitles.
You can watch quite a lot without paying anything at all, and you’ll get ads here and there. Not all videos have subtitles, though, and many don’t have English subtitles, so this source may be best suited for intermediate or advanced users.
Let’s be real here. Watching vlogs is just fun and usually a good time-waster.
However, watching Korean-language channels can improve how well you comprehend conversational Korean as well as showcase a bit of contextual Korean culture and casual language.
Here are a few great channels on YouTube to practice listening with:
데이브 The World of Dave — This is a comedy and satirical channel of an American man named Dave. He lives in Korea and the videos have Korean and English subtitles.
Easy Languages Korean — This popular YouTube channel also has a Korean iteration of its famous street interviews. You’ll hear conversations with native speakers with subtitles in both English and Korean below.
If you’re looking for tips on Korean listening, we also have lots of techniques for you! Check out our suggestions for the best ways to use the resources we mentioned above.
Set Listening Goals
Improving your Korean listening skills is a step-by-step process. The best strategy is to incrementally target specific elements and set deadlines based on your goals. This will keep you moving consistently forward in your language studies.
Your first objective should be to accurately distinguish simple, aspirated and tense consonants. Here, you should be able to tell apart letters like ㄷ, ㅌ and ㄸ, ㅈ, ㅊ and ㅉ, and ㅅ and ㅆ.
Then, your second objective can be to try to recognize as many words as possible—for example, when watching a movie—and write down the sentences and context in which you heard them. Verify with a Korean friend or on the Korean subreddit on Reddit.
For your third objective, you can aim for full phrase recognition and try to focus on the meaning of an overall conversation.
Identify Problem Areas When Listening to Korean Sounds
Certain Korean sounds don’t exist in English or other Western languages. Leaning on the sound equivalents in romanizations will make it a lot harder for you to learn and distinguish sounds as they’re really used in Korean.
To remedy this issue, try to identify which sounds are most difficult for you.
An easy way to get started is to watch a Korean movie, preferably using bilingual subtitles so you can more easily verify spelling and words, pausing frequently and writing down what you hear.
Then, compare your writing with the actual words. The way you write the words tells you what letters you’re prone to confuse.
Use Technology Hacks to Improve Your Korean Listening Daily
Use your phone to record conversations. This is a fantastic strategy to practice listening by turning your personal experiences into custom lessons. In doing so, you’ll be focusing on words that are relevant to you while also improving your own pronunciation skills.
Listen to the same podcasts over and over. Podcasts are word-rich audio recordings that feature real-world conversations and presentations by teachers and/or native Koreans. Better yet, podcasts are typically educational and will bring color and culture to your Korean studies.
Set up your voice-activated devices in Korean. Turning on your voice-activated devices is a smart method to surround yourself with Korean sounds and immerse yourself in a Korean environment without leaving your country. It’ll also allow you to develop precise listening skills and help you to acquire specific terminology along with plenty of useful action verbs.
Download Korean Songs
Songs are a terrific tool to train your ear to detect common Korean sounds using repetition, rhythm and rhymes. In addition, songs are catchy and fun to memorize, making it easy for you to learn new vocabulary and practice pronunciation without much effort.
Opt for upbeat K-pop songs during your workout or walks and opt for peaceful ballads during your commute or while you meditate.
Watch Movies and Dramas in Korean
Authentic Korean movies and TV shows will develop your ability to detect and recognize Korean words and conversations while also bringing you closer to Korean culture.
Start by watching with no subtitles and try to glean as much as you can from context. Then, use that precious replay button and display subtitles in English or Korean, or better yet, both. Watch it again, this time taking note of the vocabulary that caused you difficulty and that you wish to remember, and spend a week or more learning and reviewing it.
Once you’re confident that you’ve memorized it, watch it again without any subtitles and check on your progress!
Have Real Korean Conversations
Practice with Korean natives. Don’t be shy! This is a foolproof way to improve your listening (and speaking!) skills in context. That’s because you’ll be able to activate your learning through real-life, unscripted conversations while also getting honest feedback from natives on your accent and intonation.
Practice with non-native Korean speakers. This will help you to become more aware of the differences between how Korean should sound (i.e. when natives speak) and how it shouldn’t. It’s a very effective mirror to become aware of your own flaws and fix them. And when you converse with fluent non-native Korean speakers, you can gain confidence knowing that it can be done!
Make Listening Regular
Frequent exposure to the sounds of Korean is the only way to develop familiarity and comfort with the language.
Plus, Korean listening practice has a range of other indirect benefits that support your overall learning goals. It’ll help you to stimulate your speaking skills by allowing you to eventually “think” in Korean. It can also enrich your vocabulary and help you learn grammar structures by activating usage in context rather than theory.
The goal is to fit your listening sessions into your daily schedule. Set up a routine time and place where you can listen to Korean content. Everyone’s schedule is different, but try to allocate at least 20 minutes a day for maximum results.
How awesome are these Korean listening practice resources? They’re perfect for kicking your Korean listening comprehension skills up a notch!
We bet some of these resources will become staples in your Korean language learning plan for the long term.
