How To Learn Korean With Podcasts
Elle
1st Oct 24 1:28 pm
Learning a language works way better when you consume content that you’re genuinely interested in. Are you curious about psychology? You should find content about that. Are you interested in the politics of pre-Soviet Kazakhstan? Look for something that covers that topic (good luck).
Podcasts are one of the best ways to consume content you enjoy in your target language. If you’re reading this, I’m going to assume that’s Korean. And if you found this blog post by accident, take this as a sign that you should start learning Korean.
To help you choose from a wide range of different podcasts, I flew to Seoul to do my research. Okay, I didn’t. I wrote this from the comfort of my parents’ home in Belgium. But I still worked hard to help you crush your Korean language goals by rounding up these nine podcasts.
And don’t worry, every one of these has transcripts! Keep on reading to find out how to import them to LingQ.
Ready to learn Korean with podcasts?
The Cultwo Show
This is technically a radio show (radio is still very much of a thing in South Korea!), but you can listen to it as a podcast on Podbang, which is the go-to platform for Korean podcasts.
Why should you listen to The Cultwo Show? Because you’ll get real insight into Korean culture. You’ll be exposed to natural conversation, cultural references and diverse vocabulary so you can learn how to speak like real Koreans instead of only relying on dramatic speech from K-dramas (but hey, by all means, please keep watching K-dramas too). Plus, it’s funny! Once you start understanding humor, you’ll have reached the boss of Korean learning.
CBS 김현정의 뉴스쇼 (CBS Kim Hyun-jung’s News Show)
This one is pretty much the opposite of a conversational podcast. But listening to the news is a great way to absorb the language (especially if you import the transcript to LingQ), and the advantage is that it will be clear and easier to understand.
CBS stands for Christian Broadcasting System, but don’t let the name fool you. While CBS was originally founded by the Protestant Church, it’s one of the major broadcasters in South Korea and this is a secular news program.
Storytime in Korean
This podcast offers slow, easy stories entirely in Korean for beginners wishing to learn through comprehensible input. If you’re a total beginner who doesn’t know anything about Korean yet and hasn’t even listened to LingQ’s mini stories yet, worry not! Each episode includes a link to a PDF to learn the key vocabulary. Plus, you can also download LingQ’s Chrome extension to import the episodes from the YouTube channel so you can click on unfamiliar words as you listen to it.
How to use LingQ to learn Korean from podcasts
There are two main ways in which you can learn Korean with native podcasts: Listen to it and understand new words through context, or import the transcript to LingQ to get some help with comprehension. If you’re still a beginner or lower-intermediate, you might want to use the second option.
If the podcast is available on YouTube, you can activate closed captions and import the transcript directly from there with the LingQ browser extension.
In case you get the transcript outside of YouTube (Spotify offers transcripts, and some podcasts have transcripts available on their websites), you’ll need to do this:
- Save your transcript as a .txt or .docx file
- Log in to LingQ on your browser
- Go to Import and select “Import Lesson”
- Enter a title
- Copy and paste the transcript or upload the text file
- Upload the audio file (optional).Set the lesson level (beginner, intermediate, advanced)
- Click “Save” or “Import”
- Access your lesson to start studying
SpongeMind
If you want to listen to native content but your level is not high enough yet, you should check out SpongeMind. Each episode has an English version in addition to the Korean one, so you can listen to the English one to familiarize yourself with the content before listening to the Korean one. It’s hosted by two guys that speak both Korean and English, and the episodes can be conversations about anything, so it’s not only about Korean culture!
뇌부자들 (Brain Rich)
Learn how to take care of your mental health in Korean! This podcast is hosted by a group of certified psychiatrists, but the style is accessible and conversational. If you’re interested in complex psychological concepts made easy to understand (well, provided you understand enough Korean!), this is the podcast to listen to while you heal your childhood traumas. If you care about mental health awareness, self-care and personal growth, why not care about it in Korean?
여둘톡 (Yeodultok)
Roughly translating as “Talk Between Two Women”, this is a purely conversational podcast hosted by two friends and doesn’t have a specific theme. You can expect a very casual podcast that covers topics from everyday life and personal experiences with friendly banter. Since you basically get to listen in on two friends talking, it’s a good way to get exposed to normal conversation and get more familiar with Korean life and cultural references. You’ll also get to train yourself to understand jokes!
남북의 맛과 멋 (Flavors and Styles of North and South Korea) by RFA (Radio Free Asia)
As long as you don’t mind getting fat as you’re learning Korean, this is a good option. The podcast covers topics related to food, specifically South and North Korean cuisine. There’s an episode about a cultural festival centered around refugees from North Korea, another one about 율챙이 국수 (some sort of noodle dish), and another one tying Korean food to the Paris Olympics.
South Korea may be a small country, but it has a rich culture with an enormous amount a content available online that can help you speed up your Korean learning journey. As you can see, it’s not just K-dramas, K-pop and manhwa! So check out these podcasts, consume the language naturally, and then tell us which one is your favorite!
Author bio
Mathieu is a content writer, comedy writer, and TPRS French teacher from Belgium. He’s currently improving his Spanish and dabbling in Japanese.