And also in the territory of the Chinese Yanban District, which has autonomy, the official language is Korean. This language is also alive within various other countries: from Kyrgyzstan to Canada and Japan. After all, a huge Korean diaspora lives in their territories, preserving their traditions.

In order to travel to a foreign country, you need to familiarize yourself with all the details that will be needed during your stay. Learning Korean from scratch will be useful for those who plan to move permanently to the corresponding country (or simply visit it as a tourist), get acquainted with the culture and way of life, and it will also be useful for polyglots who are eager to learn a new foreign language . To speak this amazing dialect, you need to follow simple rules and learn step by step.

First step

To begin with, as with learning other languages, you need to learn the alphabet. It is essential for reading and writing. Learning the Korean language from scratch on your own may cause some difficulties at the first stage, but once you overcome them, the language itself will attract the student.

It's worth talking a little about the alphabet. For people who use it in their speech it will seem a little strange. However, among the trio of Asian languages ​​- Japanese, Chinese and the one described - it is the easiest. Korean was invented in 1443. And since then it has 24 letters, of which 10 are vowels. In the early stages, this knowledge will be enough to master the basic language.

Korean has diphthongs, and hanchu. There are 16 of the first two. Accordingly, the complete alphabet consists of 40 different letters. What is khancha? A few centuries ago, when the Korean language was developing, many Chinese words began to appear in it, which have never found analogues in the described structure to this day. Therefore, the average Korean knows about 3 thousand. And if in Japanese words of foreign pronunciation have become part of everyday conversations, then Korean keeps their distance - they are used only in official letters, texts on religious topics, dictionaries and classical works. It is worth noting that hanja is not used in North Korea.

Why is the alphabet so easy? Knowing basic information will, of course, help with such a time-consuming process as learning the Korean language from scratch on your own. Unlike Japanese and Chinese, which use hieroglyphs, words are made up of letters. And the individual symbols that make up the alphabet mean only one (sometimes two, if we are talking about a voiced-unvoiced pair) letters.

Step two

Having mastered the alphabet, you should begin to study numerals. The main thing here is to immediately understand the difference when the Korean number system is used and when the Chinese one is used. The first is usually necessary for counting from 1 to 99 and when indicating the age of any matter. For example, one is “khana”, two is “tul”, three is “set”. The second is used by the population when counting after 100, in the names of streets, houses, dates, money and telephone numbers. For example, one is “il”, two is “and”, three is “himself”. At the same time, letters are used in their writing, and it may also seem difficult, but further it is even more difficult, and without mastering this, it will be very difficult to develop further. After all, such a task as learning the Korean language from scratch cannot be compared with trying to master some Slavic system native to Russian.

Step three

Step three involves learning small phrases and several dozen basic words. You just have to start and you will immediately notice how Korean combinations themselves begin to pop into your head.

It is imperative to have a small notebook with you where you can write down how to pronounce certain words. A great way to learn Korean from scratch is to stick stickers with phrases in prominent places. This way the brain will better assimilate new information.

The most important process in the third step is to learn not only the Korean-Russian translation, but also the Russian-Korean translation. So it will be possible to learn to speak the language, and not just understand it.

Step four

When learning Korean from scratch on your own, you should not forget about basic words like “hello” or “bye.” They are necessary even for the most uneducated polyglots and will always help out when talking with a native speaker. Among the standard words are the following: yes (“ne”), no (“ani”), thank you (“kamsamnida”), hello (“annen”).

Step five

In Korean culture, there is a clear division between official and unofficial forms of the language. Which one to use when communicating with a certain person should be determined from the following factors: the age of the interlocutor, his profession and achievements, social status. Formality in dialogue has three stages:

• Official. Used to talk with elders, boss and unfamiliar people.
• Unofficial. It is more suitable if the opponent is a close friend, relative or younger in age.
• Respectful. It is not used in everyday speech, but can often be heard on television in scientific and news programs, as well as in the army.

For those learning Korean from scratch, this division is important to understand. Those who do not adhere to formalities are considered impolite, and thereby the person himself spoils relationships with others.

Step six

Now you should master the grammar. It is difficult only in one thing - in the huge number of different forms of the same verb. And you need to know all of them.

Among the most common grammar rules are the following:

1. The verb in the sentence is placed in the very last place.
2. The subject is used only if it is not clear from the context or from the previous sentence what or who is being talked about.

Step seven

The important step is practice. The more a person speaks and writes, the better his skills become.

Don't be afraid to start learning Korean from scratch. This is morally difficult, although technically not difficult. The main thing is desire and perseverance. Good luck!

South Korea is an economically developed, beautiful and comfortable country for living, where Europeans - both tourists and emigrants - are treated very well.

If you came here for a week or two to relax, then it will be quite enough for you.

But if your plans are to live and work here, then you will have to master the official language of this country.

How to learn Korean quickly and without much stress?

This is not to say that you have set yourself a simple task, because Korean is not one of those languages ​​that is a piece of cake to learn.

And yet, this task can be easily completed by a reasonable person who is not afraid of the difficulties that come his way.

7 reasons to learn Korean

Some of my readers will probably be outraged:

“What kind of topic is this? Well, it’s clear that you need to learn English or, after all, the main languages ​​of international communication. It would be nice to also learn Chinese - in view of the opening prospects, or one of the beautiful European languages ​​- for the soul. But what does Korean have to do with it? Let the Koreans teach him!”

And these readers of mine will be wrong!

Even if this is not the language of your ancestors, this does not mean that you do not need it.

There are at least 7 good reasons to learn Korean:

1. In the ranking of language popularity, Korean ranks 12th, while German, French, and other more popular languages ​​are ranked behind it.
2. In total, almost 80 million people speak Korean.
   And these are not only residents of South Korea and the gloomy DPRK, but also numerous representatives of the diaspora scattered around the world.
3. The history, culture and traditions of Korea have ancient roots and are very interesting, but they can only be studied if you speak the Korean language.
4. South Korea is a country with a powerful economy that is quite willing to provide living and working conditions for foreigners.
   And here you can’t do without knowledge of the state language.
5. The 2018 Winter Olympics will be held in PyeongChang, and if you want to volunteer there, it's not too late to try to learn Korean.
6. Several Korean companies operate in Russia.
   Knowing their language will be a powerful advantage in employment.
7. South Korean universities have a good reputation and willingly accept foreign students, but education is conducted in the state language.

You cannot learn Korean without knowing the alphabet and basic words.

The Korean language has a system of hieroglyphs that seem very exotic to people accustomed to the Cyrillic or Latin alphabet, but this is only at first.

The alphabet that is still used today was invented in the mid-15th century during the government of the Joseon Imperial Dynasty.

Now there are only 24 letters (consonants - 14, vowels - 10), but do not rush to rejoice at this discovery, because there are also double consonants and vowels, together with which we get as many as 40 letters.

And that’s not all the “good” news: the Koreans decided that their own hieroglyphs were not enough for them, so they borrowed another 3,000 wondrous characters from the Chinese.

They are used to refer specifically to Chinese words and concepts.

If you just started learning, then don't touch these Chinese characters for now, focus on the basic alphabet.

Once you have mastered the alphabet, move on to memorizing basic words:

• names of numbers, months, days of the week;
• greetings and farewells;
• running verbs;
• so-called “tourist phrases”, etc.

You yourself understand that the more vocabulary you have, the faster you will speak fluently.

How to learn Korean on your own?

And, of course, everyone chooses the most convenient way of studying for themselves in order to demonstrate good results as quickly as possible.

Some, especially brave ones, decide to learn Korean on their own.

If you are among them and have chosen self-study (that is, without a tutor or courses), then you are one of the people who do not look for easy ways.

Korean cannot be called very simple, and the hieroglyphs confuse many.

To make your task easier, you should use various tools:

Audio and video lessons.

Since Korean is becoming more and more popular (especially among young people), you can find plenty of sites on the Internet with special exercises, lessons and courses that will help you demonstrate good results in just a few months (with due diligence, of course).

You can look for help on the following resources:

• http://lingust.ru/korean/korean-lessons,
• http://www.goethe-verlag.com/book2/RU/russki-koreyskiy-online.html,
• https://hosgeldi.com/kor/

and others.

Self-instruction books and dictionaries.

If you prefer to learn new knowledge the old fashioned way, then go to a bookstore.

Of course, the range of dictionaries, tutorials and phrase books may not be as rich as, for example, in English, but you will definitely find something.

1. The application https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bravolang.korean&hl=ru, which you can download to your smartphone so that you can study not only at home, but also use every free minute for learning.

Films and TV series in Korean and with subtitles in their native language.

You can learn more about this method on this resource: http://maximof.com/kor.html.

How to learn Korean with qualified help?

If you do not find the strength to learn the Korean syllable on your own, then no one will blame you for cowardice and cowardice, because it is really difficult.

Today in large cities of Russia and Ukraine there are courses and tutors where you can master almost any language.

You can:

1. Attend group courses if you are not embarrassed by a large number of witnesses and quickly grasp new information.
2. Studying with a tutor at home means that the teacher’s full attention will be paid only to you, and individual training allows you to plan lessons the way you need them.
3. Studying with a tutor via Skype is a relatively new method, but one that is gaining momentum.

Step-by-step tips for learning Korean

presented in the video:

Immersion in a language environment is an enjoyable and effective way to learn Korean.

Naturally, no linguistic schools, courses, tutors, tutorials, online lessons or other tools can be as effective as this method.

By completely immersing yourself in the language environment, you can achieve decent results within a month.

But let's be honest: this method is suitable for people who are risky, not poor, and have enough to realize their plans.

To begin with, you can go to South Korea as a tourist and try to communicate with the locals as much as possible, even if at first you will not be very good at it.

There is another way - to find a job here, for example, in the tourism sector.

Knowledge of English may be enough at the first stage, and you can master the state language through communication with local residents.

By the way, hotels aimed at tourists from the former countries of the USSR are happy to hire those who speak English and Russian well.

To those who think how to learn korean language in a short time, I would advise combining the above methods.

This will help shorten the training period.

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Korea is a fascinating country of morning freshness with an ancient, distinctive culture. Interest in it is growing every year, and hence the demand for specialists who are fluent in this language.

Even now, with knowledge of Korean, you can get a job in large companies such as Samsung or Hyundai Motor. Plus, Korean is a little easier to learn than Chinese, Japanese or Arabic.

To freely understand the speech of Koreans, communicate with them, learn more about the culture of Korea and the mentality of its inhabitants, you need to know at least the basics of the Korean language.

Language Center "Eurasia" - the oldest center for the study of oriental languages ​​in Moscow, created in 2004, offers a unique program "Beginner Korean Language Courses", which can be studied in Moscow in groups/individually or via Skype.

Main advantages of the program:

- balanced program, tested by time. High efficiency in a short time. Suitable for those who travel to Korea, who need Korean for work and just for everyone

- state certificate upon completion of the course. Official confirmation of acquired knowledge

- final testing completely copies the international TOPIK exam (preparation for the real test)

- only in "Eurasia": the opportunity to pass an international exam and receive an additional international certificate!

- free language clubs and master classes for our students in Eurasia.

Korean lessons for beginners from scratch

Korean language lessons from scratch are intended for those who do not yet have any knowledge of the Korean language. The Beginners Program is an introductory course that covers the basics of all aspects of the Korean language.

Purpose of an introductory Korean course – lay a solid foundation: teach reading rules, develop Korean pronunciation skills, “open your ears” - develop the skill of understanding Korean speech by ear, learn the basics of grammar, learn basic vocabulary with which you can communicate on simple topics, learn to translate simple texts from/ into Korean.

The Beginner Korean Language Course is a course that will give you the basics of the Korean language you need for your first trip to Korea. After completing this course, you can be sure that you will not get lost on the streets of Seoul.

Korean lessons for beginners in the language center “Eurasia” are taught by Russian-speaking professional teachers together with native speakers. Thus, a Russian-speaking teacher lays the foundation, and a native speaker provides conversational practice.

This technique has been used by us since 2004 and has proven its effectiveness!

Korean lessons from scratch are not just school activities! This is a whole world of Koreanists that we are opening for you!

How to learn Korean from scratch?

Learning Korean from scratch at the Eurasia center is a pleasure!

Our motto: learning with passion!

During classes we use multimedia equipment, watch films, videos, and play games that help us learn vocabulary and grammar in an entertaining way!

What about between classes?!

We invite you to visit our free gaming clubs, film screenings of Korean films, and master classes on Korean culture. In the halls of our center there are always fresh newspapers and magazines in Korean, as well as Korean snacks and sweets for snacking between classes. All this will give you the opportunity to learn Korean from scratch quickly and interestingly!

For those who are starting to learn the Korean language from scratch for subsequent admission to a Korean university, or in order to go to Korea to work, it will be important that the program of our course fully complies with the requirements for those wishing to take the international exam in the Korean language TOPIK . This means that if you successfully master our program, you will be able to take the entry-level TOPIK 1 exam.

And after continuing your studies in our courses, pass TOPIK 2, required for admission to a Korean university.

The training programs in our center are licensed! Upon completion of the initial Korean course at the Eurasia language center, you will receive a state certificate confirming your knowledge.

Our school is an official partner of the international Korean language school with head office in Seoul, Lexis Korea. Admission to study there for our students is on preferential terms!

for young people over 14 years of age with zero level of training or minimal unsystematic training,

for adults who are learning Korean from scratch

In the auditorium of the Eurasia Center.

Korean teachers

Native speaker of Korean. Education: Moscow State University named after. M.V. Lomonosov. Faculty: Higher School of Translation. KONKUK UNIVERSITY.European Language & Literature, Russian Language & Literature. Conducts lessons...

Yunmi John Video

Native speaker of Korean. Education: St. Petersburg State University. Linguist. Fluent in Russian. Knows the methods of teaching Korean language at the Eurasia Center. Has teaching experience...

Catherine

Education: Moscow Socio-Economic Institute. Institute of Oriental Countries, Korea University Korean language center (Korean language) She completed multiple internships in Korea. Has the highest level TOPIK certificate. Experience...

There is no testing required to register for Korean classes.

At our Korean courses in Moscow, you will study all language aspects:

The Korean language course for beginners covers all aspects of the language: phonetics, listening, lots of speaking practice, grammar and building a good vocabulary base. During the classes, attention is paid to the study of regional information: traditions, history and culture of Korea, norms of behavior, mentality and habits, including gastronomic ones.

Students of the course attend the Korean language club for free, where they receive an additional opportunity to communicate with guests from Korea.

Results:

• correct pronunciation;
• listening comprehension skills of Korean speech;
• the ability to maintain a conversation on personal and familiar topics: self-presentation, autobiography, family, my vacation, work/school day, day off, housing and everyday life, household chores, calendar, climate and weather, food and others;
• ability to operate with basic grammatical and lexical structures;
• translation skills from and into Korean;
• successful preparation for the international TOPIC I exam (entry level).

After completing Korean courses for beginners, you will receive a state certificate confirming your level of language proficiency.

In Russia there are not many really good textbooks on Korean language for beginners from scratch. And this despite the fact that they provide a fairly good explanation of the grammatical material and a lot of useful vocabulary. The disadvantage of textbooks for Russian-speaking audiences is that some of them do not have audio recordings or even keys to the exercises. That’s why it’s better not to limit yourself to self-study, but to additionally attend courses and look for acquaintances with Koreans to develop speaking skills.

1. “Textbook of the Korean language. Basic course" Kasatkina I.L., Chong In Sun, Pentyukhova V.E. The book is intended for students who are studying the Korean language for the first year. The manual contains enough material to master good writing skills and master grammar. The textbook is designed for approximately 180-200 hours of classroom work. The manual is recommended by many students who have studied Korean, but there is no audio or answers to the exercises.

2. Textbooks written by teachers of the Korean Won Gwan School for students with different levels of training: Introductory course, Korean course for intermediate students 중급 한국어 And Korean Basic Course 고급 한국어. These textbooks are among the most famous among Russian students. The manuals focus on grammar, and there are answers to the exercises. The books come with CDs with texts and dialogues. The downside is that there are no listening tasks.

3. "Korean Language Textbook" Verkholyak V.V., Kaplan T.Yu., Galkina L.V., Kozhemyako V.N. and “Textbook of the Korean language” by Verkholyak V.V., Kaplan T.Yu. Guides for beginners. The books cover approximately 400 hours of classroom work. They provide accessible material on phonetics, grammar and vocabulary of the Korean language, but there is no audio for the books, so it is better to study them with a teacher or use them as additional materials for classes.

4. Textbooks of the National Institute of International Education of the Republic of Korea NIIED. There are only four such textbooks. The plus is that they correspond to the levels of the Korean TOPIK exam. The textbooks contain exercises for working on all language skills, but, unfortunately, there are no answers. Therefore, you need to find someone who will check the completion of tasks.

5. “Korean language (Introductory course)” Choi Yang Sun. This course will be a good addition to your main textbook. In addition, this book can be used as a self-instruction manual, since it has a CD with audio and answers to the exercises. An advantage of the textbook is the large number of dialogues.

6. Guides for learning the Korean language by Kogai Yu.P. – “Phonetics”, “Hieroglyphics”, “Morphology”, “Syntax”, “Spoken Korean”, “Phraseologisms of the Korean language”, etc. Not all of the manuals were published, but the author made them freely available. The books are truly worthy of your attention.

7. "Basic Korean: A Grammar and Workbook" by Andrew Sangpil Byon. A textbook for those who are learning Korean for the first year. The manual contains grammar exercises. You can study independently or with a teacher.

8. "Korean grammar in use"- a series of three textbooks, which are compiled in the same way as English grammar in Use. Those. In the book, each lesson contains a grammatical structure + rules of use with examples + exercises to practice the material. You should not pass by these benefits.

This is how short our review turned out to be. By the way, you can get acquainted with most of the Korean textbooks listed here on our VKontakte page

Until some time, the Korean language was not of particular interest to those who love to learn languages. But that was before many of the Korean trends that piqued the interest of people around the world. We're talking about Hallyu (Korean Wave) - dramas, K-pop, the funny dance style "gangnam sithail" created by PSY (Park Chaesang) that has taken the world by storm.

And this is not to mention smartphones, cars, and household appliances produced by South Korean companies.

Since the time of King Sejong the Great, it has been believed that anyone can learn Hangul in just an hour and learn to read Korean within a day. Hangul, created by the king and a group of court scholars, was promulgated in 1446 so that ordinary Koreans could easily learn to read and write. In those days, only rich people could attend schools that taught hancha or Chinese characters.

The origin of the Korean language is not exactly known. Some linguists believe that it is in the "Altai" language group. Finnish linguist Gustav Ramstedt was the first to propose a genetic relationship between Korean and Altaic languages ​​(Manchu, Mongolian, Tungusic and Turkish) through systematic comparison. The languages ​​have some grammatical similarities, like agglutinative morphology. But there is no reliable evidence of a genetic relationship, and this theory is now largely discredited. Instead, it is increasingly being classified as a language isolate, which means it shows no significant connection with any other living language on Earth.

Korea, like Japan, thanks to its long historical ties and the strong cultural influence exerted by China, shares not only a common sociocultural heritage, but also a common linguistic heritage. This is represented in the lexicons of Korean and Japanese. Up to 60% of Korean words are of Chinese origin. But structurally the two languages ​​are absolutely unrelated. About 35% are native words, 5% are borrowings from other languages. Chinese has a strict word order (subject-verb-object) and does not have grammatical particles like those found in Korean and Japanese (both languages ​​have an identical particle system). However, the belonging of both languages ​​to the same family is controversial. Word order in Korean (and Japanese) is subject-object-verb (rule: the verb always comes last in the sentence and comes after the object) with particles connecting the words in the sentence.

1. 엄마가(omma-ga) + 계란빵을(keranppang-eul) + 샀어요(sasso-yo). [Mom + bought egg bread]. 형제는 집을 짓는다 – Brother is building a house (brother + house + building).
2. お母さんが(okosan-ga) + どら焼きを(dorayaki-wo) + 買った(katta). [Mom + dorayaki+ bought].

What is Hangul? First of all, learning the Korean language from scratch on your own should start with Hangul. KoreanWikiProject

It is almost entirely phonetic and helps form correct pronunciation. 한글 – Korean alphabet: han means Korean, gul means letter. Learning to read and write Korean is not difficult. Learning Hangul is much easier than trying to learn the Romanized alphabet of Korean (while learning, you come across many resources that use the Romanized alphabet).

The letters of the Korean alphabet are called chamo (자모). The modern alphabet uses 19 consonants and 21 vowels; vowels are written with ㅇ (iyn). Korean has more vowels, which makes it easier to understand the structure of the language. Many meanings of phrases and sentences come from the use of various particles added to the end of words. Hangul letters are stacked in blocks to form a syllable. For example, ㅎ, ㅏ and ㄴ are separate characters. But since they form one syllable, then ㅎ + ㅏ + ㄴ = 한 (han). And another example is ㄱ + ㅡ + ㄹ = 글 (kyl). We combine the syllables into a word: 한 글 = 한글 (two syllables and six letters).

*letter ㄹ (riul) is read as p or l depending on its placement in the syllable; at the beginning of a syllable and between two vowels like p, at the end like l; voiceless consonants are voiced if they are between vowels, so the letter ㄱ (kiyok) will be read as g in the Hangul word 한글.

In Korean, a consonant begins each syllable and is always followed by a vowel and is either to the right of it or below it; if a syllable begins with a vowel, then it is written with an unpronounceable ㅇ (iyn). A syllable can have 2, 3, and in rare cases 4 letters. 한 is one of the main ways of addition, when the vowel is to the right of the first consonant, the third character is below them. 글 is another basic way of addition, where the vowel is under the first consonant and the third symbol is under it.

Motivation to learn

Korean is the 17th most spoken language in the world, with nearly 80 million speakers. It is spoken by residents of the Korean Peninsula and its surrounding islands, with more than 3 million speakers living around the world. Koreans are very friendly and respectful towards representatives of other cultures. They even invented "Konglish" - a hybrid of Korean and English. If you speak English, then when learning Korean for beginners from scratch, you will find that many words and concepts are already quite familiar to you, their pronunciation is almost identical in the two languages.

South Korea is a very beautiful and dynamically developing country. Learning Korean has benefits whether we do it for fun, for work, or to learn the basics while planning a trip. The number of foreigners who want to learn Korean from scratch has increased in recent years. There are several reasons for this. Some people want to understand Korean television dramas (K-drama) and the lyrics of their favorite pop music songs (K-pop) or other aspects of an interesting culture, while others plan to work in Korea in the near future.

Yes, Korean is not a major world language, but it is very important for Asian businesses due to Korea's growing trade volume. With major companies like Samsung, LG, Hyundai, South Korea is the 12th largest economy in the world. Many leading companies are seen as a bridge to East Asian markets. Employers and agents are looking for talented people with knowledge of languages, foreign cultures and markets.

There is one good reason if Korean is the first "Asian" language to learn. Among the “Asian” languages, Korean is one of the simplest. At the same time, it retains some similarities with Japanese and Chinese. In other words, it can become a kind of gateway to the large and complex world of Asian languages ​​as a whole. Starting to study something that is relatively easy and understandable is a good incentive. This motivates and inspires further learning, not only Korean, but also other languages.

How to choose a model for language learning?

As with any language, the Korean language starts from scratch by memorizing the alphabet. The unfamiliar Hangul characters may seem intimidating at first, but the Korean alphabet is actually an easy alphabet to learn. It is not an exaggeration to say that it only takes a few hours to memorize Hangul. The shape of consonants is based on the articulation of the tongue, throat, palate and teeth to create each sound.

Once you have mastered Hangul, you can begin to expand your vocabulary. Make a phrasebook for yourself, adding numbers, days of the week, time, and basic phrases.

A simple but important tip on how to learn Korean quickly is to choose the right learning style for yourself. As you know, there are three main styles:

• visual;
• learning by ear;
• kinesthetic.

Many programs offer a combination of the three approaches, but focusing on a specific learning style helps maximize learning and learn more effectively. A test (in English) to find out which method will work best for you.

Courses

Learning Korean from scratch on your own is a fun activity, but it is possible that after a while you may lose motivation. Finding a way to freshen up your routine may include group activities with other like-minded students. A Korean language course is typically more fast-paced than a self-paced approach, with each lesson incorporating immediate feedback from the teacher and language interactions with other students. This is also a great opportunity to practice speaking while learning important topics such as Korean grammar and pronunciation.

Self-study at home

First of all, you need to choose a resource as your main reference material: an educational book, an online course or an application. The goal of popular textbooks from Yonsei University, Sogyong University, Kyung Hee University, and Seoul University is to deepen students' understanding of the Korean language through the necessary vocabulary and grammar, as well as Korean culture.

On the other hand, if you do not intend to teach or translate at the highest level in the future, then many online resources and blogs can help, which provide an endless amount of information in easy-to-understand terminology and all for free. For example, How to Study Korean, available in multiple languages.

How to learn Korean on your own? This will have to be done in the context of understanding the culture of the country. Staying in touch with cultural aspects offers topics for conversation, keeps you updated on changing trends, teaches jokes and phrases, and ultimately becomes a better resource for your own development and enables you to master each level with ease.

The Test of Korean Proficiency (TOPIK), which is administered by the National Institute of International Education (NIIED), is administered six times a year, in January, April, May, July, October and November, only in South Korea (on rare occasions outside countries). It is designed for people who are going to study at Korean universities or work in Korean companies. The test results are valid for two years after the announcement of the exam results.

Korean language levels:

1. TOPIK I includes two levels (A1-A2).
2. TOPIK II – four levels (B1-B2, C1-C2).

Level A1 provides the ability to conduct basic conversations related to everyday life (dating people, shopping, ordering food, etc.), navigate topics such as family, hobbies, weather, etc. The student should be able to create simple and useful sentences from 800 basic words and phrases and understand basic grammar.

Level A2 – ability to conduct conversations about everyday matters using from 1500 to 2000 words, correctly use special addresses depending on the situation.

Training with a tutor

Structured learning through private lessons from a qualified teacher can provide the extra push you need to really speed up your learning process. For those who are deciding how to learn Korean quickly, a tutor will be a good guide through difficult concepts and will also be someone who is able to teach but also be responsible for achieving the learner's goal.

Studying a language at a foreign language school

How to learn Korean? A fantastic option is Lexis Language School, which offers general courses covering all levels, as well as Korean language test prep courses and private lessons. The best feature of Lexis is that anyone who wants to learn Korean can start on any Monday, even if they have an absolute zero in the language, and stay in school as long as they see fit. In addition, the language school helps with settling in Korea, offering various accommodation options nearby, including a home option (staying with a Korean family). Lexis recently opened a campus in Busan.

The best services for learning Korean

1. Udemy. An online course covering the basics of communicating in Korean via video.
2. FluentU. Multimedia content offering music videos, commercials, news and dialogue for lessons.
3. Locsen. A free site that uses multimedia tools for learning.
4. Sogang Online. A program that will help you intensively master a university course. The free course is based on the principles of Korean language learning at Sogyong University, focusing on conversation.

How to learn speaking correctly

When you start speaking Korean, you are faced with a number of grammatical structures and rules that are difficult to remember right away. At this stage of learning, it is more important not to “get bogged down” in what is called speaking correctly. Of course, you will have to learn all the relevant grammatical structures, but this should not stop you from simply trying to speak Korean. The goal of learning any language is to communicate, and Korean teachers agree that for levels 1-2 the key is to practice speaking as much as possible, even making grammatical mistakes. Everything will come in time.

The difficult aspect of the Korean language is that it is hierarchical. This means that different words and phrases are used depending on who you are talking to. Korean grammar uses an extensive system of special addresses to express differences in social status and gender between interlocutors. In modern Korean culture, addresses are used to differentiate between formal and informal speech based on level of familiarity.

• 오빠 (oppa) = "elder brother"; used by a woman in relation to a brother or friend who is older than her정국 오빠, 사랑 해요! (Jungkook oppa, saranghaeyo!): Jungkook oppa, saranghaeyo! – Jungkook (brother), I love you!
• 언니(unni) = “older sister”; used by a young woman when addressing an older sister or friend;
• 누나 (noona) = "elder sister"; used by a man when addressing a sister or older friend;
• 선배 (sunbae) = “senior”, “senior student”; by age in an organization or educational institution (this is how a new student addresses a senior student);
• 후배 (hube) = “junior” in the organization, “junior student” (address of a senior student to a junior student);
• 동생 (dongsaeng/dongsaeng) = “younger” brother/sister (siblings); used by a man or woman in relation to a younger brother or sister, boyfriend or girlfriend. For example, the phrase: 아니야 는 내 여자 친구 가 아니야. 이야 아는 동생 이야.(aniya neun nae yeoja chingu ga aniya. iya aneun dongsaeng iya). Aniya now ne yocha chinku ka aniya. Iya anin dongsaeng iya. - No, she is not my girlfriend. This is my little sister.
• 여동생 (yodonsen) = “younger sister”; used by older brother: 내 여동생 소개할게; 이름은 김수진이야. 수진아, 인사해. (nae yeodongsaeng sogaehalge; ileum-eun gimsujin-iya. sujin-a, insahae). Ne yodonsen soge(h)alge; Ireumyn Kimsuchiniya. Bitch, insa(h)e. – Let me introduce my sister; her name is Kim Suchin. Suchin, say hi.
• 남동생(namdongsaeng) = “younger brother”; used by a man or woman in relation to a younger man;
• A: 준철 이 어디 있어? (juncheol i eodi iss-eo?). Chunchul and Odi Isso? -Where is Chunchul? B: 아, 내 남동생? 있어 피씨방 에 있어. (a, nae namdongsaeng? Jigeum pissibange isseo). Ah, nae namdongsaeng’? Isso rissiban e isso. - Ah, my brother? He's in an internet cafe.
• 씨 (ssi / cabbage soup) is used in a business environment to refer to someone to whom some respect needs to be shown: 소희 씨 (sohui ssi) sokhui cabbage soup - Mr. Sokhui.
• 님 (nim) – one level more respectful than 씨; 소연 님 안녕하세요 (soyeon nim annyeonghaseyo) Soyeon nim annyeonghaseyo. - Hello, Mr. Soyeon.
• 어머님 (homonym) = “mother”; respectful address to mother (mother-in-law or mother of a friend), used by men and women. Synonyms엄마 (omma) 어머니 (omoni);
• 아버님 (abonym) = “father”; a respectful address to a father (father-in-law or father of an acquaintance), used by men and women. Synonyms아빠 (appa), 아버지 (abochi);
• 아주머니 (achumoni) = middle-aged woman (40-60), aunt (but not in a family relationship), married woman. Synonyms: 아줌마 (achumma). The address is usually used in everyday life, but some women may be offended by it. Therefore, if you are not sure how to attract the attention of a middle-aged woman, you can say something like 죄송한데요...juesonghandeyo...sorry...
• 아저씨 (achossi) = middle-aged man (40-60), uncle 아저씨, 이거 얼마 예요? (Ajeossi, igeo eolmayeyo?) sir, how much does it cost?
• 할아버지 (harabochi) = “grandfather” (over 70 years old); 할아버지 편찮으세요? (Harabeoji pyeonchaneuseyo?) harabochi pyeonchaneuseyo - Grandpa, are you feeling well?
• 할머니 (halmoni) grandmother (over 70 years old);
• 아가씨 (agassi) = girl, young woman who is not yet married (miss); used when addressed by adults; 아가씨, 혈액형이 뭐예요? – Girl, what is your blood type?
• 이모님 (onym) = woman between 50 and 60; the address is used in a relaxed atmosphere; 이모(님)! 여기 소주 한 병 주세요! - Auntie, bring a bottle of soju!

Which language is easier to learn - Korean, Chinese or Japanese?

The Foreign Service Institute, which produces detailed multi-language training courses for diplomats, says Korean is not an easy language to learn, but it has great advantages over Chinese that make it easier to learn. For example, tones that can make learning more difficult; they are in Chinese, but they are not in Korean. Pronunciation in Korean is more difficult than in Japanese, but not as difficult as in Chinese. The grammar is very similar to Japanese. Koreans also use special addresses, but they may not be as extensive as Japanese ones.

We can say that if memorizing hieroglyphs is bad, then Chinese will be the most difficult to learn. If, on the contrary, the study of hieroglyphs seems interesting, but the grammar turns out to be a weak point, then in this case Japanese will be more difficult. Korean probably occupies a middle position.

Of course, the fact that one word has more than one meaning in Korean is confusing. For example, 어 can mean fish and a word, and several other meanings. But context clues in Korean will greatly speed up the learning process for beginners.

Verbs in Korean vary depending on factors such as tense (past, present and future) and level of politeness, but this is all predictable depending on whether the verb ends with a consonant or a vowel. Since there are a limited number of consonants and about five types of irregular verbs, it won't take long to memorize. Moreover, verbs remain the same no matter what pronoun is used (I, you, he, they...).

In Korean, a lot of things are simplified. Pronouns are rarely used in spoken language, so often you can only say a verb, and the interlocutor will understand from the context who is being referred to. To make a plural, you only need to add one letter to the word, but this is usually omitted in conversation.

For nouns, counting words (counting suffixes) are used, similar to those used in Chinese and Japanese.

How to quickly learn Korean on your own? To do this you need:

1. Learn Hangul, read each letter of the Korean alphabet correctly; its name and how it should be pronounced. Spend some time writing while making sounds. Then move on to writing simple words. Don't stop writing down words and phrases in Korean even after you have mastered all the sounds, thus training your memory.
2. Learn basic phrases and simple sentences.
3. Basic vocabulary for communication in everyday life.
4. Be able to form sentences using special addresses and particles (조사chosa).
5. Phrases for dating, shopping, lunch, congratulations.
6. Dates and times.

As you study, try to read sentences written in Hangul. Try changing the basic sentences you have learned using new words. By using particles (chosa), you can speak Korean fluently even if you haven't learned Korean grammar properly. In general, most of the difficulties in learning Korean are associated with special expressions and chosa. Even native Koreans sometimes confuse these things in oral conversations.