THIS.
This is the book I wished I had when I first started learning Korean.
Beginner Korean books are everywhere, but how many real beginner books have you seen? Most books assume prior knowledge of the Hangeul alphabet and either skip it entirely or simply introduce it within a few pages.
Most self learners would have to rely on online sites such as Sogang Korean to learn the very basics before starting on the books.
So I was doubly excited to find an entire book introducing Hangeul!
I’m not the only one excited. When the books first arrived courtesy of TwoChois (thank you as always!!), my mum kept flipping through this book. She usually doesn’t care about my books but she has been pestering me to give her this one ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
I think she might be a better person to review this book since she is learning Hangeul (since forever, if I may add ;;;).
What I absolutely love about this book is that you are not just learning the characters in a dry and boring way, but you are actually picking up vocabulary as you familiarise yourself with the sounds and strokes of the characters. The book is in 3 languages (English, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese) and is peppered with visual aids to help in your learning!
Perfect for people who are visual learners.
The structure of the book makes practice really easy and practice is the only way you can learn Hangeul. I love how they teach you exactly how to write each stroke!
As you progress, you learn more words and even simple grammar.
Step by step gradual progress and you would not feel as if you are suddenly at the deep end of the pool. ^^
I love how it reminds me of the 习字 exercises I used to do as a kid! With the dotted lines and boxes to guide your writing 😛
What I like:
- Everything!!!
- Step by step guide to Hangeul
- Loads of visual aids
- Fun exercises
- Vocabulary taught at the same time
- Encourages writing and practice
You can actually download the mp3 files from www.pjbook.com for free! I don’t know if it’s because I’m using mac but the site doesn’t really load properly for me o.O Do window users have this problem?
All in all, this is a perfect gift for anyone who wants to learn Korean from scratch! Great for all ages 😀
Now I hope my mum can finally understand the Hangeul system on her own! Will let you guys know again if she accomplished this! 😛
Buy it at TwoChois
With my stationery on hand, I’m ready to take on the language! (:
16 Comments
Oegukeen
20 July, 2015 at 8:59 AMLooks good! How much beyond Hangul does it go? How much grammar is there?
Hangukdrama
21 July, 2015 at 9:59 AMReally not much grammar. Very simple stuff like 강아지예요? 네, 강아지예요.
hahaha. but it’s great that they focus on the sound changes and rules for hangeul!
Dusky
20 July, 2015 at 9:52 AMIt looks really good! The download link doesn’t work for me though 🙁 I’ll have to save up money and see if I can buy this. XD
Hangukdrama
21 July, 2015 at 9:59 AMbut dont you already know Hangeul?
Dusky
22 July, 2015 at 9:39 AMI do. I just like going over many different materials and seeing if they point out anything new. Plus I dream of actually owning a textbook one day XD
Harriet
20 July, 2015 at 1:30 PMThis book looks amazing! Would it still be a good purchase even if you have pretty much learnt the Hangul? Wishing your mum luck!
Hangukdrama
21 July, 2015 at 9:59 AMYeah it’s great! 😀 hehe my mum says thanks!
mint
20 July, 2015 at 9:03 PMI looks quite nice! I’m from Europe but we also had exercises like that to practice writing. I hope there is more grammar tho because 한글 is not that difficult to learn ^^” I have a little request or question rather, could you make a little guide to browsing Korean news sites? Or something like how to find interesting blogs. I’m trying to practice reading but everytime I go on 네이버 or some other news site everything is so overhelming that I end up closing the tab OTL
Hangukdrama
21 July, 2015 at 10:02 AMThis is really focused on hangeul, so really not too much grammar. But I like how it does teach the sound changes / rules to Hangeul 😀 mm I’ll think about the guide! 😀 thanks for the suggestion!!
Mirae90
21 July, 2015 at 2:56 AMAh, this looks great! I also wish I’d had something like this when I started learning Korean.
I’ve only recently had the time to really study it seriously but I tried for the first time back in like 2004. I finally caught on as far as Hangul but a book like this would have made it much easier!
Hangukdrama
21 July, 2015 at 10:00 AMyeah same feelings! There weren’t many resources when I first started too. Good luck for your learning journey!
Kimberley
25 July, 2015 at 10:55 AMLooks interesting! After finishing this book, is there a continuation for deeper level?
Hangukdrama
28 July, 2015 at 11:25 AMIf you have finished the book, you can already go on to other beginner textbooks such as Yonsei 1 (:
Maha Ziyada
4 September, 2015 at 12:46 AMAfter finishing this book, do you think it’s a good idea to start on ewha 1?
Hangukdrama
5 September, 2015 at 11:31 AMThere might be a slight repetition of materials but should be fine!
Maha Ziyada
20 September, 2015 at 7:28 PMi went to pj.book for the audio but i dont know how it works, since like the whole website is in korean.