Hangeul Day celebrates the creation and excellence of the Korean alphabet. To mark the holiday this year, I tested six of the most popular apps for learning Korean, based on Google Play downloads, to discern which are actually worth a download — and perhaps more importantly, your phone’s precious memory space.
I’m at an upper-intermediate level in Korean, but it’s taken years to reach this point. I’ve taken lessons here and there and downloaded apps to improve my fluency. Remembering where I was when I downloaded my first language app, Drops, gave me a good point of reference. I’m well aware of how quickly apps start to feel tedious or too far removed from actual language lessons.
I tried to keep the comparison as simple as possible. Each app had to specialize in Korean, rather than offering various languages. I tested each on an iPhone, using the Apple App Store versions, and focused primarily on content accessible for free. The results here are a personal reflection on my overall experience and reflect how I felt about each app.
BNR has a simple, polished interface using high-contrast colors, and there are no time limits on the lessons. Its main focuses are listening, writing and reading, with a strong emphasis on Hangeul in early lessons.
If you plan to use the free version, be prepared to endure frequent ads and popups, including during the lessons. Intermediate learners may also find themselves forced to work through more basic lessons before reaching the appropriate level.
Drops is easily the most gamified of the apps I tested. At first glance, the interface is similar to BNR’s sleek, clear design. I liked that you can work towards small goals while tracking larger language milestones.
Though it starts out engaging enough, the structure quickly starts to feel very restrictive. Lessons are limited to five-minute sessions, with strict wait times in between. To unlock the next checkpoint, users must complete all the lessons in a session, which will undoubtedly prove frustrating for intermediate learners who don’t need to practice each and every vocabulary set.
Coming up with positives for Bravolol wasn’t easy. The app offers slow, clear pronunciation guidance for the phrases it teaches, and its strongest feature is the ability to record, listen to and compare your pronunciation with the provided examples.
The downsides are that the app’s interface is extremely outdated, and frequent ads and popups interrupt the learning process. Several of the categories are locked behind a paywall, which feels particularly limiting for an app with such a small scope to begin with. A bigger issue is the app’s heavy use of romanization — it might feel comfortable to beginners, but over time could discourage learners from actively engaging with Hangeul.
The best of the bunch, Teuida makes excellent use of real-world situations featuring young, clear, engaging instructors. Lessons are organized into “days,” with a clear progression from introduction to review. The short, focused format teaches a few expressions at a time, then immediately puts users into a situation to practice them. Teuida also provides generous checks for pronunciation throughout each lesson, making this app especially well-suited to those focused on conversational skills or planning to spend time physically in Korea.
However, without paying for the “pro” version, users need “study keys” to skip certain lessons, meaning intermediate learners have to start at a much earlier level than may be appropriate. Users also have to sit through relatively long ads between lessons, which interrupts the otherwise smooth experience.
The best part of HeyKorea is its listening and repetition practice, which would be most helpful for beginners. There’s also Hangeul “writing practice” through tracing exercises to encourage confidence in writing.
However, I couldn’t get past the robotic voices used during the lessons. They change frequently, sometimes even within the same sentence, which gets distracting. Another frustration was the writing exercises. The tracing function had serious issues on my iPhone, and I found myself attempting to trace the same lines over and over again.
If you grew up with old school computer games, Patchim Training’s approach will probably feel pleasantly nostalgic. To my surprise, I enjoyed it much more than I originally expected. It felt as though its creators were deliberately trying to make something different, with original games like “Hangul boxing,” “Hangul BBQ” and “Hangul crossword.” They’re simple, quirky, and reminiscent of the educational games people played in the 1990s.
Unfortunately, the old school charm is the same thing that makes Patchim Training feel noticeably less polished and more outdated than the other apps.
While testing these six apps, one thing became clear: Even among the most popular options, there’s still a noticeable lack of human-centered learning and, more importantly, opportunities for genuine language production. It shouldn’t be this hard to find tools that understand how people use language authentically and prepare learners for everyday situations.
Just as Hangeul was created in part to help make the Korean language more accessible, the tools we choose to use should make the language feel less intimidating, more intuitive and enjoyable.
Emily Kim is the owner of Looking Seoul, a “room for ideas” in western Seoul’s Yeonhui-dong. She’s committed to building a more engaging literary community in Seoul. She can be reached at emily@looking.kr.
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