Korean for Beginners: Mastering Conversational Korean (Includes Free Online Audio)

I had already been learning Korean on my own for about 9 months when I purchased this and a few other physical textbooks to try. This was by far my favorite of the bunch. The text is incredibly easy to read and really entertaining without sacrificing effectiveness. At first, I found the author's attempts at humor to be a bit obnoxious, but I came to really appreciate it further into the text. I am, however, not certain how great of a resource this would be to a true beginner of Korean. This served my purposes perfectly, I wanted to reinforce the information I was getting in my online lessons and have it presented a different way. I think someone using this as their first resource however would be left really confused. The author, for example will use a lot of example sentences throughout the book without explaining all of the grammar within the sentences and essentially why that sentence means what the author is telling you it means. A lot of time he does a good job of explaining the points relevant to the current lesson, but I imagine someone would be confused in the early lessons when they've only been explained a fraction of the sentence. I also don't necessarily like the way vocab is introduced and I personally don't even consider the vocab in this book because of that. However, the ease of reading could greatly outweigh all of these points. A true beginner could possibly read through this, not necessarily to study strictly from, but to get a broad and simple introduction before tackling harder texts. Regardless, this is definitely a great resource and I'd highly recommend, but would also suggest that it's supplemented with other resources for sure.

I like this book a lot. I've been trying to learn '' for several months and although I had memorized all the letters, I was struggling to remember all the various pronunciation rules and to gain speed in recognizing them so that I could achieve word recognition. I found Amen's and Park's explanations very easy to understand and, more importantly, very easy to put into practice. The tone is engaging, and I appreciation the combination of language teaching and introduction to aspects of Korean culture. Some of the negative reviews commented on the non-traditional order in which concepts are introduced (introducing grammar concepts before basic greetings). I actually chose this book based in part on that description. I am in the US trying to learn Korean so that I can read Korean novels (and understand Korean movies/tv), and I really just want to understand as quickly as possible how the language is structured so that I can start to read/listen to the language. For my purposes, the organization of this book is a pleasant change from language textbooks that force you through greetings and basic conversations before teaching you how to recognize nouns and verbs. I also appreciate seeing emoji in a text about how language is used to communicate. Online communication is a huge part of daily life, and I like that the authors acknowledged that in creating this textbook. I bought Elementary Korean and its workbook along with this text because I knew I would want more practice exercises than a single book would provide, but I'm starting with this one, and I'm very, very happy with it.

I'm giving it 4 stars because it truly does take you into maters of starting a conversation with another person or rather in Korean. It truly does teach you from common words to then making you use conversational words, along with being able to pronounce the words. The CD that comes along with it teaches a person to pronounce and see how each alphabet is pronounced. Since I'm from south asia, the pronunciation is really easy and have no difficulty in it, but for those who don't know, the video in the CD shows how your mouth and sound should be. To make things challenging, after a few chapters, it makes you depend less on the english translation or how to pronounce it, and rather makes you remember what it was. Its a nice way to remember things and it helps. But not only does it teach you conversational korean, but also gives you an understanding of the korean culture. Its quite an interesting read. Now comes the part which is why I didn't give it a full 5 star. Its because it doesn't teach you the alphabets of the korean language nor does it teach you to write the language except to pronounce and write the common words used and how to speak it. Its fine if you don't plan on learning the whole language and just want to say a few things, but for someone like me, I want to learn a whole new language and for that I want to begin by learning all the alphabets just like how all of us started when we learned English. For me the ideology is to learn to read and write comes first, and then being able to speak in the Korean way comes second. Culture learning can be done after one learns the language first. For that I found out that there is a second book which does that all along with a workbook that gives you exercises to work with. For those wanting to learn a whole new language, you are better of getting the second workbook first and then moving on to this one after grasping the alphabets and writing the language.

I study from this book all the time and my Korean has improved so much. I find myself watching my Korean dramas and I'm able to pick up the words and GRAMMAR that I learned in the book. I have a trip to Korean summer 2011 and I am positive that I will be able to walk Seoul with no problem just with my Beginner Korean. The only thing problem that readers would probably find is that some things might be unclear if this book is your only source. There were a few things I wondered about and was able to figure out because I had previous knowledge and exposure (I watch more Korean TV than English)and I had studied other sources before getting this book. But this book is really successful in explaining Korean culture, which is really different from Western society. Before I got this book I got a headache whenever I tried to study Korean grammar, but this book makes grammar doable, its still hard but it slowly starts clicking. Grammar is always the hardest element of learning a language but with this book I am able to see a Korean sentence and I now know how that sentence is constructed. Its amazing when you are able to apply what you've learned in real life. I highly recommend this book for an introduction to '''.

I purchased the paperback edition from a local bookstore more than 4 years ago, but never progressed beyond using it to practice writing the hanguel characters. I did this off and on over the years. I liked that the (한글) characters were presented clearly with the proper stroke orders and directions. In the last few months, my interest in learning Korean has picked up. I went back and started reading the book all over again from scratch, progressing from chapter to chapter. I just finished a quick once-through the book, but am now going back and am studying for detail and retention. I intend to take copious notes at a mostly private website I recently started - to help me learn and organize what I learn. This will help me review and retain. I like the book's consistent use of romanization and its clear presentation of pronunciation "rules" (which I prefer to think of as "guidelines"). There is a lot of grammar that I glossed over the first time, which I plan to make more time for the second time around. For me, it is an excellent beginning textbook - it lays a great foundation. I will build upon what I learn from it, adding a little hanja along the way. (I have since purchased the Kindle edition from Amazon, but mostly use the paperback.)

Maybe I should not be writing a review yet since I have not actually finished the book. But I have been working my way through this book for the majority of this month and I have made it half way through chapter six and I am kind of struggling to continue. I am a total beginner with absolutely no knowledge of the Korean language before starting this and so far this book has not been very helpful. This book contains information that one definitely needs to know but the way it is presented, in my opinion, is for someone who already has some knowledge of the Korean language. Not a total beginner like myself (I am still trying to get the vowels and diphthong sounds memorized, which, without knowing the sounds I obviously can't pronounce words and therefore can't read). This book is definitely light-hearted. The author makes you feel like he is there with you in your learning journey and not just lecturing you. But with that being said, after I finish a chapter, I feel like my head is going to explode from information overload. The book is pretty fast paced in my opinion so that could have something to do with it. A topic or grammar point or rule of the language will be presented, then a few examples will be given, then we're off to the next topic. Even though it's a book and I can review pages as much as I want, I feel like I am not given enough time (or practice!) to soak everything in. Speaking of practice, there are no exercises to complete. Some people don't even like exercises and that's okay. This book might be for you then. But for me, I need practice and this book doesn't give it. Like I said before, this book has great information in it, I just think that this book will be better suited as a reference book; to quickly flip through to a grammar point or rule if you forgot it; or even a supplemental book to lessons one might already be taking or if you have a tutor. It's not a bad book, it's just not for me in this early stage of my Korean learning journey as a self-taught learner.

This is a great book for beginners. For a beginning student of Korean it would be very difficult to have any conversation with a Korean speaker, let alone UNDERSTAND anything other than greetings etc. Korean is a very difficult language and the verbal endings require experience and ample practice to comprehend and use. This book is a fun addition to any library of Korean Language books and offers a unique perspective due to its layout and delivery. For those moving beyond the beginning level, two things in addition to this book would be; 1) a live Korean speaker to help with pronunciation of the very different sounds of the Korean Language (This is very important to avoid the very easy bad pronunciation habits that will set in without a teacher). And 2). Comprehensive Korean grammar and vocabulary texts. The materials available in the US are not very good at all, and I would suggest some of the grammar and texts offered by Korean Textbook importers that have been written for foreign language learners of Korean by Korean Universities. Although some may be found on Amazon in scattered fashion, they are unjustifiably high priced. To avoid appearing to be an advertisement, I cannot name these, but these would be texts produced by the Korean Language departments of Korean Universities. Korean origen grammar texts are also useful. An internet search will allow you to find an importer with more reasonable fees.

I am a self studying learner and already have a grasp on the Korean alphabet and some words through some apps that I had purchased. What I really did like about this book is that it gives some insight on some how's and why's of the language that I wasn't able to quite put together without explanation. It felt weird, because it wasnt dry like the cover looks it to be, as I read some parts (some almost humorous) but it actually was helpful this way to remember what I learned. It also made me feel more comfortable and confident when trying to speak. I did end up tabbing sections and making flash cards with this book as well. Being that this was one of my first Korean book purchases, I don't regret it. If you are interested in the culture and the way of the language, i do recommend this book for a good read. it does come with a cd rom, which I haven't used, so I can't comment on that particular aspect. Hope this helps. I also bought 2nd Edition Integrated Korean (http://www.amazon.com/Integrated-Korean-Beginning-Textbooks-Language/dp/0824834402/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369843841&sr=8-1&keywords=2nd+edition+integrated+Korean) if you want to go for more, and some other textbooks and workbooks and now even Rosetta Stone too. Have fun!

J'ai acquis ce livre en Juin 2012, j'étais débutant en Coréen mais un an plus tard je suis à un niveau bien plus que raisonnable. J'ai lu ce livre dans son intégralité 4 fois (on ne pourra pas dire que je l'ai survolé): - 1ère fois, tout parait fun et intéressant, mais je n'ai quasiment rien retenu de très utile (débutant total) - 2ème fois, je comprends mieux et je retiens mieux le vocabulaire (débutant persévérant) - 3ème fois, je crois tout comprendre et je retiens tout (débutant commençant à apprendre sérieusement) - 4ème fois, je comprends tout et je savais tout des notions de vocabulaire et grammaire... mais uniquement grâce à une autre collection de livres que j'étudiais en parallèle! En effet, le manque de méthode de ce livre le rend très peu efficace. On apprend parfois sans comprendre avec seulement une poignée d'exemples pour illustrer les notions de cours, c'est très maigre. Le manque de rigueur sera très frustrant pour ceux qui veulent réellement comprendre des notions de langue, de plus le manque de texte en hangeul vous fera plus lire de l'anglais plutôt que de travailler le coréen. Il y a également le problème de la romanisation omniprésente qui vous ne encouragera pas à perfectionner votre lecture du hangeul. Au final l'atmosphère fun lui donne un air sympathique, mais il n'en reste pas moins un mauvais livre d'apprentissage. Tout n'est pas à jeter, car les leçons sont relativement pertinentes (même si elles sont trop courtes), les traductions très bonnes, mais manquent totalement d'efficacité sur un débutant (on se demandera alors à qui ce livre est destiné). Je recommande vivement n'importe quelle autre collection de livre d'apprentissage sérieux, en particulier les collections découpées en plusieurs niveaux (ex: débutant, intermédiaire, confirmé...), qui seront bien plus efficaces que celui-ci. Vous aurez cependant peut-être un peu de mal à visualiser toute la variété disponible sur Internet, si vous avez la chance d'aller en Corée, sachez que les grandes librairies sont très fournies dans ce type d'ouvrage. Le problème majeur de ce livre étant qu'il joue principalement sur la "mémorisation" (c'est à dire: enseigner, puis espérer de retenir la notion) alors que les livres de méthodes de langue jouent sur la "compréhension" (c'est à dire: comprendre pourquoi et comment utiliser la notion). Retenir une expression importante sera toujours utile, mais s'exprimer convenablement avec plus de 2 phrases apprises par coeur est définitivement "plus malin"! Je ne peux définitivement pas recommander ce livre à quiconque qui souhaite apprendre sérieusement le coréen.

This is not a textbook in the traditional sense of the word. If I were to propose a title for this book it would be "A Guided Tour of the Korean Language". It shows a very large part of the language in varying detail. For example it introduces, with examples, four levels of politeness in the verb (out of six or seven) and then for the rest of the book concentrates on one, honorific 1, the same level used in "annyeong haseyo". So you learn one level well, but at the same time know there is lots more, so you won't feel ambushed when you meet them later on in your studies. It briefly describes some 20 to 30 particles, but uses only a few; etc. The book does not cut corners or dumb things down; for one thing it gives the reader a solid basis in hangeul, the Korean alphabet; for another it covers most of the irregualr verbs. In line with the book's "guided tour" nature there are no exercises. There is, however, a CD, with a lady with a lovely voice, who pronounces almost all the Korean text in the book. (Why "almost", why stop there?) It teaches the reader about 500 words, which is not enough for a meaningful conversation, but is a very good start. I found it an excellent, easily accessible and certainly affordable pre-read for the Korean course I am going to start taking this autumn.

Just now I got my book , it's perfect for beginners , definitely you can improve your language skills 👍

Very good and helpful book I found it useful but there is no practice question

O livro é bem completinho, com as páginas de um papel bom para escrever e fazer anotações. Tem cd e material extra para download. Fiz bastantes pesquisas antes de escolher um livro para estudar o idioma e esse foi o que mais se encaixou nas minhas expectativas!