Customer Reviews

College Korean

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

First of all, I like this book. That is because its content is very solid and it is well laid-out. The pronunciation rules at the beginning are detailed and correct, and some of the best I have seen. The fact that the book is written in hangul and not roman characters is a definite plus for the serious student. However, I do not back it completely.

First of all, the book lacks a comprehensive list of irregular verbs, so the reader is left unsure about how to conjugate any verb not covered in the example sentences. There are verb tables, mind you, but they are far from complete. Second, many of the lessons focus on difficult or obscure words ("continental climate") while not including many that a foreigner living in Korea would likely need (such as the common -l/ul koeyo/kosimnida future form). Thirdly, it is difficult to look things up because the index is not very user-friendly. I have other complaints, but these should suffice to show the inadequacy of this book as a stand-alone reference for anyone thnking of residence in Korea.

I recommend Francis Y. T. Park's "Speaking Korean" series. Of all texts I have seen, it is the most practical, the most complete, the easiest to use, and the most comprehensive. It is far more pricey than College Korean, but comparing the two is like saying that a car is more expensive than a bicycle. However, Speaking Korean is a 4-book series, so start with the first book and move on as needed. (...)

I've been married to a Korean lady for 18 years now, and lived in Korea for 4 1/2 years. I've had numerous Korean teachers. From my wife, I had learned the alphabet, and over the years had developed a pretty good vocabulary, but one thing has always been missing in my attempts to learn Korean: Someone who understands thinking in English, and so understands how the structure of the Korean language has no equivalent in English, and so becomes practically nonsensical to a native English thinker - even though he may understand all the words.

This book is the first book I have found that approaches the Korean language from the perspective of someone who can think in English. For the first time, things that give us problems (Like construction of complex and compound sentences, the difference in the use of different conjunctions that are nearly the same, and translate to the same word in English, complex comparison sentences,etc.) are explained and taught in such a way that the rules make sense to me.

I am finding that FINALLY - after 18 years of trying, and after years of being able to understand most of what was spoken to me, but never being able to answer back with more than just childish sentences - FINALLY, I am breaking through the barriers in my understanding and becoming able to read more complex material, speak maturely with my elders in church, write material above a childish reading level, etc.

The only thing I could possibly find to criticize the book on is the explanation of pronunciation. I know there is a lot of discussion about how to transliterate the pronunciation (And pronunciation actually varies quite a bit from Seoul to Pusan), but the rules of characters such as ¤¸,¤µ, ¤©, and ¤¡ are just not quite what I normally hear - maybe they cannot be explained without hearing the language from a native speaker.

Still, it is a very good book for someone who thinks in English to help them to a point where hopefully they can actually think in Korean. A helpful Korean speaking friend will probably be all the additional help you will need.

This comprehensive textbook intended for beginning or intermediate students of Korean is presented in a logical format divided into twenty-six lessons. Each lesson begins with a short Korean dialogue (which one may translate) and follows with step-by-step linguistic/grammar rules replete with examples. The authors--college proffesors themselves--articulate themselves quite nicely, so that one may work alone with this book and still learn the language. A detailed pronounciation guide is included, and 140 Chinese characters (used in addition to the Korean alphabet) are also introduced. I can guarantee that any serious student using this comprehensive textbook will be reading, writing, and speaking adequate Korean in less than six months.

Let's put this in context, I'm marrying a Korean this year and her family don't speak good English. It's therefore quite important that I understand Korean! So. What does this book give you that the others don't: -

01. All the Korean words ... are in Korean!

So many times I've seen book reviews where people slate books that are heavy on a languages natural form. STOP WHINING! Hangul is ridiculously easy to learn! Also, guess what? My Korean friends don't understand romanised Korean so that makes MSN conversations really short!

02. This book gives you the ACTUAL words Koreans say!

I've tried speaking phrases out of other books and been laughed at "you are talking like a baby/girl/Shakespeare"!!! This is the only book that clearly distinguishes the modes of speech in Korean and bizarrely the only Korean book that hints about talking in the First Person!

03. Clear Explanation of the Grammar.

This is the only book that explains the grammar of Korean. This is very useful. I also have "Teach Yourself: Korean" that book keeps explanations short and in my opinion keeps you in the dark about the true nature of the language whereas this book tells you everything!

First of all, I am not a college or high school student so I didn't get this book for some school assignment which meant I had to learn everything on my own. Second, after I looked through this book, it seemed pretty easy to understand hangul and read in hangul. They teach you vowels and consonants which I believe is the first step to read in hangul. Also, there is a glossary in the back where you can look up the words in English and Korean. I personally think that this book can be used by high school students and up. It's very easy to read hangul scripts if you follow the grammar rules which is also very easy. The one thing that I have a problem with is the Chinese character section. I didn't get any part of that which kinda got me confused. It doesn't teach you how to pronounce them. But in other ways to describe this book, yeah, it is a good recomendation for beginners who wants to learn Korean. I would also like to recommend the "Rosetta Stone: Korean" CD-Rom because it also teaches you how to pronounce Korean words using real sounds and pictures.

I got this book to teach myself Korean. I was somewhat disappointed. I expected to find answers to the sample problems at the end. I found none. I wanted some explanation of why some things were this way or that. I found a straight assertion that things were just like that, but sometimes different...the end. Very frustrating. You can generally make out the answer to the exercises because it is very good about making sure all the words used are ones you already know from the chapters, but you can't be 100% positive you got it right.

This looks like a book that would be good in a Korean class, where you can get explanations of things in more depth, but for self-study, I'd avoid.

This is one of a couple books I have been learning to use Korean. Very well laid out, concise and to the point.

I would recommend it to anyone wanting to learn Korean. Make sure you use this book in conjunction with audio tapes or something else that lets you hear the words.

If you are interested in learning Korean, this is a MUST HAVE book. You can find all Korean words written in Han-gul. Grammar structures were explained clearly. I wish there were cassette tapes to go along with the book.

I bought the Mastering Korean book (publ. 1988!) and found the layout and typography serious roadblocks to learning what good information was in there. The type in the Mastering Korean book is simply horrendous!

Taehak Hanguko (College Korean) however has a much better layout, and much better type, which actually allows me to stare at the book without my eyes going cross-eyed after a couple minutes, which is a real pleasant change in study conditions!

The content is very complete. I am teaching English in South Korea right now, and I want to learn better Korean to help grease the wheels with the students and my Korean friends. This book will get me well on my way to do exactly this. My only complaint: the authors published a CD-ROM for listening and speaking exercises. One problem: they made it for Mac only. Derned liberal Berkeleyites! </wink>

Other then that it's a good book. As mentioned it's probably not any good for self study. For self study I recommend the rosetta stone series to get started off on.