On September 17, 2025, I started to teach myself Korean. You heard me right. It has been one year since I made the leap to self-learn one of the hardest languages in the world. With today being 한글날 [Hangul Day] in Korea, I decided to write about my experience over the past year.
How did I start?
I started my Korean journey with one easy step: deciding to learn. I got out a piece of paper, found a 한글 [hangul] pronunciation guide, and put pen to paper. Every letter, sound, example, and memory trick the guide would give me, I wrote it down. It took me about an hour to be good enough at reading without the guide.
What is 한글 [Hangul]?
Short answer: the Korean alphabet.
However, I do want to take a moment to talk about the history because I learnt about it in my Korean Culture and 한류 [hallyu] (the Korean wave) class and I needed to share it with you. Centuries ago, the Korean language used the Chinese system called Hanja, but it took years to learn, which caused lower literacy rates. Recognising the problem, King 세종대왕 [Sejong daewang] (Sejong the Great) in 1443 created his own alphabet by using articulatory phonetics, now known as 한글 [hangul].
Have My 한글 [Hangul] Skills Improved?
For the most part, yes! An overall issue for me has been mixing up vowel sounds, just because I cannot tell the difference between some (ㅓ[eo] and ㅗ[o], ㅐ[ae] and ㅔ[e] mainly).
I noticed I really struggle with reading out loud. Reading out loud is hard for me no matter the language, so naturally, Korean is also a struggle. I am really slow, but in fairness to myself, I know people who have been studying for years, even living in Korea, and are still slow at reading 한글 [hangul]. Felix of Stray Kids (my favorite K-Pop idol), for example, is about as slow as I am reading 한글 [hangul], and he has lived in Korea for eight years.
How Do I Practice 한글 [Hangul]?
Every day, I quiz myself. They started as focusing on the individual letters, and just understanding the sounds they make, before quickly developing to feature two or three syllable words. Now, I am practicing with full words. That way, I can practice the [batchim] (ending of syllable blocks) rules. Fun fact, it took me ten months to learn there were rules.
How Am I Learning Vocabulary?
When I first started, I mostly just learnt words from the language app I started out on. Whatever that taught me, I learnt. This was an okay method, but I was not learning anything practical, outside of how to introduce myself. I did not need to know how to talk about sports before I could count to ten.
Nowadays, I mostly use a mix of that language app and the place I got the 한글 [hangul] guide from. The app keeps me engaged daily, while additional research teaches me practical things, like numbers.
Am I Seeing Progress in Vocabulary?
Honestly, sometimes it does not feel like it. I feel like I do not know anything, even when I know it. But that feeling is something I have to ignore. Otherwise, I will never make progress.
I first realised I was making real progress while I was watching a livestream hosted by I.N. of Stray Kids. His native language is Korean, so naturally, most of his live was in Korean. I was not really expecting to understand anything, but I joined anyway, if only to listen along. After maybe a minute, I understood something. Then another word. And another. My understanding grew from words to sentences, until I understood around one fourth of what I.N. had said. I understood Korean, spoken by a native speaker, speaking close to his normal speed.
I am making real, tangible progress.
How About Grammar?
Korean grammar is not for the faint of heart. Not only are there the different tenses, but all the different word endings that are also included in grammar, such as sentence parts (subject, object, verb, etc), politeness levels, and conjunctions. It is a lot, but, at the same time, it is fun, like a puzzle. I know the most basic endings in present tense pretty well, and understand the sentence structure easily, making my comprehension skills fairly solid, especially if I know one or two words in the sentence.
Why Did I Start Learning Korean?
K-Pop.
After One Year, Why Am I Still Studying Korean?
The most important question I could possibly ask myself. Why am I still doing this? It is not Spanish, where I continue to improve to connect to my heritage. It is not English, where I have to keep learning due to living in a predominantly English speaking country. Going into year two, my “why” is simple: I want to learn Korean. Call me crazy, but I love learning. Always have, always will. Language specifically just scratches that urge in a way most other subjects cannot (guess who is an English major). Korean is something I get to explore, not for a grade, nor for a resume, but for me. I love the idea that one day, I will be able to engage with media and academia the way their creators intended it. I am making real connections right now, just by learning Korean, and can imagine how much more I can make being able to speak the language. That is what I am in it for.
As I go into year two self-learning Korean, I have a couple of goals for myself: become more confident speaking, and gain a better understanding of grammar. I do not know where year two will lead me quite yet, but I know I am proud of myself for making it this far.
안녕히 가십시오! [annyeonghi gasipsio] (go in peace/goodbye)