How much Korean do you want to learn?
Most Korean learners' goal is to learn enough to have a daily conversation.So how long does it take?I only talk about learners from countries with alphabet-based languages. (Chinese and Japanese learn faster).
Outlier vs Ordinary good vs Laid-back
I saw one student who studied for 3 months and was able to talk with me in daily life. This was the fastest I've seen. So this person was an outlier. Outliers can often reach that level in one to two years.Ordinary good learners usually take 3 years to have daily conversations in Korean. But here what I am calling ordinary learners are actually very good learners. They study for about an hour a day.Laid-back learners take 10 years or more to have everyday conversations with me. They don't take language learning seriously.From ~1000 learners I've met — rough mix, not a lab study
Outlier
3%- Daily talk
- 3 months ~ 1–2 years
- Habit
- Heavy speaking every day
Ordinary good
20%- Daily talk
- ~3 years
- Habit
- ~1 hour a day
Laid-back
77%- Daily talk
- 10+ years
- Habit
- Hobby / on and off
| Type | Share | To daily talk | Habit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outlier | 3% | 3 months ~ 1–2 years | Heavy speaking every day |
| Ordinary good | 20% | ~3 years | ~1 hour a day |
| Laid-back | 77% | 10+ years | Hobby / on and off |
“Daily talk” = natural friendly conversation with me — not business, not an exam.
That 3% / 20% / 77% split is just from my experience — not a scientific test.
How to be an Outlier
The fastest learner I saw studied at a great local academy in Canada. What I've noticed is that she was forced to do many speaking tasks every day. not only in class but also as homework. And she was looking for a Korean partner every day.Did she have plenty of time to learn? No. She was busy with her pilot exam course too. But I noticed that she texted me in Korean whenever she had a break.Find a really good academy — maybe a bit expensive, but it will be worth it. Finding a texting partner is nice. But you need to send them messages in Korean. Not english.Another outlier was studying from YouTube and Twitch with her favorite channels. She was very passionate about studying Korean. Sounds fun? Yes, but she was weak at words. She could speak really naturally, but didn't know some words like 박물관 which YouTubers rarely mention.I think YouTube and Twitch are great. But you need to find a good channel.
What did ordinary but good learners do?
Actually I don't think people can do like outliers — they are actually genius. So the realistic way to learn Korean fast is the ordinary wayThey normally said they studied with online courses. (But not all of them.) There are some free online courses such asSejong Hakdang, also many YouTube channels that provide online courses.Sometimes they have private tutors too. If you can find a nice tutor, great, but it will cost money. If you're a serious learner I would recommend italki because they tend to be more qualified compared with other tutor platforms.Also ordinary learners studied with their favorite creators, on SNS.Good speakers actively find Korean partners online to practice speaking and improve their skills.Books? Ummm books are great for starters but they don't teach you how to speak. I saw many beginners asked me about books. But people usually get stuck in intermediate level and can't speak. So i don't cover about books in this article.
What Did Laid-Back Learners Do?
Most learners stay here. They're just enjoying K-drama. I'm not saying it's a bad method. But they really enjoy it. Not studying it. Didn't try to check the grammar the actors use. Didn't pause, didn't repeat. Just enjoyed it.After 10 years they still can't speak Korean well. They're only good at speaking some simple sentences.They were actually good students at the beginning, when they studied Hangul and basic grammar, they put in a lot of effort. But they didn't push hard enough after that or couldn't find a nice way to study.Those who didn't push themselves enough tend to speak English to me. They love to be friends with Koreans. But they don't question much about Korean. They're not forcing themselves to chat with me in Korean — they use English.They use apps like Duolingo, but compared to good learners they don't try to use what they learned with someone. Another reason they stuck in this level is that they are not constant. Ten years was long enough but they in and out often.
Balance of joy and study is the key way I think
All the fast learners are very fascinated to study Korean. (obviously)But they also enjoy the process.They don't force themselves to study. They just really like to study Korean.So how to maintain the curiosity and enjoy the process? I think I should write another article about this. But for now I'd say find a real person to use what you learned is the best.But if you're too begginer don't push yourself to speak with a real person too fast.This is all from my experience for over 10 years. You may have had a different experience. If you don't agree with me, you're absolutely right.
