Top 10 Reasons to Learn Korean
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Korean is not the easiest language to learn. This is especially for English speakers. In fact, according to the Foreign Service Institute (FSI), Korean is a Category V language. That means it should take the average English speaker 88 weeks or 2200 hours of classroom in order to reach a General Professional Proficiency in Speaking and Reading. However, there are many reasons people want to learn Korean beyond how easy it is to learn.
In the most general sense learning a new language gives you many benefits. These include boosting brain power, developing your ability to multi-task, stalling the onset of dementia and Alzheimer’s, improving memory, improving decision making skills, improving your first language skills, improving academic performance in other subject areas, opening you up to other cultural views, expands career potential, and helps build self-confidence. Korean can give you all of these things. However, it has a lot more to offer as well. Check out below for the top 10 reasons to learn Korean.
#10: K-dramas & K-pop
One way to learn Korean is by getting immersed in its popular culture. Some of South Korea’s greatest exports are K-dramas (Korean dramas) and K-pop (Korean popular music). These are part of the “Korean Wave” where Korean culture has become popular around the world. Famous K-dramas such as Runing Man, Heirs, and Boys Over Flowers and K-pop groups such as BTS, EXO Girls’ Generation, Super Junior, and BLACKPINK are are leading the way.
Many K-dramas and K-Pop songs come with subtitles. However, many times you have to wait for them to come out. In addition, they are not an exact translation and are unable to express the meaning between Korean and the translated language. For example, “words like 오빠 (op-pa) and 누나 (noo-na) lose all of their meaning when they’re written in English.”[1]Dramafever – 4 Reasons You Should Learn Koreans Op-pa translates to brother in English. However, in Korean the meaning is more nuanced. It is only used by a girl when talking to an older man/brother. Furthermore, noo-na might is translated simply sister in English. However, more accurately, boys use it when addressing an older sister. Therefore, if you truly want to appreciate K-dramas and K-pop, it is important to learn Korean.
#9: The Korean Alphabet is Really Easy to Learn
One of the great reasons to learn Korean is because Hangeul, the Korean alphabet, is really easy to learn. Japanese has 3 alphabets. First, Kanji which is based off of Chinese characters with well over 50,000 different characters. Second, Hiragana which has 46 characters. Third, katakana which has 46 characters. Additionally, Chinese has a minimum 7,000 characters to read the language with definitions for over 106,230 different Chinese characters.
Unlike Japanese or Chinese, when you learn hangul the alphabet is very straight forward. It only has 24 letters (14 consonants and 10 vowels) all made of simple lines and circles. In fact, you do not even need a teacher to learn them all. You can do it all by yourself in as little as an hour or two.[2]Topik Guide – Top 10 Reasons to Learn Koreans Language Compared to these other two Asian languages, Korean is practically a walk in the park.
#8: Korean Grammar is Quite Straightforward
When you learn Korean, the grammar is quite different from English grammar. Many students of the language cite this as one of the reasons Korean is very difficult to learn. For example, in English, the word order for a sentence is generally subject, verb, and object. However, in Korean the word order is subject, object, and verb.
This can be very confusing initially as you have to think in your head about the order of words before speaking. But, unlike in English where there is a lot of exceptions to the rule, Korean grammar is very straightforward. This actually makes the language very easy to learn. A few examples of the simple grammar rules include: there are no genders when dealing with verbs, there are no auxiliary verbs for actions, and different verb tenses are very simple and consistent.[3]The Mezzofanti Guild – 10 Reasons Why The Korean Language Being Difficult Isn’t True
#7: Korean is not difficult to pronounce
Compared to many other Asian languages, Korean is very easy for English speakers to learn to pronounce correctly. First, unlike other languages that have sound that do not exist in English (such as the rolling “r” sound in Spanish) pretty much all of the sounds in the Korean language have an equivalent sound in English language. In fact, it is actually harder for Koreans to learn English.
This is because there are sounds in English that do not exist in Korean such as the “f” sound. Koreans simulate this sound by using a “p” sound. So when a Korean is saying the work “flame” for example, it might sound more like “plame”. Second, unlike many other languages, such as Chinese, Korean is not a tonal language.[4]Fluent in 3 Months – How to Speak Korean – It’s Easier than You Think That means the intonation of your voice does not change the meaning of the word.
#6: There is a lot of material to start studying Korean on your own
Admittedly, not everyone can easily find a local Korean friend to help them learn English, find local Korean language classes, or find the time or money to move to Korea to learn the language. Fortunately, there is a lot of material, both free and paid, that exist that make it very easy reason to learn Korean on your own. For example, if you are like learning languages through podcasts, check out KoreaClass101.
If you prefer talking to someone face to face trying finding a formal teacher or informal tutor on italki.[5]The Mezzofanti Guild – Best Korean Language Learning Resources In addition, there are many high quality text books, such as Integrated Korean and Ewha Korean that are readily available to buy online. Lastly, if you are out of resources to learn, it is very easy to go on YouTube and find plenty of Korean learning resources such as Talk to Me in Korean.
#5: Konglish and Loan Words
Korean has many loan words from English with their own Korean twist. In addition, it has many different funny quotes and sayings. These types of words are known as Konglish. In many cases, if you are having a hard time finding the vocabulary when talking in Korean, you can simply use the English word and be easily understood. For example, if you want to have some sweets, trying asking for some “cho-kol-lit” (chocolate). If you are having a hard time using chop sticks, perhaps ask for a “po-keu” (fork). [6]90 Day Korean – Konglish: The Ultimate List in 2018 On the other hand, there are some Konglish words that sound like an English word, but are used slightly differently. Check out the list below courtesy of 90DayKorean for some interesting ones.
| 에어컨 | air con | air conditioner |
| 아파트 | apart | apartment |
| 센티 | centi | centimeter |
| 리모컨 | remo con | remote control |
| 와이셔츠 | Y-shirt | collered dress shirt |
| 셀프 | self | self service |
| 나이트 | night | night club |
| 노트 | note | notebook |
| 헬스 | health | health club |
| 원피스 | one-piece | dress |
| 밴드 | band | bandage/Band-Aid |
| 스탠드 | stand | desk lamp |
| 사이다 | cider | Sprite (soft drink) |
| 아이쇼핑 | eye shopping | window shopping |
| 핫도그 | hot dog | corn dog |
| 더치페이 | Dutch Pay | Dutch treat |
| 샤프 | sharp | mechanical pencil |
| 이벤트 | event | sale/promotion |
| 원룸 | one room | bachelor apartment |
| 원샷 | one shot | bottom's up |
| 머플러 | muffler | scarf |
| 핸드폰 | handphone | cell phone |
| 콘센트 | consent | electrical outlet |
| 서비스 | service | on the house/free of charge |
| 싸인 | sign | signature |
#4: Korean is the 17th most spoken language in the world
Learning Korean is very important because it is the 17th most widely spoken native tongue in the world. In fact, this puts it in front of popular languages such as French (18th) and Italian (23rd). When you look at the total number of people in the world who can speak Korean (both native and non-native speakers), it still comes in as the 21st most spoken language in the world. This is even more impressive knowing that Korea is such a small country (North Korea is the 99th largest country in the world and South Korea is the 108th largest country in the world).
#3: For Work
Korea is the 13th largest economy in the world. It is home to big world known companies such as Samsung, Hyundai, and LG as well as some of the largest buildings in the world.[7]SIM Global Education – 6 Reasons to Learn Koreans It can be very beneficial for your professional career to learn Korean especially if your company is doing work with a Korean firm and you are able to act as a translator. While many Korean companies will not expect you to be able to speak Korean, they will take it very nicely, especially if you try to make an effort to speak in Korean with them.
#2: Korean Verb Agreement
Unlike many other languages, Korean does not have the same type of subject-verb agreement structure. For example, Korean does not make a difference between singular and plural on a verb[8]How to study Korean – Lesson 5: Korean Conjugation: Past, Present, Future, second person from third person in a sentence, or second person from first person in a question.
#1: You do not have to worry about gendered nouns
Unlike many other languages such as French, Spanish, German, or even Hindi, Korean does not have any concept of gendered nouns. This goes a step farther in that the gender does not affect other parts of the sentence as well. You may ask then, does gender even play into the Korean language and how do you refer to someone if they are a “he” or a “she”? No more worrying about if a table is masculine or feminine. However, Korean does in fact have a very sophisticated way to relate things and people to each other and is an integral part of the language. However, in Korean, the relationship between people (such as being a brother or sister or being younger or older) is much more important. [9]Lang-8 – No Grammatical Gender in the Korean Language
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