Why Duolingo Is Not the Best for Learning Korean
And what to do instead if you’re a beginner
Here’s the deal. I’m not a linguist. In fact, I’m American and I fit the stereotype pretty well. Took five years of Spanish and couldn’t really speak it. And to be honest, I’ve never had much pressure to.
Speaking English has allowed me to pass through life just fine. Up until a few years ago, I didn’t travel much or interact with people from other countries. Plus, I didn’t consume any non-American or non-English-speaking media.
However, in summer 2018, I moved to the Middle East and my worldview has expanded. Through the expat community and a lot of traveling, I get to meet people from all over the world and hear their languages, eat their food, and in some cases experience their traditions.
In addition to this, Korean culture has taken the world by storm (including in America). And I gotta say, I’m a fan. I devoured BTS dance videos (Jimin!), fell hard for Squid Game, and now am enjoying Single’s Inferno, the Korean dating reality show on Netflix. I would love to visit South Korea one day soon and so I figured it’d be nice to read and speak a little of the language. So, I opened up Duolingo, and here we are.
