11 Korean Blogs to Follow in 2024
Looking for great blogs to teach you Korean and about Korea?
The best blogs give you tips and advice about integrating the language into your daily life.
Plus, they provide insight into Korean culture and post content that gets you excited about learning Korean.
So to make sure you’re getting all of the above, we’ve identified the crème de la crème of the Korean blogosphere for you.
Contents
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Korean Blogs for Learners
These Korean blogs for language learners will help you overcome obstacles, keep your momentum high and reach fluency faster.
1. 90 Day Korean
For learners who have no time to waste, 90 Day Korean provides regular, fun content for learning Korean.
Whether you’re just starting out or are more advanced, this blog will keep you focused and stimulated with free content available on the website or sent directly to your inbox.
The team behind the blog consists of natives and non-natives with backgrounds as diverse as teaching, coaching and writing. Posts incorporate numerous pictures and actionable insights on subjects that include typing in Korean, Korean vocabulary, study tips and cultural topics like dating, makeup or life in Korea.
Working with the idea that motivation is key for learning and maintaining your Korean language skills, the team also regularly posts on social media to engage with the community. Feel free to talk with other learners or to ask questions!
2. Talk to Me in Korean
This is one of the most popular Korean language learning websites out there. It started out as a language exchange club and blog—now, it’s a full-blown language learning company.
They have some of the most varied content to offer, including books, videos, podcasts and a curriculum for every learning level. You can browse the blog as a guest, but you’ll need to create an account to gain full access to Talk to Me in Korean‘s content, including a level test that determines your proficiency.
TTMK also has a popular YouTube channel which offers videos that explain vocabulary, phrases and grammar, as well as tips on how to better study Korean. It’s a great free alternative to the paid material on the website.
3. FluentU’s Korean Blog
FluentU is a language learning program that helps you get comfortable with everyday Korean by combining all the benefits of complete immersion and native-level conversations with interactive subtitles.
FluentU also publishes blog posts on topics of interest to Korean learners just like you!
These posts cover the best and most exciting tools for learning Korean today, including vocabulary lists, movies to watch and the best apps. There are tips and advice for getting the most out of your studies, aiming to give you the ultimate advantage in learning Korean.
You can check out the language learning program and the blog or download the app on iOS and Android.
4. Key to Korean
Key to Korean is on a mission to help foreigners living in Korea feel more confident about their adventures in the Land of the Morning Calm as well as to help Korean learners everywhere stay motivated.
Based in Jeonju, the creators of Key to Korean offer numerous language lesson plans for students across five levels of fluency, from beginner to advanced. The grammar and vocabulary lists are rather minimalist, and are therefore best used as a supplement to a Korean textbook.
There is also a vast collection of top-notch articles on subjects as diverse as life in Korea, news, surveys, TOPIK resources, history, music, and more.
5. Hangukdrama & Korean
This is a self-study Korean and Japanese blog actively managed by Shanna, a 20-something-year-old girl from Singapore. A native English and Mandarin speaker, Shanna started learning Korean in 2008.
Today an advanced Korean speaker who has attained a TOPIK Level 6, she uses Hangukdrama to share her favorite methods and resources she has personally used to reach an advanced level.
Shanna’s blog posts discuss everything from her daily thoughts about her journey to mastering the Korean language, to study abroad advice, to her favorite Korean movies and dramas, making this a great choice for learning more about Korean culture as well.
6. Korean Language Notes
Launched in 2004 by Gerry Bevers, who’s worked to put together an encyclopedic resource of all things Korean, this blog shares clever tips and solid content that will take your Korean learning experience to a whole new level.
Perfect for advanced Korean students looking to fine-tune their language skills, the blog focuses on linguistic nuances in cultural, literary and historic content. Topics also include Korean traditions, music, geography and everything in between.
Have no doubt: This is the blog you need to read if your goal is to learn the subtleties of Korean and gain an in-depth understanding of the language and culture.
7. Korean Self-study Isn’t Lame
This blog hasn’t been updated in some time, but it’s a goldmine for quality content and still one of the best Korean blogs out there. The name says it all!
It was created by Matthew Smith, an American blogger married to a Korean woman who’s passionate about all things Korean. This blog is mainly geared toward intermediate to advanced learners, who can find firsthand advice on studying Korean alone, teaching English in Korea, getting scholarships to study in Korea and even intercultural marriage.
If you’re just getting started, however, Matthew does a great job of covering the basics as well. Read his posts on “Korean grammar you should already know” and his very helpful reference notebook.
You’ll find an extensive collection of vocabulary lists by topic, translation exercises, grammar tables and supplementary material—including slang, common idioms, tongue twisters and even TOPIK study material, all ready to print!
Blogs on Life in Korea
Ready to learn more about Korean culture? These Korean blogs will make for the perfect introduction!
8. Discovering Korea
Named Best Travel and Culture Blog by the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), this blog is what travel writers and photographers read when they need information on what to do and where to go in Korea.
When the blog’s creator, Matt Kelley, visits a place, he combs the area for useful, first-hand information to share in his posts, alongside incredible pictures. Reading any of the posts, you get the feeling that Matt and other contributors to the blog really understand the rich detail behind these destinations.
Language learners not only get to see beautiful places, they get an eyeful of information they can use to make the language stick. You won’t just memorize the names of places and things, or how they’re correctly pronounced. You’ll get to see, from the awesome pictures, the actual referents of the Korean vocabulary you’re learning.
9. Seoul Beats
The Seoul Beats team wants to house everything you’d ever want or need to know about K-Pop—from Korean music idols to TV stars, even the indie scene. It contains the latest and greatest regarding the who and the what of Korean entertainment.
Many people were enticed to learn the language by the torrent of Korean movies, dramas, comedies, songs and pop stars that have taken over Asia and the world. If this sounds familiar and you’d like to be reminded why you took to learning Korean in the first place, Seoul Beats might just be the blog for you.
10. Ask A Korean
What started out as an homage to ¡Ask a Mexican! became a cultural powerhouse that fields questions from readers about Korea and writes about various topics in Korean culture.
The blogger known as The Korean answered his first question on the blog in 2006, while in his third year of studying law. He was born in Korea but moved to LA when he was 16. Today, he’s a lawyer in Washington D.C.
Although they have been crafted to be brash and entertaining, the posts are extremely well-researched. You’ll read content from someone who has experienced both Korean and Western cultures, adeptly explaining Korea to readers from all over the world.
Language learners will get the flavor of Korean culture, its people and their thinking by reading the blog, which has been going strong for almost a decade.
11. The Grand Narrative
This is a sociopolitical blog that dares to talk about the edgier side of Korea. James Turnbull’s The Grand Narrative has been mentioned in publications like TIME, The Washington Post, CNN, The Associated Press and Slate.
He tackles a lot of issues that pertain to sexuality, feminism, pop culture and their place and function in society. Although this genre can easily be dry or overly academic, James makes his topics approachable, engaging and relatable to a wide variety of readers.
For language learners, this is an insightful and informative look into the undercurrents of the Korean society. You’ll always come away a little more reasoned and seasoned about the culture of the language you’re interested in.
So there you have it. Be sure to check out our favorite Korean blogs and incorporate them into your daily study routine.
They’ll make a big difference in your journey to Korean fluency!
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)