Start Korean Lessons

Learn about the Korean language and culture with an online or in-person tutor

Students know that taking a language course is always a challenge - but just as rewarding! Grammar, alphabet, phrases, all these must be kept in mind when learning to speak and write a language. This is particularly tricky with Korean if you speak English as a first language and have some knowledge of Spanish say since there is indeed very different grammar, phrases, and an alphabet that students take a lot of time to master.

Thankfully, this is what you will cover in your classes from the very first level, and you will practice your ability to read, speak, and understand from the context in your own time. Translating directly from English happens for people who start learning at a beginner level, but your tutor or teacher will take a view to make sure you can communicate and find the words yourself without having to go back and forth between your languages.

A good thing about Korean language learning is that it is easy to learn with the vast array of Korean TV dramas and films, and in big cities like Melbourne and Sydney, there is a large Korean language community who you can practice your learning with. 

Given the beauty of the language and Korea itself, engaging with dramas, literature and of course K pop, it can be great fun which makes learning a joy.

Some background to the Korean alphabet and language

The first thing that you will learn in your Korean language lessons is about the alphabet, beyond some basic rules of grammar and phrases. Your teacher will help you from the very first lesson with the way you can read and speak the letters which differ so greatly from English. This is because students will learn throughout their online course or in-person classes that the Latin alphabet is not used in Korean, but rather the Hangul alphabet. 

As you learn about the history and culture of Korea throughout your learning experience in your classes, your knowledge will become more advanced and you will be able to understand and view the culture with new eyes beyond just K pop and TV dramas and be free to undertake private study in your free time and connect with other interested students online.

Once you've got enough experience and have advanced to this level of advanced knowledge, you will understand the unique and fascinating story of the Korean alphabet came to start to use it and communicate in it. A little bit of study with a committed teaching practitioner at any big university in Melbourne or Sydney, or just interested online tutors who have fun making contact with students to talk about and offer some teaching about Korea.

The alphabet didn't exist until 1443, when Chinese characters became replaced with a devised alphabet called Hangul, which was devised by King Sejong the Great, who did so as a means to increase literacy in the country by crafting an easy to grasp system. It was based almost entirely on the way of speaking at the time, and thus the letters came to represent the sounds that people heard on the street. This now comprises 24 basic letters: 14 consonant letters and 10 vowel letters as a basis for forming more sounds. This does get more complex though, as these are combined to create a further 27 complex letters, which are comprised of 5 tense consonant letters, 11 complex consonant letters, and 11 complex vowel letters for the different sounds.

Looks like you will need the help of a few lessons with an online and in-person tutor, after all, to really get the help you need to read, write, speak, and understand Korean when you start out!

Where Korean Courses Can Take You

If you get in contact with tutors today, whether you be in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, or elsewhere in Australia, you can start your first lessons ASAP and get from beginner level to advanced level in no time!

Thinking about your goals before you contact tutors is also a good idea, as even though lesson by lesson they will help you learn and experience the Korean language in your own way. The sole purpose of a tutor is not to just make you level up: they want to make sure you can really speak, read, write, understand, and communicate in the language. Therefore, help your tutors by telling them what level you want to reach and why and what your long term goals are in order to guide your learning.

The Korean diaspora the world over will give you plenty of opportunity to practice with real life people, and in Melbourne and Sydney in particular, there is a thriving community who will be happy to share elements of their culture with you if you show your interest and respect.

Beyond being able to communicate in diverse ways with people within your own country, Korea is obviously a highly popular tourist destination with more and more students every year choosing to study abroad here as well, thanks to the advent of K pop, TV dramas, and the impeccable reputation Korean cinema is garnering in recent years.

So if studying overseas is on the cards, really heavily consider South Korea, or if travelling is on the brain, Seoul is only 10 hours flight from Brisbane, so if you're keen on getting out with relatively cheap flights, Korea is the place for you!