Learning foreign languages and other subjects in self-study

Korean

Korean is the national language of both North and South Korea. You can also find speakers in many Western countries thanks to large communities of Korean expatriates.

What to expect when studying Korean: English speakers will find that the Korean alphabet is one of the easiest scripts to learn, definitely much easier than Chinese or Japanese. The grammar however is more complex than say the Chinese grammar or the grammar of many South-East Asian languages, closer to Japanese.

Advice for learning Korean: The Korean script consists of Korean characters that are formed from an alphabet called Hangul and borrowed Chinese characters called Hanjia. Unlike Japanese, Korean has however done away with Hanja in everyday language and you no longer need to learn it unless you're interested in classical literature or the like. Learning to read and write Hangul is very easy however, particularly if you use the series of lessons I prepared. Get advice valid for learning any language here.

Learn Korean online and for free:

Online courses:
Extensive course for beginners and intermediates (also includes audio and video)
FSI Korean course
Courses with audio also teaching Hangul and Hanja
Advanced sustainment and enhancement course

Korean online dictionary

Professional (paid) translations from/to Korean

Learn the Korean alphabet quickly

Learn to write Hanja
Learn to write Hangul

Phrases

Grammar

Vocabulary

Good materials for studying Korean offline, from Amazon:
Course: Teach yourself Korean (book and CDs)
Course: Integrated Korean
Course software: Rosetta Stone Korean
Korean reference grammar
Pocket dictionary Korean-English-Korean
More from Amazon...

Misc resources, particularly for intermediate and advanced students of Korean:
Test your Korean
Learn how to curse in Korean