How should I start learning to read Korean and write korean?

[Blackbagel]

I can understand Korean very well and speak it decently but I can't read or read. I want to be able to read them more because I want to read webtoons but I don't know where to start. I can watch korean dramas without subs and understand everything however.

[Anju]

What I did was that I went to a website called memrise.com (Good for memorizing things obviously ) and I used the Hangul course. It helped me at the start but what you have to do afterwards is move away from putting romanization to hangul characters.

After that you need to understand the grammar and so on and so forth...

[Blackbagel]

Thanks you. I will try it soon after I am less busy with things. I think something like a course would help me because it would help me focus on learning it constantly. I find that I lose focus very fast because I have no idea what to start with. Also sometimes it's too hard and I read way too slowly to understand what the word even means more over a sentence.

[Anju]

Thanks you. I will try it soon after I am less busy with things. I think something like a course would help me because it would help me focus on learning it constantly. I find that I lose focus very fast because I have no idea what to start with. Also sometimes it's too hard and I read way too slowly to understand what the word even means more over a sentence.

Hmm there's a lot of good resources out there for learning korean. Right now i'm using howtostudykorean.com they have about 4 units and 25-30 lessons per unit. Each lesson starts off with new words and grammar/particles. Though from lesson 1-8 in units 1, you'll find that the sentences aren't used often since they aren't conjugated or have any formal particles.

I do stress that you learn grammar first. You can learn vocabulary but not much is going to make sense if you don't know the proper grammar.

Also I think it'd be a good idea if you try out language exchange with a native korean .

[Miya]

Can someone recommend a Korean textbook for beginners? I'm interested in learning but I have to start from the beginning because I have no experience with Korean.

[linguaholic]

Hey Miya

You can find a nice list with books about the Korean language here:

http://www.perapera.org/our-8-best-books-for-learning-korean/

PS: I will also ask my Korean friend about it (She is a teacher in Korea). I am sure she will be able to come up with something useful.

[mccanono]

Perhaps try to start reading children textbooks? I haven't tried this myself since I do not have that much free time. But I am planning on doing so since I really really really read Hangeul very slowly. haha

[Miya]

Children's textbooks seem like a good start. I'm going to need something that has English and Korean though because I don't know any Korean right now.

[OddVisions]

I'm new to the written language too! Don't worry though! It seems that, as long as you can speak it, you've already got the hard part covered. From what I know of it, the alphabet is made up of letters either represent a vowel sound or the shape of your mouth when forming a consonant. There were a lot of helpful posts here in the forum too that helped me out when I decided I wanted to start learning Korean.

[zabina12]

I also think that because you can understand and speak the language well already, the writing and reading part could come easier to you. Try using materials like books on how to read and write Korean. You can also try the suggested online apps or sites in this thread too.

[kimseokjin]

With any language, learn to read first before writing. The Hangul alphabet took me no more than a day to learn. Since it sounds like you are a native speaker already, it should be easier since you'll be able to understand the meaning once you get the phonetics down. For me, I started my reading practice on Korean idols' tweets. That was four years ago, and now I can definitely read a lot faster. 

Writing, on the other hand, is just a matter of memorization. It always baffled me when native Korean speakers didn't know how to write, but ever I started learning myself I can see why spelling errors are common. Like sometimes " ㅅ " and "  ㅈ " are pronounced the same depending on their positions, so it's really just a matter of being exposed to the words enough. Once you start reading the webtoons, it should be a great launching pad to get you into writing as well.

[Rooks57]

I personally like translating songs and then comparing them to some of my favorite translators to see how I compare.  Usually, the native speakers have a more eloquent way of translating.  I've come up with some hilarious translations because I usually translate word for word and miss the idiom.  I find that this helps because I can listen to the song, sing along to it, learn words, and practice memorizing words.  But translating kid's books or articles is another great way to practice.