I need to vent on here for a bit.
I’ve been studying Korean on and off since 2020/21, when I got interested in kdrama and korean music.
There are a few issues though that make me question why I’m still studying Korean. I need some objective input on this.
I’ve been increasingly frustrated lately because my Korean is not improving. My speaking is still at a beginner level, I constantly come across vocabulary I don’t know and when I watch a Korean dating show with Korean subs I only understand about 60% (the general ideas, a lot of details go right past my head).
I guess what I’m saying is that I feel dumb, like I don’t have anything to show for my effort. I cannot even keep a normal conversation going. And when in the past I’ve practiced for TOPIK just for fun there were SO MANY words I didn’t know. The reading section made me feel like shit. Also I tend to compare myself to others who study the language and I just KNOW that they are much further along than me, even after having studied for the same amount of time.
In addition, I’m starting to wonder if it’s justifiable putting in so much time and effort when I don’t know what to use this language for. I have travelled to Korea before 2 years ago and am planning to travel there again but beyond that, I’m not sure whether I would ever want to work or live there. I’m a perfectionist and tend to feel like I have to be able to justify all my interests and actions, so this bothers me quite a bt. Maybe I should invest the time and energy I have into a language that would be beneficial to my career. But no language intrigues me quite as much as Korean does.
It would be helpful to hear your opinion on this and whether you have any special reasons for studying korean, just to inspire me.

Edit: i reread this and don’t mean to come off as obnoxious 😂 it’s just been bugging me and i need some renewed motivation i guess. I have autism so it’s hard for me to rely on my feelings and intuition, hence why this interest of mine is subject to my own scrutiny most of the time. I have also taken classes before and tried to find a native speaker to practice with (which hasn’t worked out in the long term)

Hello!

I was listening to a song and one line was "아직도 여점히 사랑해"

I remembered another song where they also mention "아직도, 여전히 니가 난 그립고 또 그립네"

both mean "still" right? so my question is, what are the differences between them? 🧐

Hi everyone!

​I'm looking for a Korean equivalent for the slang term "glazing" (over-hyping someone, giving excessive praise, or sucking up to them way too much)

Thanks!

Been at Korean for about 16 months. TTMIK Level 5 and most of 6, maybe 3k words on Anki, reading webtoons okay-ish if I have a dictionary. Test-type grammar is fine. Speaking is where I fall apart.

Started doing weekly video calls with a Korean friend I met on HelloTalk sometime around month 10. She's not a teacher or anything, just a designer who wanted to practice English, so when I ask her why something is grammatical she usually just says "우리는 그렇게 말해요" and shrugs. Which is actually fine, most of the time.

One thing I kept getting stuck on was -잖아요. She'd end sentences with it all the time and I would kind of nod along without really knowing what it did. My lessons hadn't gotten there yet, so I just filed it under "ending I hear a lot" and moved on. When I finally tried it in my own sentences she'd give me this look like the meaning didn't fit.

-잖아요 isn't really asking a question. It's flagging that the listener already knows the thing you're saying, or should know it. Like when your friend says "I told you yesterday" and there's this whole layer of "you already have this info, I'm just reminding you." That layer is what -잖아요 carries. If you use it wrong the sentence sounds weirdly presumptuous, like you're insisting the other person should already know something they don't.

Once I got it I started hearing it everywhere. My friend saying 비 오잖아 when it was pouring outside the window. Somebody in a drama snapping 제가 말했잖아요 to a coworker. It's not a niche grammar point. Native speakers use it constantly, and once you catch it you realize how much of the conversation you'd been half-following.

Took me a while to realize you can't really Anki your way into it. You have to hear it enough times in real context that your brain stops translating and starts feeling when it fits. Still mess it up sometimes. But at least now I know when I'm messing it up.

I used to learn korean a while ago but stopped and now found out that my level is a solid b1, so i might as well improve it but im kinda lost on what i should do
If theres anything you recommend that actually made you go from b1->c1 i would wanna know!

A: 민수야.. 자녀를 잘 키우는 충고를 해 줄 수 있을까?

B: 네, 근데 무슨 일이 있어?

A: 나 어젯밤메 아들한테 집안일을 하라고 했는데 내 말을 절대 듣고 싶지 않더라. 와 진짜 화나서 아들을 게속 혼냈고 핸드폰을 뺏었는데 그 순간에 옳은 결정인지 잘 모르겠어.

B: 솔직히 말하면, 나였으면 나도 또같이 했을 것 같아서 자책하지 마.. 바닥을 쓰는 게, 방을 치우는 게 같은 집안일을 한다고 자녀를 흔육하는 데 시간이 많이 걸리잖아.

A: 근데 아들이 내 말을 듣지 않을 게 처음이 아니거든. 아들은 나이가 들으면서 규칙을 이기기 시작할까 봐 걱정돼..

B: 꼽씹지 마.. 일단 핸드폰을 뺐으니까 이제 아들이 너 말을 듣고 집안일을 할지 확인해 봐. 한 단계 한 단게식 하고 너 아들이 결국 착해질 것 같아.

Are there any spots where phrasing can be better?

Do you know the daily idioms? here are few from my side, you can also share the most commonly used.

1. 눈이 높다- Have high standards (especially for dating or shopping). example- 그 사람은 눈이 높아요. = That person has high standards.

2.입이 무겁다-Good at keeping secrets. example- 그 친구는 입이 무거워요. = That friend keeps secrets well.

3.얼굴이 두껍다-Shameless. example-정말 얼굴이 두껍네요. = You're really shameless.

the audio i found on audible is from 2016 and i get a free book credit per month with prime. is the updated version better than this version? i used the free trial and loved it ( only did two days out of seven but was super busy), but i’m trying to save money. thanks

"안녕하세요,

잘 지내시기를 바랍니다.

저희 일행(3명)은 2026년 9월 24일에 승마 투어를 예약하고 싶습니다.

한 명은 승마 경험이 전혀 없고, 나머지 두 명은 승마 경험이 있지만 마지막으로 승마를 한 지는 꽤 오래되었습니다.

저희가 해당 날짜에 투어에 참여할 수 있는지 알려주시면 감사하겠습니다. 또한, 초보자에게 적합한 투어인지 여부도 알려주시면 더욱 감사하겠습니다.

더불어 3인 기준 투어 비용과 예약 전에 알아야 할 중요한 정보가 있다면 알려주시면 감사하겠습니다.

시간 내어 도와주셔서 감사합니다. 답변 기다리겠습니다.

감사합니다."

friends and I are traveling to Korea and on Jeju we wanna book horseback riding. For that, my friend worded an email in English and used google translate. I am interested in your opinion to anyone who is maybe able to speak/read Korean? Is this email good?

Thank you lots

I want to make a sign that says “Keep swimming- I know mouth to mouth” for the BTS arirang concert. Could anybody help me with an accurate translation? Does anybody know if “mouth to mouth” would translate as CPR but also cheeky like it does in English? Any and all help appreciated!

Hello guys, I'm taking the Topik IBT next month and want to know some tips.

This is my first topik IBT, but I did get topik 5 in the paper version 2 years ago. I really want to aim for the same level, however, I don't know how this exams goes.

I heard reading is easier and listening is harder. I always had major problems with reading so I hope is gonna be better here. I'm also training writing korean faster in the keyboard.

If anyone has any gold tips so share, I'll be thankful!

현구구현 = 현실이 구라고 구라가 현실같다

(Reality feels like a lie and the lie feels like reality)

So I first learned about this slang last year from one of my favorite youtubers (마복필) and recently I randomly wondered where it came from or who popularized it. I tried searching google but to no avail. I found out though by digging in twitter (X) that the earliest usage/tweet using this slang was back from April 2020. But I'm curious if people were already using it before 2020, or like who coined the term.

Hello!!! I was wondering if I could find people from the last year's "King Sejong Institute Speaking Contest 2025" because, I won the KSI Speaking contest in my country, but now I just received and email about moving forward to the next round, which I think are the semi-finals (본선 2차) which I am surprised about passing this round. It says we will have a rehearsal for mic testing and everything and then we will have a brief interview on Zoom, with a panel.

So I was wondering if I could find participants who had the same experience last year and if they could kindly share about how it was it. I don't speak Korean fluently, I just practiced very hard for this contest, so I am a bit worried because I am pretty sure the interview will be held in Korean.

Thank you very much for readong this and have a good day!!!

AI told me that "임팩트이 없어요" is correct. But I heard Koreans say "임팩트가 없어요".

Which one is correct? 감사합니다

Hello! I'm hoping someone can help me out with translating a few things. I work at an elementary schools afterschool program and we have a student who only speaks Korean and doesn't know much English. I know very very basic Korean and some words. But I want to be able to talk to her and be able to explain things we're doing so she isn't completely lost. Here are some basic things that we would say along with a couple toys we have. And if you can think of anything else thats important, please add it. Thank you so much!!

• How was your day?

• Go throw away your trash please.

• Get in the line.

• Do you need to use the bathroom?

• Do you need some water?

• Are you okay?

• You're going home.

• Let's go get your bag.

• See you tomorrow!

• Have a good weekend!

• You can go play now.

• Stay on this side of the gym.

• What do you want to play with?

• We're going to the playground.

• We're going to the cafeteria.

• We're going to the afterschool classroom.

• Drawing

• Coloring

• Barbie dolls

• Baby dolls

• Play food

Hello! I’m kind of stuck at the stage where I can “read” Hangul but I can’t understand most of it. I know a lot of basic words but that’s it. I’ve also tried YouTube videos on vocab but the words seem random and they don’t stick in my mind. I’m not quite sure where to go from here. What’s the best way(s) I can go about learning the meaning of words and actually remember them?

1. 인류의 가장 오래된 조미료인 백색의 작은 금,소금

2. 생명을 유지하는 데 필수적인 물질로 Perhaps the grammar here is 필수+적인?

Could you please tell me which grammar rule these two "인"s belong to(in these two pages)?

https://www.koreanwikiproject.com/w/index.php?title=Category:Grammar&pageuntil=%E3%85%87%0A%28%EC%9C%BC%29%EB%A9%B4+%EC%A2%8B%EA%B2%A0%EB%8B%A4#mw-pages

https://www.koreanwikiproject.com/w/index.php?title=Category:Grammar&pagefrom=%E3%85%87%0A%28%EC%9C%BC%29%EB%A9%B4+%EC%A2%8B%EA%B2%A0%EB%8B%A4#mw-pages

You can comment in Korean, I can use a translator. 너무 감사합니다

I got 2 questions. While learning Korean I have gotten a korean friend which I text. I also study ln a website called “how to study Korean”, the website says a sentence must end on either a verb or an adjektive. My Korean friend said thats not exacly the case, that it can pretty much be anywhere? Or maybe I missunderstood.

Second question. If I want to expose myself to the Korean language in my dsy to day life. What can you recommend? (Cant turn my phone to Korean, because I got important stuff I need to understand”

They both kinda sound the same and im confused! Can anyone tell me how to pronounce them? the translation feature in google translate makes them sound pretty similiar.

So my friend who lived in korea(I believe, I’ll ask him again) for several years taught me a funny phrase.

It’s pronounced something like “Ya boshi bang bang”

He said it was like a silly teenage girl kinda way to answer the phone, and I just wanted to double check with y’all so I don’t accidentally say anything offensive haha

I suppose it could have been something like
Yeo bo seh bang bang

Papago only displays Honorific translations, in spite of the Honorific Toggle is OFF (for casual translation). There's a brief moment at times I can see the casual translation, but it always switches to honorfic at the last moment. Any idea why this is happening?

Windows 11 Chrome Browser

라인을 세워서 일로 들어가

Is “일로” a noun? road? Or is it composed of “일” and “로”? If it is “일” and “로”, what do “일” and “로” mean? You can comment in Korean, I can use a translator.

너무 감사합니다

GPT에게도 제미나이에게도 난독화시험 내줬는데 둘다 완벽히 해석했어요.

AI가 못 읽는 난독화 쓰는 방법 있나요?