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Learn KoreanDuolingo, Rosetta Stone and other Apps
In addition to the most famous apps like Rosetta Stone or Duolingo, we will also look at other Korean learning apps, some of which are even better.
Fifth-tallest building in the world in Seoul, South Korea
The Korean language has around 78 million native speakers worldwide and is used as a second language by about 2 million people. A major difference between Korean and Chinese is that the Korean script is an alphabet, whereas Chinese uses one character for each word. This means that only 24 Korean characters need to be learned, instead of over 5000 characters in Chinese. An interesting feature of the Korean language is that it has no similarity or relationship to other languages, not even Japanese or Chinese.
 
Korean travel posters from the 1980's
Now let's take a look at the learning apps and software twith which you can learn Korean. The biggest advantage of such learning apps is that they are much cheaper than traditional language courses.
A compact overview of the Korean learning apps and their prices can be found at the end of this article. Mondly Korean AppThe Best Alternative to Duolingo
Systems: Android and iOS Apps, Online Version (PC and Mac) Suitable for: Beginners, Intermediate and Advanced Learners, Students, Travel Content: Korean vocabulary trainer (5000 words), playful exercises, grammar
Prices: Free (initial lessons), $12.99 Discount offer: $99 (Lifetime Access to all 41 Languages)
Overall Value: The Mondly App lets you learn the Korean language in a playful way with a series of interactive exercises. This Korean learning program contains:
Summary: Mondly is very similar to the Babbel and Duolingo apps and even better in terms of quality. The cost-benefit ratio for the lifetime access to all 41 languages is unbeatable. Link: Mondly Korean App and Online Course Korean Basic CourseOnline Language Course App
Systems: Online Access (PC, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS) Suitable for: Beginners and Advanced Learners, Students, Professionals Content: 1300 words (basic course), 5200 words (complete course), complete grammar, verb conjugations, exercises Prices: $59.95 (Basic Course), $127 (Complete Course)
Overall Value: The Korean Basic Course contains a vocabulary trainer for the basic Korean vocabulary (1300 words), as well as lessons and various exercises. This includes Korean grammar and conjugations. All words, phrases and sentences are spoken by native speakers. This basic course corresponds to the official language levels A1 and A2 (explanation of CEFR language levels). The Complete Course contains:
Summary: Much cheaper and even better than the famous Rosetta Stone. There is a free demo version available and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Link: Korean Basic Course and Complete Course Rocket Languages: KoreanLearn Korean Without Subscriptions
Systems: Android and iOS Apps, PC and Mac (Download) Suitable for: Beginners, intermediate, advanced learners, students, business Content: Exercises with native speaker audio and speech recognition, writing, grammar, culture Prices: Free (initial lessons), $89 (basic course), $249 (full course)
Overall Value: Rocket Languages offers a complete Korean language course for download, without monthly subscriptions. It covers the beginner, intermediate and advanced levels (A1-C2). This Korean learning software and app features:
Summary: Excellent premium Korean course on par with Rosetta Stone but without a subscription. You pay only once and own the software. There is also a 60-day money-back guarantee. Link: Rocket Languages Korean Learning Software Rosetta Stone: KoreanMost Famous Language Learning App
Systems: PC, Mac, Android, iOS Apps Suitable for: Beginners, intermediate, experts, professionals, business Content: Korean lessons with native speaker audio and speech recognition
Prices:
Overall Value: How does Korean learning with Rosetta Stone work? Rosetta Stone has a different approach to language learning than many other online courses or language apps such as Duolingo, Memrise and others. The idea behind Rosetta Stone is to learn a language like you did as a child - by using pictures in combination with listening, speaking, and reading. Each Rosetta Stone lesson includes the following exercises:
Instead, you are supposed to learn the grammar and the meaning of words from the context or recognize the meaning from the pictures. Rosetta Stone Apps and Online Version: The Rosetta Stone Korean learning software can be used online with a subscription for 3 or 12 months or with a Lifetime Access. In addition to the online version, there are now also Rosetta Stone apps for iPhones and Android smartphones. Summary: Time-tested method, but the lack of grammar explanations and translations may make Rosetta Stone not suitable for everyone. Link: Rosetta Stone App and Online Course Lingodeer Korean AppIncludes Grammar and Speech Recognition
Systems: Android and iOS Apps, Online-Version (PC and Mac) Suitable for: Beginners, intermediate, students, travel vocabulary Content: Exercises with native-speaker audio and speech recognition, grammar Prices: $12 (1 month), $60 (12 months), $99 (unlimited)
Overall Value: The Lingodeer App is somewhat similar to Duolingo or Babbel, but has a more extensive list of features:
Summary: The Lingodeer App impresses with excellent grammar lessons and speech recognition. However, this app has lessons only for beginners and intermediate level learners. Link: Lingodeer Korean App and Online Course Memrise Korean AppApp with User-Generated Lessons
Systems: Android App, iPhone App, Online-Version (PC and Mac) Content: Korean lessons and vocabulary trainer with native speaker audio, grammar Prices: $22 (1 month), $70 (12 months), $255 (unlimited)
Overall Value: With the Memrise App you can learn over 90 languages. This includes even very small languages - however, in such cases the language courses are often limited to just a few lessons. One special feature of the Memrise learning app is the large number of lessons created by users (native speakers). The quality of these lessons varies greatly though. For example, only the basic forms of verbs are usually taught, without the conjugations. Some languages also do not have an audio recording of the words at all. Another good idea of the Memrise app are the user-generated tips and mnemonics for each word to help you memorize them. Summary: User-generated lessons are a good idea. In practice, the quality of the lessons leaves a lot be desired. Duolingo Korean AppWell-Known Language Learning App
Systems: Android and iOS Apps, Online Version (PC and Mac) Content: Korean exercises with native-speaker audio Prices: Free (with ads), $12.99 (1 month), $60 (12 months)
Overall Value: The Duolingo App offers beginner language courses for 36 languages, including Korean. Duolingo covers mostly the basics as well as some intermediate level Korean vocabulary. The major drawback of Duolingo (just like Rosetta Stone) is that there are no grammar explanations. The vocabulary learning with Duolingo is "gamified", which means it is structured like a game with levels, experience points, achievements, etc. The interface is relatively similar to the apps from Babbel and Mondly. Summary: The vocabulary trainer and the exercises of the program are okay. However, it is not possible to learn Korean grammar with this app. Mango Korean AppIncludes Grammar
Systems: Android and iOS Apps, Online Version (PC and Mac) Content: Korean lessons with native speaker audio, grammar, culture
Prices:
Overall Value: The Mango Languages App offers 70 languages, including Korean. This app also has some grammar lessons and cultural explanations. The explanations in English are all recorded and well done. However, the number of lessons for learning Korean is quite small, which means that this app is only suitable for absolute beginners. There are no exercises, except for the repeated vocabulary tests. You can also record your own pronunciation in the app and compare it with the recording of a native speaker. Summary: Good quality, but not much vocabulary. Only for absolute Korean beginners. Lingo Korean AppPlayful Korean Learning
Systems: Android and iPhone Apps, Online Version (PC and Mac) Content: Korean lessons and exercises Prices: $19.99 (1 month), $40 (3 months), $60 (6 months)
Overall Value: The Lingo Play App offers language courses for 70 languages. It offers "gamified learning", which means learning vocabulary in a playful way. Each Korean lesson offers the following exercises:
There is also a multiplayer mode and competitions where you can test your Korean skills against other people. Summary: Overpriced Korean course that does offer some good exercises, but is not better than other similar apps. Pimsleur Korean CourseMost Expensive Software to Learn Korean
Systems: PC and Mac (incl. Mobile App) Suitabe for: Beginners, advanced, students, travel vocabulary Content: Korean vocabulary, lessons with native-speaker audio and voice recognition Price: $150 (basic course), $300 (complete download)
Overall Value: The Pimsleur App is very similar to Rosetta Stone in that it does not give grammar explanations, verb conjugation tables, etc. Instead, the Pimsleur method is supposed to let you learn the Korean language intuitively, just like your native language - by combining pictures, reading and speaking (speech recognition). This Korean learning course for PCs and Macs also includes a mobile app for Android and iOS systems. Pimsleur offers 14 course languages you can use to learn Korean as a second language. Summary: The most expensive Korean course, even though it is unlikely that learning with it is much better than with the cheaper apps. Drops Korean AppAlternative to Babbel and Duolingo
Systems: Android App, iPhone App, Online Version (PC and Mac) Content: Korean lessons with native speaker audio, vocabulary trainer
Prices: $13 (1 month), $72
Overall Value: The Language Drops app is most notable for having 47 target languages and 40 source languages, similar to Mondly. You can learn about 3000 Korean words and phrases with this app. However, there are hardly any exercises, except for introducing new Korean words and matching these words to pictures. You can choose from which topics you want to learn new Korean words and at what skill level you want to learn (whether you know the language somewhat). If you want to try the app for free for two weeks you have to provide your payment information and then cancel it. The "deal" you get in the app is more than 3 times as expensive as when you click "Get Premium" on the website ($38 per month instead of $13 per month). Summary: No variety, no grammar and only 3000 words. Does not justify the higher price, even if you get access to all languages. LingQ Korean AppInnovative Approach to Learn Korean
Systems: Android and iOS Apps, Online-Version (PC and Mac) Suitable for: Beginners, intermediate, advanced learners, students, professionals Content: Video and text lessons, browser extension to import any Korean texts, vocabulary trainer Price: $15 (1 month), $120 (12 months) Overall Value: The LingQ Korean App is basically a translation program that is combined with a personalized vocabulary trainer. In addition to the lessons and texts that are included in this app, any Korean text can be imported. LingQ has its own browser extension for Firefox, Safari and Chrome to import texts (including ebooks). You can click on any Korean character in the texts to see a translation and this adds the word to your personal vocabulary trainer. LingQ also has many videos and podcasts in Korean, the content of which appears as a text next to the video or podcast — so that any word there can be clicked on and saved as well. Unfortunately, there are no grammar lessons, meaning that this app will not suffice on its own to learn Korean. Summary: Very interesting way to learn Korean vocabulary on any subject. However, you need other apps for the Korean grammar. Colanguage: Find Skype teachers Overall Value: At Colanguage you can arrange face-to-face language lessons online via Skype with language teachers around the world (from $5-10 per hour). In addition to using apps, it is definitely a good idea to also practice with native speakers in order to learn Korean properly. Tandem: Find a language exchange partner Overall Value: Instead of hiring teachers, you can also find people who are interested in a free language exchange online via Skype. It is completely free of charge, but you have to act as a language teacher for the other person half of the time. Italki: Find Korean tutors online Overall Value: At Italki you can find Korean tutors online. Most of the tutors are Korean native speakers who also speak English. Similar to Colanguage, the prices start at $4-5 per hour.
Best App to Learn Korean:
Best Korean Online Course:
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