When you start learning Korean, trying to find the right online resources can be overwhelming. In this post, I’m covering the top websites for learning Korean that you’ll need along your journey to mastering the language.
Easily one of the most popular online Korean resources, Talk to Me in Korean is an awesome program with native Korean speakers who really understand how to break down more difficult grammar points.
The course is made up of 10 levels, and each has a “unit” comprised of multiple lessons. For example, Level 1 contains Core Grammar Level 1, which has 26 lessons and takes 3 hours and 30 minutes total to complete.
One thing I love about Talk to Me in Korean is that they integrate every skill into the course. For example, there are “Speak & Write” courses in every level, and the IYAGI series—essentially a native podcast 100% in Korean—starts at Level 4.
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!
While many of its resources require a paid plan, this site has a ton of free material to begin learning basic vocabulary and even phrases. One fun feature is its vocabulary lists, which are often updated for the holidays.
The free material mainly uses audio to teach you. Lesson PDFs, reviews, dialogue audio and interactive learning features are available with a membership only. Either way, it’s excellent for listening practice.
Pricing: Free, with the option to purchase accompanying workbooks
This site is an excellent resource for those who prefer more reading and writing versus listening. It’s thoroughly organized into units. With each lesson, they introduce you to new vocabulary before explaining a grammar point. They then provide multiple sample sentences for every situation to help you practice it.
I noticed that when I was studying Korean and needed to search for clarification, this is the site that would pop up and be the most useful.
90 Day Korean is one of the most all-in-one resources I’ve come across while studying Korean.
There’s a free Korean alphabet lesson that teaches you everything you need to start reading. They have a deeply informative blog with extensive guides on how to learn Korean, grammar topics and more. And they have a separate blog specifically about Korean culture.
But aside from their free resources, they offer four courses—Beginner, Beginner High, Intermediate and Intermediate High—that take you from one level to the next in 90 days. Signing up for one of the subscriptions gives you access to all four, and they say you’ll have reached a conversationally fluent level by the end of the Intermediate High course.
And if you choose the VIP subscription, you also get 1-on-1 coaching and homework grading.
italki isn’t strictly a Korean language learning site. Rather, it’s a place where you can find tutors who teach the language you want to learn.
You can pick your tutor according to their specialty/lesson category (e.g., spelling, conversation practice, business Korean), availability, other languages spoken (if any) and even the country they’re from.
If you’re a beginner, you could benefit from someone who’s fluent in both English and Korean and resides in Korea. If you’re an advanced learner, on the other hand, you may not have much trouble with (and even be appreciative of) a Korean-speaking tutor even if they don’t speak a word of your native language.
Read this italki review to find out if this language tutoring platform will serve you well on your language learning journey! I’ll explain how it works, the pros and cons,…
Although Billy began his journey back in 2005 and now lives in South Korea, he still considers himself a student of Korean. Compared to native Korean speakers, Billy has a unique perspective on learning the language. Therefore, he’s able to explain complex grammar forms in terms native English speakers will understand.
Go! Billy Korean is a great place to start since it’s filled with approachable and entertaining content on language, lifestyle and travel. In addition to the website, you can check out his series of books called “Korean Made Simple,” available in print and eBook formats. You may also download them as audiobooks for free.
Memrise offers seven Korean courses that you progress through by completing vocabulary drill exercises. There’s a recommended path for each course, but you can “veer off” and choose to complete lessons from other topics, too.
The lessons are grouped into mini-courses, which are made up of “Scenarios.” These teach you vocabulary needed for those conversation themes. For example, there are mini-courses in Basics, Education, Hangul, Health, Opinions, Relationships and more.
The more lessons you complete, the more points you earn. Once you’ve earned 100 points, you move on to the next level course.
If you want to learn more about Memrise, you can check out our full review here:
Can you master a foreign language with Memrise? In this review, we’ll investigate how the Memrise program teaches languages and whether it’s worth the cost of a…
Like any decent beginner site, Loecsen starts with the very basics—namely, Hangul. It also covers vocabulary and Korean grammar basics before moving on to the meat and potatoes of the site: everyday conversations.
When you click the Hangul and its romanization, you’ll hear how it’s pronounced. Every new word or phrase also comes with an image to help you better remember what you learn.
Despite its name, Hangul Forest won’t only teach you Hangul. It also covers grammar (specifically, how to make interrogative sentences), nouns, adjectives, verbs, conjunctions, adverbs and pronouns, among others.
In case your Korean fix isn’t satisfied, they have links at the bottom that will point you to other places where you can pick up Korean.
Genki Korean focuses mainly on games. In fact, the site actually encourages you to try out the games even if you don’t feel like you have a good handle on the topic yet. The only one grading you is the site—so don’t be shy about making mistakes.
My only gripe is that “genki” is a Japanese word (which can mean “energetic” or “all right?” depending on the context) rather than a Korean one. That nitpick aside, enjoy the games!
Don’t let the rather dated web design fool you. The lessons on this website are arranged in a logical order, starting from the Korean alphabet all the way to expressions.
Digital Dialects helps you learn the Korean language through games specially designed for the particular topic you’re studying. You can choose to learn about numbers from 1-100, fruits and vegetables, general vocabulary, days and months and more.
If you don’t want to dive straight into the games, that’s all right: they all come with “lecture notes” (for lack of a better word) as well as quizzes.
On “Learn With Oliver,” you’ll find flashcards, texts, newsletters, games and more on Korean. There are also monthly quizzes to test your knowledge as well as writing and listening exercises.
If you sign up your email, you can also gain access to a free newsletter that delivers daily exercises right into your inbox. I would argue that, even with the Free Basic Account, you already get a ton of goodies.
The Global Language Online Support System (GLOSS) is actually a product of the Defense Language Institute (DLI), part of the United States Department of Defense (DoD). One of its main objectives is training American personnel in foreign languages, and Korean is one of them.
GLOSS Korean is definitely for the more advanced learner as it bases its lessons off of real material like newspapers or television shows to really ensure fluency. This is also great if you want more serious reading to test your comprehension.
Naver is one of Korea’s two main search platforms. You’ll find a ton of webtoons on Naver—not to mention blogs that you’ll come across if you type 블로그 (blog) into the search bar. Webtoons are best viewed via a mobile device, while blogs on any topic you choose can be read anywhere.
Oh, and if you want to navigate the exciting world of Korean social media, you can also go to Naver Band.
Study Tips for Making the Most of Learning Korean Online
Make a schedule and stick to it. If you enrolled in (and paid good money for) a course that holds class every Tuesday and Thursday from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., how often would you miss class? I’m betting you’d have next to perfect attendance. The same should go for online learning. I highly recommend setting aside about an hour of study each night to learn Korean with websites. And yes, at a certain level, watching your favorite Korean movie, whether you’re renting or using Netflix, totally counts.
Keep a notebook. Nothing helps you remember how to do something more than physically writing it down, especially if you need to learn Hangul, the Korean alphabet. Oftentimes, you may have the option of doing little exercises. Either print them out or use your notebook to write down your answers.
Find somewhere you can talk. You need to be able to repeat after the virtual teachers at some point or sound out new vocabulary. Make sure you have a space where you can do this.
Use something to warm up your screen. Huh? Okay, hear me out. Don’t your eyes get tired after staring at a screen for too long? Mine certainly do. Downloading software or using a plugin that “warms” up the blue screen will make studying and reading online much easier. I prefer f.lux, but there are quite a few free, safe options out there. This is going to especially help if you schedule your hour later in the evening.
Finally, here’s a detailed video of how one of FluentU’s video creators self-studies Korean at home. Hopefully, it can give you some more inspiration:
Well, there you have it! A collection of amazing websites for learning Korean to bring you from total beginner to fluent speaker.
These sites will give you a range of options for whichever part of language learning you want to focus on—listening, writing, speaking or reading.
