Best Korean textbook

[rirakuma]

I want to try teaching myself Korean and I've been looking at getting a textbook. Integrated Korean and Active Korean seem to come up a lot. Does anyone know if there is much difference between them or have any other textbooks/resources to recommend?

Comments

[rivem]

I think Chinese is difficult

[justplaingirl]

I don't know about textbooks as I haven't tried to find any, but if you already have a basic understanding of the Korean writing system and are looking for a grammar reference, Korean: A Comprehensive Grammar is an awesome resource for English speakers looking to get a good grasp of Korean grammar. I love it.

This page has a section towards the bottom on book recommendations with a short description of what each is recommended for, but I haven't had the time or ability to go through those yet. That might be a good place to start for you though!

Let me know if you figure out a good textbook to work from! I'd love to hear what works for you. :)

[rirakuma]

Thank you for your recommendations :) I'll be sure to check them out. So far I've been using the koreanwikiproject website and the KBS World Let's Learn Korean website. I think I'll find a big bookshop soon and have a browse there :)

[metafictionally]

Super late to this post so you might have already found a good textbook, but if not -- seconding the recommendation of Korean: A Comprehensive Grammar. I used the Integrated Korean textbook for a while, and it was

Then I went to Korea to study at Sogang, where obviously I used the Sogang Korean textbooks. My understanding is that compared to the Yonsei textbooks (which are probably the most popular Korean textbooks from an actual Korean university), Sogang textbooks focus more on verbal/listening skills, whereas Yonsei textbooks are particularly grammar- and vocabulary-heavy, especially as you get above level 1.

The most recent class I took (in the US, although sponsored by the Korean gov't) used the Korean for Intermediate Learners textbook. I'm not sure if there's a beginner's equivalent, but the structure of the book was pretty good for me so if there is, it might be worth checking out.

[rirakuma]

"I used the Integrated Korean textbook for a while, and it was "

Thank you for your reply! I shall have a look at the textbooks you've mentioned. What is the rest of the sentence about Integrated Korean?

[metafictionally]

Leave it to me to leave a whole sentence out, haha. It was a good textbook, structured a bit like a workbook rather than a cut-and-dry textbook format so if you like workbooks to reinforce what you've learned, it's good. I didn't end up learning much grammar from it mostly because I was lazy, but it seemed pretty straightforward and intuitive.

[rirakuma]

Thank you!