As the 18th most used language in the world, with more than 75 million speakers, Korean is a useful language to learn in order to better your prospects in both business and travel. You may think that Korean is hard to learn because it has a different writing system but the Korean alphabet is very easy. The language is considered to have the most logical system of writing in the world.
The Korean alphabet has 24 letters and is all spelt phonetically. Languages that are spelt phonetically are staggeringly easier to grasp. The simplicity of the alphabet is just one of the reasons why you should learn Korean. Thanks to the phonetic letters, Korean pronunciation is very logical. There are no guttural sounds, and there are also no consonant clusters but most importantly, Korean is not a tonal language, which makes speaking Korean a lot easier than most languages. Best of all, Korean grammar isn’t complicated.
In this article, we will be discussing the 20 best online Korean courses. We’ll be looking at the pros and cons of each course, how they fit your budget, and how effective they are for visual, auditory, and reading and writing learners.
1. AmazingTalker
price:$10-$30 per hour
description: AmazingTalker’s one-on-one tutoring services are ideal for everyone who wants to learn efficiently and effectively. they have professional tutors for all ages and all levels, including tutors for beginner, intermediate and advanced classes.
Their tutoring services can help you improve in all aspects of the language – listening, writing, reading, speaking, pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary. You can also customise your lesson focus.
| Pros | Cons |
| students may choose the instructor with whom they want to work.Provides online and in-person instruction.As I discovered by reading prior customers’ testimonials on AmazingTalker, many people had positive learning experiences.Certain languages charge less than others.The platform is simple to navigate.Has a large number of languages accessible for learning. | • reviews state that the customer assistance is extensive. |
final evaluation: an excellent option for every skill level and age. Unlike many other platforms, AmazingTalker is perfect as a stand-alone tool with tutors who are equipped to help you every step of the way.
2. FluentU
price:$239.99 annually
description: FluentU is a language-learning platform that uses real-world videos and interactive subtitles to create an immersive learning experience. The videos take on various forms, including commercials, music videos, interviews, and more. Accompanying quizzes give users the chance to practice the language used in videos.
Most of its content is beyond the beginner level, but it has videos for learners at all levels.
| Pros | Cons |
| It provides real-world situations and video lessons.Transcripts are downloadable.Keeping track of your progress and determining your goalsInteractive quizzes | • The graphics are plain. • Beginners will find it difficult (beginner-level video lessons). • The emphasis is solely on vocabulary development and listening comprehension. • This is not the place for learning grammar. • When compared to other language apps, it’s quite pricey. |
final evaluation: this platform is great for keeping track of progress and making goals. However, it lacks in teaching grammar and can be difficult for beginners.
3. Pimsleur
price:$350.00 once-off
description: Pimsleur is one of the most accurate and effective programs for learning to speak and understand a new language. This audio-based system won’t teach you reading or writing, however, nor does it have any games or interactive exercises for many of its languages. This program is not effective as a stand-alone tool and is the best pair with additional resources.
| Pros | Cons |
| Excellent Audio ToolProven Language Learning MethodUser-friendly on Desktop & AppHuge Amount of Premium Content | • Limited Visual Learning • Not the Cheapest Option on the Market |
final evaluation: Pimsleur offers a huge range of premium content with excellent audio quality although it is limited to visual learners only and has a hefty price tag.
4. King Sejong Institute
Price: free
description: The King Sejong Institute Foundation is a public institution under the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism in South Korea. Named after the king who established the Kocentrelphabet in 1443, the King Sejong Institute was founded to manage Korean language education abroad and inform foreigners about Korean culture.
| Pros | Cons |
| When you finish each level you get a certificate. This certificate is recognized by companies and other institutions as an official document to improve your skills in Korean. You don’t pay for extra consultation with the teachers. They are available in the library to solve eventually doubts or for counselling.Native teachers well trained. | • The time to cover all the textbook is very short (60 hours) so you can feel overwhelmed. • There are many students on the beginner level, but not many on intermediate and advanced, so it may not be possible to continue studying in a row since each class need at least 5 students. • You have to pay for extra class |
final evaluation: teachers are very experienced, however, courses can be overwhelming and there is not much room for intermediate and advanced learners.
5. Lexis Korea
price:$386,47 weekly
description: Lexis is a language school for everyone. Young or old. You don’t have to be enrolled in a school back home and you don’t have to know any Korean to apply. The school give courses on all levels, from absolute beginner to advanced.
Lexis offers flexible courses. You can start every Monday and you choose how many lessons you want per day and how many weeks you want to study, from 1-52 weeks
| Pros | Cons |
| The level of service and their tailored approach to learning at Lexis Korea is more likely to be better than you could receive at a large university.provides a lot of flexibility | • the course is not necessarily structured as a long-term program • This flexibility comes at a higher cost |
final evaluation: this course provides a lot of flexibility although this does come at a higher cost compared to other platforms. The level of service is excellent but is not sustainable as a long-term program.
6. Hills Learning
price:$379.00 per course
description: Hills Learning is a language centre that specializes in Asian language instruction. The languages that we teach include Japanese, Korean, Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), Thai, Arabic and Vietnamese. they have options for 40 levels for all languages to learn either in the group or in private settings. Since COVID-19 all of their classes are online, and they have classes for all ages (adults and kids).
| Pros | Cons |
| Accredited Good mix of speaking, writing and learning | • No flexibility in schedule unless you pay for private lessons • Up to 7 people in a class |
final evaluation: Hills Learning offers a great mix of the fundamentals of speaking, writing and learning. However, there is not much flexibility in scheduling unless you are willing to pay for private lessons.
7. Coursera
price:free-$400
description: Coursera is an online learning platform offering self-paced guided projects and on-demand courses on a variety of subjects. The platform partners with universities and companies, including Amazon Web Services, Google and IBM, to provide courses. Users can earn digital certificates to share on their resumes or with their LinkedIn networks.
| Pros | Cons |
| Students may take courses given by well-known companies.Peer-reviewed projects and assignments are provided to help students learn in a more hands-on way.Courses may be easily started and completed quickly because of the uniformity with which they are organized. | • The expense of certain courses might be prohibitive. • Improvements to the mobile app are possible. • There is a need for improvement in browser compatibility; certain stimulation assignments only work with a particular browser. • Courses can be free but payment for certifications applies |
final evaluation: courses are well organised and peer-reviewed assignments aid in hands-on learning but user design and experience are lacking from a software point of view.
8. Korean Class 101
price:$120.00 bi-annual
description: Koreanclass101 has developed thousands of audio lessons for the Korean language centre. It’s great for those who want to improve their listening. The grammar and vocabulary content is also really good, being both clear and detailed. It can, however, be difficult trying to find the right lesson at the right time and the lack of a clear learning path could cause problems. It’s a handy tool to use alongside other resources or lessons but probably shouldn’t be used as a standalone course.
| Pros | Cons |
|
• Thousands of Learning Hours • Build A Solid Foundation In Korean • Deep Dive Into Korean Culture |
• Not Enough Resources For Writing |
final evaluation: a great resource for auditory learners and those interested in learning about culture but it lacks the resources for those interested in improving their writing skills.
9. Cyber University of Korea
price:$51.10 per credit
description: The Cyber University Of Korea is constantly striving to strengthen its status in cyberspace, developing a mobile campus and improving various educational systems. To maximize educational performance, the essence of university education, and to maintain a rational school management system, they also continue to make improvements to the old, inconvenient school systems from the perspective of students.
| Pros | Cons |
| No need to open a visa to KoreaNo need to spend money on buying a ticketThere are no additional costs associated with living in another country. | • Lacking in grammar • Must have beginner knowledge • Lacking interaction |
final evaluation: a wonderful opportunity for those who cannot travel to Korea but it requires a beginner’s knowledge and lacks grammar resources. Not the best option for those who thrive off the interaction.
10. Rocket Korean
price:$149.99 once-off
Description: Rocket Korean’s a perfect resource for low-level Korean learners and will probably get you to a comfortable level of proficiency. The Korean edition of Rocket is unfortunately not as extensive as some of the other editions (e.g. Spanish and French) as it only covers Level 1 and does not include the second and third levels.
So it’s more suitable for Beginner Korean learners.
| Pros | Cons |
| Materials are online, downloadable, and in mobile appsCourses in 12 languagesBlends audio instruction with interactive exercisesOne-time fee for lifetime access | • Clunky practice exercises • Doesn’t provide enough structure for mastering non-Roman scripts |
final evaluation: perfect for those who want to learn offline and on the move, however, the practice exercises are clunky and the once-off fee may be prohibitive.
11. 90 Day Korean
price:$327.00 annually
description: 90 Day Korean is a text and audio-based course. It’s divided into four modules, each 90 days long. Within each module are 12 weeks’ worth of lessons and each week contains about 10-12 lessons. The course focuses on three main points: allowing you to progress at your speed, giving you clear and concise goals to reach, and focusing on the 80/20 method for learning.
| Pros | Cons |
| Personal learning coach assignedHelpful (optional) weekly assignments to completeWeekly reminders and Korean language and culture newsThe program is fully optimized for mobile and tablet | • Some lessons should be taught sooner |
final evaluation: the great aspect of 90 Day Korean is the assigned personal learning coach that assists in your progress although it should be noted that resources are not always structured efficiently.
12. Lingodeer
price:$79.99 annually
description: LingoDeer has three language options: Korean, Japanese, and Mandarin. The lessons contain small chunks of learning and larger chunks of review and practice. A new piece of information is usually introduced with pictures containing captions. You learn new information in small sets, usually two or three to start, and then start immediately putting your knowledge to practice.
| Pros | Cons |
| Customizable interface (colours and text size)InexpensiveDownloadable lessons for offline accessLots of different exercise types in the lessons.Detailed grammar explanations.Clear audio recordings. | • Emphasis on speaking exercises is a nice touch, but not without its shortcomings • A pivot away from its original aim of being a go-to resource for Asian languages could stretch it too thin • No desktop version exists as of now (just for mobile/smartphone) • Not sufficient for developing oral communication skills. |
final evaluation: this app is wonderful for customisations and offline access, although it does have some shortcomings concerning speaking exercises and is not sufficient for developing oral communication skills.
13. Talk to Me in Korean
price:$93.00 annually
description: Talk To Me In Korean offers audio, video and text materials for Korean learners of all abilities. They have a variety of free and paid courses available. The main course is well laid out and the supplementary lessons are all of the great quality offering some really fun and interesting ways to learn. However, there aren’t many ways to practice what you’ve learned, as such, it’d be best used alongside other resources and not as a stand-alone course.
| Pros | Cons |
| Lessons cover from beginner to advancedFree content is incredibly thoroughMP3 and PDF downloads to take learning offlinePublishes their line of textbooks and workbooks | • No progress tracking makes for highly self-motivated learning • Lots of content locked behind premium membership • No official mobile app or free trial |
final evaluation: Talk to Me in Korean offers incredibly thorough free content for beginner to advanced learners but many of its content is locked behind premium membership.
14. Memrise
price:$60.00 annually
description: Memrise teaches material by first showing you a few words, characters, or concepts, depending on what you’re studying, and then quizzing you on them. For learning languages, the app uses both written and audio material. After you see and hear the character a few times, Memrise starts peppering in multiple-choice questions in which you identify the characters you just learned.
| Pros | Cons |
| Presentation of vocabulary combined with sound clips from native speakers helps a lot in committing words to memory.Vocabulary lists allow you to tailor your experience to your specific needs.It uses a spaced repetition system. | • The quality of content is not that good. • A lack of uniformity can be noticed since there is a lot of user-created content, and learning experiences that make differences among the languages offered. • Vocabulary lists can only be found and added via a Web browser • Lack of access to extra courses in-app • The exercises can get repetitive. • Memrise is only vocabulary-focused. • Website navigation is clunky and poorly designed. • There is a lack of human interaction. • Not meant for Advanced level learners. |
final evaluation: Memrise is great for someone looking to improve their vocabulary however its design is cumbersome and content quality is poor.
15. Mango Languages
price:$79.99 annually
description: The Mango Languages app is perfect for you if you’re looking for guidance while you study. Each language has a clear structure and goal for each section. The app holds your hand while it teaches you how to navigate everyday situations in your target language. Overall, it’s a fantastic choice for beginners, but might not be as useful for more intermediate and advanced learners.
| Pros | Cons |
| Interesting movie features for select languagesMore than 70 languages offeredInexpensiveFree through libraries and other institutions | • Boring instruction • Doesn’t teach foreign scripts • No scoring in lessons |
final evaluation: great for those looking for an inexpensive platform with the benefit of movie features. Must be self-motivated as there are no lesson scores.
16. Live Lingua
price:$30 per hour
description: Live Lingua is an online language school that pairs students with certified teachers for one-on-one online classes. The platform aims to provide a more personalized service than online tutor directories by assigning a personal class coordinator and a customized curriculum for each student. Lessons are available in seven different popular languages and for a variety of different courses.
| Pros | Cons |
| Highly-qualified teachersGuided lesson plan to followGood for practising conversation with a native speaker | • Small company with few teachers • Some languages have less than 10 teachers • More expensive than competitors |
final evaluation: if you’re looking for practising conversation skills with a native speaker this platform is wonderful although it is more expensive and has very few teachers.
17. SkillShare
price:$167.88 annually
description: Skillshare is an online learning community for students to take online video classes at their own pace. The Skillshare platform offers a broad variety of specific skills. Skillshare courses are structured in a traditional online learning set-up with cool extra functionality built-in. the primary means of learning offered by Skillshare is the completion of the project while viewing the online video content.
| Pros | Cons |
| Easy to use Allows building of communities of like-minded learnersFree trials availableMobile app availableA weekly update of fresh content Offers teacher payment plans | • No quality control for instructors • Annoying ads of the free membership level • Full course content limited for free users • Learning courses not fully accessible • Annoying ad popups • Poor video quality • Lack of closed captioning on the videos for easy comprehension |
final evaluation: although this platform offers payment plans and free trials it should be noted that there are no quality controls for instructors, poor video quality and frequent popup ads.
18. Udemy
price:$11.99-$199.99
description: Udemy is a massive open online course provider, and its learning experience arranges coursework into a series of modules and lessons that can include videos, text notes and assessment tests. Udemy’s video player has functional features like closed captioning and note-taking functions.
Courses cannot be downloaded for offline viewing; however, the Udemy mobile app allows users to view classes offline and to listen to lectures on the move in the app’s podcast mode.
| Pros | Cons |
| If the course wasn’t what you expected, Udemy will give your money back no questions asked.Udemy will grant you access to every course you’ve purchased for life.Offering more than 183K+ on 13 of categories and dozens of sub-categories. You really will be spoiled for choice.Although the courses aren’t officially accredited, you’ll be given a certificate of completion – for paid courses only. | • If you are looking for an official certification Udemy isn’t for you. • With Udemy the course instructors are responsible for creating its content which can impact the quality of the course. • Udemy runs a quality control of the courses, but with so many how thorough can this really be. |
final evaluation: although Udemy offers a money-back guarantee and lifetime access to purchased courses, the quality of courses can not be guaranteed.
19. Preply
price:$1-$40 per hour
description: With lessons in 24 languages, Preply seeks to pair you with the best tutor for your needs and schedule. Thanks to its search filters, you can browse tutors not only by language or skill level but also by availability.
Also, Preply encourages you to commit to lessons by offering classes in bulk. Namely, the site offers casual learning (6 hours), dedicated learning (12 hours), and unstoppable learning (20 hours).
| Pros | Cons |
| High-quality tutorsVariety of tutors available in commonly taught languages Quite a few tutors in less-studied languagesDiscounts on larger lesson packagesAn easily reachable customer service with email and instant chat supportLessons are easy to schedule | • Limited flexibility on lesson packages • Some users might dislike the placement tests |
final evaluation: Preply offers high-quality tutors and discounts on large lesson packages with easy customer support however there is limited flexibility on lesson packages and many users dislike the placement tests.
20. OptiLingo
price:$71.88 annually
Description: Study efficiently by targeting high-frequency words and phrases you can mix and match for any situation With OptiLingo, you’ll cover real-world expressions you can use in any situation right from the start. Each day, you’ll listen, speak, and repeat useful phrases and high-frequency words. As you practice, you’ll start speaking naturally, giving you the confidence to engage in any situation.
| Pros | Cons |
| A straightforward interface.A strong emphasis on speaking your target language.A reasonably low fee for multiple languages. Options to slow down or speed up the audio. | • No writing and minimal emphasis on reading. • Course audio is somewhat dry. • Repetition can get quite dull. |
final evaluation: this platform places a strong emphasis on speaking skills but there are minimal resources on reading skills. Lessons are repetitive and can get dull.
가세요 – Ga-se-yo – Go, go!
When starting your journey with the Korean language it’s important to find a platform that can meet your specific needs and a tutor that is committed to helping you achieve your goals.
Before actually learning Korean with a tutor, you must know how to say thank you in Korean, so you can say thank you to your teacher after class!
Starting a new language can be daunting but with the right tutor, you will be able to broaden your mind to endless possibilities.
For your next lesson check out AmazingTalker for flexible and customizable lessons from one-on-one tutors.
