20 Korean Games Online for Language Learners
Games are a thrilling way to expand your Korean vocabulary, reinforce your knowledge of Korean grammar and discover unique facets of Korean culture.
And you don’t even have to leave your home (or your bedroom!) to play these games. Many Korean games online can help you pick up the language and play your way to fluency.
Some Korean learning games can be played solo, but I recommend you take it a step further and gather friends to make your learning even more engaging.
So what are you waiting for? Drop your books and join the party!
Contents
- 1. Black Desert Mobile
- 2. Blade&Soul Revolution
- 3. Bless Global
- 4. Dungeon & Fighter Mobile
- 5. Lineage 2: Revolution
- 6. Summoners War
- 7. Epic Seven
- 8. King’s Raid
- 9. Destiny Child
- 10. GrandChase
- 11. Tower of God: NEW WORLD
- 12. Hero Cantare with WEBTOON™
- 13. TERA
- 14. Closers
- 15. Vindictus
- 16. KurtzPel
- 17. Elsword
- 18. KBubbles
- 19. PopPopping Korean
- 20. Bravolol Learn Korean
- Bonus: 3 Offline Korean Games
- Why Learn Korean with Games?
- And One More Thing...
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
1. Black Desert Mobile
Price: Free (with in-app purchases)
If you’re an avid MMORPG fan, you’ve probably heard of the Black Desert Games. Like many MMORPGs, it’s packed with stunning graphics, an open-world environment and extensive character customization.
In case your Korean isn’t up to snuff yet, you can try to play the English version first.
2. Blade&Soul Revolution
Price: Free (with in-app purchases)
Prefer fighting games? How about a knockout combo (pun intended) of a fighting game and an MMORPG? Blade&Soul Revolution is both of those and more.
You can customize your characters, follow an intriguing storyline and be awed by the visuals offered by this game—all while learning Korean (if you play that version of the game, of course).
3. Bless Global
Price: Free (with in-app purchases)
“Bless Global” emphasizes player versus player (PvP) style gameplay, so if you’re more on the competitive side, this might be right up your alley. For those of you looking for a more “traditional” RPG experience, you can also do quests on the side.
4. Dungeon & Fighter Mobile
Price: Free
Available on: Android
Nothing like a hack-and-slash game to sharpen your reflexes and Korean language skills. This action-packed game will bring back memories of smashing buttons at the arcade—if you’re old enough to remember that arcades were a thing. If not, you’ll still enjoy the rewards-based gameplay system.
5. Lineage 2: Revolution
Price: Free (with in-app purchases)
For a game designed to be played on mobile, this game has some pretty impressive graphics.
You can invite your fellow Korean language learners and hop on for an adventure into a fantasy world to battle monsters, fight with other players and collect rewards.
6. Summoners War
Price: Free (with in-app purchases)
Not all RPG games require you to have lightning-fast reflexes. For example, “Summoners War” is turn-based, meaning you can take all the time you need (within reason) to plan your next move without worrying about monsters swarming all over you. And hey, the Korean version doubles as a language lesson!
7. Epic Seven
Price: Free (with in-app purchases)
If you don’t mind your online Korean games having a 2D/anime feel, you won’t mind playing “Epic Seven.”
Some of the unique features of this game include the attack system being dependent on the relationships you cultivate, the 3v3 battles and the staggering amount of stories (over 1,000).
8. King’s Raid
Price: Free (with in-app purchases)
Another mobile game with a 2D feel, “King’s Raid” takes you through a quest to defeat a giant dragon with the help of your fellow Korean language learners.
Of course, this game isn’t just all about battles: you can customize your characters’ costumes, go up against millions of players around the globe and participate in PvP battles.
9. Destiny Child
Price: Free (with in-app purchases)
Not to be confused with the early 2000s girl group of (nearly) the same name, “Destiny Child” is a card-collecting game that makes use of colorful anime-style graphics to draw you in.
You’re not just going to be collecting cards, though: your ultimate goal is to become the Archfiend of the Infernal Realm.
10. GrandChase
Price: Free (with in-app purchases)
Despite its name, this game has nothing to do with cars. Instead, its a game for “true RPG fans” that will have you choosing from a hundred heroes to create your unique character, go adventuring with other party members and fight battles with (and against) other players.
11. Tower of God: NEW WORLD
Price: Free (with in-app purchases)
You don’t have to read the webtoon this is based on to appreciate this game (though that would definitely be a plus!)
The objective of the game is to climb up the titular Tower of God. Because the Korean version also features audio, you can listen to native pronunciation as you play.
12. Hero Cantare with WEBTOON™
Price: Free (with in-app purchases)
Another online game based on a webtoon, Hero Cantare brings together a massive cast of webtoon characters together into a game app that you can play for hours on end.
I particularly like the music on this one, which makes for a great accompaniment as you battle against monsters, other players and more.
13. TERA
Price: Free-to-play
Available on: Xbox | PlayStation
In TERA, you can choose between 10 playable character classes and engage in tons of battles with monsters and other players.
As you can expect from a good MMORPG, the visuals are absolutely gorgeous and the fantasy world feels lived-in.
14. Closers
Price: Free-to-play
On “Closers,” you get to play one of a handful of humans who managed to gain psychic powers after dimensional gates mysteriously popped up all over the world.
It’s possible to play the game in Korean regardless of your location, but you’ll need to get a Korean Nexon account to do so.
15. Vindictus
Price: Free-to-play
Available on: Windows
If you’re familiar with the “Diablo” games, “Vindictus” has a similar feel: you’ll have to battle monsters left and right and collect loot along the way.
To play it in Korean, simply go to “Settings” then “Language/Audio” and change the language from there.
16. KurtzPel
Price: Free-to-play
If you enjoyed GrandChase, you may want to play its spiritual successor KurtzPel, which takes place in an alternate universe. Here, you get to play as one of the members of Chase and battle against the Bellatos Army.
Again, there’s plenty of PvP as well as PvE (player versus environment) for you to sink your teeth into.
17. Elsword
Price: Free-to-play
“Elsword” is an example of a 2.5D game—that is, the environment shown in the game is in 3D, but the objects and characters are in 2D.
To play the game in Korean, you need both a Korean account and a VPN. Once you get past those little hurdles, you can play one of 14 playable characters and level up!
18. KBubbles
Price: Free (with in-app purchases)
Available on: Android
This mentally-challenging KBubbles app is an action game designed to help you learn Korean words and Hangul characters using a game format.
To start, players control a space vessel that targets bubbles containing Korean letters. Your goal is to hit the right bubbles. The goal is to be as accurate as possible while you’re playing against yourself and against other players!
19. PopPopping Korean
Price: Free
In this app, cute monsters help you learn the Korean writing system and basic vocabulary.
There are three games you can play: Hangul Pronunciation (where you view animations to learn the pronunciation of Korean letters), Hangul Rhythm (where each letter is associated with a beat to facilitate memorization) and Secrets of Hangul (where players learn about the history of Hangul and the key principles that govern the system).
20. Bravolol Learn Korean
Price: Free (with in-app purchases)
With Bravolol’s app, you’ll learn useful Korean words and sentences from a chatty, colorful parrot. The parrot helps you practice your speaking and listening skills, wherever and whenever you are.
Words are accompanied by audio recordings and are organized into themes—such as hobbies, romance and eating—to coach your memorization, listening and pronunciation skills.
Bonus: 3 Offline Korean Games
끝말잇기 (Last Letter Game)
In this game, players have to quickly say words from which the first syllable is the last syllable of the previous word. For example, if one player says “치마” (skirt), the second player can say “마지막” (last), and the third could say “막걸리” (makkeolli) and so on.
Players have three seconds to say a word. If they fail to come up with a word under this timeframe, they score a negative point. Whoever has the most points wins.
This game is a great way to learn new words and test your knowledge of the Korean vocabulary. The pressure factor also tests your ability to think (in Korean!) under pressure.
Syllable Game
This game is a fun way to test your pronunciation skills. It’s a rather popular game that Korean native speakers also play. The first half of this game can be seen in this video.
To get started, start with a long word or phrase. You can write it down so it’s easier to say it or challenge yourself and your partners by triggering your memory. Players must say the word or phrase over and over with a different emphasis on each individual syllable, starting with the first syllable, then moving on to the second, then the third, until the last one.
For example, if your sentence is: “배가 고프다” (to be hungry), the first player says the sentence by putting the stress on 배, the second player says the sentence by stressing 가 and so on until every player has said the sentence or until you’ve reached the last syllable.
To spice things up, add a time limit where players have to finish a sentence correctly in 30 seconds for short words or 1 minute for full sentences. It’s a great way to make sure you enunciate properly under pressure!
Raon: Korean Scrabble
This board game is the Korean equivalent of our Scrabble. To adapt to the particular structure of Korean words, each tile features a single letter that can be positioned at will in space to form a syllable and eventually a word. Rectangular tiles feature vowels, while square tiles have consonants.
To play, each player receives 15 consonant tiles and 5 vowel tiles. The objective is to position letters in a way that forms a Korean word using their tiles. Like Rummy, there must be some combination of 3 things (in this case, syllables) to count. After that limit, players can create words that contain any number of syllables. The first player to use all their hand tiles wins the round.
The game will teach you Korean vocabulary and proper spelling. It’s a fun way to test your knowledge of Korean words considering the constraints of the game.
Why Learn Korean with Games?
- Games help you retain information better. Some games are just pure fun, but Korean learning games are the perfect combination of Korean studies and excitement. That’s because they incorporate and disseminate key language information in an entertaining format. The concepts are the same, but the method of acquisition is far more engaging.
- Learn Korean in a relaxed atmosphere. Games target a couple of common issues for learners. Some people underperform because the rigid, old-school classroom format causes them to panic. They either want to do too well and get paralyzed or aren’t receptive and properly engaged. Games do a great job of taking the stress and anxiety out of the language learning process by making learners feel at ease. With games, you’re learning Korean along the way. Games remove the fear of making mistakes and promote natural, spontaneous communication.
- It creates a positive attitude towards the Korean language. Games help you stay motivated and engaged because the goals are clear and immediate. It’s not just about accumulating word lists for the sake of it: it’s about making it to the finish line and taking your team (or yourself) to victory. And what’s better than winning because of your superb Korean skills?
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You can set daily goals to keep yourself motivated and coming back. For instance, you could make sure you hit a certain number of points each day, much like many of those addicting games you find all over the internet.
Now that you have a great list of games to learn Korean, all you need is to gather your friends to make it more fun. Good luck!
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
And One More Thing...
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