How to Use

Learning Korean on Korean From Day One is simple: follow each day's instructions carefully. The most crucial part of your learning will always be input: reading, listening, watching, and absorbing as much Korean as you can, consistently.

First, Learn Hangul

Korean is written in Hangul, an alphabet of 24 letters that stack into one block per syllable. It was designed to be easy to learn, and most people can read it after a few hours of practice. Learn it before Day 1: every lesson is written in Hangul, and reading it yourself is what makes the lessons stick.

A good free place to start: How to Study Korean: Unit 0, Lesson 1 (Korean Word Structure and Basic Letters). You don't need to know the letter names or any rules by heart. Once you can sound out a word slowly, you're ready.

Lessons can also show each line in Latin letters (Romanization, for example annyeonghaseyo for 안녕하세요). Use it to check how a line sounds, not to read instead of Hangul: Latin letters can't show Korean sounds exactly, and the sooner you read Hangul, the faster you'll go.

Why Input Matters Most

Traditional language learning tries to make you speak before you're ready, forcing you to memorize grammar rules or drill vocabulary out of context.

But when you're pushed to speak too early, you're often just guessing, making mistakes, and creating bad habits. Instead, our method emphasizes constant exposure to natural, understandable Korean, similar to how children learn their first language.

Required Reading: Input - what it is and why you need it

Daily Lessons: How to Use Them

Each day's lesson comes with clear instructions: simply follow along step by step. If you've comfortably finished a day's content, it's perfectly fine to continue to the next lesson. But don't rush, and take breaks if you're tired. Enjoying the process is crucial; if you don't, burnout is inevitable.

Using a Lesson Page

Every lesson is one short conversation: the situation under the title, then each line in Korean with its English translation. These settings help as you go:

• Hide English blurs the translations so you can test yourself. Tap a blurred line to peek at it.
• Romanization shows each line in Latin letters, where the lesson has it.

Audio recordings are on the way. When a lesson gets its recording, its page will play the whole dialogue or any single line, repeat lines, slow them down, and offer a listen-only mode.

On a computer, the keyboard works too: E hides or shows the English, and the ← → arrows go to the previous or next day.

When you've finished a lesson, press Mark as done. Your progress is saved in your browser (no sign-up), and the course page and the menu then show where you left off. If you spot a mistake in a line, press the small flag next to it to tell us.

Speech Levels Are Part of Every Lesson

Korean sentences end differently depending on who is talking to whom. Friends and couples speak casually (반말), strangers and colleagues politely (해요체), and shops, announcements and job interviews use a formal style (합쇼체). Get it wrong and you sound rude, or oddly stiff.

You don't need to study the rules. Each lesson's situation says who the speakers are and how they know each other, and across the course you meet every combination: women and men, children and teenagers, parents and grandparents, bosses, customers and old friends. Notice how they speak to each other, and the right endings will start to feel natural, the same way they do for Koreans.

Maximizing Your Input

Your goal is simple: get as much input as possible. This doesn't mean just focused study; it means immersing yourself in Korean as often as you can, even passively. Listen to Korean podcasts, YouTube videos, dramas or variety shows while you walk, exercise, cook, or commute.

AJATT famously emphasizes this: passive listening helps your brain get accustomed to Korean sounds, making the language feel natural over time. In our resources section, you'll find podcasts and channels to keep your input levels high.

How to Use Anki Every Day

Reading and listening alone aren't enough: we're not children anymore, so input needs reinforcement. To truly internalize what you meet in the lessons, use the provided Anki decks daily.

These decks review the sentences you've encountered in your lessons. Don't worry about grammar rules like particles, honorifics or verb endings (and Korean has plenty!).

Instead, focus on understanding each sentence: grasp what each part is doing without stressing over specific grammar terminology. Grammar study comes later, much later, and only if you feel the need once you're already comfortable and advanced.

Importing an Anki Deck

1. Install Anki. It's free on computers (apps.ankiweb.net) and on Android (AnkiDroid). On iPhone and iPad, the official app is AnkiMobile, which is paid.
2. On a lesson page, download the day's deck. Each deck holds every line of that day's dialogue: the Korean on the front of a card, and its English translation (with the romanization, where the lesson has it) on the back.
3. Open the downloaded file: double-click it on a computer, or open it with AnkiDroid or AnkiMobile on a phone. The cards go into a deck named after the level and the day, for example "Newbie::Day 12".
4. Review in Anki every day. New days add to the same level, and Anki decides when each card comes back.

Each lesson page also offers all the decks of its level in one download. Some of these are large (the Newbie bundle is about 1.7 MB), so download them on Wi-Fi. Importing a deck again later updates its cards instead of adding copies.

Enjoy the Process and Avoid Burnout

Learning a language should be enjoyable. If you're feeling exhausted, slow down. Remember, this isn't just about learning Korean; it's about getting used to Korean. Meeting Korean every day, even passively, makes it part of your daily life. Eventually, it becomes natural, comfortable, and even part of your identity.

If you consistently engage with the language through input, you'll soon find yourself thinking in Korean. When you've had enough exposure, the desire to speak will naturally emerge, and you won't need to force it. It'll come as naturally as breathing.

Don't Give Up: We're Always Here

Learning Korean is a journey, not a race. If life gets in the way and you take a break, that's fine. We'll always be here. Simply come back whenever you're ready, pick up exactly where you left off, and keep going.

Trust the process, keep reading and listening, keep reviewing, and above all, enjoy yourself. Korean will become a natural part of your life before you know it.

If this free course has helped you in your Korean journey, please consider supporting the project. It's a one-person effort, and even small contributions help keep it running and free for everyone.