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Korean Made Simple Textbooks #1
Korean Made Simple: A beginner's guide to learning the Korean language
Korean Made Simple is a book for anyone who wishes to begin learning the Korean language. No matter your age, you can learn how to read, write, speak and understand Korean.
Learn the Korean writing system, Korean culture, and even history. Learn over 1,000 vocabulary words and phrases through 20 in-depth and fun lessons, filled with plenty of examples. Additionally, practice sections with answer keys are built into every chapter.
This book also contains additional advanced level notes for more skilled Korean speakers looking for a review of basic grammar and concepts, including a full appendix covering sound change rules.
Start your exciting journey into the Korean language today. Let's learn Korean!
Learn the Korean writing system, Korean culture, and even history. Learn over 1,000 vocabulary words and phrases through 20 in-depth and fun lessons, filled with plenty of examples. Additionally, practice sections with answer keys are built into every chapter.
This book also contains additional advanced level notes for more skilled Korean speakers looking for a review of basic grammar and concepts, including a full appendix covering sound change rules.
Start your exciting journey into the Korean language today. Let's learn Korean!
348 pages, Paperback
First published April 5, 2014
414 people are currently reading
682 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
August 11, 2017
(Disclaimer: I'm marking this book as read, but I still can barely speak Korean, lol)
Okay, so time to finally review this book! I decided I wanted to learn Korean in January, and my grandmother (who was born and raised in Korea) bought me this book. So I tried it out.
Here's what I think.
Up until chapter 4, this book is excellent. There's an introductory section on Hangul (the Korean writing system) which breaks it down simply for learners and I was able to read/write within one or two days. And the first four chapters give some basic stuff to start you off (basic overview of sentence structure, likes/dislikes, introducing yourself/saying hello, wants).
So it was very helpful for me up until that point. But then, it sort of went downhill from there.
here's the main problem: for a book aimed at beginners, it's information overload which is not helpful at all. It throws a lot of grammar at you AND a lot of vocabulary that beginners do not need to know.
Korean is the second foreign language I'm trying to learn, so while looking at the concepts introduced in this book I thought about what I learned when I was beginning my first foreign language (which is French) and made comparisons. And honestly, a lot of stuff in this book I didn't learn in my French classes until at least my second or third year. Starting around chapter 5, it really becomes overwhelming and too much info for a beginner such as myself. It's hardly simple at all.
So it's not a bad resource and I will definitely be revisiting it when I'm more of an intermediate learner, but for now I need to give it a break because it's too overwhelming.
NOTE: take my review with a grain of salt. I was reading the other reviews for this book and a lot of people said it was really helpful for them, and when learning a language different strategies will work for different people. Perhaps this book simply did not work for me personally. But it might for you! Who knows. :)
Okay, so time to finally review this book! I decided I wanted to learn Korean in January, and my grandmother (who was born and raised in Korea) bought me this book. So I tried it out.
Here's what I think.
Up until chapter 4, this book is excellent. There's an introductory section on Hangul (the Korean writing system) which breaks it down simply for learners and I was able to read/write within one or two days. And the first four chapters give some basic stuff to start you off (basic overview of sentence structure, likes/dislikes, introducing yourself/saying hello, wants).
So it was very helpful for me up until that point. But then, it sort of went downhill from there.
here's the main problem: for a book aimed at beginners, it's information overload which is not helpful at all. It throws a lot of grammar at you AND a lot of vocabulary that beginners do not need to know.
Korean is the second foreign language I'm trying to learn, so while looking at the concepts introduced in this book I thought about what I learned when I was beginning my first foreign language (which is French) and made comparisons. And honestly, a lot of stuff in this book I didn't learn in my French classes until at least my second or third year. Starting around chapter 5, it really becomes overwhelming and too much info for a beginner such as myself. It's hardly simple at all.
So it's not a bad resource and I will definitely be revisiting it when I'm more of an intermediate learner, but for now I need to give it a break because it's too overwhelming.
NOTE: take my review with a grain of salt. I was reading the other reviews for this book and a lot of people said it was really helpful for them, and when learning a language different strategies will work for different people. Perhaps this book simply did not work for me personally. But it might for you! Who knows. :)
March 23, 2016
Easy to follow, fun way to learn Korean through learning to write it. I made myself a set of flashcards that helped even more. Love the tongue in cheek writing, it made the book a lot more fun.
September 30, 2015
The appendix C of this book (Sound Change Rules) was the best method I've found (among plenty believe me) to read Hangul the right way.
November 3, 2019
very helpful and if you also watch his youtube videos that helps.
July 16, 2020
Rating and giving this a read date, because today I "finished" working through the whole book (woohoo!), but obviously I'm not really "done" with it and will continue to refer back to it.
Anyway, this was fantastic and I can highly recommend it to anyone else looking for a good beginner resource. I had already learnt Hanguel and a few basic phrases before picking this up, but the opening chapters on Hanguel and sound changing cleared up so much that had been confusing. Very well presented and easy to follow, and the audio for these chapters at least really helped.
After this, each chapter focuses on a conversation or 2, introducing a couple new grammatical structures. At first, I was a bit concerned about Billy's decision to start with the formal -니다/-니까 conjugation, but by the end of the book, it became clear why he'd made this decision, and now I wonder why more beginner resources don't do it this way. I was surprised how quickly Billy introduced many, many grammatical constructions. This book is fast paced, I'd say, but not overwhelming, thanks to the extremely clear examples and explanations. Having said, you should take Billy's initial advice to take your time and not blast through all the chapters. You should make sure each new concept is clear and fully understood before moving in, even if that means doing the chapters in bit. There's nothing wrong with taking it slower!
Each chapter is then followed by practice questions. It was the perfect amount to solidify what was covered, in my opinion, although now I'm very aware I need to get writing and practising what I've learnt!
My few very, very minor complaints:
1. The audio could be better. There's not a lot of it, and some of it sounds unnaturally slow. I know we, as beginners, can't be expected to follow natural Korean at full speed, but I wonder how helpful doing it quite this slow really is. I think the audio was more to demonstrate the grammar than anything else, and now I've finished this textbook, I plan to use other sources for beginner listening practice.
2. I hate, hate, long lists of vocabulary without context. Some of the vocab was used in the example sentences, but not a lot of it, honestly. Memorising long lists of words never works for me, and I'm more likely to confuse words if I try to do it this week. So like with the audio, I now plan to look elsewhere for sources on vocabulary plus reading practice.
In summary, for grammar this could not be any better! Super! Easy to follow explanations and I can't really criticise how the grammar was presented at all. Although the vocabulary and listening aspects could have been better, I think multiple sources are always better anyway. I've got some sources lined up for that now, and I'll be back for Book 2, when I'm ready for more grammar!
Anyway, this was fantastic and I can highly recommend it to anyone else looking for a good beginner resource. I had already learnt Hanguel and a few basic phrases before picking this up, but the opening chapters on Hanguel and sound changing cleared up so much that had been confusing. Very well presented and easy to follow, and the audio for these chapters at least really helped.
After this, each chapter focuses on a conversation or 2, introducing a couple new grammatical structures. At first, I was a bit concerned about Billy's decision to start with the formal -니다/-니까 conjugation, but by the end of the book, it became clear why he'd made this decision, and now I wonder why more beginner resources don't do it this way. I was surprised how quickly Billy introduced many, many grammatical constructions. This book is fast paced, I'd say, but not overwhelming, thanks to the extremely clear examples and explanations. Having said, you should take Billy's initial advice to take your time and not blast through all the chapters. You should make sure each new concept is clear and fully understood before moving in, even if that means doing the chapters in bit. There's nothing wrong with taking it slower!
Each chapter is then followed by practice questions. It was the perfect amount to solidify what was covered, in my opinion, although now I'm very aware I need to get writing and practising what I've learnt!
My few very, very minor complaints:
1. The audio could be better. There's not a lot of it, and some of it sounds unnaturally slow. I know we, as beginners, can't be expected to follow natural Korean at full speed, but I wonder how helpful doing it quite this slow really is. I think the audio was more to demonstrate the grammar than anything else, and now I've finished this textbook, I plan to use other sources for beginner listening practice.
2. I hate, hate, long lists of vocabulary without context. Some of the vocab was used in the example sentences, but not a lot of it, honestly. Memorising long lists of words never works for me, and I'm more likely to confuse words if I try to do it this week. So like with the audio, I now plan to look elsewhere for sources on vocabulary plus reading practice.
In summary, for grammar this could not be any better! Super! Easy to follow explanations and I can't really criticise how the grammar was presented at all. Although the vocabulary and listening aspects could have been better, I think multiple sources are always better anyway. I've got some sources lined up for that now, and I'll be back for Book 2, when I'm ready for more grammar!
August 3, 2014
A very accessible book for learning korean.
there is a lot of examples, vocabulary and cultural tips.
In my opinion one of the best book for true beginners in korean
there is a lot of examples, vocabulary and cultural tips.
In my opinion one of the best book for true beginners in korean
October 15, 2022
10/10, learned so well.
April 11, 2019
I am enjoying the way his books are set up. I wish there were more exercises though. I also must say that the vocabulary list by the end of the chapters seems so random, so it’s hard to memorize the words. (At least we don’t get a whole chapter on fruits or whatever, so that’s fine).
It’s nice also that 90% of the book is in the 니다 / 니까 form and then when we get to the 요 form if feels like we earned it. (so we don’t get simply pre-digested information lol)
It’s nice also that 90% of the book is in the 니다 / 니까 form and then when we get to the 요 form if feels like we earned it. (so we don’t get simply pre-digested information lol)
December 24, 2018
One of the more intuitive books out there. Billy really DOES make Korean simple. My mom never taught me Korean so I began the processing of learning myself through Billy and Talk to Me in Korean. Both have been so helpful in understanding- I don't think I would need any other additions to learn. Billy has a youtube channel as well and breaks things down there too. You can't go wrong with Billy!
April 2, 2021
The best to start off your Korean learning journey with 💛
June 24, 2017
The best text book for self learning Korean that I've seen yet. And I've seen a lot of books that try to teach Korean. Good lessons, good vocab, well written. Each beginner concept is thoroughly explained and there is plenty for those that already have the basics down with the advanced notes sprinkled throughout. I would recommend this book to anyone trying to learn Korean.
May 23, 2021
Really helpful book! I like learning from various sources so I’m not sure how much this book alone would have taught me but I think still a lot! I enjoy how much grammar there is and that it’s explained well. The examples are also good. I did miss an English-Korean glossary at the end - finding a word from the chapter vocabulary lists took more time than I really wanted to spend on it, but I guess I could’ve also memorized all of the vocabulary as I went on... I’ll be making flashcards with them next. 감사합니다!
April 29, 2025
By far the best
I’ve used numerous workbooks and apps to learn Korean, but this has been by far the best. I stumbled upon Billy Go on YouTube and was very impressed with his explanation of the question I had. I’ve learned more in a week than I have in months of other methods. It’s work to learn another language, but Billy Go’s teaching is extremely clear and easy to understand. I have found it to be a super enjoyable journey. I highly recommend this series. I bought the kindle version and love it!
I’ve used numerous workbooks and apps to learn Korean, but this has been by far the best. I stumbled upon Billy Go on YouTube and was very impressed with his explanation of the question I had. I’ve learned more in a week than I have in months of other methods. It’s work to learn another language, but Billy Go’s teaching is extremely clear and easy to understand. I have found it to be a super enjoyable journey. I highly recommend this series. I bought the kindle version and love it!
April 10, 2024
Learned to read Korean with Billy’s YouTube channel and took a stab at his book. I’m still working thru it on the challenge of balance life, work and interests. I do recommend this book as an intro after you learn to read Hangul.
January 26, 2018
Excellent textbook for the basics of Korean grammar. I've done the Pimsleur courses, and got lost after a time because I didn't understand the grammar. This really helped.
May 6, 2018
Very easy to follow!
May 11, 2020
Best book to learn Korean!!
Currently reading
October 29, 2020im going to read it hold on
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February 19, 2021I finished leafing through this book and I like the format. This is really helpful for a beginner. My only complaint was that I wish there were more audio features.
May 19, 2021
How to read?
April 17, 2022
3 years in progress. Easy to understand with excellent explanation. I love tracking my learning progress on Goodreads.
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August 8, 2022❤️🇰🇷
September 10, 2025
Best beginner Korean workbook I have ever used.
March 21, 2020
Interesting & Effective Korean lessons for beginners.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews