Practice Korean Reading With 5+ Great Tips
Original blog post: https://ling-app.com/ko/practice-korean-reading/
Are you someone who has been struggling with how to read Korean? Reading is a part of a language that is crucial to learning. Reading is especially important if you want to move to Korea because everything you think of buying would have a Korean description. In this article, we will go through how you can practice Korean reading.
Learning a new language may sound hard at first looking at all the Korean alphabet, but trust me it can be way easier if you practice a little every day.
Practice Korean Reading
Now to start learning how to read Korean you will obviously need the basic knowledge of the Korean language. You may learn Korean through online courses or get a tutor if that suits you and you can afford that. Once you have the idea of the basic Korean language and the Korean alphabet then we can move on to learning about the sentence structure and words.
While you could get traditional classes for the Korean reading practice, I would suggest learning Korean through apps like Ling and websites which are far more effective, less boring, and don’t cost any money.
Ways To Effectively Practice Reading
Now that we have gone over how to learn basic Korean, let’s see how we can practice our Korean reading and make the most of our time. While all of these ways are generally good there are some ways that would suit you more as compared to others based on your needs.
You might not need to learn the intricate sentence structures if you want to read the labels of the items or if you want to read some basic news articles. While if you are thinking of Korean reading books these would be necessary.
Learn Hangul Writing System
If you want to learn how to read Korean properly then reading Korean in the romanized script (Korean written in Latin script) won’t take you very far. If you have ever been to Korea you would know that Hangul is used everywhere and there is no escaping it.
While you can get away with the romanized Korean outside of Korea you are not going to skip it in Korea. The good news is that learning Hangul is not hard at all if you pay some attention and follow a method while staying consistent.
Using Bilingual Exercises For Reading
While this worked for me it might not work for everyone but if you want to read labels off of items there is no better way to do it than to do bilingual exercises. You can have the Korean names on one side and the translation of those on the other side.
You can do this with articles too if you find a difficult word that you don’t know. There are many translators available that will help you with this. While not all of them are reliable, some of them provide great translations.
Read Labels In Korean
Try to read Korean as much as possible for practice, it doesn’t matter where it is from. I got a ton of practice reading labels off of items of daily use. You can use a translator while doing this. This is a daily practice that will add to your Korean learning.
It is not boring like sitting in front of your laptop practicing Korean. You can also read the signs and ads being displayed outside shops in Korea. They add to your daily vocabulary too. After some time you would not even need the translator to read labels.
Read Korean Books
The single most efficient way to practice Korean reading is by reading Korean books. You will find all kinds of old and new words while reading books which you would not find in daily life. It doesn’t matter what kind of book you study, pick a book according to your taste to study Korean.
It can be a romantic novel in Korean or a horror novel or a Korean short story. Might be a book about motivation or inspiration. Might be an autobiography, As long as it’s in Korean it will get the job done. You can always highlight the difficult new words and look for their meanings later. It will help you learn more words.
Reading Korean News
If you are someone who does not have the patience to read a whole book then this is a great alternative for you. You can always read the news as we all do but instead of reading news in English, you can read Korean newspapers e.g The Korean Times.
It gets pretty easy to do once you stop watching the TV channels and start reading daily Korean newspapers. By reading news, you also improve your language skills which is an added bonus. Be consistent and have a read daily as you sip on your morning coffee and you will get better at reading in no time. It will also inform you about using Korean in everyday situations.
Reading Korean Magazines
Reading magazines is another thing you can do daily if you are not into books. Make it a habit to read Korean magazines as they have a lot of vocabulary about Korean fashion and k-pop culture if you are into that.
You can have an electronic translator if you ever get stuck on something you do not understand. It will definitely help you get better and improve your language skills. I have even seen some people carrying magazines with them and reading them on the way home or to the office, it is very common in Korean culture. Whenever you are free, start reading!
Korean Subtitles
Watching shows with Korean subtitles is another thing that can tremendously help you in practicing reading and understanding the words. When you read subtitles while watching a show you not only learn how to read the word better you also learn how to pronounce the word properly.
This is the best tip I can give anyone who is trying to speak Korean better as it requires zero effort if you are into K-drama or Korean movies and it gets genuinely fun once you get the hang of it. Korean subtitles could be a little inaccurate at times which is something to remember.
Kpop Lyrics
Read Korean with Korean Music. If you are a diehard fan of k-pop, reading k-pop lyrics is something you can do while listening to the songs and having fun. The fun part about this is that you would already know the Korean pronunciation of the song because you listen to it on repeat.
You probably already know the meanings of the lyrics too. All you would have to do is read the lyrics along with the song and It would make learning Korean reading a breeze. Do remember that sometimes the slang and references used in K-pop might not be appropriate in daily use or in formal writing though.
Korean Webtoons
If you have children and you are thinking of moving to Korea then there is no better way for Korean reading practice other than reading Korean Webtoons. They are not only free entertainment, but they also tend to teach you a lot about Korean culture with fun short stories.
While webtoons are primarily for children you can also learn a lot from them if you are a grownup. They make your reading speed way faster and they are less boring to read than a traditional magazine or novel. They also have pretty simple grammar if you are a beginner.
Apps For Practicing Korean Reading
There are apps for doing everything like learning a new language. Korean reading practice is no exception as there are plenty of apps out there that will help you get better at Korean reading. An app is better than other sources as you can use it wherever you go. Most of the apps are free to use so you don’t have to pay for tuition.
There can be minor mistakes in writing as some apps aren’t made by Koreans but the pros really outweigh the cons of using an app. Here’s a list of a few apps I would recommend for Korean reading which will help you practice your Korean.
Koreanclass101
This is a great user-friendly app that can be used for Korean reading practice. It includes features like word lists which are great for vocabulary and speaking skills. There are reading lessons that are divided into short and simple Korean lessons which you can benefit from.
The best thing is you won’t get tired like you would from reading a traditional book or novel. It will also help you to speak Korean better and practice your Korean. It also uses English words as references. It will help you write better too and post better content in the Korean language.
LinQ
LinQ is another great app on the list which is amazing because it gives you the option of learning Korean from the stuff you like. LinQ has a whole collection of books that will help you practice your Korean reading skills and speaking skills.
You can choose a book that you like and start reading it. There are youtube videos too if you want to enhance your vocabulary further or get some reading tips. LinQ has its own dictionary too if you ever get stuck on a word. You can see the English translation if you want.
TenguGo Hangul
TenguGo Hangul is an app that helps you learn the Hangul characters and read Hangul. If you often get confused with the Hangul letters while reading then this is a great way to practice reading hangul which will strengthen your foundation of the Korean alphabet hence tremendously helping you with reading.
The Hangul app has Korean lessons and it lets you know about the history, Writing skills, and pronunciation of Hangull all in one place. If you have a strong foundation in the Korean alphabet then this app isn’t for you and it won’t enhance your reading practice.
Drops
The next app on the list is dropped. This app primarily focuses on teaching you new vocabulary and phrases in the Korean language. If you are someone who struggles with vocabulary or grammar while reading the Korean language then this is the app for you.
Reading Korean becomes boring and hard if the words are not making sense and you have to take out the dictionary every two seconds. Use this app to learn new Korean words and you will get better at reading in no time.
TOPIK ONE
If you do not already know, TOPIK is a Korean language proficiency test. This app helps you prepare for TOPIK and has different sections on reading, writing, listening, speaking, grammar, etc.
While there are other things you can learn, the reading section is what we will primarily focus on. If you want to give TOPIK and you are weak at reading then there is no better app to use than this as it primarily focuses on the things required to ace the exam.
This is also a great app if you want to improve your reading regardless of the exam. It has well-structured sentences that will help you with your Korean reading practice.
Ling App
Ling App is the best option to consider if you wish to learn practice reading Korean. It has an immense number of blog posts which most definitely increase your reading speed in the Korean language. If you get bored of the blog post then you can also take classes with proper tutors to enhance your experience.
Besides having an app, it also has a website to help its users. This takes us to another way to improve your reading experience.
Korean Websites
Websites are another great way to improve your Korean reading. If you are someone who stays on the internet for many hours then this is certainly the best way for you. Websites provide a great amount of information on your favorite topics in any language you want.
You can go to any Korean website and search for topics that you find interesting and start reading. This will not only help you increase your knowledge of the Korean language but also teach you stuff about Korean culture that you didn’t already know. There are also websites with short stories if that’s your thing.
Korean Articles/Blogs
There are many Korean articles Blogs and posts out there which are great for learning the Korean language. They are great for learning vocabulary and increasing your speed of reading. I personally like Blog posts and articles as they are much more enjoyable for me than a traditional book or novel.
If you are like me and don’t like reading books then you will surely benefit from reading Korean articles and blogs. It will definitely help with your Korean reading practice. It will also help you learn new Korean words.
You can also find English translations by using google translate. It also helps you learn more about Korean folklore anywhere in the world. It will also help you form better sentences. You also learn about the common ways of Koreans.
Wrapping Up
That’s it for this blog post. Ling App is a great app to start learn Korean. No matter what is the purpose of learning Korean for you or what way you prefer, the Ling App provides help for all. So download the app now or check out the website right now.
