Product Description

Suitable for students of all levels, this book provides a general description of the Korean language by highlighting important structural aspects whilst keeping technical details to a minimum. By examining the Korean language in its geographical, historical, social and cultural context the reader is able to gain a good understanding of its speakers and the environment in which it is used. The book covers a range of topics on Korean including its genetic affiliation, historical development, sound patterns, writing systems, vocabulary, grammar and discourse.

Product Description
Start speaking Korean the fun and easy way with Korean For Dummies, a no-nonsense guide to Korean culture and the basics of Korean language. Pick up basic phrases and commonly used words so that you can converse with Koreans in both business and personal situations. You’ll learn Korean for everyday life and task-specific expressions for Korean on the go. In addition, you’ll discover important and fascinating aspects of Korean culture.

This handy guide won’t burden you with lists of grammar rules; just look up the phrases and cultural phrases that you need or read through the whole book for a general overview. You’ll be able to place material in a daily context with cultural tidbits, phonetic spelling of Korean words, and the recorded Korean dialogues on the accompanying CD. Exercises will jog your memory and reinforce everything that you learn. Find out how to:

• Use basic phrases and words correctly
• Converse intelligently about Korean culture
• Do business with a Korean company
• Say task-specific expressions
• Pronounce Korean words
• Put material in a real-world context
• Make a good first impression with Koreans

Complete with lists of ten ways to learn Korean quickly, ten phrases to make you sound Korean, ten expressions that Koreans like to use, and ten things you should never do around a Korean, Korean For Dummies is your one-stop guide to speaking basic Korean and understanding the fundamentals of Korean culture. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

Contains no Hanguel Script
I was so eager to purchase this item that I didn't bother reading the reviews.That was a huge mistake on my part.Although this book is helpful in pronunciations it does not contain a trace of Hanguel (Korean Script), so how can one expect to learn Korean without being introduced to Korean script? This book may be helpful in some ways, but without Hanguel it is seriously lacking.

Don't buy it
Unfortunately this book does not deliver what it promises. I can think of an easier way of learning korean. For example, the vocabulary could be presented in a more systematic manner; the most basic words and phrases first and only later on more rare and complicated words. Similarly, it would help to learn the korean characters because the roman characters just make it more complex, because you always have to think twice about the pronounciation. Hangul is really very easy to learn and once you know it, it is much easier to read and pronounce the wordsKorean For Dummies because the characters themselves will clearly show you the sound.

Another Dummy book
Over the years I have used and been impressed with this series of books. This one was a letdown though. Not too helpful compared to the other methods I have tried.
Not worth the $$$.

Confusing
Just trying to get through three pages of chapter one was confusing. This isn't because it was a book on a language foriegn to me but because with the vowels the writers give three vouls that supposedly sound like the word "wet" but are spelled differently (oe, wae and we are the Korean vowels in question). These three vowels, just by quickly skimming through the rest of the book, are very imoprtant in learning how to pronounce. Another problem is that the "oe" which is initially explained to sound like wet is later described to sound like the "o" in "hope." Wet and hope have two totally different sounds and, thus, confusion insues. I find this short guide to the Korean language for beginners to be inconsistant from the start.

I do find that the book has alot of references that are very helpful to gaining an understanding of the pace of both language and culture. The book allows the reader to gain vocabulary as the book is read in a very relaxed manner. If only the explinations gave me more confidence that I was learning to pronounce properly I would continue reading the book for more than the habits of the language but, instead, I am on Amazon to find another facilitator to my learning Korean (properly).

Full of typos!!!
I got this book, like, when it first came out. It was LITTERED with obvious typos! They would forget periods, to close off parenthesis, leave off half of a sentence, it's pathetic. I found grammar errors too, grammar errors that Koreans commonly make. This book was written by Koreans. I think they should have had a native-English speaker proofread it. To a native-English speaker like myself, those grammar mistakes are obvious. So it's obvious they didn't have one read it.

The book also has other, major flaws, but the other people who gave this book a negative review explain those quite well so I shall be silent. ... Read more

Product Description
An accessible, comprehensive source of information on the Korean language-its structure and history to its cultural and sociological setting. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

For linguists, not learners.
Check the book on google books, see what you make of it.

I wish I had checked more thoroughly before I bought it. It seems to be very informative, but not in the way I am looking for. It reads like someone's Korean linguistics master's thesis. I assume if you already know Korean and are interested in it's linguistic intricacies and history then it might be worth a read. Probably better read in the original Korean in that case though. In any case, it's not for beginning or intermediate learners just trying to beef up their Korean power. I mean the (English) book has hardly any Korean to read in it!

Not very well organized
As I am italian and not english mothertongue I have had some trouble due
to the latinization of Hangul alphabet, which is made in the Yale system, the latter being very un-natural for an italian ear. There is indeed another system of romanization (i don't know its name) which is used in some pocket dictionary Korean-Italian-Korean, and is very different from Yale, but
very good for italians (and, maybe, for latin-languages speakers).

Indeed the main difficulty in learning Korean for westerners is learning the alphabet and the pronounce, and a good romanization helps a lot. The Korean grammar is not very difficult, compared with western languages (it is somewhat similar to turkish, but even more easy). I guess a
Finnish guy (turkish-like language) would find it straightforward..
The verbs are impersonal, and there are no irregular verbs. The adjectives are
verbs, andnouns declension is fixed, agglutinative and.. optional.
It is also a Language which has nice and 'logical' rules.

But the present book make the matter more difficult than it actually is.
Korean Language is suitable to be fully explained with some table, and surprisingly this book seriously lacks in tables..
Also, the book at issue has the bad habit of presenting almost always complex statements as examples, instead of making the more simple preceding the difficult ones.

Besides the above, the book seems complete, though it is difficult to be sure of its completeness, as one should be having read all the (difficult) examples of the book before to claim that...

About half book is full of historical notions and facts, and not
grammar. I don't know whether this is a value or not.

Not what I expected
I got this to help learn basic Korean.I hoped it would help me with grammar, pronunciation, sentence structure and things.While it has some of that, it seems more intended for people who study languages for the history of how they were formed.I tried to stay with it to see how it might help, but it is obviously for a scholar or someone needing a reference document to write a paper on the Korean language.If you're looking to learn conversational Korean, this isn't your book.

A good shot but not quite perfect . . .
Without a doubt this is one of the best books I have come across about Korean grammar etc. but I disagree violently with those who like the Yale romanisation. It's terrible! And if you look at reviews of other books like this at this web site you will find similar comments from others. McCune-Reischauer would have made this text less esoteric and more accessible, and this is a shame because it is a fine book, one of a kind which one rarely finds, and should have a rightful place on the personal shelves of anyone with an interest in speaking Korean.

In general terms, however, it also suffers as so many language texts suffer - bad typesetting, and in this case an emphasis mainly on the ordinary or "panmal" style of speech at the expense of the more "polite" forms, which are familiar from other books on this subject. There are also frequent typos which are confusing, and for these reasons I cannot rate it with a perfect 5.

For this I offer a sincere apology to the authors, who have undoubtedly produced a very important work, covering not only the history of the language, but also explain how the Koreans expressed themselves using Chinese characters before King Sejong's "Hangul" was invented. Definitely recommended! ^_^

just noting
I don't speak Korean well enough to appreciate most of this book, but it was still very helpful to me. It has the best explanation I've seen of pronouns and forms of address in Korean; even Korean people had a great deal of trouble trying to explain those things to me. The explanation of verbs was also helpful. If you know more Korean, the book is probably even better; every time I go back to it I learn something new and interesting. ... Read more

Product Description
Bring Korean language learning alive with this 32-page brilliantly illustrated book with companion audio CD. Listen, learn and sing along with classic songs for children in this new dual language format. A perfect place to start exploring the Korean language with children of all ages! ... Read more

Product Description
This package contains a book & 2 CDs. This introduction to the Korean language is designed to provide mastery of conversational basics and grammar structure to students. Ideal for both classroom use and self-study, the lessons combine dialogues with practical vocabulary and clear explanations of Korean grammar. Frequent side bars feature important cultural information and helpful tips for travellers. The book also includes a guide to the 'hangul' writing system and a bilingual vocabulary index. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

A good book to start learning Korean language
I bought this book for my wife who started to learn Korean, and according to her (and her Korean teacher) this book is very good and useful. The audio part in the attached CDs is also helpful.

Okay, but not a real textbook
I bought this book hoping I could use it to teach myself Korean.I have friends who are native Korean speakers, so I have some idea of how the language works, but as far as real independent "study," this book would have been my primary resource.

It's an okay book, as these kinds of books go, but there were several points that disappointed me.For one thing, the book tends to be too scholarly for the average reader.It goes overboard with details about pronunciation rules and the intricacies of grammar--far more than the average Korean probably knows or needs to know, let alone the native English speaker trying to pick up Korean as a second language.

In addition, I don't think the book was written by people who had a clear idea of how a good textbook should be organized.The layout of the vocabulary and grammar is less than reader-friendly.

I am planning to buy the Ross textbook, *Elementary Korean*.I flicked through a copy at Borders today, and it looks like it's better organized, more reader-friendly, and simply a better textbook.If you're really planning to learn the language (not just pick up a smattering for a summer visit) I wouldn't recommend this Hippocrene book.It's better to invest a little more money and get a "real" textbook.

one of the better complete packages but...
Overall, this is one of the better complete packages ( book + audio) for beginners. This book is great for learning modern and very practical vocabulary, as well as learning the details of grammar.

About this book: there are 12 chapters in this book. The book teaches you ~ 1000 words, equal to a one year course at uni.
Each chapter is set-up like this:
1. patterns [i.e. phrases]
2. model conversations [i.e. dialogues]
3. vocabulary
4. grammar
5. further study [i.e. extra vocabulary]
6. cultural note
7. exercises
Note: all the phrases and dialogues are written both in script and in romanization.

The exercises consist of:
responding to questions, translating Korean sentences into English, translating English sentences into Korean, writing paragraphs about the chapter topic.

The positive aspects of this book:
modern vocabulary and expressions, has practical cultural information, the vocabulary suits all type of learners [businessmen, students... ], straight-forward to use, large vocabulary, romanized script is written below the Korean script throughout the book.

The distinguishing feature of this book is that it includes more practical words and phrases than any other Korean books I've used, for example it covers all the words and phrases you'd need when going to the hairdressers and using public transportation. The book is also straight-forward to use and the grammar is much better organized than in any other books I've used and seen. I also want to mention that this book covered more grammar than a one-year course I took at university.

The audio is good: the guys read the dialogues and sentence patterns at normal speed...but there are no audio exercises. The book focuses on mid-level formal speech which is the "safe" speech level: the risk of causing offense is minimized by using it. It is also the most practical for daily life.

But it's not all good!
This book looses a star because there are too few exercises. This book will show and explain to you all the grammatical rules but you don't get much training on how to actually use them. The exercises that exist only serve as a check-up so that you understand the absolute essentials, not more. So you are left with spending much time reading through the grammar explanations and examples until it "sticks" in your head, a tedious process which makes this book very boring at times. The most rewarding exercises in the book are the ones where you write your own paragraphs.

You might consider getting this grammar book as supplement, it has tons of exercises to do:Basic Korean: A Grammar and Workbook (Grammar Workbooks).

Another issue I had was with the design of the book: it puts phrases and dialogues before vocabulary and grammar.
The problem with this is that the dialogues are written in natural speech and are not simplified to accommodate beginners. This makes it very difficult to read through and understand the text unless you have memorized the vocabulary and grammar beforehand. Also, some of the grammar in the texts are not explained until later in the book.

If the authors had been as serious with the exercises as with the rest of the book it would be a fantastic package, but as it stands I can list a number of books I've seen that are a bit better than this one: Active Korean: A functional Approach (Korean Edition), Integrated Korean: Beginning Level 1 Textbook (KLEAR Textbooks in Korean, and Elementary Korean (Tuttle Language Library).

If you plan to get fluent one day you should really invest in a Basics-to-Advanced series such as Integrated Korean or similar (such as those listed at '[...]'). Books such as Beginner's Korean, Teach Yourself Korean, etc are not ideal if you plan to go beyond the basics.

See my comment below for more tips on using this book !

Really good
This is the first Korean text I've used in my journey to learning the language.The book has a very simple format.First, the book takes you through understanding the sounds and characters that make up hangul.There is a reading exercise prior to beginning any actual lessons, and I've actually used this to practice typing in Korean on my laptop.That's not what it's supposed to be used for, but I'm just throwing the idea out there.The lessons are set up like many beginning language books: you learn greetings, directions, how to talk about yourself, shopping, and so on.

There is plenty of vocabulary (as well as additional vocabulary) in each lesson and there is also a grammar section which is very useful.

The book comes with two CDs which basically walks you through the vocabulary and dialogue.It's very helpful for helping with pronunciation of words.The use of hangul and romanization is also helpful for making sure you write the words correctly.

There are also exercises at the end of each lesson.They aren't exhaustive, but are just a quick check to make sure you understand the material.There is an answer guide at the back of the book. There's nothing fancy about the book, and it leaves it up to the reader to determine how to learn the material.It simply tells you what you need to know about vocabulary, grammar, and the culture.

This is very suitable for self-study or as a reference.

It gave me what I had always wanted
I have been trying to learn Korean for almost two years and have built up quite a collection of Korean language book.My first question when I saw this book was: why bother?A few features made me change my mind.

Most Korean language books focus on formal and polite speech.I have not found a book where they are covered in the same chapter, which leads to a lot of flipping pages.Casual and plain speech are usually only mentioned, not covered.

This book has a handy chart just a few pages in that shows the four levels of speech, plus additional optional honorifics, all in one place.Questions, statements, commands, what to do it the verb ends in a vowel or a consonant, it's all there.The chart is worth the price of the book.There are more charts and lists throughout the book that are equally helpful.In fact, the authors deserve credit for such a thoughtful and intelligent layout of information.

The entire book uses the Korean alphabet (hangul) as well as romanization.I cover the romanized words since learning the Korean alphabet is easy and well worth the time.After all, why go to all the trouble of learning a language only to be illiterate?

One quip: each chapter begins with a huge chunk of dialogue.I find language book dialogues to be mind numbingly boring but I realize that many readers enjoy this way of learning.

An extremely affordable book, I can easily recommend it to anyone learning Korean.If you can only afford one Korean language book, Beginner's Korean is an excellent choice that belongs on any beginner's bookshelf.More of my constant companions in learning Korean:

Korean: Learn to Speak and Understand Korean with Pimsleur Language Programs (Comprehensive)
Slams raw vocabulary into your head like nothing else.Worth the money if you can afford it.

Sounds of Korean: A Pronunciation Guide
Covers all the stickier aspects of Korean pronunciation.

Minjungs Pocket English Korean and Korean English Dictionary
Don't even bother with romanized dictionaries, you'll outgrow them immediately, save your pennies and buy this dictionary.

Elementary Korean (Tuttle Language Library)
Pricier but very good.

Talk Now! Korean
Dorky graphics, outdated software, no grammar but it will give you an opportunity to hear your voice against a native speaker's. ... Read more

Product Description
Intended as a companion to the popular KLEAR Textbooks in Korean Language series and designed and edited by a leading Korean linguist, this is the first volume of its kind to treat specifically the critical role of language in Korean culture and society. An introductory chapter provides the framework of the volume, defining language, culture, and society and their interrelatedness and presenting an overview of the Korean language vis-à-vis its culture and society from evolutionary and dynamic perspectives.

Early on, contributors examine the invention and use of the Korean alphabet, South Korea’s "standard language" vs. North Korea’s "cultured language," and Korean in contact with Chinese and Japanese. Several topics representative of Korean socio-cultural vocabulary (sound symbolic words, proverbs, calendar-related terms, kinship terms, slang expressions) are discussed, followed by a consideration of Korean honorifics and other related issues. Two chapters on !Korean media, one on advertisements and the other a comparative analysis of television ads in Korea, Japan, and the U.S., follow. Finally, contributors look at salient features of the language, narrative structure, and dialectal variation. All chapters are accompanied by a set of student questions and a useful bibliography. Throughout, technical language is kept to a minimum and sufficient language examples are provided. A beginning level of proficiency in Korean is sufficient to digest the Korean examples with facility, making this volume accessible to a wide range of students. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

I like the condition of the book
The physical condition of this book is perfect. I like that. But the view over pragmatics of the editor lacks of knowledge. ... Read more

Product Description
This book contributes to building the research knowledge that language teaching professionals need in developing curriculum for the large population of East Asian heritage students (including Chinese, Japanese, and Korean) in countries like the United States, Canada, and Australia, where speakers of East Asian languages are among the fastest growing populations. Heritage learners are defined as those who initially acquired certain levels of linguistic and cultural competence in a non-dominant language mainly through interaction with foreign-born parents and other family members at home.
 
Heritage language instruction is currently a “hot topic” and is becoming a sub-discipline within the fields of foreign language education and applied linguistics. Special instruction for heritage language learners is on the rise, particularly in the U.S. and Canada. Providing theoretical and practical information about heritage-language instruction in terms of curriculum design, learner needs, materials development, and assessment procedures, the goal of this book is not only to promote research about heritage students in East Asian languages but also to improve the teaching of these students in various educational settings and all over the world, especially in English speaking countries. The volume is organized in four sections:
*Overview—addressing the timeliness, necessity, and applications of the work and issues and future agendas for teaching Chinese, Japanese, and Korean heritage students;
*Language Needs Analysis;
*Attitude, Motivation, Identity, and Instructional Preference; and
*Curriculum Design, Materials Development, and Assessment Procedures
 
Teaching Chinese, Japanese, and Korean Heritage Language Students is intended as a primary text or reference for researchers, educators, and students in the areas of curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment studies related to teaching bilingual and heritage students in general and East Asian heritage students in particular. ... Read more

Product Description
For the first time in English, a practical 367 page handbook with all you need to read and write the written language of 60,000,000 Korean people including hangul, the Korean alphabet, and 1,800 Chinese characters taught in Korean schools. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

To brake, & not to break...
Review per request from Nancy @ foodforyourbrain.Thank you for the prompt delivery.Please accept the following critique in a more prosaic form as follows:

If this book was merely my bicycle,
The text needs a pnuematic tentacle.

The pure air of Pinyin not found in my tires,
Manda-rims rest on such spoke-n-wires.

A revolution inflated by a tonemark!
Reverse then overdrive or ride & park?

On tirelessly pedal,
Rubber tires against hot metal.

At the crossroads of Rave & Rant;
psi to Dr. Bruce K. Grant

To brake or break?
Another edition is all it would take.

Good Book
Good Hanja book. Exactly what I expected. This book is not really intended for learning Hangeul. This is for those who are already familiar with Korean and who want to learn Sino-Korean (Chinese) characters.

for Hanja
You dont have to be an advanced student of Korean to use this book, even if you are a beginner who have just learned Hangul script you should get this inexpensive treasure.
This is pretty much the only book of its kind that is somewhat readily available, so if you see it -buy it.
There is unlikely to be any new books like this one.
For some reason people only seem to bother learning basic Korean, and the publishers know this so they wont bother publishing any new books like this.
But judging by all the positive reviews and remarks for this little book there is a need for material like this.
So, support the learning of Korean outside of South & North Korea and learn more than just the basics - develop and challenge yourself by learning traditional characters and expand your cultural knowledge.

Great reference
I bought this book over 25 years ago and a great book to understand chinese characters through korean.

For hanja learners only
This is like a hanja dictionary. If you want to learn hangul, don't buy this.
Note: Hanja is like chinese characters, But the koreans borrow them. Also called Sino-Korean Charachters ... Read more

Product Description
Also available with CDs.Designed by the Language Research Institute of Seoul National University, this textbook comprises three volumes, with 25 lessons in each volume. Each lesson is made up of Vocabulary, Pronunciation, Main Text, Grammar, and Exercise sections.

The content is easy and interesting as well as educational, and reflects the phonological and grammatical characteristics of Korean. It also introduces aspects of Korean culture in a natural and unaffected way. Above all, the books enable you to study alone, without the aid of a teacher or classroom environment. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

too fast, too slow
This book is pretty bad, I must say.It goes much to slowly over some things (they could've spent 2 or 3 lessons on the alphabet instead of 5, for example) and then super fast over important stuff.They will mention an important point of grammar once within a dense paragraph of information, and you have to go searching for it or you'll miss it completely.They don't provide enough practice examples, either.

The tapes also move too fast, without enough pause time for you to repeat; you will have to pause the tape after each phrase if you want time to finish it before the next phrase starts.

Overall, get a different book if you can.If I didn't have Korean co-workers and friends to help me with this, I would be completely confused by this book.

Friendly for Beginners
This is the first volume for beginners out of 3 volumes. I found it the most user-friendly Korean textbook I ever used to teach Korean to English speaking students. It starts with the very basic Korean alphabet. Then each unit has vocabulary, pronounciation, grammar and practice using new teaching methods. It is availabe with or without cassette tapes. I would recommend to get with cassettes which are excellent for students. This text was developed by Seou National University. I understand many American universities and colleges use this.

Most friendly for beginners
I used many different textbooks to teach Korean and I found this book most user-friendly for English speaking students.
It starts with the very basic Korean Alphabet and grammar applying new teaching methods. Each lesson consists of Vocabulary, Pronounciation, Grammar and Practice. Accompanying audi-cassettes are very helpful and I found them the best among other audio recordings for lannuage textbooks. This textbook was developed by Seoul National University, the super prestige school in Korea.

Only for rank beginners...
The introduction into Hangul(the alphabet of Korean)is good.Really.The tapes provide good examples to follow.The drawbacks to this series are the extremely limited vocabulary.The vocabulary that the first bookoffers is not very useful, ie, a chapter on dry cleaners and one on buyinggas.If you are a rank beginner and have no one to teach you the sounds ofHangul, go for it.But, I agree with the other reviewer, switch seriesafter the first book.

Great for a beginner
The first volume takes a lot of time to carefully teach you how to read and write in Hangul using the cassettes for pronunciation.It also has a lot of useful vocabulary, common expressions and sentence structuresincluding survival language.However, it is weak on grammar and thefollowing volumes do nothing to remedy that problem.My recommendation isto start with volume 1 and then go on to a different series. ... Read more

Product Description
This pocket-size phrasebook is a valuable travel companion for visitors to Korea. It presents more than 2,000 key words and phrases in Korean characters with phonetic pronunciations and English meanings. Using different color-coded page edges for each chapter, the book categorizes words and phrases according to themes that include communicating with hotel personnel, finding oneÂ's way around town, shopping, ordering meals in restaurants, dealing with money matters, seeking medical care, going to sporting and entertainment events, and much more. Also included are city, rail, and rapid transit maps, and general travel tips for visitors to Korea. The bookÂ's clear vinyl jacket gives the book extra durability for travel situations. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Korea at a Glnce
Excellent reference document. Recently updated. It really gives you a sense of security if you need it. I can't believe it was only $9.00.

Best Phrasebook by FAR
I own four pocket-sized Korean phrasebooks, and this is by far the best out there. Barron's gives you way more information than you could have ever imagined in this little book. I never leave my apartment in South Korea without it.
This book is organized in a very easy-to-use way, so words and phrases are easy to find. And if you can't pronounce it correctly, it is also written in Hangul, so you can easily point to the phrase you want to say to get your point across.
Also, the book was clearly not mass-produced from one guide and translated into many languages, as the information is very Korea specific. For example, instead of telling you how to say irrelevant foods like pasta or ham, you learn the different varieties of kimchi, soup, and rice and the manner in which it is served at a Korean restaurant.
The phrasing is more formal than you may use with friends, but it is very appropriate for approaching older strangers or business owners. And it never hurts to err on the side of formality in Korea.
Beyond language tools, the book has lots of helpful information specific to the unique Korean culture. There is a guide to road signs, a list of Korean holidays, explanations of formal vs. informal speech (five levels, to be exact!), and a very helpful guide to learning to read Hongul.
The packaging is also pleasing. It comes in a very small 4x6 book with a plastic protective cover that can slip off. And if the information inside wasn't helpful enough, the inside jacket of the book has a map of downtown Seoul on one side, and a Seoul subway map on the other.
A must-own for anyone traveling or living in Korea!

Korean At A Glance: Phrase Book & Dictionary for Travelers (Second Edition)
Let's suppose you've been called to do some business in South Korea, a country you've never visited before.As an "accidental tourist", //Korean at a Glance// is just the guidebook you'll need!

This is, first, a phrasebook that shows how to pronounce useful words and phrases in Korean.It also shows what these phrases look like in writing.Just as importantly, this book is divided into twenty-six sections such as Food and Drink, Shopping, Communications, and Driving a Car. These will help you do as the Koreans do during your visit to Seoul and elsewhere.Most impressive are the colored maps of Central Seoul and the Seoul Metropolitan Subway system that are found inside the front and back covers.Also, this little guidebook comes in a nice plastic cover to help prevent it from getting dirty or damaged during your sojourn.

Kudos to Daniel Holt and Grace Massey Holt of Sacramento (friends of this reviewer) for doing such a great job of updating this guide that was first released in 1988.

Kimchi to all!


Reviewed by Joseph Arellano

Quick and accurate resource
I've used this book while in Korea. It has been really helpful in situations such as being at a restaurant or during basic conversation with Koreans. I also like the dictionary because it weeds out many of the unnecessary words and gives a great foundation of words that are used most often. Much better than most dictionaries and phrase books I've tried.

Too formal!
I have been talking to my Korean friend for sometime now, trying to speak in Korean.Well, this book only shows how to speak formally.There are formal ways to talk to other people, and informal ways to talk to friends, and it has no informal ways!
So when I am speaking to my friend, I am speaking to her as if I am not familiar with her!So if you just plan of going on a vacation, then maybe this is okay.But do not plan anything serious with this book if you are going to speak with friends. ... Read more

Product Description
Bestselling language courses now with audio CDs!

From Danish to Spanish, Swahili to Brazilian Portuguese, the languages of the world are brought within the reach of any beginning student. Learners can use the Teach Yourself Language Courses at their own pace or as a supplement to formal courses. These complete courses are based on the very latest learning methods and designed to be enjoyable and user-friendly.

Prepared by experts in the language, each course begins with the basics and gradually promotes the student to a level of smooth and confident communication, including:

Up-to-date, graded interactive dialogues
Graded units of culture notes, grammar, and exercises
Step-by-step guide to pronunciation
Practical vocabulary
Regular and irregular verb tables
Plenty of practice exercises and answers
Bilingual glossary
The new editions also feature:

Clear, uncluttered, and user-friendly layout
Self-assessment quizzes to test progress
Website suggestions to take language study further ... Read more

Customer Reviews (37)

Ya, this book sucks
Since the books in the "Teach Yourself" series are all written by different authors, it's always a gamble whether you will get a superb piece of material (Teach Yourself Hindi, Vietnamese) or a piece of crap (Teach Yourself Korean).I went with this book having had good experiences with the other two, but this just does not measure up.

First, you're better off skipping the lesson on writing; as the authors present the characters in Hangeul, rather than presenting them immediately next to their Roman approximations, they present 5 at a time and then bury the romanizations in the subsequent paragraph, so you have to look back and forth.Not very useful for quick reference; hadn't they ever heard of a table?I learned to write through an online tutorial instead.

Then, as many people have mentioned, they make excessive use of Roman letters throughout the text, oftentimes presenting expressions in Roman letters and not including the Hangeul equivalent, which is moronic if they expect the reader to learn to read fluently.Not only that, the glossary is written entirely in the Roman alphabet.I am thinking they got lazy in the text formatting department.

The number of typos and mistakes gets to be frustrating as well.

I wish I knew of another, better book.I have tended to like the format of the Teach Yourself series, which this book has going for it, but the individual effort for this language was sloppy and it shows.Skip this and find something better.

Only if you have lots of time to commit
This one is more like a textbook--it is absolutely not a phrasebook--so it's not a good choice if you're trying to get enough basic Korean under your belt to get through the airport / taxi / restaurant / bathroom business while you're travelling.

From the first page, things are written in Hangul, so, again, if you don't have time to learn the Korean alphabet (which is admittedly not all that difficult) then you're going to be hobbled.If you do, though, this is a great approach in terms of attaining real expertise.Just maybe not so good for the casual student.

One thing these guys do that makes me crazy in just about every language study book is to transliterate rather than translate.So, for example, "Mwol ch'ajuseyo" gets you "What are you looking for?May I help you?" when to my way of learning it ought to get you "what (object form) look for (2nd person)?".Because now I understand the structure and I can adapt it to say other things with other nouns and verbs.(But, you know, that's just personal preference.)

Lose the romanization and correct the mistakes
Very disappointing. The romanization is irritating and the dialogues include several mistakes.

Ojingo is squid, not octopus

Teachers would not use "nim" to refer themselves. That's like saying "I'm the Honorable John Doe."

Overpriced
I thought this CD was all right until I played it for my Mom. She is Korean and ripped apart this CD. She thought it was overpriced, that the speakers used weren't that great. Her opinion was that the makers of the CD got students to do the speaking parts for a low price.

I thought that the CD would come with a book, but it did not. I also did not like how the Korean language spoken was not really translated. It's too bad I waited past the return period to listen to it. It would have been a return.

It's OK
This book's introduction is very helpful.However, once you get past that it can be a little overwhelming.If lots of words all at once is what you're looking for then it's good.One BIG problem I find is that the exercises are in romanized English, this is not helpful even if you are trying to learn just conversation because once you learn the korean alphabet it is actually easier to use that than English.I would recommend trying to find a book that just introduces the korean alphabet with English sounds and moves away from that romanization style right away.It does have some useful phrases in it but I think there are other better books out there. ... Read more

Product Description
This volume is produced from digital images created through the University of Michigan University Library's large-scale digitization efforts. The Library seeks to preserve the intellectual content of items in a manner that facilitates and promotes a variety of uses. The digital reformatting process results in an electronic version of the original text that can be both accessed online and used to create new print copies. The Library also understands and values the usefulness of print and makes reprints available to the public whenever possible. This book and hundreds of thousands of others can be found in the HathiTrust, an archive of the digitized collections of many great research libraries. For access to the University of Michigan Library's digital collections, please see http://www.lib.umich.edu and for information about the HathiTrust, please visit http://www.hathitrust.org ... Read more

Product Description
The textbook for Barron's intensive language immersion course in Korean has been updated for Fall 2005. Originally created by the Foreign Service Institute to train diplomatic and other U.S. Government personnel serving in foreign countries, this book presents a detailed grammar course and vocabulary instructionin Korean. This book is also available as part of Barron's textbook and compact disc audio instruction program. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (21)

Excellent Book But Not for Complete Beginners
There is no such thing as the one best book and audio program.This book has truly great audio content.However, you should start with the Integrated Korean series and use that for at least a year before using this book.The Hangul in this book is very difficult to read because it is a direct copy of a version produced by the US government 40 years ago.By the way, certainly you should start your studies by learning Hangul because it is easy and will help you pronounce much more accurately.This book cannot teach you Hangul.Again, in spite of its shortcomings, this is a great book, if you buy it at the right stage of your Korean learning.

Masterinig Korean - review
I have to say I am rather disappointed with this product.The print for the Korean alphabets and explanation are too small.It is very difficult to read them clearly.

And I would have preferred the book to be written in more Hangul and English rather than in its coded form.

One good point is that the drill exercises are good.It ensures that you know the topic well before moving on to another.For beginners this is really good practise.

But if you are used to reading Hangul, then this is not recommended.

I wish all language courses were this good.
This kit has text with vocabulary (romanized and hangul) and explanations of grammar and a long pronounciation instruction. I estimate vocabulary around 1200-1500 words, audio instruction of at least 12 hours on tape, and the text is 570 pp. The biggest fault is poor printing (small and at times fuzzy) so that two vowels in hangul are difficult to read or differentiate and the system of romanization hastwo vowels and a consonant hard to read/differentiate because theyinclude a small case i and a small case l and a third (vowel) in between those two;furthermore, the course is old, dating back to the l960's. A small problem is that one of the speakers on tape has poor pronounciation, but I mostly get a chuckle out of him. As for Pimsleurs, I only see available a 5 cassette course without book (and a 6th tape that is a promo not an instruction) that I would not spend my money on. There is a new Pimsleurs course for $200+ due out very soon from Simon and Schuster, and I hesitate to spend that big until I have some idea what I am getting. Peter Castine

bad form, good content
The layout is bad.
It was laid out in a real hurry, with no attention paid to basic rules of neat layout.
There are many glaring typos.
The typeface (in Hangul) is the Worst (just plain, and criminally wrong). If one were to only learn Hangul from this book, it'd be a very bad thing for him or her. Everything is shifted over to the wrong side. It has to be seen to be believed.
The typeface is so bad, I could probably win my money back by claiming a fraudulent advertisment. "It said 'Mastering' Korean, and here they can't even get the daerned letters right!"

The above mars the otherwise very good content. With the type fixed I'd give it three stars, and with layout, typos, and typeface fixed, I'd give it at least 4 stars.
I only bought this book 'cause I was ignorant of proper Korean, and was in a hurry to get a primer with tapes, and this is the only one my bookstore had.

I can't recommend this book until they fix the above oversights.

This said, the grammar and vocab sections are very complete and helpful in the main.

Buy the Pimsleur primer is what I keep hearing.

Outdated...
When I first got this package, it seems like a promising book. But when I finally got down and started it, I have some complaints...

The first one was that it was all Romanized.The first thing on the tapes was pronounciations...which means that you HAVE to do that to proceed.(Unless you skip them...but keep in mind that the whole book is basically Romanized.)That's half and hour of mindless "a e u oo ae" repetitions.The romanizations actually makes it harder to pronouce the Korean words IMO.**Note: There are also some Hangul on the left page but in a very small print.It's really hard to read.**

The second thing is that it's too formal.I really don't hear people talk this way anymore.I suggest you have some Korean friends help you adapt to the more informal style of speaking.Speaking too formal may seems awkward and weird sometimes.

Lastly, the book is outdated.Their grammar is outdated, not to mention that there's no pictures, and no color either.The cassettes is not too bad, but the male speaker is annoying.His voice is terrible and sometimes I don't know what he's saying in English.There's also some inconsistant spots when he's repeating Korean.The female speaker is not too bad though.They speak at a fast rate, but you'll get used to it over time.

In summation, this book is very in-depth.However, it's a bit too outdated.After studying this, I suggest that you find some Korean speakers or a newer book to help you adapt to the new speaking style.By the way, the author suggests about 20hrs a week for studying if you're a serious language student. ... Read more

Product Description

Next time someone asks if you speak Korean, you can say Chugum hal chul amnida (Choe-guum hahl chuul ahm-nee-dah).*

With Korean in Plain English, you can speak Korean in no time! Its easy-to-use pronunciation system and straightforward presentation of the basics of the language--with plenty of useful sentences--help you break the language barrier quickly and confidently. How? All the words and phrases in this book are written in Roman script--in plain English--in a form you can use immediately and in the right context. Instantly you'll know the basics of Korean, from polite pleasantries to the latest technological jargon.

Start on the right foot and speak Korean with ease:

Good morning! Annyong hashim nikka! (Ahn-nyong hah-sheem nee-kkah)

Thank you! Kamsahamnida! (Kahm-sah-hahm-nee-dah)

That was really a funny movie. Chongmallo usuun yonghwa imnida. (Chahng-mahl-loh uu-sue-uun yahng-hwah eem-nee-dah).

Please call the police. Kyongchal-ul pullo chuseyo. (Kyong-chahl-uul puul-lah chuu-say-yoe).

May I have some sauce, please? Sosu jom chushipshio (Soh-sue johm chuu-sheep-shee-oh).

You are beautiful. Tangshin-un arumdapgunyo (Tahng-sheen-uun ah-rume-dahp-guun-yoe).

Customer Reviews (2)

A glorified dictionary.
This will not help you learn Korean. The cover of the book makes it look like it will teach you the grammar too, but all it does is list a bunch of words. Furthermore, most shockingly, there is nothing on the Korean alphabet! While being able to learn how to speak Korean through romanization is good, a book on the Korean language not including the alphabet it is written in, is absurd.

Since this is a dictionary/phrasebook, it can come in handy for tourists, but for people who want to learn even the basics of the Korean language, it fails.

Nothing more than a phrase book
I got this as a Christmas present

however, this book is nothing more than a phrase book
it has several common phrases for about the first 30 pages

then for the next 200+ pages, it's a type of english to korean translator where you can search up some english words and find out how to say it in korean

this does not teach any grammar mechanics, it's pure memorization
it also doesn't use standard romanization so even if you do know the hangul system, you won't be able to write the words or phrases you learn

anyway, if you're just interested in a few korean words or phrases, this book is okay

but if you seriously want to learn korean, this book is not for you
maybe it'd be useful as a supplementary text, but even as that i wouldn't recommend it

hope this helps




if you're really planning on learning korean however, i recommend the Klear Integrated Korean series

I got it two days ago and i can already read hangul =) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Good format but outdated vocabulary and some errors
PRO:1) concise grammar points, which I prefer when I study a foreign language because it saves time and referencing specific points is quick and easy.2) It does not have exercises like high school or university textbooks do for practicing, which keeps the size of this book very small and thus portable.I can make my own practice pages in my journal and do as many or as few as I want.3) It does not spend time on university life, meaning it's not aimed at college students and their conversations about dorms and majors.4) It covers the basic grammar of Korean and the reader gets a good foundation of the language with various and clear examples which build on prior chapters and can be modified and adapted by the reader.You'll have an understanding of present, past, and future tense and conditionals (if) from which any language is built. 5) It's written in English, not Hangeul, so memorizing the grammar goes faster because the reader need not spend time slogging through Hangeul while trying to learn the grammar (I learn languages faster when I can see the new language in English; I worry about mastering the new language's letters later.I want to be able to speak ASAP!).6) Its size is very small, making it easy to carry at all times.It fits in your pants pockets!

CON:1) It was written during the War, so the chapter on military only applies to servicemen (but this can be skipped).2) According to some of my Korean friends, some of the language is a little outdated.3) There are a few wrongly transliterated words, such as 'cat' (kwaengi versus the correct koyangi).4) The transliteration from Hangeul into English could be streamlined and easier to read.The author tried his best to get the rhythm and pronunciation with English letters, but the system can be a hindrance.He should have simplified it and advised the reader to study Hangeul so he would have a clear understanding of the pronunciation before it gets mangled into English.

OVERALL:A solid reference for learning the basics of Korean to build a foundation, but in need of an update to make it reflect contemporary speech and delete the military sections, and fix the few corrections.I'd be pleased if the publisher doubled or even tripled its size by adding more grammar points and phrase usage to go even deeper into the language.It would still be a small, handy, and portable book that the reader would enjoy referencing for a very long time and which would make it a five-star bargain.

Try not to be too critical . . .
I understand the previous reviewer's attitude towards this little book. The author, Samuel Martin, includes Hangeul only right at the end of the book, which really isn't helpful. But books for learning Korean generally have drawbacks - your challenge to overcoming these is persistence and, in this case, perhaps, a dictionary, which you must have in any case? With only a few characters, unlike Chinese which has thousands, Korean should not be all that difficult.

Let me suggest, then, that far from being useless, this book has simply left the learner with his/her work cut out. Remember that it was written at the height of 1950s anti-Communist paranoia and intended primarily for the likes of American servicemen who would have a limited tour of duty there and in fact, remains useful. It contains a lot of grammar and examples which would put a lot of later texts to shame - I know them because I have most of them, here in Korea!

My suggestion: don't scorn older textbooks because they are usually of better quality than whatever came afterwards. If the fact that the book is written exclusively in Romanised script irritates you, may I suggest that you use this as a good and practical excuse for practising writing in Korean? Look the parts up in a Korean dictionary and grammar textbook and write it out; it's always helpful. Or if you can already speak Korean, why not write to Tuttle and offer to rewrite it with examples in Korean and Roman?

For a book that's over fifty years old, this is actually excellent. I myself deplore the fact that it has almost no Hangeul, but that does not make it fully useless. The usefulness of any information you encounter in this life depends on how you view it. I am looking at some pages from this book as I sit here writing and I can visualise much of how it would be written in Hangeul.

Conclusion. Very useful, but you must look at it in the right way.

Even at 5 bucks, not worth it!
Okay, this book is really quite worthless.First, it is romanized.This is a terrible way to learn a non-roman script language.Second, my biggest complaint, it is out-dated.Since the book is from the 50's, yes, the1950's, the younger generation in Korea can't understand you.Thirdly, thebook does not teach all three levels of speech. Okay, there are other booksout there.Don't buy this one... . ... Read more

Product Description
Colloquial Korean is easy to use and completely up-to-date. Specially written by an experienced teacher for self-study or class use, the course offers you a step-by-step approach to written and spoken Korean. Particular attention is paid to the Korean writing system.

This paperback in the Colloquial Language Learning Series is available individually or as part of a pack. For more information, please refer to the cassette pack listing for this language. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

Spiro
Although these Colloquial ___ books are usually pretty good, this one has a major fault in that there is no Latin phonetic spelling even at the beginning to facilitate reading. Without the tapes or CDs its practically impossible to get anything out of the lessons.

I can see this is not up to date by just reading the table of contents....
I did not read this book.I am living in Korea and have been studying Korean for more than a year.I once embarassed myself by refering to a coffee shop as a 'Ù¹æ.These days, regular coffee shops are known as a work very similar to the english "Coffee Shop". Dabang have a different connotation.That of the kind of "coffee shop" that is actually a cover for company that sells sex.Noone refers to regular coffee shops as Dabang.The back cover of the book says "completely up to date". Yet in the table of contents of this books it says "Meeting friends at the Dabang".There are so many great new Korean books coming out these days.Why buy something that was published in 1996? Korean culture has changed drastically since then.

No such thing as a perfect language textbook . . .
Kim's text is far from useless but I think its' main problem is that it is too compact. I bought the complete book/cassetts/CD set in Taipei before coming to Korea and it was hard to follow, but that does not mean that it is useless. It's just that there's not really such a thing as a perfect Korean learning book.

His grammatical points have so far been shown to be helpful if you do as I do and use several different sources while learning. Locally-produced texts tend not to understand quite what foreigners residing in Korea are looking for (tantamount to saying that they don't understand foreigners here! ^_^) and most of what you find tends to be rather "touristy", so a good text is worth itsweight in gold.

Bottom line - Kim's text is useful as long as you have either the cassettes or the CDs with the book. But learning Korean seems to be badly affected by the persistently poor quality of teaching/learning materials generally.

not worth the money
This is a really bad book on two counts, the methodology is flawed, and the production is sloppy.

The author claims to have taught Korean at American universities but appears to have little understanding of Western-style study methods. The syllabus is functional, which is fine, but the grammar explanations are packed with metalanguage which only language teachers and linguists are likely to understand (what is a 'semi-causal sentence ending'?). The listening exercises are spoken far too fast - questions are given which are spoken on the cassettes but which are not printed in the book - very confusing.

What is truly disgraceful about this book though is the standard of production, the book is riddled with mistakes. In lesson 2 - dialogue 1, Kang is written when the person speaking is Jin. In lesson 6 a photo appears of Seoul station which looks like it was taken in the seventies or eighties - the book however was published in 1996! In lesson 11 'jongi han jang' is translated as 'two pieces of paper' when we all know that 'han' means 'one'; on the next line 'yulcha pyo se jang' is incorrectly translated as 'thirteen train tickets', not 'three'. In lesson 12 a 1 won coin is mentioned - the only 1 won coins you are likely to see here are at the flea market!

This book and the accompanying cassettes are expensive and certainly not worth the money. Working through this book shattered my enthusiasm for Korean the first six months I was here.

Very immersive approach!
Let me start by saying... if you are going to buy this course, make sure you buy the TAPES.I noticed they sold the book by itself at the bookstore, without the tapes, but you are going to get nowhere like that.Nothing is spelled out phoenetically in the book, and the relationships they draw between korean sounds and english sounds don't sound even close to the actual pronunciations presented on the tapes.In short: IF YOU DON'T BUY THE TAPES YOU WILL BE WASTING YOUR MONEY IMO.

Having said all that, I absolutely LOVE this book.Instead of dumbing down the language and spelling everything in "english" (a book I saw, "korean in plain english", comes to mind), you learn how to write and pronounce korean script right from the start... and it is a lot easier than most people think!To be honest, within the first hour or two of using this course, I could listen to the speaker on the tape and write the word he/she just said before I even looked at my book.

Yes, this book requires some thinking and effort, and if you are looking for an easy, learn-Korean-in-15-minutes approach, then you will be happier with another language course.If, however, you are truly looking to learn Korean, beginning as you did with English by learning the "alphabet" and the sounds of the language, this is the right course for you. ... Read more

Product Description
The 20 chapters in this book provide a wide range of practical, everyday situations to help readers improve their written Korean, Hangeul. Every chapter has specific goals, tasks, sample texts, vocabulary & expressions, grammar, and culture tips. Plus, with an answer key at the back of the book, readers can carry out a self-assessment at the end of each chapter. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

It's really good
This is a really good writing book for people who like Korean. The only thing I wish it would have is a CD...only because I like to know how to say the words I am writing. Other than that, it's great.

So far so good.
I've just started working on "Writing Korean for Beginners", but so far so good.I find that writing the words out help me to remember the vocabulary and visualize the words.I like the fact that each unit is well organized with objectives and a check list.This book makes learning Korean a pleasure and it allows me to move ahead a few steps at a time.I like it so much, I ordered a second one for my wife. ... Read more

Product Description
Living Language In-Flight Korean is the perfect boarding pass to learning Korean before you land.

There's no better way to make use of all that spare time on a plane than to master the essentials of a language.This 60-minute program is the simplest way to learn just enough to get by in every situation essential to both the tourist and business traveler.

The program covers everything from greetings and polite expressions to asking directions, getting around, checking into a hotel, and going to a restaurant.There are even sections for meeting people and spending a night on the town.

Short lessons make In-Flight Korean easy to use, and a handy pocket-sized insert is included as a cheat sheet for use on the go. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Only useful for those who've had a year of Korean
I listened to the audio book version downloaded from my local public library website.

The product offers a selection of useful phrases, grouped by category - at the airport, at a restaurant, etc. Phrases are usually said once in English, once in Korean. (In the Numbers chapter everything is said twice.) The Korean speaker is female, so male students looking to imitate a native male voice will be disappointed. Some phrases are said too quickly, but listeners with media players such as OverDrive Media Console can slow down the playback speed.

At a minimum, listeners need good rote memorization skills, the patience to listen to the recording multiple times and a preference for auditory-only learning styles in order to use this product. Beyond that, only those who've studied Korean for one year at university AND who want a quick review before getting on the plane to Korea for the first time will benefit from listening to it. This is because typical first-year Korean courses don't usually include such information as "Help!", "Stop, thief!", or "Please call an ambulance."

Useless Useless Useless
I knew no Korean, but was going to travel there, so I borrowed this item from the library (fortunately I didn't waste my money to buy it!) to try to learn a bit of Korean.I didn't learn a thing.

The lesson goes way to fast for a beginner.They jump right in with full sentences spoken at near-full speed.There is little effort made to build on previous vocabulary, no grammar, no breaking down sentences into pieces, no review, just one sentence of random (to me) sounds after another.

I can't believe anyone can learn a language with this CD.Maybe, just maybe, if one listens to it 25-50 times, but there has got to be faster ways.

The phrases themselves are OK, not great.They cover the basics, but some are a bit suspect."I'd like to buy a roll of film" can probably go.

This might be useful to someone with 1-2 semesters of Korean, to learn somegood phrases. But everyone else, avoid.

Nearly useless for first-time learning
Having studied some spoken and written Korean previously, I expected this to be a good tool for review and learning some more phrase structures. However, the format of the lessons, the clarity of the native speakers' pronunciation, and the limited written material are all very insufficient. One simply cannot just listen to this and be able to tell what they're actually saying, even in cases where one may have heard some of the words before. The words and phrases are only given once, so there is no chance to reinforce learning or disambiguate the sounds. I recommend the Living Language Korean "Complete course for Beginners", which comes with a small (but very good) book and a set of CD's. I'm surprised at the choices someone had to consciously make in producing this, and particularly by Living Language, whose "Ultimate" full course products I am very fond of and have used several times.

quick and easy!
When I walked into the bookstore to buy an audio tape, I was sold over by the Living Language In-flights.They're perfectly painless and great for a quick and easy overview of the most useful expressions and vocabulary.I used it almost everyday for a month or two while driving and now I think that if I ever go to Korea, I'll actually be able to make myself be understood! It's a really good way to get started on learning a new language.

Crash Landing
The blurb on the back of the package claims that if you work on this programme during your flight, you will learn enough of the language to get by. Unless your flight will be equal in length to a flight to Mars, you will certainly not be able to absorb enough of this 60-minute course to even nearly get by. This is a CD "update" to Fast & Easy Korean (also by Living Language). In Flight Korean boasts over 400 essential words & phrases (a 100 word increase from Fast & Easy). Less is sometimes better. Each phrase on In-Flight is only spoken once (rather than twice as on the Fast & Easy series), not enough if you want to gauge your progress. The native speakers sometimes mumble and speak WAY too fast. While there are people in everyday life that mumble, you certainly don't want to learn a language from them do you? It comes with a "boarding pass"(booklet with the entire script, but no Korean script, very bad when you end up needing help from a native speaker).If you are already familiar with the language, the In-Flight series might actually get you up to speed in between the in-flight movie & the meal (soda pop & peanuts). If you are trying to learn Korean, try Pimsleur's Korean Compact (expensive but effective). Pimsleur Korean has 10 lessons, and will get you SPEAKING (the course is audio only) in 10 days. If you are short on time and need a "survival" course, get Language/30 Korean (by Educational Services Corp). Language/30 comes with 2 tapes and a booklet (has Romanised script as well as Hang-gul, in case you need help from a native speaker). There aren't very many good resources for Korean Language learning around, In-Flight Korean proves the point. Great marketing, shoddy product. ... Read more

Product Description
This Conversational program contains 8 hours of interactive audio-only instruction, effective language learning with real-life spoken practice sessions.

The Pimsleur Method provides the most effective language-learning program ever developed. The Pimsleur Method gives you quick command of Korean structure without tedious drills. Learning to speak Korean can actually be enjoyable and rewarding.

The key reason most people struggle with new languages is that they aren't given proper instruction, only bits and pieces of a language. Other language programs sell only these pieces -- dictionaries; grammar books and instructions; lists of hundreds or thousands words and definitions; audios containing useless drills. They leave it to you to assemble these pieces as you try to speak. Pimsleur enables you to spend your time learning to speak the language rather than just studying its parts.

When you were learning English, could you speak before you knew how to conjugate verbs? Of course you could. That learning process is what Pimsleur replicates. Pimsleur presents the whole language as one integrated piece so you can succeed.

With Pimsleur you get:

• Grammar and vocabulary taught together in everyday conversation,
• Interactive audio-only instruction that teaches spoken language organically,
• The flexibility to learn anytime, anywhere,
• 30-minute lessons designed to optimize the amount of language you can learn in one sitting.

Millions of people have used Pimsleur to gain real conversational skills in new languages quickly and easily, wherever and whenever -- without textbooks, written exercises, or drills.

Conversational Korean includes the 10 lessons from Pimsleur's Basic Korean plus an additional 6 lessons.

The 16 lessons in Conversational Korean are the same first 16 lessons in the Pimsleur Comprehensive Korean Level 1. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

very good program
You have to ask yourself what you're going to get out of a program that consists of 16 30-minute units. You are not going to be fluent in Korean at the end of this course. I still can understand only snippets of Korean conversations. However this course gives you the basics to converse simply and ask simple questions in Korean. Although it is true that my Korean friends have said that some of the language on these CD's is stilted, most of it is acceptable. With the Korean language, you speak with different levels of respect to different people; and to teach you all the different ways to speak in this course would have been impossible. I pronunced some words/phrases wrong but this was a problem of my ear...my Korean friends heard the CD and had no problem with the Korean speakers. I therefore recommend this CD...mainly because my Korean friends understood me and were glad that I was making an effort to learn the language.

Terrible
My wife is a native of Korea, and I got this to better communicate with her and her family. Each day I would go through a lesson and practice what I learned with her. But more than 70% of the time, she couldn't understand what I was saying. After getting across what I was trying to say, she said only someone born before 1930 would talk like that. I gave up after 10 lessons.

There's also no mention of grammar in the lessons. Now I'm not looking for the intricacies of linguistics, but in Korean, the verb comes at the end of the sentence. This is never mentioned! Instead they force you to memorize backwards English, "Now say, I would like 2 beers - literally I 2 beers would." Very confusing. They also say, "Sometimes you add the ending 'ga' to the end of words", but they fail to mention when and why. I had to look online to find the answer.

This is not a good place to learn Korean.

The Best Korean Language system...Bar None!
This is the fourth Korean Language system I have bought. I have Rosetta Stone, I have two others I can't even remember the names of,and i have to say, Pimsleur is by far, leaps and bounds better than all others. The explanations are clear, the way he rehearses you through the phrases makes the sentences stick with you and the sentences themselves are phrases that get you speaking Korean right away. I am so Happy I found this set. I am confident that at the end of the 16 lessons I will feel comfortable having a intelligent conversation. I recommend it highly...don't waste your money on systems that teach you how to say "apple" and "Napkin" when you can learn to have an intelligent converstation and know what you are saying. Five Stars indeed!

Buying it was a mistake
I got this for my family with high hopes.We have many Korean friends and wanted to understand what they were saying to each other.After practicing a few lessons we tried it out, but no one understood what we were saying.It turns out that the language used on the CD is out of date and doesn't emulate modern speakers.This isn't so bad (my experience learning Japanese at school was similar), but it also turns out that one of the "native speakers" on the CD actually has a strong Korean-American accent. ... Read more